OOPS! Where'd June Go?!

Calling all cars! Calling all cars! Be on the lookout for a missing month stolen recently. It goes by the name of "June" & was last seen trailing behind May.  If found please return to someone who seems to have lost it! 😂 (possibly in more ways than one! Tee! Hee! Hee!)

Yep, it's the end of another month in this strange & topsy-turvy year, which means ...

... It's time for all good OPAMers to update their sidebar lists & email me their tally of finishes for the vanished month if June. 😜 I'm happy to be able to record a few finishes this month, with some Secret Squirrel projects completed ... What have you been stitching?

And the end of June also ends the countdown to ...

From tomorrow, July 1 , there will be a free 4" block shared one a week over on the Love & Hugs From Australi  Facebook page to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas & keep Stitchers around the world occupied as we all spend more time at home than usual. Each designer who is playing along will share a free downloadable Christmas themed block & will show how they've used it. Having had some behind-the-scene sneaky-peekies ... I think everyone will be getting stitched gifties this Christmas! 😆 So make sure you check out the Love & Hugs pag  each Wednesday for the next 12 weeks for the new stitchery, but pop in between blocks to be inspired by people's work & share your progress updates to encourage others. Thanks to Natalie Bird for once again organising & coordinating the Stitchalong to help keep people connected by stitches during a strange & difficult time.

And now ... I'm off to get ready to be social, as we have GB's cousin & his wife coming to dinner tonight. I hope your week is off to a great start. Stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😁 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Friday ... AGAIN!!

Well ... Here we are, it's Friday again & the weeks just keep slipping by at the speed of light, don't they?! 😳 Everyone jokes about how it will be Christmas next week ... But it feels like Christmas really WILL be here before we know it! EEP! 😳😜

Actually ... When people say Christmas will be here next week ... They're really only a week early. 😜 Because over on the Love & Hugs From Australia Facebook page, Christmas will begin on July first ...

What better way to ease towards the real Christmas (& get a few gifties made & stashed in preparation) than to join us for the second fun Stitchalong. This one will be unfolding a little slower, with a free 4" stitchery being shared each week for 12 weeks ... The 12 days of Stitchalong Christmas. 😜 My stitchery is ready, but I'm just finishing up the companion projects that will be included in the Christmas pattern I will release when my block is launched. I confess to not really being a Christmas gal (I get cross at the over-commercialisation of it) but I've been loving playing with aqua & French red fabrics to create four quick-finish projects that will make up my "Christmas Cuties" pattern. Would you like another sneaky-peeky??

Are you intrigued??! 😜 Not long to go! As long as I stop procrastinating on blogs & FB & get back to my sewing & instruction writing. 😝 I have to say, with our frosty temperatures this week (it's a warmer one today, sitting on 10 degrees with a "feels like" of 8 at the moment! 😱) it's a good time to be tucked up sewing. So I've got "Holiday Joy" essential oil blend in my diffuser, Enya adding her angelic Celtic crooning in the background, the fire crackling merrily away (GB lit it for me before he headed off to work ... AAAAAWWWW! He loves me! 😍) & I'm wearing a pair of warm fuzzy socks ...

Aren't they fun?! 😜 Not everyone has zebra socks! 😂 Mum bought them for me as a joke because I hate having cold toesies & love fun & funky socks (I often wish I could knit well enough to knit myself some!) Not sure who the joke is on, as I love wearing them. 😂 Now if I add a hot cup of tea to my list, I should be ready to tackle my sewing/instruction writing, so that's what I'm off to do. Whatever you're up to this weekend, stay well, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Freewheeling Friday!

Hello, hello! How is everyone this Saturday afternoon I hope you're all well & planning some fun stuff for the weekend. Due to my Beloved Geek Boy spending all of last weekend away from home for a work-related road trip, we were both REALLY hanging out for a break together. Unlike some married couples, we still quite like each other & enjoy hanging out together. 😜😂 So when GB's boss gave him Friday off, thereby matching up with my day off, we decided to make the most of it & hit the road for one of our mini road trips. YAY! 😁

With both of us continuing our usual work schedule when others were at home during the zombie apocalypse lockdown, & the fact that we haven't had a break since Christmas, we've both been feeling a bit antsy ... So even a day trip is a nice change of scenery. 😜 So, after a little sleep in (it was our day off, after all! 😜) we piled ourselves into "Big Blue" & hit the road ...

Hmmm ... Where would the road take us today? People often laugh at us because we rarely have a firm destination in mind when we set off on our day trips ... Half the fun is the spontaneous decision to follow a road less traveled to see where it takes us. 😁 Yesterday, the road took us a bit north & a bit east ... Down one range & up another, along winding, narrow back roads where the forest closed in on every side & we wound down the windows to let in the crisp winter air & listen to bell birds & whipbirds singing their mesmerising tunes. I confess to being so "in the moment" that I didn't get pics. 😜 After a while, we wound our way back down out of the mountains & found ourselves ...

At Sunshine Beach ... Which was NOT living up to its name, but we weren't really surprised, as it ALWAYS rains when we go to the beach ... Even for a quick visit. 😂 It was wonderful to stand & watch the waves rolling in & listen to their thundering crash as they hit the beach. But that squall you can see in the middle of the pic started to roll closer, so it was back into Big Blue before we got wet. 😜 And back on the road to ...

... Visit another stretch of beach a bit further south ... Mooloolaba main beach. We were too far away to pick up in a photo, but there were lots of crazy surfers out there making the most of the swell being kicked up by the stormy weather. They made me shiver with cold just looking at them! 😱😜 And since we were at one of our fave beaches, we just HAD to have a fave sweetie-treatie ...

GELATO! YUMMO! 😍 Salted caramel for me & ...

... Maple pancake for GB. This was followed by a short walk along the beachfront ... Cos it was too jolly windy & cold to go too far! Then ... Back on the road ...

... Where it was wet & foggy as we climbed back up into the hinterland hills. It's a bit hard to see in the pic ... & was hard to get a good pic cos there wasn't anywhere to pull over ... But as we were driving, we watched the clouds coming down over the mountains, giving them a storybook feel.

And we encountered quite a few roadworks along the way, commenting to each other that stop-and-go sign holding would be a crappy job in rain. 😜 A bit more driving & ...

... Home again, home again, jiggitty jig! 😁 It may only have been a day trip, but it was wonderful to get out & about for the day. We're hoping to get away for a full weekend sometime soon, but that will hold us til then. I hope you enjoyed road tripping with us. 😁

Right now, though, I'm off to do some sewing ... My trust Husky is working like a dream now after a service ... YAY! 😁 (& a huge thanks to my Quilting Fairy Godmother the Fabulous Fiona, who did. GORGEOUS job of quilting the project I was interrupted on! 😘) Have a fantastic weekend, everyone. Stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😁 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS! 

CHEERS!

KRIS 

AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!

What do you do when your trusty Husky decides she doesn't want to sew without knotting & breaking thread, you need to finish a project by a deadline & your weekend plans get cancelled due to husband's unscheduled work road trip?! Not sure what anyone else would do, but I've given up trying to be productive & plonked myself in my comfy chair with a cup of tea & fave movie. Maybe helping stop a giant shark from terrorising the seven seas will make me feel better! 😜 Hope your weekend has been less frustrating. 😘 

Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

The Bells Are Jingling!

Hello, hello! How are we all this fine-and-not-too-frosty Friday?! There you go ... Confirmation of what day it is AND a weather report. 😜 It's been another crazy-busy week here at the Meares' Madhouse & I'm looking forward to a weekend of stitching & sewing ... Which is just as well, since I have a deadline looming. 😜

Do you remember the sneaky-peeky I shared a couple of posts back?

Well ... It's for a rather exciting event that I'm part of ... And it's coming SOON! 😁 If you visit my Facebook page you'll already know about this & will probably be getting as excited as I am. Hold onto your stitches, friends, because the Love & Hugs From Australia group is at it again ...

WOO! HOO! Another Stitchalong!! And for those of you who start putting up the Christmas tree three months early, you're gonna LOVE it! 😂 This time the Stitchalong will be a little slower-paced, with blocks spread out from July through to September. The blocks will be 4" (finished) & there will be 12 blocks in total, from designers: Anni Downs, Libby Richardson, Natalie Bird, Helen Stubbings, Leesa Chandler, Jenelle Kent, Marg Low, Leanne Knell, Robyn Welsh, Janelle Noack ... & yours truly. 😁 We will have some project ideas to show you in advance; quilt layouts, and other projects using 4" blocks, which will be available before 'Love & Hugs for Christmas' starts. Pictures and information for these will be posted on Wednesday 17th June, so pop in and have a look at some of our ideas for what you can do with the blocks. And some projects using the blocks will be released as patterns for sale on the day that designer's block is posted. So once again there'll be something for everyone to enjoy stitching along with. 😁 And don't worry ... the original project blocks will still be available going forward ... In case you're enjoying a slower stitching journey than the Speedy Gonzales Stitchers. 😜

So ... As you can imagine, I'm madly working on samples, tweaking templates & scratching my head over instruction writing ... THAT should keep me busy for the weekend, right?! 😂 

But if YOU are looking for something to fill your weekend & you're within driving distance of my Home-Away-From-Home The Quilters Angel  you really should make the trip. The Marvellous Marion & Stupendous Steph are about to move onto the next exciting chapter of their Quilters Angel adventures & are having a 40% off sale store wide before they close their Village Green shop door for the last time on June 26. 

Now ... DON'T PANIC! THE QUILTERS ANGEL IS NOT CLOSING! And if you hear that nasty rumour, knock it on the head with your quilting ruler! 😜 Marion & Steph will continue to run their fabulously fabricky business ... Just in a different format for now. With their current shop lease finishing at the end of June, they have decided that it's time to start putting some of their exciting dreams & plans into affect that they haven't been able to do while tied to a shopfront. They'll still be running their website ... With LOTS more stitching treasures than ever ... Especially the yummy Tilda fabrics & Cottage Garden Threads that I seem to be addicted to at the moment! 😍 They will still run Girls Stitch In & Stitchers Dream Day ... Bigger & better! 😉 As well as holding pop-up shops, workshops, craft fair stands, even more BOM programs & some wonderful new stitching clubs. I've heard some little whispers from this gorgeous Mother/Daughter team about some of their plans & I'm pretty excited! 😁 So keep an eye on their Facebook page & sign up for their email newsletter to keep up with their exciting adventures ... & watch out for the bright pink Quilters Angel trailer, cos they're gonna be quilting Gypsies! 😜 And I dare say there will be a new shopfront home for The Quilters Angel in the not-too-distant future ... When just the right spot is found! 😉

Well ... With so much happening, is it any wonder I now need a cup of tea. 😜😂 Whatever you're up to this weekend, please stay safe, stay well & keep stitching & smiling. 😁 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Winter Wondering!

Well ... Here we are into June ... Its winter (Darn it!😜) and I'm wondering ... Where the heck did the first half of the year go?!?! 2020 sure has thrown us some curve balls, hasn't it? 😳 Here in south-east Queensland where we live, things are slowly starting to return to a form of 'normal' & we're able to meet up with friends again & visit some of our favourite businesses. I popped in to my Home-Away-From-Home The Quilters Angel to catch up with Marion & Steph this week, which was a happy/sad catch up. You see, Marion & Steph have made the difficult decision to close the doors of their bricks & mortar shop at the end of this month. The Quilters Angel will DEFINITELY still be operating but the enforced closure during the zombie apocalypse was a time of reevaluating for this lovely Mother/Daughter dynamic duo. They will continue to operate the online shop but will also be organising lots of exciting new events, workshops, retreats, pop-up shops & craft show stands, as well as running even more wonderful Block Of the Month programs, stitching clubs & so many more exciting things. So while I'm sad that I won't get to pop into their pretty shop, I'm pretty excited to join in their new adventures! 😁

And of course packing up the shop means finding new homes for a lot of their stock so ... There's a 40% off sale on at the moment! 😁 It's in-store only, so if you're in the neighbourhood, it's a good time to visit in the next couple of weeks. And since I did pop in, you just KNOW some pretties followed me home. 😂 

Dotties are always good for sashings & bindings, the teal spots jumped into my arms, the blue stripes & paisley were too pretty to leave behind. 😜 If you want to keep up with Marion & Steph's new adventures with The Quilters Angel, visit the website & sign up for their newsletter. Big thanks to this lovely pair, too, for continuing to support & encourage my design adventures, as well as being valued friends & important members of my tribe. 😘

On the fabricky, stitchy, quilty front ... I'm still working on three different designs. 😝 And of course they're all Secret Squirrel. 😉 But the OPAM gals have been stitching up a storm again with ...

91 FINISHES!

... for May, as well as lots of progress on longer term projects ... Well done everyone!! And the random draw winner was ...

RAEWYN!

Congrats, Raewyn! Drop me an email & I'll send you a PDF copy of my prize pattern. 

And that's about all from me today. I'm off to scare up some lunch & then I need to get back to working on my Secret Squirrel projects ... Because one as a July deadline ... I bet you're starting to guess what I'm working on. 😜 In the meantime I hope you're all staying safe, staying well & stitching your little hearts out. 😉 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS