Just A Quick One!

Really ... I promise! Cross my heart! :0) I know Chookyblue will be shocked but appreciative of a short post, so here we go! :0)

When I popped into see quilter-extraordinaire Rosalie on Monday, what should I spy draped over one of her quilt rails, but a version of my "Fairy Bears And Butterflies" quilt that she had quilted for her friend Ferne. How EXCITING!!! I LOOOOOOOOOVE to see other people's versions of my patterns and know that they've enjoyed making their very own. So, after checking with Rosalie that Ferne wouldn't mind, I snapped a photo of it. Yes ... the tanty-throwing camera is working again ... change of battery type and we're on speaking terms again! YAY! OK ... here's Ferne's Fairy Bears and Butterflies ...

Hasn't she done a lovely job!!! And obviously, Ferne loved the Aviary fabrics as much as I did, cos she's used them for the centre patchwork panel and the outer border. It's so similar to the original quilt, but with just a few little differences in fabrics and placement etc that make it uniquely Ferne's - that's what I love to see! :0) Oh ... and we had a little 'helper' while we were trying to get a snap of the Fairy Bears ...

Rosalie's pretty pampered pooch, Whiskey, needed to remind us that SHE is the centre of attention, thank you very much, not some silly quilt! Tee! Hee! Hee! She is a cutie!

And speaking of cuties ... I received a package in the mail today from the Clever Clogs Cutiepie Clare of Clare's Craftroom. For those of you who haven't discovered Clare's blog yet, pop on over. She designs fun, simple-to-create craft patterns and she has ever so kindly donated a couple to Peg and I as OPAM prizes ...

We have the very handsome Frances Frog and the super-cute bag Catchit that has been designed by Clare to help store your bits and bobs. Thank you so much for your generous donation, Clare! I'm sure the ladies who win these patterns will have a ball creating them! :0) Oh ... and do you see that YUMMY card that she sent me? The recipe for this fabulous looking choccie cake is on the back - think I'll have to test it out for my chocoholic Beloved Geek Boy. :0)

There you go ... short and sweet (literally with the chocolate cake inclusion! Tee! Hee! Hee!) as promised. I'll be back on Thursday with a rather special announcement ... anyone addicted to Christmas is sure to put on their dancin' shoes to happy dance around their lounge room when they find out, so stay tuned!! Right now, though, I'm off to contemplate what to cook for dinner, so til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Friends, Fabric & Flowers!!

That sums up my week AND my weekend! Am I happy about that?? Bet your BIPPY I am!! :0) Over the last week, Toowoomba has been celebrating it's annual Carnival of flowers and although last weekend's icky weather saw us skip a most of the festivities, I've enjoyed visiting a few of the gardens entered in this year's competition over the last week. My boss's lovely wife is a keen gardener ... you  know, one of THOSE people who actually know the NAMES of the plants. Me? I'm more the sort who, when asked what something in my garden is, answer, "A pink flower", "Some sort of blue flower", "A plant my mother-in-law gave me". Tee! Hee! Hee! I will NOT be called upon anytime soon to host an informative gardening show on TV! :0)

Today, we rounded off the garden visits with a half hour drive in the country to the historic "Harrow" homestead and gardens. My Beloved Geek Boy and I packed a picnic lunch of cheeses, crackers, olives and orange juice (driving, remember!!) put my boss's wife into the back seat (my boss had other committments, so couldn't come with us ... at least, that was HIS story!!) and off we went and it was SOOOOO worthwhile!! The dirt road was a bit soggy from some recent rain, but it also meant everything was lush and green. We decided to have a carpark lunch first (inspired by the Lovely Lilly Linda's carpark picnics!), so we didn't have to carry the eats, then in we went to discover this ...

OK ... I confess that this is actually a sketch of the homestead, borrowed from the brochure, as my camera is currently playing up and it takes a routine of taking the batteries out, putting the batteries back in, turning the camera on, hurrying to take a piccie, then take the batteries back out, put them back in and turn the camera off and on quickly so the lense zaps back where it's supposed to. Don't ask!! Not happy Jan!! Grrr! However .. I digress ... this homestead was built in the 1860's and is GORGEOUS inside and out ... yes ... we were allowed to take a peek inside too ... as long as we took our shoes off at the door and stayed behind the ropes. Fabulous high ceilings, cedar panelling, grand hallway wide enough to run horse races ... have I mentioned that I LOOOOOOOOOOVE old houses?! :0) And the gardens were lovely too ... rolling green lawn (thanks to the rain!!) a spectacular rose arch ...

Again, borrowed from the brochure and taken a little later in the year than September - there were just a few early roses peeking out today, but the gardens are open again on October 31 when these and other roses in the garden should be putting on a grand show.

Oh ... we DID have to take a little detour in our meanderings when we came across the owner of the property standing vigil in a corner of the garden and he greeted us with a, "G'day folks. You might want to walk a bit that way to avoid meeting Freddy." Hmmm ... who was this mysterious "Freddy" and why wouldn't we want to meet him??? We then followed his pointing finger and discovered that Freddy was a one and a half metre long red-bellied black snake.  EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKK!!!!! Did I mention I have a phobic fear of snakes?!?!?! Thankfully, Freddy was heading away from us, but you can bet I kept a pretty close watch on where I was walking just in case Freddy had friends!!!

Further into the garden (and AWAY from Freddy!!) there was also a cool, peaceful lagoon ...

Across the water you can see the little dock where we stood to enjoy the scene ... the lagoon is absolutely covered in water lilies at the moment that are just starting to flower. The little gazebo/cabana near the dock, that you can just see the roof of there, was originally the shelter shed for a tennis court. Sitting back enjoying water views sure gets my vote over running around belting a ball with a racket and getting sweaty! Tee! Hee! Hee! We enjoyed a Devonshire tea with the YUMMIEST scones, jam and cream on the verandah ... and made friends with the resident pooch by sharing our scone crumbs ... he promised not to tell on us! :0) All in all, a very pleasant and relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

I have, however, skipped over yesterday's activities so that I could tell you my garden-hopping adventures all at once. As I told you, yesterday I HAD to head off to my home-away-from-home to meet up with my blogging buddy Toni from The Red Boot Quilt Co. And what a lovely time we had!! Isn't it fun to 'chat' with people via blogs and emails, then find that when you meet them in person, they're just as nice and fun to chat to! :0) We enjoyed a coffee and view on the Village Green and Toni's Darling Daughter number one took a photo of us with Darling Daughter number two ... and her little bear friend, Miss Dorothy ... Dotty to her friends! :0)

It was a bit of a reunion visit for Miss Dotty and I because, you see, Toni's DD2 adopted her from me as her Christmas gift last year! :0) I am told that Miss Dotty is now a career bear and is hard at work on her first novel ... a mystery. We'll let you know when it's published! :0) Now ... do you see that bright pink bag that Toni is clutching?? You know what that means, right??  Yep ... we called in to my home-away-from-home so Toni could see first-hand just how SPOILT I am for fabric choices. She says she completely understands why I spend so much time there and thinks perhaps she'd like to move in too! :0) Marion said that's why she got rid of the old bed she used to display quilts on on the verandah of her shop ... too many stitchers threatening to just move in and sleep there! Tee! Hee! Hee! In fact, Toni found that the fabric was so keen to come home with her it was JUMPING off the shelf at her! There's a story there, but I'm not allowed to tell it!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Toni and I had a LOVELY time playing amongst the fabric, though we did decide that we tend to head for opposite ends of the colour spectrum ... Toni is drawn to BRIGHTS and I'm drawn to the softer SHABBY CHICS. And despite me telling Toni NOT to let me buy anything ... some fabric followed me home! Oops! :0)

Some of the latest range of deliciousness from Moda's "Pure" line that Marion has recently recieved and that I HAD to have! At first, I was only going to buy one ... OK  two .... all right three ... well maybe four ... aaaw what the heck! Who needs to eat this week anyway! Tee! Hee! Hee! I have a couple of ideas in mind for these yummy fabrics, so stay tuned. See how pretty they all looked together ... and Marion even tied them all up in a pretty matching bow for me! The perfect play date for two mad stitchers! Thanks for coming up for a play date, Toni ... I'll look forward to a repeat performance sometime soon! :0)

PHEW! Well, I think that's it for my weekend of friends, fabric and flowers ... I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight! :0) Hope you've had a great weekend, too, no matter what you got up to. And now, I think I'm off to hunt and gather some dinner, put my feet up and watch a bit of "X Factor" before turning over to watch "Midsomer Murders". It's the last episode so I HAVE to see what happens!! Have a fabulous week, everyone and til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Le Happy Dancing & A Blogging Buddy Play Date!

Yep ... me and Snoopy, both doing 'le happy dance' ... though HIS probably has less resemblance to a clog-dancing elephant and is therefore not as alarming for the neighbours! Tee! Hee! Hee! And the source of the happiness causing dancing?? I've finished the top of my French quilt - YAY!!! I stayed up rather late one night ... or should I say ... VERY early morning!! ... this week and it's all stitched together and will be dropped off at quilter-extraordinaire, Rosalie's place on Monday. More happy dancing ... but being a FRENCH quilt, of course, it has to be 'le happy dance'! :0) Apologies to all native French speakers who are offended by my version of a French 'accent'! Tee! Hee! Hee! Oh ... I suppose you want me to SHOW you my French quilt. Well ... OK. Ready?? Drumroll please and a rendition of "La Marseillaise" ...

Ta Da!! It is called "Holiday In Paris" and I've designed the stitcheries to look like holiday snapshots. I know it's a little hard to see the individual stitcheries, but they are all something a little bit French ... with an Aussie accent! Tee! Hee! Hee! There's French coffee ... local produce of cheese, olives and a bread stick ... chic French fashion accessories ... the Arc de Triumph ... a fleur de lis ... the Eiffel Tower ... French wine ... a snooty French poodle (OK, so, not sure if poodles really ARE originally from France, but you know what I mean!!) ... and last but not least, a sidewalk cafe. I have fallen in love with the gorgeous Rural Jardin fabrics that I've used for this quilt and can't wait to play with the layer cake I shouted myself ... but that will have to wait til I finish writing the instructions for this new pattern ... GROAN!!! Mind you ... I'm toying with a different way to write up these instructions that will make it a bit more interesting for all concerned, so stay tuned! Oh ... you can see that the dark red jumbo rick-rack was definitely the RIGHT red and really pops against the pretty blue floral borders. Can't wait to have this one all quilted and bound ... it's one of my favourite quilts, I think. Of course ... I say that about EVERY new quilt design that I come up with, don't I ! What a fickle woman I am! Tee! Hee! Hee! Will let you know when the pattern for this French beauty is ready.

And now, I must trundle off and get myself all gussied, cos I'm meeting up with a blogging buddy for a play date at my home-away-from-home this morning. Toni from the Red Boot Quilt Co. and her family is coming for a drive up our hill and she said she's been DYING to check out Quilter's Angel, so I very selflessly offered to meet up with her and show her around! :0) It's a tough job! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you're all having a great start to your weekend and that you manage to squeeze in some fun stuff, too. Til next time ... A revoir!! :0)

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Random Ramblings!

I have a few things to share with you and none of them are really connected to each other and there's no way to come up with a witty segue-way ... so I thought I'd just share my random ramblings with you ... something you'll all be fairly used to! Tee! Hee! Hee!

After teasing us with an early taste of spring weather, Toowoomba weather reverted to it's usual inclement self and the weekend was HORRIBLE!! Overcast, raining (OK, that part was good for our low water supplies), gale force winds and worst of all ... FREEZING! SIGH! So rather than scooting about and enjoying some of the Carnival of Flowers activities, we went into hibernation in front of the heater! :0)

Now, I have to confess to being a slug on Saturday and curling up with a book, no stitching happened at all, but Sunday saw me disappear into the sewing room to make some progress on two quilts that I have on the go. The first was my sort-of-sister Tiffy's 21st quilt ... squares were joined for the centre panel to look like this ...

These fabrics sure are BRIGHT, aren't they!! You can see I'd already started playing with outer borders, which will be the background to some appliqué butterflies in the same bright colours as the centre panel. Which led to a little problem ... I have even less ORANGE in my stash than I do PINK!! Thanks to Marion, I've begun to incorporate pink into my designs more, but I have to say, this is the first time I can remember working with orange ... EVER!!! So I had to pop in to my home-away-from-home to stock up on orange ...

Wow! Bright, huh?!! Will have to show you how I incorporate these citrusy tones. And speaking of colour ... I was playing in the spare room ... where I usually spread my quilts-in-progress out flat when I'm working on them ... and when I stood back to judge how the colours would work, this is what I saw ...

It suddenly occurred to me that while artists might splash paint around on their palette ... I was 'splashing' fabric colour around! Tee! Hee! Hee! Yep ... already I'm starting to see some butterflies here. :0) I'll keep you up to date with my progress on Tiffy's quilt.

The second quilt that I made some progress on was my French quilt. I'm SOOOOOOO excited!! It's ALMOST finished!! Do you remember this sneaky peek a while ago ...

Well ... let's expand that peek a little to this ...

A finished block!! I've tried to create the impression of a holiday snapshot that you might see in someone's holiday album, complete with caption underneath. I've stitched in brown to give that sepia photo effect and am pleased with how it's come together. Can you guess what name I've chosen for my new quilt design????

Well ... I finished the stitching on the final block and joined them all together with some sashing, was ready to add the final border when ... I decided it REALLY needed some red rick-rack to make it pop! Of course, I didn't have ENOUGH red rick-rack, so the wonderful Marion ordered some in for me. All was well until ... she gave me TWO CHOICES!! Uh oh!! Decisions, decisions!! Darker or lighter?? Cherry or raspberry?? EEK!! I couldn't decide!! So Marion suggested (very wisely!!) that I lay them both on the quilt to judge ...

It was a bit of a toss-up, but after getting a second opinion from my Beloved Geek Boy ... I chose the darker red to the right. So ... tomorrow will be border stitching day! Oooohh!! Can't WAIT to see it all finished and of course, I will share a look with you when the top is all together ... stay tuned! :0)

OK ... last random rambling for today ... while the lousy weather on the weekend might have been a negative, there was a balancing positive ... GB and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary ... AAAAAAWWWWWWW!! :0)

Here's a photo of us celebrating our engagement, with some of the flowers he game me on Sunday ... after a gentle reminder that it was our anniversary!! Our engagement was very low-key, just dinner with both lots of parents. And what you CAN'T see is that under the table GB's right hand is ... IN PLASTER! Wait a minute ... what did you THINK I was going to say!!!!! Tee! Hee! Hee! Scott was studying part time and working on a cotton farm near Bourke in north western NSW and the broken thumb (sustained during a game of football when he ... the SMALLEST bloke on the field ... tackled the BIGGEST bloke on the field ... and came off second best! BOYS!!! ) meant he couldn't work, so he came back to spend some time with his family ... and me ... in Toowoomba (where I was in my final year of a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Journalism at USQ). While he was home, he sold his microwave to buy a ring and asked me to marry him. After a brief moment of thought ... I said yes ... of course! :0) We were friends first, then girlfriend and boyfriend, fiancé and fiancée, then husband and wife and the best part ... he's still my best friend! We've had quite a few adventures in the last 18 years - good and not so good! - and I wouldn't change a thing!! Happy Anniversary, Sweetie!!! (yes, he DOES read my blog ... HE says so he knows what he's been up to ... supposedly! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

So ... that's the end of my random ramblings for today. No finishes to report that I can add to my OPAM list, but I still have a few days left in September, so who knows. OH!! Before I forget ... if you LOOOOOOOOVE Christmas and all that the festive season entails, hop across to visit my blogging buddy Kerryanne, cos she's got something that is SURE to gladden your deck-the-hall hearts!!! :0) Right now ... I'm off to pop on the kettle and brew up a pot of lavender tea. Hope your week is off to a fabulous start! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Blooming Butterflies At Craft Retreat!

Do you remember last month when I said I had finished the sample for a project I'm teaching at a craft retreat in November? Well ... even if you CAN'T remember, I DID tell you ... so there! Hmmm ... this is like a conversation with my Beloved Geek Boy! Tee! Hee! Hee! But back on track ... This will be the fourth year I've headed 45 minutes north of Toowoomba to Lake Perseverance to take part in the Creative Craft Retreat and the third time I will be teaching a class ... if anyone books into it! :0)

Janelle is chief organiser of the retreat and she has just posted the information brochure and sign up form on the Creative Craft Retreat blog, so now I can show you what I will be teaching ... if anyone books into my class! :0) Ready ...

TA! DA! Introducing "Blooming Butterflies". Yep - more of my yummy "Aviary" stash was used to make this pretty bag. :0) This is a fairly large tote bag with a quilted base, 'quilt-as-you-go' strip piecing, a drawstring closure, nice wide strap and an inside pocket for your mobile phone, keys etc. It's 'gussied up' with some blanket-stitch appliqué featuring some cheerful yellow daisies in bloom and some brightly coloured butterflies fluttering around. This is the project I will TEACH at the retreat, but the pattern will also include instructions for ...

A covered journal/sketch pad to match, which also has a blooming daisy and a flutterby. These are quick, simple projects that are pretty, practical and make great gift ideas.

The Creative Craft Retreat is on the weekend of November 5-7 (arriving Friday night and heading off after lunch Sunday) so if you'd like to come along and join in the fun (and there is ALWAYS plenty of fun, chatting and laughter happening!!) then pop across to the Creative Craft Retreat blog and download the registration form. You've got until October 8 to register ... If you want to come play too! :0)

And for you gals who live too far away to come and play (though I'm not sure that living in Norway or Sweden is a good enough excuse for missing out! Tee! Hee! Hee!) but have fallen in love with my newest design, NEVER FEAR! I'll be releasing "Blooming Butterflies" as a pattern packet after the retreat is over, so stay tuned. :0)

Right now, though ... I'm off to play in the sewing room to do a bit more on Tiffy's quilt. The clock is ticking and starting to alarm me somewhat - EEK! :0) November isn't that far away!! Hope you're having a fabulous week! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS