Almost There!

There's been a lot going on around here lately.  One thing is that I've accepted a new position in the library system I work for.  It's a good change, and rather than being nervous about it, I'm actually looking forward to it.  Imagine that, from someone who likes her routines.

My fellow local stitchers and I are sad because of another change - the closing of The Stitch Store.  Terrie, the owner, is going through some changes in her own life and is in the process of closing this lovely gathering place for stitchers in the North Georgia area.  I know that I speak for all of her customers when I say that she and her store will be missed.  Our stitch group, Sisters in Stitches, had our last Stitch Day there last Saturday and gave Terrie a pretty nice sendoff.  What a bittersweet day, full of our usual laughter, but with sadness mixed in.  We wish Terrie the best of luck in all of her endeavors!

As a little remembrance of the day, I made each stitcher a cute little emery strawberry like the one I posted about a while back.  I have one more for our Virginia stitcher friend!!

Because the store is closing, there was a sale going on.  I stocked up on fabric, floss, charts and a few miscellaneous items.  Can you say "substantial stash acquisition bordering on hoarding"?  I do not have a photo of it because I'm embarrassed.

I love getting crafty gifts and this one is no exception.  Look at what my niece Grace, age 8, made for me.  It's a bulletin board with a border of beads.  And it came with two handmade "pins"!  I love it and will hang it in the craft room.  Thank you, Grace!

The title of this post, "Almost There", refers to my 95 followers.  I am oh-so-slowly getting to one hundred.  All I need are 5 more followers, then I'll post about the drawing for a bunch of cool stitch-related stuff!  Keep checking in with my blog for this post!

Not Usually Such a Blah-ger

It don't know what it is with me lately, but I haven't posted at all in the past week or so.  And I also haven't been stitching much.  Did I get thrown off by my trip to California?  Or has everything connected with getting that new job distracted me to no end?

It's just time to get back into the swing of things and get blogging and stitching again!  I mentioned our California trip.  My son goes to school and lives in Berkeley, so we like to go out there once in a while to see what he's up to.  It was a very good visit.  We enjoyed spending time with him and going to some interesting places.  One stop that I made was to Needle In A Haystack in Alameda, CA.  What a nice store -- well stocked, helpful staff and lots of room to browse.  I'm glad I got to go there and have a look around because my LNS is closing and I'll need a good place to order my stitching supplies from.  And yes, I did add to the stash.  Did you really think I would pass that opportunity up?

Welcome, new followers!  Now here's a little sneak peak at the items for my 100 Follower giveaway contest.  You can just barely see them, right?  When I get to the magic number of 100, we'll get a better look.  And just to be clear, the winner of this contest will be drawn from comments made to my contest post.  And that post will appear sometime after I see "100" on my followers list.  So stay tuned; only 6 followers to go!

What's in this goodie bag?

Late For The Hop

Yes, I'm late with this Blog Hop entry, but I have a good excuse.  I've been out of town.  And Berkeley, California, for me, is pretty much off the grid. Or it seems like another planet.  More about that on another post.

Blog Hop #7 asks the question:

What do you do with the floss, thread, beads, and other elements you have left over from full project kits?

Since I am generally a saver, I tend to keep any leftover materials from kits.  But admittedly, I've never used any thread left over from a kit.  Beads are another story.  I don't do a lot of kits though, so it's not like I'm going to become a thread hoarder or anything.  Also the quality of threads in kits can vary greatly.   If it's not up to DMC standards, then it probably will never be used for stitching.  So why do I keep it?  I might need it for something!

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here.