At Last!! Retreat Pics!

At LAST ... I'm FINALLY getting around to sharing the photos with you that I took two weekends ago when I taught at the annual Creative Craft Retreat at Lake Perseverance ... some of us are a bit slow! :0) This was the fifth year the retreat was held and the fifth that I've been involved. As usual, a lot of fun was had ... especially in the "Naughty Corner"!  And you can just guess which class group was in that corner, right?! :0) I don't know how I always end up in "THAT" corner ... really I don't! Tee! Hee! Hee! However ... I was in fine company. I had six of the most GAWJUS (as my blogging buddy Joy would say!) gals in my class ...

... Lindsay, who had driven up from the Gold Coast to play with us for the weekend. (That's Olive Bear supervising Lindsay. She and Finnegan were the two patterns the gals had to choose from to make their very own bear) ...

... Cynthia and Allison ...

... Margaret and Ann (these two ladies were like Laurel and Hardy ... had us in stitches all weekend!!) and Pat finished off our group ... but obviously I didn't manage to snap a pic or her hard at work.

Now, from the pics, you can see that the gals were hard workers ... heads down and bums up without me ever having to borrow Chookyblue's whip! ;0) And while there was a LOT of stitching going on in our "Naughty Corner" there was also an AWFUL LOT of laughing going on too! :0) I actually think I can say this was the BEST class I have ever taught! Not only did they get their bears finished in record time (before lunch on the last day with two sessions remaining), their finished bears were FABULOUS and they worked beautifully in a group (the ladies, that is, not the bears! Though the bears behaved themselves too! Tee! Hee! Hee!), helping and encouraging each other and everyone chatted with everyone ... if you see what I mean! It really did make my job as teacher so much easier and more enjoyable! :0) Now you're probably wanting to see the finished bears??? OK ... roll call ...

Here's Cynthia with her boy bear ...

... Pam with her sweet girly bear ...

... Allison with her cute girly bear ...

... Margaret with her mischievous looking boy bear ... and he's already made a new furry friend there! :0)

And last but definitely not least ... Anne shows off her pink girly girl bear. Lindsay had to leave early, so I didn't get a photo of her finished bearbie. WELL DONE GIRLS!!! You'd never know this was the first time they'd made bears! Must have been the excellent teacher they had!! :0) Modest too! Tee! Hee! Hee! Here's our group ...

What a GAWJUS bunch of gals! :0) And on the other end of the table ...

... our HUG of bears ... that's what you call a group of bears. Rather appropriate, don't you think! :0) And in amongst all that chatting, stitching and laughing, there was just enough time for a group shot of all crafty ladies attending ...

If you look closely, you can see me to the left of the group ... about third or fourth from the left, depending how you look at it and how you count! :0) And even though it's pretty hard to see, if you enlarge the picture and peer up the back of the group from me and slightly to the right, you'll see the lovely ... but obviously shy!! ... Val Laird. Val is Mum to Janelle, who is the instigator of this crafting weekend and it was lovely to catch up again. :0)

There you go ... finally caught up ... and now you know why I was exhausted afterwards and still feel like I'm catching up! :0) Hope you've enjoyed a peek at our bear making fun ... it sure kept us off the streets for the two and a half days! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And speaking of keeping busy and off the streets ... if you're looking for quick, simple but effective craft projects to help you stock up your Santa sacks this Christmas, don't forget to pop across to visit Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique blog. She's started her "Simply Christmas" fun and clever-clogs Clare from Clare's Craftroom has shared a great tutorial on making Christmas bunting, so don't miss out. There's also a FABULOUS prize to be won that sure would help make your Christmas merry, so pop across to find out the details.

Right now, though, I'm off to let the dogs out of the laundry ... the flick man has been here chasing off all the creepy crawlies for me and Lily wasn't overly impressed. Poor ol' Wombat probably slept through most of it! He's getting old and misses a lot these days while he take a grandpa nap ... or two or three! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope your week is going along nicely so far and that you're managing to find some time to sit, stitch and daydream! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Simply Christmas!!! EEK!!

EEK!!! There are just 49 days until Santa hitches up Dancer, Prancer, Vixon, Blitzon and their friends  (who the heck named these reindeer, anyways!!! What's wrong with good solid names like Bruce, Kevin, Bob or the ever-popular Spot?!?!) and packs up his bag of gifties to hit the road/skies/rooftops. Personally ... I am FIRMLY in denial about how close "C Day" is but if you are ready to dive into the flurry and fun of Christmas preparations then you'll want to stay tuned to the Shabby Art Boutique blog from now on, cos Kerryanne has launched her second annual ...

"Simply Christmas", where she will be encouraging and helping people to put the 'homemade' and 'home-baked' back into the Christmas experience.

Kerryanne and a select group of guest posters (Yep ... I'm on the list again this year to share the creative Christmas fun!!) will be sharing all sorts of tutorials and links to help you get into the Christmas spirit and STAY there without getting stressed. There'll be recipes, craft tutorials, gift ideas, shared special Christmas memories and I dare say there'll be some prizes and giveaways along the way, too. So hop across and see what Kerryanne is up to ... she's already shared a tutorial for a Christmas planner to help get you organised and on the right track to enjoy a stress-free, homemade Christmas ... though she and I agree that perhaps I am a write-off when it comes to 'getting organised'!! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Right now, I'm off to start making my Christmas list ... who's been NAUGHTY and who's been NICE?!?!?! :0) Til next time ...

JINGLE-BELL BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

An Odd Week & Winners!

G'day all!! I know I promised to be back much earlier in the week to tell you about my craft retreat exploits last weekend ... sorry about that! It's been a really odd week that seemed to flash by before I knew it! I think the biggest problem was, because I spent all last Friday preparing for the craft retreat (and answering the phone that rang off the hook all day!!!), then taught at the retreat from Friday night right through to Sunday afternoon, before heading straight back into the work week ... my poor brain registered an EXTRA-long week and kept waiting for the weekend! :0) Add in a lot of interruptions, a bit of upsetting news and a "To Do" list that seems to multiply like a warren of rabbits every time I turn around and you start to get the picture! :0) I know you'll forgive my tardiness, cos we all have "THOSE" sorts of weeks from time to time, don't we?! :0)

So, that was my odd week and my "Friday off" this week was filled, too, as it was a Quilting Angels get-together day ... but filled in a FUN way!! :0) A number of us who formed the group at the start of the year to take part in Marion's Quilt Drive for flood victims challenge, are continuing to meet twice a month in the work room of The Quilters Angel. Sometimes we'll be working on more quilts that will be ready to present to people in times of difficulty as a comfort gift and sometimes we'll be working on other items for charity/community programs. At the moment, we're being Santa's little helpers and making Santa sacks to give to our local newspaper who run an "Adopt A family" program in the lead up to Christmas. Give us some calico and pretty fabric scraps and we can turn out Santa sacks decorated with Christmas appliques! :0)

Here's a pic of the girls hard at work ...

OOPS! Must be the wrong pic, cos this is a shot taken when we were on our lunch break! Tee! Hee! Hee! And you thought we just got together to sew!!! :0) Bev and Fiona are enjoying some DELICIOUS apple dumplings that Marion is serving up in the background ... YUMMO!!! Oh ... and do you see the whiteboard in the background? If you look VERY closely, you can see our flood drive quilt tally written up there ... 242 finished quilts! :0) Most of those have now been distributed and we've had some lovely feedback from recipients who have appreciated not only the beautiful quilts that everyone worked so hard to create, but also for the thoughts and care that accompanied them.

And here's Helen showing what was in our bowls ... MMMMMMM!!! The only thing better than Marion's apple dumplings is ... Marion's apple dumplings with creamy vanilla ice-cream! Tee! Hee! Hee! Oh .. and we DID do some sewing too!! :0) And do you see those lovely, TEMPTING jelly rolls of fabricy gooness in the background?? That can be a VERY tempting sight indeed for a fabric adict such as myself! But the girls are very helpful and give me jobs to keep me busy so I don't follow my fabric-collecting instincts ... TOO often! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So ... after I got home and curled up on the couch with a cuppa to rest my tired tootsies (I was elected ironer-of-the-fold-downs so was standing at the ironing board most of the day!!) I finalised the tally for October's OPAM projects. Sweet Peg had done quite a lot of the blog-hopping and finish recording a day or two before, so I just had to add the few late email finish lists that I received before doing the random draw for prize winners. And this month's winners are ...

SATU

MICHE'LE

JOY-BELLE

CONGRATULATIONS gals!!! And we have a special treat for you as your prize this month. The gorgeous and creative clever-clogs Kerryanne from over at Shabby Art Boutique has very generously offered three copies of her FABULOUS new e-book "The Creative Mumpreneur ... How To Take Your Craft Addiction From Your Kitchen Table To Creative Business" for each of our winners! WOO! HOO! This is a wonderful book to read through, with lots of helpful tips for starting/expanding a craft-related business ... even if you've only ever dreamed of it before or only want to do something that fits into your 'spare' time. Well worth a read! A huge THANK YOU!!!! To Kerryanne for sharing her book with our OPAM winners. Peg and I sure have been blessed with some wonderfully generous blogging buddies this year who have helped provide prizes for you lovely OPAMers ... I won't start listing them here cos I'm bound to forget someone by doing so in a hurry and that would be BAD, cos you are all so very much appreciated ... THANK YOU to you gals ... you know who you are! :0)

OK ... that's about it for today. I'm still playing catch up this weekend ... missing out on last weekend has left me with an overflowing email 'in' box, an overflowing dirty clothes basket, an overflowing "To Do" list and only two days to try to catch up - EEK! Don't like my chances, do you? So, since it's all too hard, I might just treat myself to a cup of tea and half an hour to start to deal with my email ... Whatever YOU are up to, I hope you're having a great weekend and that you manage to find some time to put your feet up with a cuppa and enjoy some creative time. I still have those craft retreat photos to share, so I promise to try to get back here soon to show them to you. In the meantime, have fun! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

PS!!

PS. Happy All Hallows Eve! :0) And watch out for those faeries ... its a faerie moving day, you know! :0)
FAERIE BEAR HUGS!!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Worn Out!!

PHEW!!!! What a busy weekend I had ... I'll come back tomorrow to tell you about it and show you some photos! :0) But I thought I would pop in quickly today to show you what my postie has been leaving for me in the last little while. The kind of parcels that we stitchers all love ... FABRIC! :0)
First to arrive was ...

... some Ruby yumminess!! I was going to be good ... I was going to be strong ... I said to myself, "Self, you do not NEED any more fabric!!" Then Sarah had a great special that 'Self' just couldn't pass up and 'Self' decided that really ... these lovely fabrics were just right for a secret squirrel project that I will soon begin working on so ... why not! :0) Now ... when I said that this was FIRST to arrive ... I should really have said first AND last to arrive! You see ... Sarah posted two parcels to me on the same day ... one with the layer cake (the red in the photo) and the other parcel with the half metre of the yummy aqua fabric. Now two parcels, posted at the same post office at the same time should arrive at their destination at the same time, right??? WRONG! Somehow, Australia Post in all its wisdom, sent the aqua fabric on a round-Australia tour and it arrived almost a week later! Sarah and I are still trying to work THAT one out!!! :0) Then, today on my way home from work, I popped into my Home-Away-From-Home and picked up the pretty Cosmo threads to match. Can't tell you what I'm going to do with it all ... you'll just have to wait! :0)

The other yummy mail to arrive today was ...

... Some more Rural Jardin charm squares! :0) Yep ... I have an addiction to this lovely range! :0) BUT ... I also have a special project in mind for this pack of delicious French General fabrics, so I feel justified there ... not that it worries me too much! :0)

And after all this delicious new fabric arrived, I was inspired to use up some of my existing stash to make another "just in case" giftie to add to my stash ...

... a strip-pieced notebook cover, beautifully modelled (as are the fabrics above!) by the famous covergirl, Miss Annie-Rose Bear who featured on the Mothers' Day cover of "Handmade". She waived her usual sitting fee since I promised her online exposure! Tee! Hee! Hee! So ... another finish to add to my OPAM list ...YAY! It's been a bumper month for finishes for me ... how did YOU go this month??? OPAM gals, make sure you update your sidebar lists and send off your emails to Peg and I so we can update our spreadsheet results. I've got a lovely surprise in store for prize winners this month ... but you'll have to wait and see! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Right now, however, I'm off to start dinner ... choir rehearsal tonight, so I need to shake my tail feathers and get moving. Hope you had a great weekend and I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about mine ... promise! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS