Taking time for some English Paper Piecing 

in the Ariege.

This little mat uses fat diamonds & equilateral triangles.
It's hand pieced and hand quilted using a variegated thread.

I've used African beads to add a little weight to the outer points.

A brown Batik fabric for the backing.

I'm now working on a Tumbling block piece.
Another stash buster!

Prompted by a recent DMTV video I had a fun time making these 'paper bead' necklaces.  The top version has metal spacers and the bottom version has pink doughnut spacers.

Sitges Patchwork Festival 2016

A beautiful location for another amazing show!

The marquees along the promenade housing a wonderful array of stands selling their wares. 

 Lovely to meet the Cairo Tentmakers again

.

Exhibitions were housed in some of the town's stunning buildings.

 Iglesia Santa Tecla in the background.

Sitges has a gorgeous selection of shops and art galleries all year round.

 The Prado Theatre held the exhibits from this year's invited country, Sweden.

 Time out to collect a few shells from San Sebastian beach.

 Local children having fun!

 I love this heavily stitched piece by Sara Sharp.

'The Tap' is our new favourite bar!

Another fascinating visit to Birmingham museum and art gallery.  

There's such a wealth and variety of beauty to see there!

I love the gorgeous frames just as much as the paintings themselves.

The Staffordshire Hoard exhibition has been revamped and is even more interesting than before!

There are touch screens to help visitors grasp the extent and beauty of the hoard. 

and replicas (which visitors are encouraged to touch) showing the workmanship and intricacy of the original objects.

The exhibition is imaginatively displayed.

This fascinating wall divider between displays has curvy lines in relief and where the room lighting falls on it, creating shadow, it magically creates a feeling of movement and depth.

At the moment there's an exhibition depicting Birmingham through the ages.
From the 'Make do and Mend' section - above is a crazy patchwork housecoat and below a sewing box,
both from the 1940s. 

Apparently we have Peter de Birmingham to thank for the town's markets.  He bought the right to hold the first market and Birmingham hasn't looked back since.

The lovely tearoom has been refurbished.
I can recommend its morning coffee, light lunches and the afternoon teas!

Another batch of beautifully printed 'Fingerprint' infinity scarves and silk squares made up & ready to go.

 Such gorgeous colours!

And Elizabeth Hope, snug as a bug in a rug!