OPAM 2021 Is A Go!

Here we go again! 😜 Yes, OPAM (One Project A Month for the uninitiated!) is back for another year of encouraging we creative types to ... Well ... CREATE! 😁 And hopefully get some of the projects on our "To Do" list crossed off & added to our "Finishes" list. OPAM is all about taking some time out of busy schedules to recharge our creative batteries by playing with fabric, threads, wools, cottons & needles of all sorts. The goal is to finish at least one project per month for the year, which will give us a minimum of 12 finishes by the time we next sing "Auld Lang Syne" ... Or we will have at least made significant progress on some longer-term projects.

For a new year of OPAM, we need a new logo button ...

Thanks to my Beloved Geek Boy, we've got one. 😁 And do you see that rather large number on the badge? That's how many projects have been recorded by OPAMers since we started! Over 53,000 finishes! WOWSERS!! Are you ready to add some more to the tally by playing along? Let's keep it simple ... 

HOW DO I JOIN OPAM 2020?

1. Send me an email to tell me you'd like to play along. Please make sure you include: Your NAME, your BLOG ADDRESS, your EMAIL ADDRESS. My email address is: kris@tagalongteddies.com.au

2. Right click on the new OPAM logo & "save as" to your files. Add it to your blog sidebar with a link back to my blog ... In case others who visit your blog would like to play along.

3. Under the OPAM badge on your sidebar, add a list of  2021 FINISHES which shows your finishes each month. You can add this as a blog page if you prefer ... As long as it's clear which finishes you've added each month.

4. At the end of each month, update your list of finishes (a blog post with photos is great to share & encourage others, too) AND email me your final tally for the month. Each month I'll choose a random prize winner who will receive a PDF copy of a Tag Along Teddies pattern I've designed as a fun, quick project.

5. Projects must be COMPLETELY FINISHED before being added to your tally ... Quilts have to be quilted & bound, cross stitcheries have to be framed or made into a project etc. if you aren't sure whether your project counts ... Email me & ask. 😁

6. Tallies should only include soft crafts ... Sewing, quilting, embroidery, cross/long stitch, crochet, knitting ... Again, if you're uncertain, email to check.

7. HAVE FUN CREATING!

There won't be a cut off date this year for sign up, people can just keep joining the fun as we go along. 😁 After a few weeks, I'll add a list of this year's OPAMers to my sidebar so you can hop around visiting & encouraging each other. It means we'll all have a world-wide cheer squad. 😁 (You can still see last year's participants list on my sidebar) And remember this is a LOW STRESS challenge, so if you have a month (or two or three!!) where life gets in the way or you're working on long term projects & don't have a finish to record ... IT'S OK! 😁

I think that covers the basics ... If questions come up as we go, I'll share them in a blog post. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy playing along with me again this year ... It's a nice, low key nudge for us all (me included, since I should set a good example, right?! 😜 ) to create & finish projects. Some of us are SERIAL STARTERS! Tee! Hee! Hee! 

Right now, though, I'm off to help my BBL cricket team win an important game. 😉 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Countdown!

OK ... Now I have that 80's anthem "Final Countdown" by Europe stuck with in my head ... Along with 80's glam rock, long hair, big guitar riff mental pictures! 😂 So with that soundtrack running through my head, here's the announcement you've all (well ... SOME of you! 😝) have been waiting for ...

It's on again & signup kicks off ...

TUESDAY JANUARY 26

Many of you have played along with OPAM ... One Project A Month ... For years, so you know the drill, but I'll post the guidelines on Tuesday as an intro for our newbies & a reminder for our repeat offenders. 😉 This fun, low-stress challenge is a great way to encourage ourselves to finish at least one project each month & take some time out from busy lives to be creative. It also gives us a world-wide cheer squad of like-minded crafters to chat to & be inspired by. 😊

So ... I hope a few of you will play along ... See you back here on Tuesday. 😉 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS! 

CHEERS!

KRIS

New Year, New Design!

Well ... It seems the new year is behaving like the last & just ZIPPING by at a great rate of knots! This does not bode well for me achieving everything I'd like to in 2021. 😜 However, they say (I've yet to work out who THEY are, just quietly?! 😝) that the first step to take in achieving goals is to ... Take the first step! 😝 So I've spent quite a bit of time in the last couple of weeks working on a new design ...

... You didn't REALLY think I was going to reveal too much yet, did you?! Tee! Hee! Hee! It's actually my project that I'll be sharing at this year's Girls Stitch In weekend hosted by the Marvellous Marion & Stupendous Steph of The Quilters Angel in March. 

This is always a fantastic time of fun, friendship, food & of course, stitching. Places are limited so book quickly so you can come & play. With so many events being cancelled last year, I think we all deserve to treat ourselves. 😉 Lauren from Molly & Mama is my fellow guest designer who is not only a talented stitcher, she's also a lovely person. 😊 For more details or to book your spot, go HERE.

And while that's my first project START for the year, we need to wrap up the last of the FINISHES for last year. I've finally tallied the December finishes & there were ...

133 FINISHES!

YAY! Well done everyone! There must've been quite a few handmade Christmas gifties given! 😜 And the winner of the random draw is ...

MARIA

Congrats, Maria! Drop me an email & I'll send your PDF prize pattern. Thank you to everyone for playing along with me for OPAM 2020. I always feel privileged to share your creative journeys. I hope that in what was a crazy ol' year last year, OPAM helped give you some positive goals to keep you creating. I found a great quote over on what my blogging buddy Chookyblue calls "The Dark side" ... Facebook! 😝 It said ...

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it!" (Kurt Vonnegot)

I think it also makes your soul sing & that positivity then splashes into all parts of life to lift us up, as well as those around us. Which is one of the reasons that I'll be running OPAM again this year. 😁 Sign up will open towards the end of January, so start making a list of projects you'd like to see on your list of finishes by this time next year & join the fun of aiming to finish at least One Project A Month in 2021. Stay tuned! 😁

But for now ... I need to go & rustle up something tasty for dinner, so I'll sign off. Wherever you are, please take care of yourself & those around you. Stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Easing Into 2021!

Hello, hello! How are you today? Have all of you recovered from your wild NYE parties ... Or were you like GB & me, seeing in the new year from the comfort of your lounge chair, in your comfy jammies sipping a cup of tea? Yeah ... We're all party animals, aren't we?! 😂

Somewhere along the track, someone once told me that however you spend the first day of a new year determines what you'll be doing all year. Now I'm not sure if that's true ... But why risk it by spending the day doing housework?! 😂 So I treated myself to a little sleep in, a yummy home cooked brekkie of eggs bene, some non-thinking reading (a bit of dragon fantasy fiction 😜), a bit of designing & pattern editing and ...

... A nice cup of tea sipped from a pretty cup whilst munching on a couple of Christmas giftie sweetie-treaties. You just KNEW there'd be a cup of tea, right?! 😝 And if that sets the standard for my 2021 ... I'm more than  fine with that. 😁

And since I know lots of you started the new year with a needle & thread in your hand ... Here's your reminder to update your sidebar finishes list with your December finishes & email me your final tally for the last OPAM draw for 2020. And for those of you wondering ... YES! I will be running OPAM again this year to encourage us all to keep taking time to create. Stay tuned for signup if you think you'd like to play along. 😉

But right now, I'm going to finish the first day of the year in a way that won't surprise you ... Sipping a cup of rose & French vanilla tea! 😂 However you're easing into the new year, stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS