Quilt Show

Thoroughly enjoed my visit to the Scottish Quilt Championships at Ingliston on Saturday. There were some really wonderful quilts to be seen and give one inspiration.

I went to a Flower Pounding demo. This is something I really must try. I bought a book about it years ago, now that I have seen a demo it has inspired me to have a go, though this time of year when fresh garden flowers are not in too plentiful supply seems perhaps to be the wrong
time :-0 !!

I kept the CC well in check and just bought some Masterpiece thread and a little pack for foiling which looked interesting------foil and glue, Pat Archibald was demo-ing it and it looks fun.

I am now on the last lap on the Quilt Uni course and have chosen my "falls". I am getting on with the background and am begining to construct the falls.

Tomorrow being the first of the month should see the instructions for the BQL Bag October challenge posted, having had a "sneaky peak" at the bag it looks very interesting. I have the fabric cut ready to see what to do next!

We are having one of these very cool autumnal days today, with the air coming all the way down from the north the blue patches of sky are really clear and the landscape is getting the lovely golden glows from the rapidly turning trees. As we were out with friends for lunch today the drive to the restaurant was lovely with Ben Lomond in the distance sharply etched against the sky---------makes one feel good to be alive in spite of global problems.

Baby Quilt completed

I have just completed this Cot Quilt for a cousin's DD who has just had her 3rd --a little girl called Sophie Grace. I have used a pretty Beatrix Potter fabric so hopefully her mum will tell her lots of Peter Rabbit stories!

I am still working on the workshop easy circles piece, it is now layered and ready for quilting.
I have had bother with the raw edged circles coming away from the background----I rather suspect I did not have enough "bite" in the stitches, the batik fabric has not frayed but some of the others have, a lesson learned!

The waterfall class is progressing all-be-it slowly, just not enough time just now to concentrate on it.
I have chosen to do the Falls of Clyde and am waiting for permission to use a photo I found on the Google Images site.

Off to the Ingliston Quilt Show on Saturday!

Fruits of my labours

Here is the fruit of my labours at yesterday's Workshop at Greenwater Farm. The class was entitled Easy Circles. This is the first time I have done raw edged applique, which was how the circles were done before being cut up and re-formed to make the Blocks. Raw edged applique seems to be becoming very popular-------I am not totally convinced as, having a tidy nature, I do find the rough edges uncomfortable to look at, but nothing ventured nothing gained in experience as they say.
I did enjoy the day however, meeting new quilters and some old aquaintences. The studio has a lovely setting deep in the countryside and is well equipped and will be a great asset to the west of Scotland quilting scene. Andrea and Janice who run it are talented and lovely ladies and I look forward to another workshop soon. this was their first venture in workshops and I wish them well!

The quilt top will have a border added before quilting.

At long last we see the sun today and the forecast is good for the next couple of days so we should manage to get the 10 minutes of sunshine they say we all should have to help our vitamin D levels. They say that low levels of Vit D may be the cause of all the ills that seem to beset the population of this part of the world--------:-(

Completed waterfall

I have now completed the first waterfall lesson and I have enjoyed this much better than the wave lessons. The next lesson is posted this evening.

Tomorrow will be spent at a quilting class that has just been started near here, by two local ladies.

We are doing "Circles the easy way" I am all for that!! The classes are being run on a farm called Greenwater Farm-------such a pretty name. It is a way out in the wilds of the country near the next village ,Kilmacolm.

I have also finished the September BQL Bag challenge. The photo of which I will up load later.

Thread Painted Trees

We are urged to add some thread painted trees to our Waterfall scene, and so I have started work on them. Above is one in the hoop with the trunk and first layer of foliage done. I am using a water soluble stabiliser called Avalon plus ( made by Madeira) which is a lovely one to use as it does not have the plasticy feel of some water solubles, it alsmost feels like the very softest vilene but dissolves away very well.
Here are two trees completed waiting to be added to the piece before quilting. This is really my first adventure into serious thread painting and I am having fun with this. The tree on the left really does have too thick a trunk but it will blend into the background when applied -----I hope!

Waterfalls again!

Here is the start of the waterfall with the first layers of rocks and the upper falls.

Waterfalls

The next lesson for the QU course has been posted and we are now on to Waterfalls. The first excercise is to do a picture of a waterfall in Yosemite Park in California, which I have spent the morning doing, I am getting all the background of sky and rocks on to "Totally Stable". I like this stabiliser and have used it in other projects and find it very easy to tear away when the stitching is done.

This summer has been really awful from the weather point of view-------yesterday brilliant sunshine and warm and we were able to have afternoon tea in the garden, today we are back to cloud and drizzle----it is most depressing.

Breaking Waves

Here is the preliminary photo of my Waves Breaking over Rocks for the QU Course.

More embellishments have yet to be added, such as foam around the base of the rocks, then it will have a border added and then quilted.

Free Lunch-time concert

Yesterday we went to a lovely free Lunchtime concert given by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra ----------they were playing some of the music they will be playing at the Proms in the royal albert Hall. An interesting piece called "Rainbow" by the Scottish composer Thea Musgrave, just a short 12 minute piece describing a thunder storm and the appearance of a rainbow as the storm passes and finishing with the sun re-appearing------magical. the main piece was the good old pot boiler of Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 2 played by the fabulous Stephen Hough. The Glasgow Royal Concert hall was filled to capacity-----just goes to show what a free concert will do---------where are all these people during the winter season, I ponder!

I do hope their concert in London is a success.

Quilting-wise today I have been doing more on the September bag and more on the Waves over Rocks------just waiting an order of Totally Stable to pop through the letter-box from Rainbow Silks so I can get further on, their orders usually arrive quickly so I do not know where this one has gone to !

We seem to be brewing some stormy weather this afternoon and DH has just had to remove a small branch from our fairly new Crab Apple tree----one part of the branch broke off the last windy day and the rest seems to be parting company from the main stem today which will make the poor thing look all lopsided :-(

Doing instead of Blogging

I have been busy doing things instead of blogging for the past few days ( note to "K" who asked where the blogs had gone-------you know who you are !!)

I have been working on the Church Banners and they are now finished--------huge sigh of relief that they are done well before the dead-line. We are having a practice "hanging" a week on Monday.

Other things being worked on are the September Bag for the BQL Bag Challenge and lesson 3 in the QU course. I have been manipulating various photos for "Waves Breaking over Rocks" and preparing the drawings for the pattern, as well as preparing the varoius elements in it.

More tomorrow!