Recharging The Batteries!

Hello everyone out there in blogland! I hope you’ve had a great week. Mine has gone by in a bit of a blur & I find myself at Friday again … how does that keep happening?! 😜 On the positive side (cos we should always accentuate the positive! 😉) part of the reason for the week speeding by was that last weekend was a long weekend for ANZAC Day., so fewer work days … YAY! 🤣 

It was pretty tough to come home after our mini-holiday … for the first time in months GB & I both felt like we stopped the hamster wheel & got to take a breath. I thought I’d share a few more pics of our adventures with you. We had purposely NOT made a lot of plans because the main aim of the weekend was to relax, but I had been so looking forward to catching up with a gorgeous stitching buddy who recently moved to one of our favourite towns, Montville …

Here’s the GAWJUS Gail & yours truly. 😁 We spent hours chatting over copious cups of peppermint tea & listening to the rain … yes … our beach-visit-bring-the-rain record now stands at 99%! 🤣

Yep … it rained on & off ALL weekend. 🤣 Not that it stopped our adventures … we’re too used to wet weather beach trips to let it deter us. 😜 Sunday saw us venture forth to do some special hunting & gathering …

A quick stop at Diablo Co distillery to buy some grown up ginger beer (alcoholic ginger beer we first discovered a couple of years ago), followed by a visit to the fresh seafood market …

… (don’t let the snippet of blue sky fool you! It only cleared a bit for about 15 minutes! 😝) and we had …

… Dinner! YUMMO! 😋 We also tried to enjoy …

… Nibblies on the balcony to enjoy the view, but had to abort due to gale force winds … you know it’s pretty bloody windy when your crackers start blowing off the plate! 🤣😂 A lovely break … even if we found it VERY hard to make ourselves come home at the end of it. 😝 Big thanks to my Aunt & Uncle for letting us crash their unit while they were away. 😊

Another long weekend here in Queensland this weekend … three in a row!! As much as I love the extra sleep-ins, it’s not half messing with my ability to keep track of what day it is! Tee! Hee! Hee! No travels for us this weekend, though. Just playing catch-up with the grown up chores at home, but intending to sneak in some reading & designing time. 😉 OPAMers … another month has almost run out, so update your sidebar lists & email your tallies through … don’t forget there’ll be a double draw for March & April finishes. Whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope it includes some fun stuff. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Not Dead - Just Busy!

Hello everyone! Sorry to drop off the page for so long. Life just seems to keep being insanely busy & I’m WAAAAAAAY behind with my OPAM hostessing duties. So, I’ve decided it’s easier to do a double March/April roundup & draw at the end of this month. Thanks to those of you who sent your March finishes through & haven’t heard from me … I do appreciate it & your emailed tallies save me some time in the roundup. I promise to get back to par soon.

As a bit of an antidote to our hamster-wheel existence over the past months, we’ve snuck away for a few days. Sorry to anyone planning outdoor activities on the Sunshine Coast this weekend … we’re not AT the beach, but we’re close, which guarantees rainy weather! 🤣 In fact … it’s already been showering on & off! Our beach-visit-rain-bringing record stands at about 98% consistency! 🤣😂 It’s to the point where we almost feel obliged to put out wet weather warnings whenever we go anywhere near the beach. 😜

So … we threw a few things in the Triton & hit the road for a road trip …

… down the winding road to adventure. 😉

… a lunch stop with a view …

… Siri tells us we’ve reached our destination. Not a bad view. 😁

… being made to feel welcome … even though our hosts are currently off on their own adventures. Spoilt! 🥰

There’s some sleeping in, reading, stitching, chillaxing & catching up with a lovely friend on the agenda for the weekend, so we’re looking forward to it. I’ll share some more pics when I pop back in here. Whatever you’re up to this weekend, I hope it makes you smile. 😊 In the meantime, take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

April Already!

It’s April … already?!? How did that happen?! I’m sure it was Christmas just last week!! 😳 The year really does seem to be getting away from me … SIGH!! Ah well, I guess we just have to buckle up & hold on for the ride. 😜

So … March has been another busy month in the Meares’ Madhouse … grown up jobs, design deadlines & even a birthday snuck in there. 😜 In fact … yesterday saw me head down our ‘hill’ to meet up with my Bestest-Buddy-Since-We-Were-Nine Lynette for a belated birthday play date. Due to her crazy work rosters & other interruptions to life for us both, it had been almost five months since we’d caught up! EEP! But we more than made up for it. 🤣😂

Here we are enjoying a glass of birthday bubbles with high tea in Newstead at The Matriarch. This was a new-to-me spot & I loved its shabby/industrial chic vibe, great service & seriously scrummy food. Highly recommend a visit if you’re in Brisbane … & happy for you to take me with you. 🤣 As you can imagine, after five months apart, there was some EPIC chatting & giggling enjoyed. 😁🥰

Going back to my design deadlines … as I mentioned last post, I was privileged to once again be invited to be a guest designer for Girls Stitch In hosted by the Marvellous Marion & Stupendous Steph of the Quilters Angel. This fun stitching event is being held virtually again this year (which means you can join from anywhere in Australia! 😉) & the kit packs were sent last week to the early birds. Some gals have already received their goodies & have started stitching! How exciting! 🥳 I’m so looking forward to seeing their progress via the exclusive Girls Stitch In Facebook page that participants get access to! It’s one of the fun parts of this stitching event. Steph & Marion will also be sharing some giveaways, video catch-ups & I’ll be sharing some short videos on tips & tricks to help people create their own versions of my projects. All this plus TWO exclusive patterns, TWO kits that include fabrics, notions & pre-printed stitcheries ready to get stitching, as well as a couple of other little surprises from The Quilters Angel. And the best part … it’s mailed to your door! 😁 Numbers are limited, but there are a few packs left if you want to join the fun -but get in quickly! Here’s a sneaky-peeky to tempt you …

In full colour this time. 😜 I LOOOOOOVED playing with these pretty fabrics & am chuffed with how the projects (yep … more than one! Talk about bang for your buck! 🤣) turned out. If I’ve tempted you into playing along, pop over HERE.

And with the calendar flipping over to April  … it’s time for all good OPAMers to update their sidebar tally lists & email their monthly totals to me. 😁 I hope you’ve all been able to enjoy some creative time-out this last month. But right now, I’m off to play Polly & put the kettle on, then it’s back to the design board (AKA the dining room table! 🤣😂) to work on my next Secret Squirrel project. 😉 Have a wonderful weekend, whatever you’re up to. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS