Textile exhibits in Toronto

It's funny how we learn things from our parents, and what we learn is to be the OPPOSITE of what they are! My mom is overweight, and I vowed very early on not to let myself go. She had loads of knickknacks, and I've tried hard not to let my house become like hers. I didn't quite make that one, but I'm overcoming it in spades. Her personality? Yes—I'm the complete opposite of my mother. 

If you read Elle's comment from yesterday, it sounds like she did the same thing. But as she mentioned, if you don't take the decluttering thing to heart, your children are going to resent you. Well, they will certainly not be happy if they are regulated to clean up your mess, and if the time is short, it will be even worse. 

Yesterday was a big adventure. Technically, I was supposed to do that last week with a friend, but I'm glad we had to change our plans. I went alone, and it all worked out much better. You'll see. 

Instead of driving, I took the train. This is the way to get downtown. It took 40 minutes, it's quiet, and the train is clean. I would never think of driving downtown. And when you get there, no worries about parking a car, which can take forever! 

The train

I had four places on my list, but on Friday, I only had one. So, having to postpone was a good thing. You know what they say: things happen for a reason! I'm not happy my friend was sick, but over the weekend, I discovered three more shows to visit. 

I also walked everywhere, and it was a lot of walking, but only a little more than I would usually walk in a day. On my walk, I spotted this sculpture. The perspective looks strange. 

A sculpture

I walked up to see the name of the sculpture. 

The credits for the sculpture

And then I realized that it was very thin! I'm sure that people walk by and no longer notice this, but I was like a tourist yesterday and stopped and looked at many things. I'm glad I had my orange jacket on, as it was cold. There is very little sun in the downtown area, and those tall buildings are like wind tunnels. 

The sculpture is THIN

I walked through Nathan Phillips Square, where the Toronto sign is. If you don't know, that's City Hall in the background. Soon, the water in front will become a skating rink. Doesn't every city have a sign now? 

The TORONTO sign

My first (technically second—more on that in a minute) stop was the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). It is a grand old building with this bizarre modern structure built on the side. It looks like minerals are exploding out the side of it. 

The ROM

But this is the entrance I went into. I want to see another show coming up, so I bought an annual membership. The memberships were discounted, so I got a great deal on it! 

The main entrance to the ROM

I don't get out much; this was my first experience with the "All-Gender " washroom. 

All Gender Washroom

It was kind of neat, as all washrooms had their own toilet and sink. And look at the sink. The center tap is for water. The two wings on the side? Those are the Dyson hand dryers! How cool is that?!! I want one in my house—no more towels! All are activated by motion sensors. 

The tap in the bathroom

This is the exhibit I went to see: Quilts Made in Canada. I took loads of pictures, but I'm not posting them as many museums are allowing us to take non-flash photos for personal use only. And that means no posting online. The quilts were varied, and some of them were insane in their work. One older quilt was made of 1/2" finished half-square triangles. Now, who had the leisure time to do that? 

Quilts Made in Canada

Thanks to another friend of mine who is a member of the ROM, I went to see another exhibit—an immersive view of the Earth. This was amazing, as you stood or sat in various rooms and saw the inside of a rain forest, life about two feet under the ground, close-ups of insects as they go about their daily lives and the ocean. When I say close-ups of the insects, I mean CLOSE-UP. It was fascinating!

Then, I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to see another exhibit. 

The AGO

These were not quilts, but the artist called them trapunto paintings. They were huge, with lots of painting, embellishments, and thousands of hand stitches through the canvas! How the heck did her hands survive that? This woman had an interesting life as she traveled to more than 60 countries and was very involved in textiles throughout that entire journey! 

There were other shows to see at the Textile Museum, but there was no way I was going. My feet were getting tired at this point. But I stopped at City Hall. There was to be another show of quilts there, and it was supposed to be open at 9 AM. But when I arrived, after waiting to go through the metal detector, nothing was set up. So I decided to come back on my way to the train. 

They were JUST finishing up. I guess there was a mistake in the advertising as the show technically started with their reception at 5 PM that day. So I got VERY LUCKY that I was able to see the quilts. 

These were quilts made in Canada and sent to England during the war as part of the Red Cross's effort to provide "blankets" to soldiers and people who had lost everything in the blitzes. 

Amazingly, some of the quilts survived, and thanks to a group, some were repatriated back to Canada. As best as the group could identify the makers, the quilts were sent to the Canadian provinces where the makers resided. 

The quilts are held with the Toronto Metropolitain University (formerly Ryerson). I had a chat with the curator and will provide more information later. I have to get to the gym this morning. But it was a great show, and I'm happy I could see it. The quilts are on display for TWO days only. So you see -- I got fortunate in being able to see them. 

As I left City Hall, they were putting up their Christmas tree!!!!

Toronto's Christmas Tree

And yes, there are some sunny spots in the city, but it's very shady and cold compared to what I see every day in the suburbs. There's the CN Tower. 

The CN Tower

I made it back to catch the 3:40 train home. All was good until I reached my station, and NO RESPONSE from DH, who was supposed to pick me up. So I walked most of the way home before he came to rescue me, and I was kind of mad he did. I was close to the grocery store and had to stop to get groceries. But all is good. It was a 15 KM day, which isn't really out of the ordinary for me. 

Having had a late night the previous night, I went to bed early and slept like a log for TEN hours. But now I'm on my way to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

An EPIC adventure

I was checking out some adventure quotes last night and came across these two, which I think are great ones, to sum up, my philosophy about life. 

Both spoke to me as I searched the internet while watering my trees in the front yard. 

I've not traveled a lot in my life, but I've traveled across Canada several times in several different modes of transport - train, plane, car, and from coast to coast by bicycle. 

Years ago, I practically begged the organizers of Katimavik to accept me into the program's first year. Something I would not have done or even known about, except then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau visited our high school and announced it. That seemed to open the door to a ticket out of what could be a life as a secretary. 

While I was homesick a good number of times during that 10-month program, it opened my eyes to new possibilities, and it was a result of that program that I moved to Montreal many, many years ago. An anglo speaking very young person who knew no one in Quebec but the boy I had met in the youth program. No wonder my Mom doesn't speak fondly of me!

For years, I worked and, while never experiencing many adventures, was always willing to try new things. There was no time for big adventures. OK --- so for a fair amount of time, I was shy and well -- let's not go there. 

Then over 10 years ago, I relearned to ride a bike (does one ever forget?) and, within one year, was off from Vancouver to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. Staying in a fancy hotel with access to everything you have at home doesn't change you. But riding a bike into the wilderness for three weeks does! 

The further north we went, the more remote it became until we rode the last week on the Dempster Highway -- 800 KM of gravel and only ONE spot halfway with electricity. No internet, no electricity, and no rest stop except at Eagle Plains. 

That trip changed me. After that trip, I decided I wanted to do more with my life than watch TV, so I gave it up cold turkey. I was a reality show junky! OK -- I will admit that I"m watching Amazing Race Canada right now (OMG -- so exciting!), but that's the extent. I'm MINDFULLY watching TV and carefully selecting what I watch. The scenery and visiting all those cities vicariously is fascinating. 

I've been on various bike trips again, with the cross-Canada trip being the most epic. That was 10 weeks of mostly camping and learning that riding in the rain can be fun. I haven't done too much epic adventuring since, but I've been on numerous cycle trips. 

I'm feeling the itch again, and it's booked. 

I'm going to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela from St. Jean Pied de Port (France) to Santiago (Spain). That's a distance of 800 km (more or less), and I have 30 days to do it. 

You must have your credentials stamped daily along the way to get your certificate at the end. I decided to buy mine before I left, and it arrived the other day. 

Camino de Santigo credencials

And I also purchased a badge that I can attach to my backpack. 

My Camino badge

I've purchased some of my gear, but I have one more trip to make after I dig around the house for things I can use here. You know me, there is NO doing this the easy way and having my bags transported each day. Nope -- everything I take will be carried on my back. So for 30 days, I'll live with about 12 pounds of stuff. Talk about being a minimalist.

Imagine how clean that office will become when I get back! I leave in less than two weeks, and I have a lot of stuff to do between now and then. Although I'm puttering here and there every day, removing a couple of things, work is being done - just nothing major. 

Most people have a reason to walk the Camino -- religious, spiritual, healing, or whatever. I haven't decided yet - other than it's there and I want to walk it. I've been training for this walk for the last three years and have been averaging 12 KM a day. It will be a challenging walk, but it's well within my ability. 

Anyway -- I will be blogging! I've been researching how things will work, and I think I'm good - I just need that extra set of clothes! 

I'll share my preparations over the next two weeks, so stay tuned. In the meantime, there are quilts to make, writing to do, and much more. I'll bring you up-to-date tomorrow. 

But this picture is what life is all about. Open the horizons, do new things (I stopped and turned the car around to grab this photo yesterday), don't get stuck in a rut, and well -- enjoy life because it's the only one you have, and it's too damn short to not do what you want to do. 

Sunrise on the way to the gym

That's it for today -- I slept in because I think I was too excited to get to sleep at my usual time! Why was I excited? I posted my trip intentions on Facebook and IG and enjoyed reading the comments! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Graffiti

So I took a drive downtown Toronto the other day. I choose to go on Sunday when the traffic wouldn't be so bad, and I'd be able to find decent (and cheap) parking. The parking was cheap -- $10 for the entire day, and I could even locate my car at the end of the day. I don't know downtown that well, so I take special care to note where I parked. I have visions of wandering the city to find my car, and since I parked in an underground parking lot, it would have been impossible to locate it!

My first stop was at the Patagonia store, where I mentioned the other day how good the customer service was and that my jacket was on its way to being repaired. I'm thrilled about that. 

My other stop was to visit the year-end art show at OCAD U. This is their very odd-looking building, and I'm not even sure what's in that top part -- offices? More classrooms? OCAD U stands for Ontario College of Art and Design, and some years ago, it became a University, and I believe the C in OCA still stands for College. 

OCAD U

There were displays on photography, animation, and gosh knows what else, but my main focus was to see the work of the textile students. The program is no longer called textiles, but MAAD, which stands for Materials, Art, and Design? I'm making that up as I can't find the information online. 

But I did find some online courses with the title of Textiles! OH -- you don't know how tempted I am. I took part in the textiles program at Sheridan College (now also a university) over 20 years ago. I loved it, and now with my new knowledge and experiences -- I'd love to do it again as I never quite finished that program -- to be honest, I got freaked out by drawing perspectives in one of my art classes, and I had trouble coping with that. 

The Textile Studio

Note that the sign on the door says Textiles Studio! 

The studios were NOT open, but here's a peek through the window. The university degrees are now FOUR-year programs, and wouldn't that be amazing to have four years to explore and create and come up with crazy ideas! Yep -- I need to retire to make that happen. When I went to Sheridan, it was a two-year college program. 

Inside the textile studio at OCAD U

Ah -- I fondly remember all the screens for screen printing fabric. Some of the screens were huge, and you had to coat them with emulsion, then imprint your design onto the screen (in a dark room), wash the excess emulsion away, then print the fabric and afterward (unless you were keeping the screen to do more work), the emulsion had to be cleaned off. Probably not that environmentally friendly, but loads of fun! And since I'm not an artist (to draw by hand), I came up with all kinds of creative ways to make those designs. Now -- I have a ton more ideas!

Screens for screen printing

I took a photo of the CN Tower and got the flag from the light pole near the school. 

The CN Tower

It was a glorious day and HOT. So what do I spot along King Street? The Lindt truck handing out chocolates! I guess they have a new chocolate ball called Double Chocolate. So yes -- I got a few, and I had to eat them immediately, or I would have had a big mess in my bag! They were delicious! I had to pass the van on my way back to the car, but I did NOT get more even though I was tempted -- they would melt in their truck after all, but I did not! 

The Lindt truck

OH -- here's another shot of the CN Tower. 

Framed by cranes

I did not know this, but when I looked at the map, I spotted an area called Graffiti Alley. It was close by, so I wandered down the alley on the way back to the car. 

The entire alley, for several long blocks, was COVERED in graffiti. Doors, windows, everything for about one story up, although it went even higher in some cases. 

I took a few pictures along the way. 

Graffiti

Even side alleys were covered

Lucy!

Even the barrier for the bike lanes was covered with graffiti. 

Bike lane barriers

It was hot that day, so as you walked, you passed open doors - some leading to the kitchen of a restaurant and the doors provide ventilation. Some were single, and some were double. Some doors opened to the back of a store. 

And it was amazing to see how much building stuff was on the outside of the buildings. Air conditioners, pipes, electrical. Some buildings are old (not Europe old, but old for us), and rather than retrofit the modern conveniences into the building, the infrastructure is built on the outside. 

Let's just say that the entire area is fascinating as I live in the burbs where our buildings are far apart (for the most part) and look nothing like this. I took many pictures, but I don't want to bore you with the entire adventure. 

As for the show, I saw the textile works. Some bizarre stuff and always interesting to read the students' interpretations. Lots of crochet! I didn't post any pictures as I won't be able to credit all the artists, and I respect their rights. I saw some jewelry as they have a jewelry studio, and I believe there were a few photographs. I noticed that MANY of the artists used QR codes to link attendees to their social media accounts or website! And I thought QR codes were dead. 

Did you know that with the mySewnet app, you can type anything into it and get a QR code that you could embroider? They need to know that! 

It was worth it to look at the show, and it got me out of the burbs for an afternoon!

As I mentioned before, it's a whole different world downtown, and you could definitely play tourists on numerous occasions to experience that urban lifestyle. People live in that "chaos" and over the stores along those busy streets -- I can't imagine! 

Here's a quick peek into what's happening in Studio B -- MY studio. I got three more quilts from Diane. Actually, there are more tops that she's finished, but I only pick up a few at a time since I'm walking there and back. Another errand, and I get steps. Thanks, Diane!!!  

More community project quilt tops

I've got more bags of fabric waiting to be dropped at her house, but again when she wants it, I'll start taking it over a bag or two at a time. No need to take the car. 

I got all the applique complete for the Boho Heart quilt. No - that's not true -- I'm finally caught up on all the applique assigned in previous months. That was a good feeling. We are so close to being finished!!!! It's a great quilt, but some crazy stuff in the pattern. 

Applique for the Boho Heart quilt

And there is it -- the cutting table. While there is a small pile of stuff on the end that needs to be put away or half-square triangles that need to be trimmed, there is only ONE project on the cutting table, and that's the BOHO Heart quilt. This is how I want to keep the table. It's been two days, and that's still all that's on the table. 

The cutting mat is clear! 

Once I get it to this stage, I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping it tidy. Don't forget I have a dumping ground called the current project table, where the mess will reside. It's only one table, and I'll chip away at it. 

As classes and Zoom sessions finish, I'm loving that I'm seeing loads of room opening up on my calendar, and I'm NOT scheduling anything until at least October! That's so exciting -- I've got loads to do, but opening up that calendar for some fun stuff. That's not entirely true, as I expect to book some stuff, but keeping it minimal. 

I'm off to spin class - yeah!! At least I got a good night's sleep, so I'll actually be able to function on the bike! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!