To blog or not to blog?

Well to blog or not to blog is certainly the question this week as I really had nothing of significance to blog about! It would just be full of sorrow with the recent tragic world events, the fact that I have once again succumbed to a razor blade throat and stuffy head and that Australia is also once again reaching record breaking heat waves and it is only Spring!  Bushfires have already started and I even heard that the US had a record breaking year for bushfires as well. But one needs to rise above it all and enjoy each day. It was a joy to see that Karen from Karen's Quilting Room had finally finished her version of Floral Fantasy. You can see her records on the link and I am so in awe of the fact she did the entire quilt by hand…..needle turn appliqué and hand quilted………it is gorgeous Karen…...

After she washed the quilt it took on a whole new dimension - I love the antique look of it even with the use of modern colours…………

This quilt design was from my second book - "More William Morris in Appliqué". If you have been wanting a copy I suggest you get one now as they will soon be out of print. (I did notice they were quite cheap on Amazon the other day). So on the home front I've been feeling pretty ordinary but need to find the energy soon as we have two little people for a few hours this afternoon. So no really interesting news or photos except to say my pile of quilts is waiting for the right conditions to be re-photographed! I've borrowed a frame and am just waiting for either early morning or early evening where there is some cloud cover (to avoid shadows), and absolutely no wind…might be waiting a while! Take care wherever you are and above all stay safe x

Remembering

Today is a special day - Remembrance Day where countries of the Commonwealth stand still at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month to remember those lost during war. So in a few short minutes I too will have a minute of silence. Of course I always feel extra sentiment for my late father - a DFC recipient who served in Bomber Command and was a navigator in one of these grand Lancasters……..

 We have just watched the service in Canberra on the television and the Last Post and Ode has left me in tears once again……'we will always remember them'. And just aside it just so happens that Princes Charles and wife Camilla were among the guests this year.

This past week I also heard news of a family death so it is always a time of reflection and missing our parents and their siblings. Our quilt show was a great success and with so many volunteer helpers a rest is now required. Husbands like Larry also put in the hard yards and at times with frames and ladders it can be quite physical! I did not take my camera this year as we have rules about sharing images on the internet but to be honest I felt like I didn't have time, but you can see all the winners in the Gallery at this link: SA Quilters Festival of Quilts. I did not have my two entries judged this year but enjoyed sharing in the excitement of the winners instead. Thanks to Candy for sending me this image as I helped to hand over a huge gift on behalf of Lloyd Curzon to Kate Sykes (centre) as Runner-up to Best of Show……(On the left is our beautiful President Vicki)…...

 I will share the Best of Show quilt though as it will be all over the internet anyway. Lisa Davis was actually a student of mine 3 years ago and this is her version of my Arabesque pattern with added sashings and a scalloped border…….it is quite sumptuous and with two layers of batting some areas looked like trapunto. I was thrilled for her and chuffed that she called her quilt 'Meeting Michele'………….

So there are more busy times ahead as I make way through the Beatrix Potter projects. A little more of that here……

 I also need to sit at the machine and get some Christmas presents made for the little ones. I can't believe I used to have time to make our girls most of their clothes and that I've not done the same for Miss Maisie! But I did find some ladybird fabric at the show and a panel to make an animal book for her. Not sure about Beau yet - he did say he would like a Christmas quilt so I had better get cracking!

I received this photo from Angela in Queensland a few days ago……I know she won't mind me sharing as I've shared her work before. These are my William Morris cushion patterns in a different colourway…….well done Angela!

So to some final BIG news! While I was at our quilt show I met with Jean who happens to speak Japanese and in fact has a Japanese daughter-in-law. And the relevance of all this? Well Jean takes interested people to Japan each year for a couple of weeks and includes a visit to see the spectacular Tokyo International Quilt Festival. I have long admired Japanese quilts - their intricacy and hand work is amazing and I especially love the work of Yoko Saito…..I own three of her books just to look!  Well to my amazement Jean shared with me that this year there is to be two special exhibits - William Morris AND Beatrix Potter!! What an incredible coincidence and I bemoaned for two days that somehow I just had to go! Well Larry has dug into the super fund and we managed to find cheap flights so I am heading off in January for just four days! I feel very lucky and will think of it as an early 60th birthday present for next year. This is the quilt on the website made by Yoko combining William Morris's Daisy wallpaper design and of course Beatrix characters. Won't this be fun to blog about in just a couple of months?!

The speed of life!

How can it possibly be over a week since my last entry??!! I recall as a child that time was always so slow but as I get older it seems to be going way too fast! We have had the little ones for a few days this week and then I did an extra 'shift' last night so Emily could watch Brett performing in his band Skythief. One day we ventured to the beach and now that Miss Maisie has found her feet she simply took off………

 Last Sunday I also helped her Mum out - (well rather I looked after Beau!) while she did a local market. She had sewn lots of baby goodies………

The garden is blooming and this evening Larry and I spent some time trimming all the lavender bushes. I cannot believe in just 18 months the front of the house has gone from this………….

 to this……………...

The lady who owned the house before us told me that nothing would grow out the front as it it is full of building rubble but I am pleased that is not the case. The silver birch tree has gone from 5ft to 15ft since May last year so there is obviously water and nutrients below. A border of white alyssum looks like it is taking too………... 

 The climbing rose is a joy and just 16 months old……….

 as are all the roses…….

 I brought one William Morris rose with us from the townhouse but it is not happy being in a pot. The blooms are awfully small so we will find a spot in the garden after Summer………….

 I have had a raspberry plant for 3 years now and it looks like we will finally have some fruit this summer…….

 These flowers are popping up everywhere. They are Gaura commonly known as the Butterfly plant…...nothing to do with attracting butterflies but they look like butterflies as they sway in the breeze. I am sure it won't be long and I will be cursing it as it is growing like mad………….

 This afternoon I took the train to town on my own…….a little 'time out' before our busy week with the quilt exhibition and it was wonderful to see the mall full of costumes. Clearly my head has been in the sand as I had no idea there was a Multicultural Festival on today. I didn't have my camera so resorted to the mobile phone……….

 So diverse and so wonderful that our country is enriched with cultures from places faraway. The children had happy faces all dressed in national costume and performing their traditional dances……....

 The aromas from the food tents was incredible - a mixture of Indian, Albanian, Croatian, French, Spanish…….in all there were 60 nationalities represented……...

 Spanish Paella……….

 And the relevance of all this to William Morris??……I digress as always! Well Morris did love his food and also his garden so hope that will do! I will finish with a wee bit of Morris though. Jason Yenter from In the Beginning Fabrics has been working on some gift items based around the blue range of our Dear William collection from a couple of years ago. He has used the border design and my Dear William quilt design to create coffee mugs, notecards in a decorative tin, a tote bag and a luscious long scarf. I am chuffed to bits and think they look gorgeous. They should be available early next year so ask your favourite quilt shop to look out for them. ……..

The next few days will be consumed with helping out at our annual quilt exhibition. Tomorrow is a very early start with all day judging, then Tuesday the frames go up and Wednesday we hang quilts all day…then it is four days of the quilt show……..so busy, busy again. See you the other side of that x