Inspiration

If you are a fabric and needlework addict like me then this is heaven on earth. Row after row of demonstrations, guest speakers, workshops and vendors... there is something to tickle every fancy imaginable.
So much beauty and inspiration to last throughout the long Winter months ahead...
And if that is not enough to set one's heart aflutter then the special collection at the Textile Museum will certainly fill the need.

I certainly know where I will be come early Friday morning!

Life

I often cocoon myself from the perils of the world... choosing to stay sheltered from its harm and sadness.

But these past few weeks of flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis and the sudden death of a family member, Father of four, not yet 50 has brought me out of the confines of my paradise to the tragedy that befalls us all.

As with most faces of disaster we learn to pick up the pieces, reunite and move on...
Cherish every moment you have with loved ones be they human or four legged, devote yourself to finding the beauty in everything that surrounds you and indulge in time for yourself...


I for one have picked up my knitting needles and handspun wool (from a girlfriend that has spun and dyed these threads of delight) to pursue one of my Wintertime passions and once again shelter me from harm...

Journeys

Reminiscent of the changing seasons or turning the pages on the calendar, life continually presents new horizons...

Whether embarking on a journey measured in distance, fulfilling one's creativity or relinquishing to one's self... indulging in these simple pleasures soothes the soul.

"Do not go where the path may lead;
go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail "

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Magnificent Maple

There are many gifts that Nature bestows upon us; the breathtaking thunder of a waterfall, the heady scent of a rose, the fluffy, cotton clouds riding the horizon...We are blessed here in the Northeast by the annual chameleonic occurrence referred to as the changing of the leaves.


The birch adapts the colour of golden silk reflected off the creamy, white bark and the mighty oak bears shades of yellow through orange... but nothing is as vibrant as the magnificent maple.


The maple shows its glory in every shade and hue imaginable from the spectrum of red.


Apple red that first tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden...Deep red reminiscent of the ruby lips of a sweet lass translucent against her lilly white skin...Dark crimson from shades of the battlefield left upon the grass...


Instilled by cooler nights and shorter daylight the majestic maple makes her transition from the summer costume of green, setting forth a montage of red that has changed little throughout the passage of time...

Wannabe

When we were little girls playing dress-up we dreamed of being a fairy princess...

And when the time for going to school arrived we wanted to be pretty and smart...

High school was next, shifting the wish list to include athletic, popular, well dressed...

As we matured popularity turned to marriageable, loving and devoted...

Looking back on life now the slate has been wiped clean. There are only a few things that remain important... healthy, dedicated, humble and most of all, I wannabe me...

Artwork by Nene Thomas

Bountiful

More often than not each of us captures a moment from a season that lingers with us... carried on to the next one, sometimes through the years.

As the subtle hints of Autumn begin to appear, it is the bounty of the harvest that will remain with me throughout the coming months into the harshness of Winter and the freshness of Spring.

For you see every time I open a jar of cherry jam to spread upon my toast, peaches to partake of for dessert or sweet garden tomatoes smothering a pasta dish... the aromas of Summer shall return, igniting my memory and my taste buds...

Madelaine dreaming of cooler days and mosquito free evenings.

The Flounce

Usually hidden beneath one's skirts the flounce has descended through time.
Often consisting of lace or broderie anglaise (eyelet) it was a strip attached to the bottom edge of the petticoat, nightdress or an infant gown.


During the Romantic Era it was incorporated into the gown itself; enveloping the sleeve or with sometimes as many as a dozen layers cascading around the hemline swishing across the floor.


Even when a widow was required by mourning etiquette to dress entirely in black, she had a flounce of black crape that encircled her underskirts to fulfill such a requirement.
Flounces have fallen in and out of favour throughout fashion history. Many have been salvaged to be used in vintage decorating and doll making.
I wonder if the Puritan women that first came to this continent and were forbidden to wear lace at the throat had a flounce secretly sewn to their petticoats out of view from persecution... maybe even in red to match their scarlet letter...