Menorbishun; Absorbing Inspiration

Last Friday evening, The Grey and I parked up in the gated premises of the Glasgow Science Museum. Not because I intended to visit there, but because it was very handy for getting across the Clyde to the SEC (Scottish Exhibition Centre) and although a tad pricey (£15 per 24 hrs), I figured thirty quid for a weekend's stay in the big city in the comfort of my own van was pretty good value, not to mention, secure... and relatively peaceful.

Entry costs to the science building are also very pricey - how do families cope?! Even as a senior, it would be £12. It's not somewhere that attracts me really - too big, too noisy, too frenetic. It's for the youngsters to go and get hands-on with many of the exhibits. Anyway, that aside, non-visitors are permitted to park as well, so I am grateful for that. It happens to be right beside the Scottish campus for the Beeb, too.

It's only a ten-minute walk over Bells Bridge to get to the site which holds the O2 stadium (a spaceship-looking thing), the "Armadillo" wing of the SEC and then, tucked behind that and not of any notable architectural interest, the main SEC. 

The Glasgow Comicon was taking place in halls 5 and 5A, so there were lots of fabulous costumes on all the enthusiasts walking about. It made me smile as I fondly recalled all my days in the Sydney Sci-Fi group and how I was part of the organisation of early versions of these get-togethers.

I wasn't there for all that, though. I was meeting up with Mac1 to attend the Scottish Quilting and Craft Show—the tenth annual event in this space, but my first time attending. Mac1 has been going for several years and, later, as part of the exhibitor support for the group, through which she obtained her City & Guilds qualification. She had Saturday morning free, so we viewed all the competition entries as well as some of the professional stalls before she had to go on duty again.

Oh, my word. The skills!!! I wish I could share everything with you. Even I draw a line at that. However, several deserve to be included in the Monday Artvibe posts, so you will see those in due course. Today, though, I will use some more general shots so you get a feel for the exhibit layout and provide a teaser. The theme for this year's entries was Reuse, Reclaim, Recycle. Stash busting, use of found items and scrap, repurposing of old clothing or household linens. You name it, it was used. The lady who produced the item I have taken a morsel of in the photo above was very generous with her time at her stall. Mac1 and I spent a good half hour with Sheena Norquay as she described how she worked her colour-scrapping to produce the most fantastic colour gradations. Although I am not a quilter, there was much about her logical approach that I might apply in yarns...

You can tell by the smiles that we were having a grand time! 

There were also international offerings to view. A lady from Chile/Brazil (amazing tapestry-like works), South African Quilter's Association with lots of minis, and a small display of items expressing diversity.

We found this next one quite mesmerising. It has a deceptively simple chequerboard layout, but the stitching, along with some minuscule corner patches, made it a 3D fascinator. Given the amount of time Mac1 spent studying it, I think it is safe to assume that there will be some experimentation going on soon!

It is only fitting to close this post with a view of Mac1's own contribution to the exhibition. She used her own printed fabric (combo of dyes and cyanotype) as well as items of litter found when 'mudlarking' and photos of pylons from dad's old stash. (I won't show you the yarn stalls I visited. Or the yarns that just had to come back with me...) I was there for the best part of five hours. It was sensory overload but an absolutely fabulous day.