Woo! Hoo!! Top's Finished!!!

SKIPPITY ... HOPPITY ...SHIMMY ... SHIMMY ... BOOTY SHAKE!!!!

Yesirree, I'm doin' my Happy Dance here, just like Snoopy!! (Oops! Did you just hear the neighbours shout about the darn clog-dancing elephant that lives next door?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee!) But I'm so excited I just can't hide it ... I'm about to lose control ... oops!! Got a little carried away there!!! But I AM very excited!! You see, I've finished the top of my quilt-design-in-progress that I've been teasing you with sneaky peeks. And I have to say, I'm pretty chuffed with the outcome - hence the Happy Dance that threatens the stability of buildings within a three block radius of my lounge room! :0) Now, I know those of you who regularly pop in for a chat and a catch up with the madness that is the norm here at the Meares' Madhouse are DYING to see the top ... well, you'll just have to hold on a bit longer, cos I've got one more sneaky peek to tease you with!! Here it is ...

Here is the other main character on my quilt ... the great white ... er ... brown and furry... hunter, attempting to sneak up on his prey. But don't worry ... the butterfly has a secret plan! And now, for the big reveal .... oooooohhhhh!! I'm nervous now!!! Deep breath ... here we go ...


TA DA!!! The finished quilt top!! And the butterfly's secret plan??? Well, you see, he has so many of his friends with him, that whenever our little hunter bear gets close to catching him, another butterfly swoops in and distracts him and with so many butterflies around, you can see that little bear is going to be all pooped out before too long and will leave the butterflies in peace. Meanwhile, his sister is chatting to another butterfly who is sitting on a pretty daisy, taking in the view. BUT ... is it REALLY a butterfly, or a faerie in disguise?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee! And the name I've chosen for my new quilt???

"BUTTERFLY HUNT"

I've had sooooooooo much fun designing and making this quilt! (well, except for a few sticky moments working out how and when to attach the last row of rick-rack and a few not-quite-level joins ... but other than that ...!!) Now I just have to work out how I'm going to quilt it. Should I just stitch-in-the-ditch so I don't take away from the pretty fabrics?? Should I do some simple diagonal quilting lines??? I'd love to hear your suggestions, as I'm better at the applique` part than the quilting!! Then of course, I have to write the instructions ... GROAN!! Still, I hope it won't be too long before I can offer this, my first quilt pattern design, for sale ... and that will also involve a give away... but not for a little while, so you'll have to stay tuned!!

Well ... you can see that's what I've been up to for the weekend - in between phone calls, washing and some unexpected-but-welcome visitors. So as soon as I have some lunch, I'll be starting to tally the end-of-month totals for the OPAM Challenge. Don't forget to call back in a day or so to see who this month's prize winner is!! In the meantime, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Maintaining My Mojo!!

Well ... as my title says, I seem to be maintaining my stitching mojo at the moment, with a bit more progress made on my quilt-design-in-progress. Have now finished all the border applique and attached the borders to the centre block. Still deciding how to finish it off, but after quite a lot of playing in PhotoShop this arvo, I think I know what I'm going to do. For now, though, I'll tease you a little and build the suspense with another sneaky peek. Ready???


There's the little girly bear smelling her flower and you can see I've used some of the yummy ruby red rick-rack I bought from Sonia at Giggle Buttons at the recent Stitches and Craft show ... and a white border with MORE butterflies!! Are you intrigued yet??? Me too! Tee! Hee! Hee! It's always a bit of a lucky dip as to how a quilt design looks when its finished - often VERY different to my original mental picture!! Hope to spend my day off tomorrow working on the outer border, so stay tuned - I may be back in the next few days with the finished top!! Won't THAT be exciting!!!

And just in case I DO finish the top over the weekend and need something new to begin (WISPs?!? Did I hear someone shout WISPs?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee!) some fabric followed me home yesterday when I popped into my home-away-from-home, better known as Quilters Angel. It's always a bit dangerous for me to pop in to visit Marion and Steph, cos their fabric seems to have been specially trained to jump of the shelves and follow me out the door! At least that's MY story and I'm STICKING to it!! :0) Here's the latest following fabric ...


Mmmmmmmmmmmmm ..... Aviary fabrics!!!!! I just LOVE this range of fabrics!! I was a good girl and only bought four pieces ... of course, I already have some charm packs and a little bit of meterage in the cupboard!! Oops! :0) Can't wait to play with this yummy fabric!! What will it be ... a quilt ... a stitchery border ... a patchwork bag ... a pillow ... a dress for a bear ... OH!!! The endless possibilities!!!!

For now, however, I'm off to retrieve my Beloved Geek Boy from work and then do the grocery shopping - a girl's gotta eat to keep up her stitching strength, right?!?! Hope you've got a fun weekend planned. OPAM gals ... don't forget to send me your end-of-month numbers in the next couple of days to be in the May prize draw! Til next time ... Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Two WISSSSSSSSSPs Finished!!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

As the title says, today I re-discovered my sewing mojo and finished of two looooooooooooooooooong-term WISP's - they were Works In Slow, Slow, Slow, SLOW ... Progress! :0) Do you remember earlier in the month (or was it late last month?!?!?! Where did that month go?!?!) I showed photos of some crazy patch projects I began about four years ago? Well, today I was feeling motivated (bit warmer and sunny today!!) and headed to the nice, tidy sewing room to mess it up ... OOPS!! ... I mean 'sew'! And here is the result ...


Here is the completed small crazy patch Christmas stocking. (I've saved the photos a bit bigger again so you can click to see more detail)I'm pleased with how it came up ... and doesn't it look good hanging in my hallway! Wonder if Santa would take the hint and bring early Christmas gifties if I left it there?!!:0)


And this is the large crazy patch Christmas stocking - hmmm ... try to say THAT ten times quickly first thing in the morning before coffee! Tee! Hee! Hee! I'm pleased with how this one came up too ... and LOTS of room for Christmas gifties in THIS stocking! Why ... it would even fit a PUPPY!! (does Santa take hints?!?! SIGH! Probably not or Hugh Jackman would have been in my stocking last Christmas! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

So ... there you go ... two more finishes added to my OPAM list for May - PHEW!! It was looking a little bit bleak there for a while, as I just don't seem to have had the sewing mojo happening this month - perhaps it was the shock to my summer-orientated system when the cold weather started to hit. Whatevr it was, I hope I can keep hold of my sewing mojo, cos that "To Do" list just keeps getting LONGER!

And speaking of the One Project A Month Challenge ... don't forget, all you OPAM gals, to update your sidebar lists of finishes and sent your end-of-month tally to me by the end of next week - it's my turn to draw a winner and send a prize. Oooooh ... the suspense!! Who will it be this month?? What will the prize be?? Will the sheriff untie the girl from the train track in time?? Oops!! Sorry!! Think I crossed my wires there! Tee! Hee! Hee! Must mean it's time for some lunch! Hope you've had a great week and have some fun stuff planned for the weekend. Til next time ... Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

PS. To all the lovely blogging buddies who've been worried about us being washed away - thank you so much for your care and concern, but Toowoomba has missed out on most of the downpours - unfortunately, in a way, as our water supply levels are at just 12% and we could do with a bit more rain. Still ... we did have some (enough to make it cold, wet and miserable for a few days!!) and the gardens are all looking happy. But no flooding here - we're on top of a big hill, remember! :0) BH! KRIS

How To While Away A Rainy Afternoon

So ... it's a cold (GROAN!), rainy (YAY!) and miserable (GROAN!!) afternoon in the Garden City on top of the hill. What does one do with oneself? Does one tackle one of the many projects on the ever-growing "To Do" list? Does one tackle the ironing pile? None of the above! :0) How did I spent this cold, wet, windy, damp Wednesday afternoon? Why, I updated my Pinboard of Inspriation!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

I actually have two Pinboards of Inspiration, since I now work in two rooms - the sewing room and the office. And what do I have on these pinboards? All sorts of things!! Photos of family and friends, bears, postcards, special notes or cards, comic strips, cute pictures found in magazines, decorating ideas, lace, ribbon, inspirational quotes ... whatever tickles my fancy! And WHY do I have these pinboards? Because when I get a bit 'stuck' when I'm sewing or writing pattern instructions, I can take a little mental 'time out' and gaze at my pinboards to give me ideas, to make me smile, but most of all, to remind me how blessed I am to not only be doing something I love, but to be encouraged by so many wonderful people who love me!!

And having wasted ... I mean 'spent' the afternoon updating the board in the office, I thought I'd share my 'Inspirations' with you, my blogging buddies, who ALSO inspire me to be creative. I've saved the photos a bit bigger than usual so you can take a closer peek at what's on the pinboards by clicking on the photos.


This is the pinboard in the office, the one just added to today. Lots of photos of family and friends, some of my creations, pretty cards and some of my fave cartoon characters - Snoopy, Garfield and Secret Squirrel. I could almost do a "Where's Wally", couldn't I! Or a "Can You Spot ..." competition! :0)


Here's the sewing room board. Under it, I've hung two of my vintage aprons - I seem to have inherited a few from great-grandmothers, grandmothers and aunties!! They were just too pretty to stash in the cupboard and one day (dreaming now!!) when I have my fantasy studio, I intend to display all of my vintage aprons ... amongst other things! :0) Don't know if you can see details, but this one also has a couple of photos I took in a former life when I was working as a Journalist. Close to the centre top there's a photo of a good friend of mine with singer Colin Buchanan and down the bottom the same friend is pictured with singer Graeme Connors. Then, on the left hand side, there's a photo of one of my work experience students with a very famous Aussie movie star behind the sunnies - Russell Crowe!! Ah, a couple of my brushes with fame!! Tee! Hee! Hee! But you'll notice there are more photos of family and friends than famous people, because they are far more 'important' to me than any VIP I met!

So ... that's how I spent a rainy afternoon and gives you a little glimpse into what inspires me. Do you have a "Pinboard Of Inspiration", something that gets your creative juices flowing? What's displayed in your creative area? I'd love to hear/see - perhaps we can have a little 'Show & Tell' - if you want to join in, just post some photos of your creating space or an object of inspiration for you when you're creating and let me know so I can come visit. Let's see if we can't all inspire each other a bit!

And now ... I think I'm off to warm my fingers round a hot cup of tea before I have to venture out into the cold to collect my beloved Geek Boy from work. Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS

It's Been A Busy Weekend!!

Boy, oh boy! I think I'll sleep well tonight! With Mum and Dad due for a visit on the weekend, the last part of last week was spent in a frenzy of tidying up several weeks' worth of the flotsam and jetsam that gather in a busy household - including a tidy-up of the sewing room, as my honourary sister, Tiffany, was coming with Mum and Dad to pick up her very own first car - so the daybed in the sewing room had to be cleared - EEK!!!

Well ... this is the before photo of the sewing room, so you see what I was up against!


This! And this ...


Okay, Okay!! So ... it's a little messy!! But you've got to remember, this is where I create and creation is never neat and tidy - at least, not in THIS household! :0) And I think my cupboards spit things out when I'm not looking!

And after the frantic cleaning ...


Oh look ... there was a rather pretty daybed under that fabric bomb!!


OK, so it's not PERFECTLY tidy, but at least Tiff could crawl into the bed without fear of being smothered by patchwork fabric in her sleep and she could see that she was walking on solid floor, not a sea of threads!! Tee! Hee! Hee! And I DID try to con Joy into doing my ironing, since she was skiting about her basket being empty, but she wouldn't do it - how mean!! :0) Oh ... and can you tell that I'm a bit of a bookworm?? And there's NEVER enough bookshelf space!

We had a pretty hectic weekend fitting in a car pick-up from Crows Nest (Tiff is now the proud owner of a cute metallic mint green Barina as her first car!) and the mandatory shopping involved in Mum visiting the 'big smoke', as well as generally catching up, but it's always great to spend time with my folks and Tiff has boarded at Mum and Dad's place for the last three years, so is pretty much the sister I never had! While they were here, I presented Mum with her slightly late Mothers' Day giftie, the picnic bag I showed last post. She was really chuffed and it was exactly what she was after, so that was great! Here she is modelling her new bag ...




So there you go ... my weekend in a nutshell - a much smaller nutshell than I bet you were expecting!! Tee! Hee! Hee! You can see why I'll sleep well tonight as I try to catch up a bit! And now ... I'm off to make myself a cup of tea to sip while I FINALLY get around to flicking through the latest "Homespun" magazine that has been waiting for me for the last two weeks. The perfect way to spend an icky, overcast, cold afternoon, if you ask me!! Hope you all had a great weekend and wonderful start to the new week. Til next time - Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS