Stitching Retreat!!

Here it is ... Tuesday again ... how did THAT happen??? I'm only in the first month of the year and already losing days ... that doesn't bode well for the rest of the year! :0)

One of the reasons I've lost track a little is due to a busy weekend ... STITCHING!!! Our Friday night Sit 'N' Stitch group decided to start the year with a low-key stitching retreat ... just in case the year got away from us! :0) Everyone would bring whatever projects they were working on, no formal tutorials, pot-luck meals that everyone contributed to ... and our sense of humour! (something not too far from the surface for most of the group anyways, which is why I enjoy Friday night stitching sessions so much! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

Friday afternoon saw us all arriving in dribs and drabs as our week wound up, but very quickly the hum of the cicadas was joined by the hum of sewing machines ... and FANS!!! Did I mention we were in the middle of a heat wave, even here on top of our 'hill'?!?!?! 36-38 degrees Celsius throughout the weekend and very humid with it. Extremely unusual for our hilltop climate. Not that it slowed down the stitching! :0)

Here's Gail, Marion and Donna hard at work. The variety of projects was fun to see.

Here's Jenny and Jenny on their duelling sewing machines. :0) Jenny in the red amazed us all with how much sewing she managed to cram into the weekend ... WOW!!

The lovely Nikki Turvo of Brandygully Designs and Nikki Turvo buttons trekked up the 'hill' to play for the weekend too ... she also got HEAPS of sewing finished ... just don't ever ask her to make a basket lining for you or you might end up wearing the basket as a hat! Tee! Hee! Hee! BTW ... do you see the hard-working fans popping up in the photos?? Friday and Saturday were SUPER hot and there was no air conditioning at the retreat spot, so we were all looking for ways to cool down ...

Chris' novel and damp way to deal with the heat was to pour water all over herself, then sit in front of the fan. She said it was very effective ... though the puddle under her chair looked a bit funny! :0) I spent most of my time out on the verandah taking advantage of the natural light and trying to catch any stray breeze that went past. I got quite a lot stitched on my project for Girls' Stitch In (see previous post!!) so was pretty happy. And at the end of the day, the retreat was all about getting together with like-minded ladies to relax and enjoy each other's company ...

which is why the days ended with most of us on the verandah with our feet up, something to nibble and something COLD to drink. :0)  Marion taking a well-deserved rest (this amazing woman had BOTH hips replaced just seven weeks ago and already she's running rings around some of us!! )

Cheers, Nikki!! Lovely to catch up with you again! :0) A huge thank you to Marion and Lisa who did the bulk of the organising for our lovely stitching retreat and thanks to all the gals for their friendship and company! We've decided the Friday Night Nightowls (we stitch every second Friday between 7am and midnight!!) will have to do this again ... perhaps when it's a little bit cooler! :0)

On another subject ... OPAM gals ... are you counting down to the launch of ...

Only a few days to go before the sign-up is open ... Friday January 25 is "O" Day. And do you see that number on the new button that my Beloved Geek Boy has designed for us?? That's how many projects have been FINISHED since May Britt and I started OPAM four years ago ... this is year five for OPAM and my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime for the last three years (and joining me again this year for her fourth year!!) Sweet Peg and I are so EXCITED to be co-hosting this fun, low-stress challenge again! Sweet Peg and I will both post the guidelines etc for OPAM 2013 on Friday ... so stay tuned!! But if you have no idea what OPAM is, pop over HERE and read last year's sign up spiel to prepare you. Will you be a 'Newbie' for OPAM 2013, or will you be a 'Repeat Offender'?? :0) I can't wait to see all the wonderful finishes for this year ... there are so many clever-clogs-crafters in blogland ... and lots of them come to 'play' with us for OPAM! :0)

PHEW!! I think after all that, I've earned a cup of tea, so I'm off to be 'Polly' and put the kettle on. Hope your week is off to a fantastic start so far. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS