Port Eliot Festival 2012, Friday 20 July, Part 2

Once the new tent was up and decorated and running we all scroogled in and waited for Tracy Chevalier to arrive. I was entertained to see a big bumble bee lazily floating around the flowers in the tent. Unfortunately I didn't manage to capture it on camera.



Dove Grey and Tracy Chevalier began the session with a "show and tell" about their quilts. Dove Grey's quilt was one she started for her firstborn, Tom.  Who co-incidentally was the dovegreyreader official photographer, as well as being about to reach his 30th birthday!  Still not finished, but she assures us that she will might in time for his 30th.



Tracy's quilt is, I think - not enormously up on quilting - a traditional American quilt pattern.  Before reading us an extract from her new novel, Tracy told us a little about how she likes to work.  As part of the research she does for writing she tries out the things that she is writing about.  She also mentioned that research can go too far, citing a novelist who went several times some hundreds of miles to find out about making guns, that eventually resulted in about 3 lines in the final novel.  Her new novel is about a Quaker woman who after emigrating to America gets involved with the "underground railway" for escaping slaves.



The extract Tracy read to us told how her main protagonist is trying to make sufficient quilts so she can get married.  Her future sister-in-laws are prepared to lend her quilts, but want to have them replaced as part of their own dowries. Our heroine makes quilts by piecing, in the English fashion, her new (about to be) family complain it takes too long, and suggest she should stop making quilts in that way, and make them using applique which is faster.



After questions about 'Girl with the Pearl Earring' amongst others, Tracy signed books...  She has recently edited a book, 'Why Willows Weep', sold in aid of the Woodland Trust.  She was kind enough to sign my copy to give to my dear Mum-in-Law who had broken her wrist and was in hospital at the time.

Once this session was over, I caught a photo of Dove Grey with Michelle Roberts, who was to speak on Saturday about Angela Carter.



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Tomorrow is my Birthday - I'll be 64.  I may well not manage to continue this saga tomorrow...  So I'll share a picture of the view from our caravan with you before closing this post.



Lots more to come, including Stealing Sheep!

And then the moon began to rise! So have to share this.  It's a Blue Moon on my birthday tomorrow!