Another Year Of Possibilities!

Happy New Year, everyone! 🥳 I know we’re over a week into 2023, but I’m already running behind … story of my life! 🤣 How did you celebrate turning the calendar to a new year? Things at the Meares’ Madhouse were very low key, just the way we like it. 😜 

We don’t really do the resolutions thing, but we did finally start a home decor project we’d been planning for a while … we started tackling the Sleepout. You know how most people have a room in their house that’s a bit like a black hole? It’s the room that seems to magnetically attract all items that don’t really have a proper place, are awkward to store or are only used every five years or so & it’s usually complete chaos? Or is that just us?!? 🤣 Well, our black hole has been our sleepout … a portion of the wraparound verandah enclosed to create a narrow room. When we moved into this house eight & a half years ago, we said we’d make the sleepout into GB’s office … one day. 😜 Well, GB decided this Christmas/New Year break was the time. He disappeared in there for some time & after hearing thumping & bumping I decided to see what he was up to …

This is what the sitting room usually looks like … that door in the middle of the pic goes into the sleepout. What I discovered GB had been up to …

EEP! The sleepout threw up! 🤣😂 This mess enabled GB to paint the sleepout walls the same warm sage colour as the sitting room & we’re now slowly sorting through the flotsam & jetsam to either get rid of what’s no longer being used or finding proper storage for things we’re keeping. Having made the switch to reading on my iPad through kindle …

… I’m sorting through my book-books … I’m channeling my decluttering Mum & being quite ruthless … these boxes are all going to Lifeline. Good progress has been made, but there’s still a lot to sort. We really do have too much ‘stuff’. 🙄

And in between sorting books etc., I actually found my design mojo that has been AWOL for most of last year & began working on some new stitchery designs. Stay tuned! 😜 No actual stitching was done, though. However … I enjoyed blog hopping to collect the OPAM tallies for the last three months. There sure are some clever crafters out there! The monthly totals were:

OCTOBER - 103 FINISHES 

NOVEMBER - 37 FINISHES 

DECEMBER - 101 FINISHES 

2022 TOTAL - 979 FINISHES 

WOW! Well done to everyone who contributed to that impressive total. And well done, too, to those who made some good progress on some longer term projects. OPAM has always been about encouraging busy gals to take some time out of their crazy schedules to spend some time relaxing & creating, some ME time. Over the last 14 years of hosting OPAM, I have been blown away by the skills & creativity of the hundreds of crafters around the world who have joined the challenge to try to finish at least one project each month. I’ve also felt privileged to be allowed into your craft rooms & your lives as we’ve  ‘chatted’ through blogs & emails. It’s been especially wonderful to meet some of you in real life … & I look forward to continuing our cyber friendships even though this is the end of OPAM. Big thanks to my original co-host May-Britt & my longer-term co-host Sweet Peg. But without further ado, here are the last three random prize draw winners …

CHRISTINE MAC

JUDY S

JANICE

Congrats, gals! Send me an email & I’ll send you a PDF pattern prize to get your creative juices flowing for 2023. 😉 Again, thank you to everyone who has joined One Project A Month over the years … especially those of you who have been with me from the start. And even though I won’t be hosting OPAM anymore, I will still be popping in semi-regularly to share my stitching, designing & general craziness that is my life, so I hope you’ll keep ‘tagging along’ to visit me. 😉

But right now I think I hear the kettle calling my name, so I’m off to have a cup of tea & help the Aussies bowl out South Africa in the test cricket. I hope the first week of 2023 has treated you kindly & sets the pattern for your year. Stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Ring Out The Old!

Well … it has been quite a long time between posts! Life sure has a way of getting in the way of the best intentions, doesn’t it?! 😜 There has been so much going on here with grown up work, family commitments, end of year gatherings & Christmas stuff that I’m not even going to try to catch up. I’ll just say that GB & I are very much enjoying this week between Christmas & New Year at home … apart from a few family gatherings & emergency-work-call-outs. 🙄 GB has been brave & decided it’s time to tackle tidying our sleepout … it’s where everything without a proper place languishes before being sent to the tip. 😜 And I’ve picked up my designing pencil & paper for the first time in months. 😁 Not a bad way to see out what has been a challenging year. Here’s hoping it’s a sign of what will happen in 2023. 😉

For now, though, it’s time to give OPAMers their last ever reminder to update your sidebar lists & email me your December tallies. I’ll be doing three random prize draws for October, November & December to catch up. For now, it’s time for me to sign off for the last time in 2022 & make myself a cup of tea … you shouldn’t really be surprised that that’s my ptrferred New Year’s Eve tipple! Tee! Hee! Hee! Thanks for hanging in with my erratic posting … I’ll try to get back into a more regular routine next year. Wishing you all a safe & peaceful start to 2023. Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

(Temporary Backup) Tea Anyone?

Hello! Hello! How are all of my bloggy buddies doing this week? I hope you’re keeping well & achieving more in your sewing room than I have been. 😜 It seems we’ve reached the social craziness part of our year with lots of outings, catch-ups & events happening or about to happen. This makes for lots of fun, but boy is it exhausting! 🤣

One of the recent social outings was a Girls Night In (though it was held during the day) as part of the October fundraising campaign for the Cancer Council . This lovely girly gathering was hosted by Miss Wendy, who is one of our Friday night stitching gals. There were lots of yummy things to eat & pretty china from which to eat them …

And lovely ladies to share it with …

… Including the GAWJUS Gail. Gail is another of our Friday night stitchers, who moved towns last year, but came back for the weekend.

It might surprise you to hear that we often end up on the Naughty Table together … we’re partners in mischief! Tee! Hee! Hee! Thanks to Wendy for being the hostess with the mostest! Donations for the fundraiser totalled $913 - WOW! About half the amount was raised through donations at the high tea, with the remainder being proceeds from a raffle. The raffle prize was an ex-sample quilt donated by Marion & Steph of the Quilters Angel. 🥰

Two of the upcoming events on my calendar are also high teas, that I will be hosting, so I’ve been …

… spring cleaning & washing my pretty china, as well as …

… using it as an excuse to gather MORE pretties from Marketplace! 🤣


I’ve also done some procrasti-baking. 😜 You know … when you have things you should be doing but bake instead! 😂 These coconut raspberry slices & a few other sweetie-treaties are now tucked away in the freezer so I’m not in a complete state of chaos when the high teas roll round … just a moderate state of chaos! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Now … even though my sewing has been gathering dust, I’m sure many of you have been creating up a storm, so don’t forget to update your sidebar lists & email your OPAM tallies to me … I’ll be updating the spreadsheet in the next few days.

And that’s it from me for today. I’m off to find a lunch-snack … we’re out to dinner with friends tonight so don’t want to have too much for lunch. 😜 Take care, stay safe & keep smiling! 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Putting Things Off!

Hello lovely blogging buddies! I hope you’re all keeping well. You’ve probably forgotten who I am, I’ve been absent for so long. 😜 Do you find that when you put a task off for a day because you don’t have the energy to tackle it, that somehow, you seem to have less & less energy to tackle it the longer you put it off?? I confess to feeling like this about blogging at the moment. 😯 There are a few reasons for this … one reason is that I’m finding less people popping in for blog visits, which makes it less enjoyable to blog. But the main reason is … I just haven’t been sewing very much! I know that’s a bit shocking, but there it is. There’s been some design work & instruction writing, but no sewing or stitching. I’m out of my groove & haven’t found a way to get back into it … yet. I’ll get there, I’m sure! … in the meantime I don’t have anything to share with you all, so nothing to blog about. 🙃

One of the other blogging motivations in the last few years has been keeping up with OPAM … & with fewer people joining in each year & only three or four people regularly remembering to email me their monthly finishes, this too has drained my blogging motivation. And it’s also led me to the tough decision to not run OPAM next year. I hope my sewing mojo will come home & when it does I’ll continue to share pics & updates here … & I hope you’ll all continue to share your creative endeavours with me, but I think OPAM has run it’s course.

And speaking of OPAM … zombie flu, grown up job busy-ness, our road trip, lack of sewing mojo & my slackness means I’m a few random draws behind. So … the random draw winners for July, August & September are:

FIONA

JEANETTE 

MARIA

Congrats, gals! 😁 If you’d like to drop me an email I’ll send you a PDF pattern prize to play with. And that’s it from me for today  … I don’t even have a photo to show. 🙄 I hope you’re feeling more motivated & productive than I am & hope the rest of your week is fabulous. 😘 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Western Adventures Day 11 & 12!

Day 11 & 12 of The Western Adventures Of The Meandering Meares’. Day 11 was pretty quiet, consisting of a few hours’ drive to Charters Towers, followed by an afternoon kindy-kip for the designated driver, GB, while I curled up with my kindle for a quiet read. When we holiday we try to balance up seeing as much as we can with having a break/rest, hence a few quiet arvos in the schedule. 😉

Day 12 was a fun one. Imagine my delight when we called into the local tourist info centre (usually one of our first stops when we hit town) to see brochures telling me that there were three historic homes open to the public that day! WOO! HOO! We spent the morning admiring high ceilings, original timber floorboards, GORGEOUS aqua window glass & fabulous vintage treasures & decorating. Alrighty, then … brace yourself for some heritage building spam. 🤣

Our first stop was once a church manse & this gorgeous chapel was next door. It’s not often these days you find bell towers with their bell intact. No pics of the manse as the rooms were a bit too dark & crowded with other visitors to get good pics.


House two was lighter & airier, so got a couple of snaps. I fell in love with the aqua windows! 🥰😍

This is the first time I’ve seen aqua windows, I have to confess. I now have window-envy! TEE! HEE! HEE!

House number three was a showstopper! I could definitely see myself moving in here. In fact … some of the rooms were decorated very similarly to our home … clearly it’s been decorated by someone with exquisite taste! 🤣 Actually, I had a nice chat with the lady responsible for the decorating choices & she said when she & her hubby bought the house, it was the first time it had been sold since the 1920’s … & she reckoned nothing had been updated or renovated in between sales! 🤣 Eight years of hard work, finance-juggling, wrangling tradies, sourcing vintage goodies & cleaning, cleaning, cleaning led to the state we were able to enjoy.

I was going to run off with the half-tester valance, as I’ve been hunting for one for about five years now for the brass bed in my sewing room. GB refused to cause a diversion for me! Selfish! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Each of the vintage brass beds was adorned in a beautiful quilt, as well as several luscious crazy-patch/embroidered quilts being displayed. 

The dining/lounge room was divided by the fabulous archway. If you click on the pic & enlarge it, you’ll see the ’crackle’ finish to the paint that looks like a special paint effect. In fact, it’s caused by paint layers & time. Apparently the timber tongue-&-groove walls were given a clear varnish finish when the house was built, then at a later time, this was painted over. Through decades of the timber expanding & contracting with different temperatures & air moisture levels, the outer paint developed its crackle look & the owners decided to leave it.


Bit harder to get a good pic of the main bedroom due to the door blocking the view into the room as it opened inwards. Still pretty special … & a similar colour to our guest room. 😜

After wiping the envious drool off our chins, it was time to explore the town … next instalment pending. 😜 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS