Thursday, April 28, 2011

What I Did at Remarkable Symposium - Queenstown

Derrick and I flew to Christchurch on the Saturday before Symposium started and stayed 2 nights at Lake Tekapo. They had their first snowfall of the season (very light) while we were there so I got some great light in the photos. This one is a favourite, and is the monument to the hardworking sheep dogs of the MacKenzie Basin:
My first day at Symposium was as an angel for Noeline Johnson - her class was doing Tumbling Boxes. Now this is not something I would choose to do, but it was interesting watching everyone else - I think I would enjoy just 're-shaping' the square and colouring it in on paper. Too hard for my brain to figure it out. Nevertheless most participants left after 2 days with a block finished.
Wednesday I had a class with Larkin Van Horn doing beaded buttons and edges. Now my button isn't beautifully designed as some people did, but I had fun and learned how to read the beading patterns, and decided it wasn't as hard as I thought!
Here are some of the class finished buttons:

On the Thursday I was an angel for Gail Lawther's Celtic Knot class - I did learn 2 little tips, but as I have already made a couple of bed cushions with self-made bias into celtic knots there wasn't a lot to do. Friday I 'helped' at Barbara Weeks' Mosaic on Fabric class - helped in that I bought coffees and needles for some of the ladies. This was an interesting technique class which I was allowed to participate in, in a small way. I'd like to try this, perhaps with a photo taken over this holiday.
On the last day, I was back with Gail Lawther, this time she was teaching a Rose Window class. Almost every participant in this class went home with a completed wall hanging - well some had quilted and had only the binding to do. Gail is a good tutor, visiting everyone many times during the day, and giving lots of advice.
Next Symposium, I think I'll just 'angel' for a couple of days, because it is very tiring being on your feet, or just sitting waiting for someone to ask for assistance - even unpicking is better than nothing!

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