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 …
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
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