improv with intent

Desktop Inspired Quilt Top

Old wooden desktop art installation

From this…

To this…

Black, white, pink and red quilt top inspired by old wooden desktops

Back in 2018 I had the opportunity to go to Montreal to teach at Courtepointe Quebec, a lovely quilt show held in the suburbs of Montreal. I had to lean on my very shallow memory of high school French as my driver and many students didn’t speak English at all. We were in an old school with no air conditioning in a heat wave. Despite all that, we had a fabulous time! One day, on a break with some students, we discovered the art installation made from old desks. We were talking about being inspired by the world around us, including these desks. I remember coming home and experimenting just to see if I could make a block that referenced those desks. A little improv curve action made it happen. I made a few then folded them up and put them in the closet.

Now, as I am in the process of cleaning, sorting, and getting ready to move my sewing room, these old projects are seeing some light of day. That, and I updated my list of Quilts Under Construction after these recent finishes. I wanted to work on something “new” but not really start something new. A dive into the vaults served that purpose.

I didn’t like the blocks just plain. Right idea, ineffective design. Going back to the original inspiration I decided to try setting them so they popped off the background. Honestly, I have no idea why I chose the pinks/reds, but I think they work. I did not have enough of any one colour, so used 3 different ones. Their placement is random, but all being so close in value they read well together.

For me, this is a small quilt. It finishes a bit over 40” x 50”. So, really, just a baby quilt. But I didn’t have any more of that dominant alphabet print to make more blocks. Plus, this size keeps it as a quick finish. I have no idea when I will touch this quilt again, but for now the memories can live more strongly than my French skills!

Scandi Village Quilt Top!

This quilt is a total escape. It was in the making of it and now when I look at it. Dreams of snowy villages in Sweden, mountain forests in Norway, and fairytales of Scandinavia. One day I will plan a trip and this quilt will come with me for an extension of the magic.

Over the last year and a bit I’ve spent moments playing with these blocks. Like most of my quilts, they started with an idea and a willingness to experiment. With early successI was motivated to both keep going and offer this as a Party through the Quilters’ Playcation. Loads of other have made their own Scandi Villages, all with an individual twist. Each block is improvised - free hand cut and sewn - and unique. Because each block ends up a different size putting it together becomes a puzzle. Thankfully, it is an easy puzzle to do. Seriously, there is no math, nothing fancy, and 99% of the time nothing but straight seams.

It is surprisingly hard to get a good picture of this quilt top. The scale of the houses means there are a lot of blocks. So it is see the overall quilt top or details. The largest house is about 4” and the smallest is less than 2”. None of the trees are bigger than 3”. I LOVE working small! That being said, I have a handful of blocks blown up big that may be its own quilt or become the back of this one.

To take pictures my son came with me to my favourite spot of urban forest to throw rocks on the ice, climb trees, and snap a few pics. We try to get outside everyday, even in the winter. But when we come home, we can still have the forest with us!

These little houses are so easy and so addictive to make. Yes, I started another version. This next one will have a dark background, so it looks like a village/forest at night. When we were having the last party someone suggested we add Northern Lights and now you know I am going to be hunting down my best greens to do that!

But first! I need to figure out how I am going to quilt this one…

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.

Toque Block Swap

Improvisational sewn toque quilt blocks in a snowy spruce tree

Have you heard about the Toque Block Swap?

It’s a fun, playful swap that came out of the Quilters’ Playcation Adventure Sewalong. I made a toque block one week and by the end of our weekly live I had committed to organizing a swap!

Anyone can sign up. You can make 1 block or you can make 20, it’s up to you. Mail your blocks to me, I will swap your blocks for the same number made by other participants and send them back to you. The tutorial to make the block is here, but feel free to individualize things however you like.

Sign up now, deadline for mailing blocks is January 10, so I hopefully receive them all by January 20, 2023. (So you can get through the holiday season without any sewing stress from this, and maybe even relieve some stress by playing.) Then my plan is to get all swapped blocks mailed out by the end of the month.

Sign up here.