Highland Games in the Gulf Coast Flatlands

Today's weather was glorious for our plans. We were going to this years Dunedin Highland Games. Just to clarify for my friends in the UK and in New Zealand, there is a small city in Florida called Dunedin. Google it, honest, it's really there.

The sun was shining, a breeze was blowing and the expected high temperature was in the low 70's. Lovely. Our group comprised a Kennedy, a son of a Kennedy and me. It had been nearly 20 years since I had visited this Celtic Festival. It has grown and improved. We had a great time.





We saw some dancing.









We visited the Clan village.















Saw lots of cute dogs.

And a well turned out sheep or two.











Some bales were tossed over very high bars.














Some cabers were cast (but very few were turned!)



















Even the fry cook at the Chippie's was well dressed.







I was also introduced to Utility Kilts that you can see here. I keep trying to make this concept make sense, but have failed so far. I guess I thought that the main reason for kilts was to display your tartan. I looked for an explanation from a shopkeeper who sported a nice twill kilt in kind of a pismuckledun shade. He said, "Well look if you wear one to the pub and spill beer on it you don't have a big dry cleaning bill." His kilt had a loop for his IPhone case and another for a neat tool pouch. Still thinking here. Maybe there are men out there who, if given a practical alternative, would opt for a Utility Kilt rather than a clan tartan (or trousers.)  What do you think?

Thank you for your patience

Those of you who have stuck with me through the Austen Family Album Quilt project so far, Thanks. It's been more than two months since I posted anything about any thing. So here I am. I have finished another block today.

Block #32 (of #36) is Ladies' Wreath in honor of Jane's sister-in-law Elizabeth. Please visit Barbara Brackman's blog here to get the story of her life and a discussion of female mortality during the Austen's time. Elizabeth died at age 35 after the birth of her 11th child.

The block which is to represent a mourning wreath for a woman like Elizabeth. Because of the solemnity of the subject I chose a dark fabric with just a touch of green in the center to accompany the basic taupe theme fabric.

You might also like to scroll through some of the more recent blog entries to see some examples submitted by people who didn't stall near the end and have actually managed to set the quilt top.

In reading through these it appears that if the sashing is kept fairly narrow (finishing at around 1.5 inches) the quilt will be Queen Size. I think I can live with that. So on I go, four more blocks to make and then I can look at further steps.