Smugglers Cove

Do you see the mouth of the cave?

The lines streaking across the bay....I'm wondering how I would stitch them.

The rum runners in days of yore found it very handy.

I often wonder if that house perched on top has a secret passage into the cave.

Rocks draw me in.

They are stability....

a firm foundation...

safety....

The backbone of Mother Earth.

Anyone for Stitching!

These critters once adorned the blouse

of a Guatamala Signorina.

The blouse was made from a square of handwoven cloth

completely covered in embroidery....

and you can see it is a thin, thin, embroidery thread.

Wish I could delve into creating my own version

but right now I have to meet a deadline for the holey water piece.

This embroidery belongs to Diane

who has sailed the seven seas

and collected treasures like this.

The little brown chap looks like my beaver.

Don't think they have beaver down there though.

A yellow cat for Jude!

Sorry I didn't capture more of him.

Another Gathering of Holes

Watery holes with a different approach.

I commandeered some blanket stitch and ordered it to whirl around a circle.

Only when the stitching was done did I take scissors in hand 

and boldly cut the holes. 

The story of this cloth is slowly forming in my mind.

It is a watery piece with a sandbank strip of rusted cloth

appearing and disappearing beneath holes

and gaps in the watery fabric. 

Moose Were Important to the Mi'kmaq

This Moose hide hangs in the Captain's quarters at Habitation.

The Mi'kmaq depended on moose.

There are none around here now.

When deer were introduced from New England, the moose moved to Cape Breton.

Apparently deer and moose can not live side by side.

Handsome fellow!

Don't you love this interpretation of what could be

 herons, Canada geese or perhaps cormorants.

They had a use for every single part of the moose.

These would be of special interest to us stitchers.

The awl carved from bone or cartilage
and claws from a bear or a wild cat

were used to punch holes in hides and tree bark.

Their thread would be sinews from the moose

or sweet grass picked from the bits of land we have sprinkled amid our lakes!

A Piece From My Own Past

 One of my first wall hangings made many moons ago.

It has a story...don't they all!

New to quilting, I decided to accept the challenge of trying to get it accepted into our

 national quilt show.

As I stitched away on this tree of life, a very down to earth and grounded thing....

I learnt that the theme for Quilt Canada was going to be

"Heavenly Bodies".  

My solution was to stitch beads and stars all over the border..

and call the piece

"Crewel World in a Beaded Galaxy".

It worked and the piece was accepted.

Not only that, but it won the award for Workmanship in Appliqué!

It was of course based on an old crewel embroidery tree of life design.

There is more to the story.....

As I frantically worked to meet the show deadline,

the red cotton above bled into the cream background!

I tried everything to no avail....

then fearfully handed it over to Handy Hubby

asking him to try anything but to make my background cream again.

I dread to think what chemicals he tried!

but still nothing worked.

I finally took it back, soaked it in lemon juice,

laid it out on the grass on a sunny day.

By Jove.....it worked!

Looking at this handsome tree with a beautiful view

reminded me that

we interpret what we see but can never do it justice.

Visiting the Past

The first place where Europeans landed and survived our harsh winter.

Habitation, or Port Royal to the English is where

Champlain and his band of merry mariners landed.

They survived because the local Mi'kmaq indians befriended them.

They built this fort in 1605 and it survived until the English burnt it down in 1613.

Luckily Champlain recorded everything and so they were able to rebuild it in 1939.

We bring all our visitors here.

It is what I call a living museum where you are allowed to touch

and experience everything.

Some of the windows have been made with animal skins I presume

just as they would have done in the 1600's.

Makes for a dark and cold room inside.

Some windows are just openings that would get boarded up in

the cold.

I think of windows has having a view.

I suppose this little one is no exception....

but all you see is a door or perhaps a portal.

Working Watery

 Over the weekend some bright watery rings

or perhaps bubbles

gathered along one edge of my water cloth.

 And that is how they developed.

All those holes came about because of this photo.