First Killearn of the new year

Well that was a much needed communal start to the sewing year.

Poor Scoobs has a cold, definitely not CV but still bad, we are isolating because i don't want to catch it.

Hence the very vigorous sewing room renovation!

But I miss company so the first Killearn of the year was just what was needed

Look at that view! But also look at all those Selvedges 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I've been collecting them for years, 2024 is their time to shine 😊

I was auditioning this tree for tree of the month but it probably won't make the final 😊

So! 8 Selvedge blocks made! How glorious are they! And how easy to make too! No seam pressing trimming to size for each part, easy peasy!

Last Killearn of 2022

 Last Killearn of 2022! And how lovely it was, Kim brought cake, Joyce brought no alcohol prosecco. I got selvedges from Fiona we sewed we blether, it was just lovely. I made progress on my big cat cheetah 🤞🤞 it will get done before 2023

U3 and Killearn

 Things are all very very challenging just now on a number of levels. But things are also returning to some sort of pre pandemic levels too, I am not going to say new normal, I hate that phrase but things are getting better. This is the calendar in my home office, how appropriate, “where there is laughter happiness likes to be”

And on Saturday the 5th there was a lot of laughter! I rocked up at Killearn where i was scooped up and brought out of my slough of despond …. Friday had been a difficult day where lots of things conspired to chip away at my faith in myself. As ever the Killearn chums righted that wrong.

Then i went out to a real life restaurant!!!!! OMG how incredible was that ! It was Andy and Jacky - U3, we had Andy’s Prosecco bar to start with then off to Blonde! This was my dessert, I had ham hock croquettes for starter then duck confit for main, all totally gorgous! Accompanied by a rather lovely bottle of Red and a glass of desert wine for me and Jacky.

I may be a leeeeetle bit happy in this pic! See my desert wine 😊

I stayed in a travel lodge as is my want, all utterly fabulous. Costa coffee drive through breakfast the next day, utterly marvellous!

Getting out and about again!

 

I’ll never forget the last sewing day I had in March 2020, it was only the second or third meeting of the Glasgow Modern guild. We had just come back from Japan, the world was on fire. It all felt so apocalyptic. When I wrote in my thought for a day diary that it might be the last meet up for a while I never in a million years thought it would be 19 months before I met up with those lovely ladies as a group. I will admit it is still quite a thing for me to go out and about with people. I am still terrified of catching this virus, so the care that everyone puts into making it feel safe is wonderful.

Yes it was so so brilliant, just sitting chatting seeing other peoples makes and bags and pouches, it feels so warm and lovely. I said in October 2020 that going forward we would be more careful about who we spent our time with. There is never any question that these ladies are on that list.

This weekend was Killearn, I have been back her once already. Today was special, helping Kim bind and finish her amazing temperature quilt. It’s a stunning evocation of the past year in colour and fabric and thread. All quite incredible, bonds made in the strangest and scariest of times.

Killearn

Last Killearn of the year. This is the back of Kim's La pasacaglia quilt, gorgeous.

Killearn

 Gorgeous view isn't it :-) For a long time when I moved down to Glasgow/Edinburgh (I now live in between - Bonnybridge) I missed my chums, I missed going out for coffee, regular meet ups. Crafty sessions. Its taken a while especially since I have moved around a bit but now  I have a network and its a great feeling.

Part of this network and a huge part is the #stirlingshirestitchers. It all started with some chance conversations on Instagram. the lovely Kim asked if some of us would was to meet up for a regular stitching day in Killearn. Well hell yes!!! and so it began just over a year ago.

This is the view from the room where we sew. Its in the village hall, the room is on the lower ground floor, above is the three sisters café where we go for lunch.

 

Its a spacious room, plenty of room for us all, ironing board and cutting table. 

This wine cooler is on the way to the toilets, ive not cracked the code yet :-) 

You pass through this room to get to the loos, one day I will play this.

 Killearn is a beautiful village.

 

 

We have fun, stand on chairs to get good photos.

I have pinched some instagram photos to remind myself of some of the shenanigans we got up to.

The lovely Kim.

In the summertime we can hold the quilts off the balcony, makes for great pictures :-)

Its a fabulous part of my life, love these ladies and love these days.