On the airwaves!

I think I am going to be "on air" with Pat Sloan if I can work out how to do it all!! First of all I visited HERE and then I found a PDF with info HERE. So let me work it all out and I will let you all know....mind you I am sure several of you really don't need to hear me raving on once again!!! Stay "tuned" - no pun intended......

Life in our house

We arrived home 2 weeks ago today but it sure seems a lot longer! Life has settled into some sense of order despite still not having my main computer! Hopefully that should be soon as it has been with the repair man for nearly a week. I think I have caught up with most people who were waiting for an email but I still need you to email me your address Pat so I can send you that calendar....the others are on their way on Monday. And to our William Morris tour friends.....the CD's I promised are still being prepared in time for Christmas!

I received the above photo a few hours ago.........Beau having fun at his house putting up the Christmas tree for the very first time! We have had the little man for 3 days already while Mum returns to some part-time nursing shifts, so inevitably the house furnishings have changed a little........

Christmas this year will be very exciting - so today I did a little bit of festive arranging and I might add this is weeks before I normally do it!

 The nodding Santa below belonged to my late Mum - she gave it a facelift and it is always a special feature with his nodding head........

Our family Santa is made of paper mache and I believe he was made in Germany in the early 1900's. I have looked on the internet and found 'Vintage Belsnickle Santas' that have the same base and shape.....I do recall Mum making a new hat, beard and fur trimming.....but ours does have the original tree with a new sack of presents.

So between catching up with friends and family I am also starting to work on a new idea for a range of fabrics with an Elizabethan influence - and of course the May Morris embroideries....so more of that later! I hope life is treating you well in "your neck of the woods" XX

Computer crash

I just wanted to let anyone know (who is wondering why I haven't answered their email!!), that our PC has crashed!! Since we have been home it has has been having terrible hiccoughs and it finally gave up late yesterday...so all emails for the last week have been very hit and miss. I have gone to my service providers site and there are no emails there to recover..........so today the computer is off to the doctors. We are hoping it can be repaired as there is an awful lot of data and I haven't done a back up in quite some time (my fault I know and there are 1,000's of photos too!)

So feel free to email again and I am so sorry - I am not trying to ignore you!!

Meanwhile I will enjoy my little mac which thankfully has out latest trip photos on it......and share in some of our special time on tour in Oxford. Exeter College/Oxford University is where Morris studied. There were glimpses of him in the garden, the chapel and the rooms.....

 A bust of Tolkien who also studied at Exeter. And in fact Morris was quite possibly the catalyst for Tolkien writing the 'Lord of the Rings' series as you can read HERE

 I snuck this photo of a Rossetti look alike sitting quietly in the chapel......gosh there was an eerie resemblance........

 Larry sitting in the very seat that was to be the setting of the last tragic episode of Inspector Morse

 Some Acanthus under the tree........

SO that makes me feel a little better .........my fingers and toes are crossed that the computer and all its contents can be saved!

Calendar winners!

Thanks so much for your emails and blog comments...there were enough via blogger and email to give away FOUR calendars! So via email it was Pat and Karen who I have already contacted. Via the blog comments it was "Anonymous" and Sharon (who I have also contacted). So please "anon" can you send me an email so I know who you are and where to send the calendar - thanks!

Meanwhile I thought I would share some of the embroidery I am about to explore ....all done by May Morris. May was William's younger daughter and an extremely talented designer as well. She was also an expert embroiderer and became an advisor to the Royal School of Needlework. Her father made her head of the embroidery department at Morris and Co. at the age of 23. It was wonderful on the recent William Morris Tours to see some of her work up 'close and personal' and I know this is just the direction I have been wanting to go....lots more embroidery on my quilts.....so for now enjoy the delicious pictures.......(and remember you too can see them on the tours!!)