Wednesday 28 August 2019

Piranhas....continued!!

Barb showing some of her work
Today is part 2 of my post from yesterday. You can start at the beginning here. Today I want to introduce you to another fabric piranha...Barb.
 Barb is Louise's sister and that is how I met her. We have been friends for 25+ years. She would come north to visit on holidays and I would stop in to visit at Louise's and we soon became friends. When we first started travelling to southern Ontario for shopping or quilt shows we stayed at Barb's apartment and she was our tour guide and driver! I think Barb got Louise into quilting...not sure of that though. Barb's loves  bright colours although she works with lots of colours...she really loves lime green...the brighter the better!! It was Barb that named our group the Piranhas at our very first get together...over 15 years ago!  Can we possibly be that old!?!?! She is the keeper of the sign that appears each year. Barb works a lot with her guild in many areas. From president, quilt show committee and comfort quilts.

Kathy and slow stitching Sunday
It was the three of us for a few years...then a couple years ago we invited another friend to join us.
Enter Kathy!! She is a friend and fellow guild member with Barb. I met Kathy while attending a quilt show that their guild put on. Kathy is a blogger and posts daily. I am very jealous of that, I can  barely find time to quilt daily never mind blog too. It was with Kathy's encouragement that I started blogging after following her page for a few years. I am known as Kathy's northern blog stalker, a title I take seriously!!
I am a great stalker...same shoes and nail colour!
Kathy makes all kinds of quilts and works with all colours of fabric. She is never at a loss for a project to work on or a UFO to pull out of the closet. She does like working in miniature, small blocks and small pieces. I think a little of that has rubbed off on me too although I do draw the line at anything smaller than 1 inch square. She has challenged me from time to time to join her in some challenge or mystery quilt...it is futile to refuse!! She also started a slow stitching Sunday on her blog. We join Kathy and slow down for one day, grab a needle and thread and stitch what makes us happy.Kathy is our city girl who came to the wilds of northern Ontario...I think she fit in just fine and it is always a lot of fun having her come to visit!!

 Even the plants in the garden started sprouting quilt blocks...if only it was that easy!!So now you have met this crazy bunch I call my friends, quilting buddies and sisters from another mother! I am soooo looking forward to their arrival and making more memories together and sharing them with all of you!!


Tuesday 27 August 2019

The Piranhas are coming!!!

No I am not crazy!Well some would disagree but the piranhas are coming this weekend. Who not what are the piranhas? The three of them and myself are the fabric piranhas. We have been getting together for a weekend of quilting, sewing, chatting and beverage consuming for the past few years. It is the perfect end to a busy summer for me.
The summer started off slow with cooler temperatures and a lack luster start to the garden planting. By July things started to be more normal and we helped move our daughter and her boyfriend into their new home. We were also cleaning the yard and making plans to host DH's family reunion. Almost 80 people were here for a weekend in August. Of course all too soon the weekend was over and everyone was gone home. That lead into the fair weekend. I did very well in the quilting and crafts department but not so good in the pickling. Oh well next year!!
The Fabric Piranhas@2015

That brings us to this week. I am cleaning and baking to get ready for the girls arrival on Thursday and Friday!  Days of dedicated quilting time with them. I thought it would be fun over the next couple days to do a profile of each of my friends. I hope they won't mind.

|Louise, quilt of belonging, Kitchener,ON
Louise is the piranha I have known the longest. We met  circa 1992 approximately. Her and her family were doing archery tournaments and my husband had started to go to them too. Like any other tournament-like events...you see the same people  at each event. So we got to know each other and started talking. Louise also lived next door to my brother at the time so having mutual people in common helped I eventually moved to a town close to where she lived and we started spending time together. We both had kids at the time and they have grown up together almost like cousins. We both did lots of sewing which naturally worked into quilting. I had already been quilting and over the years have been concentrating more on quilting. Louise moved to Southern Ontario and now we would get together for quilt shows and shopping trips in her area including the Waterloo Quilt Festival. When we all turned 40 we rented a cottage to celebrate and that was when the
piranhas were born.We all have busy lives and we try to see each other a few times a year especially for piranha weekend which we start planning in the spring. Louise is also a grandma and about to be a 2nd time one so that makes life busier too. I don't want her to feel old but she is my oldest friend I have known the longest. She always has a great outlook on life and brings a positive vibe to my life!
piranhas @2018
Love all those smiles and can't wait to share more fun times with them and you, all my blog readers!! Stay tuned!


You just never know!

 The other day a friend texted me and asked if I recognized the photo she sent me. It was a photo of a quilt, one that I had made last year ...