Some WInners Sunshine Amongst Clouds!

This is what the weather is like here on top of the hill ... AGAIN!!! SIGH! More of the cloud and less of the sun, unfortunately! I am getting VERY tired of our constantly overcast, icky, cold weather to the point where I think perhaps I wouldn't MIND the cold quite so much if only we could have some sunny days. This protracted stretch of cloudy weather (no rain, though, unfortunately!) and chatting to some blogging buddies from the northern hemisphere, has made me realise just how much I take our lovely Aussie weather for granted. Usually, even in winter, the sunny days with blue skies outnumber the grey cloudy ones, especially here in Queensland ... we are, after all, the SUNSHINE state! :0) Though I think I'll have a go at the tourism promoters for false advertising at the moment!! :0)

However ... in a bid to spread some 'sunshine' in the midst of my cloudy climate, I have some end-of-month prize winners to announce for OPAM. This month saw OPAMers finish a whopping great 649 projects!!! How good is THAT!! Well done, gals, give yourselves a clap! Way to go!! :0) And as the gorgeous Peg and I blog-hopped our way around blogland, we were treated to some FABULOUS projects - there are just so many clever-clogs crafters out there! :0)

So ... after the final tally was found, I popped the magic numbers into the random number generator thingy and ... it spat them back out! Tee! Hee! Hee! The three prize winners for June's OPAM draw are:

STINA

DAWN H; and

ANNE-LISE

CONGRATULATIONS, ladies!! I might point out that it was rather fitting that the random number generator happened to pick Stina's number because she recorded a huge 48 finishes for June! WOWSERS!! Well done Stina!! Stina is getting ready for an exhibition and has been teasing us with sneaky peeks for a while - I can't wait to see some photos of her finishes projects. The winners' prizes are all picked out, just waiting for snail mail addresses ...

Lots of goodies! We have one of Gail Pan's pretty patterns that was donated by the lovely Sarah (Thanks Sarah!), a fat quarter and a fat eighth donated by the fabulous Razzy (Thanks Razzy!), some four inch charm squares I found at my home-away-from-home and had put away for a rainy day, plus some pretty and practical notepads I'd also squirreled away and the handy-dandy mini-sharpies that I can't live without and like to share. I especially like the Lynette Anderson notepad at the bottom left that I again found at Quilters Angel ... rainbows always make me smile! So, Stina, Dawn H and Anne-Lise if you'd like to email me with your snail mail addresses, I'll pop down to my local post office next week so my mate Raymond can help me post your gifties out.

And to all of you in OPAM, whether you registered a finish this month or not - WELL DONE!! As well as finishes, I saw lots of progress photos on people's blogs as I hopped around, so even if you didn't register a finish this month, but made some progress on one or more projects, pat yourself on the back, cos taking some time out to relax with a needle in hand and take some steps towards finishing projects is what OPAM is all about!!

And that is just as well, because I had a bit of a slack June, I have to confess. Today, though, with the icky weather encouraging me to stay indoors, I've been stitching away on my June block for the "A Gardener's Journal" Stitch-A-Long. Yes ... I said my JUNE block. SIGH! Chookyblue will be after me with her big whip if I'm not careful! :0) After managing to finish the first two months' blocks on time, I faltered this month after having the blues and then the dreaded head cold led to not much stitching, then - I ran out of month! :0) I've made some progress today, but am still working on the biggest stitchery block ... No Place Like Home ...

As you can see, I've finished 'building' the house, have 'planted' the two tall trees and am now 'building' the fence. :0) Mind you, all of these straight lines are driving me a little batty ... I think it took me almost as long to stitch the roof as it took my Beloved Geek Boy to replace our house roof for real a few years ago! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hoping to get more stitched this weekend, and perhaps even get Woof and the wreath finished too. Will see how I go. Oh ... did you notice I took this photo in my almost-famous vege patch?! :0) More flowers on the peas and the pretty red lemon tree pot in the background ... had to add SOME colour to a grey ol' day! :0)

Whatever you're up to today, I hope been able to find some splashes of colour and that your weekend is filled with stitching and fun. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS