A Fresh Start!

Well ... It's New Year's Eve. We made it to the end of a challenging year & despite a few speed bumps & hiccups along the way, we've ridden it out fairly well, in fact, GB & I feel exceedingly blessed & thankful. Our family & friends are safe & well, GB & I both had our normal incomes remain uninterrupted, I've had my most productive designing year ever & been part of some exciting stitching events with Girks Stitch In & the Love & Hugs From Australia Stitchalong. That doesn't mean we're not hoping 2021 is a wee bit calmer. 😜 

Like so many situations in life, the way we choose to look at 2020 can either be negative, focusing on what we missed out on or lost, or we can choose to look at the positive ... What we've learned, how we've reevaluated our priorities & the many instances of kindness we've witnessed during the year. I choose the positive. 😊 And that's also how GB & I are heading into 2021 ... With a positive anticipation of lots of exciting new adventures & a fresh start. 😁 

Thank you to all of my lovely blogging buddies for sharing my creative adventures this year. Your encouragement, support & care has meant the world to me & spurred me on when I got discouraged or sidetracked ... I hope you'll 'tag along' with me into the next chapter of Tag Along Teddies & the Meares' Madhouse. 😉 And as we count down the year that seemed to keep trying to outdo itself in the challenge department, I'll share one of my favourite Irish blessings with you. In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Take A Breath & Count Your Blessings!

It's Christmas Eve & my Beloved Geek Boy & I are just starting a mini break from our grown up jobs. YAY! 😁 There are lots of jobs on the "To Do" list for the next week, but first, two tired, worn out teddy bears are intending to stop & take a breath. 

After the roller coaster year we've had, it's nice to finally have a chance to stop the busyness & craziness of our merry-go-round life to take some time to count our many blessings ... Top of that list being the crazy, creative, caring, supportive & loving 'tribe' we have around us made up of family-by-blood & family-by-heart. Thank you one & all for the richness you add to our life. From GB & me, we wish you all a happy, safe & restful Christmas period. May your hearts be full, even if your wallet is empty; may your blessings outnumber your troubles & may you have the wisdom to recognise them. 😉😘 til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

 KRIS

Christmas Dilemma!

Hello, hello! How are all of my lovely blogging buddies? I hope you're keeping well. I confess to being a bit weary & frazzled at the moment ... The Christmas Crazies have well & truly hit the Meares' Madhouse & GB & I are both experiencing a Christmas dilemma. On the one hand, we both seem to have heaps of things that need to be done before Christmas so we need more time ... On the other hand ... BOY! Are we looking forward to a week's break! So Christmas can't get here soon enough! 😂 Both of us are super busy with our grown up jobs, but there have also been a few celebrations happening ... Including a Christmas gathering of some of our Friday Nutters ... er ... Friday NIGHTERS 😁 ... stitching group.

The lovely Julie hosted our party ... & we JUST fitted into her dining room ...

There were a few of us who couldn't make it & a couple who exited before photo time, but it was wonderful to hang out with these loonies who are such an important part of my Tribe. And it wouldn't quite be Christmas without a Secret Santa swap ... I received a pin cushion & one of Natalie Bird's fun Christmas panels. The gift I gave (finished five minutes before I walked out the door! 😝) was ...

... A black & cream version of my "Girls Stuff" mug bag. This is such a quick, fun pattern to make ... I've lost count of how many different colour combos I've made it up in & it's such a handy size. You could pop your sewing bits in it or as I did ...

... Pop in a pretty mug & some tea & coffee serves for a fun giftie. I have a Tilda version for myself that I take to stitching retreats. 😁 While we were visiting Julie, she showed off her finished version of another of my patterns, "Holly Bear" ...

Isn't she sweet?! & the bear is pretty cute too! Tee! Hee! Hee! Both the "Girl Stuff" & "Holly Bear" patterns are available from The Quilters Angel online store HERE ... Just use the handy search tool. 😉

And speaking of finished projects ... I've finally managed to finish the blog hopping & done the random draw for OPAM for November. There were ...

148 FINISHES!

WOW! Well done everyone! And as I hopped around blogs, I also saw progress shots for lots more long-term projects, so well done to those clever clogs, too. 😁 And the November draw winner is ...

CHERYLL!!

Congrats Cheryll! Drop me an email & I'll send a PDF pattern prize to you.

PHEW! I think that's me all caught up ... For now! 😝 Which is just as well, since there's a carols service & another Christmas party still coming up before the week ends. 😜 Maybe I'll just sleep from Christmas Day through to New Year. Tee! Hee! Hee! Whatever you're up to, stay safe & don't let the Christmas crazies run you down. 😉 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Too Hard Tuesday!

Yep ... Tuesday has been a struggle ... Though to be fair, it's not really Tuesday's fault. 😜 It's kind of a cumulative effect of 2020 - the year that keeps saying, "hold my beer & watch this!", multiple staff changes & resident grumbling at work, the Christmas-crazies part of the year & two nights of sleep deprivation. Which all adds up to one mush-brained zombie. 😜

The lack of adequate sleep has probably been the proverbial straw ... Sunday night was incredibly icky-sticky-humid which saw even this hot-weather chook toss & turn, then last night we had a mini tornado smash through our little spot on the map. Lots of trees knocked down or dropped big limbs, two local roads blocked by fallen trees & loss of electricity due to one of the tree falls. We're fortunate to have a gas cooktop, so could cook dinner & boil water for cuppas, we had containers of drinking water on hand because we had to buy our second load of water for the season, lots of candlelight due to my addiction to scented candles ... BUT! ... When we don't have power, we don't have water because we rely on an electric pump. Can I tell you, even in hot weather a cold splash bath is NOT fun! 😳 And we definitely missed our fans trying to sleep in the heat. Power was finally restored 11 hours later, so all is back to what passes for normal now, but I'm mushy-brained from lack of sleep ... Not that anyone today has been able to tell the difference to my usual mudding! 😝

Adding insult to injury, although we copped the horrible mini tornado winds, thunder, lightning & power loss ... We only got two millimetres of rain. SIGH! More rain dances needed. 😜 Since sewing with mush-brain didn't seem like a wise life choice, here's a pic of my HUGE tomato harvest ...

Tee! Hee! Hee! Actually, considering the rough life my poor tomatoes have had, this is a pretty good haul. 😝 Perfect to add to tonight's dinner anyways. 😉

And for those of you without mush-brain who HAVE been sewing & creating ... It's time to update your OPAM tallies. Due to all of the above I'm running a bit behind with the blog hopping, so you've got a couple of extra days to email me with your November finishes.

And since GB has just arrived home, I'm off to cook Greek Lamb meatballs & warm salad with tzatziki for dinner then off to the land of nod to catch up on some of my lost sleep. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGZZZZZZZZZ!

CHEERS!

KRIS