Week 4- Attendant

Here is the story....

A Gift From a Stranger...

The nearer lady’s maid discreetly hands you something from behind her back. “It’s from one of the dinner guests. He heard you were going to be arriving today, and wanted to send you something special to complete your out fit.”

It’s so perfect – a small bunch of white hydrangeas (presumably from the White Border Garden along the castle lane) that you take in delight. You thank her for bringing you the gift and ask who it’s from. “You’ll find out at dinner,” she says coyly, and takes her leave.

You’ve traveled down the hallways of this castle so often over the past four years that you know the way to the dining room easily. On your way down, you’re surprised not to encounter any of the other residents along the way – but of course, they’ll all be waiting for you.

As you enter the dining room, you’re surprised – no, shocked – to learn the identity of the gift- giving dinner guest. Why, it’s Julian Fellowes!

“Julian! What are you doing here?” you exclaim.

“I’d like to ask you the same question,” he retorts. “You’ve come in through the wrong door and now you’re blocking my shot.”

Apparently you don’t know the halls as well as you thought, and since this development isn’t any stranger than what’s happened up to now, you turn around without a word and approach the dining room from the opposite door.

“Excellent! Cut!” Julian gleefully announces. “That’s a wrap folks!”

"What about dinner?" You ask.

"Oh, it wasn't a dinner we needed you for; just background. You Amy go."

"Thomas or Bates can walk you back to your estate."

Who do you choose? 

I chose Bates....block is John's loyalty.

Here they are cut out.

Here is the completed block but upside down.

Need to do 16 total blocks. Should be fun.

So here are a few more additional pictures after completing the blocks.

Week 3 confidante

Arriving at the Abbey...

Well it’s not every day that you bump into someone who’s practically royalty! You beg their pardon, exchange pleasantries, and before you know it, you’ve secured an invitation to dine at Downton Abbey that evening. Perhaps sensing your bewildering predicament, they ask you to come early so they can assist you in dressing appropriately for dinner. You stammer out an acceptance as they continue their stroll down the avenue.

As promised, you arrive on the doorstep of Downton Abbey and are greeted by Carson the butler, who shows you into the drawing room. One of the maids shows you upstairs to what is to be your dressing room. Miraculously, there’s an out fit waiting for you. It’s your favorite ensemble from the show, in your perfect size, and very appropriate for a 1920s dinner.

You half expected someone to be in the room helping you get dressed or finish your toilette, but after waiting several minutes, you decide to make a go of it yourself. After all, you’ve been dressing yourself since you were 5 years old, and there’s no sense in having done what you can do yourself.

As you are admiring your handiwork and buttoning the last button, there’s a knock at the door, and you hear a familiar voice. It’s one of the lady’s maids, and she has something important to tell you. You feel a little giddy at the idea of meeting with more familiar faces. You open the door, and standing in the corridor you find…

Well I would find Anna...but also Baxter was another alternative or both. So I made a little progress prior to watching the Packers play the National Championship Game in Seattle. They did loose and it was mearly unbelievable. Here are some bringing pictures of this week. I will go. Ore slowly and even one quilter was going to put money into her tea cup every time she had to do some "reverse sewing". Downton Abbey is on this evening and is also a good story line, now for the pictures.

I didn't get a picture of the layout, but I did get it all layer out and actually sewed the inner HST groups prior to the game.

Well til next year!

Update on blocks

Above are the final 8 blocks together. I did not even use the seam ripper this week.

Week 2 Aristrocracy

The Trip to Southampton

You pack your bags and head to the airport as fast as you can. With your heart pumping, you breeze through security, and board the airliner just in time. You settle into your First-Class seat, accept a mimosa from the ight attendant, and daydream about the beautiful estate you’re about to claim.

As the plane starts to taxi down the runway, you feel the familiar rumble of the wheels against the pavement and the plane picks up speed. All of a sudden, while you’re sipping your mimosa, you start to feel a little woozy. Your vision starts to get grainy, and as you reach for the call button for help (fat chance during takeoff ), you pass out.

When you wake up (minutes? hours?) later, you’re dimly aware that something has changed. You still feel the rumble of pavement, but you’re no longer in a plane. You’re in a car. In a Ford Model T. You bolt upright in your seat. You’re in Southampton for sure, but this is not 2015. It’s 1924.

You call out to the driver to STOP! He turns around and you notice immediately that it’s Branson. But that can’t be right. Branson is not a chauffeur anymore. Everything is mixed up in your head. You open the door and stumble out of the car. Your foot catches on the curb and you bump into someone. You look up and see a familiar face. It’s… it’s…

Well it was a choice of:

Countess Cora you do Lady's Tiara block

Earl of Grantham you do  Earl's pipe

Or both you do Aristocracy

I would have chosen Cora, Dan would chose Earl and after groups discussion of having both represented in quilt I ending up choosing Aristocracy. Cut out the blocks before the Packer playoff game and after the game sewed most of the Lady's tiara. Tricky block so stoped as I was just short of piecing the four main blocks together. Here are some early pictures of my blocks and fabric.

Cuttings

Lady's Tiara 

Earl's Pipe

Finished the blocks after some use of seam ripper due to just me turning blocks. I have learned to square up with each block and double check prior to sewing. Here are the finished products.

The Mystery begins today at 9 am.

The Mystery Begins...

You receive a curious letter in the mail, on official-looking letterhead, stating that you are heir to an estate in Southampton, Great Britain. You are asked to travel there and inspect the property, and enclosed with the letter is a plane ticket and pre-paid American Express card for expenses.

It's hard to believe that such a letter could be real, especially in this day and age. You've seen enough Nigerian Prince emails to know what's what, and no one's going to fool you. However, the letter encourages you to call the British Consulate in your country to verify the information. Not trusting the phone number given in the letter, of course you Google it to find the correct number.To your great surprise, the telephone numbers match!

You speak to the Consul General and he confirms that everything is legitimate, and congratulates you on your inheritance.

The plane ticket is dated for today.  This afternoon, in fact! But you have a job, family, obligations. You have quilts to make! Cat videos to watch! Why on earth would you pick up everything and leave right now for the UK?

So yes I took the plan ticket and began my journey. The first week is "the inheritance" block. Took most of the afternoon to complete, but striving for matching seams and points. Here is the final block.

Fabrics picked out, numbered and cut per directions.

Layout to assist with sewing.

The final block. I admit I had to redo a few seams to get them to match points and seams. Pressing was a bit different. But so p,eased with the final block. It measures 20.5 inches unfinished. This is going to be an awesome quilt and mystery journey. I even listened to afternoon webinar by Ebony on quilting tips..mostly cutting?

www.lovebugstudio.com is presenting this mystery.