I am very excited about tomorrow-it is going to be a good day! In the morning, I'm having my hair coloured (ok that part is a bit boring, sitting still for ages! There are only so many Hello magazines I can stomach), meeting two lovely friends in the afternoon, then in the evening Mr Dotty and I will be rubbing shoulders with some arty types! I had a piece selected for the Open Contemporary Art Exhibition at Stockport Art Gallery and I can't wait to see all the wonderful art.

Sneak preview of my mixed media piece, "Home from Home 2". I am always very grateful for how well received these pictures of Skye cottages seem to be.

I have been busy working towards my next exhibition with the Ten Plus Textiles Group. This is a quilt I made four years ago for an exhibition at Little Moreton Hall, a stunning tudor house in Congleton.

The "strips 'n Curves" technique by Louisa L. Smith is quite challenging. I created a fabric by piecing together black and white strips, then cut these up to make the patchwork- lots of seams to match up!. I quilted it very simply with circles. It is quite striking, but I'm afraid I found it...well, dull!

So, my brains were wracked for ideas on how to recycle it (or is that "upcycle"?) I'm beginning to explore the shapes of leafless trees.

I love the ones in Skye- short and gnarly, and leaning against the harsh elements.

So, I appliqued a bold, bright, bare tree onto the quilt. The curves of the branches echo the curves of the patchwork and the tree looks as though it is offering up the moon. I requilted it with orange thread-it was originally blue- and added some black satin stitch circles to draw the eye. Then I had great fun handstitching and voila!

I don't want to reveal the whole thing just yet as it is going to be on show in October.

Right, off into the kitchen to make the second Christmas cake of the year! *smiles smuggly*