Back from Dorset

My visit to teach a waistcoat workshop near Shaftesbury ended up being a 3 day trip, as I couldn't get home last night. With all the snow and record low temperatures in the UK linked with very inadequate gritting on the roads leading up to my house, it didn't seem like a good idea to push on with the drive only to find the last 400 yards impossibly icy (and going uphill too).

The workshop went well. Rather than run 10 a.m. - 4p.m. with an hour's break for lunch, we decided to work through lunch, just grabbing our sandwiches, so the workshop could finish around 3p.m., in daylight and before the night's big freeze set in. I was concerned that many of the quilters live in rural areas and didn't want anyone having problems getting home.

I'll update this post with photos tomorrow. Some lovely waistcoats were made and almost finished, with just a little handsewing on the collars needing to be done at home. This waistcoat is a fully lined sodenashi hanten (sleeveless hanten jacket), ideal for making in all kinds of fabrics. There were several in wool, some in denim and plenty of plaids, stripes and patterns. With the continuing chilly weather, these are good projects to make.

Time for bed soon, and it is already -8 degrees C!

UPDATE: Kate Pickard sent me a photo from the workshop - I'll put the others in a separate post.