Two and a half days in London...

How much can you do in two and a half days? Lots!! Sue and I walked and walked, climbed up and climbed down, took the tube and the overground railway and walked some more! We saw lots of wonderful things....

We went to the very top of St Paul's Cathedral, about 500 steps up and of course 500 back down! The view from the top was amazing, lucky for us it was a very clear day! See the sign on the wall we passed, Mrs B is everywhere.

We took the tube and the overground rail to visit the home of William Morris (1860-65) and then walked on to Danson House to visit the Quilt Exhibition 'Things we do in bed'. The quilt that took my eye the most was a hand quilted beauty hanging at the top of a lovely oval staircase!

You may have noticed a little retail therapy was done too! A new umbrella was on my list!

It's time to move on now! The Eurostar to Paris and then on to Nantes where the quilts at Pour l'amour du fil await!

I'll be back soon, Karen

Out and about in York

There was lots of interesting shopping to be done in York. The buildings were fascinating to see from the outside but when you stepped in there were many amazing treasures to find. This shop had a beautiful staircase made from a large variety of tiles!

Another one we loved was named Duttons for Buttons. There was every shape, size and colour of button you could ever possibly need all sorted into little cardboard boxes. The building was originally built in Medieval times. The floors were all uneven and the shop covered 3 floors of tiny rooms. A real treasure!

Sue and I headed off to the Yorkshire Dales where it was very, very windy.....

and went in search of Lucy from Attic 24, no luck.... we think she was out of town!

Then back to our hotel for a quiet afternoon of stitching in the spring sun! Very pieceful!

We are off to London now. More photos soon, Karen

Mrs Billings in York!

One of my long time wishes has been to visit the original Billings Coverlet in the Quilt Museum of the British Isles. This week my dream came true! Sue and I have travelled to the UK to make a special visit to the museum and visit with this amazing quilt. We were treated to a private viewing and when all was done my Mrs Billings was laid out for the curator Heather to see... and here she is placed carefully on top of the original. One interesting fact we learned was the the original quilt was a simple coverlet with no backing, many of the original papers are still in situ!

If you are lucky enough to find yourself in York, check out the museum! If you are interested in viewing the quilt for yourself, contact the museum and find out when or where it might be on show!

Thank you to all of the wonderful ladies we met including Heather and Christine.... Sue and I had a wonderful day!

Chat soon, Karen

Look what I picked up today!

We're off! Look what I picked up today!

Sue and I are heading for the airport on Sunday where we will catching a flight to London! I haven't been to London since I was in my early twenties, that was only last year wasn't it? :) I wonder how much it has changed.

We are flying into Heathrow and catching a train up to York to visit the original Mrs Billings ... can't wait to see her in the flesh. I know many of you have already, because you have let me know about it over the last few years - but its my turn now!

After our short but exciting visit with Mrs B we are heading back to London and over to Paris using these tickets. Have you been on the Eurostar? They tell me its an interesting trip. (I will let you know what I think soon!)

The Friday girls gave me an early birthday present last week ... spending money for the next part of our trip!

A visit to this amazing quilt show!!!!!!!

I hope I can find some time to keep you up to date with our adventures.

In the meantime I will be at AQC here in Melbourne, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call past and say hello if you are in town!

Bonjour,

p.s I wonder if they have any nice red shoes in Europe?