Jeepers Creepers!

... Where’d you get those peepers! No ... I haven’t lost the plot ... well ... maybe! 🤣 I’m just tucked up inside today, listening to the rain bucketing down & working on my Secret Squirrel project.

You guessed it! Adding peepers around the stitchery. My design process is kind of organic. I might have a vague idea of how it will look when finished, but I start with one element, then add another ... then stop & live with it for a bit to work out what comes next. And as you can see, I’ve learned to take notes of measurements & construction directions as I go to make the instruction writing process a bit easier. I’m enjoying seeing this project growing & can’t wait to share it with you. Stay tuned. 😉

Do you take the time to enjoy the process of creating? I hope so, because as overused as the phrase is, “it’s not just about the destination, it’s about the journey.” We can sometimes get so focused on aiming for perfection or finishing a project that we lose some of the enjoyment & fun. That’s part of why I’m hosting OPAM again this year ... not only to give us all a little nudge to finish projects, but to remind us to take time to enjoy creating. For those of you who have managed both goals this month 😉 it’s time to add your tally to your sidebar finishes list & email me your February totals. 😁

For now, though, I’m off to make myself another cup of tea as I contemplate what comes next in my Secret Squirrel project. 😉 I hope you all have a relaxing & creative weekend. For those of you in south-east Queensland & nearby please stay safe in this mega-wet weather & take special care if you have to be on the roads. Take care, stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling. 😊 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

Antidote For A Hard Week!

Hello to everyone out there in blogland! I hope you’re all keeping well & that your week has been a bit kinder to you than mine has been. I’ve had one of those “BLAH” kinda weeks ... you know, where no one particular thing is hugely wrong, but a lot of little things just get on top of you a bit. That was my week.

It started with a couple of days of cramped neck & shoulder muscles causing nasty headaches after GB & I got our booster shots. (Still preferable to the effects it’s guarding against!) Then at my grown up job I seemed to have everyone’s complaints, frustrations, problems & negativity dumped on my desk during a transition period where I’m already juggling more tasks & responsibilities than usual. Next challenge was GB having to be out of town for his grown up job ... he’s been out of town almost as many work days as he’s been IN town so far for 2022. And it’s all just hit me this morning, so I’m feeling a bit BLAH! 

So ... my antidote to the BLAH? ...

... pulling out my sewing pouch to work on my Secret Squirrel project. I can’t give you too many hints yet, but now you know there’ll be Cottage Garden Threads & cake - sounds like my kind of party. 😉🤣

Add a fave action flick & a cup of Tambourine Tea’s “Mango Tea” & maybe I’ll survive this week after all. 😜 What’s YOUR go-to remedy for a tough week? Would love to hear how you cheer yourself up. I hope you find time this weekend to do something that makes you smile. 😊 In the meantime, stay safe, stay well, keep stitching & keep smiling. Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS 

PS. Have you emailed me your deets to join this year’s OPAM fun? We’re gathering our tribe to stitch, encourage & cheer each other on to finish (or work towards finishing) some of our projects, so why not join us?! 😊 

Personality Colours!

Hello lovely blogging buddies! Just popping in to share a bit of my creative randomness with you. 😜

I was fondling my ever-growing addiction of CGT Cottage Garden Threads  ... er ... that is ... I was thoughtfully contemplating my collection of CGT to choose threads for a new design 🤣😂 ... & I let my eye wander to choose some thread colours that I feel best represent my personality. And what do you know ... 

... my eye was drawn to teals, turquoises, emeralds, sages, mints & aquas ... I must have been channeling my inner mermaid! (I’m a Pisces Mermaid ... which is much more glamorous than the traditional fish symbol, right?!) 🤣 Which colours represent “YOU”? Are you a green mermaid girl? A pink girly-girl? A sexy sky-blue girl? A bold burgundy girl? A racy red girl? 😜  We could start a new “thing” ... The Thread Colour Personally Guide! 🤣😂

I told you it was a bit random ... but I do LOOOOOOVE my CGTs! 🥰😍 They really should make me their head cheerleader! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you’re all taking care of yourselves. Stay safe, keep stitching & keep smiling! 😊 Til next time ...

MERMAID BEAR HUGS! 🤣

CHEERS!

KRIS 

OPAM Is On Again!

 Here we go again! 😜 Yes, OPAM (One Project A Month for the uninitiated!) is back for another year of encouraging we creative types to ... Well ... CREATE! 😁 And hopefully get some of the projects on our "To Do" list crossed off & added to our "Finishes" list. OPAM is all about taking some time out of busy schedules to recharge our creative batteries by playing with fabric, threads, wools, cottons & needles of all sorts. The goal is to finish at least one project per month for the year, which will give us a minimum of 12 finishes by the time we next sing "Auld Lang Syne" ... Or we will have at least made significant progress on some longer-term projects.

For a new year of OPAM, we need a new logo button ...

Thanks to my Beloved Geek Boy, we've got one. 😁 And do you see that rather large number on the badge? That's how many projects have been recorded by OPAMers since we started! Over 54,299 finishes! WOWSERS!! Are you ready to add some more to the tally by playing along? Let's keep it simple ... 

HOW DO I JOIN OPAM 2022?

1. Send me an email to tell me you'd like to play along. Please make sure you include: Your NAME, your BLOG ADDRESS, your EMAIL ADDRESS. My email address is: kris@tagalongteddies.com.au

2. Right click on the new OPAM logo & "save as" to your files. Add it to your blog sidebar with a link back to my blog ... In case others who visit your blog would like to play along.

3. Under the OPAM badge on your sidebar, add a list of  2022 FINISHES which shows your finishes each month. You can add this as a blog page if you prefer ... As long as it's clear which finishes you've added each month.

4. At the end of each month, update your list of finishes (a blog post with photos is great to share & encourage others, too) AND email me your final tally for the month. Each month I'll choose a random prize winner who will receive a PDF copy of a Tag Along Teddies pattern I've designed as a fun, quick project.

5. Projects must be COMPLETELY FINISHED before being added to your tally ... Quilts have to be quilted & bound, cross stitcheries have to be framed or made into a project etc. if you aren't sure whether your project counts ... Email me & ask. 😁

6. Tallies should only include soft crafts ... Sewing, quilting, embroidery, cross/long stitch, crochet, knitting ... Again, if you're uncertain, email to check.

7. HAVE FUN CREATING!

There won't be a cut off date for sign up, people can just keep joining the fun as we go along. 😁 After a few weeks, I'll add a list of this year's OPAMers to my sidebar so you can hop around visiting & encouraging each other. It means we'll all have a world-wide cheer squad. 😁 (You can still see last year's participants list on my sidebar) And remember this is a LOW STRESS challenge, so if you have a month (or two or three!!) where life gets in the way or you're working on long term projects & don't have a finish to record ... IT'S OK! 😁

I think that covers the basics ... If questions come up as we go, I'll share them in a blog post. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy playing along with me again this year ... It's a nice, low key nudge for us all (me included, since I should set a good example, right?! 😜 ) to create & finish projects. Some of us are SERIAL STARTERS! Tee! Hee! Hee! 

Right now, though, I'm off to put the kettle on for a cup of Mango Tea. 😉 Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS

Happy New-ish Year!

Well ... there’s nothing like starting the year as you’re likely to go along, right?! 😜 We’re already two & a half weeks into 2022 & I’m just getting around to wishing you a happy new year. Why do I get the sneaking suspicion that I’m likely to be two & a half weeks behind for the rest of the year! Tee! Hee! Hee! I hope you all had the best Christmas & New Year period that you could have & that 2022 is being kind to you so far. Let me catch you up on my start to 2022 a little bit ...

GB & I both had some much-needed time off over the holidays (though not as much as we would have liked! 😜) & I think we left the house twice in 10 days! 😜 Apart from catching up with our parents, we were quite happy to stay away from everyone for a bit to sleep, read (me), binge watch favourite tv shows (GB), watch cricket (both of us) & generally recharge our batteries. By the second half of our break, we were even ready to tackle some jobs around the house, including ...

... painting our sitting room. When we bought our house seven years ago, it had all been painted in neutral taupe tones with white trims. While I love looking at photos of shabby chic neutrally decorated homes, it turns out I’m too much of a colour freak to live with neutral colours for too long. 😜 I’ve previously shared pics of our bedrooms as they’ve been updated, so ...above is GB in painting action & ...

... the same wall completed. The colour in the first pic is closer to the reality ... the second is taken at night with the new fairy lights on, so has a bit of a gold tone to it.

Another wall, looking through the arch, down the hallway that’s been painted the same dark sage-y green, towards the front door.. I love how it’s come up ... it makes me smile every time I walk through. 🥰 It feels so much cosier in there, now & the white trims really pop, as do the colours in my quilts & pretties. 😍

I also started working on a new Secret Squirrel project during my break for an exciting event coming up soon. I can’t give too much away, but this was the bundle of goodies I was given to design with ...

Pretty fabrics & some yummy Cottage Garden Threads! 😍 Can’t give too much away, though! 🤣 Stay tuned for updates. 

And switching from interior design to sewing stuff ... I’m finally wrapping up last year’s OPAM tally. I think there must have been a lot of people receiving handmade gifts for Christmas last year, because December was our largest tally for 2021 with ...

128 FINISHES!

WOWSER! Well done everyone! There might have also been more of us enjoying some time at home over the holidays so we had more opportunities to create. 😉 Thank you all so much for playing along with me for OPAM 2021! I always feel so privileged to be part of your creative journey & hope the monthly check-in encourages you to spend time relaxing & creating. 🥰 And the winner of the December random draw is ...

JUDY S

Congrats Judy! Drop me an email & I’ll send you your PDF pattern prize. Judy has been playing along with OPAM since it kicked off in 2009 & she knits the most GORGEOUS socks ... amongst other things. 😜 For those of you who (like me!) find OPAM a helpful nudge to get creative & FINISH some projects, you’ll be pleased to know that I WILL be hosting OPAM again for 2022! 😁 Sign up will be in early February ... it’s a bit later start this year because besides running late to wrap up OPAM 2021 & chasing a design deadline, I’m working more hours at my grown up job for a bit while we’re short-staffed, so need a bit longer to get organised, so stay tuned for signup announcement! ☺️

 But right now, I can hear the kettle playing my song, so I’ll sign off & make myself a cup of tea. 😊 I hope you are all staying safe, staying well, keeping on stitching & keeping on smiling! ☺️ Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS