Friday 26 March 2021

March Madness!

Well, hello there, all you lovely bloggers buddies! I know ... it’s been so long since I popped in here to catch up with you that you thought I’d been kidnapped by a shape-shifting dragon who had whisked me away to some exotic location to keep me safe from an evil sorcerer hellbent on ruling the world. (Just quietly, why would you want to rule the world when it’s such a mess??! πŸ˜‚) OK ... maybe I need to stop reading fantasy fiction for a little while! Tee! Hee! Hee! 

The real reason for my blogging MIA is much more mundane ... March Madness. πŸ˜‰ You see, March is one of our busiest months of the year, so I just haven’t squeezed in time for a blog catch-up ... until now. So, fair warning, this will probably be a long post with lots of pics ... Chookyblue ... you’re gonna need a cuppa! 😜

So ... my last post, I shared a teasing sneaky-peaky of my Girls Stitch In projects ... well ... we had a fantastic time with a live video to launch GSI on the Saturday morning when we would usually be gathering & lots of stitchers from all around Australia grabbed their kits. My projects ...


Ta! Da! “Be Your Blooming Self!”. The drawstring project bag is surrounded by various sized pockets to stash your tools for a stitching day & the matching ruler pouch also features a pocket to store your rotary cutters & scissors.


Here’s the other side of the bag & more pockets, as well as a couple of my signature rosette flowers. 


And a closer look at the main stitchery. The inspiration for the theme of this project was ... as women, we are often made to feel like we have to be & do everything ... we feel we have to have a career, family, look catwalk ready, prepare gourmet uber-healthy meals, spend hours in the gym, keep a perfect house, juggle all of life’s’ balls’ while never breaking a sweat. And we can fall into the trap of looking at those around us who seem to have the “Insta-worthy” life while we feel we’re failing. But if you look around the garden, you’ll see all of the plants just doing their own thing, adding their own unique beauty to the world & never comparing themselves to the plant beside them. This bag is a reminder that we just need to be our blooming selves. 😊 

Huge thanks to Marion & Steph of The Quilters Angel for inviting me to be a Girls Stitch In guest designer this year & for finding a way to keep the event happening even when it couldn’t happen in person. Thanks to Lauren of Molly & Mama for also sharing her lovely talents as a guest designer. Patterns for “Be Your Blooming Self” are available from the Quilters Angel online store & if you’re quick, there may still be a few kits in the luscious Tilda fabrics I played with. 😁

I almost forgot ... before GSI there was time for a lunch catchup with a couple of blogging buddies ...


Fabulous Fiona & the lovely Janice ... & Janice’s hubby Mick who was official quilt-holder & photographer 😜 ... & I caught up for lunch. I’ve been chatting with Janice via blogs for years now & we’ve enjoyed a couple of play dates when she & Mick are passing through our area & I’m lucky enough to catch up with Fiona at least once a month for stitching time. Lots of fun & chats enjoyed. 😁

Next on the busy schedule was an extended birthday weekend for yours truly. 😜 Hey ... if you have to add another number to your age, you may as well enjoy it, right?! 😝 So last Friday saw GB join my folks & a busload of saucy seniors (GB & I lowered the average age somewhat! πŸ˜‚) for a day tour to Brisbane where we headed for the river ...


... for a lunch time cruise on the Kookaburra Queen paddle boat. Lunch was a delish smorgasbord & the views ...


Skyscrapers & sailboats ...


... river panoramas ...


... heavenly historic buildings. And enjoyed with some of my special people ...


Dad (who I don’t at all look like! πŸ™„πŸ˜), Mum, birthday girl & GB. If you’re looking for a a relaxing way to see Brisbane’s river views, I can recommend a cruise on the Kookaburra Queen. Thanks for the birthday treat, Ma & Pa. 😘

So then on Saturday ... my actual birthday ... & the autumn solstice for those aspiring pagans 😜 ... I received a phone call from the lovely Marion to say she was on her way to drop in. When she arrived ...


... I found she’d collected a couple of stitching buddies along the way, as well as Angel-in-training Miss Zoe ... & a rainbow birthday cake. 🌈 So ... I put the kettle on & we enjoyed an impromptu tea party. 😁 Thankfully, they are true friends & fellow stitchers so overlooked the fact that most of the table was covered in sewing clutter. πŸ˜†


Rainbow cake ... enjoyed from pretty china plates & eaten with vintage cake forks. 😁 Thanks Marion, Miss Zoe, Kerry & Rachel for helping me celebrate another successful trip around the sun. 😘 And adding to the birthday fun & calorie count, GB took me for a Sunday drive down the ‘hill’ to Esk for celebratory coffee & cake ...


... or in my case, iced tea & butterscotch slice ... YUMMO! 😍 Add lots of birthday messages on FB, texts & emails & it really was a fun birthday weekend. Thank you to everyone who has helped make the last year a good one ... & here’s to another trip round the sun full of adventures. πŸ˜‰πŸ˜˜

And that’s about it from me. I promise to pop back a bit sooner next time, but hope you’ve enjoyed catching up on my mischief. πŸ˜‰ And now ... I think it’s time for a late lunch, so I’ll sign off. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Til next time ...

BIRTHDAY BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS













Tuesday 9 March 2021

Losing Days!

Hello, hello! Yes ... I'm still here, I've just been somewhat snowed under with grown up job work, design deadlines & trying to keep up with house chores ... I think I'm failing at that last one! 😜 I can't believe it's mid-March already when I'm sure it was Christmas just last week! 😝 I seem to be losing days from my weeks ... AGAIN!!

But ... My Secret Squirrel projects for Girls Stitch In are finished, the instructions are written & printed & I've even recorded some short tutorial videos thanks to the wonderful assistance of Steph from The Quilters Angel. Steph & Marion are the dynamic duo behind my fave quilt shop & hostesses with the mostest for our virtual Girls Stitch In. If you'd like to join the fun, you only have a few days left to sign up before the fun launches this Saturday. Those who join us will receive two exclusive new patterns from yours truly & Lauren from Molly & Mama, the fabric & embellishments kits for both projects, pre-printed stitcheries so you can start stitching as soon as your parcel arrives, treats, discounts & all bundled into a bespoke Quilters Angel drawstring pouch to keep your treasures safe. Not only that, you get to join an exclusive Facebook group to share pics, chats & pick up tips from Lauren & I ... AND will be given access to some short video tutorials. Talk about value for money!! 😁

While I still can't show you my projects, I can show you another sneaky-peeky ...


Still not giving too much away! 😜 The pinks & purples were a wee bit challenging for this teal/aqua/green gal, but I LOVE how my projects came together. 😁 To join the fun, pop over HERE to sign up.

Another good thing about me having deadlines to meet was ... I got to add some finishes to my OPAM tally! 😁 Big thanks to those who remembered to email their finishes through. It's a big help when I'm a bit time poor. And although the year is still young, my tallying & blog hopping showed me that there has been a lot of creating going on. Well done to you all. 😁 So, for the start of OPAM 2021 we had ...

52 Finishes for January 
&
50 Finishes for February 

YAY! 😊 And the random draw winners were:

&

Congrats, gals! Drop me an email & I'll send you each a PDF copy of a Tag Along Teddies pattern to play with. 😁

But now, GB has arrived home from work & it's time to think about dinner, so I'll sign off for now. Take care of yourselves & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

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