Wednesday 31 January 2018

Time for a give-away!

It seems like each week that passes I start to run out of scintillating trivia for the blog so maybe it is simply time to spread some of my desk calendar 'happiness' and give away a pattern. This pattern is not available to purchase (and probably never will be as the centre page is very large), but I did make it available to students doing my design classes recently. The quilt I speak of is the "Thorngrove" quilt made for the stunning small luxury hotel Thorngrove Manor that we are lucky enough to have in our Adelaide Hills. I have two spare patterns to give-away so I will just randomly select (or Larry can do a lucky draw!) from those of you who visit and leave a message about what makes you happy over the coming week. Nydia and Ken have lovingly built this unique castle hotel and recently Nydia kindly provided me with a new and updated photo......thankyou Nydia....so this is the quilt if any of you would like the pattern.......
So my favourite 'happiness' page from the calendar this week is......
It is quite amusing really as on those two days we experienced temperatures around 44C!! (111F).....clearly this calendar is for the northern hemisphere but then maybe it is to help us feel cool! Despite the heat we did have some happy times starting last Friday when the kiddies arrived for a sleepover. It was too hot to play outside so instead we did some crafts (every time I pull out the boxes of bits and pieces I think of you Laraine! xx)......

 It was actually Australia Day that day so after tea we headed down to our local beach. It was a gorgeous evening and the kiddies had a ball (and only 5 minutes from home). We set up under the jetty to find some shade and watch the sunset........
























 Thankfully the heat has abated for a few days with a massive drop of over 20C so we are feeling a tad weary. Some bulbs out the back erupted overnight in the heat (Larry calls them our triffids)......
 and the peaches are finally ripening.......
 We kept the bird baths full as the birds were clearly suffering in the heat but they still haven't found their new house which makes me smile through the front door each day and in the evening light while I am watering the garden.......
 Happiness is definitely the photos that Emily shares of Beau and Maisie...the first two are so precious. Maisie had fallen asleep still feeding her baby.......
 Beau fell asleep while reading with Maisie and another baby on another night.......
 and a recent visit to see her little cousin Wade who is now 3400gms (7 and a half pounds I think!). She was reading Wade a story (and there is Peter rabbit Helen!)...........
How the simple things make us happy.....hope you find many happy times in the coming week and tell us what it was that made you happy x

32 comments:

  1. Seeing a new post from you always makes me happy, with lovely scenes, amazing quilts, and best of all are the pictures of your grandchildren, they are so precious and seeing Wade grow makes me cry with thanksgiving.
    And then over here in Texas, a recently engaged grandson to a lovely gal and a granddaughter who is 14 and delights me every day. All that and more from a loving God. A lovely pattern wouldn't hurt either.

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  2. Staying home and not having to go to work makes me real happy. I love to care for my home and stitch

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  3. One of those peaches would make me happy! My favorite fruit and it’s a long wait for them to ripen here in Kansas. Staying warm and quilting makes me happy this week.

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  4. I love the photos of the children - the beach under the jetty sounds perfect for an end to a hot day in the evening. Little Wade at 7.5 pounds now sounds so nice - the size he would have been if he had waited til his due date to be born! The pattern is lovely, I wonder if I would ever get time to make it though it I won it with so many projects constantly on the go.

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  5. An absolutely wonderful quilt, I would buy the pattern if it was available. I am in Canada and of course we get the cold season, -18 at the moment and even colder tonight. I am always very happy when the sun shines and I settle down by the window to work on my appliqué quilts, the nice thing about winter here is that I stay in most of the time and enjoy lots of time in my studio. My other great joy are our 4 grandchild who are now 21, 20 and 17 it has been wonder fun to watch them grow into kind and caring adults and of course top of the list for joy is DH.

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  6. This quilt is stunning. I'm working on handquilting a Baltimore Style quilt. Happiness is sitting in quiet and quilting with my little yorkie curled up beside me and my husband nearby, reading, in his easy chair. He says he likes he likes this too!

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  7. A wonderful quilt! Maybe you can still buy a template ... I'm not lucky in the lottery))) Beautiful children: Maisie grows beautiful young lady! It's amazing to see from the northern hemisphere a warm sea, sun and peaches ...

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  8. So true - simple things do make us happy. A lovely post. Having my grands visit always brings happiness. I had a special treat as my newest and youngest(she's 2 1/2 and just learning English) said "bye, bye, Grandma to me as I was leaving. Thanks for the chance!

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  9. The simple things make me happy, sunshine, , special smiles, a warm loving touch,a nice cup of coffee, being lucky enough to have clean running water, stitching, friends and family.

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  10. Happiness for me is reading your blog and hearing all your lovely family news. Thorngrove manor quilt is a dream of mine to do along with all your others. God Bless

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  11. Being able to make that lovely quilt would make me happy. I love seeing the photos of your lovely grandchildren, and my real happiness was having my two visit NZ for the first time for three weeks over Christmas, we had such a lovely time with them, and they spent hours playing with the sprinkler like Maisie,

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  12. It's snowing again here in South Finland and everything is going to look so light and white again. Evenings are for sit down with a cup of tea and do some hand applique. That makes me happy this week.

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  13. To be able to take a deep breath and inhale life and know that I am alive to make those around me happy, be they family, friends or strangers I meet. For each and everyone of us deserves a bit of happiness each and every day.

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  14. I am grateful and happy to be able to sew, stitch, read, work in my garden, travel with my dear husband. Life is a gift to me and so is my soul mate husband who shares this space with me on our beautiful earth! What a stunning quilt! I made my granddaughter your Peter Rabbit quilt from your book...it was well loved! I would LOVE to win a pattern for this lovely piece and make it a masterpiece to be handed down to those I love!

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  15. Hi Michelle
    As I mentioned to you in my previous emails is that I live in the wrong country. If I lived in Australia, I would attend every class and seminar of yours.
    As to what makes me happy this week, lots of things, the grand children (same age as yours) are coming to spend the weekend with Nana before I have my ankle surgery Feb. 9th. Another thing is that Sam decided to retire from his job and started enjoying life (he used to travel a lot, so now he is at home with me). love that.
    Hope everyone is doing well.
    Hugs and kisses.
    linda

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  16. It's always good to read your blog. Once grandchildren come along life changes as it should. Great to see Wade doing well. I love all your patterns.

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  17. What a beautiful quilt! Applique is my all-time favorite stitching, so that would be a joy to work on. I have a few days off this week, and I've been planning a William Morris Snowball quilt (have already laid-in the supplies), and so I might actually get to do at least a little prep for it before work starts up again, which makes me happy. But what makes me ultimately happy is family and friends. A change in employment for my husband precipitated a move away from friends and family about fourteen years ago, so we only see our grandchildren several times a year now (ages 10 and 11). Recently, we had the pleasure of having them with us (without their parents), and it was a blast! Happy, happy, happy!!!! Our grandson helped me with all things technical and our granddaughter tapped out messages through the wall at night (she had written down the codes for me so I'd know just what she was saying). Human beings truly are "treasures in earthen vessels." Thanks, always, for sharing your lovely pictures and family stories with us--OH, and the wonderful quilting too!!!

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  18. Dear Michelle, I love your blog and family photos. I am a long time fan but this is my first contact with you. What makes me happy at the moment is the anticipation of commencing my major project for this year - the William & May Morris Sampler. A mutual friend, Brenda Burgoyne gifted me the pattern at Christmas, knowing I was intending to purchase it. I am very grateful. I have gathered all my fabrics and with Brenda's guidance I start the journey on Feb, 13th. I am really excited about this project. I love the beauty of the Arts and Crafts movement and the designs of William Morris. As my surname is Morris (and my paternal grandfather was born on the Welsh/English border) I have always wanted to make a William Morris design for my bed. I love the Thorngrove Quilt and it would make a beautiful gift for my brother and sister-in-law for their 50th Wedding Anniversary (but that is about 6 years away). Realistically I must make the new project first and I realise others would be in a position to commence such a quilting journey earlier than I could. Thankyou for your continued inspiration.

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  19. Wow, what a quilt! The May Morris book I just got from the library makes me happy. Pretty soon I'll be seeing daffodils and tulip trees in bloom, which is one of my favorite things. And the other night, we had a nice family dinner with a kid's friend along, and I thought "Wow, I should remember this forever."

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  20. Happiness to me is very easy to find: special little things like a smile or wink from my husband; giggles of our grandchildren or big loving hugs from them; sitting in the stillness of our garden, under the beautiful spreading trees and enjoying the cacophony of bird songs filling the stillness & the sight of a majestic wedge tail eagle souring above. All these things make me so blessed and so happy! Happy days, Wendy

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  21. I'm very happy to finally be over the flu and able to get back to sewing! I'm behind on two BOMs from 2017 and trying to catch up. Would love to win your pattern for that gorgeous quilt.

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  22. Lots of things make me happy - family, friends, good health. I am lucky to be able to indulge in my passion of playing with fabric, cutting it up and sewing it back together. Very satisfying. Thankyou for sharing your life snippets with us. xx

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  23. As a long time follower and owner of your books,patterns and fabric line I would live to own your Thorngrove Manor pattern. What makes me happy is every day!

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  24. Hi Michele, many things make me happy, like reading that Wade is home and doing well, seeing Beau and Maisie's adventures, making quilts for others and seeing our grandson, Jake. I'd love a copy of your pattern but I am more than happy to read your blog and see what you are making. Much love, Jan xx

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  25. Happy post as always Michele. And wonderful memories of seeing that gorgeous quilt “in situ”. Happiness is spending time with lovely friends and seeing gorgeous things. I don't need to go into the draw as I was a winner of a lovely pattern once before.

    Alison

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  26. What lovely pictures of the children in the sand and surf. I too always find happiness with my grandchildren.

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  27. What a wonderful place for that quilt to be!!!
    Happiness for me is having the time to work with needle and thread. It is a place where your minds wonders and creativity lives!
    Happiness is also sharing with friends and family...

    Yoly Tovar

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  28. A lot of things make me happy. Mostly my own family. My two sons who are doing well and working hard on their future. My husband and the time we spend together, like today we went to the beach, it was very cold outside, but the sun was shining. Love those days. Working with needle and thread gives me rest and lots of nice contacts.
    Much greatings from the Netherlands.
    Willy

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  29. Wishing you every happiness Michele xx
    Family, friends and the simple things in life make me happy. Smelling roses in my own garden and watching everything grow. My cat Angus! My journey as a quilter with the most beautiful people who give so much inspiration. Sunsets and the Moon. Laughter & Love.....

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  30. What makes me happy - exept from enjoying your blog - is working on mij quilt with friends. Is is so much fun to experience the quiltjourney witch friends who also quilt.

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  31. What a lovely quilt pattern! Love all your pictures of family and quilts!

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  32. Running late reading your blog Michele, sorry about that but what is making me very happy today is seeing the beautiful photos of your family and most of all that little Wade is making such good progress. Thank you again for sharing with us those lovely photos and a part of your family. Keep cool, love, Jean 😀

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Thankyou for dropping by and sharing in my journey. And thanks especially for your lovely comments….I may not always respond (especially if there is no email address) but please know you are appreciated x