Friday Workshop and Other Bits

This week David and I have had a week's holiday, yet it hasn't seemed like much of a holiday as we've mostly (well, David mostly) been wielding paintbrushes as another bedroom is being decorated and I've painted the garage door and garden bench as well as the running around for the decorator.  My sewing room can't be used much as there is a double bed stacked in there so my workshop machine has been used on occasions in the dining room, so more sorting out once this is over.

I've been making a small hanging with boats on the theme "We are Sailing" for the Region 4 (Devon, Dorset and Cornwall) of the Quilters Guild which will be going around local exhibitions this year.  This will be to celebrate that the sailing events of the Olympics will be held in Weymouth.  Unfortunately I never got to take a photo before the Area Day yesterday and it will be off to the exhibitions so I won't be able to post a photo until I get it back (or I get to one of the exhibitions).

I have been able to take some time out on Friday to go to a workshop.  This was being taught by the first speaker of yesterday's Area Day, Lesley Coles, who was teaching Mongolian Knot patchwork (I had difficulty with the word Mongolia as I kept wanting to say Magnolia!).  The workshop was held as fellow quilter Frances' house as there was only her and myself!  Nevertheless we had a good time being shown how the traditional endless knot patterns, called Olzii were constructed and breaking down and drafting the patterns from these.  We started with this knot below, which was finished before lunch.

Then made another, more complicated one in the afternoon, by the end of the afternoon it was mostly made, with finishing off when I was at home in the evening.

The strips were slightly narrow because the design was bigger, but when the half square triangles were added the blocks came to a similar size.  Both these tops will be made into cushion covers.

Impressed? I was! That was a good day's work.

Lesley does not have a website, but by Googling I found Stroud Embroiders Guild has some info about this and their workshop has been about embroidering Knots instead of Patchwork.

The Area Day was pretty good to with the talk from Lesley about her travels and teaching in Mongolia followed by a talk from Valerie Nesbit, founder of the Just Hands TV website.  A chance to meet up with people I find Area Days are always good events.
 
I'll show you the postcards from the single colour swap from last month.  Mine are shown here.  These are from Irene (top), Alice and Heather

The yellow ones are from Annette and Lesley

 Can't resist the backs of two of them, must be hand dyed or painted - the green one that metallic paint on it.

I also had a slight orchid accident - one of the flower stems broke when I tried to get it to go upwards instead of sticking out under a leaf - it broke.  I immediately put it into some water and it seems to be growing!  Here it is next to the plant which started flowering this week and has four flowers already.

Have a good holiday weekend.