Hi - my name is Burtine and I am Cheryl’s mother. Lucky me. I also have a son who is a major with the Canadian Forces and lives in Ottawa. I live with my husband of 46 years and our border collie/Australian shepherd dog. We are retired and moved into a smaller home nearly 2 years ago. Shedding so many years of accumulated “stuff” has proven to be the most liberating action we could have taken and we love our new freedom.  

My introduction to the world of arts occurred at a very early age. My mother and grandmother knit and sewed and embroidery was always used to embellish and set the garments apart from the norm. There are few of the needlecrafts I have not tried at some point in my life and I have enjoyed them all. Learning is a never ending experience - each new technique mastered leads us down another path. Learning to trust your own instincts and go with your own ideas is one of the most difficult lesson for most of us to overcome. The more we look inside ourselves for inspiration the more we will begin to grow and our own individual style will evolve.

My interests now are varied. I no longer sew much in the way of clothing but prefer to play with fabric to produce small landscape quilts and purses. I love thread painting and bead knitting and try to combine one or more different skills in anything I do.

I belong to a knitting group - The KnitWits who meet weekly at a members home. There are only 6 of us and we have been meeting for about 10 years now. Mostly I just knit scarves, each one different, to put in the hampers at Christmas. I am a member of the Embroiderer’s Association of Canada and the Edmonton Chapter as well. I am currently involved in a Kissing The Military project that provides small, embroidered pillows for the deployed member to give to the ones he or she is leaving behind.

Silk scarves are such a wonderful addition to any woman’s wardrobe and they are such fun to dye. I am presently learning different Shibori methods and achieving some wonderful results and patterns. Each scarf is a one of a kind as results are not predictable.  I have taught this art at a senior's centre several times and have been invited to teach a four week class in ribbon embroidery in the Fall sessions. 

Purses are something I can never have enough of - those and tote bags and I enjoy making “one of a kind” of these too. Most of my work is in private collections but I hope to be able to offer a variety on this site as well.

Please contact me at arbur@shaw.ca