Going to the Expert

 Love and Comfort will be rolling out baby sleep sacks with sleeves this week, thanks to the expertise of Linda Bandy.

Linda, now retired, has been sewing since she was six years old.  She was the designer for a jean company and used to have her own company making children’s pyjamas.   

What would have taken me several hours and hair pulling, took Linda about 30 second.  She looked at my pattern, not measuring, just eye-balled it.  Then she quickly took a pen and drew up a sleeve pattern for the smallest size in the sleep sack line up.  From there, I was able to do the other sizes.

Linda and I met years ago in a poignant twist of life and friendship.  Through my previous work, I’d come to know Irene in her late 80s who lived in a seniors’ home.   I then met Irene’s adult daughter, Laurel, in her last days with cancer.  The first time I came to Laurel’s home, Linda was sitting beside her, quilting.  Every day she kept Laurel company and tended to her until her dying neighbour went into hospice.  Both Laurel and Irene now reside in heaven, and while Linda and I both miss them, I’m glad they introduced us. 

Linda sent me home with a large bag of fabric and notions.  A day later, I was passing on other fabric from my own stash to a younger woman.  “Can I pay you for this?”, she asked.   Of course not.   Through the generations among those who sew, remains the custom of passing on  both fabric and expertise.   

Linda designs with a pair of scissors.  This beautiful scene of the foothills and Rocky Mountains where we live was created by Linda over six months through the careful choosing of fabric and the layering of fabric to create hills, mountains, rocks, water and wildlife.

Wanderings in the Big City

Bloor Street, Toronto

For this Prairie/town/foothills person, coming to downtown Toronto means  stepping into an entirely different culture.   For starters, it's been fun to walk pretty much everywhere -- starting with walking to Downtown Camera at Church and Queen Street East.  Yes, I could have taken the subway for the three subway stops but I walked down Yonge, passed the tatto shops and restaurants and clothing stores and....so much to see and so many people.

 Joel at breakfast -- the blurriness is photographer learning!

       The folks at Downtown Camera were super and I'm set up with my Nikon D200.  Thank you to Stan, Vlade, Tiffany Anne and Carrie who introduced me to these helpful folks.  Stan's Downtown Camera is the last independent Camera store in Toronto and it's a great place.  Do check them out online or if you're in Toronto.
      My few photos show I still have much to learn about the new-to-me camera.  The Saturday shot of Joel was before I figured out the shutter speed -- notice the motion of hand with his telephone!

Maple Leaf Gardens turned into Grocery Store

       While Joel was in meetings, I checked out fabric stores and this weekend we have continued walking and sight-seeing.  We took in Kensington Market in the winter, walked through the entertainment district passed Roy Thomson Hall and Friday night saw opening night of The Iron Lady with Meryl Streep.  The movie was OK but the best part was just a half-block walk back to the hotel afterwards rather than a 45 minute car ride.  Then there are the cave-dwelling aspects of city life which is very strange for a lady from the big sky country.  I needed insoles for my boots and found the sign for Mark's Work Wearhouse on Dundas Street beside a Canadian Tire sign-- just where Google maps told me it would be.  But coming in the door, all I saw was Canadian Tire merchandise.  I asked a clerk.  Go downstairs, turn right, keeping going straight, head out the doors and you'll see Mark's Work Wearhouse.  Down into the depths I went into the basement.  In one of the department stores, I realized the basement had three levels, appropriately numbered -1, -2 and -3 in the elevator.  I love Toronto but underground dwelling is the only part where I get neurotic.   Get me up on the surface!! 
      It's been a great visit but as I downloaded the Toronto photos into iPhoto, a winter sunset photo from back home came up.  I am a tad homesick and looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

With new(ish) eyes

Thanks to my friend, Bill, at Wolfpack Studios, I’ve been venturing into SLR Digital photography.  Bill lent me his back up camera, a Canon D20.    Oh my,  how wonderful it is  to be using again a camera that allows me to get more detail in photos.  When my daughter was a baby, I finally gave up on film camera, my Nikon FM2.  It was a great camera but it was time to head into the world of digital and carrying a larger camera, along with diaper bag, etc, just wasn’t practical.  For the most part, I was pretty pleased with the point and shoot Canons.   But now that I need to take photos of for my online business, the smaller cameras just weren’t picking up the detail that I would have liked.   (Besides the fact that my two dogs did in the last one)

         Because it's a borrowed camera, I’ve stayed close to home (and as far as possible from two dogs) for testing out the newer-to-me technology.  But one morning after taking daughter to the bus, I was elated that I could capture a photo of the moon – though the 50mm lens was a bit limiting.  But it hasn’t limited getting a few photos of daughter out on a walk – never before have I been able to take photos in rapid succession.

      I’m in Toronto now and yesterday ventured down to  Downtown Camera with the help of my friend, Carrie Cockburn (graphic artist, jewelry designer and photographer).   Check out Carrie's beautiful photography on her blog.   Wonderful to see Carrie -- we roomed together in my second year of journalism  and hadn't seen each other in at least 25 years.  

     Later today I pick up my new-to-me Nikon D200.  It’s not the latest in bells and whistles but it is a professional camera, sturdy and can do much   -- once I learn all about it!!  Excited about seeing the world in newer eyes and lens!