Hold Onto Your Hats!!

 Are you holding onto your hats?! :0) Yep, it's almost that exciting time when Sweet Peg & I take a deep breath & open the sign up for ...

Yes ...we're a little bit crazy, we're a little bit mad, but so many of you have told us how helpful you find it to join the OPAM fun to stay motivated & inspired to be creative, that we've decided to run it again.

Sign up will start ...

FEBRUARY 1

So make sure you pop back here tomorrow or drop in to see my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime Sweet Peg to read the guidelines & sign up. Are you a Repeat Offender who (like me!) finds OPAM a great nudge to get projects finished? Or are you a Newbie who is joining for the first time? Everyone is welcome! :0) It's fun, it's low-stress & designed to be encouraging for us all.

I'm looking forward to seeing all the fantastic projects you clever clogs gals will be finishing this year. And hopefully I'll finish a few myself. :0)

So ... See you tomorrow! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

Aaaaahh! Summer In Queensland!

Hello to you all from our rather warm corner of QLD! With the temperature at around 37C & the humidity about three times that, there's no mistaking which season we're in. :0) And if we had any doubts, the cicadas singing, black cockatoos squawking & the cricket on TV would confirm it for us. :0) Aaaaaahh! Summer in QLD! LOVE IT!!

There really hasn't been much of anything happening around here in the last couple of weeks. A bit of hand stitching, a bit of machine sewing, but no real progress as such. I think my mojo has gone on holiday without me. :0)

About the only achievement I can claim this week is turning this ...

... My big red pot full of summer peaches ... into ...

... Yummy peach jam. (There were quite a few more bottles from the batch ... We will be enjoying peach jam for quite some time. :0) ) It's a bit hard to see in this pic as it was taken at night, but the peach jam is the most glorious deep gold colour. YUMMO! Particularly delicious on warm croissants. MMMMMMMM ... I think that might be our Saturday morning treat this week. :0)

Whatever you're up to this week, whether you're sweating through sweltering summer days or shivering through frosty snowy ones (& you know which of those choices I prefer!!), I hope you're well & enjoying 2017 so far. I'll be back to talk about OPAM 2017 soon, so stay tuned! :0) In the meantime I'm off to pop a few more ice cubes in my water bottle. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS xx

 

 

Getting There & OPAM!

Hello to all you lovely folks out there in blogland! It's a lazy, hazy, summer afternoon here on top of our 'hill' & I have to confess to feeling a little lazy & hazy myself. :0)

Firstly, I need to say a HUGE thank you to all of you gorgeous gals who left supportive comments, sent emails or text messages to cheer me up & check how I was doing after I shared with you that my year had got off to a pretty yucky start. I felt so very blessed to be surrounded by such positive, supportive friendship. While the circumstances were pretty crappy, perhaps it was a good reminder for me to start 2017 with ... A reminder that I have truly AWESOME family & friends supporting me! :0)

So, after a shaky start to the new year, I'm starting to feel more myself again & have even been doing a bit of sewing ... Nothing monumental & nothing finished, but feeling good enough again to be a bit creative.

I started with a bit of hand stitching on Friday night when our Friday Nighters group started back ...

At the end of last year I needed a new hand stitching project in a hurry, so decided to get a jump start on next Christmas (this Christmas?? I'm so confused!) ... Don't get excited ... I probably still won't get around to DOING anything with this until December! :0) Michelle Ridgway ... Do you recognise this little hide-and-seeker? :0) The stitchery was designed by Michelle as a sweet Christmas giveaway & it was fun to stitch someone else's design for a change. Not sure what he will be made into yet ... December is still a long way away. :0)

And I also dragged a machine project out of the cupboard ...

This disappearing four patch has been on the slow boil for over two years now. I drag it out when I feel like sewing but don't want to have to make notes to write instructions etc for a pattern, but my attention span is that of a goldfish & I tend to cut & re-sew four or five blocks before it goes back into the cupboard. This is one of the many reasons I don't take on epic quilts like the Fabulous Fiona does ... I'd never finish them. :0)

And speaking of finished projects ... I need to do the final OPAM draw for 2016. Firstly, a HUGE thank you to my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime Sweet Peg for co-hosting OPAM. She is such a busy lady & such a sweetie ... And she has agreed to join me again in 2017 to Co-host OPAM. :0) YAY!! 

Thank you, too, to all of you lovely ladies who have played along with us. Numbers have dropped off a bit in the last couple of years as lots of people stop blogging & move to what Chookyblue calls 'the dark side' - Facebook & Instagram :0) - to share their creative endeavours. I know it's not as instant, but I believe there's still a place for blogging, so thank you to participants for keeping the fun going. Some of you have been playing along since the very beginning & that's so nice, to know that you enjoy OPAM so much & find it helpful as a motivation to be creative.

Sign up for 2017 will be at the end of January, so stay tuned. :0)

OK ... Well we must have all been madly preparing for Christmas this year, as December was our record month for finishes ...

435 Finishes!

WOW! Well done everyone! And that took our total of finishes for 2016 to ...

2261 Finishes!

WOWSERS! There must be SO many sewing cupboards with spare room in now, right?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Well done to everyone ... Including those of you who may not have added to your tally, but spent time working on long-term projects. Keep it up, everyone! After all, the main goal of OPAM is to encourage us all to take time out to relax & create.

And the winner of the December draw was ... 

JUDY S

Congrats Judy! Send me an email with your snail mail address & I'll pop a little something in the post for you once I get organised. :0)

Well ... That's about it from me for today. I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing &/or productive weekend. Here's hoping for a good week! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

 

Feeling A Bit Blah!

Hello to all of my blogging buddies! I hope you all had an enjoyable & restful Christmas. We caught up with GB's family on Christmas Day & spent Boxing Day with my folks which was nice. 

I had to work one day this week while my boss was going to be out of the office & was then looking forward to five days of sleeping in, watching cricket & some sewing. Well ... After my boss blindsided me with a very attacking rundown of my real or perceived shortcomings for the whole year, I found myself feeling rather BLAH! None of us are perfect & there's always room for improvement, but I just feel like I've had my feet kicked out from under me.

So ... There has been a bit of sleeping in & I have watched some cricket & spent a lot of time reading ... But no sewing. I just haven't had any motivation or inspiration. I know I'll eventually bounce back, but just feeling BLAH for now.

On a positive note, my SSCS partner Steffi sent me an email to tell me that she loves her main gifties.

I made Steffi a set of drawstring bags that she can use to organise her underwear in her bag when she travels (like I do) or she might like to use them to store her creative projects. I loved working with the black & neutral colours & the fabrics were yummy. :0) I also included a copy of my "Sweetly Shabby Christmas" pattern, some pretty fabrics & some embroidery threads. I hope Steffi enjoys playing with her gifts. Santa is still being a bit slow in delivering my parcel from my SSCS partner - he must have worked overtime & worn himself out. :0)

Thank you once again to Chookyblue for hosting this fun swap. :0)

OPAM gals ... We're almost at the end of another month, so if you haven't already updated your sidebar lists & emailed your tally to me or my GORGEOUS Partner-In-Crime Sweet Peg, you'd better hop to it. Good thing I finished a few projects before Christmas & the onset of my "BLAHS".

As 2016 winds down (not quite in the way I'd hoped or planned on, but there you go!) I wish you all a very happy, healthy & enjoyable 2017. Remember not to take your friends & loved ones for granted, spend time doing what you love & makes you happy & take care of yourself. I look forward to continuing to share your creative endeavours in the new year. Thank you to all of you for your support, interest & friendship. You make me feel blessed. :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

 

Christmas Wishes!

Wishing all of my lovely blogging buddies a very happy, safe and blessed Christmas. May this special time fill your hearts with the light, warmth and love that came to earth that first Christmas when God gave us the gift of His precious Son Jesus.

Til next time ...

CHRISTMAS BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS xx