Christmas Wishes

I have been away from the computer for awhile desperately searching for some Christmas spirit. Luckily I found some with little time to spare! All the shopping is done, the Christmas tree is up and decorations have been placed around the house.

My only Christmas project was this little table mat, that I started on my holiday and finished in mid December. I was convinced to try hexagons by Marina and Shirley and thank them for their encouragement. The project was started just after my visit with Shirley in England during the year. I used Insulbright for the wadding so that I could put hot dishes on it, making it a practical and decorative piece.

Our small sewing group had our Christmas dinner last week and we gave each other our gifts. After sharing our time during the year, we shared our surprises with each other with lots of laughter, hugs, good wishes and good food. There was a mug, bowl, notebook, chocolates, two little fabic wall hangings and cake cups.

While on the subject of gifts, I forgot to show you what Shirley gave me during my visit with her in England - two lovely patterns and a very "London" piece of fabric decorated with familiar images of that beautiful city. At the moment I can see this piece as a tea cosy with red piping around the outer edge. That's a project for the new year.

I would like to thank you all for making my first year of blogging so enjoyable and I look forward to a new year filled with friendship and lots of new ideas.

Wishing you and your families a safe and happy Christmas with a wonderful New Year to follow.

May you all be surrounded by the ones you love during this festive season and always.

Home again

We have been home for two weeks now and I think that I am finally settling in. Still playing catch up and not much sewing to speak of yet.

The holiday seems like a dream now but the photographs prove that we were really there.

After we left Paris, the old village of Les Angles, just outside Avignon, became our home for a week.

This little house with the green shutters was our home in the village.

The new header photo on my blog shows various shots of the village.

We visited the papal palace in Avignon and wandered along the old bridge.

Another trip was to Arles, where Van Gogh spent a lot of his time. I was playing with Picassa and made a collage of some of the images of Arles. The light truly is different in the South of France and we could understand why many artists chose this area to pursue their art.

The photo bottom left is the lovely little fabric shop we found in Arles. Surrounded by numerous rolls of brightly coloured Provence fabrics, a mother and daughter combination sew a large range of bags, purses and napery. I left this shop with a few packages!

Another village we found was Marsanne, north of Avignon. There was an old village at the top of the hill. After climbing this hill....

we found this old village, much of which is still inhabited.

A climb to the top of the hill found the ruins of the wall and old buildings against spectacular views of the countryside.

The colours of the autumnal countryside were glorious and we just couldn't capture the true colours in our photos.

Last stop ... Spain.

Markets...

Gaudi architecture - Cathedral Sagrada Familia

Park Guell

We descended our favourite Spanish staircase for the last time...

then finally .... home!

Still on the road

Hooray, I have internet again.

Recently, in the south of France, we had to sneak into McDonalds every second day to use their internet for the price of a coffee. Well, I felt morally obliged to buy something! The French in the south seem to have adopted McDonalds with a passion so I don't think anyone really noticed two aussies furtively moving to a quiet corner to set up their laptop.

My last post was just after our arrival in Amsterdam. We both really enjoyed this city built around the canals. It was casual and quiet, minimal car traffic but lots of bikes. The bike was proven to be a very versatile mode of transport - parents with children, vendors carting their goods around, men in suits, well dressed ladies in high heels - everyone rode a bike.

We visited the Van Gogh museum and were thoroughly engrossed by the entire experience. They had a vast collection of his works from the beginning of his career to his death, including the works of painters who inspired him. We got such a intimate picture of the life of this great artist that upon reaching the story of his suicide it was like grieving for a friend. I would recommend this museum to anyone visiting Amsterdam.

After the museum there was another photo opportunity near another canal.

I wandered off on my own one afternoon to find the two quilt shops in town. Glad to say that my excursion was a success and I found Den Haan & Wagenmakers without getting lost. The antique dutch reproduction fabrics were gorgeous but very expensive.

I was tempted to buy a small charm pack at 35 euros but down sized and chose these 3 little lovelies for a much smaller price. There was another shop next door called Birdblocks which was also a lovely shop, but the fabrics were representative of what I can buy in Melbourne so I just had a short browse and headed home.

Our next stop was Paris. I have fond memories of Paris in the spring and was looking forward to seeing her in the autumn.

I wasn't disappointed.

It was just a little bit wet.

Afternoon tea didn't disappoint and I did share with my husband, he got one and I chose two.

We didn't neglect the Eiffel tower either.

While in Paris we received an unexpected dinner invitation from a fellow blogger - Val. Weather wise it was the worst day. We caught the train to Montmartre and I browsed some of the fabric stores. Then we climbed the hill to visit the church of Sacre Coeur and the strong winds almost blew us back to Australia. We (and everyone else) sought refuge from the wind and rain in the beautiful church. The view from this point was spectacular even in the bad weather. On a clear day it would have been breath taking.

Later in the day we found our way to Val's place. We shared a lovely afternoon and evening with her and her family. I was able to see many of her beautiful quilts and she proudly showed us her long arm quilting machine. My husband was very impressed. After dinner Val very kindly drove us back to our hotel. This visit really made our trip to Paris so much more memorable and the weather was really of no consequence.

Thank you Val for your invitation and for making us feel so welcome in your beautiful country. Since starting my blog in January this year, I really can't believe the wonderful opportunities that have come my way.

Next stop - Avignon and the south of France.

Travelling on

This lovely bed and breakfast in Padstow became our home for 3 nights. We used it as our base as we explored Cornwall. Our lovely hostess Mandy couldn't have done any more to make our stay more comfortable and enjoyable. As it was off season we were the only visitors. Just perfect!

We drove down to Padstow harbour for dinner every night. Two nights in a row we dined at Rick Stein's bistro. The only booking we could get at the restaurant was 10pm and as we were falling asleep by 9pm, that wasn't an option. The bistro was absolutely delightful, the dining experience began the minute you walked in the door and ended with our exit. The food was delicious and we were not disappointed.

Our travels in this part of the country mainly took us to coastal areas. This is the view from the cliffs at Carnewas. We visited Newquay, Portreath, St Agnes just to name a few and were introduced to the surfing culture of the English West Coast

We dropped into St Ives where the tide was out and the boats lay on the sand. We had our first cream tea here (scones, jam, clotted cream and tea). By the time we left the tide was coming in and these boats were again surrounded by water.

Our last coastal port was Boscastle. This little village was badly damaged by a flash flood in 2004 and some of these buildings have been rebuilt since that disaster.

The little harbour has a dog leg entry and just beyond that stone wall is the wild ocean. A holiday stay here would mean long walks along the cliffs or following the stream into the countryside. Definitely a place to chill out.

This was the tea house that was rebuilt in recent years and we supported the local economy by enjoying another cream tea.

We enjoyed our last weekend in London with family, which included a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich. This photo was taken from the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and shows the Greenwich Navel College in the foreground. They tell me this is where the latest Pirates of the Caribbean has recently been filmed.

We also took a trip into the Victoria and Albert Museum to see some of the William Morris exhibits. This was a recent acquisition, called "Fruit", dated around 1865, and is listed as one of Morris's earliest wallpapers. The olives were replaced by peaches in the final version and the olive design reappeared in later years.

Sadly, we said good bye to family and boarded the train for Brussels where we stayed for one night. We explored the historic centre and I made time for some of their famous waffles.

We are now in Amsterdam and have a room with a view.

Travels in the UK

On our second day in London we organised our hire car and then hopped onto the tube, like seasoned travellers, and went into St Pancras station to organise our train tickets for the next leg of our journey

I didn't get to see Big Ben but I did meet this charming Englishman at the station. Sorry girls, he doesn't have a blog.

The next day we started our road trip and travelled towards Bath. En route we decided to follow the signs to Bowood House and found this amazing estate, with a massive library, a vast collection of artwork, beautifully maintained gardens and lawns, a lake and it's own cascade (ie waterfall).

I felt like Lizzie Bennet wandering the grounds and halls of Pemberley Estate (but Mr Darcy was nowhere to be found).

The estate even had it's own Greek temple.

The next day we visited beautiful Bath (in the rain) where we explored the remains of the Roman baths, retraced the footsteps of Jane Austen and wandered the many streets and alleys.

In one of those alleys we found the Country Threads quilt shop, with the help of my "this is not a quilting holiday" husband.

After two nights in Bath, we drove to a seaside town called Lyme Regis for an over night stay. This very pretty little coastal town was a favourite holiday spot of Jane Austen and was the location for the film "The French Lieutenant's Woman" made in 1981.

Then on to see the mystical stones of Stonehenge.

The same day we travelled up to Taunton to meet my blogging friend Shirley. Shirley invited us to lunch and we spent 3 lovely hours with her and her husband. After many months of blogging it was wonderful to meet and very generous of Shirley and her husband to welcome us into their home. Ladened with some lovely gifts we said goodbye to Shirley and Mick and continued our journey to Cornwall.

We travelled to Padstow where we found a wonderful bed and breakfast that we will call home for 3 nights. Here we are at breakfast on our first morning.

A visit to Rick Stein's restaurant is on the agenda.