Meet Angus

So far, he is doing his best to charm the ladies, but Spoot and Mab want nothing to do with him. He makes happy little chirrups and warbles whenever he sees them, and goes trotting over, but they rebuff him with hisses and growls. I'm sure they'll come around. He's very friendly and determined to Be. Your. Friend. Dammit.

We are off to North Carolina on Friday, for a whirlwind Cosmic Otters tour with caller extraordinaire Adina Gordon (she of the monstersocken).
Friday night, we're playing in Charlotte; Saturday night, we're playing in River Falls; and Monday night, we are at the venerable Grey Eagle in Asheville. I'm a little nervous. There are, like, real musicians in Asheville and stuff. I'm taking the sleeve of the Blackwater Abbey sweater, which I cast on at the radio station Tuesday night. And a sock, in case of emergency (like finishing the sleeve.) The Fool will undoubtedly be working on his Fair Isle.

Last weekend, I went to the big quilt show here in town with a couple of friends. Here's some photos from that.
I love how two of the blocks spill out into the border. That's an idea I'm going to have to think about and see if I can use somewhere.


This was just pretty - I'm a sucker for Japanese indigos anyway, and the sachiko embroidery on the red part was great. I've got a sachiko kit that I mean to start one of these days, and this might be the thing that inspires me to give it a try.

Applique and paper piecing are two things I just can't get my head around to do with any skill at all. But isn't this great? I always leave this show thinking, I need to learn how to draw properly.

Mary Lee, one of the friends I went to the show with, likes traditional quilting and traditional patterns better than the contemporary work. We both liked this antique bow tie quilt.



Usually, I don't like pastels .. but I thought this one was beautiful. It makes me rethink my no-pastels rule a little bit.


Hee! Sheep!
The teeth are the best part.

And here's a picture of the goodies I got. That big eggplant panel is a Japanese furoshiki, a square of cloth you use to wrap up objects you need to schlep around - the same way urban nomads reuse string-handled shopping bags from Starbucks to haul their lunch. It's going on the wall of my kitchen eventually. The other fabrics are South African indigo fabrics like those originally made in England from 1850 to the middle of the 20th century. It seems I was in a blue mood this time around.


Off to pack! Full report later.