11/11/11 Remember

As I write I am listening to the Last Post.  I am so grateful for those that are in the military and work and fight on my behalf to make life better somewhere else in the world.  As much as I would like the world to be disarmed I know how naive that it is.  So thank you.  My little effort, in conjunction with my friend Janet, is to make quilts for Quilts of Valour, an organization that makes quilts for soldiers who are wounded.  I hope they give some comfort and a sense of appreciation for their sacrifice.

If you look closely, there are a lot of maple leaves in this!

Retreat

The Quilliams Inn really does spoil us.  This is the cake that was made for us at our last lunch.  How wonderful is that!

November Quilt Retreat

Our Stitch 'n Bitch group has a retreat every November at the lovely Quilliams Inn on Lake Brome southeast of Montreal.  We are truly spoiled by the staff and the food is terrific.  We are there off-season which gives us a nice advantage, and the weather this year was terrific.  A friend and I walk every morning on the nearby golf course just after sunrise.  It's past all the season of bright fall colours, but vestiges remain, and I like all the grays and soft colours that remain.

 At the back of the hotel is a protected wetland.  Early morning is always good for reflections.  Unfortunately the ducks hear me coming and roil the water in their attempts to scoot away.

 Before the walk, sunrise over the wetlands.

The same area 12 hours later with a not so good shot of the moon!

12bythedozen

Here are some of the 12 by the Dozen group.  We had a wonderful Texan lunch brought in by Venetta, who most of us got to meet for the first time.  It was lovely to talk to her, and to the others about Houston, the show, our work......

Houston

The quilt show in Houston is so amazing.  It felt like sensory overload at times.  So many beautiful quilts all in one place.  The workmanship is wonderful.  I'm sorry I can't show them here.  

Houston itself, in the downtown office section that the Convention hall is in is sleek with all the high rises and a lovely little park and playground.  Lots of new restaurants and our hotel was only a 10 minute walk which gave me some exercise!  

I'm not quite sure if these were ordinary crows but a murder there was.  They were very musical and roosted in all the trees lining the streets around the convention centre, flying up every now and again in clouds.  Sort of Alfred Hitchcock.

 There squares were in the sidewalks around the area.  Just something to pause and think about as I was exploring.

more work

My Stitch 'n Bitch group  makes squares for a "0" birthday.  This is my mother-in-law's for her 90th!  Since she has only made 2 quilts and started at about age 83 I thought it only fair to put it together and quilt it for her.  

We had a glorious weekend at the cottage - Thanksgiving seemed early this year, and so were the colours.

I have been working! and travelling.

This is my 12" square done for a challenge with the 12 by the Dozen group (www.12bythedozen.blogspot.com)

The theme was fragments and I was attempting to get a Lauren Harris look for one of my photographs.  

 This quilt was a mystery quilt that Andrea presented to our guild this past year.  As she always does, the instructions were clear and there were enough hints that we could do a good job with the colour.

 Below is a 4" square made for a friend who is returning to the UK.  the members in our Text'art group made one or more as a farewell present.  It's quite a bit glitzier then the photo shows.

We spent the first part of September down east.  The overnight train to Halifax was great - nice elegant dinner, a room in the Park car with the dome, and met some nice people.  The scenery was interesting - but a lot of it was through the woods and nary a moose to be seen.

After 3 days in the city we drove to Cape Breton and spent 6 days there.  Loved the scenery and the people we met.  The fish and seafood were great too - not a speck of meat for me (well, except for brekkie bacon) the whole time, and lots of lovely lobster rolls.  A great one at the Acadian in Cheticamp!

Classic scenery

The view from our B&B in Glace Bay - near the Marconi museum and over the horizon is the UK.

A flock of cormorants

Rusting cannonballs at Fort Louisbourg.  The whole place was a magnificent restoration of the fort as it was in the 1740s.  

Across from the fort

It was a stormy blustery day!