Loch Lomond Quilt Show

So, I’ve finally done it. My Shelter pieces are installed and are open to be visited as part of the Loch Lomond Quilt Show until Saturday. The last few weeks have, as normal, been very busy. I’ve been trying to get these finished for the show and praying that they would fit in the car. It was very tight on Sunday evening and wI had no real viable back up plan, but with help from our friendly neighbour and his Land Rover, we just managed to put all six of them into the two cars to bring to Vale of Leven Baptist Church, Alexandria. There was no room for anyone else in the car apart from me!

There were a few hiccups as you would expect with the installation (no one there to open up, so they had to be taken elsewhere overnight for storage!), but now they are in place and look good. I have to stop referring to them as people, but I do feel that they are having a conversation or a dialogue with each other.

Visitors’ reactions so far have been positive and friendly, which is nice. I’m in a room at the back of the church and you get a great view of the work as you walk in the door. You can’t see me when you see them first of all, so I could hear the initial honest reactions. Luckily, there was nothing bad; they ranged from 'Oh, my god!' to several 'Wow!'s

June's Journal Quilt

Having spent so long making my short bit of fabric, I wasn't going to give up on it! One of my favourite photos from my series from the aquariums is this one, even though there aren't any fishes in it.

I think the black is a wall or something similar, but I just love the patterns of the reflections on the water. Although my final piece looks nothing like this picture, this was the starting point and I still want to go back and do more pieces based on it. It's almost like the edge of the world tipping over into the abyss; how I imagine people thought the ends of the world looked when they thought it was flat not round - I still have trouble explaining that to our six year old!

Technically, I had fun using the twin needle and my old workhorse machine. It really will sew through anything without complaint and isn't fussy about what thread you use either. Sometimes, simple is good.

Next month's needs sunshine and it has just started raining after a really unusually good few weeks here - I hope I haven't missed the boat. Last year summer seemed to be over by mid May in Scotland!

those 2 1/2inch squares again

Having said this morning in a post, I never wanted to cut another 2 1/2inch square - what did I end up doing this afternoon?

I was making my latest journal quilt and my new machine didn't like the twin needle and I wasn't happy with what I had done, even after I had switched back to the old one, so I cut it up into 2 1/2in squares and sewed it back together again. It wasn't exactly what I was meant to be doing and it is now too short, but I am a lot happier with it, even if I ended up with lots of broken thread, one broken needle and lots of 2 1/2inch squares.

Easter Break

Making the Shelter pieces

Well, it should have been a time for the family and it was... in between manically making my mystery quilt (next time I'm starting with larger squares - I never want to cut another 2 1/2inch square again!) and sewing my large shelter pieces.

Details of the Shelter pieces

The Easter Egg Hunt started early in our household when on Saturday evening, DH and I couldn't remember where we had hidden the eggs. One hour later (precious lost work time!), and in mega panic mode as by this time even the Co-op had shut, so it would look like the Easter Bunny had forgotten the little darlings, he found them at the bottom of his wardrobe. Chocolate was enjoyed by all!

Tshirt success

I've just made my first sale on the internet. A lovely lady bought one of my t-shirts on the website folksy. It's really exciting to actually make a sale. I started making these t-shirts for my own monsters and then their friends and when I put some of my more serious stuff for sale on the internet http://www.folksy.com/shops/gillian , I thought I would also try some of the more fun stuff too. She seems to like it as well! I was so pleased that I rushed it round the post office and forgot to take a photo of it - so this is one that I made for a friend's daughter.

I've also listed items on the American website Etsy, as gillcooper and gummybears, but no bites there so far. I think I need to spend more time on marketing and setting it up properly - all important things that take time away from stitching the work that still needs to be finished for the Loch Lomond Show. The monsters have been playing under the drying fabric... glad it is amusing someone.

Quality Quilting?

We had one of our rare 'proper' editorial meetings for Popular Patchwork the other week, where we gathered from across the country and sat down together and discussed where the magazine is going and what should be featured. It's really enjoyable to feel part of a team when we all work from home in front of our computers normally and send emails. There's also lots of exciting things going on. One of the discussions we had was how to get the word quilting more prominent on the cover. I couldn't come up with any great phrases and my best offering was 'quality quilting'. I'm not expecting that to feature any time soon!

On the making front, the Shelter pieces are developing, but more slowly than I expected. It's taking more time to add the blanket ribbon than I thought would be needed to add the ribbon and finish everything thing. It's getting a bit tedious, so I'm hiding typing this, ignoring the large piece of semi pinned brushed cotton, silk and blanket ribbon that has taken over the living room floor. I still haven't got one of them complete and I've got five still to do. However, they do look good with fabric over them - like ghosts or wraiths - even I was spooked and I made them.

This photo is of my May journal quilt for PP - lots of torn fabric scraps and some beads on top. Another outcome of our editorial meeting is that we are definitely having a stand at the Festival of Quilts and my journal quilts are going to be on show there (unless we are absolutely inundated with reader ones), so I'm going to have to get finishing them better so that they stand up to our readers closer inspection.

This Glamorous Life

Sometimes when I write for Popular Patchwork, I get the impression that people are rather envious of the fact I have a studio. I know I am very lucky. However, I have never been a neat and tidy worker. Even as a teenager, books were strewn everywhere and now my studio is filled to the brim with fabric and knitting and sewing machines and the ironing board. So the computer is in the playroom and my desk is messy with very old paper work still sitting on it begging to be sorted (sorry paper work not today, got better things to do). I've finally started getting the Shelter pieces made for the Loch Lomond Show and they are taking over the entire house!

The garage is too full of junk and potentially mice to paint fabric there, so this is being done in our dining area of the kitchen, stretching the fabric from the table to the old futon, doing about 1.5m by 1m at at time - let's hope it is sunny over the next few days or it could be a very slow process! The two frames which are being covered in wadding are in the living room as I can't get the big one up the stairs without punching holes in the thin plasterboard walls. What is it going to be like when I have all six of them at this stage? And even more so, where I am going to keep them after the show? Please someone, would you like to exhibit them somewhere as I don't really want a permanent show in my living room!

Funding Success

Had two lots of good news recently. My local authority scheme, Forth Valley Visual Artist Awards Scheme is giving me a grant to experiment and create some new work about the passing of time. Only a few days prior to this, another small grant giving group, Stirling Arts Forum had told me I had been successful and am getting a small grant to help towards making the work to go outside at Aberfoyle.

The oldest monster is beginning to understand money and was pleased. He thinks it is money for our holiday.... As if I would give up precious childcare money for that!

We were up at Aberfoyle again at the weekend in the sunshine and I was measuring the width of the trees to see how it would compare to my work. Luckily it is about the same. The trees look amazing. So I am starting to think about what I could make to hang amongst them. I think it will definitely be something felted, as it is something natural. I want it be stand out from the woods but not to be too blatant. But of course, I may change my mind before I finish the work.

All at sea

After a bit of a write off last week with a coldy bug and a migraine, it's back to normal this week. I finished the first block on the mystery quilt, which of course I can't show you as it is meant to be a mystery! I'm also trying to persuade myself to get on with making the final pieces for the Loch Lomond Show. I've got eight weeks, but I seem to keep putting it off as I want them to be perfect and I'm not 110% convinced yet that the inner fabric is just quite right. So that's this afternoon's task. I have to really start going for it. I did start covering the first frame in wadding this weekend and Dad asked yesterday who was making monsters, thinking it was the kids rather than my work...

It was the Quilters' Guild Regional Weekend and it was fun hearing Evelyn Ramsay and Delia Salter taking about their work. I also went to a workshop run by Delia about Making a Seascape. This was my effort. It's ages since I've been to a workshop so it was just fun playing with fabric and making something on a totally different theme to normal. I'm quite pleased with it, although it still needs some more work. It was a really weird piece as it looked totally different close up to from a distance. Some of the stitching which I thought had made not effect at all close up was almost too dominant when I looked at it from a distance. From the photo you get more of the distance view.

Journal Quilt 4

This is the latest journal quilt. It was meant to be trying out machine embroidery/quilting. I really enjoyed hammering away at the jellyfish with the sewing machine to create the layers of stitch - I could of gone on for ages longer, but it had to be ready in time for publication to coincide with the new edition of Popular Patchwork. DH thinks it is his favourite so far. I'm not so sure - but I will be doing more of the old machine embroidery in future. I had forgotten how much fun it could be.