Gimli Manitoba, A Sea-Side Gem in the Prairies

75KM north of Winnipeg, located on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg, is the rural community of Gimli. Settled in 1875 by immigrants from Iceland, Gimli has retained its Icelandic heritage and traditions to the present. Today, it is still home to the largest concentration of people with Icelandic lineage outside of Iceland. The Icelandic tradition has brought an interesting flavour to this sea-side fishing town in the prairies, helping to make tourism an important industry in Gimli.
When Leah, (SF partner and daughter) was young, we had a summer cottage a few KMs north of Gimli. During our summers stay at the cottage, we spent many happy days wandering along these streets, savouring its delights. On a recent trip back to Winnipeg, we spent an afternoon in Gimli, where we took a nostalgic walk down Main Street.

H.P. Tergesen and Sons was built in 1899 as a General Store, and still has its original tin ceilings and hardwood floors. Now 4 generations later, it is still owned and operated by the same family, and attracts customers with its wide variety of quality products, including clothing, books, gifts, etc.. Throughout those summers at the cottage, we spent many rainy afternoons happily perusing the shelves and always walking away with at least one "must have" item.

A little further up the road was the "Central Bakery", it's shelves always full with the most delectable treats, such as vinaterta (6 layers of a thin shortbread-like cake separated with a prune spead) and Imperial cookies. Happy memories! Although Central Bakery has closed it's doors, a new cafe/bake shop has opened in town allowing for those stolen moments of pure delight.

A more recent addition to the town is the hotel/conference centre built on the beach. While enjoying the view of the water, the restaurant will serve up fresh crispy, light and delicious Lake Winnipeg pickerel with chips. Yum! And wouldn't you know it, to make for a perfect afternoon in Gimli, stepping out of the restaurant, Jocelyn's quilt shop just happens to be conveniently located along the hotels storefront. What more could this girl ask for?

Comments

Boutis: Traditional French Needlework

" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t

Amish Hand Quilting in France with Esther Miller

Esther Miller, was born into an Amish family in the U.S., and now lives in Germany where she has for many years taught the techniques and methods of Amish hand quilting to anyone interested in learning these skills. As a child, she would closely watch as the women of her community worked together on a quilt, and eventually she was rewarded with a needle of her own and encouraged to join the group. Through the years, she has mastered these skills and techniques and now generously shares them with anyone who has a genuine desire to learn. Esther Miller in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace France. An example of her own work, Esther brings this intricately and perfectly hand stitched wall quilt to class as inspiration for her students. Last week, at the "European Meeting of Patchwork" in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace France, www.patchwork-europe.com , I had the privilege of taking a 2 day workshop with Esther. The Amish quilting method requires a free-standing simple

Blocking and Squaring Boutis

The door of her cage has been opened. She is free to fly off and find her destiny. After many months of hand stitching and then many more months of cording, my little "colibri" is ready to set off on her own. As this was my first attempt at designing so large a boutis piece, it was a learning curve. All of the tight swirls, curls and circles are a great deal more difficult and time consuming to cord then are the longer more gentle channels. Maintaining an even tension is absolutely necessary throughout the process, so patience comes in very handy when doing the cording. The process of stitching and cording a work of boutis subjects the fabric to a lot of handling and manipulation that can distort the design. For this reason, once all of the stitching and cording is complete, the boutis must be washed, blocked and squared. The first step of washing is to remove all traces of the marking pencil as well as any soil that may have collected over the many months of working w

Seams French

Search This Blog