Is vacation a rest?

Going on vacation seems like a good idea. And it is. This summer past was filled with work and family and planning a trip of a life time.
Now that we are on it the trip is inspiring ,tiring and invigorating.
Week 1 was with our whole family in Holland.
Now we are in Paris. It is early morning. The cars are rushing by. We have a B and B  a half of a km from the Louve. Last night the cafés were teeming with life. People laughing, talking,eating and having a glass of wine.
Today an adventure in Paris... 

Summer is coming to fast...

It has been busy in the household.
In the past month my daughter graduated with her MLS, we have been to the cottage and worked and played. I am still working 3 days a week. (Not much for some but for me it is more than I thought I would ever be able to work.)
The sewing room is still recovering from a month of blogging about Lutradur.
I visited Quilt Canada but did not take pictures because in some places it was not allowed.
And the only pictures I have been taking have been of family and friends and I don't want to share those without their permission.
So what to do?
I will share my dog... poor Moe. He is such a easy mark.
Here is Canada Day...
or my Canadog.

Moe is a great sport. 

What is up this week. 

Some hand quilting on a quilt our church is making for our local sponsored nursing home for when someone passes it will be used to cover the resident as they leave. 

The day of the "dying" The Fabrigos are coming to play with mx dyes, sunprinting and colourvie. 

Kayaking maybe or a concert in the park with my hubby. 

Sewing lesson day with my great nieces... first project pj pants. 

What are you up to this week? 

Jo

Quilt Canada and why am I a quilter....

It is a wonderful opportunity to go to Quilt Canada today. 

If you have never been to the Niagara Area it truly is a beautiful spot to visit. Of course there is Niagara Falls always a wonder but we have a micro climate that allows for the growing of grapes and tender fruit. So we have lots of wineries to visit. Strawberries are in season now and coming fresh from the field.

There is a world class theaters in Shaw in Niagara on the Lake, Forts that reenact like Fort George and Fort Erie. The Welland Canal  from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

Sometimes I forget what a wonderful place I get to live in.

Sometimes I forget what blessings I have. This week friends lost their 18 year old son to an accident. How to walk along side them? I guess it is just to be there. The Dad said last night ... I think I will just need a lot of hugs... I can do that. The mom said she would like to hear the stories I remember about their son. I can do that.

Quilters know about how to give. I enjoy my guilds because of their generosity towards others. Their love and kindness.

So off I go to get refreshed. To spend the day laughing and seeing wondrous things. This will help fill my cup so I can just be and help my friends walk the journey that all parents fear.

Jo

What a month....

It has been quite a month. Blogging over at andthenwesetitonfire.blogspot.ca on as you know ...all things Lutradur.

I now have a great selection of things to work on and found a new love.... burning... or should I say melting.

Plus I learned more about using so many things that it will translate into my work. 

One thing I have learned this month is preparation. I am  a last minute girl. This has been a hectic week and a half finishing up all I wanted to blog about on and then we set it on fire. 

My husband has even been checking out the posts. 

I am going to continue to blog about Lutradur... how I finished all those lovely pieces I posted and more that I never got to. 

I hope you check out the blog. It is a great one. 

And leave a comment so you can win a copy of Leslie Riley book on Lutradur or a package of goodies of all things Lutradur. There is time until May 31 to leave a comment. 

So that is what I have been up too. But of course I couldn't have done it without my friends Elle, Robynne, Al, Karen, Judy and Gunnel Hag and of course Leslie Riley being game to answer questions for me. 

That's it for this Wednesday

Jo

Information overload... bring it on

I have been so busy over at andthenwesetitonfire blogging that I haven't made it here to much. 

But I think through blogging regularly this month I have confirmed that I just love to learn and create. I also like to share. Writing does not come easily for me so I will have to learn to write less and give more pictures. 

My hubby is the greatest. He has been so patient with me and the commitments and other things that interrupt our lives. 

His greatest thing is to read and to listen to Great Courses. thegreatcourses.com
these are cd's or dvds that are actually like university coursed taught by professors. \

I listen to some but others I will never watch. Like the physics or math is fun ones. 

I do have a photography one that is next on my list to do. 

But then my wonderful hubby let me buy all the Colourlicious DVDs colouricious.com

Not only did I get 

but I got these too! 

Now I can experiment away! Plenty of fodder for the blog. 

So in June I hope you follow me down the path of Sun Printing over on the andthenwesetitonfire blog

And some finishing!!!! of projects!!!! 

Off on an adventure of play.

Jo

The Month rolls along...

This month has been a crazy busy month... I keep expecting life to be different  and I will get time later but it doesn't seem to happen. lol So I guess at 51 I will just expect crazy from now on.

I have been so busy blogging on andthenwesetitonfire  on Lutraur that I have been hopping from thing to thing. 

So I invite you to go to the blog to see what I have been up to.

Elle ellendacoop.blogspot.ca has been helping me with posts this month as well as some other friends. Elle is posting on Thursdays or Fridays.

Leslie Riley the writer of the book

answered some questions and sometime this month C & T has agreed to give a reader of the blog a e copy of the book. 

So if you ever wanted to know something about Lutradur come on over to visit... 

In a way this is not a finish but it is a daily finish for me whenever I write a post about the process. 

I am linking up to the needleandthreadnetwork.blogspot.ca

Please come and visit this month and see some of the work that my Canadian guest friends are producing. First we are going through techniques and then we will see how and where we can use the stuff we have created. 

Jo 

May 1st and Lutradur

This is the month I have committed to explore Lutradur on the andthenwesetitonfire blog. I hope you pop over there to read the posts this month. Pass the link on to your friends. At some time I will be giving away an e book verison of Leslie Rileys book on Lutradur by C & T publishing. 

I am excited and nervous of the response. But my friends will be there along side me with their work. 
Leslie Riley author of the book will be answering questions. What a generous person to respond yes to my request. 

Amongst the workings of all things Lutradur in my basement there has been work going on with other pieces. A piece that I am doing with my fellow Fabrigos for submission to Fibre Content 2014. And guess what my portion will have Lutradur in it. 

This is a picture of part of what will be used in the piece. It won't be exactly in this form but will be there. 

Meanwhile Spring is suppose to have come to Canada... I live in the Niagara Region and we are in an area where tender fruit and grapes are grown. It has been raining on and off for days and we haven't had much warm weather yet. So I am hoping that April showers lead to May Flowers. 

Jo

Whats up? Lutradur

Whats up? Lutradur...

This is the subject that has been keeping my mind busy for months. As a guest on for May on  andthenwesetitonfire.blogspot.com it has been a busy winter for me. Making samples, reading, watching, procrastinating... Working three days a week was not in my plan when I suggested this topic and agreed to do it. But I have found out that I don't mind working as admin help where my husband works.Who knew...

But I also find it hard to fit in everything else I have to do or want to. My hats are off to women who are creative and work full time and have families. I don't know how you do it. Balance. This is what I need to find. There are just to many interesting things to do in the world...

So be prepared to head on over to andthenwesetitonfire for the month to see some great and interesting things about Lutradur.

 Lesley Riley who wrote the book Fabulous Fabric Art with Lutradur is joining us for some questions and answers. 

Linda Matthews is joining in for some information on ink aid and Lutradur. 

Elle  is hopping in from the coop to show her progress and journey in creating... 

The Fabrigo's my small art group was game and played a day at my house. They are going to show you some of their results. So thanks Karen, Robynne and Al. You guys make me laugh and inspire me. 

Meanwhile here is a teaser.... somewhere in the month we will be giving a digital copy of Leslie's book by C & T publishing.

Hope you enjoy the journey.

Jo

A Book Review - Rayna Gillman's - Create Your Own Free Form Quilts

Having been a long time "traditional quilter" and relatively new "art quilter" I have lots of bits and pieces of fabric that I have not been able to throw out.

 It is all sorted into strip sizes and cut up into squares waiting for a project or the need for just that little amount of colour. 

I have long been a blog follower of Rayna Gillman and love her style of blogging and thought I could stumble my way through doing some free form quilting of my own. My initial attempts was ok... but lack the zing of pictures I have seen via the internet.

Rayna' book has long been on my list of books to purchase so I ordered it from Amazon. [[ASIN:1607052504 Create Your Own Free-Form Quilts: A Stress-Free Journey to Original Design]] and it arrived swiftly to my mail box. I devoured the book.

Rayna's book is well written and full of wonderful pictures of her work and her friends and students. The book goes through a series of methods and what if's to lead you through the journey of creating one of your own creations. It is full of tips, design principle and suggestions including colour theory.

The book has sparked my creativity. There is no wrong way to create but leads you on an intuitive journey. If you don't like a unit you have created then put it back in "the box" until you may put it in another creation or you may decide to cut it up or add to it some other time.

Now I am off to the races sewing strips, creating units and finding out why or why not I like certain combinations. When you are using up your bits and pieces or even some of your stash in small amounts it is freeing. It enables you to create something that is not a huge investment in money...that you are willing to try things that you may not normally do and you will be in for some surprises too! 

I like the book so much I watched the DVD Rayna did from Interweave - Free Form Fabric Art. The DVD is not as in depth as the book but does give a live visual glimpse of her work.

So the journey continues... I am off to play with strips, pieces and my rotary cutter! 

And thanks to Rayna for sparking my creativity again... 

Warning this process is addictive... 

Have fun! 

Jo

Hiatus...

Hiatus
Just for a week.
A revist to a beautiful place.

All arrangements final... Kids taking care of home and pets. Taking no committee work, no things that have to be done. Just some books, magazines, hubby and 6 of my great friends. Laughter here we come! 

Jo

Art and Fear - A book review.

An Interesting Book to Read ...
I was given this book for Christmas from a good friend.
It is not a hard read... and not a long book.
Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

I really enjoyed this book. I can't even really say why I liked it but I think that it made me realize that all people who are creative have things that they worry about or hold them back. It made me feel normal. So often you see the confidence of people. The ones who seem to have made it. It is not a how to book to succeed but a book which can help you reflect. 

And it is a book that you can read with a group to work through to see how much of the writers observations affect your group and what you do about it. 

Jo 

It is not a hard book to read... but it does make some observations which 

Do you hate having pins stick into you?

I hate having pins stick into me!

That is why I was so interested in buying some Pinmoors. Which look like a great product but are fairly expensive at $17.50 for 50 . Pinmoor's

Pinmoor's are probably a much better long term solution to my temporary solution as they look like a more dense and would hold the pin more securely. The next time I am going to visit my sister I will have to order a package to see how they compare with my local hardware store find.

1 role of foam "caulking" This caulking - as I understand - goes into the crack first and then the regular caulking goes over it to seal a door, window, etc. 

 For less the $6 dollars I got this roll. Which I cut up with my regular scissors into 1.5 cm sizes. 

And you stick the pin into the foam to stop the pin poke you. 

I then took a flower vase I had and through the pins and foam into a container. 

Leah Day of   freemotionquilting shows how to use P'inmoors when she is free motion quilting. 

I know my hardware store foam things will not be as good. But for now they will work. 

Have you used Pinmoor's or foam caulking? 

Jo

WIP Wednesday.... Williams Quillow.

I started this quillow in the summer. It was going to be a quick project for my nephew who loves fishing.  It started with a panel of fish... seemed a bit to easy... So I recreated a fishing pond to remind him of the local fishing hole at home and when he visits his Canadian Grandparents. 

Here are the fish on the lower depths. 

Starting to applique the fish. 

This is taking a lot of time to do the traditional satin stitch. So I may start to do some free motion to speed it up.

Linking up with the Thread and Needle Work Network  WIP Wednesdays 

Jo

So what do you do when you are tired....

So what do you do when you are kind of blocked and a little tired. It has been a busy month in Chez Sewinggeek.  I decided to use up some scraps. I pulled out my drawers of fabric and am working on my blues, greens, greys, batiks etc. All the colours you see here. Here is a shot of the two blocks I have finished. 

Here they are closer up. 

I am not sure I like them yet or not. But I am going to make a few more... because as you can see below I have a few to use up. 

And then after making all that mess I got to clean up and re organize them.

So until next time....

Jo

Something I have been working on ....just for pure fun and colour

It has been a busy month this past January in our house.

I volunteered my services to do a month on one of my favorite blogs... and now am the guest artist for May with all things Lutradur on the and then they set it on fire . blog.

So I am getting myself prepared for this adventure.

Met with 3 other artists and started a group. We enjoyed a play day doing things with Lurtadur so that jump started the ideas for May's experiences. We may call ourselfs the "Fabrigos" It was such a fun day.

Here are some creations.

Our challenge to ourselves was to use what we made in something for next month.

I experimented with making random wonky blocks with scraps I have.... 

Then life happened, Illness of a friend, family crisis, and filling in for a person on sick leave. 

Creative things went down the tubes. 

But I also still managed to start the media notification for the fibre art show I am helping with in the fall. 

Fibre Content 2014 info is alive and out there. If interested in the past show and this one go to Fibre Content 2014 It should be a great one and you will hear more about it I am sure. 

May February be less busy in some areas and more creative... 

Jo

Guest Appearance on "and then they set it on fire"

I am so excited and looking forward to being a guest on the and then we set it on fire blog in May.  http://andthenwesetitonfire.blogspot.ca/2014/01/may-with-jo-vandermey-and-adventures.html

My intro is up there this morning. I worked hard on writing last week ad-midst a crazy week of crisis. I looked it over carefully several times and did not see the "mistakes" but my hubby saw them right away. lol The fact is he has a great eye for things grammatical, spelling, numbers, etc. He is an accountant. But not very artsy.... So we balance each other quite well.

Today my wonderful husband of 28 years is 54. And he is still the guy for me.

So if you are here as a result of the ....and then they set it on fire blog... be rest assured we will be having fun in the month of May... just don't expect  all posts to be without error in spelling. lol I will try hard to have them correct but life around this place gets crazy.

In the next few months I plan to post regularly re: my activities in my playroom. Posts without pictures seem kind of dull so I hope to include many pictures as well.

Saturday will be the first time this week that I get to spend in my space since I am temping at my husbands office while someone is on sudden sick leave. So I hope to prep a few posts of what I have been up to...

Now it is off to work and then to celebrate my husbands birthday with going to see the Hobbit movie. This is something we planed to do all Christmas season.

More prep on playing with Lutradur coming up. What a fun year this is going to be!

And remember to visit Elle my first playmate in this venture. I love her blog. And hope to learn a lot from her too! http://ellendacoop.blogspot.ca/2014/01/tapes-transfers-tutorials.html


Jo

Opportunities...

So I have my room cleaned up...
My scraps put away...

On to 2014.

Opportunity is part being in the right place at the right time and offering something.

I find that in order for me to grow I need to jump into a project. So I put myself out there and I am now going to be "Guest Artist" on the ....and then they set it on fire blog .http://andthenwesetitonfire.blogspot.ca This is one of my favorite blogs!

So in May I will along with a few friends will play and present Lutradur...

 I played with this topic last spring for when I presented a workshop for my Burlington Fiber Arts group.... (miss you ladies already) .

I am taking a break from some groups this year because of this and some other commitments.

One  of the other commitments is the 2nd Fiber Content show. This will be held in September at the Burlington Arts Centre and we will be looking for calls of entry to this show. I am helping with media - getting the show out there and promoted.

I also plan as a personal goal to create at least two pieces to enter into this show. The goal is to enter, to try, to grow.

These things alone are going to make a great year.

Things will be a learning curve. Blogging... writing more, testing, putting my self out there. Balance that with my family and my energy levels with the fibromyalgia.

If you don't follow the blog above please join in... it will be a great year!

Jo

A New Year... 2014

2013 was a busy year... each passing year seems to be. Family wedding, babies born, friends, family, sadness and joy...

But I am grateful to have my family...

For 2014 I have a few goals...

Blog... more... about my creative journey

Start... just start to do the things I want to. I am a perfectionist at heart so I always find reasons not to do something. Materials, knowledge, time.... To get over this weird feeling of failure... I just go back to the tried and true and gather material to do something new. When I jump in full feet and have a deadline I get stuff done. I just need to start...

Be... Be more in the moment, Be more careful of getting myself involved in negative or unhealthy situations. Be happy, grateful and loving each day. To be Jo... the person who is inside me not the expectations of others.

2014 will be busy... planning a few trips with family and friends. The routine stuff of life... parents, kids, friends, house, work, etc.
Committee work.. on the library board of our town library, helping with advertising of a group I am involved with art show... local quilt guild board.
Starting a small art quilting group with 3 other people. Once a month to explore, share and grow.

Starting out the year with a cold but it gives me time to plan.

And what is a blog post with out a picture...

I leave with two pictures I took in Southern Ontario's ice storm several days ago.

This one is my dog Moe catching snow balls... Moe is instantly happy, living in the moment. I want to be like Moe... although I don't want to roll in the snow so much as he does. 

This picture is ice formed on the bunch stems left on the vine after grape harvesting. Beautiful to see the ice formations on the plants and trees but also reminds me of how much damage something can do. We did not suffer some of the longer term effects this storm caused in Ontario. glad that now most people are hooked back up to hydro. 

Off to put up my new words on my wall ... Start and Be. 

Jo