A new pattern means a give away!

I have had a little flurry of pattern sales on my Digital Pattern Store over the last few days and I am not really sure why....but thankyou! So with that it must be time to give a little back. I have finally completed the new "May Morris Portiere" quilt pattern instructions that will be available on the store page next week. Meanwhile leave me a comment (with your email address), and this time next week I will email two digital copies to two lucky people at no cost.......

Hopefully next week I will also have all the photos and information about the William Morris meets Beatrix Potter tour prepared so I can share that too.  Meanwhile the Hill household continues to enjoy happy times even through the excessive summer heat. We are hearing of the freezing cold temperatures in the northern hemisphere and here at home we recorded the hottest day ever since records began 130 years ago.......we reached an unbearable 46.6C last Thursday(almost 116F) and it didn't go below 31C (almost 88F) overnight either. We were out for a while on this day and the car registered 49C (120F) but I only managed to photograph 48C when we got home! One friend had her car register a whopping 51C!.....

We are so lucky to have air conditioning and I can recall as a child not having this luxury. We would sleep outside at night and get eaten alive by mosquitos (and I dont recall sleeping very much either!). The only comfort inside was a wet flannel and small fan! So with all this heat we've enjoyed some time at the beach to cool down.....

 The weekend was a little milder but still quite warm but this time we enjoyed one of our favourite activities....a steam train ride. No matter what the size we still love steam trains......

Maisie decided to cool Poppa down by painting his face with water.......

Tomorrow is her first day at kindergarten and she is very excited. She was also excited that her 'little ear' has enough earlobe for a little stick on earring but she still prefers not to wear her hearing aid......

And you will be pleased to know that William Morris is still lurking about in our lives! I have been invited to give a talk to the Yankalilla Ladies Probus Club in April and have a William Morris in Adelaide tour early May. I also received an email from the Friends of Adelaide's Botanic Gardens asking if I could assist them with putting on a William and May Morris display for all the month of May as a part of South Australia's History Festival....so of course I said yes! Being in the Botanic Gardens will be a perfect time to celebrate all of William and May Morris's designs that celebrate flowers......so more of that in May. Meanwhile enjoy our day when went to the botanic gardens for the meeting. I only had my phone with me but the images are still lovely and of parts of the garden that I haven't visited for a very long time including the 'new to me' gingko gates......

 My meeting was in the North Lodge and the ever patient Larry came prepared with his puzzle book.......

 We shared a light lunch after the meeting under the cool canopy of an enormous and very old oak tree.....

 We were being watched for quite some time and then he thought he would join us looking for leftovers.........

 As we left the gardens we noticed changes nearby including a new entrance to Adelaide University. This time leading up to the University of Adelaide's Barr Smith Library named in honour of Robert Barr Smith who also happened to be responsible for much of Adelaide's incredible William Morris collection.......

 Larry spent many years in this library and gained two academic degrees during that time.........

So another week and another thank-you for visiting........and do leave a message if you would like that new pattern! x

"Somewhere out there"

"Somewhere out there" takes me to a special song that always brings a tear to my eye from the movie 'An American Tale' that we would watch with our girls when they were young. The lyrics are heart warming and make me ponder the many mysteries of the world that we can't solve or answer.......... 

Isn't it nice to know that "somewhere out there" someone is thinking of a special someone that might be close or far away? Our thoughts have been consumed every single moment these past weeks of a loved one who has been seriously unwell hence my absence from the blog. So the flowers in the garden have been useful for visits to hospital.......

 "Somewhere out there" there are mysteries to be solved, cures to be discovered and futures unknown. For me there is also "someone out there" who nominated me for an Australian of the Year Award that is announced every January 26th - our Australia Day. When I received the email a few days ago I assumed it was a hoax as there is absolutely no reason that I could think of that would even remotely be fitting. So I got Larry to check it and he thought it was legitimate so thankyou from the bottom of my heart to whoever you might be "somewhere out there"!! I have no idea why......maybe for my contribution to promoting tourism to Adelaide to see the William Morris collection??!! I will humbly treasure the letter......

 "Somewhere out there" the planets are not too happy as we are in the middle of a heat wave where it is expected to peak to 44C (111F) in just two days. Our friends in Canada just sent us an email to tell us they are experiencing -26 with a -42 wind chill! So lots of time has been spent indoors with the air-conditioner cooling us while creating new projects for the market. I came across these delightful buttons with faces and spent a few hours deciding what to do with them........bookmarks were the end result.......

 So the bookmarks made an appearance a few days ago on the very last day of the Australian Tour Down Under cycle race. Cycling has been in Larry's blood and he rode for many years with my younger brother, so it is always a highlight for us to go and watch it and this year was an extra bonus as we were participating on the sidelines...... and with a fabulous view.........

 It is always exciting when the first breakaway group come through followed by riders from all around the world.....but how they must have suffered coming from freezing winters to our very hot summer.......

 The village transformed into a visual feast of coloured lycra of professional and amateur cyclists from all around Australia and the rest of the world, and this year they were able to ride the same challenging circuit as the tour teams......

 The race passed us five times with about 45 minutes between each leg so there was time to wander and soak in the atmosphere........

 We even had a huge TV screen close by so we could watch the entire 151km race........

 It was a great day for traders to reap the rewards with some providing entertainment as well........not so busy for the market but we lapped up every single minute.......

 It was amazing to watch the team support crews waiting on the side of the road with snack and drink packs for riders to grab as they sped by...........

 The weekend before we took the older members of the little family to a nearby beach for some fun in the sun...well under the jetty in the shade........

 and "somewhere out there" across that vast ocean are friends far away including Helen of Whitecroft Tours who tells me she has finalised the Yorkshire based 'William Morris meets Beatrix Potter' tour. I will devote my next blog post to that as Helen will have it all on her website soon......

Last weekend we had the wonderful experience of watching a choral music concert in Adelaide's St Peter's Cathedral. It was the 70th Australian Intervarsity Festival Choir Festival with performers from Universities around Australia. When I read the program I jumped at it as they were performing the Australian Premiere of Eriks Esenvalds composition 'Stars'! You can see a performance below from his home country of Latvia......

How they create that sound with glasses of water is beyond me but it was truly hypnotic in the surrounds of St Peter's cathedral and just what we needed. I only had my phone so the photos were not so good but it is a night we will remember for a very long time. They also played works of several Norwegian composers one of whom I am obsessed and play on a daily basis.......Ola Gjeilo and in fact I am playing his album 'Northern Lights' as I type.....

 A couple of weeks ago"somewhere out there", (I think the Czech Republic), I received an email from Daniela with images of her 'Fantasy' quilt and how splendid it is with lots of detailed hand embroidery. Thankyou Daniela for allowing me to share your beautiful quilt on the blog..........

So I hope "somewhere out there" you are safe and enjoying the day.....I will leave you with two quotes from the Dalai Lama from my desktop calendar that have left me hopeful........