Giveaway Winner!!!

The winner of my 100th Follower Giveaway Drawing is:

Denise (Country Stitcher blog)!!

Congratulations, Denise!  I've already sent you an e-mail.  All you have to do is e-mail me with your address, and your stitchy goodies will be sent!

Thanks, everyone, for participating!  I hope you'll all continue to visit my blog and let me know how I'm doing. 

Ready For A Giveaway?

Yay!  I got my 100th follower today!!  I can finally reveal the contents of the project bag and let you know how to enter the drawing.

Here's a list of what our winner will receive:
*The Sanctuary by The Drawn Thread chart
*Happy Everything by Imaginating chart
*Morning Song by Just Nan chart with charm
*Sunflower Sampler by Country Cottage Needleworks chart
*Snowy Morn by Shepherd's Bush KIT with fabric, floss and beads
*Needle Threader
*LED Booklight
*8 Bohin needles (#26)
*Stitcher's Recordkeeper
*DMC #5282 metallic gold
*Kreinik Blending Filament #003 red
*Lo Ran project card
*Overture 4 ply cotton V59
*Overture 4 ply cotton V52
*Sew Mate Rainbow Thread Cutter Scissors - Blue
*Stork Tweezer
*Sheep Tape Measure
*Zipper Project Bag

Sound good? 

To enter:
1.  You have to be a follower of my blog.  If you're not yet, you still have time to sign up!
2.  Leave a comment on THIS POST on my blog.  You can say anything you want, including how awesome my blog is. 
     That's just a suggestion.  
     I'll leave the commenting for the contest open until Sunday, September 16 at 6:00 P.M. EST.

There will be ONE winner of this fabulous giveaway!  A name will be drawn and I'll announce the winner in a blog post on Sunday (September 16th) evening.  So come back here then to find out who the winner is!!

I'm doing this to let my followers know that I am so thankful for each and every one of you.  I blog for the fun of it and enjoy your comments and feedback to my ramblings. So good luck!

WIP Review

I noticed something as I increased my number of WIPs from one, to two, to three, then to four.  Yes, four is my self-imposed limit.  Currently.  But what I'm seeing is that I don't get very much finished.  Well, duh, you say.  It's true though, isn't it?  When we're project-hopping, the finishes just don't appear quickly.  I'm not a deadline-maker, but it would be nice to see something completed once in a while. 

So first I have "Holiest of Nights" by Homespun Elegance.  I started this one about 10 months ago thinking I would have it done for this Christmas.  Maybe if I worked on it exclusively......

Next is Prairie Schooler's "Folk Eggs", started in the spring.  I've actually made good progress on this, with only two more eggs to go after some finishing touches on the top left one.  I've found that I like stitching on black, but it attracts the cat hair like nothing else.  Especially the snowy white portion of Moxie's calico fur. 

I've barely made a dent in "Red White & Bloom" by Country Cottage Needleworks.  I know I'll finish it though.  I think this one was started around Memorial Day. 

Last but not least is "La Fleur" by Sweetheart Tree.  I'm stitching it with Weeks Dye Works color "Independence".   I think it looks cool.  Mark pronounced it "interesting".  I didn't ask him to elaborate.  This will be a pin cushion, and I already have finishing ideas for it.  So yay for me. 

Everywhere I look lately, there are so many wonderful fall and Halloween charts being stitched.  From my favorite blogs to stitching spots on Facebook, the photos of autumnal stitching are gorgeous!  So tempting, especially since I have that Just Cross Stitch Halloween issue.  My oh my, that magazine is full of cute things.  And don't even get me started on my recent stash haul.  But I think I'll stick to my limit of four and actually get a finish in before I begin a new project.  Self control, right?  That's all I need.

I need only one more follower to make 100!  Then I'll announce the details of my super-fantastic giveaway drawing!

By Popular Demand...

...I am posting photos of my recent, um, stash acquisition.  Yes, that's what it is, and not "bordering on hoarding" as I referred to it in my last post.  OK, so that's what we're calling it, right? 

So without further ado, here it is.

Charts and some misc. stuff.

Fabric, misc. floss and some buttons and charms.

Basket o' floss.

Stop laughing.  I had very good reasons for getting all of this.  One is that this was a phenomenal sale and we stitchers all understand that.  Yes?  Another is that is was all so awesome.  I mean, who doesn't love a new chart and pretty floss?  Or should I say a bunch of new charts. Oh, and I wasn't the only one -- there were plenty of stitchers in that store doing the exact same thing that I was. 

It's important to know that all of it didn't make it into the photos.  Some of it made its way into the giveaway bag.  And you'll find out exactly what's in there when the numbers of my blog followers reaches 100, along with the giveaway details!  This will be one of the coolest giveaway drawings you've seen in a long time!  I only need TWO more followers!

So there you have it.  I've come clean.  Is it a embarrassing hoard, or is it an awesome stash addition?  You decide.  But don't tell me unless you think it's awesome. 

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.