Phew!

So to York to the Quilting Museum to see the latest exhibitions. The Breakthrough exhibition with quilts made by members of the Contemporary Quilt group was stunning and we were fortunate that Margaret Ramsay, one of the members with a quilt on display was there to give a talk about her work. It was very interesting hearing about how someone goes about things and handling samples, but also heartening to meet a very pleasant person who was generous enough to share her secrets! Margaret uses her photos and drawings as the basis for her designs and uses many different techniques and mediums to get the effect she wants. The piece in this exhibition was made from an old Durham quilt, with applique, stitching and acrylic paint and it is a stunning piece of work.

The other exhibition, Inspired by the Past also contained some very interesting and clever work. I particularly liked Sarah Impey's "Family Circle" which had been inspired by finding a sampler stitched by a Great Grandmother and also the huge jumper quilted to look as if it had been knitted!

I would have liked longer looking around, but Sandra and I were quite peckish, so we went to the Italian Deli next door for lunch. Sitting outside in the garden in the sunshine was truly lovely. This garden is open to the public and would be a lovely spot for a picnic on a nice sunny day! Next time!!!

Then a brief walk around the wall to Goodramgate and on the way back to the bus stop, a look into Holy Trinity church which I hae never seen before. It is a tiny church in a lovely peaceful setting well away from all the hustle and bustle going on outside in the street. All the original wooden box pews have been retained and it had a lovely cheery atmosphere.

A great day out, and apart from splashing out on some artichokes in the deli, no money spent!

It all helped to take my mind off today and the visit to the Breast Screening Centre for a follow up after my mamogram last week. The letter they sent me was very vague, but I had convinced myself that my days were numbered. Strangely, my worst worry was the fact that poor Dave would have had to clear out all my stuff and would at last find out how much I had spent on fabric, yarn and shiny stuff! Fortunately, my excesses will remain my secret, at least for now, as they decided that I had a cyst and drained it there and then! So I consider myself truly lucky and can now get back to my various projects without the sword of Damocles hanging over me!

Logging onto the CQ yahoo group, I saw a post about a new site at the V&A where you can upload your own photos to make a pattern for a patchwork quilt! Had to have a go and it's great. Another new project! Just what I need! You can find it at http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/quilts/patchwork but make sure you have plenty of time as it is quite addictive!