Festival of Quilts

We are staying in Birmingham for two nights in order to attend the Festival of Quilts. Really it is Dorothy who is the quilter and I am just along for the ride. But I have met several people I know which does not happen at any other show I attend. I attended two lectures and a catwalk show. The last was a total waste of time, very unfashionable and rather boring. The two talks, by Cecile Trentini and Clare Benn, were about inspiration and were very good and useful even to a weaver. The quilts in the exhibitions are the usual range from naff to exquisite. I believe they hang everything submitted and then award prizes. The prize winners were exceptional. I did a spot of shopping, nothing exciting, just some calico for toiles, a new roller cutter and some handbag fixings.

The two talks certainly provided food for thought and I have another design on the books as a result.

Other news is that I have started on the generation of the pages for the Lament of the Makars and have covered the first eight verses. There are another seven verses to do. Looking good so far. Expect photos this weekend.

I must return to the fan reed length on the Kombo though I have not got a use for this. It was warped up to use as another example in the fan reed book but there are three yards of warp. So I have decided to finish it off and use it as samples to send the Fine Threads Study Group of Complex Weavers In September. That means getting on with the weaving.

There were a nasty two days earlier this week getting Ice Shards back from Convergence. I was told very firmly when it left the UK that to get it back, I must tell the UK courier exactly what date and where it was to be collected at the USA end. Despite several frantic emails I could not raise anyone in HGA who could tell me where the ********* thing was.  So I was very surprised when it just arrived! It is all okay but someone must have disobeyed instructions very effectively. I did send a letter with the original submission  telling HGA what I had been to do. Oh well, no point wasting energy on it. It is home and that is all that matters.

Dorothy and I are registering for Berks Open Studios 2017 and I need to send three pieces of weaving to be assessed. I am going to use Ice Shards and the silk piece of yardage shown in Convergence 2012. The third item will be a book covered in some double cloth.