Beavering on

Well, we're home from the Festival of Quilts and it all went very well. We had some brilliant help on the stand this year - thanks Sam and Paula - so we weren't quite so tired when we got home. The stand looked great and Elli's jacket (thanks for the message, Elli) was a big hit. You can see a bit of our stand below. Elli's jacket is in my Stitches, Straps and Layers book and is a great example of working with strips of fabric - in this case, lovely hand-dyed fabric.

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You can also see a piece by Jean Draper which was very atmospheric. It was called, 'After the Fire, Sunset'. So very effective and great colours.
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I thought the show was wonderful - there will be a full review in the unrestricted area of Workshop on the Web in September - gosh, that's next week.

So many visitors from overseas - must improve my French. There was much to see - from welcome, familiar faces like the Kemshalls (below) who always present wondrous work, to newcomers like the group from Murmansk in Russia, there was something for everyone. The Russian ladies were lovely and the work, as you can see, was so vibrant and a little bit saucy.
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Bernina invited me to the Gala Dinner and I sat with Pauline Burbidge (love her work). We had both been teaching at the Italian Masseria this year so we had a lot to talk about. I am almost certainly going back there in 2012 so lots of time to plan a really great course.

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We stayed in a slightly better hotel than usual - we usually try not to spend too much on accomodation because the costs associated with the show are very high. We got a good deal this time on a Prenier Inn and it was certainly more relaxing.
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Anyway, we had an excellent show, my talks were really well supported, so thanks to all who came to them, we also had some good meals with good friends and managed to get packed and away in record time. Clive gained two new daughters (you know who you are) and, true to daughters everywhere, they both wanted pocket money!
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It's lovely to be home (no news on the sale - still waiting for our buyer's surveyor) and, best of all, my eldest granddaughter, Lauren, got excellent GCSE results today, including four As and an A*. The lowest she got was a C for Art & Design - oh the shame of it! She's definitely leaning towards the academic, not the arty side of the family. This means that she has been accepted on the A level course she had set her heart on, so that's good news.
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I have five Flower Stitchers up for grabs. If anyone wants one, leave a comment on this blog. That'll be another drawer cleared out! Closing date Saturday 28th.
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Comments

Scooter - glad you found the CD. Brewer Sewing do it in the USA - they carry all the d4daisy books.
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I put Tiziana's work in the talk I gave at NEC, Helen, and everyone gave that little 'ooh' sound that means it's a really good piece of work. Lovely to hear from the lady herself - you were much discussed Tiziana!
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Gill - I did try the old crumpled silk trick last year but it was a bit lightweight and kept catching in the sewing machine. I did discover that this gave an interesting result, though.
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Elli - see above note about your jacket. Much admiration - aren't I lucky to have friends who make such great work.