Retreating

The photos throughout this post are of the quilting on this quilt which need a title and fast, as the entry form for Festival of Quilts needs to be posted on Wednesday. Any ideas? My best one so far is Last orders down the Watering Hole but Dennnis doesn't think much of that one. I had fun making all the leaves different.
I have always wanted to go on a quilt retreat but frankly even the plava of getting my gear up to the regular class I do in Penrith is wearing. I dread a flat tire on the motorway - can you imagine the pile on the hardshoulder as the RAC man gets the spare out. ( No, there is not a snowball in hell's chance that I will be getting it out!) Machine, extension table, two project boxes, show and tell quilt, basket of notions and leads, overnight bag, quilting journal, pile of magazines for my friend. .... and add shopping to that on the way home. And really, quilting in good company is delightful but it doesn't really go with top productivity does it?
But this Bank Holiday weekend I have well and truly solved the problem. My quilting retreat started on Sunday. My husband drove me to Manchester airport and I had no need to tote anything other than my purse. Check in went smoothly, we had a coffee and then, at time to go through security I left him there and came home. Save for a few phone calls to check he is enjoying a visit to his parents' in Northern Ireland I have the best part of four days splendid isolation to quilt to my hearts content.
The general pattern is: Get up, read quilt magazine over breakfast, work on the machine with short breaks to make tea and sandwiches until hunger drives me to the freezer for tea. Eat in front of TV then handsew in front of TV until eyes will stay open no longer. So the productvity is fine. As for company. well, fortunately I like my own, but as TV includes catching up on unwatched episodes of The Quilt Show I can say that I shared my double egg, chips and beans (come on I am not wasting time on food!) with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson.

Aaprt from this quilt I have been doing samples and also a lot of design work for one of my City and Guilds final projects - a bag set based on Nigerian Egungun ceremonial costumes. Would you like to see my design book pages sometime?

On Thursday I have a break to prevent RSI setting in and to take my Mum shopping for clothes and then I have a Friday to Sunday weekend to get more done! I have a list which I pared down to make achieveable but I still think I'll be doing well even with all that time!