Windy Weather!

It’s a bit windy here on our ‘hill’ at the moment (she says with Aussie tongue-in-cheek understatement! 😜) & GB  found out HOW windy when he tried to leave for work this morning …

He usually parks closer to the shed, but was avoiding our current driveway lake, courtesy of the wettest six months we’ve had since moving here eight years ago  … 

… good thing he wasn’t back another half a metre. 😝 The botanical victim of gale-force winds was a weedy wattle that we’d been talking about removing for some time. Problem solved. 😁🤣 Move to the country, they said. It will be peaceful & tranquil, they said. You can enjoy being closer to nature, they said! 🤣😂 Never a dull moment at the Meares’ Madhouse! 😂 

Whether you’re shivering & holding on to furniture so you don’t get blown away by wintery storms, or sweltering in northern hemisphere heatwaves, I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BRRRRRR!! BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Groan Up Stuff!

Hello everyone! Yep … I’m still here, just seem to keep getting tangled up in the hamster wheel of  “groan” up life. 🙄 My ‘grown up’ job has been busier than ever this year … I’m an Admin Officer at a retirement village  four half-days a week … after the site manager resigned in early January & I was mostly holding the fort. Seriously! They left me unsupervised for MONTHS!! 🤣😂 It was pretty full-on trying to keep everything ticking along. The new manager started a month ago & things are starting to smooth out, but I’ve also picked up some more hours two days a week doing admin work at our co-located aged care facility, which has cut into my “other things” time. 😜 Then throw in a birthday & life has been a wee bit hectic. 😜

My Dad turned 75 years young in the first week of July & GB & I took him & Mum for a mini road trip to Esk for a celebratory lunch.

Plus a stop off at the lookout at Ravensbourne to enjoy blue skies & sun after weeks of fog, rain & clouds. And even though there hasn’t been much sewing happening, I did finish putting that binding on that I showed you last post ,..

I think it’s a stack-n-slash quilt. The colours remind me of Fruit Tingle lollies. 😜 It’s a very special quilt that I feel honoured to have helped complete. You see, it was made for one of GB’s workmates by his Aunt, who had it edge-to-edge quilted, but passed away before she could bind it. When GB asked on behalf of his workmate if I could bind it, I felt it was a pretty special thing to be asked. When receiving the quilt back, the recipient found it quite moving to now have a legacy from his Aunt able to be enjoyed, even as he misses her. And that’s one of the reasons we quilt/craft … to leave little pieces of our love scattered through the lives of our precious people. 🥰

A close up of one of the crochet butterflies that adorn the quilt. They’re about three inches high & so delicate. 🥰

It did bring up a dilemma, though … technically, I FINISHED a quilt, but does it count on my tally if I didn’t START it?! 🤣😂 However, lots of you were not plagued by such different questions & the OPAM tally for June was …

60 FINISHES!

Well done everyone! And during my blog hopping, I saw lots of projects-in-progress, too, so well done if you made some progress on your longer term projects. The winner of the random prize draw is …

TONE! 😁

Congrats, Tone! Drop me an email & I’ll send you your PDF prize pattern to have fun with. Thanks to the few who emailed your tallies … it saves me a bit of time when doing the round up each month. Even if you don’t think you’ll remember to email your finishes through each month, if you make sure you have a tally list in your sidebar that is updated each month, that’s helpful, too.

Well, that’s it from me for today. I hope to be back a little sooner with my next post … promise. 😉 In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy the tail end of your week. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling! 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Winter Sunday!

Greetings to you all from the top of our wintery ‘hill’ this cold & foggy Sunday. BRRRRRR! The temperature hasn’t made it into double digits by 1:30pm & the ‘feels like” hasn’t made it past 3 degrees. Add in that it’s still foggy outside …

… & my Beloved Geek Boy & I have gone into hibernation mode with the fire lit, copious cups of hot tea, a movie marathon & …

… sewing down some binding. I haven’t made this quilt … I’m just putting the binding on. It was made for one of GB’s workmates by an aunt who passed away before finishing the quilt, so I’m finishing it for him. Aren’t quilts a wonderful legacy to leave? They add beauty & warmth to our lives & wrap us in love even when the quilt-maker is far away or gone. As much as I muttered a bit as the bigger-than-I-usually-make quilt kept escaping my grip while machine sewing the binding on, it is a special honour to complete another quilter’s legacy. It also reminds me why I mostly make lap quilts! 🤣

Now … I’m not sure if I can count this as one of my finishes  … probably not. 😜 But it’s that time again when I remind all good OPAMers to update their sidebar tallies & email me with finishes for June. 😁 I actually DO have a couple of finishes this time round, which is a nice change. 😜 

But right now I think it’s time for another cuppa & another movie to keep stitching down this binding & ward off the wintery weather. Enjoy the tail end of your weekend & have a fabulous week. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Friday Music & Musings!

AAAAAAHHHHHH! Friday! The temperature is double last week’s iciness & I’ve scheduled a design/sewing day. I’m listening to my current favourite album …

Laid back tunes from a couple of Queensland blokes who make up Busby Marou. And as I sing along I ask myself the question many stitchers (especially designers!) ask themselves on occasion … What was I thinking?!

A little triangle magic seemed like a good idea … before it led to reverse stitching, fiddly-diddly corner turnouts & matching checked fabric that was clearly printed crooked. 🙄😝 Still … I eventually untangled myself & am pleased with the finished project … which I can’t show you because it’s Secret Squirrel. 😜 Now for the instruction writing … GROAN!! 🙃

 Do you listen to music when you get your creative groove on? I’d love to hear your musical choices … there’re still two days of sewing for me, so some new music might inspire me. 😉 Whatever your plans for the weekend involve, I hope they include music & time spent creating & recharging your batteries. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Retreating & Reporting!

HELLOOOOOOO! How are you all doing, my lovelies?! I hope you’ve been warmer than I have been this last week … BRRRRR! Winter has definitely hit us on top of our ‘hill’! My least favourite day was Friday (which you don’t often hear me say! 🤣). The temperature when I woke up at 6:30am was ONE DEGREE with a “feels like” temperature of MINUS EIGHT DEGREES! 😱🥶 So I rolled over & went back to sleep under my pile of doonas! 🤣 Add in a week of horrible south-westerly 50km/hr winds & this hot-weather chook was  heading into hibernation mode. 😜 I never get much done in cold weather.

However … a couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to head off on a retreat with some stitching friends … we dubbed ourselves “The Ageless Angels”. 😇 And we headed south (WHAT?!?!) to Glennrose Patchwork at Warwick. My home-away-from-home for the weekend …

… A cute cottage I shared with …

… Crochet Queen Linda. She was working on a gorgeous wall hanging featuring musical notes … it’s now finished … she’s an overachiever! 🤣 We were all working on our own projects, including …

… Rachel’s dragonfly quilt. Love those teals! There were other finishes that I can’t share cos they were surprises. And shock of shocks … I FINISHED something! 🥳

Ta! Da! This is a giftie for a friend who’s walking a hard road … & a complete surprise, so … SSSHHHHH!! 😂 I will be writing a pattern for this quilt, too, so stay tuned. 😉

So … FINALLY another finish to add to my tally for the year. 😁 And speaking of tallies … I’ve done the OPAM hopping for May & there were …

77 FINISHES!

YAY! Well done everyone! And the winner of the random prize draw is …

SUSAN W

Congrats, Susan! Drop me an email to claim your PDF pattern prize. I love seeing the variety of projects you clever clogs crafters are working on each month & pleased to see people taking time aside to create & recharge their batteries. 🥰 Keep up the creativity, ladies! 😍

Well … that’s me for today. It’s a bit warmer today so maybe I’ll get some sewing/designing done … AFTER I have a cup of tea! You just knew I was going to say that, right?! 🤣😂 Aussie gals, stay warm & overseas northern gals, enjoy your summer weather - I’m jealous. 😉 Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BRRRRR BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS