Just over the last few years I've gotten brave enough to do chain piecing with a whole top instead of doing one row at a time like I have done for years. I do make sure that I am alert and not tired, because I know that if I get 'off' there will be a lot of ripping! I lay out my quilt top and then I work down the length of the top going one row at a time starting with the top row and lay block one on top of block two on top of block three, etc. and then leave that pile of blocks on top of the last one in that row. I continue down each row doing the same so that at the end I have a pile for each row. Then I pick up the piles and turn every other pile on point so that I can distinguish pile one from pile 2, etc. Then when I sit down to do the chain piecing I start with row 1 and put block one down with block two on top and sew, then I take the rest of row 1 (block three and on) and set the pile off on the side upside down. Then I sew block one and block two from row 2 and set the remaining part row two on point upside down on top of row one. And continue down through all the rows. When I'm done with all the rows, I pull my 2 block chain down and turn my row piles right side up again so that I now am sewing block 3 on row one, block 3 on row two, etc. and turn over the remaining rows upside down as before. So there ends up being a chain of thread that connects all of row 1 to row 2, row 2 to row 3, etc. When all the rows are sold together, all that is left is sewing the rows which are all connected with thread. The danger is if I forget after taking a block off of a row to turn that row over upside down and set it aside, I will then take the next block from that row instead of the following row. As long as I keep methodically working through it, it does go together nicely and is really easy for connecting the rows, and uses a minimal amount of thread. Karlene

Linda, thanks for fixing the link. I just couldn't work out how to do it. Glad you liked the pictures. I took about 1700 altogether, so had to pick a good mix. Just in case you haven't had enough (lol) I just added some more - I think they have come up at the beginning of the album. Hi Alisande, the Abbey dates from the latter half of the 12th century and the burial site from 1607. Many of the gravestones are unreadable but there are some local family burials right to the last few years. When I went in spring it was beautiful with daffodils growing everywhere. I have a a few more old graveyard ones which I will upload and show soon if you like. I enjoy old cemeteries and wandered in many while I was there looking for my Dad's family. I made a mistake - the Abbey is at Dundrennan in Galloway, not Ayrshire. June, I have to say that the food was quite a mix. I was on a budget as far as food went and because I was on my own, did not go out at night much. I mostly picked up sandwiches, fruit and soup, plus cheap meals at one of the department store chains. I bought a thermos flask for the 3 weeks I hired cars and drank coffee and ate snacks, including lots of chocolate. In Edinburgh, I treated myself to a nice hotel room and enjoyed room service meals that were good. One really cold day, I found a really tasty curry and sat near a loch where there was not another person in sight. Bliss. The low point was a deep-fried meat pie in Edinburgh. Pure grease. We Aussies love our meat pies but they are baked pastry, not baked and then deep fried. Really, really yukky!! I did have an incredible lemon tart at the Edinburgh hotel later that night which made me feel better. I love the colder weather and made a point of travelling before the tourist season began - April and early May, so was able to find B & B and guest house accommodation easily and relatively cheaply. Some highs and lows. I only booked my first two nights and last one before I left home. It was a real leap of faith to prove to myself that I could do things by myself. Still haven't worked up the courage to eat a meal in a restaurant alone but will do it one day. I would recommend Scotland to anyone who loves history and scenery. The driving was very easy - of course they drive on the same side of the road as me which helps. I am thrilled that people like the pictures. Beth

dedtired, many place-names in Scotland begin with Auchter . . .something or other. I wouldn't have said it was 'common' perhaps a glance through a phone-book might prove me wrong! I think the original of Monarch of the Glen was by Scottish writer Compton Mackenzie. His Whisky Galore (book and later film) is a classic, based on a true story when during WWII a ship carrying thousands of barrels of whisky was wrecked of the Isle of Eriskay and the devious means by which the islanders hid the loot from the Customs men! nb the correct spelling of whisky; the true Scottish way. ;-)

Hi Daisy, I am glad you found a good option. Personally, one of the reasons I never used Air BnB is because so often we are in far flung places or in high season and I did not want to risk it (with a very spoiled family of five and our luggage retinue) and then have no choices. The first time I booked an Air BnB was just this past March in LA, because i figured LA has tons of hotels and March isn't really a high season where I wont be able to find a room. My second AIrbNb reservation is in NYC for a girls weekend, which would just mean we'd all go to my home instead if we run into a problem. BTW Gail, booking a back up hotel is fine except so many of them now price like airlines do and won't let you cancel "6pm day of arrival" like in olden days! High season in Paris could indeed be tricky if something fell through, unlike March in LA. I share your skepticism too, the owners can compare their place just like you did and one wonders why they would underprice.