And The Winner Is ...

This is me ... after spending quite a few hours in the last couple of days checking lists, checking blogs, reading emails, replying to emails ...!! When May Britt and I first talked about co-hosting our One Project A Month Challenge, we thought we might have 50 to 80 people join us. Well ... the sign up is now CLOSED and we have a total of 277 participants!!! EEEKK!! And altogether, for the month of January, we collectively completed 480 fabric or wool projects!! WOW! Give yourselves a round of applause!! At this rate, we should really have made a dent in those piles of WISP's, UFO's, PHD's (projects half done) and made up kits and patterns that we've had stashed for years!! In fact, it's got to the stage where we are starting to create our own language. If you're working on your WISP's you're "WISPing", if you're working on a project you've had in the cupboard for a loooooooong time, it can either be called "very WISPy" or a "WISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSP"! Tee! Hee! Hee! Congratulations to everyone who has completed one or more projects for January and even if you didn't' actually COMPLETE something, but worked on a WISP or two ... or three ... then you should also be pleased that you've made some progress!! Oh ... just a note! A quilt isn't counted as a finish for the challenge until it's been quilted and bound and BOM's don't count until they're made up into the quilt, quilted and bound. And don't forget that projects have to be fabric/stitching, cross or long stitch, or wool craft like knitting and crochet. I know a lot of you are setting yourselves the goal of finishing BOM blocks each month, which is great, but it doesn't count towards your OPAM Challenge finishes unless it fits with the above criteria.

Now, I know you're all sitting in front of your computers, on the edge of your seats, thinking to yourselves, "Stop rambling on and tell us who won the monthly prize draw!!" After receiving some assistance from my trusty sidekick, my beloved "Geek Boy", who did the random number generator thingy magic, the winner of the January OPAM Challenge prize draw is ...

LENE C!!!

Congratulations, Lene! Lene actually tried to trick me by sending an email in Danish, but I explained that Australians are a bit lazy and only speak and read English (and some of us seem to struggle with that sometimes! Tee! Hee! Hee!) but she found a handy translator program and we're communicating just fine now! And what does she win, I hear you ask?


Lene gets to play with this cute Angel bag pattern designed by Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse designs, a useful but pretty little note pad with our Aussie kangaroos on, a very handy little sharpie pen, a laser cut timber button in the shape of a kangaroo to match the note pad (button created by Lisa at Button Bliss) and a bag of one of my fave sweet treats, some mini musks. I hope you like your prize pack, Lene! If you'd like to email me with your snail mail address (or to May Britt if it's easier to get her to translate!!) I'll visit my little mail centre man and get this winging it's way to you soon. Each month's prize pack will be a little different and May Britt and I are doing month about, so whoever wins the February draw will get a wonderful giftie from May Britt!

Just a little bit of housekeeping ... A HUGE thank you to all of you who emailed May Britt or I with your monthly project total - this was a WONDERFUL help to me! With so many people now signed up, if I'd had to visit EVERY blog in the short time span I had, my eyes would PERMANENTLY look like the little guy at the top of this post!! Tee! Hee! Hee! So if people would like to do the same at the end of February, that would be GREAT!! Now I realise that life interferes, we lose track of time, have computer glitches or (the lucky ones!!) go away on holidays, so if you can't email your final list in the day or so at the end of the month, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure you have a list of finished projects on your sidebar that is UP-TO-DATE!! That way, May Britt and I can quickly find how many projects to add to the spreadsheet beside your name. If you don't email us and you don't have your list up to date, you miss out on extra prize draw entries. And while I was roaming around blogs in search of finished projects, I also noticed that some of you don't have your finished project lists, some don't have the badge and some have the badge, but no link. If you need help in getting the badge/link/project list onto your sidebar, just drop May Britt or me an email and we'll send some instructions, as I realise some of you are still pretty new to blogging - some of you have even started your blogs just for this Challenge - well done and welcome to Blogland! Tee! Hee! Hee! If May Britt or I can't help you out, I'll consult my beloved "Geek Boy" who translates "Geek Speak" into English for me all the time!! :0)

I think that's all I had to mention ... Oh! Wait, I remember!! If you have a chance, check both my list and May Britt's list of Challenge participants for a couple of things. 1. Make sure you've been added to the list (some may have slipped through the email net when I was having computer issues!) and 2. Check that the link we have to your blog is the right one and works. If it doesn't please drop us an email to tell us and we'll fix it - half the fun of the Challenge is discovering so many new blogs, so we want people to be able to visit you. It may just be a case of typos late at night when we've been updating lists!! OK, that's it for Challenge stuff for today!!

Now ... moving on to other bloggy news ... I need to say a BIG thank you to Marie Joze`!!! When I took part in Helen's Stitchers Angel Swap last year, my partner sent me a giftie, but it got lost somewhere between Budapest and Toowoomba. So ... I've already shared how the wonderful Joy (visit her blog to check out her CUTE panda quilt!!) sent me a little giftie because I'd missed out, well, I also had a couple of other lovely, generous bloggers contact me to see if they could send something. I decided that if they did, we'd make it a little mini-swap and I'll send something back. Well, last week (in the midst of end-of-month challenge stuff!!) a box arrived from Marie Joze` and inside I found ...


Some very special stitching accessories!! Thank you Marie Joze`!!! I now have a pretty, pretty pin cushion with a lovely red flower on it and this cute little needle keeper, which opens out to look like ...


This! Isn't it clever? And look what was inside ... three GORGEOUS pins with roses on the heads!! Not to mention quite a few delicious little bars of chocolate - just to help keep my energy up while I'm stitching! Tee! Hee! Hee! I've promised to share these with GB, as he's the true chocoholic in the family!! Thank you SOOOOOOOO much, Marie Joze`!! I'm feeling VERY spoilt! And there will be a little surprise package coming your way in return ... just as soon as I recover from reading 270 something blogs! Tee! Hee! Hee!

And on that note, I'm off to make a list of projects that I need to tackle for February - we already have a couple of finishes registered!! WOW! Some people are just too quick off the mark, aren't they!! Til next time, happy WISPing and Bear Hugs!

CHEERS!
KRIS