Whisper Project Group D

 Project Description is here

This was our original inspiration photo

First Participant - Linda Strowbridge

Suburban Escape

Artist Statement: The trail begins down the road, a little beyond the edge of my suburban neighborhood and just before the cluster of big box stores. It winds through stretches of trees and meadows, then turns into a boardwalk across a marsh until it reaches the rocky edge of my glorious, odd little lake. Bird song and frog song, breaching fish at dusk, too many mosquitoes, windblown trees, and gently lapping water drown out the sound of highway traffic and ease the stress of the just-completed workday.

Second Participant - Patricia Smith 

Python Tree Pirouette

Artist Statement: Trees have always fascinated me and hence I was really excited to receive a beautiful fabric rendition of a tree clearly thriving in a harsh environment. Trees take so many forms, heights and shapes reflective of the wonders and variety of nature. The fact that their lifespans often outnumber ours, and that they can grow in the most arduous of environments, makes you appreciate their grandeur and majesty even more. Inspired by the tree in the quilt I received, I searched my photos to find the perfect tree to honor the next step in the whisper chain. This python tree, photographed in Namibia, spoke to me. It is a tree that wraps itself around another tree for support, in the harsh rocky environment of the desert-like conditions of Namibia. Although one can see where the tree got its name, Its majestic thick curls also reminded me of a twirling dancer ending their performance with a deep bow. An honor to the surrounding landscape. 

Techniques: Commercial cotton fabric, fusible and raw edge appliqué.

Third Participant - Kathy Prairie

Promise of Spring

Artist Statement: This is a glimpse of St. John’s Virginia River as it weaves over and past the rocks beneath the braided birch trees that line the trailside shore. Small flowers peek out from the rocks, a sure sign that spring is on its way. 

Materials: Hand-dyed cotton and linen with botanical prints

Techniques: hand and machine stitched 

Fourth Participant - Lee McLean

Port-Au-Port

Artist Statement: Receiving my inspiration photo soon after we had visited Gros Morne National Park, I immediately knew I had to create a tuckamore. This word is unique to Newfoundland, one that means the resilient, sideways-growing evergreen that amazingly clings to life and thrives in the harsh coastal conditions of the province. I also wanted to capture the fog bank that moved in and out, seemingly at will, obscuring or revealing the rugged coast and mountains throughout the day.

The Whisper Project Group C

 Project Description is here

This was our original photo inspiration

First Participant - Kathy Tidswell

The Garden Shed

Artist Statement: When I received my inspiration photo, the thing I was most drawn to was the moss on the roof of the garden shed. I knew I had to include moss. I decided to make a garden shed with fabric that mimicked the blocks of the original photo. Finding the main wall too bare, I created a climbing rose to grace its walls. I enjoyed creating the moss texture using free motion embroidery and rayon threads. Inspired by the pots of petunias on the steps, I decided to make hanging baskets hanging from a ladder propped against a picket fence. 

Media: Inktense pencils for the petunia flowers and leaves, raw edge applique, water soluble stabilizer and net to create the climbing rose using free motion embroidery, commercial fabric, rayon embroidery threads, free motion embroidery for the moss on the roof, free motion machine quilting.

Second Participant - Elsa Flack

The Sky over the Garden

Artist Statement: The image which inspired this work included a stone cottage and garden pathway. The large sky and the potted red flowers in the original piece became my focus. Technique: The background was created by layering strips of blue ombre fabric on a yellow background. This I photographed and then embellished with Procreate. 

Material: quilter’s cotton, cotton batting

Third Participant - Deb Plestid

An Exuberance of Leaves 

Artist Statement: Imagine the intelligence in the leaf of a plant, reaching for light, seeking nutrients, growing with an aim to seek and offer joy in the world. 

Media: Hand dyed cotton, commercial cotton; 

Techniques: raw edge appliqué, free motion machine stitching.

Fourth Participant - Cathy Drummond

October Sunset

Artist Statement: The picture I received reminded me of a magnificent sunset last year that I was lucky enough to be on the water to see. The increasing turbulence of our weather can bring both terror and awe in equal measure. 

Media: hand- dyed cloth and wool. 

The Whisper Project Group B

 The project description is here

This was our original photo inspiration

First Participant - Kathleen P. Decker
Bridges

Artist Statement: As the first to translate from photo to quilt in this project, I felt it was important to stay fairly close to the original, so I tried to incorporate almost all the elements of the original photo. However, I rebelled at the end, and omitted a couple of small garden bits with cheerful flowers. I had worked very hard on several bridges, walls, and the background scenery, and footprints. When it came to producing the tiny flowers in the left-hand garden beds, I left them out. I did pay tribute to the flowers under the bridge, but didn’t worry about catching the red blooms. It was fun deciding how to make footprints.

Techniques: photo printed on fabric, thread painting, machine appliqué, free-motion quilting on a domestic machine.

Second Participant - Andrea Tsang Jackson

Float

Artist Statement: “Float” picks up on the "bridge" shape in the previous work, using echoing bias scraps to form a multi-toned sky. Its looseness is ordered through small rectangular sections -- orienting the freeform piecing towards the ground.

Third Participant - Sonja Boon

Mirror

 

Artist Statement: Sometimes, when the light is just right and the air is still, you can see the whole sky reflected in a single puddle. Water reflecting light reflecting water, each mirrors the other and in these moments, it seems almost as if you can look into the heart of the universe itself. This piece considers the point where sky and water meet, where light encounters the depths, and the depths respond. 

Media: cotton, recycled linen, and cyanotype and mono-printed recycled fabric. 

Techniques: machine pieced and stitched

Fourth Participant - Laureen van Lierop

Broken Moonbeams

Artist Statement: The very strong diagonals and the cream colours in the image I received inspired this piece. 

Materials: linen dresser-top runner, lace, handmade lace, water colours, cotton threads, button, found wires, cotton scraps, painted tissue paper. 

The Whisper Project Group A

Project Description is here 

This was our original photo inspiration:

First Participant - Barb Kulka

Walk in the Park

Artist Statement: “When I saw the picture, I was immediately reminded of Shubie Park, one of my favourite places. Dartmouth is lucky to have this beautiful wilderness in the city. My family and I have spent many happy hours there. It is also very historic and has been used as long as people have been on this land.” 

Techniques: Made of quilting cotton, cotton batting and cotton thread. Quilted on a domestic Singer. 

Second Participant - Gillian Noonan

Cattails

 Artist Statement: “Cattails was my immediate reaction to the quilt photo I received. The contours in the photo were suggestive of a shoreline landscape which I associate in Nova Scotia with seeing cattails. These were an uncommon sight in Newfoundland where I grew up but I was familiar with them from the books we had at home. I dearly loved them as a child and always wanted to touch them. Now I delight in seeing them often. How could I not make them?”

 

Media: velvet, handdyed cottons, batik and thread 

Third Participant - Regina Marzlin

Stormy Weather

 Artist Statement: I took my inspiration from the plants depicted in the previous piece in our Whisper project. Introducing diagonal movement, I wanted to show how the plants sway in the wind. The sky is dark and menacing but the stalks are resilient, they bend but they don't break.

Techniques: I used monotype printing with acrylic paint on a gelatin plate as my technique. 

Fourth Participant - Darcy Hunter

Cat Tails in the Garden, Hour #2

 Artist Statement: “I was inspired by the fleeting beauty of light as it transforms an ordinary marsh into something extraordinary. I often visit a marsh on my daily walks, and it has become a place of quiet reflection and creative inspiration. Using layered textiles, stitching, and surface textures, I wanted to capture the shimmer of water, the warmth of dusk on the hills, and the quiet presence of cattails in the foreground. This piece reflects my ongoing exploration of landscapes in fabric—where thread becomes brushstroke, and textiles become light, movement, and memory."

The Whisper Project

 

The idea for our Whisper Project comes from the presentation about the work of the SAQA Central Canada Fergus-Guelph pod. It is based on the childhood game of telephone, in which a whispered message becomes changed as it is passed from person to person. In this case, the artwork changes. See Central Canada Whisper Project 2024 for their results.

Participating members will be assigned into groups, each with several members. The expectation is to complete a 12 x 12-inch piece within six weeks. 

Here is how it works:

Artist 1 receives an original photograph and creates a 12 x 12-inch art quilt inspired by that photograph. They then send in a photo of their artwork to be used by Artist 2. Artist 2 uses the photo of Artist 1's artwork as inspiration to create a 12 x 12-inch art quilt and then sends a photo of their artwork in for Artist 3, and so on.

Once all the artworks are completed, they will be revealed to the group along with their artist statements.

Our Whisper Project started January 15 and ended August 13, 2025. We ended up with 4 groups. Stay tuned to see the results of our project.

       Group A                    Group B                        Group C                  Group D        

Quilt Canada

 I happened upon the SAQA Regional Exhibition Renewal at Quilt Canada in late June 2025.

I was happy to see our Atlantic Region pieces exhibited there!

Threads and Needles

                      

Kathy Tidswell shared some thread and needle tips she has discovered over time!

• the higher the number the finer the thread
• different machines have preferences for different thread - what works for one machine may not work for another. Use trial and error

Favorite thread

• for decorative work- Sulky rayon 40 wt.
• use a machine embroidery needle which has an oval eye and prevents shredding while making a smaller hole. Start off with 75/11 and, if shredding, switch to 90/14
• rayon threads are not good for quilts which will be washed because the colour can fade.
• Sulky metallics actually have metallic fibres. They can be used also with an embroidery needle and a drop of sewers aid on the spool. Run your finger along the thread to disperse it.
• you can use metallica needles but these can be costly and Kathy has had good luck with the sewers aid.

• Guttermann makes a polyester metallic. It does not require a special needle and doesn't feel rough.

• Aurifil 50 wt is good for piecing, quilting and free motion embroidery. If you want the thread to be more visible use 40 wt. Use an 80/12 needle in microtex, sharp, quilting or denim.

• DecoBob 80 - Wonderfil (TM) - is a cottonized polyester thread that Kathy uses for thread painting. It can also be used as bobbin thread for quilting, piecing, and a top and bottom thread for quilting.

• Invisifil (TM) is a 100wt cottonized soft polyester thread that makes the quilting disappear. Use DecoBob or Invisafil in the bobbin.
• it can also be used in the top and bottom for couching and for lace designs.
• it is recommended to turn off the stitch regulator as it may fail to detect ultra fine thread. You may have to adjust top tension. Low bobbin sensors won't be accurate and avoid using automatic thread cutters.
• use 60/8, 70/10 or 80/12 mictotex needles.

• Razzle (TM) and Dazzle (TM) are very heavy weight threads intended for bobbin work, hand work, serging or couching. They are comparable in weight to No. 8 perle cotton.

Happy Sewing!!