Northern Lights

Despite promising to concentrate on quilting, I ended up teaching for two days of the week but as it was for two nice, local schools, it was not too much of a hardship;) 

I managed to find time quilt a lovely, simple strip quilt for a customer’s grand-daughter and get the quilting done on the green leather skin. I have started hand-sewing some beads on which is when it really starts to look exotic. I dyed the plain linen pieces for the background of the leather clad columns - I’m sure it was sheer coincidence that the little-used workshop loo overflowed with magenta water when the washing machine did its final spin.

I tentatively used the mended Kitchenaid to mix a sponge for a version of apple and bramble Eve’s pudding then really put it through its paces on a large batch of sourdough bread followed by Toulouse sausages made from a joint of pork!

Midweek, I decided on the spur of the moment to ask my hairdresser to give me a new look and asked for a cut in the style of a Japanese manga-cartoon character. She was not at all phased by this request which was really for a very jagged, rough cut. Obviously,without a hairdryer and styling product, I will be unable to keep my hair looking trendy but I at least I don’t even have to comb it any more.

When I drove Fenella back from Girl Guides one evening we just happened to spot a fantastic show of the Aurora Borealis. They were not intense for very long but there were distinct pink and green flashes in a navy sky. The stars were really sparkling and I was delighted to see that local photographer, Vhairi Walker, posted some super pictures onto Facebook since we did not manage to capture any images on camera. It was really exciting to witness this rare sight which is the inspiration for my Northern Lights quilt project. 

I drove to Perth on Saturday to show the Coracle off at the QGBI Region 16 meeting. I enjoyed catching up with Scottish quilters, bought a book I didn’t really need and listened to an inspiring talk by the artist who designed the Tapestry of Scotland which I hope to visit at the Aberdeen Art Gallery next weekend. I ended the weekend ordering a selection of bright pink linen prints online, having spontaneously decided to make a quilt for the daybed in the music room instead of dutifully sewing on more beads…