And Now For The REAL Post!

Ah ... Technology! I wrote & edited a whole post yesterday only to have my iPad ap chucked a wobbly & ate it. So ... This is "Take Two"! :0)

So ... Here it is, the start of a new week & I'm EXHAUSTED after yet another busy weekend ... But it was FUN! :0) I threw some things into a bag, jumped in my little blue car & headed down the 'hill' for a sleepover play date weekend with my Bestest-Buddy-Since-We-Were-Nine Lynette. YAY!

We decided to start our time together with lunch & headed to a new-to-us spot, "The Rendezvous Tea Room" in Brisbane's Wooloongabba. We had a bit of trouble finding the tea room ... It really is a little hole-in-the-wall spot, but well worth the search. 

Here we are enjoying our low tea ... High tea has to be pre-booked, but we certainly enjoyed our tasty treats & freshly brewed tea in the wonderful "War Years" decor. It truly was like stepping back in time to the 1940's, complete with a 1940's music soundtrack, a tea leaf reader, schedule of spiritualist evenings ... & an air raid siren! :0) If you live in Bris or visit the city, I can certainly recommend "The Rendezvous Tea Room".

After that culinary beginning to our play date, the rest of the weekend was a bit of an antiques-&-collectibles hop ... Multiple antiques & collectibles shops & two great fairs. Both of us bagged some bargains, but I haven't had a chance to take pics yet ... Stay tuned. :0) Thanks for a fun belated birthday catch up, Lynette! We'll have to do it again soon. OOPS! Did you just hear two husbands pass out?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So you can probably guess that with all of that tea-swilling, sandwich-munching, antique-hunting, catchup-chatting, best-friend-giggling going on there hasn't been any sewing happening here ... But I bet others in blogland have been hard at work. And since the end of the month is almost upon us ... OPAMers ... Have you updated your sidebar lists & emailed your finishes tally to me or my GORGEOUS Partber-In-Crime Sweet Peg? Well ... Get hopping before WE do! :0)

Right now, though, it's time to go hunt & gather something for dinner so I'll sign off. Have a fantastic week & to anyone being affected by Cyclone Debbie, please take care & stay safe. (For those wondering, we're quite a long way south of the cyclone, though we're hoping some of the leftover rain will come our way.)Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

Testing, Testing!

Check, one two! Just trying to determine if my blogging ap is playing nicely after it swallowed a post yesterday. Stay tuned! :0)

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Bit Of A Birthday!

Hello to all you lovelies out there in blogland! I hope you're all having a fabulous week. Well ... We had to come home from the beach ... SIGH! But ... We had a wonderful time helping Grandma celebrate her 94th birthday.

In amongst the smoke from 94 candles, another March gal celebrated a birthday ...

Haven't changed much, have I?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Yes, my birthday sort of got absorbed into Grandma's celebrations, but I DID receive a few special treats to spoil me. My Beloved Geek Boy organised a foot massage for me, as well as a bit of a splurge at the Quilters Shack in Bundaberg ... Isn't it lovely to have someone who knows & understands you! :0) Here's what followed me home ...

Some YUMMY batiks. The blues & green will join a stash of batiks I have tucked away to make myself another patchwork tiered skirt. The reds? Weeeeeeellll ... They were just so PRETTY that I had to adopt them! :0)

I also received a special gift from one of the lovely ladies from the retirement village where I work.

A ring box. Just kidding! :0) But that will give you an idea of the size of the giftie.

Isn't it GORGEOUS!! This miniature teacup & saucer is holding a bunch of teeny-tiny flowers. Thanks Marg! :0) Now I need to find the best spot  to display it.

A big "THANK YOU" to all of you gorgeous cyber buddies who sent emails, FaceBook messages & texts to wish me a happy birthday. I may have had to be a grown up & go to work, but I certainly felt very loved! :0)

And as a bit of a delayed birthday treat, I'm off to Brisbane tomorrow for a sleepover play date weekend with my Bestest-Buddy-Since-We-Were-Nine Lynette. Did you just hear two husbands shudder in fear?! Tee! Hee! Hee! We haven't got any set-in-concrete plans but there are whispers of an antique shop hop, maybe some coffee shop visits & I can guarantee there will be LOTS of chatting & LOTS of laughing. :0) I promise I'll report back on our adventures next week ... Stay tuned! :0)

And since the housework is all over the shop at the moment due to our comings & goings, I need to go & throw some clothes in the washing machine so I've got clean knickers to take with me. :0) Whatever you're up to, I hope you have a fabulous weekend. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

 

A Special Birthday!

I usually drop in to tell you what's happening at the Meares' Madhouse, but I can't do that today ... Cos I'm not there! :0) This was my view this morning ...

It's a tough gig, but we're coping! Tee! Hee! Hee! We're at Bargara beach to help celebrate a pretty special birthday ... My Grandma is celebrating her 94th birthday! WOW! 

Here she is blowing out the candles on her apple crumble cheese cake ... It's a good thing we found a "9" shaped candle & a "4" shaped candle ... We'd never have fitted 94 single candles on the cake ... & might have set off the smoke detector! :0) She's still keeping pretty well & has only recently moved out of her own unit into higher care as she isn't just as steady on her feet any more & is getting a wee bit forgetful. (Though, seriously, who isn't a wee bit forgetful!)

While our family is pretty scattered - Cairns, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Toowoomba - a few of us managed to be on hand to wish Grandma a happy birthday ...

There were lots of finger-food treats to be nibbled while we chatted ... & maybe a glass of bubbles ...

My Aunt & Grandma ... "Cheers Bigears"! :0) Had a giggle at this next pic when editing ...

We're not sure what Grandma was thinking, but it looks like she's suspicious of what is in her glass! Tee! Hee! Hee!

It's been nice to catch up with family ... & the view's not hard to take! :0) Sadly we head home tomorrow & hoping to take some of the rain that is currently falling home with us.

Hope you're having a great weekend, too. :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

 

 

AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!

So ... This afternoon I actually had about three uninterrupted hours to get stuck in & make a start on the Aussie Hero Quilt I've signed up to make for one of our serving members of the armed forces.

I'd spent a couple of hours on Sunday tracing, sticking & cutting out all the appliqué pieces, so I just had to iron my background fabric, measure for placement, iron on the bits & get stitching. I thought the MINIMUM I'd get done would be half of the machine sewing. BARP! WRONG!

No sooner had I started to wrestle the quilt around to machine appliqué the pieces (working with the entire 42"x70" quilt was a wee bit challenging for this non-machine sewing gal!) when I noticed something alarming ...

AAAARRGGHHH! The bits were coming askew! The lettering was starting to look like alphabet soup & the central appliqué figure was looking like a deflated balloon! It's the first time I've had a problem with Easy Fix, it's usually very reliable. SIGH!

So it was back to wrestling the quilt-top-in-progress onto the ironing board to iron those suckers back where they belonged. (It seems to be sticking better now ... So far!) By then, most of my time had trickled away & I only had half an hour before I needed to start dinner prep, so I did what any dedicated stitcher would do ... Gave up & watched a quiz show! :0)

Hopefully I'll get back to it tomorrow. I'll share more pics once it starts to look the way it's supposed to. Stay tuned! :0) And if you would like to find out more about Aussie Hero Quilts you can pop over HERE to say g'day to Jan-Maree & her merry band of quilters.

Right now though, it's time for this tired teddy bear to turn off the light & let the rain on the roof lull me to sleep ... BLISS! :0) Hope your week is off to a great (less frustrating than mine!) start. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

Some Quality Time With An Old Friend!

It's the end of another week ... They're just flying by, aren't they?!? Before we know it Easter will be here & somehow I don't seem to have achieved very much ... SIGH! Still ... Today I managed to actually FINISH something ... YAY ME! :0) Although ... It was a project that wasn't on the list ... SHEEPISH GRIN!!

It all started because we're going to a wedding tomorrow ... My Beloved Geek Boy's youngest brother is marrying his sweetie. So what do you do when you're going to a wedding the next day? Iron your outfit? Wrap a gift? Write in a card? NOPE! You decide you need a bag to match your outfit. :0) Well ... You do if you're ME! Tee! Hee! Hee!

It's actually something I've been meaning to do for a while & it keeps getting put off in favour of other projects. Right ... Dive into the stash ... You do NOT want to see the mess in my sewing room at the moment, never mind the dining table where I was sewing. It looks like several fabric bombs exploded! :0) However, amidst the chaos, I unearthed some lovely French themed drill fabric that I bought "because", ferreted around for some lace, a button, some contrast fabric & put the thinking cap on. Hmmmm ... Want to see the result?? 

Ta! Da! A new bag. It's a bit bigger than I'd originally set out to make, but I love the fabrics together, especially how the olive dotty frill & rosette add a bit of a pop.

And the ribbon threaded lace looks good too. I wonder what I had PLANNED to do today before I got sidetracked?! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... That was my creative Friday ... & I'm joining the lovely Kerryanne for ...

Pop across & see what everyone has been up to.

I hope you have some fun stuff planned for your weekend ... You already know what I'll be up to ... Modelling my new bag! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

Are You Looking For A New Project?!

Are you looking for a new project? Do you like to use your patchwork and quilting skills to help others? Are you part of a quilting group that is looking for a new challenge? Well ...

The lovely Jan-Maree and her merry band from Aussie Hero Quilts (and laundry bags) make very special quilts that are sent to serving Aussie troops. Hundreds of quilts have been stitched with care and love and sent off to offer comfort and a little bit of home to our serving troops in so many places around the world since Jan-Maree began her quest.

Well ... for a few reasons Jan-Maree is struggling to keep up with demand for quilts at the moment. One of the biggest setbacks was a devastating house fire last year that destroyed Jan-Maree's family home ... including quite a number of finished quilts and around 50 quilt tops. Another factor leading to the shortage is a nicer reason ... more troops/family members of troops are hearing about the work of Aussie Hero Quilts and so more quilt requests are being received. :0)

So ... if you think you can help, pop over to visit Jan-Maree You can find out more about the fantastic work of Aussie Hero Quilts (and laundry bags) and get details and guidelines for the quilts that are needed. The quilts aren't large ... they're designed to fit a bunk bed, so maybe you have time to squeeze one into your "To Do" list. My thinking cap is on! :0)

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

PSSSSSST!!

I thought you might want to know, I've just joined up with Kerryanne from Shabby Art Boutique for ...

Why not pop across to see what lovely creative projects, cooking and decorating has been going on in blogland. You'll be inspired, I guarantee! :0) And make sure you give Kerryanne a big cyber BEAR HUG and say thanks for hosting this fun link up ... She's a SWEETIE! :0)

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Phew! A Finish For February!

I know it's now March ... I seem to have run out of February! :0) But this is my first opportunity to pop in to show you my February finish. 

It's a cute little dilly bag for someone who's getting married soon. My thought was she can pop a few essentials in it like tissues & lippy, pull the drawstring closed, then slip it over her wrist to take with her. It's not very big, about 8" high & 14" round. I'm really pleased with how it turned out & especially love the fabric & lace rosette. I'm not sure of the colour of my friend's dress or attendants' dresses, but thought the antique gold was pretty adaptable.

And it's my first OPAM finish for the year - YAY! :0) Let's hope there are more joining it soon. And speaking of OPAM & joining ... Sign up is now CLOSED!

Welcome to all you lovelies joining Sweet Peg & me this year. It's lovely to see so many "Repeat Offenders" on the list. :0) Obviously you find OPAM helpful in getting your creative mojo into gear. And a warm welcome to our "Newbies" too. I hope you all have a fantastically creative & productive year & I hope OPAM encourages you to take some time out to recharge your batteries. In the next little while I'll be popping the list of this year's OPAM participants on my sidebar ... I hope you take some time to do a bit of blog hopping to be inspired by what others are creating & to leave an encouraging comment or two. We all need a cheer squad! :0)

But right now I need to go sleepy-bo-bos! :0)An argument with my blogging ap on my iPad took longer to sort than I'd hoped, so now it's late ... Even by this night owl's reckoning! Aaaahhhh ... Technology!! I hope you all have a fantastic weekend & that it includes some time to create. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS