Come Celebrate With Me!

Good morning, everyone! Yes, it's my birthday and I'm celebrating with two giveaways for my friends and followers. Don't I look positively delighted in this mid-1950s photo which was taken sometime around my first birthday? Even then I loved a great birthday party--especially the cake. I was a pudgy little thing, wasn't I? And thank goodness my hair grew in... This was taken at my parents' first apartment in Buffalo, NY. I was the only child back then; little did I know that my younger brother would be making an appearance later that year. Spoiled? Oh, yes-- especially by my dear father who, my mother says, was so delighted with me that he would wake me up to play when he came home in the middle of the night after completing his shift at the hospital where he was an intern. (Much to my poor mother's dismay who had spent the entire evening trying to get me settled down and asleep!).

Anyway, to celebrate my 56th birthday and my 2nd blogoversary, I have a pair of giveaways to offer my blogging friends.

First up, and I think most of you guessed it from my "hint" a few posts ago) is Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow and all 59 skeins of DMC that you will need to stitch it. (Please note: 1 or 2 skeins (depending on what count fabric you choose) of Needle Necessities Mint Frost are also needed but are not included in my giveaway.) My only stipulation is that you must really want to stitch this. Please don't enter this giveaway just to win the chart or just to win the threads. I want this to go to someone who will actually stitch it and then pass it along in a giveaway of her / his own when you are finished. I was lucky enough to win this from the generous Jolene and I would love to keep the kindness going. You don't have to pass along the DMC, just the chart... So please consider this when entering.


My other giveaway, shown above, is one I'm calling my "Winter into Spring" giveaway since it has items dealing with January, February, and March. For January, I'm including the Waxing Moon "January Sampler" chart which I stitched last year. You can see my finish right here and in my sidebar. It really is one of my very favorite finishes ever. The month of February is represented by a pretty pair of red scissors for Valentine's Day, and March is symbolized by Prairie Schooler's "Daffodils" chart along with all 18 skeins of DMC needed to stitch it. I'm also including five ornament sized (6 inches square) cuts of some of my favorite fabrics including: 28 ct. black Monaco, 32 ct. barnwood linen, 32 ct. sage Jobelan, 28 ct. wood violet Jobelan, and 32 ct. putty Belfast linen.

So, how do you enter? It's very simple. I want these giveaways to be for my followers--the people who visit my blog and take the time to read my posts, look at my photos, and sometimes even comment. Please do not post it on your blog--I would like the giveaways to go to someone who normally visits me here, not someone who just stops in to win a prize. To make it a bit more interesting for all of us, I'd love to hear the story behind your avatar or little icon. If you use a photo of yourself, tell me about it--was it taken at a favorite spot, does it bring back a wonderful memory; why did you choose it? If you use a flower or animal or piece of stitchery or some other representation--how did you happen to pick that? And if you don't have an icon, well, I'd love to hear what you would pick to "represent you" if you had to...Incidentally, Sharon (aka Daffycat) had a very interesting post about why you should have a photo or icon attached to your account. You might want to read about it here.

Here's the story behind mine--the little girl holding the mistletoe over the black cat hoping for a Christmas kiss. I picked this in early 2009 when I first began blogging mainly because of the black cat. Most of you know I adore black cats, having owned and loved my own dear Shadow for over 14 years. Although I am no longer a girl like the one pictured here, I am quite petite--only a little over 5' 1" tall--so I suppose in my mind that girl on my icon is me when I was much, much younger (however, having grown up in the '60s, and '70s my hair was never curly, but always long and straight and parted in the middle--wasn't everybody's?)! I also chose this because it was originally a portion of a vintage postcard which is another of my interests.

So, tell me your story...that's all it takes to be entered into my giveaway. Please make sure to tell me which giveaway you are entering and make sure you include your email address if it isn't connected with your profile. You may enter both giveaways, but can only win one... I'll close the contest on Friday, January 28th at midnight and will announce the winners sometime that weekend. Good luck to all!

I want to thank two special friends for their birthday gifts. First of all, sweet Myra made this darling little covered box for me. It looks like she hand-dyed her own fabric, covered the top of the box with a crocheted doily and topped it with her perfectly stitched "springy" design (she thought we could both use a touch of spring and, oh, is she right!). She also include a piece of the wonderful alphabet /lettering fabric that she had made my pouch out of for my Christmas gift and a little notebook to use as a stitching journal. Thank you, my friend; your gifts made me feel very special!

And special thanks to dear Cindy who sent me a much-appreciated gift certificate to 123 Stitch --can't wait to pick out something new. My oldest son also gave me a gift certificate for the same site for Christmas so I'll really enjoy my spending spree. Thank you so much, Cindy--your thoughtful gift certainly made my day! I'll be sure to let you know what I select...

Thank you for all of your kind comments on my last post--I try to answer each of you who have questions, but sometimes your account isn't attached to an email. Please feel free to email me personally with any questions and I'll be glad to answer... And thanks for the "get well" wishes--I ended up getting the flu and having to call in sick at work for the first time in 15 years! Yes, I was that sick, but I'm almost back to normal now so my new year is off to a good start after all. I hope you all have a wonderful week with lots of time for whatever makes you happiest. Bye now...