Greetings from Abu Dhabi

The beautiful Sheikh Zayed mosque in Abu Dhabi, picture from here

Greetings, dear readers, from the wonderful city of Abu Dhabi, where your glamorous internationally jetsetting blogger is currently ensconced in a lavish hotel suite (suite!) for a few days.

I'm here on a bit of a whirlwind trip, having flown in for a job interview - at their expense, thank goodness, not mine - and of course a bit of fabric shopping if I can fit it in. And if you know me at all, you know I'll fit that in.

It all happened rather quickly, so Saturday night saw me farewelling My One True Love at the aeroflot yet again. There is something very deja vu / error in the code about our farewells at the airport these days, as we've done so many of them. But farewell we did, and with a grin and a wave I was through the metal doors and into the newly redone area of the international departure space.

And it's lovely! They have a Cafe Vue there now, and my favourite store, which sells merino clothes and Metallicus, had a wonderful golden yellow scarf which I exercised considerable restraint to not buy. After all, I haven't got the job yet - and if I do get it, I'll hardly be needing a woollen scarf now, will I?

Before too long I was on the plane. In economy. In my seat. Which was broken. Noooooooo! True story, it didn't recline. I contemplated the prospect of a 14 hour overnight international journey sitting up ramrod straight as the hours went by, feeling my spine crumble into oatmeal. Oatmeal spiced with razors.

After a few quiet words with one of the stewardesses - during which I fluttered my proverbial eyelashes and mentioned the phrase "job interview" at least eleventy-six times, I was shown to a new seat. In the middle row of the plane. Where no one else was sitting. Four empty seats to myself ......... whoo hoo!!! In all of my flying hither and yon over the years, I have never, ever had an entire middle row to myself. It is a thing of myth and legend.

And so Project Nighty Night began. I put up all the armrests, arranged a number of fleecy airline blankets over me, created a little mound of pillows at just the perfect height, accepted a vodka and tonic, chased it down with a valium, and said goodbye to the world for the entire night. Slept like a baby.

And now here I am. I have five hours of interviews today (five....hours....) and I think that with the help of a little caffeine through the day, I should make it through relatively unscathed.

Wish me luck!

Postage Stamp Quilt

 Do you ever get that urge to sew, like I do? A feeling in the middle of you like something is crushing your insides and you just gottta create something?

Today, I am filled with inspiration. My sewing machine has been in its box for a full four weeks now (four! weeks!) and I can feel the urge getting louder and louder.

I've had a project in the back of my mind for a little while now, and it strikes me that this is the perfect time to begin it. It lives in this book, The Gentle Art Of Quilt-Making, by Jane Brocket. I love this book, because I have so many of the fabrics she uses in the quilts, it's as if she's inside my mind.

I adore the colours and textures of the projects she puts together, and the book itself is stunning. I used to pick it up and stroke it lovingly in the shops before I actually caved in and bought it. Tell me, have you ever seen a more lovely cover? (Ignore the glue stain, oops)

The pattern is called "Postage Stamp", and it puts all the squares on the diagonal, which brings a lot more movement into the quilt.

I've picked out sixteen fabrics from my stash, all in bluey-yellowy shades, and the weather has been so kind that I've been able to wash and dry them all.

I have a range of Joel Dewberry prints, Filigree Gallery, Michael Miller, Anna Maria Horner, Heather Bailey, and a couple of pieces I bought when I was in India a few years ago.

I'm really excited about beginning this project, it'll be my first quilt in a while. Can't talk, must start cutting 3 inch squares!

Blog blog ..... yawn....

Yaaaaaaaawn!

That is not the yawn of a bored blogger. Oh no. That is the yawn of a sleepy blogger.

I've been back in Australia for around 10 days now. Hello Melbourne! Hello My One True Love! Hello pussins! Hello green green gardens and velvet lawns - sooo unusual for Melbourne in summer, but then, I understand most of Australia has been under water for months now, so that explains it.

Yes, I've been back for around 10 days, and unconscious with exhaustion and jetlag for the better part of that time. Bahrain is 8 hours behind Melbourne, so it's almost exactly a reverse timeframe. When I'm sleepy, I should be awake. When I'm awake, I should be asleep. I get hungry for cereal at dinner time.

Every day I try to get up at a reasonable hour.... and then I go back to sleep. It's hard, especially when the pussins are all warm and cuddly and curled up on the yellow silk coverlet. That is the best kind of superglue to keep me in bed.

But I am resolved; I WILL adjust to this timeframe. Today, or tomorrow ....before I fly back to Abu Dhabi for a few days. And then everything will be topsy turvy again. Sigh!