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Monday 9 November 2015

Threadpainting Class

Driving to Innisfree last Wednesday was so wonderful.  It was raining and dark in Saskatoon, but as I hit the border, the sun was shining.  The drive was 4 1/2 hours, and I ended up tuning in to CBC radio to unexpectedly listen to the entire ceremony and swearing-in of the new Prime Minister of Canada and all the cabinet members.  I got to listen live to the aboriginal boy drumming, as well as the two little Inuit girls who performed the traditional throat singing.  My, my.  What an amazing time I had - I felt like I was right there as I flew down the highway.  I sang along, I cheered when the crowds cheered.  I'm sure glad I didn't miss that!  It was incredibly refreshing and uplifting.  I'll admit I'm surprised to having a case of 'Trudeau mania round 2'.  It's quite invigorating.

The ceremony came to a close just before I arrived in Innisfree.  I was a little early arriving, and so I stopped to snap some photos of this gem.  It looks SO solid.  The moss was such a crazy colour!  And yes, we are snowless in November.  That is very out-of-the-ordinary!


I really wanted to go peek in.  The door is open after all, isn't it!?  It is so stately for an abandoned building.  I suppose houses are built a little better than barns and sheds though.  Take this one, for instance.


The drive across the prairie is always fun when you see these squishy looking structures.

The class was a good size.  I think there were eleven women, including the Mayor!  : )  I didn't know that until we all had supper together.  So now I can say I dined with the Mayor too.  I was surprised when I asked the class, 'tell me about your experience with free motion sewing.'  Only one had tried it before.  None of the other quilters had!  So I started at the very beginning with them, and away they went.


We do about an hour of intro & warm up exercises, and then we get straight on to the project.  In my classes, I supply everything so that all you need is a machine and thread.


It's a fairly long class at 4 hours.  Not everyone gets finished, so it's totally appropriate for a full day workshop.  Still, most were pretty close to having it all done.  They did so good at making their machines work for them.  This lady finished, and even added some embellishing yarns for the branches.  : )


How very sweet!  I teach them to work in the way that I do - with the photo nearby.  I think it's important to get past colouring in photos on cloth and trust yourself to look and understand what you are seeing.  Very nice work everyone!  Thank you all so much for the great meal, company, and laughs we shared.  : )

Maybe I'll come back in the spring with my Postcards workshop!  That would be fun indeed.


ps - I can take one more participant for my Saskatoon class on November 17th.  It's not quite full, but almost.  : )  Send me an email if you are interested:  Monika@MySweetPrairie.ca

4 comments:

elle said...

What a marvelous old building!!!

HollyM said...

I love those old buildings!
What a sweet job she did. The marbled batiks make a beautiful background too. Do you also supply the hoops?

Lin said...

What a beautiful building and how sad that nobody lives there anymore!There is a small hut in a field near here which has been abandoned for at least the last 20 years which is how long we have been here. I just wish that I had thought to photograph it each year as it gradually sagged more and more and now the walls are falling down. Sad but interesting. Glad you had a good trip and enjoyed your workshop ladies. xx

Dolores said...

It looks like you're a great teacher. I love old buildings and always wonder what stories they hold - when were they built? who built them? why were they built in that place? who lived there? why were they abandoned?

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