When I was a child, my family lived in a post-and-beam house in the country, with 14-foot ceilings in the living room. At Christmas, my dad and brothers would go out to dad’s trapline, cut down the tallest tree they could find, and haul it home. The tree-top reached the ceiling, and our entire family […]
Depending on the region of Canada you live in, fall is full of leaves of many different colours, tones, shades, and hues. Last fall took me to different areas of our beautiful country. Starting in Kananaskis and Lake Louise area of Alberta, the Tamarack Pine turns a beautiful yellow and gold before loosing its needles. […]
Considering a project that reflects TREES the first thing that came to mind was the swing we had on an old cherry tree in our backyard. The tree and swing have long been gone but the memories live on! While on one of our morning walks, I found the perfect tree to use as inspiration […]
I believe that a tree is a symbol of generations of a family. A tree sprouts from the ground, grows, branches out and then creates new growth and leaves, just like a family. You may have a large family with many leaves or a small family with just a few leaves. Celebrate your family by […]
I can talk hours and hours about my love of nature. I always try to share this love through my work with fabrics and threads. Musing over this issue’s theme, I remembered Stanley Horowitz’s saying, “Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all”. Download pattern. […]
In 2016 I had the pleasure of attending a quilting retreat about improvising and composition hosted by one of my mentors, Ricky Tims. Ricky smiled when he saw me there being that our styles and process for making quilts are totally opposite of each other. When I start a quilting project, I have a rather […]
Can you see the forest for the trees? Initially, I was going to make a replica of a tree in some fantastic technique. After paying close attention to the trees on my daily walks, I saw some beautiful patterns on the tree trunks. More walking and daydreaming, and the concept of using the bark pattern […]
The inspiration for this sweater came from a commercially- knit sweater made with cotton yarn. The saddle shoulders and Henley neckline give the garment a distinguished look. The tweedy yarns give it a nostalgic feel: worked in solids, it has a more modern vibe. Download pattern. Read more in our Issue 55. Designed by Cynthia […]
This interesting knit-purl stitch pattern makes an attractive scarf for a person of any gender. It reminds me of the Blue Spruce my father planted when our house was built, which now dominates our backyard, providing welcome shade during hot summer days and pinecones that are best to avoid when walking barefoot! This is a […]
I live in apple country, so I take a drive in the countryside every spring to see the trees in blossom. Find the right spot and you have blossoms in the foreground, with the escarpment sloping down to the blue of Georgian Bay in the background—beautiful! This generously sized shawl features eyelet motifs that resemble […]