Brrrrrrrrrr!!

No, they aren't holding the World Castanet Championships in my lounge room, that's just my teeth chattering!! Brrrrrr!! Toowoomba is experiencing what the weather man calls a "Cold Snap". I think that means it's going to get so cold that your fingers might snap off if you go outside!!! I should probably warn you all now, I HATE, HATE, HATE, really seriously dislike!!! Cold weather!!! SIGH! It could be a loooooooog winter! Must tell Linda from Lilly Cottage that the cold weather I warned her about when she visited several weeks ago has shown up with friends now!!! In fact, it's been so cold the last two nights that I even told my beloved, also-cold-hating, Geek Boy that he could drag the ugly-but-effective gas heater out of storage about a month before I thought we should need it. As I type this, it is currently 9 degrees in the Garden City of Toowoomba and predicted to drop to 6 degrees. Now, I hear all of you overseas types sneering at me and calling me a wimp cos it doesn't even SNOW here, but let me just say in my defence, there's a REASON I've not chosen to live somewhere where it snows!!!

OK, so now that I've updated you on the weather in Toowoomba and my personal hatred of temperatures below 25 degrees ... what have I been up to - besides counting my play money ready to go play at the Stitches and Craft Show in Brisbane on Thursday!! I've been slaving over a hot sewing machine, working on the flannel quilt I showed the beginnings of last post. The top is now finished and looks like this ...


Hmmm, it ended up a little larger than I originally envisaged - why does that always seem to happen to me!!! Ah well, just means it'll be plenty big enough for two to snuggle under, doesn't it! So now I just have to work out how I'm going to quilt it... Still thinking!!

Apart from a little hand stitching on a couple of new stitchery patterns I'm working on, that's about all I've been up to in the last day or so - apart from the odd chat over a cuppa of course! Tee! Hee! Hee! So, I shall sign off for now and be back after my craft show expedition, no doubt with lots of goodies to show and stories to tell!! If you're going to be in Bris for the craft show on Thursday, maybe I'll see you there - you'll be able to recognise me as I'll be the one rubbing my hands together in glee and muttering, "So many fabrics, so many beads, so many pretties - so little play money!!" Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

I'm a Baaaaaaad Girl!!

Yes, I'm a VERY baaaaaad girl!! I have a very loooooong list of "things to do" and what did I do today?? I started another quilt!! Oops! I don't know why I keep doing this to myself and really all I can say in my defence is, "It's not for me!!"

We had friends come round for desert and coffee last night, which was great fun - deserts are the funnest cooking projects, aren't they!! (I made one of my specialities - apple and ginger pudding with custard - YUMMMMM!!!) Now, it's been getting a little cooler at night here in Toowoomba, so I've dragged out my flannel quilt that I made a couple of years ago (the one I've actually FINISHED!!) And I noticed our friends both tucking cold tootsies under the quilt last night, as well as brushing the soft fabric. So ... I thought I'd like to make them one for their own lounge chair. As they're moving in the next month, I thought it would be a great housewarming gift and, me being me, couldn't wait to get started. I don't know about you fellow bloggers, but once I've had an idea for a new project I want to drop whatever I'm working on and start the new one right NOW!!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... off I went on what turned into a bit of a patchwork shop crawl, in search of flannel in 'autumn' tones to match our friends' lounge. Hmmm, guess what?? Autumn tones are NOT in this season!! Aaaaarrrrgghhhh!!!! I found lots of soft pastels and lots of brights so bright that I'd need to wear sunglasses in my lounge room (tho my toes would be warm!!) So after an exhaustive search I found a couple of fabrics that I thought would do the job, then I hit the sewing room. And here's the result of my stitching ...


So far, I have some big nine-patch blocks done, with intentions of putting dark sashing between all the blocks. Here's a closer look at the patterns on the fabrics.


They're lovely warm golden/brown tones that remind me of chocolate mousse - or is that a rumbling tummy looking for a midnight snack! Tee! Hee! Hee! Perhaps I'll call it my Chocolate Mousse Quilt! There's nothing much better than curling up under a hand made quilt on a cold winter's night with a good book and a hot chocolate - it's one of the few things I DO like about winter!!

The only downside to my flannel finding expedition today was that I'll have a little less play money to spend on Thursday when I head for Brisbane for the Stitches and Craft Show!!! YAY!! My best buddy, Lynette, and I are planning a play date and I'm really looking forward to it - so much to see, so many wonderful crafts and so many clever people to chat to! I'll be sure to take my camera when I go so I can report back!!

Now, however, I have a sudden craving for hot chocolate and a good book! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you're cosily cuddled up tonight! Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Family!

Today I am thankful for ... Family! Now, there are probably some days when I don't feel QUITE so thankful for my family, but that's what family's all about!!! So, what has made me focus on family today? A couple of things.

The first, was the chance I had last night to catch up with my little bro. He is three years younger than me and was christened Paul James Menzies Kippen (being the boy of the family, he copped all the 'family' names! Tee! Hee! Hee!), but as often as not, I call him 'Stretch'. Now there would be some who would think this is because he's been taller than me since he was about 13, but they'd be wrong! I in fact gave him this nick-name after the rubber chicken that Garfield often uses to fool/clobber/harass Oddie with in the "Garfield" comics, because when he was growing up, Paul was all gangly arms and legs, so I thought he looked like ... a rubber chicken! Tee! Hee! Hee! I think it was partly an older sister tormenting a younger brother, but also part frustration that he took after the tall, thin side of the family, while I took after the short podgy one! SIGH!! However, despite the usual sibling bickering as kids, we have always been great mates, though we don't get to see each other often these days. You see, he lives in Alice Springs! No, we didn't take a quick flight to our continent's centre to see him, he was in Brisbane for a work training course, so we ducked down for dinner and late night shopping to catch up. But first thing on the agenda was ... a big bear hug!


As you can see, there isn't a great deal of family resemblance - until you put our father between us!!! Each of us look like Dad in certain facial features, so he's the link between us.

We had a great time roaming Garden City shopping centre, checking out books, movies and music - three passions we share! We then found a coffee shop to sit and chat, before adjourning to his motel to chat some more ... in fact, it was about 11pm before we left Brisbane to drive the hour and a half home - but worth it! Paul and I chat regularly on the phone, but in-person catch ups are always so much nicer!

So ... that was the first thing to make me think of family. The second is, today is Anzac Day. For my overseas visitors, it's a memorial day commemorating Australian and New Zealand troops landing at the beach of Galipolli in World War I, but it also recognises the contributions of servicemen and women from that time to today. So, that makes me think of my Mum's father, my Gramps. Here's a photo of him in his uniform.


Isn't he handsome - and so young!! Gramps was posted to New Guinea where he helped build airfields. For many years, he wouldn't talk about his time in the army much, it was only in later years that he started to tell a few stories. One that he told was when they were given the task of extending a runway of an airfield and the only way this could be done was to re-claim some swamp area. He said they were in the middle of pushing a load of dirt to dump into the boggy area to build it up, when the air raid siren went. Well, he said men were running everywhere, bolting for the nearest shelter - including the driver of the bulldozer who jumped out of the machine and left it zig-zagging drunkenly along the runway! Apparently it took them a couple of days to get it out of the swamp after it had run off the end!! At the time, however, Gramps found himself running next to the dozer driver, a six foot plus, Afro-American serviceman who, as he was running, called out loud, "Lord! If you keep pickin' up mah feet, I sure 'nuff'll keep puttin' 'em down!" I always get a funny mental picture from this story!!

Unfortunately, Gramps passed away suddenly before I had a chance to hear all of his stories and I still miss him. Being a returned serviceman, the 'Last Post' was sounded at his funeral and so today, and any other time I hear that bugle, I think of my Gramps.

So ... today, I am thankful for ... FAMILY! The good, the bad, the ugly, the funny, the heartwarming, the heartbreaking, the unspoken but unreserved support and love that 'Family' is to me. Whatever you're doing today, I hope you get to share it with at least some of your family. Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

It's Raining ... Dogs?!?

You've heard the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs", well in our household tonight, it just seemed to be raining ... dogs!! I'll start by explaining that, before Lilly came to live with us, our Border Collie, Wombat, was happy to be an outdoor dog. Occasionally, when he'd had a bath and didn't smell like something that had been dead a week!! he was allowed in for a tummy scratch, but was always happy to head for the door after about 10 minutes - or if we stopped scratching his tummy! However, when Lilly joined our family and began to spend evenings on a rug on the lounge room floor, Wombat decided if it was good enough for "her" it was good enough for him ... and so a second rug was added to the lounge room floor.

So ... there we were tonight, two dogs curled up on the mat, two humans curled up on the couch watching the finale of "It Takes Two" - all's right and mellow with the world! Suddenly, we started to hear thunder rumbles, quiet at first, but getting a bit closer. That's OK, the dogs got a little antsy, but were still happy on their mats. Than, it began to rain, gradually building to quite a heavy downpour (yep, that old section of the roof has still got a leak when it rains heavily!). Still, all was OK. And THEN, the inevitable storm moment hit us - a bright flash of lightning, followed mere seconds later by an almighty clap of thunder! Scott nearly hurt himself laughing, as he said all three of us (me and two dogs) almost hit the ceiling together. OK, so my nerves are a little frayed around loud noises, I can live with that! The dogs, on the other hand did NOT cope well in the aftermath!! This is the result ...


It was pretty much a dead-heat to see who climbed onto Scott's lap the quickest! There goes Wombat's macho image - wait til all the other dogs in the neighbourhood see this photo!! Tee! Hee! Hee! The funniest part probably wasn't that Wombat ended up on Scott's lap along with the more-expected-fraidy-cat Lilly, no, it was the look of complete disgust on Lilly's face at having to share Scott's lap!! Oh dear! Who needs kids?!?! Needless to say, even the inimitable Geek Boy couldn't manage to balance two dogs (one not REALLY meant to be a lap dog!) AND the notebook computer, so he was none too impressed either! And as for me?? My biggest concern was not falling off the couch laughing at all three of them and the VERY comic picture they made!!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So, that was a rather exciting ending to a productive day. Not only did I complete the instructions for Berry Basket Bonnie that I've been procrastinating about for some time, I ALSO finished the Card Kit layout and instructions for the "All Things Grow With Love" wall hanging! Yay me!! Both are now ready to print, which will probably be a job added to this weekend's job list. I also re-took photos of both projects, as I hadn't been very happy with the originals. These are the new ones - what do you think?


This is Bonnie, all set up for her tea party with friends Katie and Tilly. I'm sure if anyone had arrived while I was setting up for the photo they'd have thought I had more than a few screws loose! To get her to look her best for the photo, Bonnie had to be hanging on the wall, but I really wanted the tea party makings near her, so ... the only way I could do that was to raise a flat surface to her level! Imagine, if you will, a folk art decorated cream can with a plastic wheelie box balanced on it, which in turn, has two different size boxes balanced on top, with a tablecloth and doily spread over it and the tea things set up just so!!! Probably worth a photo in itself! Hmmm, perhaps I'll do that next time!! And then, there's the new photo of the Card Kit wall hanging.


I like how vivid the red looks against the blue and white dinner set - a birthday gift from my beloved Geek Boy a few years ago!

So ... with two lots of pattern instructions crossed off my "To Do" list, I think that means I'm allowed back into the sewing room to play tomorrow! YAY!! Ooooohhhh!! What mischief can I find in there?!! All that fabric ... all those wonderful colours ... all the pretty ribbons and laces ... all the possibilities!!! OOPS! Creativity rush!!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Will keep you posted on the outcomes of my creative play! Now, however, I think all of that thinking has drained my batteries and it's time to visit my pillow. Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

A Child's Smile!

This will be a world-record-setting short (for me!!!) post today, as I don't actually have much to chat about today, but I really wanted to share a photo with you all!

You may remember a few posts back, I introduced you to one of my shabby chic bears called "Dee Dee". She was adopted in double-quick time by my mate, Miss Mary, from Fresh Hope Patterns as a birthday gift for her grand-daughter, Gracie. Well ... I caught up with Mary briefly today and she showed me some photos of Gracie with her new teddy friend. Apparently, she was VERY taken with Dee Dee the bear and the photos showed a giggling little girl enjoying her new playmate. Take a look ...


I don't think there's much else in the world that will cheer you up as quickly as a child's smile! I know that seeing the joy and mischievous fun on Gracie's face made me smile! I think sometimes in life, we're 'trained' to be 'serious' and 'grown up' so that we often miss the joy in the simple things - a pretty butterfly, a sweet-smelling flower, silly antics from our pets - or the innocent smile of a child!

Whatever you're doing today, I hope you take time to indulge in the joy there is to be found in life's simple things! Til next time, Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS