Bloggers Quilt Festival - Random Acts Map

hi! welcome!


i'm amy dame.


if you'd like to know more about me, i'll direct you over to the excessively long about me page, but the basics that that seem to either repel or attract folks are these - i hate capitalization, i swear a lot and babble just as much, i'm a bleeding heart lefty who's super opinionated, but i try to keep the worst of it off the blog, i get distracted kinda easily due to a mixture of mental and physical health stuff combined with my inherent inability to focus on one project or technique, and i often get so excited that i bounce up and down and clap my hands like a 6 year old. (if you like me, you might find it endearing, otherwise, it's probably just annoying)


and most importantly, i love quilting! i'm the vice president of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild, and i'm the challenge and swap coordinator for the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild. my guilds are amazing. not only are they full of incredibly TALENTED people, they're also full of incredibly AWESOME people!


this is the third time i've posted for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, the last two are here and here. previously i've posted recent projects, but today i'm posting a quilt that i finished last summer, but am still incredibly proud of. i blogged about it a few times when i finished it, but i never did post any of the construction details, so i thought i'd do it now.


the past few years i've participated in the Queer Arts Festival Curated Art Exhibition, and this was my piece for 2012. 2011's patchwork and machine embroidery piece is HERE, and my 2010 embroidery pieces are linked HERE (2010 pieces are totally NSFW!) (also, there's still a page about me from last year on the QAF website.) the QAF is a three week multi-disciplinary festival held in Vancouver, BC, Canada every summer by the Pride In Art Society, and i've been attending it for years.



every year my projects get more and more complicated, and my 2012 piece was incredibly ridiculous! i don't remember the exact measurements, but it's at least 50" x 60", it has thousands of tiny pieces, and i used an incredible amount of thread and spray adhesive.





my artist's statement is in this blog post, but the short and sweet version is that i wanted to create a piece that encourages people to think about what makes an act specifically queer, and where in the city those acts have taken place. i wanted to draw attention to the concept queer "ghettos", or the lack thereof, and the concept of community spaces. and since my 2011 quilt that encouraged audience participation was such a hit, i wanted to make a quilt that would be interactive.

i posted about this quilt a few times right after the show, but i never did get around to posting about the details, so here they are - (feel free to skim, i know not everyone will care!)


Step 1 - i drafted a pattern of Vancouver which included all streets and parks. i blew it up to the size i needed, and printed out each section. i taped them all together to create a full size pattern (like assembling a pdf pattern), and using a sharpie, i traced over all of the streets that i wanted to transfer to my map to make them more visible.

Step 2 - i connected yardage of wash-away stabilizer to be big enough to cover the full map. i laid the stabilizer over the paper map and retraced all of the sharpie lines onto the stabilizer, then set it aside.

Step 3 - i laid thin white broadcloth over the paper pattern and traced the shape and edges of water and land, and all of the parks in the city.

Step 4 - i sandwiched the white broadcloth with a layer of cotton batting and a second layer of white broadcloth as the backing.

Step 5 - after purchasing a wide variety of grey and green fabrics with a bunch of different textures, i started cutting them into small pieces. a LOT of small pieces! nothing more than an inch or two wide, and most were much smaller than that.

Step 6 - working in small sections, i used 505 spray adhesive and a UHU glue stick to adhere the tiny pieces to the broadcloth backing fabric. i used the variety of greys for the city itself, and the greens for all of the city's parks. this step took a looooong time!

Step 7 - i added a layer of grey tulle over all of the small pieces to hold them in place.

Step 8 - i freemotion quilted the entire map, using grey on the main areas and a mixture of greens on the parks. this was really fun, though also super hot in july! i particularly loved the fmq i did on the parks. these threads were all 50wt, a combo of cotton and polyester.




(the back shows the quilting better)

Step 9 - using 505 spray adhesive, i adhered the blue satin "water" fabric all around the city and free motion quilted it heavily.

Step 10 - i used more spray adhesive to adhere the washaway stabilizer from Step 2 to the map, and using 12wt cotton thread, began stitching along all of the streets on the map. i started out using aurifil 12wt cotton, and really struggled with it. it's a very loose twist, and because a map has so many criss crossing lines, it didn't hold up very well. i also had a ton of issues with tension and the thread breaking, though i think my needle choice caused a lot of that. i started to run out of thread, so i did a frantic search for more in the lower mainland, and no one had any! thanks to a FVMQG member's suggestion, i found Sulky 12wt cotton thread locally and switched, and it ended up working much better anyway.


(a close up, complete with tension issues!)


(the back with the 12wt quilting over the 50wt, with the ocean fmq as well)

Step 11 - i washed the quilt, to remove the wash-away stabilizer. it shrunk a bit, but the use of the poly cotton base fabric and the netting helped some.

Step 12 - i bought hundreds and hundreds of straight pins, stuck them all into foamcore boards and spraypainted them pink. while the paint was wet, i sprinkled them with fuchsia glitter. yes, i did think i was going out of my mind by this point!



Step 13 - i created a list of street names in a word file and printed them onto printable Shrink Plastic. i cut them all out, hole punched both ends, and shrunk them in my oven.

Step 14 - my dad helped me build a frame for the quilt using 2x4s, 1x2s, and a layer of styrofoam insulation for the pins to stick into. the frame had to be in two pieces with a hinge, to fit in my van!

Step 15 - using my staple gun, i stapled the quilt to the frame we built. i treated it like a canvas i was stretching, or a stool i was upholstering, stapling one side, then stretching over to the other, etc.

Step 16 - i cut strips of the blue satin, pressed under the edges, and using strips of stitch witchery or wonder under, used my iron to adhere the strips to the sides of the wood frame to cover the stapled edges.

and FINALLY - my mom and i installed the piece, including sticking hundreds of glittery pins into the map for people to use to mark their spots. i used white straight pins to label the streets of the quilt, and about 10 minutes after i finished, the opening gala for the art show started!



The Full Piece


UBC and endowment lands


Stanley Park


Downtown core


Beach Avenue


Downtown closeup


Seymour St


Granville Bridge


East Vancouver




Quilt Measurements: i don't remember... it's in storage right now, i'll measure it next time i'm over there and add them in. it's definitely bigger than 50"x60", i know that!
Special Techniques used, if any: applique, free motion quilting
Quilted by: me!



whew! that was a long post, with a ton of pictures, so congratulations if you made it all the way to the bottom. i don't blame you if you skimmed!



please note, i know that i'm taking a risk posting a political art piece for the Bloggers Quilt Festival, but i'm hoping we can all be responsible adults. if you disagree or disapprove of me, my life, my loved ones or my use of the word queer, please be respectful and keep it to yourself. thank you! regardless of how you feel about the theme, i hope you enjoyed my quilt itself, and the Bloggers Quilt Festival overall.

now go check out some of the other awesome quilts in the festival! (and don't forget to keep track of your favourites to nominate as you're surfing around!)

a bit of a catch up post

my poor neglected blog....


i'm having a hard time getting back into blogging. december, january and february were all pretty tough months, between family drama, flare ups, loss, dental surgery and the worst flu ever, and even though things are looking up now that we're into march, i can't get back into the rhythm. (side note - rhythm is such a weird word, it's missing a vowel..)


part of the difficulty is that i'm addicted to instagram , where i get to post quick pics and get almost-immediate feedback. taking real pictures, editing them and then blogging them is so much more effort!


so maybe i need to combine the two? blogging and instagram? let's try that.


apologies to folks also on instagram for the repetition, but here are a few of the things i've been working on lately -


i've made a few pieces like this, i need to bind the second one and take proper pictures of them both this week...



a belated stocking stuffer for my mom, a needlebook using the tutorial i posted a few months ago. i didn't get it done before xmas because i couldn't find any cat fabric in my stash!



a bee block for Berene, very late, of course... she should never have said "no rush"!



i got kind of obsessed with this block, which everyone calls the Japanese + and x block, because the obsession was started when amy of badskirt shared the block from a quilt she saw at a show, and blogged a tutorial for it. it's actually dated back to 1938 and is attributed to Nancy Cabot, but Japanese + and x block stuck! it became an instagram sensation a little while ago, and as you can see by the flickr group, there are tons of gorgeous versions.



because i have a tendency to make things more complicated than they have to be, i resized the pattern and made 3.5" blocks using scraps. the original tutorial is for a 7.5" finished block, and tutorials are available for 12.5" x 12.5" finished, 10" x 10" finished, 12" x 12" finished, another 12" x 12" finished block, and a 24" x 24" finished block, which has slightly different dimensions (i think the 12" blocks have different dimensions too).



i signed up for the Lucky Stars BOM with Elizabeth from Don't Call Me Betsy, and i've managed to get one block finished so far. we're only three months into the year, so i'm not THAT behind. yet.



during QuiltCon i saw someone post about selvedge spool blocks, and got carried away. it was awesome to finally use some of my selvedges, but damned if i know what i'm going to do with the finished piece.



this will eventually be a pillow, but i'm only working on it in fits and starts. one of the bee blocks that i need to work on is star themed, so i started looking for star patterns, and fell in love with this one. i decided to "test" the pattern before i used it for a bee block, using some of my favourite prints.



this is the bee block - rainbow stars! it went a million times faster than my test piece - i cut all the fabric at once, pieced it all in sections, and now i just have to finish sewing the pieces together.



i've also quilted the front of the pillow that i'm making for my dad - a belated christmas present. i found the backing fabric last night, so i'll do that next.



and then there's Madrona Road Challenge! i got the top finished, and i need to pick up some white batting so that i can quilt it. i have a week to get it done!

A Rainbow of Flying Geese

i've been so impatient to post this!


frankly, i'm surprised that i waited a week, but i'll explain that with the fact that the previous week disappeared - what? it's monday again? wtf?


i mentioned in last weekend's felicities post that i'd done a swap with Holly, and i LOVE what i made her - if i hadn't known that she'd love it as much as i do, i probably wouldn't have been able to give it up!


one of the things on my xmas list this year was a fq bundle of Lizzy House's fabric line Pearl Bracelets. Pearl Bracelets is a print that she's included in previous fabric lines, and they've been incredibly popular, so Andover released a line of 26 colours of the print.



don't they look yummy, all neatly folded up along with Lizzy House's other new line, Constellations? (i used a previous line, Outfoxed, for my Improv is Foxy quilt. i'm kind of a fan)


anyone who knows Holly knows that she loves rainbows, and i happen to know that she's a fan of Pearl Bracelets as well, so OF COURSE i had to use part of my Pearl Bracelet bundle to make her a rainbow!




for the patchwork, i decided to use a paperpiecing pattern that lends itself well to rainbows, A Circle of Geese by Piece By Number. (Christina, The Sometimes Crafter, has a great tutorial for this block, if you're interested) the VMQG actually used this as a challenge block way back in April 2011, but i never got around to making it then.




Holly particularly likes the combination of rainbows and natural linen, so choosing my main fabric was a no-brainer. i made the tote in one piece and quilted it with straight lines echoing around the geese (so obsessed with echo quilting!). I continued the quilting down the entire 36" piece, so when i sewed it together, the back had a neat geometric quilting design.




i really really wanted to wash this, just to see the linen crinkle up, but i didn't entirely trust the Pearl Bracelets fabric not to run - the dye quality isn't quite as fabulous with this line as it has been with other lines, and it made me nervous!




i just did a simple boxed corner to create some depth to the tote, and added natural cotton straps that are nice and wide, perfect for carrying Holly's notebooks at QuiltCon (because i know she'll be taking lots of notes!).




and i lined it with a cheerful print by Benartex that i picked up at Spool of Thread, including a zipper pocket and a little loop for her to hang her keys or a coin purse on. (it's best if we don't look too closely at the zipper, okay? i shouldn't have used a contrasting thread for topstitching...)


i didn't use any interfacing in the bag, but i did use quilt batting. that means it's easy to pack, but still sturdy! i'm super happy with how it turned out, and i think Holly is too.





i'm going to link up with a few linky parties this week, since i haven't done that in awhile.

Friday/Sunday Felicities - the fabric edition

this week's Felicity was going to be fabric. FABRIC FABRIC FABRIC!

i went down to my US post office box and picked up all the goodies i spent my x-mas money on, and i've been folding it and trying to organize it. my new rule is that fabric has to be put away before i can buy more - good rule, huh? we'll see how long it lasts.


this past week also included an event called Visit Your LQS Day (LQS = local quilt store or shop), which was a "worldwide celebration for independently-owned quilt shops everywhere". it was organized by the Fabric Shop Network, and there was a contest, which i don't think i ended up entering because it was confusing, but the main purpose was to support local shops, and i did do that!


since i'd been to Spool of Thread several times lately, i thought i'd go visit Matt's store The Quilted Bear, since i hadn't been there in a while.





i found some great tone on tone prints, drooled over the floor model Janome Horizon, and had a slice of yummy cake!





i also stopped by a fabric store that i love called Save On Fabrics to pick up some linen.

you canm see some of linen on the left - orange and teal, yum!


and as i watched people post pictures of their LQSs on instagram for the rest of the day, and read some of the comments people were leaving (really interesting thoughts, but that's another post), i started thinking about how damn lucky we are here in the Lower Mainland. we have so many options of where to shop. SO MANY!


yesterday i left a long instagram comment for a newer quilter with a rundown of stores near her, and instagram ate it. since i had to rewrite it anyway, i thought i'd add some more details and combine it with the thought about how lucky we are, and that leads to


Felicity #2 - local fabric stores!


as lovely as it is to go to Spool of Thread and have all modern fabrics to choose from, there are lots of other shops where we can find some fabrics that we like, along with many of the tools that we use for quilting. we don't have a plethora of modern shops, but we do have a lot more than quilters in other areas!


in Surrey we have A Great Notion right on the border with Langley, Wineberry Fabrics, Tom's Sewing Centre on the border of North Delta, a Fabricland with unusually friendly staff, and my favourite, Save on Fabrics.

i first discovered A Great Notion when i bought my first Teflon foot. at that time i wasn't quilting, but i was doing garment sewing in addition to vinyl work, and i was hugely impressed with their notions. understandably, that's what they're known for, but i've since learned that they actually do have some lovely modern fabrics (i bought Aneela Hooey last time i was there, and Moda Crossweaves), and a fabulous selection of threads for quilting. i'm in love with Sulky 12wt, which is so much easier to work with than the Aurifil 12wt. they also carry some Kona solids, and some Moda precuts. they close fairly early if you work during the day, and i don't think they're open on sundays.

Wineberry's Fabrics has been around forever, but within the past few years they moved into a smaller store. it's the same basic location, just the other end of the strip. they've started carrying yarn as well, and no longer have the sewing machine section. Wineberry's has always had a large selection of faux Japanese prints, which aren't my thing at all, but there are a few fabric gems to be found, along with a good selection of quilting tools and notions. they carry small spools of Aurifil 50wt, if you ever find yourself in a fix. i don't remember what their hours are, but i do remember that i don't like them! i went there once and they were closed or something.

Tom's Sewing Centre is where i've been getting my machines serviced for years now, though i rarely go into the store these days. they have a large fabric selection as well as the more mechanical types of notions - they don't carry ribbon, for instance, but they carry rulers and Go! cutters and different sewing machine feet. more tools than notions, i guess. i have taken a number of classes here, and have had mixed results, but that was just as often due to the other people attending their classes as it was the teacher. i did once take a class where the teacher spent a ridiculous amount of time grilling me about modern quilting "why can't we just join a traditional guild", creating a lot of unpleasant tension, but she was a teacher brought in, not one of their staff. i used to do a bunch of charity sewing for them, but the year after i made three throw size quilts for their christmas family, they decided that they'd only take charity quilts made of 100% cotton, no fleece or minky backs, no linen, etc, so i don't anymore. Tom's is a Janome/Elna dealer, and i love Elnas, so that's a definite positive. also, they close fairly early. they used to be open late one day a week, but i don't think they do that anymore. they're closed on sundays.

i love the Surrey Fabricland. i know Fabricland gets a bad rap - it's ridiculously expensive, it's a chain, the employees are often grumpy (you would be too, if you worked for Fabricland),and the quality is not always up to par for quilting cottons, but the one on 108th is fabulous. the staff are actually friendly, amazingly, and they have tons of sales. that's really the thing about Fabricland, they're like Canadian Tire - they keep the prices high so that their constant sales look good, which is fine as long as you remember the #1 rule - NEVER buy anything regular price! i like Fabricland for the occasional Michael Miller cotton, great linen blends in the summer, and basic notions on sale, but i'd hate it if they were my only choice!

and then there's Save On Fabrics. i love Save On. My whole family loves Save On. they can't tell the difference between my sister and i on the phone (no one can, honestly), but they recognize our voice. Save On Fabrics is a family owned fabric store that carries practically everything. they have one of the best selections of knits in the lower mainland, really good prices, tons of vinyl, and a good selection of cozy flannelettes. they've always carried some quilting cottons, but in the last while they've started getting in more, and the price is awesome, between $5.99 and %6.99 a metre. they don't carry a whole lot of notions, but i love their stash of vintage zippers and they carry Mettler thread - which is way better than Guutermann in my opinion. i often buy linen blends and quilt batting here. this is not in any way your typical quilting store - it's much more like a warehouse (see picture above), but it's definitely worth the trip. they're open every day except Christmas, basically, till 6 on weekdays, til 5:30 on saturdays, and til 5 on sundays. oh, and if you have a serger, they have a fabulous selection of serger thread with really good prices.


in Langley there's a Fabricland with a large quilting selection - typical Fabricland service, but hey, Alexander Henry! again, never pay full price!


in Delta/Ladner there is Matt's shop the Quilted Bear. when this shop opened, everything in the store was brown or cream. seriously! it was so country, but Lily did okay, because they were the only store in the area with decent service. in the years since it's become more modern, and since Matt bought it last year (or the year before?) he's been selecting a lot of lovely fabrics. their classes are really reasonably priced, they have a ton of notions, and i can usually find a few fabrics that i have to have. he carries some solids, Konas and Northcott, as well. and he's a Janome dealer, and will match any price in the lower mainland. they're not open on Sundays or Mondays.


in White Rock there is Laura's Fashion Fabrics. i don't really know what to say about Laura's. they carry quilting cotton, garment fabrics, fleece, etc, but a smallish selection of each (though they do have some Kona solids). they had some laminated cotton when i was there last that tempted me, but it wasn't in my price range. they carry a lot of notions, and are the only place in the area that really focuses on machine embroidery (Tom's does too, but not to the same extent). they're also a Brother dealer, and that was a major part of why i didn't want to get another Brother machine. let's just say that their reputation is well deserved in my experience. they're also in White Rock, which means they have crappy hours, everything in White Rock seems to close at 5 or 5:30. i go in there rarely, but if i do, it's usually to buy machine embroidery thread.


in Richmond there is Fabricana, which is more than just quilting fabrics, they carry every kind of fabric, often on the higher end of quality (which also means higher end of price). think wools, silks, etc, in addition to a large dance section (spandex!) and the separate home decor section. their quilting section is larger than many quilt stores, and they will often get a full line of a collection. they tend to get well known designers, and they carry Northcott solids. i haven't actually been to the Richmond location in a long time, but they used to be the best source in the area for fun fur.


there's another Fabricana location in Coquitlam, as well as a quilt shop called Quilted Treasures. i go to the Fabricana in Coquitlam every once in a while, though admittedly less often now that they carry Northcott instead of Kona solids. their quilting section is quite extensive, with a separate section for tone on tones, a batiks section, and a large sale section. they have a wall of Kaffe Fasset, but lots of modern stuff too. they have a variety of batting choices, and have started carrying some organic cottons. they're also open until 9pm on thursdays and fridays, which is a huge plus for me! i haven't been to Quilted Treasures at all, but they had a booth at a quilt show i went to a few years ago, and i keep meaning to check them out.


there's a quilt shop on the Burnaby/New West border called A Needle and I. again, i haven't been to their shop, but i have bought things from them at quilt shows, and have heard that they have a good selection of fabrics. they also carry some Kona and some Northcott solids, i called them to ask recently.


in Abbotsford we have a second location of A Great Notion. i haven't been to this location, but see above for info about their Surrey store.


in Chilliwack we have Countryfolk Fabrics and Hamels. Country Folk is connected to Tom's Sewing Centre in Surrey, but i've never been there. i've never been to Hamels either, but i love finding their booth at quilt shows! they carry more modern fabrics, especially moda, and often have precuts. they carry Bella solids, and have a quite extensive website, always a good thing. Cynthia just wrote a blog post about her trip to Hamels for Visit Your LQS Day.


in Mission we have the Bent Needle. i haven't been into the store in almost a year, cause they're in Mission (so far! not really, i'm a suck), but they have been super supportive of FVMQG and FV folks are always saying how great they are. they carry some modern fabric, both prints and solids, they're always willing to order stuff if you need it, and they have the BEST price on Aurifil i've ever seen, even better than online! Cynthia visited them for Visit Your LQS Day too.


in North Vancouver we have Creative Edge Quilting and Sewing (no website). i haven't been to the Creative Edge, and i really don't know much about it.


and in Vancouver proper, we have Spool of Thread, of course. we also have The Cloth Shop and the inimitable Dresssew and lots of other fabric stores that primarily carry fashion or decor fabrics.

i love Spool of Thread, a MODERN fabric shop and sewing lounge (you guys probably knew that though). they carry tons of lovely cottons, including a large selection of organics, and have an amazing selection of japanese Kokka prints, primarily in the cotton/linen blend (perfect for bags!). they also carry the entire Kona solids line, a small but well curated selection of notions, lots of independent patterns, and lovely sewing books. they recently added even more shelves to hold fabric! they're not a quilting store specifically, but they are definitely a source for local quilters.





i haven't been to the Cloth Shop in more than 10 years. i know! but seriously, the last time i was there was late fall in 2002. they used to be in Kitsilano, and the west side feels like a completely other city. i rarely go over there, and when i did, it was always in the evening when the Cloth Shop wasn't open. however! they recently moved to Granville Island, which is much more central. and now i can multitask the trip, going to the Cloth Shop AND to Maiwa! also, the Cloth Shop apparently carries Bella solids, the only source for them in the lower mainland unless you want to drive all the way to Hamels in Chilliwack.

and then there's Dressew. oh, Dressew. the website i've linked to isn't theirs, it looks like someone else made it for them, but it's got a lot of info. like why they close at a ridiculous time, and why they only answer their phone for one hour a day... customer service is not usually a high priority for Dressew, but they can get away with it because they're DRESSEW, and nothing competes with them. (thought they do have a twitter account now, and they're really good about responding to questions on it) the store is almost indescribable, you can see why by checking out the google image search for Dressew. it's two floors, and huge. it's NOT wheelchair accessible, fyi. the street level is fabric, a bit of yarn, and costumes year round. on that note, never go to Dressew in October! they carry a ton of costume stuff, and it brings people out in droves. the majority of this floor is fabric. they have a ton of fashion fabrics, especially fancy stuff, knits, flannelettes, vinyls and fun fur, but not a whole lot of upholstery other than the vinyl. the main draw of Dressew's fabric selection isn't the prices, it's the selection. you might find it cheaper somewhere else, but you won't find it in as many colours. the basement is the OHMYGOD floor. there's a separate room for clearance fabrics, all between $3 and $5 a metre (full metres only), where you can find some great deals. the entire rest of the basement is notions. rows and rows of zippers, of trims, of feathers, of thread, of buttons. they carry some bag making supplies (handles, etc) and some basic needlework supplies, random bags of crap, some beading stuff, rhinestones, lingerie supplies, sequined appliques... so much stuff. make sure you put enough money in the metre, it's easy to loose track of time at Dressew, and now that they've started accepting debit, it's easy to loose track of your budget as well. (still no credit cards though) one of the things that i love about Dressew is that they regularly carry deadstock that's so old that it's cool again. like the pom poms i decorated my car with when i was a teenager.



holy crap guys! that's a whole lot of choices! did i miss anything? pipe up in the comments! i should mention that Surrey, Delta and Vancouver all have great Indian fabric shops as well, mostly carrying the types of fabrics that you'd use for sarees/saris, but other fashion fabrics as well. and there are more Fabricland locations, i've just mentioned the few i've gone to. i think i've listed all of the quilt shops though.

Friday/Sunday Felicities!

This weekend has been so full of felicities, i couldn't post on friday and miss them all!


The first felicity is a felicity for me and some of you! my birthday giveaway! it actually worked out super well, everyone got the notebook they liked best.

the first winner was Hueisei, from Malaysia, who blogs at Love It Sew It.



the second winner was Hadley,who blogs at Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle. Hadley apparently has really good luck!



the third winner was Heidi, Digital Misfit, who DOESN'T blog at My Hiding Place in Cyberspace, no matter how much you nag her to!



fourth winner is Carol, who blogs at CarolBrowne.com



and the fifth winner was Darlene, whose blog isn't linked on her profile, even though i know she has one. jeez Darlene.



Carol and Darlene have already gotten their notebooks because i delivered them in person, but i'll be e-mailing the other three ASAP.



other felicities?

Yesterday! it was such an awesome day! we had a joint sew-in with FVMQG and VMQG members and it was FABULOUS! i coordinated it, and i'm so glad i did, i've been wanting to connect the two guilds more. we met in Surrey, at the GORGEOUS new City Centre Library, because it was halfway between the two guilds, and it worked out well, once we found enough tables! Carol's blogged about it here with her amazing photos, and again here with a few portraits from the day (that's me!)

another Felicity?

in addition to the fabulousness of hanging out with fellow quilters, i also got spoiled! we exchanged with our partners for the Travel Swap, and my partner was Holly, VMQG's fearless leader. she went with a theme for the items she made me, which was so awesome! she also went way overboard, and made me so many things! i took pictures, but they're all on my camera still, so i'll do a separate post to show them off. i also got to give Holly her main swap item, which i was SO impatient to do! (i'll do a separate post for that too!)

and yet another Felicity?

this morning i went into the city and had brunch at one of my favourite places, with one of my favourite people in the world. we haven't been able to connect as much the past few months, due to various things going on in our lives, so it was especially lovely to see him. i was somehow very with it this morning, full of insightful ideas and suggestions for some reason, and i was super emotional too, i lost count of how many times i teared up over my pancakes! it was just so good to see him and connect.

another Felicity?

after brunch i went to Spool of Thread to get some kona for the Madrona Road challenge, and ran into a few guildies and had a good chat. after they left, i had another great chat with the folks working there. it nice, with lots of enthusiasm for something i love.

and the last Felicity?

Felicity herself! i love Felicity's enthusiasm and happy nature, she's always such a delight to spend time with. does that sound cheesy? it's true! and i love that she hosts the Friday Felicities link up, it's such a good thing. thanks Felicity!


lots of Felicities this week. i'm pleasantly tired....