Feeling Mellow!

After our adventures visiting the Lovely Lilly Linda and her beloved Tim last weekend, we decided a quiet weekend at home would be the go and since my planned "ME" day on Friday didn't really eventuate (lots of phone interruptions and a cuppa catchup with a friend), I decided the weekend was going to be MINE, ALL MINE!!!! :0)
(Not sure how I got this white background strip, but I can't get rid of it!!! Grrr!!)

As a result, I've helped Detective Inspector Barnaby solve a number of tricky murders in Midsomer, watched a race of alien robots foiled in their attempt to destroy earth's sun and helped the Aussie cricket team get Packistan out for a relatively low score in the first innings of today's One Day match. Sounds busy for a quiet weekend, right? Well ... as a spectator on the sidelines, what I REALLY did was watch it all happen while I STITCHED! And the result is that I've finished all nine mini blocks that make up block one of "Butterfly Garden" by Leanne Beasley. I haven't joined the mini blocks together yet, but here they are all laid out on the lounge chair where I've spent my weekend ...

I'm really enjoying the "busman's holiday" of following someone else's pattern for a change and although the colours I'm using are a little brighter than Leanne's, I'm keeping them fairly similar as I love the overall look of her quilt. Not to mention I'm having fun playing with my stash of Aviary fabrics, too! :0)  I'll need to get back to working on deadline-driven projects again now, but it's been so refreshing to take some time to sew just for "ME"!!

And of course, that's part of what the OPAM Challenge is all about, too, so I hope you gals have been enjoying some stitching time over the weekend. Don't forget - if you haven't already let Peg or I know your final number of finishes for January, make sure your sidebar list is up-to-date, cos tomorrow we'll be starting to do our blog hop to collect finishes from those we haven't heard from. There have been some GORGEOUS photos coming through to Peg and I and appearing on people's blogs, so make sure you give yourself a little treat - grab a cuppa and take some time to hop around to some of the blogs on my sidebar list to be inspired by other OPAMers. I particularly fell in love with the SWEETEST dollies created by Cath. You really should take a peek!! I think I'd adopt a whole family of them! :0)

And now ... I'm off to find something quick for dinner before I help the Aussies bat in the second innings of today's Cricket match - I'm sure they couldn't POSSIBLY win without my help! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

A Sweet Surprise & Stitching Progress!

Here I sit, listening to the thunder starting to rumble and hoping I can finish this post and turn the computer off before the threatening storm hits - if it hits! The last few days have been SOOOOOOO hot and humid that even this summer chick is a little over it! :0) Thank goodness our house is an old-style one that was build just for Aussie summers - 12 foot high ceilings, great air-flow, a little off the ground, polished floors and fans to keep the air moving. Still, finding a cool spot to curl up with an icy drink and a book seems to be my favourite pastime this week! Tee! Hee! Hee! And those storms just keep going around us ... no rain ... no relief from the humidity ... SIGH!

Now ... when I shared the adventures my beloved GB and I had on the weekend, I forgot to show you the sweet surprise that Linda gave me ... a giftie!! Ooooooohhh!! I LOOOOOOVE sweet surprises! :0) The parcel was beautifully wrapped in brown paper and tied with a pretty blue ribbon (why is it that sometimes plain brown paper is more appealing than printed paper? Or is that just one of MY peculiarities?!?!) and decorated with some groovy buttons ... but I forgot to take a photo cos I was so eager to see what was hidden inside! :0) And inside was ...

A funky food cover and a GORGEOUS pair of vintage crystal bead earrings!! How SPOILT am I!!! Linda said the braid and beads on the food cover reminded her of the sparkles and dangles on bellydancing costumes (she knows I used to be part of a bellydancing troop!) and the pretty vintage crystals caught her eye and made her think of me. Aaaaaaaawwww!!! How nice to be thought of ... AND spoilt with sparkly pretties! :0) Here's a closer look at the earrings ...

Aren't they lovely!! Just like the Lovely Lilly Linda! Thanks so much for my sweet treat, Linda ... on top of a wonderful weekend! Yep ... I SURE am SPOILT!!! :0)

And I promised you a photo of my stitching progress ... after not getting much done over the weekend! BLUSH!! I have, however, now finished a couple of appliquéd tea towels to match Lynette's cupcake apron I showed you a couple of posts back. Here they are ...

Do you know how HARD it was to find MAROON tea towels?!?!?! There was red, blue, pink, green, white, brown, beige ... but I checked out just about EVERY manchester and kitchen section in Toowoomba shops before managing to find these as a pack of three. (The third had a pattern that didn't lend itself to appliqué.) Hmmm ... that sounds like I spend a lot of time shopping, but I don't ... really ... and you should tell my beloved GB that if he asks! Tee! Hee! Hee! Anyways ... that's Lynette's birthday present finished - now I just have to find/make her something for CHRISTMAS! Tee! Hee! Hee! Actually, I thought I might keep an eye out for a cupcake shaped hook/hanger for her to put on her kitchen wall to house her new apron and tea towels. Hmmm ... this could be quite a quest. In the words of one of my favourite TV ads ... "Still looking!" :0) Perhaps the Queen of Cupcakes will be able to help me! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And on that note ... I'm off to answer some emails that have built up a bit of a backlog in my 'in' box over the last few days - sorry to all who've been awaiting a reply - I've been a bit slack! I can blame the heat, which is sort of right, as the office is the hottest room in our house (and coldest in winter, what's THAT about!!!) but mostly I've just been a bit slack! I promise I DO answer all emails you send ... eventually! :0) In the meantime, I hope you're all having a great week and managing to find some stitching time to enjoy - that's my plan for the afternoon .... after I answer those emails! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

We Saw The Bridge!!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!! There's my contented sigh after an absolutely WONDERFUL weekend visiting my blogging buddy the Lovely Lilly Linda and her beloved Tim on their island. And even though we seemed to pack lots of adventures into two days and managed to tick off most of our "we'd love to's" from our lists, it was one of the most RELAXING and REFRESHING weekends my Beloved Geek Boy and I have enjoyed in a looooooooong time! :0)

We packed up bright and early Saturday morning (well, early for us night owls! Tee! Hee! Hee!) and headed off down the hill to Linda and Tim's new island home. And although we DID forget we were supposed to say "I can see the bridge!" (the chant Linda and the kids repeat each time they come back to their island from the mainland!) when we spotted it, I DID say "I can see the water!", as that was the little chant that MY family had when we holidayed at the beach.

After warm hugs and greetings from Linda and Tim ... along with the cry of "FINALLY! They're HERE!!" from the kids ... we were shown into our little nest for the weekend ...

Look at that GORGEOUS bedroom!! It was just like sleeping in a little corner of Lilly Cottage! :0) But time was a-wastin' and we had things to do, adventures to have, tea to be sipped and stitching to do! :0) Now, Linda and I very cleverly sent our boys and the kids off on a 4WDing adventure for the afternoon while we curled up in the lounge room with stitching and some quiet music in the background ... which we proceeded to mostly drown out with our chatting! Tee! Hee! Hee! And I supposed that after telling you all the prep work I did on Friday so I could stitch and stitch with Linda, I have to confess that I didn't do QUITE as much stitching as planned ... but it's all Linda's fault! Tee! Hee! Hee! You see, she has a FABULOUS collection of GORGEOUS craft and decorating books in her lounge room that I just HAD to delve into. So ... really, what happened was ... Linda stitched and I looked at pretty, pretty pictures! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After the 4WD adventurers returned home with tales of super bumps and a spot of traction-impairment (the got BOGGED!! Tee! Hee! Hee!) we all piled into the Lilly-mobile and headed (via the fish and chip shop!) to the water's edge to enjoy a sunset picnic.

Here are our lovely hosts, Tim and Linda enjoying our fish and chips dinner. And once we'd eaten our fill, there was nothing left to do but sit back and watch the day end in spectacular fashion. I took a few progressive shots to share the beautiful sight with you ...

Isn't that golden glow fabulous!

... bit lower on the horizon ...

... lower still and almost slipping behind the mainland.

And after the sun finally slipped completely below the horizon, I snapped this shot of the bridge to the mainland. I love the soft mauves and apricots of the sky with the Glasshouse Mountains in the background and the bridge in the foreground. I don't know if you can see it (click to make the photo a bit bigger and you might) but the bridge lights had just flickered on and looked like faerie lights reflecting in the calm, calm water. SIGH!! It would have been wonderful to sit there soaking up the serenity for hours (How's the serenity?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Aussie movie quote for overseas buddies who have no idea what that means!) but the sandflies were starting to get a little TOO friendly, so we adjourned back to Linda and Tim's lounge room where we feasted on raspberry ripple cake with creamy icing, washed down with freshly brewed tea while we chatted ... and chatted ... and chatted ... and chatted ... and ...! :0) OK, so, I think you're getting the idea that the four of us DEFINITELY didn't have to endure any uncomfortable silences or lags in the conversation! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After sleeping soundly and contentedly in our beautifully appointed guest room (thanks for the loan, Courtney!) we woke the next morning to the tantalising scent of sizzling bacon . MMMMMMM!! Did I mention that we were SERIOUSLY SPOILT at meal times throughout the weekend!! :0) Fortified with our delicious bacon and scrambled egg breakfast, we sent the boys and kids off fishing and swimming while Linda and I headed to the local markets where we had FUN!!! We weren't TOO naughty, but thoroughly enjoyed checking out the work of local craftspeople, as well as a browse through the cultural centre where we saw some truly amazing artwork ... and enjoyed a spot of staning under ceiling fans on a scorcher of a summer's day! We then trundled off to meet up with the keen fisherfolk to see what they'd caught (two little whiting that had to be thrown back, but they WERE fish and they WERE caught, so mission accomplished! Tee! Hee! Hee!) And while the kids had a dip and the big boys had naps, I did some of my stitching while Linda enjoyed flipping through a magazine. And if we didn't get as much done as planned, perhaps we can blame it on the view being too distracting ... what do you think?

This is "THE" bridge in the bright light of day. Can you believe how blue both the water and sky were?! And off to one side of where we had set up our mini-camp was ...

The boys were trying to decide which one of these they'd buy themselves if they won lotto! :0) And while we were enjoying our view, we had a little visitor ... a NOISY visitor!!

This baby magpie was nagging the mama magpie to feed him and sounded just like a cranky toddler wanting a snack! :0) Mama scooted out of the photo, so must have been a little camera-shy, but if she's stayed, you'd have seen that while she was black and white, this little bloke still only has his baby feathers so is a browny-grey and white. Bit of Australian fauna trivia there for you! :0)

So, after a fabulous, full, restful and relaxing weekend, we had to say goodbye to the Lovely Linda, the Terrific Tim and their little island-dwelling tribe and climb back up the hill to Toowoomba - SIGH! I suppose that as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end", but in this case, I think it's just so we can begin planning our NEXT joint adventure! Plans are already in the pipeline and we're working on a way to bring our mutal blogging buddy Kerryanne into the fun, too, so hold onto your hat, Kerryanne! Tee! Hee! Hee! A HUGE thank you and lots of BEAR HUGS to you Linda and Tim for making us so welcome in your home and for showing us such a fabulous view of your island! I just KNOW there'll be lots of return visits!! :0)

And although I didn't get very much of my stitching done, it's a public holiday here tomorrow for AUSTRALIA DAY to celebrate our unique and wonderful country, so I am sure I'll find some stitching time and I promise to come back with some photos of what I'm working on ... the first NON-Secret Squirrel projects I've been working on this year! :0) Hope all you OPAM gals are remembering to add your finishes to your sidebar list, cos it's only a few days til Peg and I begin our round up and draw the first end of month prize for 2010. In the meantime, enjoy your stitching and a very happy Australia Day to all my Aussie buddies!

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE! OI! OI! OI!

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

My Bags Are Packed ...!!

Yep ... as the song says, my bags are packed, although I'm NOT going to be leaving on a jet plane! :0) Instead, my preferred mode of transport will be in our little Ford Festiva affectionately known as "Baby" and we're scooting down the hill for a weekend of catching up with friends. After a few aborted attempts to organise ourselves, we've finally found a weekend that suits my Beloved Geek Boy and me, as well as the Lovely Lilly Linda and her beloved Tim for us to repay their visits up the hill and to check out their wonderful new beach cottage. All week long, Linda and I have beens sending emails back and forth as plans were formed to squeeze the most fun possible out of our weekend - we're even counting sleeps, just like counting down to Christmas! :0)

And since the Lovely Linda told me to bring some stitching to work on while we natter away, today was spent on some prep work. I FINALLY managed to find some maroon tea towels to match Lynette's cupcake apron that I shared last post, so their applique designs have been ironed in place. And I decided to treat myself to some REAL "ME" time today and started work on my version of Leanne Beasley's "Butterfly Garden" Oooooooohhhh!! I'm very excited, since this quilt has been on my "Want To Do" list for AGES and I've never let myself start it. Well ... I decided that it will be my "reward" project. Each time I finish a couple of projects that I HAVE to do ... I'll treat myself to a day of working just on my "Butterfly Garden". Aaaaaaahhhhh!! BLISS! :0)

So ... with the bags packed, the stitching prepared, all that's left to do is enjoy a good night's sleep before heading off down the hill for a weekend of fun with friends. I promise I'll take photos and report back next week. Hope you all have some fun stuff planned for your weekend and maybe there'll even be opportunity for you to have some "ME" time! Well ... not "ME" actually ... I really meanYOU ... but you see I was ... Oh! Never mind! I'm SURE you know what I mean! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Some "ME" Time!

I was a bit naughty today ... OK ... so tht's probably not TOO unusual for mel! :0) I'm in the midst of working on three magazine projects, all of which are at various stages of completion, but after I posted the first off today, I decided to take a little "ME" time ... sort of! :0)

You see, even though it was a project I was choosing to work on, it still isn't for ME. It's a belated birthday gift for my bestest-buddy-since-grade 4 Lynette. Her birthday was in November, but over the years, we've worked out a system where we don't buy or make each other something for our birthdays or Christmas just so we can hand something over on the right date - we're both grown ups (contrary to all evidence! Tee! Hee! Hee!) who would rather wait a little and receive something 'just right'. Plus, the agreement is we don't actually turn a year older until we received the last birthday gift, so the longer it takes, the longer we get to wait til we're 'officially' another year older! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hey ... it's OUR logic and it works for US! :0)

However ... I digress ... I know, THAT'S not too unusual for me either! :0) OK ... so ... Lynette is a really good cook and often whips up a batch of bikkies or a yummy slice for her three kids ... and sundry others who follow her home! :0) ... for afternoon tea when school's out for the day, so she put in an order for a "pretty-but-practical" apron. I cheated a bit and bought the plain apron then decorated it. Here's the result ...

I started off by appliqueing the two cute cupcakes ... appropriate for an apron, I thought! :0) Then I decided the cupcakes needed to be sitting on SOMETHING, rather than being in thin air, as it were, so I added a lace doily ... then dressed up the top of the apron and the top of the pockets with some pretty gingham print ribbon, some bright wooden buttons ... VOILA! A designer apron fit for a Super-Mum Chef! :0) Here's a closeer look at the cupcakes ...

Didn't they come up well!! One has lovely roses swirling around it, while the other looks like a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing and a strawberry on top. I have to confess, I cheated here a bit too. These two gorgeous designs are from a very handy little book by a clever-clogs designer and my good blogging buddy Kerryanne English of Shabby Art Boutique. The booklet is "Shabby Doodles" and there are SOOOOO many fabulous sketches and designs in it that can be used for card making, decorative painting, applique and stitchery projects - limited only by your imagination! Check out Kerryanne's website for details about this ... oh ... but be careful! She has so many FABULOUS things on her website, including faux cupcakes and art for sale, that you're likely to get very sidetracked! :0) I think Lyentte will like her apron. I'm thinking of looking for a couple of tea towels to match and perhaps a pot mitt ... shall see what I can find to match.

I hope all OPAM Challenge gals are enjoying their stitching time and don't forget to pop in and visit some of the clever-clogs stitchers on the sidebar list to see what people are creating. Not only are you sure to be inspired, you might find you make some new blogging buddies and encourage some new bloggers along the way. Well, the weekend's here and after taking a day off to 'play' a little, it will be nose back to the grindstone for me tomorrow to meet my deadlines - good thing I love what I do! :0) Enjoy your weekend! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS