Slow day in Dundee

I usually travel in and out of Dundee without seeing much more that the hotel and university ... this time I'm staying for a couple of days to discover the city. Just now there is a crimson evening sky full of clouds with depth, breadth and attitude looming over the road and rail bridges that dominates this riverside city, and the background music is seagull song ... its a lovley way to relax.

I spent the morning at Verdant Works immersed in the history of jute and flax, learning about why this place was called she-city and men, kettle boilers. Passed along streets with great names like Horsewater Wynd, and by the church there was a row of granite penguins.

This afternoon I caught the bus to Broughty Ferry, wandered along the banks of the Tay

The North Carr Lightship looked wonderful in the sun today, such a fascinating structure, and most of it a raspberry rust that so belongs on an old ship.

Its a sunny day, not a cloud is in the sky

With thanks to Paul Simon for the title of today's blog ... and to RHS Wisley Gardens for the space to walk amongst upcoming spring flowers and all things green, even when the car park is full to overflowing. Lots of inspiration for quilting designs from catkins and hellebores ...

What a wonderful burning bush we found at the end of pathway after our welcome cup of tea.... and very well done to friend Jane, who is now out walking after a winter of discontent with her breathing.

I'm going back to my bobbin embroidery after writing this, taking one motif at a time in what is now a small design of my own. Watch it grow ... fingers crossed.

Way out of my comfort zone

I’ve spent the day at a DoodleZenDotZ workshop run by quilt artist Bonnie Lyn McCaffery (http://bonniemccaffery.com/ ) –we doodled, designed, bobbin machine embroidered and then dotted with fabric paint. Sounds simple written like that but each element of the day took me to places that are rather scary for me .
I grew up thinking I was the one who couldn’t draw, let alone design so starting with doodling was fine … no need to plan, or try to represent, just pencil and paper and a line that could go where I took it. Design was a big step but  I do have one, and just now in the peace of my studio here at home I traced it ready for quilting, and have started to embroider it, its easier to grip the fabric now I’ve found the quilting gloves.
In the workshop I ‘borrowed’ one of Bonnie’s for my first try at Bobbin thread embroidery. Then, while everyone else was stitching professionally and so quickly I had a lesson in getting my machine ready for free motion stitching, checking the tension -then came the challenge. Feed dogs down, no pressure foot on, just me guiding the fabric and keeping the stitch length even. At least the threads behaved and eventually I produced an embroidered design ready for  paint, dots and a rainbow of colour.
So here it is ,,
   
….  small, imperfectly formed, but I learnt lots and now plan to use the dotting technique with fabric paint for the Merry Christmas wall hanging in place of  hand embroidery with thread … so its a good job I’m now well stocked with little pots of colour magic and various points and spikes to dot, dot, dot.

One more letter

I’ve put a cold and wet day to good use today and hey, the E of Merry Christmas is ready for quilting. I played some more with the different stitches on my machine and have matched top thread colours from my stash. Goodness knows how old some of the reels of thread I have are … but there’s a great selection of colours and with wonderful bottom line thread in the bobbin everything is very well behaved. Ok its polyester, but it works, no more knots and broken threads.

in my view life is too short for unpicking and for re cutting appliqué shapes that turn out to be the wrong way around!   So the candy stick is back to front –but would you have noticed if I hadn’t told you.  Lots of embroidery and some blingy buttons and ribbons to go on this block after it has been quilted

1st Christmas Quilt block

I finished the pre quilting embroidery on the 1st block of my Merry Christmas Quilt today … just some simple hand sewing in the company of the few of us at the Quilting class today.

I’m pleased with my machine applique, and now have some hints about using different stitches on the edges

Our class is usually about 20 but the snow, bugs and family matters meant today there were 7 of us with needle and thread and yes, glue was also being used.  Lot of hexagons are being sewn and stuck, and some very attractive patterns are emerging as the small shapes are joined.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s work grow and to cracking on with the letter E …

Catching up

Long time no blogging, but back here now after lots of time on family matters. Also busy with two -I can't believe I got my self into this- online courses, poetry and the visual and journalling our way home. Today I've caught up both of these, read all the poems for tomorrow's workshop with Tamar Yoselof in the Poetry School's Moodle classroom and written my personal timeline to find triggers for this weeks journal entries.
I'm enjoying the NING discussion group and find it amazing how well a few people can get to know each other and have such supportive interactions by posting some of their thoughts and responding to what we all write.
Also started a new sewing project today, the first block of a Christmas quilt and my first go at machine appliqué. Its certainly quicker than all that turning under and sewing by hand and thank goodness my machine has a slow down button. Will post pics soon of that block, just a few lines of embroidery and its ready for piecing and quilting. Only 15 more to make.......
Have written this on my iPad, and still I hit the m or n instead of the space bar, that throws up some very strange words.