What Else Did I do in Glasgow?

 

I decided to make the most of my new National Trust membership and visited Pollock House, where the National Trust for Scotland was founded. Since I had no commitments, I allowed a very keen curator to tell me all about it. She was a knowledgeable historian and told me about witch trials, philanthropy, slavery and the art collection. I met Ellen there for lunch in the old kitchen and we had a wander around the gardens once the rain stopped. In the evening we enjoyed a very nice curry:)

On Tuesday evening I gave a talk to The Glasgow Gathering of Quilters in Scotstoun and my slideshow about my Daft 3D creations seemed to go down well. The next day was a workshop based on improvisational curved piecing techniques using Northern Lights inspired fabrics. I offered several techniques on making slightly wavy seams to more curvy seams and added the options of using bondaweb or appliqué to make bendy shapes. Despite being an owner of several cameras and a smart-phone, I did not remember to take any photos! 

Back home I had a few days of pottering around, just trying to put things away tidily. I wish I had a smaller Sew-Ezi table and a smaller sewing machine to take to workshops. If I start teaching “on tour” more again I should look into that. I am trying to convince myself that I do not have to magically sort my workshop out in one day. I rearranged my bookcase then rummaged through some fabric boxes without throwing anything out. I told myself that I should hang onto the scraps since fabric is now so expensive. 

I attached a keyboard tray to my Q24 monitor so I don’t have to keep moving my makeshift desk that is actually an IKEA mini ironing board. It was a bit of a faff and I am not convinced that it is sturdy enough but it looks quite professional. 

I decided to get started on a quilt restoration where several of the patches had entirely rotted away. I originally thought that I would unpick sections and fit in some new pieces but because it had been a hand project, it was not seamed how you might expect. I decided that it would be better to appliqué some new patches on top and to reinforce those that could be saved from the back. It should now be stable enough to quilt onto its original backing. 

When I was having my minor tidy-up, I found that I still have both crazy coat front pieces to embroider. I could have spent a damp Sunday doing that but I chose to lose myself in a hefty Tudor thriller instead (Revelation, Book 4 in the Shardlake series).