September seems to have passed in a blur. I began teaching a class on patchwork for the ladies of the Creeslough ICA (Irish Countrywomen's Assoc.), which was very much like doing Block of the Month on a weekly basis. The upstairs of Pauline's shop was buzzing with enthusiastic particpants, and those whose homes were devoid of a "stash" enjoyed the pleasant necessity of choosing fabrics for the blocks that were being taught. There was plenty of fabric sharing, too, as the more experienced quilters offered bits of their own fabrics to complement the pieces purchased from the shop. Several cushion covers and full size quilts resulted from these workshops.
The classes continued through October, and we added a class in machine quilting so that the guild members could get the most out of their home quilting machine. Several of the ladies have demonstrated their natural facility with the machine, and Harriet went so far as to freehand a fuschia flower that was instantly recognizable! My thanks go to May for organizing this class, and to Kathleen for arranging the patchwork class. And lots of thanks to these three plus Mary, Margaret and others who have been faithful participants and have helped make and serve the tea and treats, and washed up afterwards.
The weather in October was quite nice on the whole. We continued our habit of lunching at the Cois Ionad in Dunlewey, in order to avail of their excellent turkey and ham dinner while being entertained by random local musicians. We began bringing our instruments with us, following that famous piece of advice: Be Prepared. On several occasions we have been invited to play a few tunes with the performing musicians, and this past Sunday we filled in for two musicians who had changed their plans but had failed to inform the staff. They phoned another musician, Ian Smith, and while waiting for his arrival, we filled in with a selection of tunes. He is a very talented singer-songwriter whose music we have enjoyed many times at Hudi Beag's, and when he did arrive we continued to play while he backed us on guitar. In addition, a loyal habitue of the venue had brought along his mandolin, and the crack was 90 (meaning, we had a very good time). Ian threw in a few of his songs to spice it up, and what could have been a disappointing day turned into a very pleasant session.
I was invited by the Bernina dealer to display some of the quilts I've made on the Bernina at the Knitting and Stitching Show in Dublin, held on the first weekend of November at the RDS (Royal Dublin Society). Accordingly, we made plans to travel to Dublin for that weekend.
Having been here a year, I knew that it was high time that I visited with my friends in Meath, whom I last saw in 1985 when I left Ireland to move to California. We were planning to do the show on Friday and Saturday, so we left a day early and took the bus to Dunshaughlin, where we were met by my friend, Leo. It was late in the afternoon, and I regret not making time for photos, but we spent the available time visiting first with Ollie over at the agricultural college, and then with Denis at his home nearby. These are old friends who all took turns looking after my cats when I lived in Ireland and went on holidays. We went to innumerable sessions, traveled to far distant parts of the country together, had dinner parties, and occasional pie-baking contests. And I won't even go into all the jokes we played on each other--we're still laughing after 22 years.
We made a little side trip to Ratoath, to see the village and the house that I had lived in for seven years (1978-1985). Both the village and the house were virtually unrecognizable. The village is now a thriving town with traffic lights, and condos and housing estates taking the place of the fields and pastures that once held cows. The house, now on the market but still occupied by the people who bought it from me, has had every aspect of it remodeled, so that you would hardly know it was the same house. We were shown around the inside by the current owner, and I was amazed at the scope of the changes. It is much more beautiful than I could ever have imagined it, which mainly shows my lack of imagination when it comes to remodeling!
Leo took us to dinner in Trim, to a restaurant called The Beacon where the food was excellent and the decor was nautical. It was wonderful catching up on old times, and showing my husband that these friends that I had spoken of really do exist. We stayed at Leo's house in Summerville, and were treated to a breakfast that included Leo's home made brown bread, and a variety of delicious fruits, surprisingly good for this time of year. Then it was time to make our way to Dublin, and the big show at the RDS.
The Knitting and Stitching Show was a four-day event (Thurs. through Sunday), but not being official vendors, we opted to go for just two days. We displayed ten of my wall quilts in a booth next to the Bernina dealer, and I had the opportunity to watch the sewing machine demonstrations done by Jane, the rep from the London office. I also looked at the other sewing and embroidery machines, and the displays by the various schools, organizations and individual fiber artists. There was a small quilt exhibit, several clothing exhibits, and everything from lace and embroidery to weaving and spinning. More information about the show can be found at www.twistedthread.com. We had a constant stream of people stopping by our booth and asking questions, so my husband, who had brought his computer on the trip, quickly put together a continuous slide show of my quilts. He also got an overnight order of new business cards from a supplier at the show!
Among the quilts I displayed was the Roses wall hanging I did for Mairead (see Mixed Grill for details). Here are some of the others.
Cherries
(My favorite block from a Better Homes and Gardens quilt book.)
My friends in Alpine will remember these patterns from our A-Team days.
Fruit of the Vine
Summer Plume and Pioneer Nights
(The two above are Piece O' Cake blocks from Thru Grandmother's Window.)
Miss Primrose
(Pattern by Reva Stewart, designer of the Flower Belles series.)
We stayed at the Ballsbridge Inn for the two nights we were in Dublin. This is really the newly renovated Jury's Hotel, and is walking distance from the RDS. It was recently purchased, and the buyer plans to turn the complex into a business and shopping complex that would be totally out of character for the area, but so far has not received planning permission. We were happy about it because the hotel complex is very nice as it is. On the first evening, we enjoyed a wonderful Italian dinner with Jack and Kay (the Bernina dealer and his wife) near the RDS. On the second evening, we decided to try the new restaurant (opened three days previously) connected with our hotel. Being slightly off the beaten path, the venue was yet an undiscovered haven, and the staff gave us their full attention as we sampled the scallops and crabcakes, and shared a sumptious dessert. The menu and service were excellent, but frankly, I had to wonder at the unusual decor. For such an elegant setting, I was surprised by the black and brown stripes and black and brown checks chosen as seating upholstery. Almost anything else would have been preferable!
While in Dublin we had time to walk down O'Connell Street, bringing back a flood of memories from my previous life there. I lived in the Glasnevin area of Dublin for a year back in 1968-69 in a lovely flat on Lindsay Road. There were no cell phones back then, and being in a flat in a private home, I could only use the house phone for local calls. Therefore, when I wished to phone my parents in Philadelphia, I had to go to the General Post Office in O'Connell Street and use one of the phones provided for international calls. We stopped into the Post Office on this trip and mailed a couple of letters, bringing me back to the many memories I have of my life in Dublin.
