Out & About at Highland Quilters

The only downside about working from home now is that I don't leave the village very much.  It is too easy just to stay put, especially as most things are at least 30-40 minutes away.  So I was very pleased when Highland Quilters in Inverness invited me to give a talk and run some workshops for them.
Luckily the weather improved on Thursday as I set off, so I had a great drive and even managed to go for a short work near Aviemore on route.  I also had to have another break as I had forgotten to take shoes with me as I had put on old trainers to take the kids to school.  They really were not suitable to be seen!

A design in progress

The talk was appreciated and on the Friday I had the group painting to music, rolling dice and sticking tissue paper.  All perfectly normal quilting activities! 

Getting the fabric laid out

In the afternoon, we progressed to fabric, looking at how to recreate our designs with small pieces.

Stitched overnight

There were some lovely quilt designs as a result of this and one of the group had even managed to start stitching her piece before the next day's workshop!

Culloden Battlefield

As the hall Highland Quilters used was near Culloden, I managed a quick visit to the battlefield site after the workshop. 

Culloden Moor

It was very quiet and beautiful and much more atmospheric than my trip to the site of the Battle of Hastings.  The wind, the marshes and the lack of sight at points all added to the sense of place.

Stitching the scraps together

The second day, I shared my scrap piecing methods and we then painted the quilts with watery fabric paint to pull it all together.  After attacking the quilts will hair dryers to speed up drying, we then added details in Markal paintstiks.  

Highland Quilters at the end of the Scrap Piecing for Art Quilts Workshop

I did remember to take photos of this session, including my first ever cheesy shot of all the workshop participants holding their pieces at the end!

Spring Gorse