On a happier note...

Decided that today's blog post is going to be a lot more upbeat than the last one.

For a start, now that it's getting a bit cooler, I can stand to do some hand quilting. There was no way I was going to sit with a quilt over my knee in 30 degrees plus over the summer! Back in October last year, I began to work on a second large quilt - one that reflected the colours of my bedroom. Earlier this year, I bought the wadding and backing fabric for it, and decided to challenge myself NOT to quilt in straight lines, but to do something more random.

Now, my old sewing machine and I did not think we would get on very well with 'free style' quilting, so as on previous quilting projects, I decided to hand quilt - spirals, for a complete contrast to the straight lines of fabric in the quilt top.

In principle, that was fine. Except that I couldn't work on the 'top' side of the quilt because the gorgeous batik fabrics meant I couldn't see to draw properly circular spirals - the first few went decidedly off piste. Added to which, the lovely greeny-turquoise cotton I chose to match the colours didn't always show up against the patterns, making it even harder to see the line and keep things even. So I realised I had to draw and stitch with the plainer underneath fabric facing me to ensure my spirals kept their circularness. (Is that a word? Perhaps not, but you get the gist!)

It's taking flipping ages. Not only is there a double bed sized expanse of fabric to quilt, but I didn't think about how when you stitch a spiral, you start - well, I do - at the outside and work inwards. So effectively, you're not making any more progress than the outermost edge of your spiral each time, but there can still be a lot of stitching within that boundary. And of course you HAVE to fill in the gaps with smaller spirals so there's not lots of empty space...

Yep, teeny tiny stitches in my spirals...

It looks good, but I don't think I'll be finished by this winter. Not with a novel to try and finish as well, vicar interviews to hold, Christmas services to plan (yes, already!) and everything else that my life holds!

The base fabric on the quilt is the exact same colour as the four gallons of blackberry wine we put up this week. We had to bottle the four gallons of gooseberry wine first, to free up the demi johns, and the 'Mighty Fine Blackberry Wine 2018' is blipping away merrily in the kitchen. Which now smells like a brewery...

Blip...blip...blip...

But the best thing to have happened recently is that, after the demise of the Cloud, I have a new writing home. Hooray!

A few cloudies, having heard the rumours about SocialGo, decided to set up a new writing forum. Run by writers, for writers, it would keep all the good things that we loved about the cloud - particularly the community feel - and aim to provide a place for writers to practise their craft, find friends, offer critique, and generally just hang out with other peeps who understand how difficult a writer's life can be. And by complete coincidence, it went live just before the cloud went down...

So that means I am no longer a cloudie. I am, instead, a Denizen, in the Den of Writers. It's taking a while to find my way round, especially as the site is still developing and being tweaked, but already it is buzzing with activity and home to faces both old and new, many of them cloudies. It has certainly taken the edge off the loss of the cloud, and fills me with hope for the future.

So if you fancy joining me in the Den (when I'm not writing or wine making or quilting or doing any of the other things I listed above!), pop on over and register. I'll see you there.