About Me

Phase 1:  Learning to Sew



When I was a wee lass growing up in rural Saskatchewan, all of my family participated in 4-H, in the beef club, showing 1 year old championship steers every June. Several factors combined to bring this beef club era for our family to an end, and I was old enough to sign up for 4-H just as the sewing club was forming. A very patient leader gave generously of her time and her spirit to teach a handful of us rowdy, or urchins my oldest sister might say, 10 year old girls to sew. Little did she know. . . Turns out I had some talent, and continued sewing in the 4-H club until I finished high school.



Phase 2:  Tailoring

After high school, I went off to tackle the big city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and landed a piece-work job on the sewing line.  Somehow I knew I wasn't cut out for sewing the same seam day after day. So this lasted a year, until I decided to return to school, where I studied tailoring at NAIT in Edmonton, Alberta.  I did  a lot of tailoring in the years after that, alterations, making shirts and suits and the like, much of it for other people, and some for myself.

Phase 3a:  Management

Some years later, another move took me across the country to Ryerson in Toronto, Ontario, where I studied the industrial side of the apparel industry.  I found myself back on the factory floor, this time as an industrial engineer.  It was more to my liking.  I was good at designing work stations, improving production flow, and teaching sewers how to make more efficient use of their hands.  The bonus was that I could use the machines at work to do my serging, buttonholing, and pressing. I made all of my own tailored pants, skirts, blouses, and jackets that I wore to work. This phase coincided with Phase 3b.

Phase 3b:  Kites

It was about this time that I discovered kites.  Time spent at Toronto's air-conditioned Reference Library one hot summer brought me to KiteLines magazine, and making kites soon followed. See my Kite-Flying Gallery link here . I made and flew award-winning kites for over a decade, staying up late at night to sew like mad to finish kite orders. I made nearly a thousand kites during this time.

Phase 4:  Quilts

Ancestral Jewel
Pieced Wool Quilt
Flannel Backing, no batting
The sewing industry in Canada was in a state of transformation in the 90's, and sewing factories were on the endangered species list.  I began to look outside the garment industry for employment, and found work at a company that required wearing a uniform.  The days of wearing my tailored outfits had come to an end, and I took great pleasure in cutting all of them up into small squares to make a blanket.  My ancestors had done just that.  I remember as a kid sleeping under quilts made of old suits that were heavy and warm. Thus began my quilting phase, a time that I am greatly enjoying, and in which I will hopefully spend a great many productive years.

5 comments:

  1. Ilene,
    What an amzing Website! There's so much to look at and your work is amazing.
    You are so talented.
    XO XO
    Your partner in crime!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for that. It's been fun putting it together.

      Kitchener Quilter

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  2. I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading about you ... great stories here !

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  3. Lovely quilts. Do you, or do you know anyone who would quilt someone else's quilts? I have a top that my Mother-in-law made that was left unquilted when she passed. I would really like to have it done.....either by hand or machine. Thanks.

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  4. Thanks for the wonderful comment. You've not left a way for me to contact you. If you are checking back here, you may email me for a more complete answer. I have some ideas for you. I'm at atkins dot ilene at gmail dot com. I'd love to hear from you.

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Thank you for stopping by to read about my quilting world. Your comments mean so much to me, so feel free to let me know what you think, about anything!