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 

I’m So Excited!!

... And I just can’t hide it! I’m about to lose control & I think I like it! 😁 Admit it ... some of you totally sang that in your head sounding like the Pointer Sisters! 🤣😂 I confess I did! 🤣 But that’s because I AM excited ... super excited to once again be a guest designer for ...

... Girls Stitch In 2022, hosted by my favourite Angels, the Marvellous Marion & Stupendous Steph of The Quilters Angel. This is what my Secret Squirrel stitching has been for. 😁 

With so many retreats & stitching events having to cancel in the last couple of years, this clever dynamic duo have come up with a way to let stitchers from all around Australia enjoy the suspense, anticipation, creativity, joy & fun of GSI from the comfort of your own lounge room. 😉 What is Girls Stitch In? Well ... 

I have had so much fun designing a project (or THREE! 😜) for GSI & I can’t wait to see how everyone enjoys stitching along. I’m also looking forward to ‘chatting’ to participants in the VIP Facebook group to share some tips & tricks I’ve picked up along the way. To give you just a little tease, here’s a pic of part of my project ...

Are you intrigued? Tempted? Excited? Chomping at the bit to join the stitching fun?? Well, head across to the Quilters Angel page HERE to sign up ... you won’t regret it, I promise! 😉 Tell them the crazy bear lady sent you! Tee! Hee! Hee! Why not grab a few friends to sign up, too, then plan a stitching play date together. I’d love to see photos of your gathering. 😊

Right now, though, I’m off to put the kettle on & plan what I’m going to share on the GSI FB page. 😉 Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Hamster Wheel Life!

Hello, hello! Yes, it’s the missing-in-action Kris reporting in, FINALLY! 🙄 Life in the Meares’ Madhouse is feeling suspiciously like a giant hamster wheel where we seem to be running full-pelt trapped in a busy loop, wanting to get off for a bit, but knowing it’s not on the cards anytime soon ... SIGH! This grown up gig is a rort, isn’t it?! 😜

Both GB & I have been crazy busy with our grown up jobs & hanging out for a break ... & although that’s sadly not going to happen any time soon, we DID have a change of scenery last week ... which has contributed to my tardy blogging. 😜 GB had to head north to Bundaberg for work & was going to be away for possibly two nights, so I took a day off, threw a few things in a bag & jumped in the car with him. It wasn’t a ‘holiday’ because GB was working, but sometimes even a change of scenery helps. And it did. 😁 While GB was working, I camped out in the air conditioned motel room with my kindle library for company. I also did a bit of ...

... stitching on the final part of my Secret Squirrel project ... more on that in a special post soon! I also rediscovered reruns of a couple of TV shows I watched in the’90’s ... & remembered why I avoid daytime television. 🤣 Sadly, we didn’t have time to do relaxing things together, but we DID eat our lunch with a lovely view before hitting the road to come home ...

It’s not as obvious in this pic as it was in person, but it was super windy & the water was really choppy ... not to mention pretty muddy due to storm water runoff from recent heavy rain events, so we weren’t tempted to go swimming. 😜 Nice to listen to the waves, though. 😊 

And now for the OPAM draw for February ... I won’t do a January draw as not many people reported finishes, but for February we had ...

101 FINISHES!

YAY! Not a bad start to the creative year. 😉 Thanks to everyone who emailed their finish tallies through ... much appreciated. And the winner of the random draw was one of our repeat offenders ...

RAEWYN

And what a lovely repeat offender she is! 😉 Congrats Raewyn! Drop me an email & I’ll send you your PDF pattern prize. Thanks to all of you who have joined the OPAM fun again this year ... I love seeing your finished projects & hearing how stitching, quilting, knitting, crochet etc. releases happy hormones in your hearts. 🥰

Now it’s time for me to get my nose back to the grindstone & finish writing the instructions for my Secret Squirrel project ... GROAN! It’s my least favourite part of designing, but it’s worth it when people give me feedback to say they enjoyed making up one of my patterns because they could follow the instructions easily. Enjoy the rest of your week & remember to set at least some small pockets of time aside to be creative to recharge your batteries. 😉 Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Pop-In. Visit!

Sorry I’m running late with the OPAM roundup ... life has been a wee bit hectic & I’m chasing a design deadline that I’ll share more about very soon. So of COURSE some of my afternoon was spent ...

Aaahh ... yes ... the bane of every stitcher! 🙄 I eventually got it sorted ... after a LOT of muttering & bad words! 😜

I promise to be back on the weekend with the OPAM draw & some exciting news ... STAY TUNED! 😁 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS