It's all about Red!

When I was at secondary school my 'affliction' of having red hair bit me on the proverbial.....yes it came with unwelcome nicknames like "red" and "blood-nut"...and at times a very cruel "period head"!! Gosh kids can be bullies and I was always hopeless at standing up for myself. So I have never really taken to the colour red and I recall my late Mum saying that redheads just can't wear red so I never did! I asked Mr Google about the colour and of course it confirmed what I already knew. "Red is the colour of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love". As I was deciding on another blog post I checked my phone and camera to see what photos I had taken over the last couple of weeks and it surprised me how much the colour red appeared in my images! And yesterday was a very special day for Australia and New Zealand as it was Anzac Day and coincidentally the symbol we use for remembrance is of course the red poppy.....

William Morris occasionally used red in his designs and my favourite would have to be the Brer Rabbit pattern. The original textiles would have been created by dying the base fabric in a vat of madder root and then discharge dyed by bleaching out the red colour with a carved block prepared with a bleaching agent - unlike the commercial fabrics of today seen here in one of my Morris aprons.......

I found an article online HERE from a lecture that William Morris gave in 1889 on 'The Art of Dyeing'. It is a fascinating read. Having never really liked the colour I was surprised at how much of it I have accumulated especially in our kitchen. I think it all started with a baking dish and then we received a red coffee maker from the family and so it grew. Even the day I took photos I noticed our calendar had a red design and little Wade's photo on the fridge was of him climbing into a red car!...........

 During the week Beau joined us one day when we had Wade and there was a little more red.....

Easter has come and gone and it was a quiet one for us. Little Wade was away with his family for the four day break and sadly Larry came down with a cold so instead we enjoyed the photos we received (or borrowed from f'book!).......even with a touch of red too!.......

 I just love this one of Wade having a chuckle in the car and obviously enjoying his popcorn.........

During this last week Larry and I ventured down south once again this time as I was delivering a talk about William Morris to the Ladies Probus group of Yankalilla. After this we took the short drive to Normanville and enjoyed a delicious lunch at the local pub. It was wonderful to see the old stone work inside and out.......

 and spot of red in the stained glass..........

 and the ladies conveniences had the most amazing floor and ceiling too.......

 And then we took an amble checking out the local real estate as we think this is where we would like to move in a couple of years. We love those picket fences as we dream about our very own 'Escape to the Country'.......

 We are still desperately waiting for rain and it is now official that we have recorded the driest start to the year ever on record. We've had 17.8mm of rain so far this year and the average is usually 108.3mm so things are looking very dry. It is dire for the famers so inevitably this will affect the food chain and consequently prices. We are still watering the garden even though it is starting to turn cooler and the autumn colours are not really appearing as they should. We have been told that the flu season has started early as well with warnings that it is going to be the worst year on record for that too. Apparently there has been 7,417 cases already this year and the total for all of last year was 5,928 so it is quite scary.  But the cosmos seem happy popping up amongst the last of the season's roses......

 So I hope that life is being kind to you where ever you are. I will leave you with an image I captured of our pesky Ringtail possum who is disturbing our sleep every night.....it might be very cute but it is such a pain! I just discovered tonight that he (or she) has nibbled all of my William Morris rose buds!!...........

Whitecroft Tour news and a Quilt show 😃

Last blog post I mentioned that there would be some news about Helen of Whitecroft Tours in the UK....well the big announcement is that come October next year Helen will be finally having a well deserved break......yes Helen is retiring so she can stop and smell the roses, enjoy the little people in her life, maybe do some sailing, perhaps play a game of golf or simply enjoy all the good things in life........I am sure she will always be busy but the very final Whitecroft tours will be with Larry and myself in September and October of next year. The Oxford based William Morris Tour is already sold out but there are places on the William Morris meets Beatrix Potter tour based in Yorkshire from September 2nd - 12th next year (2020). So this will be the absolute last chance as Helen will no longer be doing tours and I am most definitely not doing the tours either! So do email Helen if you would like to soak in a little of this.......it will be your last chance with Whitecroft tours.....

Photo Source

Photo source

Photo source

In just 17 months one tour will have already finished while we enjoy some UK countryside before the very final tour in Oxford! I am sure that time will be here before we know it as life seems to be sailing by so very fast. We fill our days and just yesterday we went for a country drive to see a local quilt show......and there was even a little William Morris and Beatrix Potter inspiration stitched lovingly in some of the quilts........

 You will find the quilt maker and information shown before each quilt........

 The group presented a wonderful vintage sewing display on the hall stage......

 A sandwich and a cuppa was most enjoyable in the sunshine beside these elegant 'girls' and a very large (but not real) lizard!!........

We had only driven down that way a few days before and enjoyed a walk in the sunshine before the very noisy cockatoos interrupted the peace overhead.....

 We are still desperate for rain but the garden is still giving us blooms. These roses smell so divine.......

I was asked to speak to a local quilting group one evening last week and I always enjoy sharing all things William Morris. I received this striking plant as a thankyou gift and it has a new home under the back verandah......thankyou Coromandel Valley Quilters......

 The ornamental trees are trying to put on an Autumn display but it is a struggle for them with it being so dry. While our small backyard is full I think I could do with more places to dig and plant.......

 We are expecting more warm days this week with 31C on Good Friday...... not quite right for this time of year and Murphy's law tells me the rain will probably come on our first William Morris in Adelaide tour in 4 weeks...so bring your brollies if you are coming! Even though it is unseasonably warm the craving for cheese scones won the day last night.........

 I've had lots of emails and messages to tell me the H&M store in Adelaide is stocked with some of those Morris inspired fashions so maybe I might have to go and have a look. Mind you the money box is a little bare after our market day on Saturday......it was very quiet and I only sold one bag (thankyou Karen) and a tablerunner and tea towel to another vendor (thanks Mary)...but that means I won't have to stitch a lot before next market day......

 Little Wade is still not walking but has the strength to support himself for a short while....Beau and Maisie have started school and kindy holidays so I am sure we will see them in the coming week too.......

 So once again I wish you a happy week from our house to yours x