Winter Cabin, drawing, 2016

This is our home as it looked before we added onto it a couple of years ago. I love how cozy it appears in winter with its cheerful red window and door frames. In reality, it is very drafty and we find ourselves huddled around the stove on the coldest days. The Bliss Carman poem that accompanies this drawing beautifully describes the arrival of winter for the many people in rural Canada who heat with wood stoves and fireplaces. My cat Pumpkin knows how to enjoy the coziness of the fire. It seems like he sleeps curled up nearby for twenty-three and a half hours a day until the snow melts.

The border was inspired by one of my great aunt Olive's quilts. It was really fun to do and I look forward to trying it again with a different colour scheme. I chose five different colours to use and attempted to place them so that the overall effect was balanced. To get the creamy green triangles, I did a layer of light green and then went over it pressing hard with a white pencil.