Celestial Stars

My aunt had a significant birthday last November and I wanted to make her a quilt.  She lives in England, so the plan was that I would finish it in time for my friend to take over in August.  I tried hard to meet this deadline, but due to my health, it didn't happen.  I had other friends who went over in September, but again, it didn't happen.

My aunt lives in a gorgeous house in Bury St Edmunds, near Cambridge.  Their sitting room is large and overlooks their garden.  They have a white chaise lounge in the room which is where I pictured a quilt draping which Susan could snuggle under while reading a book or watching TV.  Not everyone is into quilts, so I asked her if the idea of owning a quilt appealed and for tips on colours and types of fabric she likes.  Her response was positive and she gave me plenty of ideas for choice of colour and fabric.

Last June, I went to the Craft Fair with my good friend Rhonda to find fabric.  Rhonda has a great eye for colour and puts fabrics together that I would never think about combining - she is clever and creative.  We had fun together browsing the many stalls, and at times overwhelmed by choice, colour, noise, crowds of people and thought we would never find anything.  However, Rhonda spotted some unusual fabrics - Indonesian batiks and we were instantly captivated by their colours and uniqueness.  We chose an enormous range of fat quarters and later found another shop that also sold them, so I selected a few more.  At that time, I had no idea what shape the quilt would take, but I had heaps of fabric.

I took some photos of quilts on display and was inspired by one which featured a star pattern.  Susan's house is very traditional, so I thought I would go with a traditional pattern, using these gorgeous non traditional fabrics.  Susan lived for a number of years in Vietnam teaching English to doctors and nurses, while living with a local family.  I thought she would love these fabrics and remind her of happy years spent in South-East Asia.

Maths has never been one of my strengths, so doing calculations when designing a quilt is the most difficult aspect.  Unfortunately, while doing most of the calculating, I had a coddled head - mostly from migraine, so I ended up designing and making a quilt much larger than intended, especially as I had to get it to England without knowing anyone who could take it in their suitcase for me.

I finally finished the quilt in early January, just before Keith finished his PhD, which is another story entirely.  With much fear and trepidation, I packed it and posted it via air mail and hoped it would arrive safely.  A week later, in fact, on Australia Day, it reached its destination and Susan loves it.  It will live on her white lounge happily and I am much relieved.  I called the quilt Celestial Stars, as the colours seem to sparkle - they have a life of their own.  I have heaps of this fabric left, so I am experimenting with making bags with the leftover pieces.

Winter is here

During the week we have been in Bury, we have watched the leaves fall from the trees and vanish - they are raked away to leave the trees and ground bare and wintery.

We have not had marvellous weather here - yesterday it rained all day. We were a little anxious about whether our visas and passports would arrive. This morning they were delivered by special delivery - much to our relief and for Ricky and Susan who were wondering if we would be stuck here.

Last Saturday we met Susan and Ricky in Cambridge for lunch and then saw the play by Alan Bennett "Enjoy". It was set in 1980 and a dark comedy, but most enjoyable.

We have been travelling by bus to Cambridge through Newmarket, much to my excitement, as I have read all of Dick Francis' books, many of which are set in and around Newmarket. We drove past the flats where the horses are exercised, many trainer's yards and homes and two statues of Hyperion - the most famous horse in history.

It is a delightful meander which takes about an hour. Imagine driving along country roads on a double decker bus! The driver generally travels at a high speed.

It has been a delight to watch autumn mature. We arrived in England just as the leaves were losing their summer finery and now they are becoming bare - in readiness for the long winter. The squirrels are busy storing nuts by burying them deep in the ground - they are a nuisance, but they are certainly very cute!

Bury St Edmunds

We were sad to leave our friends behind - we had such a wonderful time with them. We flew from Dublin to Gatwick and were greeted by grey drizzle which we drove through on the M25 around London, to Bury St Edmunds which is a town close to Cambridge.

My aunt lives here with her husband and we arrived in the late afternoon in time for a cup of tea. They have just moved into this house, which is incredible. It is built into the ruins of the Abbey which fell into disrepair during Henry VIII's reign. At that time, it was the largest Abbey in Europe. There is now a cathedral and the most beautiful gardens around the ruins which are open to the public. There is a wall of houses beside the Cathedral which is where their house is.

It is really the most amazing place to live. It is four storeys, and the top floor has been labelled the grotto by Susan, as there is this cave like wall that cannot be touched and the house has been built around it. Next to the front door is a wall, and behind this is the kitchen, but the wall is fourteen feet thick!

It was dark on our arrival and in the morning, when I looked out of our bedroom window, this is the view:



I have been fighting a cold this week and the weather is not exactly enticing for the tourist. But it has been fun to lie low and pretend that I live here in style. Yesterday we had a mad panic realising that we had to apply for visas for China and needed to do this now, rather than on our arrival in Hong Kong, which is what our travel agent had advised. The rules had changed on November 1st. We had to pay a fortune to get it done via an organisiation in London, who do the leg work for you, but it removes the angst and hopefully, they will arrive by post on Monday, with our passports! The Chinese Embassy is just around the corner from where we were staying in London - silly me!

My cousin by name visited yesterday who I had not seen for thirty years. We had such fun together and reminsced about our teenage exploits and the fun we had had together in Sydney in 1978. She now has a thirteen year old son who is autistic and is his full time carer - so she had a 24 hour break which we managed to fill with eating, shopping, talking and laughing endlessly.

Keith went into Cambridge by bus and registered to use the library and spent the remainder of the day there. He has returned there today and Susan and Ricky have left us alone for two nights - they have gone up to Cambridge together. I think this is my first afternoon and evening alone and I am about to cook dinner on the Aga and a quiet night in.

It is nice not to be a tourist and just be domestic. I think that Susan and Ricky are hoping that we don't burn their house down in their absence.

Tomorrow I am going into Cambridge with Keith to meet up with Gerald Bray and Marty Forde.