Sunday saw a somewhat damp start to the day (and middle and end really). My first class was the designer challenge, which didn’t start til 11, so I didn’t rock up til after 9, and then sat and chatted with Trudi and Nicky, and eventually Jennie, getting an impromptu FMQ lesson from Trudi while we waited for class to start. I think I’ll need lots of pencil and paper practice to get the idea of where to start and end things, but so many possibilities! Now I’d love to show you photos from this class, but having studiously(?!) slaved away for an hour, we handed all our hard work in to John and Katy for consideration for future issues (doubt you’ll be seeing mine again, they veered from the overly simple to the downright awkward!)
Lunchtime again, and this time I had my secret weapon of carrot sticks and hummous, where I proceeded to entertain everyone with my OCD tendencies over keeping the top of the hummous level as I ate (and which Kat and others delighted in denting ;o) ) It was probably a good thing it wasn’t something that had to come out even, or you’d really have had a giggle! Personally I blame the parents for kids’ odd eating habits… ;o)
Post lunch I had portholes with Lu, designer extraordinaire, who is responsible for Summersville which is currently taking the fabric buying world by storm. This class was to teach a technique she and her mum had used on a prize winning quilt from a couple of years ago at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. The idea is great, and once you’ve mastered the technique with one shape, then the world’s your oyster with other shapes. I think I might use mine to create a funky mini of some sort.
I used the Monsterz line from Cloud 9 fabric, because I thought it would be fun to get the monsters peeking out of holes (I’m so easily amused ;o) ) You wouldn’t just have to use this on quilts though, it would work great on bags as well, and maybe even a T-shirt or something. I enjoyed all the classes, but I have to say, I think this was my favourite, probably because it was so different! It’s totally given me a new idea for my My Precious QAL circles, as it means I can dispense with the fusible interfacing fiddly option, and I should hopefully get a much softer and more pliable quilt, so thanks to Lu’s mum for working it out, and convincing Lu it would actually work! Of course I had to totally push the boat out after the first circles (which I offset too) and then freehanded a wee heart to go inside a larger circle. You could create all sorts of combinations really, wherever your imagination cared to wander!
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| Photo courtesy of Lu |
After a final round of announcements and prizes, it was all over :o( We reversed the schlepping of stuff back to Leanne’s hotel room, taking a couple of trips in the rain (although Cindy helped on round 2) and then we had a great time in the bar discussing jobs, politics, marriage and so many other things – with 3 people from what was effectively 5 different countries (given where we’re originally from and live now) it was really interesting to see all the different view points, although we all realised that we were perched somewhere over on the same extreme politics wise, wherever we happened to be from! We then took a good hour to wander round trying to find food, after that Vietnamese place turned out to be closed again, but we ended up in a pub with a decent enough menu, albeit the waiter/chefs seemed to forget a few things! Having eaten we were about to head back to the hotel when we realised that it was raining so hard it looked like a tap had been turned on, so we decided we’d just have another drink ;o) We didn’t even have to pay for the drink though, thanks to a rather merry jubilee celebrator who sprung for a round for the ‘lovely ladies’. (See mum, ‘lady’, honest, some strange man said so ;o) )
Hurray for strange men – did you flash hi your portholes?
Him, not hi – duh!
All we did was read you 'Bread & Jam for Frances'!! I also seem to recall advising against accepting gifts from strange men, though possibly not if the invitation included the word 'lovely', no matter how true the description might be 🙂
lol! i can't stop laughing at hadleys comment!
It all sounds like SO much fun!
Sounds like a great time had by all!
And I love Frances. Especially with Bread & Jam.
The portholes class sounds like fun, and so many possibilities!
Strange men buying you drinks in pubs, what is the world coming to?
Those portholes are really cool!!! Love the little hearty one. I know I keep saying it all sounds like so much fun so I won't say it again… : )
Yeah for another great day!
I once had a strange man buy me a drink, which I accepted before realising he was trying to chat me up, at which point I made a hasty retreat and kept a very low profile till the end of the evening!
There has been so much rain over the last week here in Wales that I could do with some of those portholes to see out of! In Aberystwyth they had to rescue people from a campsite with lifeboats! …. I just got into my yellow submarine and am waiting for the sun to come out again!
Sounds like a fun day! Least you had lunch this time round.
The portholes look so cool! So wish I had been there to learn how to make them =D
I'm having a giveaway on my blog. There is one extra day to enter =D
http://ibescheraldine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/official-150th-post-giveaway.html
Yup, he did call us lovely, and he did not pester us either. It was a great day.
I've had such fun reading about everyone's adventures!
Thanks for the giggles! Love the reverse appliqué / porthole creation, is that freezer paper method?
So pleased you all had a great time at the Retreat.
London was really cheerful – even in the rain.
I think I am on record here as saying that your OCD eating habits are all your own. Really you should have outgrown the "making it all come out even" idea when you were about 6. After all the Frances books were aimed at 4 year olds.
As for the new construction "totally given" and "totally push the boat out" etc, are you hoping to go down with Star Trek or are you just becoming a US teenager? 😀
Dad
I still like to organise my Smarties/M&Ms by colour, lay them in lines and then make them even by eating the most common ones (usually brown!) – does that also mean I have odd eating habits or did I spend too many years making pictograms with six year olds?!
I am so intrigued by the portholes technique, you will have to teach me at SS. And, here here for free drinks form strange men.
I am so intrigued by the portholes technique, you will have to teach me at SS. And, here here for free drinks form strange men.
I am so intrigued by the portholes technique, you will have to teach me at SS. And, here here for free drinks form strange men.
I am so intrigued by the portholes technique, you will have to teach me at SS. And, here here for free drinks form strange men.
Phooey, now I really want to eat carrots and hummus, and I can't get any right now!
Your circles and heart look fantastic! I wish I could have gone to her class! Hopefully now that it's over, she'll be willing to teach the rest of us. :}