Jasper, Quilt shops and Summer's end...

This summer has passed as a bit of a blur- especially the month of August- It is often that way- July arrives and I am usually ready for a rest and time to rejuvenate and catch up to myself from the busy school term. Sometimes I have a list of goals that I want to complete and other times summer is a time to reflect and do things as they fit in. This summer was the later... In my last post I wrote about some of our travels to the mountains of Jasper- Bruce and I had a lovely time there- While we were up looking around Pyramid Lake( it is above the Jasper town site) we came across some benches where we stopped to contemplate the beauty of the lake and mountains surrounding it. This rock caught my eye- I pondered how long it had taken to form that round boulder- Mother Nature sure is a master artist...

I have to say, my husband Bruce was a good sport about my passion for quilting and checking out the quilt stores. We stopped at three on our five hour journey to the mountains. The first one was in a little place called Edson. Edson is located in the foothills of Alberta- some beautiful knob and kettle farmland but the mountains are still nearly an hour away. This little shop called Quilters Quarters was in smaller house.
All the nooks and cranes were filled with luscious fabrics.

In my hands are some glorious reds and a sunflower fabric that I decided to add to my stash. I bought a second piece of sunflower fabric that was a batik on black for the sunflower collection.
Our next stop was in a place called Hinton.. When you get to Hinton, you are suddenly closer to the mountains although Jasper is at least hour away. Hinton is not far outside of the park gates. Jasper is part of an unbelievably beautiful national park.

The Sew What Shop was a little hidden but well worth the visit. The ladies were helpful and I found three pieces of fabric to add to my collection there. On one table they had some books for sale that had been in a quilter's collection. The woman had passed away recently and any money given was directly donated to the Cancer Society on her behalf. I happened to find a book called " Ghost Layers and Color Washes" by Katie P.Masopust which I gladly bought.( It is out of print I believe).It is nice to know that I will have contributed to a worthy cause as well gain a lovely book.

On the left hand side of the cutting table you can see a very fun fabric that is of volkswagon beetles ( you know Herbie cars don't you?) I bought a half meter that I will use in a child's quilt in the future. The two pieces that are in front of me were from their sale section- I do love buying from the clearance fabric rack.

I also bought a Mrs. Bobbin's calendar for next year. Check out this link if you want to see some of the..Mrs Bobbins cartoons. She makes me laugh- perhaps she will do the same for you!
We came a few miles into Jasper town site the next day, after a great night's sleep in our cabin. The last quilt shop is called Stychen Tyme. It is a bead,yarn and quilt store all in one. Now if there ever was a shop made for me- this is it. I have knit and still do use beads to make jewelery. The fabrics are beautiful there and you can see some of the gorgeous wild life material and kits available there. I mostly bought beads to add to my collection.

The shop is located on a main street called Patricia street.


I have been in about 15 different quilt shops over the summer- Earlier on, Lou and I went on a couple of road trips around the Edmonton area. Over and over again, the places I enjoyed most were determined by the friendliness of the staff and the atmosphere of the stores. Some had more fabric choices and some had less, but all had their own unique qualities. Of course - there is always on line fabric shopping, when one can not find the one piece one is looking for locally. I did find on line the last piece of the Hungry Caterpillar fabric after no success when visiting the local ( and not so local places). There are lots of choices out there - some more reasonably priced than others. It is getting more costly to quilt- I am glad that I have collected fabric for awhile to form a good sized stash.

Bruce and I enjoyed the mountains of Jasper a lot. He was able to go meteor watching 2 of 3 evenings during the Perseid meteor shower and still have enough energy to drive around to the glorious lakes and waterfalls of the area. This photo was taken at Athabasca Falls which are quite breathtakingly beautiful.

A view of the Athabasca falls...
The summer has given me the opportunity to spend time with my loved ones- both family and friends. It was great to reconnect with all, especially with those whom I had not heard from in awhile. I quite like this photo of my parents and myself taken in July.


Bruce and I went to visit my parents just before I returned to the classroom last week and we brought this quilt. It looks even better in their living room. I am very happy with the way the border set off the blocks, and how well the quilt matched their living room decor.

I also finished and made a label for this convergence quilt. It is now in the hands of my teaching partner, Doreen whose friendship I celebrate. We have enjoyed being partners for the past 7 years. I appreciate all the extra things that she does to help our students be successful. This last year our school was renovated, so we had the opportunity to work even more closely together. This was my way of thanking her for her continuing support and gift of friendship.

The fall brings my favorite flowers- This is one of the bouquets of sunflowers that Bruce has brought home from the grocery store. Sunflowers make me feel happy- I have long been a fan of Vincent Van Gogh's sunflowers - one day I am going to make another Snippets wall hanging of sunflowers!


If you are still with me- there is a wonderful giveaway worth checking out. You can find it here . Quilted fish is her blog name- she is giving away some lovely fabrics and doing it soon.

I hope that fall( spring for our southern friends)brings you many warm days and pleasant times with loved ones. I lost a high school friend to cancer last week, and I was reminded about the swiftness and fragility of human life.

As a new school year begins, I am remembering to stop and enjoy each day's special moments and the important people in my life.
I hope you take the time to enjoy your special moments and people too.
Warmest regards,
Anna