Sunday, March 14, 2010

A wonderful day & a book giveaway!

You may know a little about my mum, she is the superstar that knits my Blanket Bunnies beautiful, colourful cardigans. And you probably already know that she is a great inspiration to me. She is also an amazing gardener & intrepid traveller. She volunteers at our local Information Centre and has recently joined a choir & bookclub. She supports and is involved with many arts organisations, such as McClelland Gallery & is an avid fan of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, amongst other things!



Yesterday she also became a Doctor of Letters for the work she did on her amazing book, "Artists Tapestries". As the founding director of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop she lived and breathed the world of tapestry for almost thirty years. All that she absorbed during that time, and much more has been captured in her book which took ten years to come together. Mum has achieved much in her life and this book really is her masterpiece.


I was so happy & proud to be there yesterday, to see her in her gorgeous gown and hat, the colours seemed custom made for her! Her glasses even matched, red & purple.



Mum was glowing and her eyes were shining. It must be a pretty amazing feeling, all the years of work and dedication being acknowledged and celebrated. After cups of tea we headed over to Collingwood where Stuart Purves & his lovely partner, Kerry, were hosting a special dinner in her houour.



Before we headed upstairs I had a sneaky peek at the inside fish pond, the swirling golden fish swam round & round, beneath the sculpture reflectioned in the glass above.


Stuart, who is an old & dear friend of Sue's, made a speech about their friendship, the book and Emeritus Professor Margaret Manion's great support of Mum as her academic supervisor. Margaret really encouraged her to make this book happen and has been there to help all through the writing process.

John Hopkins who is another great friend was also there to share in the celebration, as was Mum's cousin Tracy & Graeme Drendel & Wendy. I discovered that Graeme & Wendy have a house in Trentham, such a pretty local town.

I also had a good chat to John. He is a lovely man, very warm and funny. We all admired his Liberty print tie,apparantly after Charlotte & I left he gave everyone a lesson in conducting, I'm sorry we missed that!


So, you can see, it was a special, special day. In Stuart's speech he spoke about friendship and love. To me these two things are what makes the world go round. It's so important to celebrate, to take the time to talk about and share occasions like this. On the long drive home I thought about the speeches, the dinner and the day. What my mum has achieved in her life so far is so much more than awards and presentations, what she has brought to us all is her great love of life. She really brings colour and adventure into everything she does, she engages us all with her energy and vision, her zest & brightness. She is a doer, she is always thinking and creating, buzzing & living. And while doing all this her love & generosity & caring nature is always there. I couldn't be prouder of my mum, she is simply the best.



I'm so happy to be giving away a signed copy of "Artists Tapestries" to one of you lovely readers. Just leave me a comment telling me your favourite colour & I will pick out a name later in the week.
Hope you re having a happy weekend, see you soon xo

29 comments:

Sue said...

Congratulations to your mum Beck! She must be a big inspiration to you and your family and I am sure she is just as proud of you too. What a wonderful day for you both. I have given you an award too so pop over and take a peek!

susieqiloveyou said...

Congratulations to your mum. What a wonderful day you had. You must be so proud.
I would love to enter you competition and my favourite colour is and always has been green.

hester said...

Congrats to your Mum, Beck. What an achievement and she had you as well!

I'd love to enter as well. My favourite colour is also green - the colour of nature, trees, grassy hills.....

And Charlotte looks more beautiful every time we see her.

Mary said...

What a fabulous tribute you have made to your Mum. I am so glad that you have had this opportunity to acknowledge her contributions during her lifetime. Too many of us end up doing that after losing a parent. I am so glad for you that you and your Mum share this similar love of textiles; what a great connection!

I would be honored to be included in the drawing to receive a copy of your Mum's book to add to my library. If so gifted, I would enjoy sharing it constantly with my students.

My favorite color was, and remains, Red, even though in real life applications green and blue winout, red will always be #1; Sacred Heart.

I LOVE the collaboration between you and your Mum on your beautiful bunnies. They are just perfect- not too precise or too crafty- just right. Bravo!

Unknown said...

as always a delightful blog. and how lovely to see your mum looking so happy..... she truly is a lovely woman.

Michelle, with now no hair!

teddybearswednesday said...

Congratulations to your Mum.It's a huge achievement What a special day too. You must be so proud. xo

zofia said...

Congratulations to your wonderful mum! That book looks fabulous, I must seek it out. I remember visiting The Victorian Tapestry Workshop in my college days...an inspiring place.
Green is my favourite too.
Thank you for a chance to win.

Unknown said...

What struck me most about your post were the photos of your mum and the happiness that radiated from her and all around her. It must have been an amazing day. Congrats to all!
My favourite colour...is the colour of the sea...that elusive greenish-blue...that makes you want to jump in and swim thru it!

Copper Patch said...

You must feel so proud of your mum. It's wonderful that you got to share such a special moment with her. What an inspiration she must be to you on so many levels.
Green. I love green. One day I am going to make a quilt of all green.
One day...
Ab

Tracey O said...

What a special day and how lovely to mark it with such a beautiful post. The photos that you have taken are all beautiful with such happy glowing faces. I am so proud to have you as my friend Beck you, like your mum are an inspiration to us all.

My favourite colour is red, but thay may not surprise you.

Julie said...

Congratulations to your Mum, what a special occasion. I'd love to enter your competition, my current favourite is red. My parent live a stones throw from MsClelland Gallery, I must go for a visit next time I'm there, I haven't been for years.

Jodie said...

Your Mum sounds AMAZING!!! You must be so proud of her..

Hugs
Jodie :)

Liz said...

How proud you must be, well done to your Mum! This year my favourite colour is yellow, love it's sunny disposition!!
Lizzie
xxx

Gina said...

How proud you all must be of this great role-model in your life. Your mother's book sounds fascinating... I'd love to read it.

It was a surprise to scroll down and see John Hopkins in one of your photos! He is indeed a very warm and lovely soul. I first met him when I was 16, when he conducted an orchestra I was playing, and we crossed paths many times during my years of studying and playing the cello. It's so great to see him there... looking exactly the same as he has for the last 20 years!

crzylady said...

oh goodness. I'm all teary eyed. What a lovely! lovely! experience. Please tell her congratulations :)
I love all things of color but oddly enough my favourite color is White.

Tania said...

Wow. What a Mum. Certainly a whole lot of food for thought in that post, Beck - especially when in the thick of being a parent it can be quite difficult to step back and see all sorts of possibilities.

I'm not telling you what colour (red) because I'm not entering after a recent giveaway win!

michelle said...

that is such a lovely tribute to your mum. she sounds and looks like a great woman. you must be very proud of her.
i just live colour especially pink and orange together

Michelle said...

What a totally amazing mum you have!! Such an great achievement!

Meg said...

Hooray for writerly mums! Aren't they just the best?

I love the colour green.

Hope you guys feel better soon.

xx

Gill said...

congratulations to your mum! what a wonderful lady she must be!!
gill

Anonymous said...

WOW Beck your mum is amazing, such an inspiration what a lovely post you have written. What a lovely giveaway too, it's hard to pin one fave colour as I love pink and purple both equally I think. Thank you for the name change thoughts, I really appreciate it

Emily said...

Wow, what a wonderful mother you have. Sounds like it was a lovely time. How nice to honor her with a giveaway of her book. Congratulations to your mom!

Maria Rose said...

I love when mothers and daughters are close!
PS My favorite color is green!

Bliss Knits said...

Your mum is a true inspiration, and what a fabulous achievement for her. All that hard work and dedication has paid off, the book looks gorgeous!

I used to wear a lot of 'dingy' colours when I was younger but now I realise the joy of colour - a splash of colour really can brighten your day (and other's around you). My teal winter coat and bright pink/purple bag look great together! I think at the minute though my favourite colour is that gorgeous limy green - it definitely sings spring to me!

Kathryn Mitchell said...

Your Mum is a founding member of the Victorian Tapestry Workshop?!?! I lived across the road from that place for a year, I LOVED having a snoop to see what they were all up to on my way to work. Thats so amazing, congratulations to her! And thank you for the comment on my blog :) I don't get many!!

Mandy said...

Wow, that is awesome. Congrats to your mum on such an achievement. & lucky you getting to share in her joy & success. Yay!
& Blue!
Mandy

Chocolate Cat said...

Congratulations to your Mum, what amazing achievements and what a lovely day to celebrate them. How special that you and Charlotte could share it with her.
If I was lucky enough to win your giveaway I'd actually give it to my Mum - another amazing and inspirational woman.
My favorite color? would have to be green!

posie blogs Jennie McClelland said...

I'm a blue girl.
Just have to say how lovely it is to see a teenager smile so happily in shots she knows are going to end up on a blog. Aren't they meant to consider their mother & all that their mother does, to be daggy. Such a pleasant surprise & she's so lovely. You're so lucky Beck, love Posie

Kate said...

I've been so slack in reading blogs that I almost missed out on entering your wonderful giveaway. Naughty! Your Mum is sooooo fabulous, I would love to read her book weather I win this one or have to buy or borrow or steal one. And my favourite colour is green, no red, no blue...can't decide. XX