Festival of Quilts - part four

Dennis asked me when I got home whether the shopping was a big part of the fun of Festival ... and of course it is! I did once go to a quilt show and spent nothing, at a time when family circumstances meant that was a prudent thing to do and I had a perfectly happy time. And there is certainly enough to see at Festival to enjoy without shopping. But, if it is possible to shop........!

I binged a bit (ahem) on books and a membership of the Surface Design Association got be a free copy of their magazine to add to the one I bought. The pamphlets without spine titles I am not responsible for. For my wedding anniversary Dennis ordered me the twelve remaining Double Trouble Jan Beany and Jean Littlejohn books missing for my collection for me to pick up at Festival. The ones with spines but no title are from Magie Grey's company D4daisy and I managed to buy them before Festival even opened as she was selling them as we waited for her lecture at 10am on Thursday!

I don't live near a LQS so I tend to save up and collect supplies at Festival and other shows. The control freak in me requires me to binge within a budget ( a pretty generous one I admit), and so it was that I actually had to put one book back. Having decided that fabric was more important than lunch in order to keep shopping, I rang Dennis on Sunday lunchtime to check his flight back to Birmingham from N Ireland was on time and he said, "Are you still taking me out to dinner on the way home?" Ah-hum. Forgot about that! Of course with 12 books in my bag from him there was no way the answer could be no. As it happened when we got there the restaurant was shut and we ended up with takeaway at home, but I probably had enough books anyway!!

Batiks were not on the wish list but at £4 per meter I could not leave these.

There was some utilitarian shopping - ho-hum bobbins and needles and cutter blades and some coil pot cording I bought because Lesley did and I knew I'd want it as soon as I saw her finished baskets. Threads you can never have enough of.I have an idea for a City and Guilds piece which may involve metal as a theme so I went on a little collecting spree - wires, shim, wireform sample packs pliers etc Art stuff, some also metallic.

I can never walk past Oliver Twists and I don't see why anyone should be expected to. So I feel no need to justify these, but by way of explanation, they are intended for the metal C&G idea.

Lesley and I bought an identical stack of these fabrics which we think look rather elegant. We kept finding stuff and adding a meter of each others finds and were rather surprised when the total only came to £19 for the pile. God Save the Shuttle and all the cheap fabric which sails in her. Lesley also bought black which really adds to the theme. (I demurred having a whole bolt of black at home!)

And of course, it is the law of England that when you walk past Magie Relphs African Fabric stall you have to drop £70 or so....

Now to find time to play with it all!