Craft camp

Traditions are nice.  I think the best kind of traditions are the accidental ones.  Like the fact that it seems like Kaeli and I have done some sort of ski trip on all of her past few birthday weekends.  I don't know if it ranks as tradition yet, but it might be starting, and that's nice.  Another good one is going canoeing on my birthday weekend down the north saskatchewan river with a pack of my friends every year for several years now.  Another good one is eating chicken ceaser salad with natasha.  A not so great one is drinking diet coke with Natasha. ha.

Every Canada day weekend for the past 14 years, my extended family on my mom's side has gathered in Saskatoon.  This is pretty much the tradition to beat out all other traditions as far as my life goes.  We eat good food, have fun times, and craft our brains out.  My friend Rebecca has started calling it craft camp.

It started out when my sister and I spent a week with my aunt each making our own quilts.  I was 12.  The next summer we went back and made another one, this time for my parents.  And my brother tagged along and spent the time working with my uncle in his fully equipped wood working shop. And the next summer we decided to get together and make a quilt for my cousin who was getting married as a gift from all of us.  By this time we were noticing the pattern and somebody dubbed the event as QUILTFEST as a joke, but the name stuck.

Then we started doing other sorts of projects.  Making canoe paddles with the help of my patient uncle.  Making cutting boards, knitting, upholstering, gocco printing.  Anyways, here we are 14 years later still going strong and taking on even bigger projects, like my brother who put the biggest log of all time on the lathe...


Joel made a quilt and a lemon meringue pie using a blow torch...

Other projects included making dresses, drum sticks, upholstering, a huge cedar bench, a giant set of pick up sticks, a wooden bowl.

I almost feel sheepish at how great my family is when I talk about Quiltfest, but then I remember how to everyone else we just sound like a bunch of nerds, so it can't be that bad to gush a bit.