Going back to my roots..

Well, I have finally finished the quilt!! It will be interesting to see how it hangs once I get the pocket on it, as there isn't a straight side to it. I seem to be wanting to get away from neat and tidy and want more wonky edges. I am glad it's done!

It will not be given away!! It was going to be a gift for our Deacon's ordination and I was showing some friends, and they asked which Show I would be entering it into. I hadn't actually thought about it, but, maybe it should be seen although I don't think it's up to the standard I would normally have, it has been nipped and tucked in places, but maybe that adds to the charm of it. May be I'll take it to the UK in August and enter it into the Festival of Quilts in 2014, it will be cheaper to mail it if it's in the country already. I mailed one from here for the Horizon's challenge of the Contemporary Quilt group, and it cost me a whopping $92.00. Most of that was handling charges!

I have something else for the Deacon!

I left the roots hanging, but did stitch them over so they wouldn't look too untidy. I also left bits hanging off the side, again, I want to get away from neat and tidy.

Not sure the photos do it justice but I took them anyway. I have to get the husband primed to photograph it, he does all my quilts and makes a very good job of it.

So, the question is, what to do next? Well, have started another one. I seem to have a thing with trees, but that seems to be "my" thing. They are not terribly realistic, but they do look like trees.

So, here it is. I am using another piece of ice dyed silk as the background, and dupioni silks for the tree. I think it will just be the one and I will build from there, I started adding a little cheesecloth at the base of the tree which, I think, works quite well, and gives it some depth. I love the colours in this, and find these backgrounds speak volumes, by telling me how much decoration I need to put on them, so I will take this slowly.

I did some more ice dyeing yesterday, and the results are just lovely! I will post them at a later date!

I have also been working on Quilt Festival, and I'm having a lot of fun choosing the workshops for next year. I think we will have a lot to choose from and some fun classes and other surprises! I will be going back to my roots and travelling to the UK in August to do some promotional work at the FOQ in Birmingham, so I am trying to get a slideshow together, which will, hopefully, give a sense of what the Ailsa Craig Festival is like. I'm sure they love me at my One to One sessions at the Apple store, as I take it all in there and get it done! But, they are the experts and I am learning a lot while I'm doing it, and it's nice to have some help from someone more technical than I.

Another job I have to do while I'm in the UK, is to take a photo of Big Ben. This has been requested by my 8 year old neighbour, it would appear it's the only thing he wants, but I have absolutely no idea why! So, after Birmingham, I will be going back to London for the following week, I  am sure I will have a lot to do, but I have promised myself some time in London and have actually booked a ticket for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. I used to be a friend of the RA and still subscribe to the Magazine which I love, so I was thrilled to see that the Summer exhibition was still on and I am looking forward to taking myself off to see it. 

I will probably miss the David Bowie exhibit at the V&A. It closes while I'm in Birmingham, so the only day I would see it, would be the day after I land in the UK. Not sure how that will work but we will see! I want to see as many shows as I can while I'm there. I might also take myself off to Sotheby's and Christie's Auction houses. That was something I enjoyed a lot. I  did buy and sell china for  little while, and would always enjoy going up to town for a viewing. It's like going to  Selfridge's or Harrod's, you had the opportunity to look at Designer clothing, handle it, try it on even, and then hand it back. And it was the same going into the Auction houses, it gave you the chance to handle items you couldn't afford but it was fun to look. I did however, have the odd success so I can't complain.

Well, I had better get back to work, still lots to do before August!!!!