Happy New Year to all. The best sewing month of the year is almost half over and so far I have made a baby quilt and an apron. The bulk of my time has been spent sorting my stash cannot believe I bought so much fabric over the years and now it is time to downsize. The sad part is realizing that I will never make all the quilts I have in my head and in too any cases also bought the yardage for.. The good part is I am making some into aprons. Realized that my collection only has 2 purple aprons so did this variation of a Courthouse Steps block in Purples, as a happy coincidence my beautiful orchid was close by and the colours match. My apron count reached 888 this week so now I need to consolidate the apron collections. Looking forward to the article in Jan14 Montreal Gazette. it was fun writing the agenda about Aprons but publicity takes a lot of time .
Finalizing my lecture for May 30 before the aprons get packed away, one of the reasons why I published a book about aprons is that Quilt Canada 2012 will be held in Halifax NS ,late may. My lecture/trunk show/fashion Show will be held as one of the dinner events at the Cunard center titled"The Stylish Kitchen Apron Through the Year" on Wednesday, May,30.
My first appraisal of the year was on the Beaconsfield Quilters Raffle Quilt an originally designed New York Beauties design, the lucky winner will take possession on May 6 at the show in Ste Anne de Bellevue.
Professional Groups
National Associations
Local Guilds
January 13, 2012
December 16, 2011
Spent a great day on Monday helping with the exhibit of the Quilt of belonging which is in Montreal until Dec 22. It is being exhibited as Part of the Salon des Metiers at the Place Bonaventure and is Quebec's version of Toronto's One of a Kind show. It is hard to believe that it has been six years since I appraised it before the official exposure at The Museum of Civilization in Gatineau. The colourful quilt 120 feet long x10 feet high has 263 blocks representing every country in the world with sides and first row of blocks representing the aboriginal Peoples of
Canada . For more information about the quilt, part of which is shown beside me,go to their website www.quiltofbelonging .ca
December 06, 2011
Press Release December 6, 2011
The wearing of aprons is becoming more popular as a statement of style as well as being worn for functional purposes. Just in time for Christmas gift giving, this purse-sized Weekly Minder by Diane Shink titled Aprons: My Grandmother Used to Wear One, showcases 63 aprons in her large collection – 747 and counting! Diane’s extensive knowledge and experience of fabrics and quilts are brought to bear in the descriptions of the aprons. She gives wonderful details about the fabrics and the decorative styles and techniques used on each apron and the occasion when each would have been worn. For one heart-shaped apron in February Diane tells us “This was possibly worn by a hostess when entertaining after having company in for a game of cards as the embroidery echoes not only the heart shape, but also… clubs, spades and diamonds”. It also includes antecdotal information about her textile experiences. The pages are arranged by monthly themes laid out in perpetual style so it can also be used as a date book, one page per week.
A portion of the sales from this book will be donated to libraries in the communities where the author lives – the Children’s Library in Montreal West and the River John Library in Nova Scotia. Aprons: My Grandmother Used to Wear One can be purchased directly from the author or at Bonder Bookstore, 52 Westminster Avenue North in Montreal West or at Appetite for Books,388 Victoria Ave ,Westmount,
A book signing is scheduled for December 10 at Quilt Classique, 77A Donegani in Pointe Claire. Tel.: 514-630-8885. A special launch price of $22 plus $4 postage and handling per book is available for shipment within Canada. This self-published book in full colour is printed in Canada.
Also by Diane (as co-author): Canadian Heritage Quilting published by Lorimer, 2008.
For information contact Diane at dimacquilt@sympatico.ca 514-605-7845.
This picture was taken at the book Launching in Montreal West
November 16, 2011
Stlll appraising and making quilts but spent part of the past summer and fall writing about my apron collection .Tomorrow the book arrives from the printer. This daily minder has an apron for every week of the year with space for your agenda in perpetual calendar style. It will make great holiday gifts . I will be at Montreal West town hall Music Room from 11 -2:30 on Friday November 18th and from 10:00 to 2:30 on Saturday. There will also be a display of some of the aprons in the book .The launching special price will be $22 and can be . A portion of the sales will be donated to the Montreal West Children's library
November 04, 2011
Going into quilt overload here in Houston at the International Quilt Festival such awesome work and so many places and ways to spend money. The convention center is the size of 11 football fields,picture taken at Quilt market,now the red carpet is crowded with ladies. .Dinner with 5 other appraisers last night. Got into the countryside on a shop hop so saw results of the drought,also oil wells and lots of quilts & Texas Quilt Museum. Go to my co0author Karens blog to see a photo of me with her quilt in the O Canada exhibit here. sewkaren@ns.sympatico.ca
October 06, 2011
Spent a great late September weekend at Upper Canada Village a living history Museum near Morrisburgh ON, built after the Saint Lawrence seaway was created. I was asked to return and give a lecture on Quilt care and appraising in celebration of their 50th anniversary. Stayed on site in a log cabin and interviewed all staff who were wearing aprons...Saw some wonderful quilts and gathered information about my latest research project quilt ,pictured here with Mike Phifer one of the interpreters on site. Family says the quilt was made form soldiers uniforms,the puzzle is which war ,not 1812 because there is machine sewing maybe the Civil War? It is the size of a cot to coffin quilt maybe lining from WW1 uniforms .. the mystery continues. There was a quilt show with quilters from guilds in the area and a competition and the weather was grand
October and I am getting settled back into city life, found this lovely Joe Fafard sculpture of my favourite artist Emily Carr with woo her monkey and friends what an addition to Sherbrooke street.
September 01, 2011
Part of the summer season has been spent writing about my other obsession aprons. My collection as of yesterday is 821 and about 70 of them will be featured in a Daily/ Minder Diary to be self- published this fall. One of the incentives for getting some apron information in print is the fact that i will be giving a lecture about my aprons at the Kitchen party on Wednesday May 30 at the Cunard center in Halifax NS as part of the Canadian Quilters Association Quilt Canada. Pictured is one of my Nova Scotia themed aprons on a lobster trap at my neighbours cottage.
