Shutter Sisters

the nova scotia quilting mafia

By

063008_600.jpg

…and my mother? She’s the godfather. Teacher, retreat organizer, gallery star, historian, ball-busting unionized steveodore complete with warm-from-the-oven rhubarb swirl cake. All that and she’ll whip up a mobile in a weekend, ‘just a little something’ (or at least littler than a handpieced, handquilted 20-year warmth-giving work of art), and there it hangs at our front door, swinging and spinning with every arrival or screendoor breeze.

I know, I’m bragging. But she’s my mom. And she loves polka dots. And stripes. And she points to the little one all by himself at the very bottom, the blue one, and says that one’s for Liam, you see, there are his stars. I got the fabric from an old pair of flannel boxer shorts from Frenchy’s.

Memory box shmemory box. This is love, right now, that of a grandmother.

++++++++

This week, I’d love to see your creative shots of creativity—funky weekend projects, canvases, fabric creations, sketches, cakes—yours, or someone else’s. Tell us about it—where did the idea come from? Did it turn out as you’d hoped? Nothing against utilitarian snapshots, but can you capture it with the verve it deserves?

‘Cause the more we see each other retreating to create art that’s not needed but wanted, the more likely we’re apt to postpone vaccuming that can wait. And that, my friends, is time finely spent.

Comments

  5. I love those birds. Love them!

    This is a photo of an experiment that started out as a whim at my kitchen table–and then grew into something more. I made it entirely from recycled materials. Making this new thing opened a door for me and has changed the way I am approaching my next body of work. That is exciting for me!

    http://tracienolesross.com/sketchbook/?p=136

  10. Back when I used to be able to take self-portraits I found quite a bit of joy in taking a picture of myself in something I made by hand from a perspective that made it seem as though someone else had captured the moment.

    This is my shot with the most views on all of Flickr and my favorite thing I have ever made. Annie Modesitt is a fantastic designer and worthy of enormous praise!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/swandive00/186721161/

  12. Hello Shutter sisters

    Here’s something from our pottery class

    http://flickr.com/photos/8034108@N07/2645674745/

    great fun had making it.

    We also have 2 quilts designed by my mother in law, Ann. Cedar got hers a couple of years ago and Izzy got hers on the day of Ann’s funeral. Ann knew she would be too ill to finish it so she asked her sister in law to finish it off. Apparently she also designed one for Juniper.

    Here is a corner of Cedars heavenly quilt
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2440951549/
    and the back (musical notes because her daddy is a musician)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickythomasphotography/2317802315/

    have a lovely day

    nicky

  15. {{{sigh}}} I am in awe of your mother. The way you write about her makes her sound like the fairy grandmother every little boy or girl deserves. You and your boys are so very lucky…

    Here are a few photos of my "creative" endeavours. Kinda sorry, but it’s all I got. I am pretty proud of the first one! 🙂

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2646812830/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2646814610/in/photostream/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/25773211@N07/2646814048/in/photostream/

  19. First Thanksgiving as a married couple, first time hosting my parents in our home… and the first time I made anything from scratch. Apple pie with our new monogram. You can see the look of shock and disbelief on my mothers face behind me.

    The camera was set up perfectly for dinner table shots… and this one!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephwiese/2646291835/

  22. i started several projects yesterday… making some ribbon leis and summer postcards…but…have no photos to share quite yet…hopefully, i will have some up soon… happy creativity 🙂

  24. Hello, sisters!
    I am in the midst of lots of projects at the same time, preparing myself for a design fair, and a show (I am a singer).
    Here are some of the things I’m making right now:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2638448080/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2638461248/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/2629603050/
    And the tale of my busy week here:
    http://juliealvarez.blogspot.com/2008/07/semana-ocupada-busy-week.html
    See you tomorrow.
    Julie

  25. Love the shot – love the mobile!! I wish your mother would adopt us b/c that mobile would look amazing in my toddlers bedroom. My daughters room is decorated with flowers and birds.

    What a sweet blog today. =)

  27. You mother did a fantastic job on that mobile and you photographed it beautifully.

    I am always sewing up items – mostly clothes that I design for my daughter. Now that she is becoming more independent she is not as apt to wear the dresses. *sigh*

    These are some of my favorite action shots:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/2289715823/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/2566994028/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/1811787801/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/1330833622/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/1125555157/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/832211799/

    Sorry…that was way too many! 🙂

  28. Hi there and congratulations on a gorgeous squarespace – my jaw is dropped and I am in awe of your talented selves. Go sisters! I have loved photography all my life and always wished my thousands of shots would one day amount to something. There is a substantial difference between my shots and the ones shown here but when I read the shooting from the hip tips; (cause I am the angles queen, I’ll shoot from the ankle if I think it will look good) I though maybe it’s not my technique that’s lacking but my equipment,. Currently I used a dented and well worked 6.0 megapixel digital fully automated point and soot happy snaps type number. I was thinking of buying a digital SLR but I wouldn’t know where to start – any tips you might be able to share would be greatly appreciated – thanks so much and happy clicking to all!

  29. Oh wow! I live in Prospect, NS and haunt the Sacville Frenchy’s! AND we have quilting mafia here too!! Ha!!