Meaningful Moments

I am so sorry for my two weeks absence.......thankyou for your caring emails (and phone calls!) to see if we are okay but we are all still here and creating! It is very much winter here at home but we are far from hibernating but instead making the most of every moment. It has been so very sad to hear that both Kate Spade and Anthony Boudain took their own lives this past week and it reminds us that no-one can really know how sad someone might be feeling inside. So here are some positive and meaningful moments from the past couple of weeks starting with lots of this little chap who is growing so very fast now........

 And the cousins as well with the first three photos taken by Emily of her 'little chef"......

Any playground is always meaningful for these two........

Moments stitching are so very good for the soul and these four quilts are extra meaningful as they will be going to the neonatal intensive care unit that little Wade was in for ten weeks. They lie on top of the isolettes and need to be bright and sunny on one side and dark on the other.......

 I've also managed to complete the bead embroidery on the May Morris wall hanging so yesterday we took some photos outside in preparation for being patterns.....I just need to find some moments to type all the instructions!......

Speaking of quilts I recently received some lovely photos of quilts from as far away as the USA. First up from Judy with her lovely "Arts and Crafts" quilt........

and Lorraine with her beautiful "William and May Morris" Sampler and small May Morris wallhanging.....

Jean has completed a version of one my new quilts "Morris Brocade" but I've borrowed Jude's photo as it was a little larger than Jean's (thanks Jude!).........

Thankyou so much girls for sending me the photos.....it means the world to me. I had been hoping to make a quick trip to Sydney to see the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries that are currently on display at the New South Wales Art Gallery but that is not to be as there are only two more weeks until it closes. These tapestries have entranced me for as long as I can remember and I have had this wonderful book for many years............

 I even made my own version of one of the series - "My Love Desires" way back in 2002 - gosh that is 16 years ago!! It was a very large wall hanging but it was given away many years ago and I never took a good digital photo of it - nice to have a hard copy that I could scan instead......

 We also have this wonderful cushion that is used every day.......

So that is it for some meaningful moments from our home to yours. I hope you can find many meaningful moments in these coming weeks too x

Time Together - Part Two

I really had to devote an entire post to our morning coffee stop today. Mahalia Coffee is another local business that has gone from strength to strength and is now serving coffee in over 200 venues across Australia. Many years ago it was just a roasting shed where we would always visit and stock up on fresh roasted coffee beans. But look at it now....not only a place to stock up on our coffee but an amazing setting to consume some too....even with William Morris for company! I will just leave you with the images...........

 I did leave with these luscious pieces........

 This blogging has been from a cafe as my wifi device seems to have died. So next time I think we will be back home...so till then enjoy some time together with those that you can x

Time Together - Part One

I can recall many years ago during some professional development training that we talked of situations we could face both personally  and professionally and how they could be likened to climbing a mountain only to find that once you reach the top you could come tumbling back down and have to start climbing all over again. Someone very close to us is going though the most difficult of climbs at the moment and we almost postponed coming away. So while our heart is at home our heart is also in this place we so love - Robe. I left my camera at home so have had to rely on my phone camera so I tried some different settings with this image of the bay when we arrived in the dull afternoon.......

and then by morning when it was shining bright but very chilly..........

The trip from home takes about four hours and we have to cross the river by ferry on the way......

 A quick lunch stop........

 And then we arrived. We often ask ourselves why we are charmed by Robe and have decided it is a combination of being in a historical village setting with much of it reminiscent of our times in the UK. Most of the original buildings date back to the 1850's and have a charm of their own.....

 Much has changed in such a short time since we were here last and it was wonderful to see that a stonemason has set himself up.......not sure if he lives in the restored church behind the cottage.......

 The Caledonian that has been shortened to the "Cally" in the usual style of Australians shortening words......

 There are some wonderful shops to tempt you and Holiday Trading & Co is a favourite. All started in Robe and is now Australia wide.........

 This is our little home for a few nights - Tobruk Cottage and when we arrived there were goodies and a message from our host Jenny..........

All set up in my space to stitch.......

 There are sill some blooms in the cottage garden as well......

Love the local weather outlook........

 While there are still the old buildings some are new and some have had facelifts while combining the old with the new....

 In the 1850's thousands of Chinese walked 550 kms from Robe to the Goldfields of Victoria and there is now a gateway memorial right at the spot they disembarked........

 The gorgeous blue sky and sunshine is deceiving as the coats and scarves are needed........

 Wilsons has been a wonderful Art Gallery for 35 years - almost as long as we've been coming to Robe and it has recently sold so we wonder who will be there next.........

More soon x