Bags & Beautiful Bloggy Buddies!!

It's been a funny sort of day today, weather wise. I got up and it was sunny, so I popped a load of sheets into the washing machine, with the thought that by the time I'd enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, it would be time to hang them out. Well, 15 minutes later, as I sipped my morning brew, I heard a peculiar noise ... which got louder and heavier ... OK, where did that rain come from?!! I looked out my window and the sun had been replaced by dark clouds, which of course, is where the rain was coming from! Drat!! So, into the dryer with the towels, so much for reducing my carbon footprint!!

Now oddly, considering that gale force winds quickly joined the overcast weather (the rain didn't last very long, unfortunately, just kind of loomed and threatened!!) it wasn't overly cold, so I headed into the sewing room for some bag sewing. No, not for Linda's Bag/Bucket Swap (though with that deadline looming I need to get myself busy soon!!) this is what came out of this morning's efforts ...


It's a book bag for one of our nieces for her birthday last week - oops! Late again!! I fell in love with the ladybird fabric - it's just so funky and bright and cheerful, perfect for a 3 year old's book bag. And what is inside this eye-catching bag?


Silly old bear!! It's Winnie the Pooh - the original type illustrations, before Disney messed with it. I love Winnie the Pooh stories, they're just so much fun, but also show the value of friendship. Wonderful!!

And speaking of the bag I'm making for Linda's Bag Swap (which I did in passing back there!!) I showed some pretties a few posts ago that I was going to use to make it. Well ... I changed my mind!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Actually, had it changed for me, when there wasn't really enough of the fabrics I wanted to use - don't you hate that!! So off I trotted to my handy fabric shop, Quilters' Angel, and came home with ...


Aren't the colours pretty? I tried to get a little creative to show these off, hence the triangles, although now that I look at it, it would be a pretty pattern for a patchwork project ... hmmmmmmm........ Just kidding - for now! Too many things on the "To Do" list already. So that bag is on the weekend's agenda of projects to tackle. Will keep you updated.

Now to the second part of my post title, "Beautiful Bloggy Buddies". The particular Beautiful Blogging Buddy in question (initially!!) is Miss Kerryanne of Shabby Art Boutique, who, by the way, has been seen sporting a lovely Mermaid blue scarf this week ...


Isn't she GORGEOUS!! And all snugly warm to face Melbourne's chills - she and I sympathise with each other over coping with the cold!! I borrowed the photo from Kerryanne and she said it's a bit blurry cos she was in a hurry, but I think it's cos she goes everywhere at the speed of light and like a superhero, you can never quite get a clear picture! Tee! Hee! Hee! Now, last weekend, Kerryanne very kindly awarded me the Wylde Woman Award - which made me a little teary and a little blush-worthy, but also very chuffed!!


Now, the rules of the Wylde Woman Award are:
1. You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it's up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post.

2. Link back to this blog site http://www.tammyvitale.com// so Tammy can go visit all these wonderful women and remember the Purpose of the Award: "To send love and acknowledgment to women who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy."

How flattering to be told by someone I admire that I brighten her day!! When I first began blogging, it was a bit of an experiment (not knowing much about WHAT blogging really was!) to see if it brought more visitors to my business web site. It was Kerryanne's blog that inspired me to 'give it a go' eventually, but she was also the most encouraging friend and mentor along the way, for my designing as well as blogging. And through our toing and froing, we've become blogging buddies - how wonderful!! So, my response to choosing Wylde Woman Awardees would be - right back at ya, Kerryanne! And my second nominee would have been Lilly Linda of Lilly Cottage - but Kerryanne stole my thunder there, so I can only say that great minds think alike!! So then I started thinking about blogging buddies who brighten my day, teach me new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy. Hmmm ... that would be ALL my blogging buddies!!! But I decided to mention three especially.

The first is Natalie Ross of In Stitches - Nat has shared a few of her roller-coaster ride downs as well as the ups and has definitely been hit with some challenging situations in her life - but what I love about Nat is her sense of humour that helps her rebound quickly, and the creativity, joy, beauty and sparkle of mischief and imagination that she shares with us through her designs. Thanks Nat!!

The second Wylde Woman is Rosalie Quinlan. Rosie, too, has faced hurdles, the biggest being her brush with cancer - yet through it all, she has continued to encourage others to explore their hidden creativity, especially with her recent book, "Gift", which encourages us not only to NOT take our everyday gifts, like good health, good friends and loving family, for granted, but also to live every day to the fullest and to share that joy with others. Thanks Rosie!

The third Wylde Woman would have to be Peg, from Happy in Quilting. Now Peg inspired not just me, but hundreds of stitchers all around the world, to tackle some of their UFOs. That and the resulting organisation deserve an award to start with!! But Peg also opens her home and life to share with, and encourage other people to express themselves through stitching and it's all done with a generous heart and a spirit of fun. Thanks Peg!

So ... I could go on and on, working my way through my list of blog favourites - not to mention a long list of non-blogging buddies who fill me with awe, admiration and inspiration. And do you know what that tells me? Scratch the surface of most 'ordinary' women and you'll find a Wylde Woman lurking there!! Tee! Hee! Hee! If you haven't visited the blogs of my wonderful, inspirational blogging buddies, I'd encourage you to do so - but I'd make a cuppa first, cos you're sure to spend a while enjoying their writing!! There's just one drawback that I've found with this award ... Suddenly, I have a song stuck in my head - don't know the name or who sings it, but the chorus includes the line, "Wild women do, and they don't regret it!" So ... I'm off to continue my Wylde Woman adventures - hope you do too!! Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS