Let me start out by sharing my latest project. Last Friday we took a drive to Amherst. I was looking for a couple of sewing notions and the only place we could find for notions was Mrs. Pugsley’s Emporium. What a delightful discovery. After signing in with face masks in place and dutifully disinfecting our hands Colin and I spent a good hour browsing this wonderful quilt store located in a historic red sandstone building on Victoria Street. My search for D-rings was unsuccessful, instead I left with other treasures, including a meter of the ombre fabric called “Journeys” by Northcott.
Most of you know that I rarely get pulled in by commercial fabrics. I usually reach for my hand-dyed pieces. Well, despite having a hand-dyed piece pinned to my recently resurrected design wall I changed my mind when I got home. The hand-dyed piece was folded and relegated to a space on the far left where it will wait for me. Instead the Northcott fabric took front and centre. I enjoyed just looking at it. I like it down-side up. I reminds me of a moody day on the beach overlooking the Bay of Fundy. After a day of enjoying the fabric “as is” I started thinking that I needed to add some colour. Inspired by the colours of the cliffs along the beaches I frequent I knew just what to unearth form my stash: my Dupione silks!
I had the best intentions to make photos of my process but enthusiasm got the better of me and before I realized it I was off and running. I cut strips of silk of various colours, some overlaid with polyester sheers and/or silk organza to change the intensity. These strips were sewn to a cotton foundation using the stitch-and-flip method. Part of Sunday and pretty much all of Monday were spent to create the strata fabric. With each strip I became more excited…
I did not get back to this project until late yesterday. At that time I cut the silk strata fabric and the commercial fabric into random sized strips and stitched them back together. This afternoon I selected wool batting and a lightweight cotton backing. I reached for a piece of hand-dyed silk gauze, tore it into strips to use as strategically placed overlay pieces held in place with running stitches. I am off and running. Can’t wait to see how my hand-embroidery will add texture and stability… stay tuned as I will post updates in the next little while.
This has been an exceptionally busy week so far and I am deeply grateful for the many wonderful opportunities. One such opportunity is the online teaching I am able to engage in. Tuesday saw the third week of the Virtual Creative Cluster with all 11 participants from coast to coast visible on my screen. Before we jumped into the topic of the week we talked a little about how one year of Covid restrictions has affected our lives. There were more positive outcomes than negative which I found highly encouraging. It is also a testament to our creative spirit.
My other big online opportunity took place last night. A little over a year ago I was contacted by the Kitchener-Waterloo and District Quilters Guild to present a talk and a workshop in March 2021. Well, we all know what happened in March of 2020… but this guild, like so many across the country, adapted quickly. My talk was scheduled for March 17th followed by a workshop. With online teaching in effect the “Layers of Intrigue” workshop will now be presented on May 1st and 8th but the “Fanning the Fires of Creativity” presentation went ahead as scheduled.
I’ll be perfectly honest: I was quite nervous. While I have been presenting Contemplative Photography workshops and image reviews since last March I had not been a featured speaker for some time, and never on ZOOM. It took about 5 minutes to find my comfort zone and confidence returned. I was scheduled to speak for one hour. Out of curiosity I started a stop watch at the beginning. I was a little worried about going over my time limit but when I checked after finishing the presentation I was at the 59 minutes and a few seconds mark. Great news! I might still have “it”. I had fun! It was great to see a few familiar faces. If you know of any guild or special interest group: Please spread the word that I am available.
I finished the presentation with images of samples for the workshop. I know of at least one person who signed up immediately after my presentation. Let’s hope we have a full house. I am reworking my images and the workshop handout these days, something I had intended to do for a while but with the move and all the changes recently this is as good a time as any to tackle revisions and updates. It also means that everything will be fresh in my mind.
And, just in case if you have been wondering how social we are around here: A friend just sent me this image of myself from yesterday’s walk along Phinney Green Beach about 30 minutes drive down shore from Parrsboro. Irene T. titled it “perfect social distancing in Nova Scotia”. That’s me, leaning into the strong wind and hurrying along to catch up to the walking group I belong to. I really love this image as it features the vast beach, the incoming tide with a brilliant blue sky. I won’t complain about the chilly wind from the west…
Here are the rest of my images from yesterday. The cliffs on this side of Phinney Green were less impressive but the drift wood was amazing. So, I used my time wisely and engaged in an in-depth study of lines, smooth surfaces and other natural phenomena. The colour of the pebbles was striking and besides a few well seasoned pieces of sea glass I found a few hearts. Love my Wednesday beach walks!
This post ended up much longer than planned but there is just so much to share and chat about. Thanks for checking in! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
Anna Hergert, Art & Design 
Wow you are busy Anna! Good to hear of all the opportunities for you to be creative and to continue to share your inspiration with others.
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Thanks! I just have to remember to pace myself now.
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Looking good!
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