We're Off To See The Wizard!!

Here I am ... popping in ... then popping out again! I know ... I'm worse than the nursery rhyme weasel! Tee! Hee! Hee! We had a fabulous few days away catching up with my mad rellies ... lots of chatting, lots of laughing, lots of photos! :0) Promise to share more when I have time to take a breath, cos no sooner am I home (late last night!) and I'm off again tomorrow after work. Where am I off to this time? Why, I'm ...

"Off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!!"

My bestest-buddy-since-we-were-nine Lynette and I are off to see "Wicked"

The story of what happened BEFORE the famous tornado hit Dorothy's house and took her and Toto the dog on a whirlwind adventure. (sorry ... couldn't resist the bad pun! Tee! Hee! Hee!) Can't wait! The ticket was a Christmas gift from Mum and Dad cos they knew I'd been waiting patiently (or not so patiently!) for "Wicked" to come to Queensland. Thanks Mum and Dad! :0) So I'm leaving my Beloved Geek Boy at home (I believe a pub-meal-with-the-boys was mentioned!) and Lynette and I are off on a girls' night out, followed by a sleep-over and Friday play date ... I may just sleep most of the weekend to catch up! I'm not as young as I used to be, you know! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Hope all of you are having a wonderful week! OPAMers ... not too long til the end of the month, so make sure your finishes lists on your sidebars are up to date ... even if you add more finishes before the end of the month, pop on now what you've already finished just in case you get 'sidetracked' ... or is that just ME?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Also, don't forget to check that the finishes tally on your button is in GREEN print ... the OPAM part will stay red, but the bottom slightly smaller writing should be green ... email me if you're having problems making that happen.

To all of our Kiwi neighbours ... our thoughts and prayers are with you right now. The earthquake may not have physically affected your whole country, but it has certainly touched hearts not only all through NZ, but all over the world. Stay safe ... and believe in miracles!!

Til next time ...

"We're off to see the Wizard ...!! :0)

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

PS. A nice short one for you, Chookyblue! Tee! Hee! Hee! BH! KRIS

"Just Because" Surprise!!

Postie Paul has been a busy boy this week delivering squishy parcels to our place ... I LOVE weeks when our postie is busy delivering things that are NOT bills! :0) After the squishy parcels earlier in the week, I didn't think there'd be any more ... I'd been good (for now! Tee! Hee! Hee!) and not ordered any more fabric online, it wasn't my birthday ... But on Wednesday, another squishy parcel was lurking in my mailbox when I collected the mail. It was from my blogging buddy Joy-Belle!! (OK, so, really it's "Joy" with no "Belle" on the end, but somewhere along the line I called her that and it just seems to fit! I think it's cos her name reminds me of Christmas and all those ringing bells. She humours me! Tee! Hee! Hee!) Oh!! What could it be??? I opened the big envelope and inside was the most GAWJUS (as Joy-Belle would say!!) card ... which I forgot to take a photo of! Oops! Inside, Joy said this parcel was "Just for you ... just because!!!" AWWWWWWW!! Isn't she a SWEETIE!!!! :0) 'Just Because' parcels are such a wonderful surprise! Well .. OK ... ALL parcels are wonderful, but not always a surprise! Tee! Hee! Hee! And along with the card I found ...

... two fat quarters of GAWJUS red fabrics!!! DROOL!!! This was an extra-special treat because I had admired these lovely fabrics when Joy-Belle treated herself to some on a recent retail therapy session. :0) I LOVE the deep reds! (This pic actually doesn't do them justice, but it's late at night and the most recent update of PhotoShop has changed my settings and I can't get them back to 'normal' ... GRRRR!!)

Here's a pic of Joy-Belle and I when we met up 'in person' at Marion's "Stitchers' Dream Day Out" the year before last ...

Isn't she a cutie!! :0) We had so much fun that day and just KNEW we were two of a kind ... when we discovered we'd both done more CHATTING than STITCHING! Tee! Hee! Hee! THANK YOU, Joy-Belle for my FABULOUS "Just Because" gift ... I LOVE IT!!! :0)

And now ... I'd better scoot off to bed, cos we're off to Bargara for a long weekend to catch up with a large percentage of my family ... could get noisy, cos I'm the shy, quiet member of the family ... REALLY!!!! :0) That means you'll all have to live without me chattering on to you for a few days, but I promise I'll be back! :0) Ha! Scared you now, haven't I! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Oh ... before I sign off, I need to send a big

CHEERIO!

to the Lovely Lilly Linda who is having to entertain some hospital staff for a few days ... Look after yourself, Linda ... we've got LOTS more play dates to enjoy this year! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you're able to head home to your island cottage soon.

OK ... really scooting off now. See you in a few days ... who knows, I might even get a tan! Tee! Hee! Hee! Have a FAB weekend - til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Valentine's Day ... A Day Late!!

Yes, yesterday was the one day a year that no one would blink if they saw a chubby cherub with wings, draped in a toga, running down the street with a bow and arrow! :0) I have to confess that we're not big on celebrating St Valentine's Day in the Meares' Madhouse ... it's not that long after Christmas, not too far in front of my birthday ... and also hits around the time we get the Council rates notice ... OUCH! The budget is NOT happy at this time of year!

 So ... we usually do something smaller ... I might cook a special meal, we might buy each other a packet of our fave lollies ... or we might both forget completely that it IS Valentine's Day! Tee! Hee! Hee! This year, I thought I'd like a little giftie, though, so I followed my blogging buddy Toni when she signed up for a Valentine's Day Swap with Sandy from Cookies and Cream. My partner, Sabine, was quick off the mark - after her SSCS parcel took over six weeks to arrive at its destination, she thought she'd better post early ... and her gift to me has been sitting on my desk ... taunting me with it's pretty red paper for weeks! :0) You all KNOW I'm not good at waiting for surprises, whether I'm giving them or getting them!! But ... I was a GOOD girl (stop giggling Lynda!!!) and I saved my gifts for yesterday. I had a bit of help ...

Annie-Rose Bear held on to the gifties for me to take a photo! :0) And when I finally got to undo that pretty red paper, inside I found ...

A set of six pretty appliqued coasters for the next time I have the gals over for a cuppa! :0) (And do you like how I laid them out for the photo in a heart shape?! Yes ... my Mother thinks I have far too much free time too! Tee! Hee! Hee!) A packet of cute red craft hearts and a sweet ceramic heart that looks like it's been hand-painted. THANK YOU, SABINE!!! I love my Valentine's Day gifties and feel very spoilt!! Thanks to Sandy for organising the swap, too.

And  my gift to Sabine ...

A little project bag made from a piece of fabric I've been waiting to make just the right thing from, with a heart pocket on the front ... perfect for popping embroidery scissors into; a matching tea wallet, a sweet ceramic heart button with roses on it, a cute ballerina bear notepad and a matching pink mini-sharpie pen. Hope you enjoy your gifties, too, Sabine! :0)

Now, when I joined the Valentine's Day swap, I really thought that might be the only giftie I'd get, but I was pleasantly wrong! :0) My Beloved Geek Boy came home yesterday with a sweet bunch of red roses and a mini pack of one of my fave chocolates ...

AAAAAWWWWWW!! Isn't he a SWEETIE!! :0) I think I'll keep him! The red scarf thingy was pulled up around the flowers, so I tied it around the vase to 'Valentine' it up. :0) GB apologised cos the roses only came from a supermarket ... I told him they were flowers, they were pretty and he thought of me ... they were just right! :0) And frankly, some of the prices being charged for roses this year, using the recent flooding and storms as a reason, were a bit rich for our blood!! If I spend $75 I want FABRIC to show for it! Tee! Hee! Hee! (that was one of the price tags seen for a bunch of 6 red roses! EEK!!!)

I also received one more surprise yesterday ... though it isn't REALLY for me! :0) You see, the lovely Sarah of Patchworks Plus has once again donated some yummy sewing related items to the OPAM prize pool!! THANK YOU SARAH!

An Art To Heart pattern book, a Clare's Place quilt pattern, one of Bronwen Hayes' latest cute purse patterns, complete with the purse snap; and a couple of Sultry charm packs. AND ... she's also sent some goodies to Peg to send out! WOW! You gals are spoilt! :0) So you can see that it will be a good idea to stay up to date with your finishes list so you have more chances at the end of the month to win some prizes! Tee! Hee! Hee!

OH! That reminds me ... GB has done the first update of the number of finishes for OPAM that appear on the new button. SOOOOOO ... if the Edit:writing on your OPAM button is now GREEN ... Well done! You've added your button properly!! Did you notice that the number had changed??? We'll see who's observant! :0) If the writing on your OPAM button is still RED ... you've just copied the image, rather than used the link. If you'd like to add it as the link so the total number of finishes listed keeps updating as we go along, check back over the email you received from me or Peg when you signed up ... it has the instructions and if you still can't make that work ... email me and I'll send some pictures for you to follow ... I'm a bit of a visual gal, so I can understand pictures much better than words! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And now ... I'm off to enjoy a quick cup of tea before I think about cooking dinner. Hmmmm ... I have some Valentine's Day chocolates to enjoy, too! :0) Hope your St Valentine's Day was a good one, whether you celebrated it or not! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

EDIT: With the OPAM button, the NUMBERS should now be green rather than red ... the words will always stay red. Sorry for any confusion there!! BH! KRIS

I've Been A Busy Bee!!

Here I am ... having enjoyed a VERY productive weekend! I've been a BUSY BEE! BUZZ! BUZZ!! :0)

 Now, I'm reporting back, as I promised last post, to show you what I've been working on. I showed you some sneaky peeks of my "Pure" projects (by the way, for those who have asked, YES, Marion still has some of these yummy fabrics in store if you want to add some to your stash ... and who wouldn't!!) and the duo of wall hangings is FINISHED! YAY!! I'll have to remember to add them to my sidebar list for OPAM! :0) Ready for the unveiling?? Here goes ...

TA DA! The Pattern will be called "Old Ted" ... as soon as I get my butt into gear and write the instructions!!! :0) ... and will include the instructions for both wall hangings. Here's a closer look ...

This is the larger wall hanging ... it measures 18"x23".

And this is the smaller hanging ... it measures 14"x10".

I'm really happy with how these hangings have come together ... thanks to Marion for nudging me in this direction and Steph for some quilting suggestions! It's always nice to have people to bounce ideas off, isn't it! :0) I'll let you know when this pattern is available for purchase, in case you'd like to make one for your very own self! Hopefully, it won't be too far away. :0)

And speaking of my patterns that are available ... that was one of the other jobs I spent some time on this weekend, adding a couple of patterns that were published in various magazines last year to the pattern catalogue on my web site. The most recently added patterns are:

... Annie-Rose Bear ...

... Blooming Butterflies tote bag and journal cover ...

... and Mabon Bear.

You'll also see (if you 'tag along' through the catalogue! Tee! Hee! Hee!) that the number of downloadable patterns on the web site is gradually growing. As I manage to steal a bit of time here and there, I'm converting them to the downloadable format and my Beloved Geek Boy is working his magic to add them to the web site. Not only are the downloadable patterns a little less to pay, there's no more waiting for the postie to arrive! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... there you go ... that was my "Busy Bee" weekend. And I even managed to fit in a visit to my home-away-from-home (strictly to get binding fabric!! No naughty detours! Tee! Hee! Hee!), enjoyed a cuppa on the Village Green with GB, as well as the usual household chores (which I didn't enjoy, but had to be done!!). All in all, a busy but productive weekend. I hope you've all had a great weekend too. But right now, I think I've earned myself a cup of tea, so I'm off to pop the kettle on! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Celebrate EVERY Day!!

We've all heard the saying "Celebrate Every Day", right? Well today, I decided to take that literally. You see, I had invited my two Dancing Buddies, Lynda and Debbie De over for lunch when our usual Tuesday get-together was interrupted by a juice explosion/sticky uniform dilemma for Deb's daughter ... don't ask!! If you have teenagers, you'll understand! :0) So, last night while doing the weekly grocery shopping, I was wondering what to get for our lunch. Something yummy that didn't take too long to prepare ... cos I didn't want to miss out on too much chatting time while preparing lunch! :0) I finally decided we'd just 'graze' and I'd put together some party-type nibbles ... which led me to thinking ... why not have a PARTY! Hmmm ... no birthdays, no anniversaries, not quite Valentine's Day ... I know ... we'll celebrate ...

"Friendship Friday!"

Perfect!! So this morning after my Beloved Geek Boy had tamed his corner of the lounge for us, so there would be enough chairs (you wouldn't believe how many chairs one husband needs to 'file' his 'stuff'!!!) I popped my Christmas table in the middle of the lounge and ... VOILA! We were ready for a Friday Party!

A pretty tablecloth (one of last weekend's discovered treasures!!) the trio sets Lynda and Deb gave me for my birthday/Christmas gifts, our fave hot beverage sachets, some party fare and we were ready to go! I even printed out some pretty labels for our cups ...

Goth Chick extraordinaire, Debbie De ...

Hippie Chick, Flower Child Lynda ...

Gypsy Chick and Mad Bear Woman ... ME! :0) Or as my father refers to us, the Triple Trouble Trio! I don't know WHAT he's talking about ... REALLY!!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

I think the gals thought I was slightly dotty (OK, so they have actuall known that for a while, this just confirmed their opinion! Tee! Hee! Hee!) but they soon got into the spirit of celebrating "Friday" with me and we had a lovely morning of picking at party food, drinking copious amounts of tea/coffee and chatting. Isn't it nice to have friends you can just hang out with? I think celebrating "Friendship Friday" could catch on, what do YOU think?! :0)

I was doing a little happy dance today, too, cos I found a couple of special things in my mailbox ... though the front garden is getting so wild and overgrown from all the rain at the moment that my poor postie must feel like Indiana Jones every time he goes searching for my mailbox! Tee! Hee! Hee! The first fun mailbox find was the latest issue of "Handmade" (Vol. 28 No. 11). Not only is it a fun issue cos it's chock-full of quick projects that take from half an hour to a weekend to make, on page 40 you'll find ...

My "Faith, Hope, Love" shabby chic heart swag! This was such a fun project to make and I hope "Handmade" readers have fun making their version too. It's a fabulous way to use up those little bits of your pretty fabric that are too small for most projects. And they look fabulous back in their place on my kitchen hutch ...

I have a few more projects in issues of "Handmade" in coming months, so will let you know when they're published. It's always so much fun to see my projects in magazines for people to enjoy making! :0)

The other yummy mail to arrive was ...

Some DELICIOUS charm square packs in the "Charlevoix" range. (don't ask me how to pronounce that, my French teacher had a lisp that made life VERY confusing!!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) I've been eyeing this range off for a while because the colours are so pretty and the designs so cheerful ... and just right for what I have in mind to decorate my sewing room later in the year. So when the lovely Sarah of Patchworks Plus was having a charm sale ... WEEEEEEEELLLLL ... I just couldn't resist! :0) Thanks for leading me astray again, Sarah! Not that I NEED much leading! Tee! Hee! Hee! I already have a design sketched out for these yummy charm squares, so once I clear the decks a bit, I'll be able to play with them. Back to my usual dilemma ... So many pretty fabrics, so many new design ideas, so little time and play money! Tee! Hee! Hee! I promise to update you as I get to work on them.

In the meantime, I'm off to do a bit more stitching on the project I showed you last post ... no one has guessed what I'm up to yet with my letters! :0) I'll be back to show you the finished projects by the end of the weekend ... I hope! Well ... that's the PLAN ... but you never know what will happen between now and then, so make sure you take a leaf out of the Triple Trouble Trio's book and celebrate EVERYDAY ... even the ordinary ones can be made fun with a bit of imagination! :0) Have a fabulous weekend!! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS