New quilt - new designs

First of all - thankyou so very much for your get well messages and cards - I am slowly getting back to 'my old self'! Thought I would share this rose with you called a "Mothers Love". It was given to me by a friend when my Mum passed away 2 years ago. The blooms this week have been simply stunning.....

Thought you might also like to see a new quilt I have been working on while I recuperate. It is based on the tile designs of William De Morgan - a friend and work colleague to William Morris. De Morgan leased land from Morris at Merton Abbey where he produced his ceramic tiles. Most interesting reading at this link;

http://www.demorgan.org.uk/de-morgans/william-de-morgan

This is the quilt in progress - all the applique ironed on and now ready to stitch.......

I think I am going to use a narrow black sashing around all the blocks and border. I photographed many De Morgan tiles when we were in Birmingham last year at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; http://www.bmag.org.uk/birmingham-museum

They have a fantastic collection of tiles and also a comprehensive Pre Raphaelite Art collection. Check it here; http://www.preraphaelites.org/

Here are the original De Morgan tiles and then my interpretation made very simple for applique:

Have a good week X

US and UK quilters waiting for book

Thankyou for all your emails..........I am so sorry that a lot of you overseas are still waiting on the book. In the USA and Canada the distributor is Brewers and in the UK Search Press. The latest information I received from the publisher is as follows:

Brewers shipping company collected the stock on 7 Dec with expected arrival in NY 3 Jan and Chicago 12 Jan. How long it takes for stock to get through US customs we don’t know.
(I am not sure of the progress in the UK - the books are shipped direct from the printer in Singapore and not from Australia). Any more updates I will let you know - thanks for your patience and understanding.

And I can't believe I am sitting at my computer writing this to you all. Yesterday I had my gallbladder removed only 2 days after seeing the surgeon- the wonders of modern medicine!

have a good week X

Loving thoughts to all in Queensland

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this dreadful flooding. We are all so used to watching this happen overseas and now it is on our own soil. I have no words right now - just deep sorrow and love for everyone,
Michele X

The books are REALLY here!

Well the day has finally arrived and I just wanted to share the news with those of you who have been patiently waiting. Bill, our wonderful distributor is going to be a very busy boy for the next week delivering stock to all the local shops. He phoned me today to tell me he was picking them up so I met him at his first delivery point - Patchwork by Sea. Terry got a quick photo of the very first autographed book to be sold in the shop! Bill also told me all the staff at Country Bumpkin were very, very busy packaging and posting all the outstanding orders - so please enjoy when it arrives XX

A look at my place and more

It is way past midnight and soon to be New Year's Eve. It is too hot to sleep and currently 32 degrees (89 degrees Fahrenheit). We are expecting a 'stinker' today - 41 degrees (106 Fahrenheit!), but we must not complain as our thoughts go out to everyone in Queensland who has been affected by the worst floods in 150 years. And also to those overseas who are affected by the bitter cold and snow - it is certainly a time of stressful weather extremes. You can read and see more about the floods here;
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s3103866.htm

For now a glimpse of what we did over the last couple of days. Our daughter Emily and her husband Brett hosted Christmas this year and this is how they greeted us! Even the dogs were dressed for the occasion! It was a wonderful day - thanks guys XX
We have had our house on the market for the past few weeks - after 25 years it is time to downsize. It is not an easy time to sell and because we need a long settlement we have initially advertised on the Internet only. A few people have passed through but no offers yet. These are the images taken several weeks ago by our agent for the internet:

So it does get you thinking - why doesn't it sell? We only have one bathroom and people want two but maybe it is this neglected room...... Some years ago the old master bedroom became a sewing, office and general clutter room. The agent didn't know what to make of it so he called it the 'utility room'. He took no photos of that room so you must try to imagine there are awful green walls, a few tables, cupboards, ironing board, fabric etc, etc! So two days ago we started the makeover of that 'utility room'. Some 'stuff' went out to the rubbish and some to charity and some to storage! So we mixed up a concoction of leftover paint, bought some new curtains and even a couple of bargain prints of what look like peonies! So now it is a romantic master bedroom again........

Our first 'proper' open for inspection is in 2 weeks so we hope it sells!

So Happy New Year to you all and stay safe and well.

Love at Christmas

It is sometimes hard to say 'Merry Christmas' when I know some of you will be having a very sad or lonely one. Recently some of you have lost loved ones, some are very sick and some of us are missing those that are gone. But it is a time to share with family and friends. So to all of you - 'my friends through this blog'.........I hope it is a special day doing what you like to do. Hugs from me as I send you all a bit of joy, love and warmth from Australia (especially for those in the freezing snow)

 I am so enjoying the peonies and so envious of those of you who can grow them!

 And late yesterday this beautiful bouquet of flowers arrived from Tim and Jim at Lloyd Curzon's - the amazing duo who distribute the Adelaide Collection of fabrics. Thanks guys for all your support and encouragement. It has been phenomenal these past few weeks; http://www.lcurzon.com.au/

 And above - this one off piece of stunning jewellery was whipped up by me! I continue to volunteer one morning a week in the local aged care facility and we were given a thankyou Christmas lunch on Monday....BUT we did have to "wear something shiny"

And I managed to score the 'most creative prize'!!

Not many decorations in our house this year as it has to be kept neat and tidy while we try to sell it! But this tree with candles inside it is a reminder of the season.

I will leave you with this little bit of an Australian Christmas.

Click on the link below and it says it all!

Merry Christmas X

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1aYkutjXfQ

William Morris flowers

Today I visited our city market for some Christmas goodies. Our 'Adelaide Central Market' has been going for 140 years and it is a wonderful place of visual delight and full of the most amazing aromas. Their website is worth a look;
http://www.adelaidecentralmarket.com.au/
Fresh flowers are abundant and I bought myself a rare treat - a bunch of peonies.

I have never seen them grown in my home state - this bunch comes from Tasmania where I am sure the climate is better than home. Peonies feature in many Morris designs including Cray:

I've appliqued peonies in a wall hanging which is a project in my new book. This is the original embroidery and then below is my wall hanging version:

 Above Photo "Portiere" is courtesy of the Art Gallery of South Australia;

http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home

I know little of peonies but our ABC television garden show has a wonderful fact sheet: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s933726.htm
I have recently received another wonderful 'William Morris' plant. This is a rare specimen given to me by my friend Valerie last week- it is 'Fritillaria'. Valerie took a photo of it flowering but of course now it is dormant. Her photo was carefully displayed with Jane and William in the background!

 I have found the most common Fritillaria meleagris is known as 'Snakeshead' as seen below:

The above photo is courtesy of wikimedia;

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fritillaria-meleagris-blomst.JPG

And below is William Morris' design of the same name. The mystery is unravelling and I always wondered why this design had such an odd name - I can now see those flowers! Thankyou Valerie.

Snakeshead 1876

So I am looking forward to next winter when my bulb hopefully produces flowers. For now I will get great pleasure watching the peonies open.