What Brightens My Day

Don't you just love getting cool stuff in the mail?  My mailbox contained a few goodies this week.  I found the cutest little wooden sewing acorn on Ebay.  I'd seen these before and always liked them, plus I love acorns, so I clicked the "buy it now" button and it was mine!  Since Mark is crafty with the wood lathe, I'm going to challenge him to make one of these!  And in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy using this sweet little acorn.

During the Grow Your Blog party, many bloggers were holding giveaways in connection with the event.  In an unheard of turn of events, I WON!  You see, I usually don't win anything.  But this time I was lucky enough to win this cute little corsage from Christine at The Alchymyst's Study!

You know how I love receiving handmade things.  I'm a big fan of craftiness, whether it's mine or someone else's.  And it's so pretty and springy.  Thank you Christine!

Speaking of giveaways, Meggie from Cross Stitch Cottage is having a very cool giveaway to celebrate reaching the 100-follower mark on her blog.  Check it out -- I'm sure that you'll agree that it's a very generous prize!

I'm making very good progress on my second stitched quilt square, even with the return of the dreaded trigger thumb.  Ugh.  Off to the doctor I went for another shot in the thumb, and was informed that this would be the last one.  Next time it will be surgery.  Nooooo!  But so far it seems to be doing better and it doesn't hamper my stitching much.

I found this little freebie butterfly chart online.  Cute, right?  No color key, so I had to choose the colors myself, sticking to the colors on the chart.  Or thereabouts.  I have a little more border to go, and then I'll move on to square #3.

More good news for my stitch group, Sisters In Stitches!  We have our retreat all planned and the location reserved.  I'll make sure that I let you know how it goes and take plenty of photos.  Also, we have a new location for our monthly Stitch Days!  Things seem to be going well for the Sisters In Stitches!

Mark and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast today and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something I never thought I'd see again!  A blast from the past!  A treat from childhood!  Bonomo Turkish Taffy!  I didn't know they made this stuff anymore.  I remember getting it from the store, walking out, and then slamming it on the ground.  This would crack it up into a lot of little pieces, thus preventing us from biting right into the bar and possibly incurring tremendous dental bills.  I haven't tried it yet, and am hoping it's just as delicious as I remember.  Yes, I know that the picture is sideways.  It's the right way in my photo album, so I think it's a Blogger thing.

One more thing:  I want to say "Welcome" to all of my new followers.  It's always a pleasure to see my follower number tick up little by little.  And I love hearing comments from all of my followers.  OK, now I'm off to enjoy the coffee treat (complete with froth) that Mark has made for me.

Which Came First?

It's the age-old question:  Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  I have no enlightening answer to this, but instead would like to talk about how we choose our stitching projects.  Do you select a chart from your to-do list and go from there?  Or find a wonderful piece of fabric and then wonder what would look good stitched on it?  I've done both, but more often have the chart in mind and then go from there.  So it's kind of a kooky surprise that the idea of my newest project was hatched in my brain from a floss color!  Weird, huh.  Or is it?  Have any of you ever done that? 

I had been eyeing a Weeks Dye Works color, Independence, at my LNS for a while.  What could I use this with?  I believe it's been discontinued (don't quote me on this), and at a recent stitching event I decided to scoop up a few for when I got inspired.  Well lo and behold, that very day I found the perfect chart for it:  "La Fleur" by The Sweetheart Tree.  Then I chose a 28 count natural color linen that I had in my stash.  Here's my progress.

The chart came with tiny blue buttons which will go well with the colors in the floss.  It'll make a really cool pin cushion.  I'm liking the way this is turning out.  So there you go:  floss first, then chart, then fabric.  A little unconventional for me!

Last Saturday was our Saturday Stitch Day.  The members of this group have really bonded over the last year or so.  So much so that we've decided that we need a name.  Thea came up with what we thought is a good one:  Sisters In Stitches.  We are like sisters, we stitch, and we are often in stitches, as we find ourselves laughing a lot.  Stitch Day is something I think we all look forward to, when we can stitch and catch up on what's going on in our lives.  I am very happy to be a part of this group and look forward to many years of stitching with these ladies.

I am busily gathering all kinds of goodies for my giveaway drawing.  Here's how it's going to work:  When I get to 100 followers, I will post about the giveaway.  To enter the drawing, you will a) have to be a follower of this blog and b) make a comment on that post.  More details will follow.  Only 11 followers to go!