A sprint towards the finish line

Taking a moment

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments on the finished quilt, I am pleased to finally have a quilt under my belt and would not have managed it without the advice and tips from so many of you. I am sorry to say that I am very behind in replying to comments, the children are still on holiday until Tuesday so time to myself is rare but I am taking some time this afternoon while they are visiting the pantomime.

I hope all of you have enjoyed good times over the last couple of weeks. We had a lovely peaceful Christmas, spent here, just the four of us, perfect. New Year was spent with at dinner with friends, a good evening. In between we attended the wedding of some close friends. It was a wonderful occasion, very emotional as the couple have had a difficult year. We met up with many friends seen too rarely in recent years.

The bride is Sikh and suggested that it would be lovely if the ladies attending could perhaps wear saris? Just try stopping me!! I have always longed to wear a sari, so early December saw the Technical Advisor and I making a trip to Rusholme in Manchester. This was such an experience, the choices are overwhelming, certainly not comparable to a visit to Topshop. Thankfully the staff were very helpful. I sat down in front of a wall of colour while colours were spread across the on cushions in front of me. Once I began to narrow down colours and fabrics I was taken to a mirror to begin draping them across my shoulders. Initially I was somewhat afraid of the bright colours that I was being encouraged to try, after all this was a very grey winter's day in Manchester! However the assistant knew what she was doing and colours that I wouldn't normally go near turned out to be surprisingly flattering. Eventually 3 or 4 where chosen to try and it was upstairs to the fitting room. The assistant upstairs struggled to disguise here giggles when I came out with the blouse back to front and the petticoat upside down! We got that sorted and the draping began. This long piece of fabric was transformed with some deft pleating, the effect is amazing.

The draping of the sari creates such a beautiful silhouette, flattering to every shape, it creates curves where there are none and disguises those that shouldn't be there. The colours are so vibrant and of course a sari is never out of fashion. Admittedly it took some practise the night before the wedding to get it just right but it really isn't that difficult to master and I loved having the opportunity to wear something like this. All the girls at the wedding looked so colourful and elegant in their saris and although stairs proved tricky we all managed to get the hang of dancing in them.

The bride was of course the star of the day, she is gorgeous and such a warm and friendly person, one of those people who light up the room on entering. Her sari was deepest red and encrusted with hand sewn stone and bead work, heavy to wear but so beautiful.