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Nina, the Dangerous Mezzo

textile art and quilting

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Nina, the Dangerous Mezzo

Month: February 2021

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January Project Quilt – basting

In an effort to clear up some unfinished quilts, (and to procrastinate about bigger projects I need to finish) I’m going to finish off my January Project Quilt. I had all the blocks finished, so I sewed them together into the quilt top which measures about 72″ x 72″. And, for the first time, I basted a quilt using my […]

Posted on February 26, 2021February 26, 2021
  • Books and Patterns
  • Piecing
  • Pillow
  • Quilting

Cat Block Pillow

I wanted to make something fairly quick and fun today – so I picked Elizabeth Hartman’s free Cat Block Pillow for Janome, which has lots of room for scrappy piecing. For the pillow, you make 10 cat faces and then trim each to 4.5″ wide by 5.5″ high. Then you piece the pillow top together, trim it up and you’ve […]

Posted on February 21, 2021February 22, 2021

About Me

I’m an artist who has started quilting as a response to being covid-furloughed from my work as an opera administrator, educator, singer and designer. All posts are cat-approved. Black lives matter.

Meet Ralph

Ralph
Ralph Roister Doister is a giant 12 year old cat we adopted as a kitten from SHAID Tree Shelter in Nova Scotia. He is my constant sewing supervisor. While my husband and I have four other cats, Ralph has always been the most interested in snuggling into my fabric, and my current interest in quilting has delighted him.

Favourite links

My previous maker’s blog

Mahone Bay Quilter’s Guild

Maritime Modern Quilt Guild

Studio Art Quilt Associates

Heidi Wulfraat’s The Woolworks, Mahone Bay, NS

Lynn’s Quilting Studio, outside Bridgewater, NS

ninascottstoddart
Day 6 of #igquiltfest2021 prompt = Solid Fabrics I Day 6 of #igquiltfest2021 prompt = Solid Fabrics I love Kona Cotton solids and their extraordinary range of colours and this is a tribute to them! I know I'm about 6 years too late but as soon as I saw photos of #hillsidehousesquilt by @prettylittlequilts (was a QAL in 2015 and is now available again on Etsy) - it reminds me of the little fishing village of Staithes in North Yorkshire - one of my favourite places in the world. This version will be a nighttime scene in jewel tones and is a secret quilt for my David 😻 #amyscreativeside #novascotiaquilters @konacotton #staithes #northyorkshire
Day 5 of #igquiltfest2021 = Contemplation So I dro Day 5 of #igquiltfest2021 = Contemplation So I dropped off a quilt to a local longarmer, Lynn, and was wandering around her shop just vibing with all the lovely cottons. I grabbed the @vamuseum Charles Voysey charm pack by @modafabrics because pretty. Then I grabbed some Grunge colours I didn't have and Lynn pointed out that she had some yardage of the Voysey prints and when I got it all to the table to check out it all just -- sang. And she and I contemplated with pleasure and wonder the sweetness of colours in harmony. Colours are very much like music. I don't have truly extraordinary ears or amazing eyes, but when elements (visual or auditory) are in tune with each other there's a profound sense of the world clicking into place for a moment. Everything is perfect. And, like a cadence, there's a release of pleasurable tension and I contemplate the moment. #colors #synesthesia #amyscreativeside #novascotiaquilters #voysey
Day 4 of #igquiltfest2021 = Crafty Hands! I love Day 4 of #igquiltfest2021 = Crafty Hands! I love my hands. They are lousy at some things (like playing piano) and their stubby, peasant solidity pays mute testimony to the fact that I don't have an aristocratic gene in my family tree but they're brilliant at learning how to manipulate materials. In spite of a foreboding twinge of arthritis in my left thumb, my favourite part of quilting is hand sewing the binding because it means it's almost over and I can take a nap. #amyscreativeside #novascotiaquilters
Day 3 of #igquiltfest2021 prompt = Collaboration! Day 3 of #igquiltfest2021 prompt = Collaboration! I'm so new to quilting that I haven't really had the chance to collaborate much so far. This is my exception - a piece I'm working on with my dear friend Daphna @daphnalevit I can't show more than this sneak peek (it's for a mutual friend and it's going to the longarmer tomorrow) but it's really elegant :) #amyscreativeside #novascotiaquilters #japanesefabric
Day 2 of #igquiltfest2021 = Snacks! I tend not to Day 2 of #igquiltfest2021 = Snacks! I tend not to eat or drink anything while I’m quilting because I’m really messy and super clumsy. Like, for real, I just fell off my chair. A glass of water is about as far as I’ll go, unless I’m handsewing binding on while watching something downstairs. That usually happens in the evenings and I may eat my dessert then :) But I remain vigilant. #amyscreativeside #novascotiaquilters
Hi! I'm joining the #igquiltfest2021 I'm a visual Hi! I'm joining the #igquiltfest2021 I'm a visual artist and a musician. I've sewn since I was a kid (clothes and costumes) but I've only been quilting for just under a year. I used to be an opera singer and director and I was furloughed because of Covid. After some intense mask-making, I decided to start quilting and it has truly saved my creative life as well as my mental health. During this time I've made quite a few quilts as gifts for all those I cannot hug in person. I live in a small town in Nova Scotia, Canada and belong to the @mahonebayquilters, my nearby guild. My husband and I are owned by five cats.
StashBee block for March in hive 6 - scrappy reds! StashBee block for March in hive 6 - scrappy reds! @cocoaquilts @stashbee.blog #stashbeehive6
My new clock matches my pegboard! #quiltingstudio My new clock matches my pegboard! #quiltingstudio #pegboardnerds
Hive crashing @stashbee.blog Hive 2 with this chee Hive crashing @stashbee.blog Hive 2 with this cheery block for Gayle! #stashbeehive2 #stashbee2021 #hivecrashing
Okay, I'm ignoring three other projects to finish Okay, I'm ignoring three other projects to finish January Project (pattern by @heatherkojan)! #scrappyquilts #heatherkojanquilts #blueandwhitequilt
David and I cried when we opened our mail to find David and I cried when we opened our mail to find this work of art from @helenhawkmoth Helen, thank you from the depths of our hearts for this portrait of our four senior cats, including now-deceased Edmund. You have captured not only their lovely forms but their very personalities. There's Katie, watchful and intelligent. There's Ralph, large, calm and so happy to be with his companions. We will treasure this for the rest of our days. With so much love and gratitude, Nina and David #catportrait
Corner star blocks for @mahonebayquilters guild Be Corner star blocks for @mahonebayquilters guild Be A Star QAL -- pattern by @purplesaurus4 #quiltalong #novascotiaquilters
I'm basically Badly Drawn Dolphin at this point. C I'm basically Badly Drawn Dolphin at this point. Credit to the amazing @gemmacorrell #bodytypes
Finished Scissor Happy embroidery from stacymartin Finished Scissor Happy embroidery from stacymartintattos on Etsy! Love this pattern! #stacymartintattoos #embroidery #tattooartist
About 4.5 years ago my mum asked me to make her a About 4.5 years ago my mum asked me to make her a house dress. I made two - the one with sakura blossoms she liked so much she decided to keep it "for a special occasion". After she died, on Feb 22, 2018, the funeral home asked me and my brother if we wanted her body dressed in anything special for her cremation and I started crying because I realized I had sewn this dress for that purpose. I try to sneak a little of this fabric into most of my quilts and it seems appropriate, on the third anniversary of her death, to say it out loud. I miss you everyday, Mum. Every. Single. Day. And I realize that I will never stop missing you and it overwhelms me sometimes. I am still a little girl crying for her mother. With so much love and support to all of us grieving. #griefjourney #grief #captureyourgrief
Finished Cat Block Pillow! Free pattern by @elizab Finished Cat Block Pillow! Free pattern by @elizabethagh for Janome. #novascotiaquilters #quiltedpillow #catquilt
Working on Elizabeth Hartman's free Cat Pillow! #q Working on Elizabeth Hartman's free Cat Pillow! #quiltedpillow #novascotiaquilters
Embroidery is much more fun than cross stitch - bu Embroidery is much more fun than cross stitch - but what you gain in moment-to-moment creative freedom as an interpreter, you lose in anxiety about technique and precision.
Inspired by @stephaniekincade Im going to try some Inspired by @stephaniekincade Im going to try some embroidery! This piece is by @missmartintattoos Wish me luck! #embrodiery
Be a Star quilt along with @mahonebayquilters - th Be a Star quilt along with @mahonebayquilters - this lovely design is by @purplesaurus4 I really like the fractal nature of the stars - can't wait for the last four sections! #novascotiaquilters #scrappyquilt
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  • January Project Quilt – basting
  • Cat Block Pillow
  • First quilt of 2021!
  • Sienna Burst Quilt
  • Purple Stargazer quilt

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