march 27 - question for commenters

First, I really do appreciate each and every one of your comments.
I have a question that I hope someone can answer...I have all comments sent to my email as well so I can be sure not to miss any. When I respond to that comment email...does the commenter receive that response or is it just floating out there in cyberspace? I don't want anyone to feel that I am ignoring their comments!
Thanks again for visiting!

march 27 - totally useless SAL

It's the New Moon again which means it's time for an update on my totally useless SAL. With all the little frog visits this month I thought my jar would be fuller but maybe all those threads just settled to the bottom! There are a few bits of fabric in there and some floss and fabric tags as well. Next update will be on the 25th of April. For more information on the SAL visit here. Info is on the left sidebar.

march 25 - Not Much Sttiching Going On

There hasn't been much stitching going on the past few days. Hubby has been sick...this happens so rarely, but when it does happen it happens big time...so I have been playing nurse some.
I did start CCN's "Daisy Sampler" and about 1/3 done and also stitched a little bit on my "Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler". No pictures to post because I am at work without access to my camera.
I have been reading and listening to lots of books though...you know how I love my cozies and I've read a few of those..."Cream Puff Murder" by Joanne Fluke; "Batter Off Dead" by Tamar Myers; and "Oolong Dead" by Laura Childs. All good...especially the last one...this is the latest in the tea shop mystery series...one of my faves. I also just finished Maeve Binchy's latest, "Heart and Soul". She is one of my most favorite authors. I just love the Irish setting and the characters in her stories, and this one did not disappoint.
Well, must get back to work! We have "Creature Feature" coming to the library today. It's spring break so a good excuse to have some special programs...this guy brings all sorts of reptiles for the children to get to know. Not really my cup of tea but they have lots of fun!

march 25 - Companion Blog

I was thinking that I needed a place for wish lists, trades, etc,(to keep myself a bit more organized) so I started a companion blog to this one. The link is in the sidebar under my profile. I just started this so there is not much there yet.
But I thought it would also be a great place for some of my blogging friends to post links to their own wish lists...after all, you never know when the cross stitch fairy might decide to send along a little surprise!
So please accept this invitation to visit that blog and to post a comment with a link to your wish list or just to add a comment that includes something you might really like to have...you can include non-stitchy items as well.
I'll start a post there right away!

Thanks for visiting!

mar 23 - you are all much too kind!

More surprises awaited me in my inbox when I got home...Mar has also awarded me the Friends award (which I would like to award right back to her as well) and Jan has awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thank you both so much! When I started blogging I was sure no-one would be at all interested in anything I might have to share, so reading your comments means so much to me each day.

There are rules to the Kreativ Blooger award:
1. Copy the Kreativ Blogger Award into your blog
2. Make a link to the person's blog who nominated you
3. Nominate eight (8) other blogs
4. Add their links to your blog
5. Leave a comment on the blogs that you nominated telling them that you have sent them an award

The description of the Friends award is in my previous post.

The best part of all of this is that I have the opportunity to nominate some other blogs that I love to read. Some of you have probably already received these awards. So choose whichever one you want and please don't feel obligated to pass them along unless you want to.

Please pay a visit to these wonderful blogs:

Hazel
Jill
Erynne
Vonna
Barb
Heather
Andrea
Kendra
Edgar
Annemiek
Sue
Clare
Heidi
Sherry

Thanks again for visiting!

mar 23 - an award!

I was catching up on my blog-reading this morning and got a wonderful surprise. My friend Ally has given my this award!
The description for this award reads "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind of writers. When you pass this award along please include these guidelines".
What a great start to an otherwise kind of dreary day.
I would like to pass this award on to these very deserving bloggers. I really enjoy spending time with them all.I hope you will pay them all a visit too.
Siobhan; Terri; Cindy Mae; Concetta, Andrea and Coni.

mar 19 - off the diets

Well, not only have I gone off my weight loss diet (such as it was), but I have gone off my stash diet as well! I got a call yesterday from Acorns & Threads that a pattern I ordered was in, so of course I had to stop by this afternoon on the way home. The pattern is Midnight Stitching's "Quaker Winter Slumber"...one of my favorite designers...and I love that this will be a seasonal series. I picked out a piece of opalescent white cashel to stitch it on and some Weeks floss in "eggplant"...it's a kind of greyish-purple color that reminded me of winter. I think it will look really nice. I'm not sure yet if I will finish this as a bellpull or just frame it. I haven't really done a bellpull like this before...maybe I can find someone to finish it for me when the time comes!

Anyway...we didn't get to The Attic when we were in Arizona, so I had some stash cash just trying to get out of my wallet...so I gave in and got these three Blackbird Designs pieces..."March of the Daffodils", "Keepsake Box & Pinkeep", and "When This You See". BBD is another of my favorite designers, although I think I've only actually finished one design so far. But I feel a case of start-itis coming on.

It's been a long week and I am really looking forward to a weekend of stitching. Hope it happens!

Thanks for visiting and for all the wonderful comments...it's good to know I'm not the only one who sometimes has a bad morning!

mar 18 - is it Friday yet?

Just popping in for a quick post...the day is already starting out beautifully. I got to work and realized that I was wearing 2 different shoes! (This is the 2nd time!) Luckily I have an old pair of Birks under my desk. I guess this is what happens when one gets up at 3 am and puts her shoes on in a dark garage.
No stitching last night...I was so tired I just sat like a lump watching the World Baseball Classic...great finish for the US team though.
Thanks to everyone for your kind comments on "Alla Turca". I love the floss color too...it's one of Carrie's Threads - Banana Split (great name!)
Well...back to work for now.
Thanks for visiting!

mar 15 - progress

Back to work for me tomorrow, and I'll probably be bushed when I get home, so I wanted to post this picutre tonight while I still have some energy left!
This is Parts 1-3 of "Alla Turca"...a mystery SAL by Pelin Tezer with the Stitcher's Heaven group. The stitching looks a bit crooked but it really isn't! I'm just glad to be caught up.
Good night and thanks for visiting!

mar 15 - frogs - wanted and unwanted

I don't know if I ever mentioned that I collect frogs...we met a shaman a few years ago who said I have a strong connection to the little creatures and that was before she knew I collected them. Go figure...maybe I was a frog in a past life. Anyway, these are 3 that I just added to my collection. The two little ones were picked up in Arizona at the Desert Botanical Garden gift shop, and the third was just too cute to pass by!
The unwanted frog arrived last night as I was nearing the end of Part 2 of "Alla Turca" and realized I had miscounted on Part 1 and had to take out both the birds and the little bottom bit. I'm almost caught back up...we were watching "Treasure of Sierra Madre" last night as I stitched along. So hopefully I'll get this finished today. It's another rainy day here in Oregon and other than grocery shopping there's not much else I have to do.

Thanks to Daffycat for reminding me that the cute ladybug design in my previous post is one of Erynne's. Her blog is now linked in that post...if you haven't already, please go visit her. She has a great blog and some great designs...this ladybug one is a freebie there.

Also, please visit Kim at her blog...she is having a wonderful giveaway there.

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

mar 14 - lovely surprises and ladybugs

There were two lovely surprises waiting for me in our mailbox when we got home from our trip. The first is this pretty red block that Sue stitched for the monthly block exchange with the STO group. I think it will make a lovely scissor fob.

I also received this wonderful mattress pincushion from Mylene. She had a drawing on her blog and I was the lucky winner.This is one of Erynne's adorable designs and I love ladybugs so it is just perfect. Mylene did a beautiful job with both the stitching and finishing. It is my first mattress pincushion and I just love it.

Here is my stitched "Ladybug Ladybug" from Little House Needleworks. I've had this design for a long time but was finally spurrd on to stitch it for the spring SAL with the Little House yahoo group. This was really fun to stitch. I used a bone colored jobelan and DMC threads.

I'm trying to finish up the first three parts of "Alla Turca" this weekend, so hopefully I'll have a
picture to post tomorrow. It's kind of soupy outside so a good day to sit by the fire and stitch, I think!

Thanks for visiting!

mar 13 - we have a winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my drawing for "Ladybug Ladybug". I was able to stitch the design while we were away, so I have 2 patterns to give away instead of one! The winners are Laurie (in MA) and Jennifer (in PA). Please email me with your addresses and I will get these right out to you.
For some reason Blogger isn't letting me post pictures, so I'll try to post a pic of my finished piece later tonight.
Thanks for visiting!

mar 9 - on vacation

We'll be off in a little bit to the airport...on our way to the Phoenix area for a few days. We'll be going to a couple of spring training games (Mariners), do a little sightseeing, and a stop at Attic Needleworks in Mesa for me. I hear it's a wonderful shop.
Anyway, I hope everyone has a good week and I'll draw a winner for the giveaway when we return on Friday sometime...let's say, noon.
Bye!

mar 7 - Giveaway!

When going through my patterns for the spring SAL at the LHN/CCN board, I realized that I have 2 copies of "Ladybug Ladybug" by LHN. (gee- what a surprise - NOT!)
Anyway, if anyone would like a chance at winning this pattern, please leave a comment on this post and I will choose a winner when we come home from our trip next Friday (March 13).
Good Luck!

mar 6 - new to me

It was a year ago or close to it when this parcel arrived in my mailbox. Felicity
had decided to pass along a project that she no longer wanted to stitch on. She offered it on her blog and I received it. The design is by Glendon Place - Five Simple Rules for Happiness. Over time, I finally acquired the pattern and all the necessary threads. Felicity sent me the fabric as shown above - gridded (I have never done this before) and stitching started. So now I am in the mood to start something new and I have pulled this out of the stitching basket. Tonight is the SAL on Let's Stitch and I will be working on this piece. We'll see how far I get!

mar 6 - a tale of 2 robins

You may remember the trouble I had with this piece...it took me over a week to take out all the stitches I had mistakenly put in, but I have been stitching on this every night this week and it is done and in the mail to the next participant. There are six of us doing the Quaker Friendship Sampler. This is Clare's piece and it is stitched using Gloriana silk in "Autumn Arbor". The photo is too dark to tell, but the colors in this floss are beautiful. This was my first time using Gloriana and I really enjoyed using it.



We are also starting another robin with Ally's group. This time I have chosen Cross-Eyed Cricket's "Dickens' Mittens" for my piece. Everyone will stitch one individual mitten and I am planning on finishing them as either ornaments or small pillows. They will be stitched on "water lily" jobelan with the stitcher's choice of floss. I am also planning on doing a companion piece to go along with these. I just love all the CEC mittens!