Osh

Osh, originally uploaded by alisoninlondon.

While the colours aren't what you'd call true to life in this photo, you get the idea. I bought 4.5 metres (1.5m of each of three fabrics) in Birmingham - all ikat fabrics from Kaffe Fasset. I loved them, but had no idea what to do with them. So I cut 6.5" strips, and started sewing. 5 blocks down and this was going to be a 60"x60" quilt. 8 blocks in and this was going to be a queen size quilt sashed in white, with a slightly larger, mitred white border. Then I thought about a biscuit coloured linen for sashing.

10 blocks in and I am reconsidering. These are all 18" square, and I kind of like them separate. So now I'm thinking I make a couple more, sandwich them and do some machine quilting, some hand quilting and I'll have a delicious stack of ikat goodness to fill up a wall (as shown), go around a doorway in an inverted U shape, or march down a hallway in single file. It's a twist on the doll quilt wall I guess. But it's all mine.

And by that last statement I don't mean to suggest that I invented the concept - just that I claimed ownership of these blocks over the more traditional options!

Buckingham Palace

Mum at Buckingham Palace, originally uploaded by alisoninlondon.

And what else did Gai get up to during her 3 weeks in England? Why, she went to see the Queen of course!

Sadly her maj was away 'summering', but the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, and the huuuuge dining room set up for a state banquet was probably best enjoyed without all of the distractions that curtseying can cause.

Here's Gai enjoying the afternoon in the Royal Backyard....

Festival of Quilts 2008

Festival of Quilts, originally uploaded by alisoninlondon.

And another show down. This time we brought the Just Patchwork brand of colour to the NEC, Birmingham for the Festival of Quilts.

We had a lot of fun shopping for the stand fittings for this one. And the colours of the furniture show off the stained glass patterns really well, don't you think?

We also had a blast looking at the quilts in the galleries and buying lots of bits and pieces from the other vendors (well, I did anyway - Mum's luggage was already fit to burst so she was a tad more restrained).