Spring Flowers On A Gloomy Day!

It's a bit of a gloomy, overcast old day here on top of our 'hill' today ... Typical that weekend weather is yucky, just when you have time to be outside! So to add a splash of colour to the grey, I thought I'd share some garden pics with you.

Most of our acre block is shaded for large parts of the day due to our lovely big trees, especially in winter, but our side verandah has a north-north-west sort of alignment which gives good amounts of sun even in winter. So this year we dug a new garden bed & planted some traditional cottage garden flowers ... With pretty good success ...

It's a bit hard to get a good panoramic shot of the garden thanks to our crepe myrtle trees ... Which have obviously enjoyed the drastic pruning they received ... One is already putting some flowers out! But this shot gives you a bit of an idea of the splash of colour this garden is giving.

I'm thrilled that the hollyhocks have been such a success ... It's the first time I've tried growing them, after finally hunting down the seedlings at a lovely little independent nursery, The Grove Country Gardens from Pittsworth. You can also see some cornflowers, larkspur & phlox ... The stocks shot to flower early & only reached about half their usual height, so they're a bit hard to spot behind the larkspur ... The tall pink/purple/white flower spikes.

Hollyhocks, larkspur, cornflowers & phlox ... & a stray dandelion ... Oops! :0) The phlox have such vibrant colours. Love 'em! :0)

These are the three colour variants that have shown up for the hollyhocks ... A gorgeous deep maroon/red, scarlet & a sort of watermelon pink/red. I've always drooled over hollyhocks in photos of English cottage gardens on Pinterest so it's been exciting to add some to our garden.

Hope you've enjoyed a sneaky-peeky at our garden. I'm now off to see if I can rediscover my sewing mojo that went astray yesterday in all my muddling about. After chatting to a few other crafters whose mojo has also gone missing, I have a mental picture of our missing mojos lazing on a tropical island somewhere sipping cocktails & sniggering at all of us trying to meet our pre-Christmas deadlines! Yes ... My overactive imagination DOES get me into trouble! Tee! Hee Hee! 

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

 

 

A Quilter's Lament!!

 OK Stitchers, quilters, patchworkers & all creative types out there in blogland ... I KNOW you will ALL have asked yourself this question on numerous occasions ...

With a sewing/craft room full of fabric/crafting supplies ... How can I still NOT find what I need to make this project?!?!

SIGH! I had great plans for my day off today. I was going to indulge in a yummy breakfast, savour a big mug of coffee whilst re-reading yet another of my favourite Nora Robert trilogies, then get stuck in to make my SSCS gifties for Chookyblue's swap that soon need to be loaded on Santa's sleigh. Well ... I managed the yummy breakfast (perfectly poached eggs on crunchy whole grain sourdough toast) & enjoyed a big mug of coffee ... But substituted a phone chat with Mum for the indulgent reading. Then I headed for my sewing room, where after a very frustrating half hour of searching, fabric fossicking & umming & ah-ing I  decided I don't have just the right fabrics to do what I'd planned. AAAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!

So ... I'm off to visit my "Home-Away-From-Home" to get what I need. That's definitely not a hardship, but it does involve a 20 minute drive either way & the time it all takes. I wonder if GB REALLY wants dinner tonight? I've gotta make up my lost sewing time somewhere, right? :0)

I hope you all have some fun stuff planned for your weekend ... & that your plans run a little smoother than mine! Now I'm off to shop. :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Gal Pals & Giggles!

What better way to spend a cool, overcast, blowy Saturday than to gather with some gorgeous stitching gal pals for a time of chatting, eating yummy food, drinking cups of tea, laughing like lunatics, giggling like a bunch of school girls ... Oh! ... And apparently some people sewed & stitched! Tee! Hee! Hee! 

This weekend was the last mini-retreat for the year for our Friday Night Sit & Sew group & although I could only stretch time & budget to one day, I think I packed in three days of fun.

I worked on the stitchery part of my SSCS gifties, so can't show it to you, but I CAN show you something I sewed from start to finish yesterday that went to its new home today ...

When I was collecting blues, greens, aquas & teals for my beach skirt, Kiwi Chriss searched her stash for some contributions, so ... I decided to turn some of the fabrics into a slightly different beach skirt for her to say thank you. Chriss's skirt is a tier shorter as sh's not a leftover hippie like me! :0) Since it was a surprise I had to guess at sizing, but it fitted & she loved it! YAY!

Now I mentioned there was much laughter today & one contributing factor was the crazy & mischievous Miss Fiona from BubzRugz  ...

She decided that Julie's chain pieced flying geese blocks looked like a feather boa ... Here she is decked out for a quilting cocktail party ... With Julie giggling hysterically beside her! :0) Thanks for a fabulously fun day, gals! And a HUGE  thank you to the Marvellous Marion for organising another fantastic stitching retreat.

Am all funned out for now though, so am off to bed. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

 

There's A Bear In There!!

OK ... all Aussie (& New Zealand??) gals who grew up watching "Play School" now have the theme song stuck in their heads! I'd say sorry ... But I'm not! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So why am I tormenting you with children's television shows? Well ... For the first time in quite a while I've been working on a new bear design ...

Your first sneaky-peeky of Marion May Bear. She's a girly bear, but not too frilly or fussy. She likes pretty things, likes flowers & dressing up nicely. She's named for two of the special women who have influenced & encouraged me ... My GORGEOUS friend Marion from the Quilers Angel & my WONDERFUL Grandma who we lost in June ... Her middle name was May. 

I've got half of the instructions written for Marion May & hope to have them finished soon ... Stay tuned for the pattern & the full reveal of my sweet new bearby! :0)

But now it's cup of tea time before gathering up some projects to take with me tomorrow when I join some of my Friday Night stitching buddies for part of our last mini-retreat for the year. I hope you're having a wonderful finish to the working week & that your weekend includes lots of fun & time with special people. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

Where Will We Be In 50 Years!

For those of you like me who grew up in the 80's you'll probably remember the song by Aussie band The Uncanny Xmen, "Where Will We Be In 50 Years?" Well ... 50 years ago ..

... These crazy kids said "I do." And through those 50 years they've lived, loved, laughed, cried, argued, comprised, grown & made a life together. There have been some bumpy times during that 50 years I'm sure, but unlike a lot of people who fall in & out of love almost as often as they change their clothes, they both saw love as a choice & chose to hold on to each other & love each other ... Even on the days when they didn't necessarily like each other. :0) They've set a pretty high goal for marriage, commitment & love that I hope I can live up to in my own marriage. 

And I love them both to bits!! :0)

HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY MUM & DAD!!

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS