Foggy, Soggy Weekend!

Greetings to my blogging buddies from the top of our foggy, soggy ‘hill’. 

Believe it or not, this foggy view of some of our gorgeous eucalyptus tres is a SUNNY shot … compared to the rest of the weekend. 🤣 (the pic doesn’t really show how thick the fog was, but gives you an idea) It’s been miserable outside, so GB & I have lit the fire & we’re staying INSIDE. 😜 So it was perfect timing that I picked this up from my quilting fairy godmother the Fabulous Fiona  …

It may just look like a mesh drawstring bag, but this is my treasure sack. 😁 Fiona gifted this to me a few years ago to transport my quilts to & from her place for quilting … I think she got sick of my random plastic bag transporters. 🤣 It’s always exciting to get this bag back from Fiona because it means she’s woven her quilting magic on another of my quilts. Wanna have a sneaky-peeky??

If you look closer you can see Fiona’s clever quilting swirls. I love the Goldilocks balance Fiona finds when she quilts for me … not too little, not too much … just the right amount to add some zing & frame special features … like …

… appliqué. Love the corner features & swirls. 😍 Thank you Fiona!! So putting some binding on this quilt is today’s task … a good way to spend a drab ol’ Sunday … it will be even better with a cuppa … but I bet you knew I’d say that! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Whatever you’re up to this weekend I hope you’re staying safe (& DRY if you’re in eastern Australia!!) & finding time to create. Have a fabulous week. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

March & April OPAM Update!

FINALLY! Here I am, checking in to catch up with OPAM for March & April! It’s been a hectic couple of months … thank goodness you clever clogs OPAMers have been creating up a storm, cos I don’t have much to show for my time. 🙄 And the designing & stitching I HAVE been doing is … you guessed it! … Secret Squirrel! 😜 But I’ll show you teasing sneaky-peeky before I share the OPAM results. Some of you who’ve been visiting me for a while will be shocked to hear that (brace yourself, Kerryanne! 🤣)…

… I’ve been thinking about Christmas!! I know, I know … I’m usually in Christmas denial right up til December 24, but I’m joining the lovely Steph & Marion at the Quilter’s Angel to cook up a Christmas treat. You’ll have to wait a while longer to find out about this one. 😉 And yes … I’ve been playing with Cottage Garden Threads again! 🥰😍 They really should make me an ambassador, shouldn’t they … I could be bribed with pretty threads! 🤣😂

OPAM … well … lots of creativity happening in the last couple of months. HUGE thanks to those of you who emailed their tallies to me. Even if I didn’t get to email you back m I really appreciate you sending your finishes through … it saves me a lot of time when I’m updating the spreadsheet. And the totals were …

172 FINISHES for MARCH

&

88 FINISHES for APRIL 

YAY! Well done everyone who added to those tallies … & pats on the back, too, for those like me working on Secret Squirrel or long term projects. And although we’re ALL winners if we take some time out to create, the two random draw winners are …

KAREN

&

CHERYLL 

Congrats, gals! Drop me an email & I’ll send you your PDF pattern prize to have fun with. 😁

Right now, though, I think I hear the kettle playing my song, so I’m off to make a cuppa … & have a piece of rainy day cake …

MMMMMMMM! Cake!! 😋😍 It’s a 4 Ingredients recipe that was super quick to make & (funnily enough! 😜) has just four ingredients. It was just a bit crumbly, so I think I’ll add a bit more liquid next time I bake it, but it’s pretty yummy with a splodge of butter & a cuppa. 😉 Whatever you’re up to for the weekend, take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time …

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

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