I Smell Spring!

It's almost here ... Spring is so close I can smell it ... Or maybe that's just my hay fever playing up thanks to wind-tossed dust, smoke from reduction burn offs in the nearby forest & the late-winter flowering wattle trees! 😝 While my hay fever is indeed off the charts for all of those reasons, the weather was nice enough to see GB & I out in our garden during this last week of our break. We have an acre with lots of gardens so there's always something we're wanting to tackle. 

GB was installing a watering system that should help us keep things alive without wasting water ... We only have rainwater, so have to be careful. I was on weeding & transplant duty ...& boy are my muscles telling me about it! 😝 Already there are signs of the garden coming out of its winter hibernation ... Trees are budding, early stone fruit trees are in bloom & ...

... The freesias are scenting the air with their sweet perfume. I couldn't resist bringing a few inside. I wish I could share their scent with you. 😍 And their sunshiny colour pop is brightening up the mantle at the moment.

Today, though, I took time off gardening (my muscles wept in gratitude! 😜) to tackle some Secret Squirrel sewing. Now ... I can't give too much away, but here's a sneaky-peeky at my work station ...

I told you I couldn't give too much away. 😂 Stay tuned, as I'll be able to share more soon. 😉

What I CAN share is the names of the two winners from my "Christmas Cuties" pattern prize draw. Thank you to those who shared some of their favourite Christmas memories with me. 😘 It was lovely to read about special traditions, people & celebrations. And the winners of a PDF copy of my "Christmas Cuties" patters are ...

JULIE D

&

MARJORIE 

Congrats, ladies! If you'd like to drop me an email, I'll send your prize pattern to you to give you a jump-start on Christmas giftie stitching. 😜  And if you weren't one of the winners but would like to buy a copy of "Christmas Cuties", you can pop over to the Quilters Angel website HERE to get stitching for Christmas. 

But now, I need to hit the pillow because it's the end of our two week break & we have to go back to work at our grown up jobs tomorrow ... SIGH! If only I didn't have a mortgage & a fabric addiction to pay for! Tee! Hee! Hee! I hope your week includes splashes of colour & lots of stitching time. Oh! OPAMers ... The month is ending, you know the drill! 😜 Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling! 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Happy Early Christmas!

Hello! Hello! Or should that be a Santa ... "Ho! Ho! Ho!" ! 😜 Christmas is coming early this year ... Nothing about 2020 should surprise us anymore, right?! 😝 Today I'm sharing my block as part of the Love And Hugs From Australia Stitchalong! YAY!

I have a little confession to make ... I don't really "do" Christmas. I hear gasps of shock & horror out there! 😜 I might put up a tree ...

... & a couple of folk art pieces designed by my gorgeous blogging buddy Kerryanne English ... But that's about it. So I found it a bit challenging to design a Christmas block ... Especially a 4" block! YIKES! That's much smaller than I usually play with! 😳 But once I visited The Quilters Angel & Steph helped me choose some gorgeous aqua & French red Tilda fabrics, I was on my way! 😁 And the finished block ...

Ta! Da! A slightly shabby chic Christmas tree in a bucket. 😜 I stitched it in a Cottage Garden Thread (of course! 😝) called "Galah". So then I needed to make it up into something ...

A sweet Christmas hanger. I LOVE that aqua floral & the raspberry stripe was perfect for binding. But just like the old telemarketing slogan ... But wait! There's MORE! 😁

While the tree block is available as a free download from the LAHFA Facebook page or by following the button link in my left sidebar here ... I designed three more stitcheries & three more projects to create my "Christmas Cuties" pattern. It's the stitcher's equivalent of a "choose your own adventure". 😜 You can mix & match the four stitcheries with the four projects to create your own favourite Christmas project. All four projects are quick, simple & fun to make & are ideal for Christmas gifties ... Or to spoil yourself. The pattern is available from The Quilters Angel HERE & a limited number of kits in the same yummy fabrics are available HERE. 

But wait ... There's STILL MORE! To celebrate the release of my Stitchalong block & "Christmas Cuties" pattern, I thought we'd also celebrate Christmas a little early (2020 is already so topsy turvy that we may as well shuffle Christmas around! 😝) so I'm giving away TWO PDF copies of "Christmas Cuties". All you need to do is leave a comment on THIS post to tell me your favourite Christmas memory & you'll go into a random draw to win. The draw winner will be posted here on Sunday August 30 (Queensland time).

PHEW! After all of that, I think I need a cup of tea. 😜 I'm looking forward to seeing lots of versions of my Christmas tree block ... & the projects from "Christmas Cuties", but now I'm taking my cuppa & settling in front of the computer to do some more appliqué template editing ... The end is in sight, but it's a bit of a slog to get there. 😜 In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling! 😁 Til next time ...

CHRISTMASY BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Easy Like Sunday Morning!

Or all day Sunday, as was the case for us today as we enjoyed our last full day in the Sunshine Coast hinterland before we head home tomorrow.

Sunday's adventures were a little lower key. Nice sleep in, self-cooked brekky & then off to explore some interesting backtracks & sidetracks ... & would you look at that! One track led to the Yandina Ginger Factory ...

... where macadamia & ginger sundaes were consumed before we thought to take a photo for you to drool over. 😝 Arvo catchup with family , then a trip to a fave seafood spot & back to our accomodation for ...

... fresh prawns & grown up ginger beer. Ah ... Holidays! 😍

Hope you're all keeping safe & well. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

(Temporary Backup) Weekend Adventures!

I'm making up for my recent absence a bit, aren't I?! 😜 But I thought you might enjoy hearing about our weekend adventures ... So far! 😜 My Beloved Geek Boy & I are starting our two week break with a long weekend away, courtesy of my folks who shouted us a treat for our combined 50th birthday gifties. (GB hit his milestone last year & I caught up in March. 😉) Now ... We went in search of a cosy B&B ... But ran into trouble finding somewhere, as our usual choices were booked months in advance when travel was allowed again after our lockdown. Eventually, we did find something ... Not quite ticking all the boxes, but interesting. So we warned friends & family on the Sunny Coast that they should brace for rain (further explanation coming further down) & hit the road ...

And this is our base for the weekend. Not bad, but a few niggly things to deal with ... Still ... We're on holiday! 😜 Today after a bit of a sleep in we went for a drive & the first stop was the Patchwork Angel. Yes ... Something flung itself off the shelf at me & demanded I take it home. 😂

You can never have too much spotty fabric & the pretty floral will be a border option for a layer cake I bought a while ago. While chatting to Penny & Chuck ... & a couple of other lovely fabric collectors, it came to light that ...

A) one lady lived just five minutes from our Home-sweet-home (small world!) ; &

B) there was a pop-up gin & cocktail tasting just down the road a bit. 😁

So of course we had to investigate. 😜 

Don't you love this cart?! It was the bar where our barman was being kept VERY busy. 😁 We decided to try a tasting paddle ...

Flavoured liqueurs were mixed into fruity cocktails ... But we agreed our favourite was ...

... The Diablo alcoholic ginger beer. MMMMM! It made wonderful Moscow Mules for our evening tipple tonight. 😁 We decided to skip the gin tasting, as we could see the clouds starting to bank up & we had a few more stops to make. Next ... Montville, so I could ...

... Stock up on my Tambourine Teas. 😋 A gal can't live by alcoholic ginger beer alone, after all. 😜 After stocking up on tea, we decided Montville was a bit too peoply & headed for our temporary home base ... Via Melany Cheese ... Before heading home to enjoy our spoils. And, in keeping with our reputation for making it rain every time we get within cooee of the coast ...

... It started bucketting down. (Seriously ... We're starting to think we should warn people when we're heading towards the coast so they can avoid planning outdoor events! 😜) Which made it perfect to sit on the balcony, watching the rain while we feasted ...

It was YUMMO!! With full tummies, we curled up with kindle (me) & Netflix (GB) to enjoy the rainy afternoon. There was also a soak in the spa with Enya crooning her Celtic tunes ... But there's no photos of THAT! 😝 And now, we're kicked back relaxing, recharging the batteries that were nearly flat after a full & challenging seven months. NICE! Thanks Ma & Pa! 😘

What are YOU up to this weekend? Having adventures? Stitching? Gardening? Just chillin' at home? In lockdown? I'd be interested to hear. 😁 Right now, though, I think it's time to sample some of my Tambourine Tea ... Mango is tonight's choice. 😁 Take care of yourselves, stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😁 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Missing In Action!

Hello everyone! Yes ... I'm still here ... Alive & kicking! 😁 Thank you to the lovelies who have messaged & emailed to check on me. 😘 It's been a busy, tough few weeks with my grown up job after my boss left very suddenly. As well as the extra responsibilities, there has been quite a bit of "calming the waters" to be done, so I've been a bit slack on the blogging front. And, I confess, on the stitching front. OOPS! 😜 I HAVE been making some solid progress with editing pattern templates for my "Vintage Market" BOM design-in-progress, though, & am REALLY hoping it will be ready to reveal in the next month or so ... Stay tuned! 😉

I also managed to fit in a wonderful catchup with an old friend from my uni days last weekend. After a false start with a year of primary teacher training, I undertook a Bachelor Of Arts, majoring in Journalism at the USQ in Toowoomba. In my final year, I shared some classes with two fellow-crazies ... The three of us just 'clicked'. And though I kept in contact with Anthony & Kate for the first few years after uni, we all drifted along our different paths & lost touch ... Easier to do before emails, text messages & Facebook ... WOW! I'm older than Facebook! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Fast forward to about a year ago & it was FB that helped us reconnect & after 'chatting' back & forth for the last year, Kate & I got to catch up in real life last weekend when she & her Sweetie had a weekend at a local B&B. How wonderful to chat in person again ... & discover that not only did we have lots to chat about, but so did our Sweeties. 😁 NICE! And catching up with Kate & Mark gave us the perfect excuse (like we really needed one!) to visit our recently established local distillery ... Pechey Distilling Co ... Literally 'just down the road' ... Less than FIVE MINUTES! Ooh! This could be dangerous! Tee! Hee! Hee! The distillery has been established by one of the founding families of our little corner of the Great Dividing Range ... In fact, the area shares their surname. 😜 So as well as enjoying the tasting (VERY smooth gin & vodka!!) it was fun to see the old homestead & hear some of our local history.

Chief distiller, Ben Pechey, giving us the background on their enterprise. The rustic building you see behind him is the original cream house that has been moved & restored to house the stilling equipment.

Mmmmmmm ... A Moscow Mule to taste & enjoy the Pechey vodka.

A pretty vignette of lavender from the Pechey homestead garden, shiny copper distilling Doo-dad & a tempting gift pack of gin & vodka.

Yours truly in weekend dag mode & Uni partner-in-crime Kate.

The Pechey Distilling Co is open for tastings a few times a month, so check their FB page for dates & drop in ... It's well worth it if gin or vodka is your tipple of choice ... & they will be starting workshops later in the year to let you custom flavour your own tipple ... With whiskey distilling also soon to be added to their repertoire ... Did you just hear GB cheer, 😂

Now ... As well as being a slacko blogger, I'm late to announce the July OPAM draw winner. There were ...

320 FINISHES 

... for July! WOW! Well done, everyone! And if you were like me & plodding along slowly, but steadily, working on longer term projects & you made some progress ... Then well done to you, too. The winner of the random draw is ...

CHRISTINE MAC!

Congrats, Christine! Drop me an email & I'll send your PDF prize pattern. And ... That's it from me for now, though GB & I are VERY excited to be starting a two week break today ... WOO! HOO! So you'll probably hear a bit more from me in the next couple of weeks. We haven't had a break since Christmas, so this will be much appreciated. 😁 In the meantime, be kind to yourselves, take care, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling! ☺️ Til next time...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS,

KRIS