Pixilated!

Hello everyone out there in blogland! I hope you're having a great week. Once again mine seems to have disappeared in a blink & I don't seem to have achieved much ... SIGH!! And to add insult to injury, the temperatures have taken a noticeable dip into single digits this week & you KNOW how much I hate being cold! If only I could win lotto so I could hibernate in front of the fire for the next few months sewing, reading & watching movies. :0)

While the lotto fairy hasn't seen fit to wave her magic wand for me, I have spent my morning working on the next block of my Secret Squirrel project. Want a sneaky peeky??

I know! I'm a tease! :0P But this has been my morning's viewing ... I'm in the process of editing my rough sketch in Photoshop to iron out the kinks from an unsteady, impatient writing hand. :0P This process takes hours ... But it gives me a result I'm happier with than my hand-drawn image, so it's worth it in the end ... Even if I do end up feeling almost as pixilated as this screen! Tee! Hee! Hee! And once I've finished this part of the design process I'm going to reward myself with some time playing with ...

... This yummy stack of pretties! :0) I'm making a new sample for one of my patterns. Stay tuned to see which one. And it will be rather nice to actually have something to add to my OPAM finish tally for the first time this year! Obviously many other OPAMers are madly creating away in their sewing caves, though, as I've finally done the April tally & there were ...

141 FINISHES

... Recorded ... YAY!! Well done everyone who contributed to that number. And if you're like me & working on longer term projects ... Well done if you've taken some steps (or should I say STITCHES!) forward. Sometimes it's hardest to stay focused on bigger projects because we don't have the encouragement of a finish to spur us on. But ... Rome wasn't stitched in a day! :0) And the winner of the April random draw is ...

TONE

Congrats Tone! :0) Drop me an email & I'll send your PDF pattern prize for you to play with. Speaking of playing with prize patterns ...  Karen M was the February draw winner & she has made a GORGEOUS version of my Daisy Drawstring Bag pattern! Pop over HERE to see it & say g'day to Karen. I've been a bit remiss in not getting the list of OPAMers up on my sidebar so you can all visit & encourage each other, but I promise to try to get that up soon. But right now, I think it's time for a cup of tea before I go back to staring at pixels. Have a fantastic weekend everyone! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Adulting Is Hard!

Hello to all my lovely blogging buddies out there in cyberspace! How are you all today? I have to admit that I've had trouble getting my butt into gear today ... I think my "Adulting" function (which is a bit iffy at the best of times!!) has been completely scrambled by our spate of public holidays. :0P Don't get me wrong ... I LOOOOOOVE a public holiday, but after a few scrambled work weeks in a row & another coming next week, I'm completely bamboozled. Then add in that instead of working my usual four day week at my grown up job this week, I'll be working FIVE days ... And it's all too hard! :0P

And what have I been doing with all of the extra time I should have with all of these public holidays? Darn good question! Tee! Hee! Hee! I did spend some time sketching, inking, scanning & editing the next block of my Secret Squirrel design-in-progress ... But can't show you that. And yesterday I spent a lot of time in the kitchen making quince paste ... Which is a bit of a marathon effort.

I confess to being ignorant of quinces before we inherited a quince tree when we bought our house ... I thought they were furry apples! :0) But after a bit of googling, I am now a fan of quince paste with my cheese & bikkies. :0) While it's not difficult to make quince paste it's very time consuming because it's a long, slow cooking process.

Step one ...

Rinse quinces & rub off the fur. :0)

Step two ... Core & dice the quinces ... Not easy as they're almost as firm to cut as pumpkin & the slippery little suckers quite often get away. :0P Step three ... Stew the quinces until soft ... About three quarters of an hour. Step four ...

... Purée the stewed quinces in a food processor & pour them into an uncovered slow cooker. Add sugar & lemon juice ... & let them bubble for about five hours! The tricky bit here is that the mix needs to be stirred every twenty minutes or so to prevent a tough skin forming on the surface, so not much gets achieved when you're popping up to stir the pot every twenty minutes! Though there are some who would say stirring the pot comes naturally to me! Tee! Hee! Hee!

It's actually pretty cool to watch the process ... The fruit purée changes from a creamy colour to a deep burgundy colour through several shades of pink & rose. You know it's done when it's a nice dark burgundy. Then it's into containers to set ...

Before finally ...

... Providing the perfect accompaniment to your favourite cheese & crackers for a delicious gourmet snack. :0) It just needs a nice glass of adult beverage to go with it & we're set. :0) So we're stocked up on quince paste for the rest of the year now.

It did mean, however, that there were no sewing projects completed again ... SIGH! But for those of you who HAVE been busy stitching beavers, it's time to update your OPAM sidebar lists & email your April tally through to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to. :0)

But now it's time to head back into the kitchen to work out what's for dinner. Then again ... That sounds like adulting & that function is on the blink! :0P I wonder how GB feels about boiled eggs & toast?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Lest We Forget.

To those who served their country in conflict or peacekeeping missions & didn't come home ... Thank you. We will remember you. To those who served their country in conflict or peacekeeping missions & did come home & live with the physical, mental & emotional scars ... Thank you. We will remember you. To those who continue to serve their country in conflict or peacekeeping missions ... Thank you. We will remember you.To those who have lost family & loved ones during or as a result of their service ... Thank you. We will remember you. 

The peace & freedom we enjoy & so often take for granted has been fought for & sacrificed for. As we commemorate ANZAC Day, we aren't glorifying war, we are acknowledging that for evil to win only takes good to sit back & do nothing & thanking those who willingly step between us & evil & say, "Not on my watch."

LEST WE FORGET.

KRIS

Relaxing With Friends!

Hello to everyone out there in blogland! It's been a while since I've popped in to visit with you. (AGAIN! OOPS!) Life just seems to keep getting busier & busier, but this Easter long weekend we took some time out to relax & catch up with some wonderful friends.

When I started blogging just over ten years ago, the first blogging buddy I made was Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique & the second was the lovely Linda of Lilly Cottage (now Claudette & Hester Handmade ). Not only am I still in contact with these gorgeous ladies, the three of us have become good friends & had a number of real life play dates over the years. And this weekend my Beloved Geek Boy & I were excited to have the Lovely Lilly Linda & her beloved, the Terrific Tim, come & visit with us at Edward House ... AKA the Meares' Madhouse! :0P YAY!!

It's always fun to catch up with Linda & Tim & was especially nice to know we had a couple of days to enjoy each other's company. We had lots of plans for what we would do & where we would go ... Most of which had to be rearranged due to showery weather ... But at least it wasn't a cyclone! :0) (Long story but an ongoing joke between the four of us after we visited them & got stranded due to flooding caused by a cyclone. :0) )

But ... What a truly lovely time we had ... Despite the changes in plans. We went for a walk through Queens Park in the sunshine when it peeked out ...

Linda is much better at selfies than I am! :0) We took them to visit a favourite farm shop to stock up on olives so we could enjoy yummy lunches ...

We chatted, had cuppas, ate chocolate, chatted some more, enjoyed adult beverages, chatted some more & laughed lots. There was even some stitching done ... Well ... A little bit! :0P It was just such a fun, relaxed time of catching up & we were a little sad that we had to wave goodbye this morning as they headed for home ... But we're already making plans for them to come back again ... Maybe when we need more rain! Tee! Hee! Hee!

FRIENDS! ❤️

I hope you have all had a great weekend & that the love & hope of Easter has touched your heart. Have a wonderful week! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

OPAM Winner And A Sneaky Peeky!

Helloooooo! Yes ... I'm still here & haven't fallen off the edge of the earth. :0) The days just seem to keep getting away from me & my "To Do" list grows ever longer ... SIGH! We've just started to catch a glimpse of Autumn in the air here on top of our 'hill' so that has meant more time in the garden than at the sewing machine on weekends ... But I've been plodding along with stitching my new design-in-progress & am loving how it's evolving. I can't show you too much at the moment, but thought I'd share a bit of a sneaky peeky with you so you know I'm doing SOMETHING when I drop of the radar. :0)

This is a small part of block 3 that I'm almost finished stitching ... Just a few last fiddly details to finish, then it's on to block 4, which is prepped & ready to start stitching on. I've got a couple of long weekends coming up, so I'm hoping to get some more blocks designed. I'm really excited about this project! Stay tuned! :0)

And although my designing & sample stitching have meant no finishes added to my OPAM list again for March, many of you merry OPAMers have been very busy because we have a total of ...

142 FINISHES!

... Recorded for March! WOW! Well done everyone! And well done if you're like me & plodding along on a long term project. Remember ... Every step forward is a step closer to a finish ... Even if it's a baby step. :0) And the winner of this month's random draw is ...

CHERYLL

Well done Cheryll  Drop me an email & I'll email your PDF pattern prize to you. Thank you to everyone who emailed their tally through to me & updated your sidebar list ... It's REALLY helpful to have those ... Especially since there's just me doing the hopping this year. I'm running behind in responding to those emails but will try to get back to everyone over the next few days. Thank you for being patient with this queen of procrastination. :0)

Right now, though, I can hear the siren's call of the kettle, so I'm off to enjoy a cup of tea. I hope you're having a great week so far ... & that you're doing less procrastinating & more stitching than I am! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS