I'm so sorry too, Rosemary. Custard actually lived to be an old hamster and had a lovely family who made it a joy for him to be with you and he gave you many smiles too. He lived well, RIP.

Oh so sorry Rosemary. You must all be so upset. And what a cute hamster!

Izzy is going to be heart broken when she wakes up. It is messing me up too at the moment. Didn't know whether to put it here or in the prayer list. Think I will also post it over there too, now.

In Memorium
May 2011 - 6 August 2013 RIP

:shock: Well ! Where have you been?? Go back to Page 1 and see what this is all about !! It's
Maureens' fault ! And I can hardly wait till next spring to see the outcome !!

Geneva, Go back to the first post and read a little and you'll soon find out who and what we are doing. Not everyone who contributes to this thread is participating in the Chinese Whisper Quilt Challenge for the 2014 Loch Lomond Quilt Show. There are 10 of us TQS members making quilts. The rest just cheer us along and are joining us for the ride. Welcome. Google Chinese Whisper Quilts and you'll soon get the idea. I am #6 in the group about to finish and send my quilt to the UK where the remaining 4 will finish. The name of our group is "Whispers Across the Pond". We talk about all sorts of stuff other than the challenge quilts because we are not allowed to talk about that. It's against the rules. That sort of explains why we are all over the place on this thread. Happy to have you along.

I know this is way off topic but just wanted to share with Lotti about something she said...

"If I'm there I'll definitely be renting a little car, so much more fun and practical to explore the highlands... (I like to explore small unmarked roads... Especially in ireland & scotland, so I always insist on a small car that can fit on just about any road ). "

Lotti, if you are lucky you can rent a car like we did while we were in Ireland last fall. The whole left side was scraped and the back fender was bashed in! It made driving close to the "edge" very easy! We sure got some odd looks from people as we tumbled out of the car at the end of the day. We drove that car all around Ireland and didn't have a worry about being to close to the "other side." Here's a picture:


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ykSI9jWYWzE/UGnFYzYFETI/AAAAAAAAA40/uGc6DKXdgNA/s320/IMG_4417.JPG

Anyway, I still haven't figured out what a Chinese Whisperer is because I just found you all on this thread. All this time I thought I was sitting with the cool kids and the cool kids weren't even in my lunch room! Ha! It's nice to "see" you all. I've missed you. Good luck with your Chinese Whisperer. Can't wait to see it.

Take care,

Geneva
in Northern CA

PosyP wrote:

Custard is welcome to come. We just won't let him go in his traveling ball upstairs. That would be quite the ride down! :shock:
That quilt show of quilts from Wales is at the Museum of East Anglian LIfe in Stowmarket so we'll do that on Saturday. Not sure if there is enough other stuff at the museum to keep the rest of our families entertained.

Lorna

I would love to go, and I could probably talk DH into a trip to Scotland, unfortunately it is in term time so we wouldn't be able to get Izzy out of school. My other problem is that I need a full time job to help with expenses - at which point would I have enough leave for everything? I am really hoping to get to FoQ next year though as there seems to be quite a collection of TQS'rs planning on attending. If I do make it, it would probably be with a car and I would be able to help with ferrying.

I seem to remember that if you book good & early (3 months plus) with Premier Inn, the prices are much better - not that I have ever tried personally.

I'm very seriously considering a vacation in Scotland next spring/early summer with the LLQS as starting point.
But due to work commitments I probably won't be a Le to make definite plans till early next year.
We have our company's 40th anniversary next spring so we plan a number of events for that and I'll also be in Australia for the wold congress of cardiology till about the 10th may...
And, as always my parents are in first place, my dad's just finished his three month radiation treatment and I'm waiting for results - he seems to be fine, just very very very tired, so am hoping that the doctor will have some good news for him soon
But, all this means that I'll probably end up deciding on a trip to Scotland on shortish notice... If I'm there I'll definitely be renting a little car, so much more fun and practical to explore the highlands... (I like to explore small unmarked roads... Especially in ireland & scotland, so I always insist on a small car that can fit on just about any road ).

Which town is a pleasant place to stay in the area?

I'll have my car and hopefully a friend so will be able to take anyone between venues. Probably be there for 3 days maybe. Old man not interested in going but will chook sit for a while.

Not sorry at all. It sounds a bit complicated. I am not an experienced traveler so I have to learn about it and think about it. I'll be interested in what Ruth and Isabel have to say. I need to learn more about it.

loise98 wrote:
Lois, Rita asked the same question about accommodation not so long ago and I answered her but for the life of me I can’t find it and can’t remember exactly what I said. It was something like I really don’t know but I am having a meeting with Ruth & Isabel on Wednesday and will ask them then. But you could go into visitscotland.com and have a look. When I have time I can go the tourist board in Balloch and ask them.

Remember everyone that the churches (7 or 8 and wherever the CW quilts will be) are spread around the area of Dumbarton (there is a Premier Inn there) Balloch, Jamestown and Renton. Balloch is right beside Loch Lomond and there are lots of accommodations around there. You need a car as it is so spread out but can actually do it on public transport, the train is good and you don’t have to walk far to the churches from the station. My car is not all that big but at a push I could take 4 people – 3 in the back and 1 in the front. As volunteer coordinator I have to go round all the churches anyway to make sure the volunteers are alright so I don’t mind (maybe some of you would like to volunteer as a steward for half a day – sorry, couldn’t resist that). Maybe some of the other people will be bringing their car so could do the same.

What about everyone saying if they coming to the LLQS next year but don’t have to commit at the moment. That way if someone is on their own they can stay in the same place as some of the others and won’t be alone?

There are usually events on in the evening – Wednesday a meal at the Kilted Skirlie (reasonably priced) at Loch Lomond Shores, Thursday a Buffet at the Studio and Friday a cheese and pudding evening with a talk and explanation of the different cheeses, that’s at the Studio as well. Ruth’s daughter does most of the catering and she is a chef in one of the top restaurants in London and her puddings are to die for.

Remember too that the LLQS isn’t as big as the US Festivals and I would imagine the Irish one as well and definitely not as big as the FOQ in Birmingham. It is just called a quilt show. There are workshops, some traders, beautiful quilts in the beautiful churches and of course lots of really friendly quilters from all over the world. It makes a good destination before having a look at Scotland. We are not far from the Highlands.

Lois, I bet you are sorry you asked a question.

I'm in the same boat... I really want to go but don't know as of yet whether I can be there. Would love to know about how long in advance I need to make reservations and what some good choices might be in the vicinity of the quilt show.