Wonderful Weekend & A Wabbit!!

Here I am again, recovering from a busy, but wonderful weekend! It was a long weekend for Australia Day on Monday - a time for flag waving, charcoaling meat on the barbecue, watching the cricket and catching up with friends. Well ... we did two of those things, so I think it could be considered, "Mission Accomplished"! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Saturday was household chores day, but Sunday was PLAY DAY!! My bloggy buddy, Lilly Linda and her beloved Tim took a little drive from Brisbane to come up our Hill (our part of the Great Dividing Range! tee! Hee! Hee!) and started our fun by meeting for lunch at the Village Green at Highfields - where else!! After a little bit of confusion about WHERE we were meeting, (Scott and I were at the FRONT while Linda and Tim were at the BACK!!) we treated ourselves to a yummy lunch.


Who are those celebrities hiding behind dark glasses?!? Tee! Hee! Hee! You can also see that our lunch had just been delivered and we were about to tuck in - YUMMO!!

Of course, after finishing lunch, Linda and I felt OBLIGED to pay a visit to my fave patchwork shop, Quilters Angel, where Marian asked if I was leading Linda astray - I pointed out very quickly that she doesn't need my help and it's more of a mutual encouragement to mischief! Tee! Hee! Hee! The boys were playing with the new car and getting the Bluetooth function to work while we were playing with fabric ... and lace ... and buttons ... and ric-rack .... and ... well you get the picture! :0)

After quick visits home and to the motel for showers, we all met up again at Weis' restaurant for a DELICIOUS smorgasbord dinner!!! Mmmmmm ...!! Diet??? No diets HERE this weekend! Tee! Hee! Hee!


Here we all are, snapped by a helpful waitress! Hmmm ... looks like Scott's had one too many glasses of what's in that ice bucket! Nah, not really, he was just snuggling!! Awwwwwwww! We had the BEST night out!! Isn't it great when you get on REALLY well with someone and discover that your husbands also get on well?! That's what we found!! So all four of us chatted happily for the evening - lots of stories, lots of laughs, lots of friendship!! What more could a gal want from a weekend to call it wonderful? How about a surprise giftie!!! That's what Lilly Linda gave me at dinner!! Awwwww ... What a SWEETIE!! And although I didn't get a photo of it (too busy unwrapping!!) it was a ... "brown paper package tied up with strings .." are any of you hearing the Sound of Music in the background there?! Inside I found a GORGEOUS little shoulder bag made by the very talented Lilly Linda (will show photo further down!) and a pair of the prettiest sparkly earrings!! How spoilt was I!!

So ... I hear you say ... it couldn't get any better than THAT! Well, you'd be WRONG!! The reason Linda and Tim had climbed our hill was to attend the Handmade Expo being held at Jondaryan Woolshed as part of the Australia Day celebrations on Monday. What's better - A CRAFT FAIR!! YAY!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Linda had a stall at the fair that was just FULL of lots of pretties from Lilly Cottage. The craft displays were set up in the wool shed and, as it was a VERY warm day, there was a certain country 'fragrance' about the shed - especially since there was a small mob of slightly stage struck sheep who were going to perform later in the day in a shearing demonstration! Tee! Hee! Hee! However, Linda was closer to the door than the sheep pens, so not quite so 'fragrant' and she had soooooooo many pretties that it took everyone's mind off it anyways!! Take a peek ...


Look at the pretties!! And there's the bestest Pretty, right in the middle, smiling at me! :0) Now, you just KNOW I couldn't leave ALL of those pretties there! Yes, I adopted a new playmate for my bears!


Here's Floppsy the Wabbit, settling into the spare room very nicely! One day I'm going to have so many bears etc in there that there won't be any room for guests, but in the meantime ...!!! And beside Floppsy is the GORGEOUS bag that Linda gave me!! Isn't it GREAT! I LOOOOOOOVE the vintage postcard photo she's incorporated - don't know if you can see, it's a belly dancer! Linda knows I used to attend belly dancing classes - until my class was cancelled - GRRRR!! And can you see my pretty sparkly earrings!! Yep ... spoilt!! Thank you Linda!!!

There were other attractions at Jondaryan to celebrate Australia Day, too, like a representation of the famous Lighthorsemen cavalry unit ...


There were wonderful old buildings to admire ...


And of course the shearing demonstration with the nervous sheep as stars! Tee! Hee! Hee! We didn't stick around for that, having spent quite a few years in outback and rural areas, it's a bit "Ho-Hum" for us.

So ... that's how we spent our long weekend!! You can now see why there was no stitching done! Tee! Hee! Hee! Thanks Linda and Tim for a WONDERFUL weekend of friendship - we'll have to have an encore` performance sometime soon!!

And speaking of stitching (which I did in passing!) May Britt and I have made the decision to close the sign up for our 'little' One Project A Month Challenge on January 31. We now have over 260 participants and we're a bit afraid that if we leave it open as we'd originally intended, our email "In" boxes will explode from all the extra emails! Tee! Hee! Hee! There are some great finishes being posted and only a few more days until the first End of Month prize draw, so get stitching, then posting and let me know so I can add your finishes to my spreadsheet.

And finally ... that's it! If you've made it to the end - well done! You deserve a cuppa ... or maybe some chocolate ... to reward your patience and perseverance!! Any excuse, right! Tee! Hee! Hee! I hope that whatever you did this weekend that you enjoyed yourself. Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Some "No Blog" Photos!

I know ... you don't hear from me for a WEEK then you can't shut me up!! My Dad will tell you that the first part of that is the unusual bit, not the second! Tee! Hee! Hee! May Britt and I have been receiving some wonderful emails from people as they finish projects for our Challenge and it has been so encouraging for us to see how much everyone is enjoying being part of it!! And although most participants are showing off photos of their finishes on their blogs (make sure you visit some or all to admire the work being done!!) some people are "No Blog" -ers and just sending May Britt and I the photos. Now ... I thought it was a bit selfish to keep these wonderful photos all to myself and thought I'd share some of them with you - and of course it gives our "No Blog" -ers a chance to preen! Tee! Hee! Hee!

These first photos are from Stacia (No Blog). She's finished a brilliant little project - a purse organiser!

Isn't it great!! A long strip of pockets that you then slip all of the "ESSENTIALS" into (boys don't understand this!!), you then roll it up and just move it from bag to bag!! How organised is THAT!! I don't know about you, but I have lots of yummy bags that I've made or been given that I don't use as often as I'd like, cos it takes a ages to find all of the "ESSENTIALS" in my everyday bag, then transfer them across. Then, sure as eggs, I'll get where I'm going and find I've forgotten something VITAL!!! So I just don't use these pretty bags as often as I'd like. Here's a closer photo of Stacia's purse organiser.


I think I might have to make myself one of these!!

Then we have some photos from Sheila (No Blog) who's been a busy gal and finished two projects. The first is a Christmas 'left-over' ...


Isn't this a lovely Christmas hanging? Lots of work has gone into that one. And Sheila's second finish was for a challenge. She tells me she took the easy way out, but I still think it came up nicely!


Isn't this pretty!! Can't go past pretty hearts and easy or not, it looks great!

And ... Mary (No Blog) has also sent me a photo of three of her finishes - some very funky phone pouches - pretty AND practical!!



There may have been some more photos from "No Blog" -ers sent to me, but if you'd seen how full my email in box is, you'd understand how easily misplaced things are! If I find some more, or receive more, I'll try to share them with you, too.

Well done to everyone who has been crossing WISP's off their list!! It's great to hear how excited everyone is about getting some WISP's finished and also the sense of achievement it's giving people!! So ... it would be well worth your while to make yourself a cuppa and take a browse through the list of Challenge Participants' blogs in the sidebar - there is some FANTASTIC stitching going on out there in blogland!!! And now ... I'm off to meet up with Lilly Linda for some lunch and chatting!! Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Buttons, Blue Tongue & Bits & Bobs

Well, here I am! I know I've been a bit absent this week (though there are those who would say I'm 'absent' most of the time! Tee! Hee! Hee!) I've had a mild case of the 'blahs'. Nothing was really wrong, except my 'get up and go' got up and went!! I just haven't had any energy - so I've mostly curled up with a book in front of the fan! But ... my energy seems to be returning in the last day or so, so ... here I am back again!

Now, some of you may remember, before Christmas I was fortunate enough to win a give away from Lisa at Button Bliss when I helped her name her laser cutter - I suggested Lazarus, cos it had 'returned from the dead' after a trip to the laser machine doctors. My prize was $100 worth of wonderful laser cut timber buttons - which I gleefully chose after much deliberation. Not long after that, Lisa ran into a few 'technical difficulties', including a laptop (that has all the laser/design/etc software on it) that developed a drinking problem - it met with a glass of drink and fizzled! So Lisa was only able to send me my buttons this week - wanna see?


Look at all these pretty buttons!! Boy oh boy am I going to have fun here!! Thanks again Lisa!!

The other bit of excitement this week was heralded with a flurry of barking from our adopted dog, Lily. For about 15 minutes, I heard her letting out a strange 'yip' every 20 seconds or so. Finally deciding enough was enough, I marched out to shout at her - whereupon, both Lily AND Wombat slunk sheepishly out of my garden! Aaaaarrrggghhh!! They both KNOW they're not supposed to be there (the sheepish looks said it all!!) so I decided to see WHY they were in there and found ...


One of these. (I had to use a stock photo cos I was too startled at the time to remember to get my camera!) This is a blue tongue lizard and yes, they really DO have a pretty blue tongue! They're one of Australia's native lizards and are great to have in a garden as they control the snail population. Usually, they're found in more rural areas, but we have an urban blue tongue who we have christened "Bob". He lives in some old timber under our verandah and puts in the occasional appearance - he does a VERY convincing snake impersonation which has given me a start a time or two when I've come across him unexpectedly!! EEK! But mostly, he just hangs out under the house or in the garden - until he's bailed up by two noisy, nosey dogs!! So, the dogs were told off and convinced to find something else to do and Bob went on his way!! Never a dull moment here!!

And really, that's about all the action there's been around here this week. I did manage to work on a few bits and bobs with sewing - a bit more stitching on my Noah's Ark BOM (Judy's now all caught up, so that puts her two blocks in front - oh no!!), a stitchery patch finished for an upcoming birthday gift and I finished putting together the sample for my Secret Squirrel project for Marian's retreat. (Hmmm ... wonder if that counts as a finish if I still have to write instructions?!?!) So ... I guess the week wasn't a complete write-off!

And speaking of finishes ... May Britt and I are getting lots of emails from Challenge participants to tell us of finished projects, so make sure you pop into some (Or all!!) of the blogs listed under the Challenge banner, cos there are some clever chooks out there in blogland who are gleefully tackling their WISP piles! Don't forget, if you HAVE joined May Britt and I in this challenge, make sure you pop a Monthly Finish list on your sidebar and keep it updated so we can see at a quick glance how many projects you've finished. And if you can drop May Britt or I an email, that helps too. May Britt and I have both been visiting as many of the blogs of participants as possible, but we just keep running out of hours in our days!!

And now, I think I'm going to toddle off and put my jim jams on and keep a date with my pillow, cos I'll need LOTS of energy tomorrow to pack in a day of fun when Lilly Linda comes to visit Toowoomba!! YAY!! Linda and her beloved are heading up the hill for a day of fun catching up with MY beloved and I, but also to get ready for the stall that Linda and Laura are having at Jondaryan Wool Shed, about 40 minutes from Toowoomba, for Australia Day. We've promised Kerryanne that we'll take photos, but I'm not sure it's smart to have photographic evidence of us getting into mischief! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Cross Another One Off!!

YAY ME!!! The crowd goes wild! I can cross another WISP off my "To Do" list and add it to my sidebar list! This project was SUPPOSED to be a birthday gift for my friend Miss Mary half way through last year. Well ... it didn't get finished, so Miss Mary received a different giftie for her birthday!! Then ... it was supposed to be ready for me to give it to her for Christmas. Yes ... well ...!!! Life interfered and she went away early for a holiday ... project still didn't get finished! But this week, I got stuck in and the result is ...


The wording says: "A Friend's gate is never locked!" A sentiment that I just love! I was VERY pleased to be able to cross this WISP off my list, as I've been feeling rather guilty about it for some time. Of course, Miss Mary is now away for a few weeks, so I still can't GIVE it to her!!! Ah well, when she gets home again we'll have a good reason to catch up for a cuppa!!

And speaking of catching up with cuppas ... why not make yourself a cuppa and take a wander through some of the blogs of May Britt's and my One Project a Month challenge, because I'm starting to get lots of emails from people finishing projects! May Britt and I are also both popping into as many participating blogs as we can (without chaining ourselves to the computer!!) and it's so exciting to see what your clever crafters are creating and heart warming to get feed back from you all about how you've appreciated the little 'nudge' to finish some WISP's! Thank you for all your lovely comments and encouragement - to May Britt and I, and also to each other! I love that we all have such a HUGE cheer squad cheering us on, with members all around the world!!

Oh! Before I forget ... Clare is having a give away to celebrate 50 posts (very pink give away!!), Julia is celebrating her blogiversary with a give away, Lilly Linda is having a give away, Jo Jo is celebrating with a give away (oops! Was supposed to post photos of my rotary cutter and mat, my sewing lamp and my imagination! Visit her to find out why!!) .... oh there are just wonderful give aways EVERYWHERE!! Enjoy exploring and you may find even more!!

And now ... I'm off to choose my next WISP to work on - who knows, I may even get THREE finishes for January! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Showered By Sweeties!!

OK! Grab a cuppa cos this is a post where I play 'catch up' with some WONDERFUL things that have happened to me in the last little while that lead to me telling you I've been Showered by Sweeties! No, not the lolly/candy type of sweetie (though there WERE some of those involved - Mmmmmmm ... Caramel!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) the type of Sweeties I'm talking about are those I've met since discovering blogland and they're listed as my Blogging Buddies in the sidebar!! Let me tell you just how blessed I've been!!

Firstly, I came home yesterday to discover a box on my front step. (OK, not ticking, good start!!) Hmmm ... my birthday isn't til March ... I haven't been indulging my addiction to Kerryanne's glorious folk art recently ... I hadn't signed up for any new swaps ... no return address, but Australian stamps ... postmark too faint to read ... where's DCI Tom Barnaby when you need him! Tee! Hee! Hee! So, without the TV detective's assistance to solve the mystery I had to do things the old fashioned way - I opened the box!! :0) And I found ...

Ooooohhh!! Lots of goodies in my box! But still no clue as to who it's from. So I opened the card (which was a gorgeous country style one featuring a teddy bear!) One of those blogging buddies, Joy, had sent me a surprise!! Now, Joy decided that since my Stitchers Angel parcel from last year went astray somewhere between Budapest and Toowoomba (my partner did the right thing, her postal service wasn't as reliable as she was!!) she would send me what she called 'a little something'. LITTLE??! Look what was in that box.


A cute T-towel that lists all of the reasons that Teddy Bears make the best friends - see why I'm obsessed with bears!! A GORGEOUS little zipper bag featuring a Bronwyn Hayes stitchery (from our 'chats' Joy knows I LOOOOOOVE Bronwyn's stitcheries and made a quilt last year featuring nine of them!), some YUMMY special caramels (Joy knows I'm a caramel girl!!), the cutest bee pencil and a little patchwork bucket/bag that missed this photo for some reason - oops! Here it is ...


Isn't it cute!! I've seen lots of these popping up on people's blogs and now I have my very own!! And here's a close up of the zipper bag ...


Joy has used variegated red embroidery thread which has come up BEAUTIFULLY!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Joy!! I feel VERY spoilt!!! See? What a SWEETIE!!

THEN ... I was given an award by another of my blogging buddies, Kerryanne. Now, I also received this award from another blogging buddy, Judy (my Noah's Ark BOM partner in crime ... I mean STITCHING! Tee! Hee! Hee!) And it is a lovely award that touched my heart - it is a Friendship Award. Now, I'm one of those people who believes the saying that, "The best collectibles are friends" and I try very hard to be a good friend, so to have two ladies I admire a lot tell me that they thought that of me was lovely. OK, so maybe I got a LITTLE teary, too!! Tee! Hee! Hee! So ... onto the award...

The meaning of this award:

This blog invests and believes in Proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships.
These blogs are exceedingly charming.
These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends .
They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement!
Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut ,even more friendships are propagated.
Please give more attention to these writers! (Not actually sure I can cope with more attention than May Britt and I are already getting with our challenge! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

And I'm supposed to pass this award on to 8 fellow bloggers, to include the above text in their blog.

This is the tough bit, cos I have made so many fun friends and blogging buddies in the not-quite-a-year that I've been blogging!! The first two buddies I made were Kerryanne and Linda, so right back at ya, Kerryanne and Linda gets a double up, too. Judy and I have been encouraging each other in our Noah's Ark BOM, Stina and I helped each other be strong and not unwrap our SSCS gifties early, Peg is Super Stitcher (no lycra! Tee! Hee! Hee!) who amazes me with what she achieves, Joy not only sends gorgeous surprise gifties, but sends fun emails, Rosey is always good for a giggle, May Britt and I enjoyed email chats even before we decided to co-host our challenge ... OH NO!! I've listed eight, but have soooooooo many more blogging buddies!!! But then, left to my own devices, I'd list EVERYONE on my sidebar, so perhaps I should stop now!! Thanks gals for your friendship, support, shared giggles and encouragement - in short, your incredible FRIENDSHIP which has nothing to do with geographical proximity!!

OK, enough mushy stuff!! I also managed to stand still long enough to get tagged - TWICE!! Certainly doubling up this week! The first tag was from Birdhouse Linda (that's not her blog name, it's just how I identify her in my list of about 7 Linda/Lynda's that I know!!) She tagged me to show the fourth photo in my fourth photo folder. It was my Dancing Pics folder, from my Bellydancing performances and get togethers. (bet you're glad number four wasn't me in full costume! Tee! Hee! Hee!) The photo was ...


This is another of my Lynda's that I've collected! Tee! Hee! Hee! This was at a coffee celebrating Lynda's birthday the year before last. Look at my RED hair!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Perhaps I'll go that way again when I get bored next!!

And the second tag was from Rosey at Agapanthas and Goldsworthy (Your blog is hard to spell, Rosey!!) She tagged me to show the fifth photo in the fifth folder, which was a lot of moderately badly lit photos taken at my beloved Geek Boy's brother's wedding. Number five is the happy couple.


As I said, the lighting was pretty bad. Our camera doesn't have a great flash and it was a very overcast afternoon in the shade of some big gum trees on the Brisbane river. Lovely setting, lousy photographic light!

PHEW!! OK, I think I've covered everything I was supposed to catch up with!! Thank you again to all my "Sweeties" who "Showered" me in friendship this week! And now, I think I've earned a cup of tea before bed. Hope all you challenge girls are happily stitching away - don't forget to email me or May Britt when you finish a WISP. Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS