Well I’m glad you asked.
My name is Kasia.
Kasia rhymes with Russia, but it’s Polish – the diminutive for Katarzyna, which is the Polish version of Katherine. Also, I’m not Polish, I’m Australian with Polish heritage. And I’m sure I’ll say more on that in some blogging future.
I have loved, loitered and lurked around Whipup since 2006 – soon after Kathreen Ricketson created it. At the time I was home on maternity leave and desperate for something to amuse me while breastfeeding – apart from gazing besotted at that new cute weird little person in my arms. It was then that I found CRAFT BLOGS.
Oh my. Oh my, oh my. No idea how or where I started but I was hooked and happy. Somewhere along the way I found Whipup and yes, I was in love.
Zip ahead some years…
I’m picking up my son from a school friend’s house, a friend he’d known since he was a toddler in childcare. The boys are playing dinosaurs in the backyard, screaming and roaring, tearing each other to shreds. I’m chatting with the dad, drinking a glass of wine in the kitchen, as you do. Yadda yadda, school; screen time; I love craft blogs; my sister has a craft blog…
WAIT… Are you that Jon Ricketson? You mean Kathreen Ricketson’s brother?
O. M. G.
Some more zipping forward…
A horrible heart-wrenching moment in May 2013 when the unthinkable happened… Kathreen and her husband Rob lost their lives in a drowning accident. It happened on a beautiful coral reef, on a dream family holiday, 4wheel-driving and camping around Australia. This is not supposed to happen. For Kathreen and Rob’s family and friends, their world was upside down. The craft blog world too was shocked, incredulous and mourning the loss of a beloved international craft icon.
Months later, I’m chatting in the kitchen with Jon, drinking a glass of wine – hard to believe there’s a time when you’ll be doing this again but you do. The boys are being dinosaurs, egged on by Jon’s nephew. Jon’s niece comes in and out of the kitchen. I’m admiring the recent reconfiguring of their home to accommodate the new family members. Yadda yadda, house; renovation; school; screen time; I occasionally write a crazy little craft blog; would you be interested in taking on Whipup…
WAIT
O. M. G.
Well time’s zipped on again and here we are. Jon and his family – bigger and even livelier with the addition of Kathreen and Rob’s two gorgeous children – are away on an adventure to the US while he works in Silicon Valley for a couple of years.
And I, after much thinking, musing, stalling, consulting, wondering and chocolate-eating have jumped in the deep end of the blogospherical pool.
I’ve taken the Whipup baton from Jon, and the wonderful Jules and Kate, and now it’s my turn to run with it. I’ll do my best, even though I’m not a good runner. My style needs work, I’m not an elite athlete – hey, I’ll probably trip a few times. But I’ll keep working at it.
Stick around. Give a cheer, laugh out loud, shout some supportive words – and take the baton now and then. Send an email to whipup[at]gmail.com with a link to a recent craft site you’ve seen that you would have like to share. Let’s run this blog together and have a great time. Kathreen would love us to.
She’s probably checking in already and wondering where we are! Hop to it!
Kasia
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