Monday, July 27, 2009

Only one quilt shop so far!

Scotland is noted for woolens. There are many shops with everything from basic yarns to finished cashmere, but I've only spotted one show with quilting cotton. They didn't have much of a selection, so I left my money in my handbag (they call wallets purses here). Instead, I spotted this yarn in a sale bin and thought it might be good for embellishment on landscape quilts. The shop owner told me that some shops are just starting to have quilting classes.

We did see several pottery shops. The one that caught my eye most quickly was this one in Dunkelden (sp?). Since we cannot take pottery home without some risk, we didn't go inside.

Except for Friday, the weather has been excellent. On Friday all the clouds over Great Britain emptied their load. It was very wet. The other days have been sunny, so much so that I got a sunburn on Saturday.

My husband is golfing. He did Gleneagles Thursday and is at a city course in Edinburgh today. There are 500+ golf courses here!

Our time here for the Homecoming/Gathering of the Clans has been fabulous. On Saturday night we joined my clan (Leslie) and nearly 200 other clans, 6000 of us, for a march from Holyrod Palace up the Royal Mile on cobblestones to Edinburgh Castle. The streets were absolutely packed with people cheering as their own clan went by. In some places we could only walk three abreast, as there were so many people. Only in Scotland do people of all sizes and ages show up by the thousands to celebrate their families!

It was emotional too. I felt so proud to have Scottish blood in my veins. At the castle we were treated to an historical presentation showing the tenacity and inventive spirit of the Scots. One who represented a recent generation born elsewhere said that even though he was born an Aussie, he was Scottish through and through. My father was not born here, nor me, but I feel the same way.

Tomorrow we go north where my family roots are, and we might look for a gravestone or two. I'd love to find some living relatives but the chances are very slim. I don't have enough information and my great aunt married a Reid, one of the most common names in this Psalm 23 country.

We were at Crief Friday morning (no rain there) and it is so beautiful. I didn't take enough pictures but hope to post some after we go back through there at the end of next week. And I will keep looking for quilt shops!



Sunday, July 19, 2009

Updates

We are on holidays for two weeks, starting tomorrow. I was hoping to post another finish before we left, but life happens. I have a flower pounding one done and the second one is close. Back soon...

Can you guess where we are going?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Starry Table Runner

This one is from that book, Skinny Quilts & Table Runners, that I like so much. It was easy to make, but lots of pieces! The strips for the log cabin sections are 1.25" wide. The one in the book was black and white prints with pink and orange stars. This color combination better suits me. It is about 15" x 43" and will look great on a dresser in my bedroom.

I'm hand-quilting and beading a couple of flower-pounded UFOs and thinking of calling them Hammered I and Hammered II but don't want anyone to think that was my state when I pounded those poor flowers! LOL

Monday, July 13, 2009

Identity?


Yesterday I was looking for a B&B in Scotland and surfing for art quilts. Up pops this B&B in the USA with a quilt hanging on the wall. It is large (as in 3-4 feet by 5-6 feet) and really attractive. I've not seen it before and the site didn't say anything about the quilt maker. Anyone know anything about this gem?

I've been working on several finishes. Each one seems to be taking far too long, but by tomorrow I should have some pictures. (Taking and posting photos seems to take me a long time too!)