Manic Monday!!

No ... I haven't taken a musical trip back to the 80's with the song by The  Bangles ... although that song is now stuck in my head! Aaaarrrgghh!! :0) I'm describing the way my week has started ... and I have a sneaking suspicion it is setting the speed for the REST of the week ... EEK!!!! You see, my Beloved Geek Boy and I are getting ready to enjoy a two week holiday in north/far north Queensland and have you ever noticed that in order to relax for a short amount of time, you actually spend more than DOUBLE that amount of time working like a Trojan BEFORE you go and AFTER you get back?!?!? Well .. this week is "hurry up and get ready" week, with today off to a galloping beginning. Appointments to keep, errands to run, lists to make ... lists of LISTS to make!!! ... house sitter to brief, supplies to be bought, not to mention all the stuff at WORK that needs to be not only up to date, but AHEAD to cover the two weeks!! Both GB and I are in jobs where if we don't do our 'stuff' ... it sits on the desk and waits for us to come back!! :0) All in all, we'll need the holiday to recover from GETTING READY for the holiday! Tee! Hee! Hee! Just as well my weekend included some fun stuff to tide me over! :0)

I was lucky enough to be part of a FANTASTIC "Painting On Fabric" workshop on Saturday with the fabulous and incredibly clever Libby Richardson of "ArtSmart Craft Cottage". It was a horrible, overcast, rainy, foggy day here on top of our 'hill' ... and poor Libby thought she was coming for a visit to "SUNNY Queensland"!!! Tee! Hee! Hee! So spending the day snuggled into Marion and Steph's workroom at Quilters Angel with some other creative ladies was the perfect way to spend it.

Here is Libby demonstrating some shading. Can you see some of Libby's GORGEOUS creations in the background there?? Libby has adapted her folk art skills to come up with a fun way to add a little bit of depth to stitcheries and after being shown some of her tips and tricks, we each had two designs to play with.

Here's Pam practicing some shading. FYI ... if you have ever enjoyed a sweetie treaty from the Chocolate Cottage at the Village Green ... Pam is the lady to blame thank!! :0) She's as sweet as her chocolate creations and it was fun to catch up. I also got to catch up with ...

... Miss Mary from Fresh Hope Patterns. You can see we had to concentrate on what  we were doing. In fact ... Marion said it was the quietest workshop she's ever had in her workroom ... we were all so busy concentrating that we weren't chatting much ... a rare event indeed for most of us! Tee! Hee! Hee! Here are my two finished pieces ...

Aren't they GORGEOUS designs?!?! Libby is so very clever ... of course ... they DO involve some cute teddies, so perhaps I am just a LITTLE bit biased! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Two smoochy teddies under the apple tree ...

And my favourite ... a sweet little girly bear in her Sunday best dress. I had originally thought I would make these into wall hangings or cushion covers to use as gifts ... but I have now decided that I like them WAY too much and think I'll have to save my play money to buy a couple more of Libby's designs and make them all into a little lap quilt. Marion and Steph have lots of Libby's patterns in stock ... some come with the design pre-printed but unpainted ready for you to have a go at colouring it, while others come with a painted panel ... for the less adventurous! :0)

As always, Marion and Steph spoiled us all with delicious sweetie treaties for morning and afternoon tea, as well as a YUMMY chicken curry with rice for lunch ... thanks, Chef Leigh! :0) A big thank you to Marion and Steph for a wonderfully organised workshop and a HUGE thank you to Libby for sharing her painting techniques with us and encouraging us all to be creative. I have to say that while it was a bit daunting to be working outside my usual comfort zone of needle and thread, it was also a treat to learn from someone as talented ... and PATIENT!!! ... as Libby. Not only is she a clever designer, she's a fun, lovely lady! :0) Libby is planning a return visit to Quilters Angel next year, so if you are interested in having as much fun as I did at one of her workshops, let Marion and Steph know so they can send you information once a date is set. I can HIGHLY recommend being part of it!! In the meantime ... if you want to see some more of Libby's GORGEOUS designs, pop on over to visit her web site ... and tell her she needs to start a blog! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And after the weekend fun, I'll have to put my head down and tailfeathers in the air to get everything organised this week for our break. I hope to pop back in before we head north, but if I don't manage to cross everything off the "To Do" list for this week ... well ... let's just go with a quote from Arnie ...

"I'll be baaaaaack!!!"

Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope your weekend was fab and that your week is off to a great start. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS