The wait is over for my William Morris fabric!

Today I finally received my new fabrics from Jason Yenter via our good friends Tim and Jim at Lloyd Curzon! Thanks guys! xx It is so nice to finally see and touch them and still so surreal to see some of my drawings on fabric! 

 I have a feeling these three prints below might even end up as shirts very soon…….a girl can never have too many shirts!!

Jason had asked me to put a few words together before the range came out so here they are…..

"I am thrilled to announce the Arts and Crafts collection of fabrics and accompanying quilt from Jason Yenter of In the Beginning fabrics and myself.  This new collection weaves elements of Morris’s Strawberry Thief design (1883) and his Bullerswood carpet pattern (1889) and all with a modern colour twist.  The border print has a distinctly Persian influence where it is thought Morris derived a lot of his pattern for the final carpet.

One of William Morris’s greatest legacies was the spectacular carpets he produced. He spent many hours researching designs and gathering knowledge from the old Persian pieces he had collected. His knowledge was so highly respected that he became an exert advisor to the then South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) in London. In 1893 Morris urged the Museum to purchase a spectacular Islamic carpet– the now famous Ardabil Carpet 1540 that is the largest (13ft x 25ft!), and finest Islamic carpet in existence.  Earlier in 1889 Morris had already created a carpet Bullerswood that is heavily inspired by elements of the Ardabil and other ancient Persian carpets.

Another of Morris’s most recognised designs is Strawberry Thief 1883  - a printed cotton reflecting the pesky thrushes that were stealing fruit from his very own garden at Kelmscott Manor.

Jason has interweaved these two spectacular designs to create a special feature fabric and blenders. The ‘Bullerswood Quilt’ also reflects elements of the original Morris ‘Bullerswood’ carpet and the colours have a contemporary twist. The quilt design will suit devotees of applique and piecing– enjoy!"

These are some of the shirts I made some months ago from previous ranges. They were perfect for the UK tours and the cotton is just so nice to wear. Jason uses a high thread count and on a hot day they feel amazingly cool……..

 As I write this I can see out into the garden where we have a bird bath full of bird life. First the family of starlings appear and by the time six of them have finished bathing there is hardly any water left! 

We've had honeyeaters and finches and this afternoon I finally captured the gorgeous blue wren that you can just see peering over the stone wall and in the pot…….

 So with a little bit of this mixed in it makes for a wonderful life…...(And Larry is amongst this good life somewhere!)

A successful PINK weekend

I am home again after a wonderful weekend of fun, laughter and fund raising for the Breast Cancer Network of Australia. When I left the final tally was still being collated but I did hear it was almost $1600….WOW! Our final 'event' was a wonderful high tea prepared by Pauline and it was delicious…….

 To end the weekend there is always the mandatory group photo to add to the many that Judy has framed to hang on the wall…….

So it was time for a quick pack up with the paper flowers still blooming for another day…….

 The auctions were a huge hit and I was thrilled that my donated fabric packs were hotly contested raising about $200 alone - thanks girls! So what did I bring home from that wonderful collection of donated items - and all pink of course so Maisie scored in that department! First of all a Barbie pin cushion for when Maisie makes her first quilt (!!) and hand made by Helen, a beautiful soft flannel baby blanket made by Raylene, a pink large zippered purse made by Faye to possibly hold pencils for Maisie..and a few other items just for fun!…….

 But the most exciting news from the weekend was that I won the raffle….that fabulous quilt stitched and donated by Jude! What a treat as I think there were over 350 tickets sold (maybe even more), so one happy girl and it is already in the bedroom for the little people - much brighter than what was there………..

So once again a huge heartfelt thank you for having me Jude. It was a lovely weekend to remember and I commend you on all your hard work xx 

To end this post I wanted to share a little of last week. On Tuesday I showed a New Zealand couple a little of our William Morris collection in Adelaide. I was a little embarrassed after our Art Gallery tour as Carrick Hill was closed (!), but instead Nydia and Ken of Thorngrove Manor kindly allowed me to show off the quilt I made them and the added bonus was a grand tour of the Manor - WOW!  I was totally spoilt by Alison and Malcolm with lunch in Hahndorf and all these hand stitched gifts. The bunnies are for Beau and Maisie but I think they might have to live here at home as I adore them!……

 Two little quilts with one sitting beside my machine for my coffee mug already……...

 and those bunnies! Thanks so much Alison and Malcolm…hope we meet again "across the ditch" one day xx

And finally last Thursday I received this hand knitted Christmas stocking from Bronnie. Very special as she had made one for Beau over 2 years ago……you are very thoughtful Bronnie..thank you xx 

We're still in pink!

I have been wearing pink all day but when it comes to the night attire at dinner….well I am afraid to say I let the team down….nice to be the photographer sometimes! We had another mini auction today with some visitors joining in the fun……..

The bidding still creates excitement when your bid wins……….. 

 The house is still pink and even fresh pink in the loo……...

 More pink bows out the front……..

 The Spring weather is beautiful - cool nights but glorious days…….so a neighbourhood walk was a must before lunch………...

 A mural on the motel……...

 and some true Australian native colours……….

 Then it was dinner time (!!)……...

 Aren't they gorgeous?……….

 Madame Raelene serving her troops…….