Fun Tips and Giggles #6

Did you know that each year Pantone picks a colour of the year.. millions wait breathlessly to see what it will be then go like crazy to work with that.   For quilters, we like to be in the know with our colour choices and patterns.
  For 2013 Pantone chose Emerald.

Do you plan to use Emerald in your quilts this year?

While conducting the Stitch Across Canada challenge, one guild wrote me and gave their inches and stated their guild name was 'Chocolate River Quilters' from Riverview, NB.  Well, when you have a name like that, I had my sewing machine packed and ready to head out there.

Here is what guild member Betty Rice told me:

The proper name of the river is the Petiticodiac, which flows from the Bay of Fundy. You might have heard about our Tidal Bore which essentially fills the river, and then empties twice a day. With the tidal action there is a lot of buildup of silt, which makes it look muddy........kind of like chocolate, certainly not edible stuff.
This river separates the city of Moncton and the town of Riverview. 

In regards to the guild, a group of quilters were looking to start a new guild that would meet during the day. They found an available place in Riverview and someone suggested the name Chocolate River and it stuck.

Here is their banner.

This is their Pam Bono quilt challenge.

This is one way to make quilting an outdoor activity!

Artist Simon Beck must really love the cold weather! Along the frozen lakes of Savoie , France , he spends days plodding through the snow in raquettes (snowshoes), creating these sensational patterns of snow art. Working for 5-9 hours a day, each final piece is typically the size of three soccer fields! The geometric forms range in mathematical patterns and shapes that create stunning, sometimes 3D, designs when viewed from higher levels.

How long these magnificent geometric forms survive is completely dependent on the weather. Beck designs and redesigns the patterns as new snow falls, sometimes unable to finish a piece due to significant overnight accumulations. Interestingly enough, he said, 'The main reason for making them was because I can no longer run properly due to problems with my feet, so plodding about on level snow is the least painful way of getting exercise. Gradually, the reason has become photographing them, and I am considering buying a better camera.” Spectacular art for the sake of exercise!

If you are finding your sketch pad is just a bit too small, why not use Mother Nature's pad to create your next quilt?