Wildfire Quilt

It’s scary to think that wildfire season started here in February. February, when it is supposed to be cold and dark and snowy. February, when we are cocooning and only dreaming of summer days and the dappled light of the forest. Not this year. Wildfire season already started and, indeed, zombies fires from last year still burning.

This quilt started life as a fun experiment and sample for a Cut, Sew, Repeat Playcation. I used it as a sample in the class then had fun continuing the play. The entire time I played and sewed I saw it vertically and just about the interactions of the colours. Then, the night I was basting it, I saw it horizontal and only saw the wildfire influence. Then I couldn’t unsee it. So I ran with it, adding quilting to accentuate that design aspect.

For the quilting I used a coordinating thread for each band of colour. It was a mix of Wonderfil and Aurifil 50 weight cotton threads - whatever colour I had around that worked well. In each section I changed my free motion design. The orange, obviously, had flames. The green was a triangle meander that I’ve used once before. I don’t know what you would call the blue section, it’s some kind of hatch but not really. The purple was a wavy meander for the sky/smoke. Breaking it down like this not only made it manageable from a working perspective, but really accentuated the overall design.

Binding the quilt was straightforward. My usual high contrast binding was not going to work here so I went with a charcoal grey. I want to say it is symbolic because of soot and ashes, but really it is about picking a neutral to frame but not take away from the quilt. Black was too dark, too sharp. The grey was perfect.

Most of us here are worried about what the coming months will bring for fires. We did not nearly have enough snow cover and cold temperatures to give our forests and grasslands a proper break. We can hope for a wet spring, but that brings its own challenges. With a kid with asthma that definitely gets triggered by poor air quality, wildfire season takes on another meaning too.

In my previous career I worked on the climate change file. I started there over 25 years ago, working to convince a lot of people that we needed to act, acting in industry where we caused a part of the problem. I had to leave because it got so disheartening, if I am being honest. While I am glad that I no longer have to define or explain climate change, if that had happened 25 years ago we might be in a different place.

Quilt Block Diary of Cheryl Arkison in Egypt and Turkey

It would be a cliche to say ‘there are no words’ to describe our epic trip to Egypt and Turkey this summer. But this is a blog and that makes no sense. I could also say something about a’ picture says a thousand words’ but again, you probably want more info than that.

My daughter, long time readers will know her as The Evil Genius, qualified for world championships at both the U17 and U19 level in her chosen sport: modern pentathlon. This is a five sport event that includes fencing, swimming, obstacle course, shooting, and running. Not wanting her to have all the fun, and because we were nervous about sending our 15yo halfway around the world alone, we planned to go with her and make it a big family affair. Egypt has long been a bucket list trip for me, so I was extra excited.

It was a packed month between the competitions and exploring. We started at the first event in Alexandria. Staying in an apartment and not the venue with the rest of the teams was certainly an experience! We were not in an area with any other Western tourists. A little bit exciting in the Ubers each day. But we were comfortable and felt safe, even if the city is very loud, active, and dirty. The competition went better than expected, especially considering she fell on the first day of training there and badly sprained her ankle. We gave her the choice of competing or not and she decided to persevere. As a mother I was both proud and horrified. Mostly proud.

After Alexandria and a few days in Cairo to recoup, train, and slightly be touristy we met up with the rest of the family in Turkey. I had travelled with my daughter to Alex, the rest of the family was at a wedding. There we road tripped through the beautiful countryside to the Aegean Coast. We swam in turquoise waters, ate all the food, visited mind boggling ruins, and laughed our butts off. We had an extra kid (one of the other athletes) and my MIL. And yes, we all got along.

The next competition was in Istanbul. My daughter stayed with the rest of the team there and we had fun exploring this massive and cool city when not watching the Canadian athletes. We were there a week and I feel like we barely scratched the surface of what there is to experience.

When the competitions were over and the rest of the team went home or on to other events our family travelled back to Egypt. This was our time to see all of the ancient sites. We got to go IN some pyramids, felt humbled by the craftsmanship, engineering, and detail of the ancient Egyptians, and then finished our trip on a houseboat on the Nile. Not a cruise, but a houseboat moored in Luxor where we even got to swim in the famous river (don’t worry, there are no crocodiles since they build the Aswan Dam).

Prior to leaving I decided to bring along a stack of fabric squares. My plan was for a block a day. I wasn’t entirely sure how this would play out, but I wanted to try. Surprisingly, I was very motivated and did indeed make a block for every day. I even finished the last one as we were boarding the flight home. The blocks serve as a bit of a trip diary. They are all appliqued in one way or another with freehand cut shapes. Oh, except one, you’ll be able to figure that out. Each block is inspired by our experiences, our sites, or events of the day. Most interpretations are abstract, some a bit more literal. The gallery above shares the block and just one inspiration photo.

Day 1 - Arrive in Alexandria via Cairo.

Day 2 - Training Day in Alexandria, where we discover the importance of shade and KT Tape.

Day 3 - First day of competition and opening ceremonies.

Day 4 - Competition for my girl and her sprained ankle.

Day 5 - Canada is killing it on the obstacle course!

Day 6 - Less events today so we explored Alexandria a bit into the evening.

Day 7 - Finals competition. All three Canadian athletes made finals.

Day 8 - Mixed relay and one last ride in an Uber in Alexandria’s crazy, potholed and crowded streets.

Day 9 - A bit touristy in Alex, the famous Library and the Kim el Shoqafa Catacombs

Day 10 - The new Grand Egyptian Museum is a cool building, but not really open yet.

Day 11 - Stressful travel day that ended with a gorgeous drive through Turkey and an amazing meal, plus all the family is back together!

Day 12 - Sidetrack to see the ruins at Troy.

Day 13 - Road tripping to Fethiye through mountains of olive groves.

Day 14 - Ah, that Turquoise Coast.

Day 15 - Pammukale, swimming in Cleopatra’s temple and the most beautiful coliseum.

Day 16 - From the coast up the mountains and arriving in Istanbul on the great Turkish highways.

Day 17 - Up the Galata Tower and exploring the streets of Istanbul.

Day 18 - The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia plus Sultanahmet Square and more delicious food.

Day 19 - Cheering on our girl at her second competition!

Day 20 - Wandering the Grand Bazaar and it’s surrounding streets.

Day 21 - Food tour of Istanbul means more delicious food. Oh, these little cups of tea.

Day 22 - Another competition day, with a side trip to explore a bit more of Istanbul in-between events.

Day 23 - Relaxing on the marble of a Turkish Hammer is glorious.

Day 24 - In Cairo again, exploring the old museum and the city

Day 25 - The pyramids!!!!!

Day 26 - Exploring the Black Desert, the White Desert, the Baharyia Oasis and camping under the stars.

Day 27 - Sunrise in the White Desert then a travel day to Luxor

Day 28 - So many tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and the Queens, but I was really there for the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut

Day 29 - The temples at Karnak and Luxor exceeded my imagination, the Mummification Museum? Not so much.

Day 30 - Saw the sunrise hot air balloons then swam in the Nile and began the long journey home.

As I worked through the jet lag on our return home I pieced the quilt top together. Stay tuned for that. If you want more details and photos you can always check out my daily posts on Instagram.

August Morning Make 2021

August was set to be a busy month with a lot of motion. Camping and a vacation in between the reality of working and caring for kids. I started the month wanting something portable and to keep scratching the hand stitch itch. Committing to the Euroa quilt was an obvious choice.

From start to finish in the month I made 7 whole blocks. That might not sound like much but considering that, on average, I made 20 blocks per year for the past 3 years I think that is pretty good! This gets me to 70/100 in my goal for this quilt. I started the month cutting fabric and prepping to baste and piece the first block. I worked one or two blocks at a time, the same way I’ve been making the entire quilt. So some days I was prepping, some basting, some assembling. Some days I had an hour or more, some days only 20 minutes. But like always, I was doing my Morning Make before consuming anything - social media, caffeine, the news, or even hot water in the shower.

We had the opportunity to go camping a few times in August, once to the Jasper area and once to the Sheep River. It was about connections with family we haven’t seen and connections with the outdoors. I still started the day with Morning Make though! Then we could hike and kayak and and swim and wander the forest and laugh together. The best of all worlds, even with the dirt and outhouses. Later in the month we visited Waterton for more of the same, but we splurged on a hotel. This was to make up for a cancelled lake vacation because of forest fires. Still more family connections, kayak time, forest time, and sewing in a fancy lodge while tourists stared at me slightly less than the magnificent scenery!

Morning Make is often portable, unless I commit to a sewing machine project, so there is no excuse to miss it. Besides, while vacation is also good for my mental health, the daily creative practice of Morning Make is even more important.

March Morning Make 2021

“You are so creative”

A dear friend said this to me after my first post for March Morning Make. I actually had a visceral reaction to her statement. It’s not that I disagree with her, it’s that she said it with the hanging “and I am not” to it. I was actually upset about it for days. The thing is, I am no more creative than she is, than anyone is. What I am is willing to exercise and explore that creativity in unique ways. She is a mother and works in a dynamic environment. Her daily life requires constant creativity to get through the day. She is so creative.

Scientists and engineers are creative. Doctors and teachers are creative. Maybe not accountants, at least not at their jobs. Athletes surely are. Parents are definitely creative. We ALL are creative. Indeed, we all need to be creative to get through the day. Those who exercise their muscles through creative pursuits like art, music, writing, sewing, and more are the ones deemed creative. No, we are just the ones hitting the gym. Just like an athlete of any sort is the one that devotes their physical and mental energy to a physical pursuit, those of us deemed creative are the ones that devote our extra physical and mental energy to a creative pursuit. It’s a choice about how we spend our time more than anything.

So, for March, I chose to spend my time doing something completely foreign to me - making paper flowers. It made me a beginner again and it was awesome. My creative muscles got quite the workout, not to mention my clunky fingers. Being a beginner at something is amazing. It forces you to slow down, fire the brain up in new ways, and explore in an unfamiliar way. I know that all that terrifies people and it can do a number on your confidence, but I, personally, love it. It’s a good reminder that it is okay to be a beginner, that it’s okay to not be great or even good at something, that trying is as important as finishing.

I based the majority of my flowers on directions in the book The Exquisite Book of Paper Flowers by Livia Cetti. Not having a clue what I was doing I definitely needed the structure of directions. So I picked flowers based on their looks and whether she said they were easy or not. Partway through the month I decided I wanted to make some flowers that were not in her book so went to You Tube for instructions. Having some basic understanding from daily play meant that I could extrapolate and make up some of my own things. They didn’t always work, but I wouldn’t know that unless I tried.

Most interesting to me over the past month is my changing perspective on the flowers themselves and how I wanted them to look. I went back and forth between liking the not so perfectly accurate look of the tissue paper flowers and construction paper leaves, some days I preferred the crepe paper and other days it drove me nuts. I quite enjoyed the manipulation of the paper with bleach, that stayed throughout.

Will I make paper flowers again? Probably, if the occasion comes or the mood strikes. For now I have a lot of flowers to deliver to friends. We are at least 6 weeks away from real flowers here and we could also use the colour. Whether or not, however, you can sure that I my creative muscles are in better shape after this month. I hope yours are too.