Race wise yesterday wasn't great. We ran much faster than we expected on the first run (17.48) then much slower on the second run (*18.22). Our third run of the day was cancelled so they could work on the track. It had been painfully hot and the track needed the rubber cleaning off it. Maybe we will do better today.
My idea of a good holiday is one where I can lie in bed in the morning listening to race cars warm up. This morning the cars provided, it was lovely, and before breakfast we were through scrutineering. The photo is from my walk to sign on. It's a lovely bonnet isn't it.
Our first run we dialed in 16.5, the car should be able to run that easily, but of course we haven't tried the rebuilt engine yet. When it came to it, the launch was poor (but then this is my road car) and Tet decided to take things carefully, 18.05 is pretty slow, but it is safe and the car is still happy.
On the quilt front I have almost finished the one I started at the track almost a year ago. I would love to get it finished today then I can start my next project while I'm here.
Now, why am I blogging? Well instead of being at the unit loading my van for the talk this evening I am getting the train to Hemel Hempstead. The van is headed to Greenwich with capri cylinder heads on board (yes the ones that were in the bathroom last night). We are trying to have the car ready to race at Easter but things are not going to plan. The van will catch up with me at Hemel ready to head to Essex. Rather more exciting than I planned but it does give me time to blog so I suppose I can't really complain.
The workshop is upstairs in what I would guess is a converted barn. The light is good and the beams make great perches. You can see everything from the middle beam. Hopefully some of the students will share some pictures. If any of you have youir own home on the web please feel free to leave a comment directing us to any pictures.
Monday I was teaching machine quilting in Kent. Unfortunately not a class that lends itself to interesting pictures. Other than my student not being what I wouldcall beginners it was a good day. I think everyone found some useful information and a quilting design they could play with. Thinking about it, perhaps I should have photographed their before work, some of it was really very good.
Tonight I am on a farm in Norfolk, but I will tell you about that tomorrow.
It was a cold night followed by a hot day and there was a solid blanket of mist over the Downs. Just the tops of hills were visable apparently floating in the sky, it really was magical. After threading your way between the hills you get lots of open spcae with the sea in the distance. I love Sussex, I just can't help it.
I was g;ad I had used sattelite images to check the exact location of the hall as it was furter up the road than I would have expected but very easy to find when you know what you are looking for. It's a nice hall with plenty of parking, and a reasonabl;e number of sockets. It also had a very pretty modern stained glass window over the door. As you can see there was lots of room for people to spread out.
The class was Caveman Tulips as per Ricky Tims. Nearly everyone went home with well progrressed tulips. One lady did have a fabric which didn't want to do the class. While that must have been very frustrating she stayed, learned and helped outhers. I hope she will give the technique another go with more obliging fabrics. I've only shared the best of my pictures here, the sun was making photography very difficult. Hopefully they will be good enough to appreciate the amount of work and creativity that the group achieved. I thought it was a fun day, they are a friendly group and get the award for the most robust ham roll ever. It was really nice and amazingly filling. I fed the second roll to Tet for dinner!
Each time I get to teach a multi day class it reminds me how much I enjoy it. You can get so much more done. It seems that quilting every day keeps the new technique fresh in your mind so two consecutive days seems to be about the same as three spaced out days. The Sunday was spent playing with different designs using the same techniques as the tulips. We had sea horses, butterflys, dragonflys, ducks and Marys not to mention the other things that were designed but not made. I certainly enjoyed the day and I think the class did too. Of course when you experiment you do get some designs that don't work the way you expect, which then allows everyone to learn more. You can progress techniques so much faster when there are more people playing.
I flew home Monday night after being fed solidly so I wouldn't starve on the journey. I think my main memory of Ireland from both trips is the food. You do get very well fed and the food is solid proper food. Heathrow was the usual unpleasant shock. Suddenly no on can understand a word I say and even ordering a coffee was hard work. By the time I got home I was exhausted, and yesterdays talk was hard work after the 4 days in Ireland, but more on that later.
After a very nice dinner we went to the hall. The talk was in a church which might have been tricky with my big talk but it was perfect for the 20kg version. To save weight I took my coat and to go with it I thought the dress would go well with it. As the dummy was too big to bring I decided to wear it for the talk. It worked very well actually especially as the heating was broken. I think I got the best deal. The talk seemed to work very well despite just being chosen for weight, and the group were lovely. As we were packing up the alarm went off. We assumed it was a burgler alarm, but no, it ws the fire alarm. Everyone checked for fire while I packed and left. There wasn't actually a fire but I appreciated the care they took and that they let me get on with packing.
Today we have been making tulips, well them and other similar flowers. There are lots of interesting variations in this group. They have come up with several new ways of putting on borders that are really exciting. I should be able to take pictures tomorrow. We've just been out to dinner in a very nice restaurant that does fantastic cocktails. They have apparently won awards for some of them. They were good, so was the food. If you are in Limerick do try to get to the Cornstore, the fixed price menu is great value, everything we had was lovely and huge portions.
I think it's reaching the point where I should try and encourage my students to bed so they are ready for another full day tomorrow. We will be doing more caveman type designs. Whups it really is late, the students B+B have just phoned to see if they are OK time for bed.
The Sage building is odd. It's a big silver slug by the river. I like it, but I can see how some might not. At night the windows give it the look of a ship which is rather nice. The really impressiv views are from inside it. Despite being a very modern building it feels very welcoming and is a good place to relax with a drink and watch the river. The food looked good too.
The last two pictures are from the regional day, Linzi Upon and her quilted yurt. The poor group had trouble getting a venue big enough to contain the yurt, and when they managed it it had a freshly varnished floor. So what? Well a yurt has wooden lattice wall panels that slip really well on a shiny surface and that makes putting it up very ticky. She managed it, and you have to admit it's impressive and very imposing. The whole yurt had come down from Scotland in her Landy. Well technically in and on. We found her packing antics entertaining enough to photograph. Sorry Linzi, but you are the only quilter who's talk taked longer to pack than mine. It's bulkier and weighs more too!
Today was teaching and so is tomorrow, so I will leave this here and try and get some sleep. Early mornings really don't suit me.
I arrived in York with a couple of hours to look around. The park and ride system is very good it delivers you right into the town center and has guides and maps available on them. This was the first time I had made it to York and the first thing that struck me was how many old buildings there were. It really is very picturesque. The signage was pretty good and with the map from the bus finding Jorvik was easy. It's a nice attraction but smaller than I expected. They are about to add some new galleries so it may be better next time I am in the area.
From there I tred to get to the Barley Hall. That was harder. The maps aren't as clear as they could be and smaller attractions get less signs. Even whenI had found the right street it wasn't easy. I got the impression more that once that you were only supposed to approach things in one direction. Still it was well worth the effort. It is the timbered building in the photographs. I loved the great hall and the spinning wheels all around the house.
After too short a trip around York I headed back to the van and on to my talk. What an audience, they were great at hecking and interacting with me. A small but very friendly bunch who helped me pack very quickly. Then I headed to that nights parking. Without the sat nav I was worried about finding my host. She old me the story of the route and even on very dark lanes I found her road quite easily and she spotted me and showed me into her drive. It's amazing how much shelter a hadge can give and I got a very cozy night. Boy was getteing up hard.
The next morning I was in a different hall teaching Art Quilts by Numbers. 20 students around one huge table (OK made of several smaller tables). They wored well with many of them getting to the quilting stage. Lots of people took photos so hopefully I will have more to share later.
Now I am in Newcastle, today was the regional day, but more about that later. Now I aught to get some sleep.
