Friday 26 June 2020

Please put on the brake!

More than once on this blog I have wailed about the speed of life...but please can it just slow down for a moment?  It is nearly 3 weeks since I posted and yet it feels like only one, so how and why can that be? I started exploring the reasons that so many of us (as we age), share the view that life is travelling faster than when we were younger. I found lots of interesting articles online and enjoyed reading this one from The Conversation. The author is a lecturer in mathematical biology (Wow!) and it intrigues me that perhaps time goes more slowly for a child because they are learning and doing so much more as they develop. Well I think I am still learning and doing what I thought was more than enough so I am not so sure about that theory! Then another perception is that while we are slowing down as we age that the things around us are all too familiar so life goes faster??!! I can't quite get my head around how that would make time go slower and not faster....so please just put the brake on! This little man certainly makes the time fly and his development and vocabulary expands each week.......

Maisie will be six in a couple of weeks and I have no idea where those six years have flown, seen here in another cubby at our place that she just had to decorate......

We took Wade to the Maritime Museum last week where there was a stand alone exhibition celebrating 50 years of the ABC's Play School......it only seems like yesterday that we watching Big Ted and Little Ted with our almost 40 year old daughters. Wade loved it all and because of Covid restrictions we had the entire museum to ourselves (apart from some following us sanitising every spot that she possibly could).......



The seasons seem to come and go more quickly as well and this weekend it will be time to prune the roses......I wonder if the snails think time is travelling faster too......I'm not so sure! And I am not sure what the attraction to the air-conditioning unit was either.......


Of course an awful lot of stitching has been going on in my little space with lots more quilts completed for those in need........
This unfinished quilt top was donated to the group so I completed it with birds and I also decided to turn it on its side. This design comes from Natalie Bonner and Kathleen Whiting seen here with their original version..........
and my version now turned on its side and beautifully quilted by Faye and ready for our charity pile........
And another quick quilt which again looks fabulous with Faye's quilting and for another deserving recipient..........
Just yesterday I completed two more very bright and "out there" quilt tops and I hope they will bring joy to someone.........
My mystery quilt project from Rachelle Denneny is now finished and I was able to make two quilts by stitching two extra blocks, so they can be added to the charity pile as well after Faye has done her quilting magic.........

It was wonderful how turning some blocks resulted in a subtle difference in the diamonds for one of the quilts.......
These past couple of weeks I even found myself designing outfits for nun dolls for a friend! She is involved with the Mary MacKillop Museum and it has been a journey of discovery for me learning more about Sister Mary. She was born in 1842 and died in 1909 and she is Australia's only Catholic canonised saint....who also happened to receive financial support from the Barr Smith family here in Adelaide (who were responsible for a lot of our Morris collection). My draft pattern in calico fitted one of Maisie's dolls but eventually they will be dressed on small cloth dolls to sell in the museum. We now have the correct brown fabric and have appliquéd the tiny blue MM emblem on the front of 17 outfits.....
During the week I also received a photo of this beautiful version of the "Kelmscott" quilt from my first 'William Morris in Appliqué' book. This was stitched by Chris and she must be so thrilled with it......I know how long all that appliqué takes and it looks stunning. Thankyou Chris for sending me the photo (and thanks Hilda for telling her to!).........
And I can't forget the birthday boy who turned 66 on June 15th! He is now officially a pensioner here in Australia!...... 
So I will conclude with the hope that Covid is under control wherever you are. We have been so lucky here in Australia as our borders have been closed since March 24th to both inbound and outbound passengers. We have had worrying news that one of our major airlines is in difficulty with thousands of job losses and just last night on the news it was mentioned that there will no international flights out of our country for the rest of the year and perhaps for even 12 more months.....that scares us as our tours in the UK have already been postponed and rescheduled in 15 months. Things will have to change I think for people to feel safe travelling overseas......I for one will feel safer when a vaccine is available. So stay safe and take good care x