Slow Sundays

I shouldn't really call it Slow Sundays as it has become the day we clean the house, but it always starts with breakfast outside (weather permitting) and this morning the William Morris rose was a delight in the early morning sun......

The morning shadows even give time for contemplation.........

 But the cleaning beckoned and I am lucky that Larry shares the load.....

As I was cleaning I returned to my early morning contemplation that seemed to be affairs of the world. Social media seems to be overwhelmingly consumed with world politics at the moment and whilst I am not ignoring the conversations I try to focus on life at home and simple pleasures. Even our recent Australia Day celebrations were met with mixed emotions but the house needs cleaning so lets stick to that! I even smile with cleaning the sticky fingers and vacuuming up all the sand along with the 100's and 1,000's while thinking how lucky we are to have this simple pleasure as so many will never get to experience it. (thanks for the photos Emily). And very importantly this little boy starts school tomorrow! (And Jocelyn in Canada....you can see Maisie eating that fairy bread you posted about back on Jan 10th!).......

 The garden is such a source of pleasure as well and here are your seedlings waiting for you Jenny L! The small violet is meandering across the walls and the Pierre-de-Ronsard rose is full of a second flush too........

We have had lots of spiders recently though including very large huntsmen and even a large black jumping spider that I have never seen before! While I know they are harmless I would really prefer that they lived outside! But the other night two little hopping critters caught our eye only they were not spiders! We have no idea how they got inside but they are back in the garden and it is nice to know that they are a sign of a heathy ecosystem....... 

Of course sewing brings pleasurable contemplation so I have completed one more rope bowl with more fund raising ones ready to be started using the african fabrics......... 

 The Peter Rabbit bed runner is now bound with a few more features added........

 The tin is full of old press studs from my late mother's sewing basket ready to stitch on all the wool felt vegetables....

 and they are kept in another recycled box- the best kind of course!......

 So I will finish this post with some more simple 'niceties'! I don't seem to send letters like I used to - emails seem to have taken over but how nice it is to be on the receiving end. Of course Dot is always sending me treats but so does Alison from Melbourne regularly (hope you are going okay Alison and Paul - we think of you often). Alison often sends snippets of interest including this new Beatrix Potter book review and then there was a card from Margaret of New South Wales who wanted to tell me how much she loved receiving my new Beatrix Potter book.....how lovely! So thankyou Alison and Margaret......I treasure it all x

Ropes and Roses

As always this past week has brought some happy times and even some new experiences! Late last year I received this very special textile bowl all hand stitched by Janie for my 60th birthday and I love it........

Over lunch when I received it Rosie and I asked Janie if she would show us how to make one.........so this past week I had a wonderful day with them both as we nattered over a glass of wine and a fabulous lunch of nibbles at Janie's place........

 The creative mess was testament to our diligence and and it was so nice to be on the receiving end of being shown how to do something new too. The bowls are actually made up of rope covered in narrow strips of fabric and my palette was muted neutrals with a bit of Morris thrown in..............

 Rosie used some wonderful African fabrics and Janie and I have taken some to make bowls to help with a fundraising project. You can read about Rosie's daughter Celeste and her son-in-law Luke HERE where you will read of their time in Uganda in 2007. They are an inspiration and their efforts here at home continue to help the community in the area of health particularly for children. They now import The Spirt of Mbale coffee beans from the Mt Elgon region and we're looking forward to ours arriving very soon. So these fabrics will soon become rope bowls and will be a small way of helping their cause as well.......

 Of course one goes off on a tangent when one gets excited about learning a new skill and I found even more inspiring rope bowls on the internet! I've put the website underneath each photo where you will find even more......

Veronica Darling

 We Are Scout

Barbara Warholic

While on the subject of stitching I am pleased to say the final hand stitching of the Peter Rabbit bed runner was completed last night. I just love the texture of the Japanese fabrics with the hand stitching and I hope little hands will like it as well.......

 I should have all the interactive pieces completed soon so I will be sure to share that.....and quite possibly with yet another version of Peter Rabbit! While researching rabbits I have come across some delightful websites and very clever people and I adore these needle felted versions from Natasha Fadeev who lives in Russia.......

 Alison in New Zealand recently emailed me when she heard of my trials with making my own version of Peter Rabbit and shared a site from the UK...thankyou Alison! This site Little Cotton Rabbits is just delightful and it was here that Alison actually purchased the pattern to make these beautiful bunnies that she so kindly gave me when they came to visit (and that might have been before Beau and Maisie made it into the world and now they are loved by them each time they come to visit)........

 So we've talked of "ropes" so now to the "roses" and what roses we saw today including the stunning William Morris rose! The planning for the William Morris in Adelaide" events are falling into place and today we had a two hour meeting at the stunning Auchendarroch House where I met with two other namesakes but unlike me both spelt with two L's! It was wonderful to share our mutual passion for William Morris and I am in awe of what the Wallis Family have done to renovate this grand home that was once lived in by Robert and Joanna Barr Smith.The millions of dollars to restore the house including the original Morris wallpaper is just a start and now there is only Michelle left to continue the legacy her father started. And to find her clutching Beatrix Potter books when we met was quite incredible too - we both have the same passion! So I think William Morris and Beatrix Potter will be coming alive in Adelaide in the future......so exciting and amazing that one door closes and another opens in life! So I will leave you with the roses and scenery at this beautiful place where we will be sharing something special with those of you coming in 2018 or 2019.......