An Eventful Trip to Birmingham

 

I made a concerted effort to catch up on a few customer quilts this week in anticipation of going on my first longarm teaching trip since 2019 (apart from FOQ last year). The quilts were not very big so I made good progress and completed 4! 

I was slightly nervous that I had not taught pupils in real life for a while but it was just like getting back on a bike;) I had to fly to Birmingham to launch a new longarm studio with Frank Nutt. The studio space is great - light and spacious and situated on a small industrial estate with parking. There was a good turnout - a mix of potential new long-term customers and existing Q-series users who were keen to see if specialist classes would be provided in future. It was great to enthuse with people about quilting in person again and I hope to be invited back sometime. 

I was due to fly home the same day via Amsterdam as there was not a direct flight back to Aberdeen but KLM decided to cancel my flight. I am not sure whether it was because of bad weather, a strike or just-because. From there I felt as if I was in the “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” movie. I took an Uber back to New Street station in central Birmingham to discover that I would only be able to travel as far as Edinburgh that day. There was no Megabus available and hire cars were extortionate. I had to book into a hotel overnight, and pay a vast sum of money for a Sunday train journey on an overcrowded train with passengers not wearing face-masks. Indeed, almost everyone I saw in Birmingham and on the train seemed to think the covid pandemic is over… Luckily, Freya was able to stay for an extra day to keep an eye on Nella for me.

My main mission this week will be to find someone at KLM to deal with my compensation claim! After that I have a funky hexagon quilt to do for a customer and I have to chase up new tyres for the caravan. No wonder I don’t have any major projects underway;)

Time to Get Filthy

 I have been catching up with my recent trip to Norfolk, making myself do jobs that I have been putting off! Despite my best intentions, I had not filed any paperwork since Christmas so that took AGES! Nella has been enjoying her new part-time job in the Crathes Castle cafe over a busy Easter weekend. I took Nessie for a walk in the grounds and called in for a coffee. She was not at all impressed by the scary Easter bunny - a security guard in a dubious costume.

Since nobody here had miraculously shinned up a ladder and cleaned the caravan roof, I decided to tackle it myself. I should have put on a boiler suit or even a hazmat outfit. I don’t suppose it has been cleaned in 25 years as I was faced with an entire roof populated by moss, lichen and black fungus of some sort. I did not especially enjoy being up a ladder and my arms were not long enough to reach into the middle but I gave it a jolly good scrub, using Pink Stuff, a pot scrubber and elbow grease. The consequences of this were that the entire caravan body is now covered in filthy streaks and I had to soak my clothes in a bucket of washing powder. I discovered that the sealant along the rear seam of the roof had almost entirely disintegrated so I remedied that with a couple of strips of Duck Tape to prevent any more leaks. Having seen the extent of the roof from the top of my ladder, I am now not so enthusiastic about painting it;)

The Caravan Man told me that the spare wheel was rusted to the underneath of the chassis and was impossible to remove. I took that as a challenge, so with the aid of WD40 and Fergus' brute strength, we got it off, ready to have a new tyre fitted. In fact, I will be getting 3 new tyres since none of them have been changed for at least 10 years. I have come to realise that the previous owner was economical with the truth of its upkeep. It has all been a learning curve. Soon it will be time to have a practice camp-out at home then I will have to think about planning an actual trip:)

Norwich Visit

 

My only mission last week was to complete a customer quilt and get the caravan serviced. I accomplished both:) The quilt is for a friend’s grandson in New Zealand and I am sure he will love all of the different feature fabrics. 

I was nervous about the caravan inspection but it went surprisingly well. There were signs of damp but it is not really a problem for me unless I get rained on in bed. The Caravan Man did not say a word about the interior decoration and he said it was entirely roadworthy but could do with new tyres. He even got the gas working so I should be able to try it out soon, even if it is just for a sleepover in the garden.

Nella and I drove to Norfolk on Thursday and completed the trip within 10-ish hours. We had a great day at Norwich University of the Arts on Friday. The tours were amazing and I went into buildings that I never knew existed. The equipment was all top-notch and the staff and student ambassadors were all very welcoming. Nella and I are both very excited by what her course and life in Norwich will offer. It really is “A Fine City” and we had a lovely wander around the lanes, checking out cafes and eclectic, independent shops. 

Beach Huts nr Lowestoft

Nessie made herself at home with my parents while we were out and enjoyed walkies to the river in Loddon to watch the boats and ducks. She has not had to wear her raincoat at all and we have enjoyed not being wrapped up in thick jumpers as the weather was positively spring-like. 

We are planning another mooch around the city before heading back to Scotland and will look forward to planning Nella’s student life here.

Glasgow Weekend

 

March came in like a lamb so it went out like a lion with snow! Despite that, I had a surplus of eggs so I took some to Glasgow where a couple of them got smashed in transit. During the week before I went I quilted a baby quilt and a Christmas quilt, both with simple snowflake designs. 

I have no idea how I did it but I messed up my Air BnB booking and should have been in Glasgow at the tenement flat I had chosen on Thursday so I lost a night and had to book an extra night at short notice for Saturday night. The first place was great, although it had its quirks. The second place was far less salubrious so I need to pay more attention in future.

We did not do any sightseeing, just mooched about in our usual fashion, finding vegan eateries and junk shops. We visited the Barras Market which has definitely seen better days. Freya’s birthday party event was to do pottery painting. My efforts were not at all arty - a sponge-effect was liberally applied and I had ideas for what I could have done after the event. 

We came home with Freya’s tortoise, which we will be supervising while she is on holiday in Tromso. Poor old Bluecat Pepper had to go the vet with a UTI. She is 18, completely discombobulated, and was peeing in odd places such as the fruit basket and on Nella’s mobile phone. She has been given antibiotics and I bought her some cat soup so we will see how much longer she lasts, well past her sell-by date;)

This week I am aiming to do one quilt, finally get the caravan inspected then get ready for a trip to Norwich as Nella has an applicant open day. Of course, April snow is forecast...