A Week of Random Making

This week I got down to putting together some class specs and requirements. It has been a while since I came up with “lesson plans” so I struggled with the discipline. I usually aim to plan more than is required which is what most primary school teachers do to keep the fast workers occupied. I will be teaching my Northern Lights improv curves class in Glasgow next month but I decided to add another element which is improv bridges. I am experimenting with machine appliqué methods. The original class was just free-cut strips but I decided to give the pupils more options and offer some people more of a challenge. 

There were some foodie makes - English muffins, which were a success and vegan strawberry tarts which looked like triffids. 

Because I seemed to be so ahead of the game with my preparation for FoQ ( I am bound to have forgotten something) I managed to do a customer quilt that I said would not be done until later in August:)

Nella, Nessie and I had a day out in St Andrews and met 2 other Scotties. Nessie thought she was a celebrity when several American tourists stopped to talk to her. 

My FoQ samples looked pretty good once they were stuffed with cushion pads but I made myself practise sit-down quilting on another sample. My FMQ skills are very rusty and I will have to do a lot of secret playing to be a convincing teacher at FoQ;) The Bernina Q16 / Q20 is bound to be easier to use than my domestic machine as there is more table space and a stitch regulator! BUT I will be teaching domestic machine quilting next month so I need to hone my skills for that.

Outlander and Dodgy Quilting

 

Last week we went to an afternoon of “Outlander” related talks at the Willow Tea Room in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. I had not realised that the event was an off-shoot of a whole Outlander Conference at Glasgow University so there were some diehard fans in attendance. One of them was not at all convinced when told that Falkirk is not in fact at the heart of the Highlands. Nella and I had made Jamie Fraser t-shirts for the occasion but nobody even noticed. The first talk, given by a guy from the Jacobite Society, was disappointingly dull as he read off his notes about some portrait artists. There was no background, context or reference to Outlander. The next talk was better, although I dozed off for a while. A curator from the V&A Museum, Dundee spoke about the Tartan exhibition but he went over time and also made no links to Outlander or the Jacobites. After a quick cup of tea, the main speaker gave a slideshow about her experiences as part of the costume team for the Starz TV drama, Outlander. She also had some examples of clothing with her. It was interesting to know that much of the embellishment on waistcoats and gowns was in fact machine embroidery, Sadly, her talk was cut short as the other speakers had gone over their time so I felt that we hardly scratched the surface. I wanted to know more about the budget and authenticity of the historical costumes. 

I had to get going on the supplies needed for quilting classes at FoQ. Four tutors will be giving one hour classes on the sit-down Q-series machines, based on a panel designed by Bernina Australia. The UK team decided that the original panel was too busy so Tracey Pereira simplified and digitised it. I sewed out 72 panels and overlocked them all. I wanted to quilt two as examples - one using Qmatic and the other using rulers and FMQ. I discovered that I felt quite overwhelmed by the task since my quilting skills are so rusty!  I spent far too long deciding what to do and attempting to copy the intricate designs from the original panel. The first attempt went in the bin! Hopefully, the class participants will not feel intimidated when they see my second effort;) It is a reminder that Quilting is a skill that needs regular practice. 

I have a lot of paperwork that I want to get done in the coming week, mostly forthcoming quilting class specs and supply lists. I drafted a handout for the FoQ classes but ran out of steam and have not included any diagrams. I wanted to produce a handy, illustrated leaflet, summarising the class but really I have written a short story / novel. I wonder how I seem to have so little time to finish anything these days?! 

Help ma Boab is in its Box

 

Help Ma Boab is finished! My finger tips were burning after all of the kantha stitching and hand binding. I took my friend, Ellen’s advice not to tinker with it further and packed it into its box ready to send to FoQ. I took outdoor photos and think there is a bit of a bow at the bottom end, although I am telling myself that is an optical illusion since I used a wide-angle lens.

We had Freya here for 3 days which Nella loved. She is finding it hard being here in the countryside without any friends, reliant on me for trips out. She has been busy with crafting projects but she is struggling to find the focus to finish some of them.

I have spent a lot of time in my workshop trying to catch up on customer quilts and also getting the teaching panels ready for FoQ. I am aware that Nella is keen to see more of me but I feel that I need to get stuff done so I can keep August free for FoQ and holiday trips. I also hope that the weather is more summery again by then!

Cut and Run (Banksy in Glasgow)

 It was a bit of a damp July week here so Nella and I undertook more autumnal activities including jam and bread-making. She altered the neckline of a dress that she had made and worked on some impressive crochet. 

I spent my entire week getting the binding done on Help Ma Boab. I had planned to finish the edge with silver machine blanket stitching but the edges were as bulky as a carpet so I settled for some kantha-style hand stitching. I am still wondering about adding beads to the outside edge (I tested this on a small sample) but that is probably over-kill;) All I really have to do now is hand-stitch the reverse of the binding, hanging sleeve and label and tidy any loose threads. 

Nella and I spent the weekend with Freya, her boyfriend (George) and his Mum. We tramped around Edinburgh which was heaving with tourists like ourselves, dodging rain showers. We visited the National Portrait Gallery which was fascinating. On Sunday we had tickets for the much anticipated Banksy exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Glasgow. It was an amazing exhibition, definitely the best I have attended, anywhere, ever! Photos were not allowed which made the audience engage more fully with the artwork and I think everyone there must have read every single label. It is incredible how Banksy has managed to keep his identity a secret for so many years and not be caught on camera. We felt that we “knew” the artist from the quotes that were displayed yet he remains an enigma. 

My mission this week is to finish Help Ma Boab and get it ready to post. IF I still want to add beads after that I would theoretically have time but possibly not the inclination…

It's a Long Way Up Here

I spent the week in Norfolk alternating between spending time with Nella in Norwich and my folks in Loddon. The weather was very hot and humid some days. We did not do anything terribly exciting. I found my Mother a new butter dish and cruet set from Ebay. We went for a stroll along the promenade in South Lowestoft and bought a new electric scooter for my Dad which should be easier to put in the car for outings. 

The drive back north to Scotland was a bit of a marathon at 13 and a half hours. There was slow traffic, heavy rain and I decided it would be “fun” to go across country through the Scottish Borders for a change. 

It has not been particularly summery here compared to Norfolk. Currently the temperature is a good 10 degrees cooler and it has been really windy. Nella has not too impressed by that and the fact that she can’t just walk into “The City” whenever the notion takes her. I hope she won’t get too fed up not seeing her pals and being reliant on me for transport. We do have a few plans but they are mostly for August.

My priority is to get the edge of “Help ma Boab” done then hand stitch the binding, sleeve and label. Apart from that I expect the summer will fly by, whatever the weather!