Spring Giveaway!

Good morning, everyone--it's SPRING! Yes, spring officially began at 7:21 PM last evening. Finally--I don't ever remember a winter as long and cold as the one we just experienced, do you? So, in honor of the arrival of spring, my 100th post, and the special day that is today, March 21st (I'll tell you about that later), I have created three little pieces for three lucky people. Will one of them be you?


First up is an old Prairie Schooler freebie called "S" Is For Spring. This is probably the third or fourth time I've stitched this one--I like it that much. The chart is not available on the PS website any longer, but I was able to track it down for you via "The Wayback Machine"--oh, I love that name! Click here and be patient...it takes a while to work. I've found a number of older Prairie Schooler freebies that I didn't own via that site. It takes some patience, but there are a lot of goodies to be discovered. This is stitched on 32 ct. white jobelan and accented with a yellow/gold cord and ribbon.

Another oldie, but goodie freebie is this one from The Drawn Thread. Yes, the power of "The Wayback Machine" helped me track this one down, too. You can get it for yourself right here. Just wait a bit and then click on "Free" and you'll see where to click for "The Spring Keeper." The designer meant it to be a scissor keep, but I stitched it as a little spring ornament. Again, I used 32 ct. white jobelan with DMC and WDW threads. I love the little specialty stitches that are on the basket. And a new first for me--I made my own cording in the most luscious shade of soft purple! I finally used the Kreinik Custom Corder that I had been given for Christmas back in 2009 and I was so pleased with how the cording turned out.

Since I had so many wonderful comments about the little Just Nan "Spring!" ornament in my last post, I decided to make another little pillow to offer as my third giveaway. This is stitched on 28 ct. gray Monaco using DMC threads and backed with the leafy green fabric shown underneath it. I topped the white cording with a pale pink ribbon and pin (they're actually much lighter than my photograph is making them look). I'm sure the little brown bunny will find a welcoming home somewhere in the world.


So, now it's up to you to decide which one you would like to try to win. You may enter all three contests and the giveaway is open to my followers, old and new alike. Just leave a comment on this post telling me which ornament(s) you would like to win. And to make it more fun, please tell me your most memorable vacation spot or share with me a favorite memory from one of your vacations or holidays. For me, the image that sticks in my mind is the Cape Cod trip my husband and I took in the fall of 1981 before we had children. I still have a photo of me lounging on the beach in my pale pink bathing suit with my hair blowing in the wind. But, it is the look of complete contentment and joy on my face that makes this photo so special. You see, I was pregnant with my first child--my oldest son who was born 29 years ago today: March 21, 1982.

What a special day for any mother--the birth of her first child... I'm very proud of the young man he has become and it is so heart-warming to look back on that photo of myself, the young "soon-to-be" mother, and know that so many of my hopes and dreams for my child have come true. So Happy 29th Birthday to my firstborn son--may the coming year bring you every happiness!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your many kind comments. I so appreciate the time that you take in saying hello each time I post! I'll keep the giveaway open until April 2nd--good luck to all. Bye for now...

Paying It Forward

Good morning, my friends! Last year around this time, I was lucky enough to receive a beautifully stitched piece from Andrea as part of a PIF (Pay-It-Forward). You can see what she sent me right here--gorgeous, isn't it? Well, I had one year to stitch three treats for fellow stitchers who signed up to continue the kindness after they received my gifts. I squeaked right in under the deadline and I'm happy to say all three PIFs have been received and the recipients seem quite pleased with my efforts.


This little bird flew all the way to New Zealand and is now making his home with Lee. She is a major bird-lover, so I knew this would be the perfect piece for her. I've stitched it before for myself back in 2009, but mine remains unfinished in a dark drawer--I really need to get to it! I finished this one with some tiny brown beads and a brown ribbon hanger that I thought complemented the shades of brown in the bird. It is stitched on 32 ct. twilight blue Permin linen using DMC threads. "Painted Egg" is from the Cross-Eyed Cricket Design No. 109 chart called "Eggs...etera." (By the way, I will forever associate this little design with the beginning of my friendship with Myra as she asked about it and our friendship was born!) Anyway, I'm so glad you like it, Lee--it was a pleasure stitching it for you...



My next PIF has hopped it's way into the hearts of Melanie and her family in the United Kingdom. She told me that not only did she love it, but that her children were trying to claim it for their own, too! This is from Just Nan's "Spring!" chart and is stitched on 28 ct. gray Monaco with DMC. I backed it with the pale green leafy fabric shown and added a trio of pink, green, and white ribbons. I'm sure the little bunny will be very happy in his new home "across the pond."


I actually sent my third PIF to Shari in Indiana back in December. Most of you will recognize this as another Just Nan piece called "Snow Faces." Sweet Cindy had given me the chart as a gift last year and I thoroughly enjoyed stitching it. It is finished on 28 ct. blue Monaco with the suggested DMC threads. I did add a little border around it to give it a little something "extra" and trimmed it with snow-white cording and a pretty ribbon. I hope you enjoy it for years to come, Shari...

So, that completes my portion of the PIF--I look forward to seeing what creations spring from the hands of these three talented stitchers...





Oh, and look what we woke up to again this morning. After days of rain, surprise...the snow has returned. This is the view from my front door taken just now. Seriously, Mother Nature--did you know that spring begins on March 20th--nine days from now? It looks more like Christmas outside doesn't it? Time to get out the shovels again...

And, finally, finally, after two+ years, I have reached my 100th post today!! I think this calls for a bit of a giveaway--what do you think? Look for a little stitched something as a giveaway prize on my next post... Nothing huge, just a little token of my appreciation to say thank you for visiting me and taking the time to say 'hello!' Your comments never fail to bring me smiles. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. Bye for now...

Tweet! Tweet!

Good morning all! Hope everyone has had an enjoyable week so far. This week I stitched and finished my March ornament, LHN's "Cardinal Winter" which Valerie gave me for my birthday. I stitched it "over one" on some mystery fabric using the suggested Crescent Colours and DMC threads, with a few substitutions. I had to change the word "Tweet" from the suggested white to a dark green to make it show up on this fabric and I also changed the rabbits to more resemble the color of the little bunnies that appear in our yard each summer, fluffy white tails and all! I then finished it off as a little hanging pillow and trimmed it with ric-rac and a little red bird button. What do you think?



Speaking of "tweeting," do you "tweet" on "Twitter?" Maybe it's just a generational thing, but I just don't get it... My sons keep telling me it's useful for business, but I don't understand who has the time to "follow" all these people/celebrities on Twitter. Can any of you younger stitchers enlighten me (I guess that would be most of you!)? As I said, it probably is a generational thing; after all, I just found out that I'm eligible for the "senior citizen" discount at a national department store and I'm only 56! Oh, don't get me wrong, I love the idea of a few extra dollars off my purchases, but I think that actually, they're just calling me "old." And I honestly don't feel old...I'm just slowing down a bit.

This collage of cardinal photos was taken from my kitchen window this winter. To me, there is something so striking about those brilliant red birds set against the snowy landscape. Our snow has finally melted, and I'm not sorry to see it go. I'm so envious of all of you who have little buds appearing and flowers blooming already. Hopefully, our spring will be here before long.



I also began stitching Drawn Thread's "Sunflower Bellpull" that Brenda surprised me with. I'm just loving the colors of this one and all the new specialty stitches that I'm learning. I'm probably about one-fifth of the way done--it is going to be a long, long piece (but then, again, it is a bellpull!).Thank you again, Brenda--I'm thoroughly enjoying myself with this one. It is so nice to stitch something that reminds me of warmth and sunny summer days!



This wonderful treasure trove of charts, fabric, and thread arrived through the generosity of Becky in one of her recent giveaways. Twelve gorgeous charts, some pretty opalescent blue fabric, and two skeins of DMC 115 greeted me when I opened her package! Becky, you are such a generous soul (not to mention the very fastest stitcher on earth!)--I truly am thrilled with everything. I only hope I can make these pieces look half as nice as yours did when you stitched them. Thank you again so very, very much...


And just look at this Christmas gift, (yes, I did say Christmas gift) that finally arrived in my mailbox last week after three long months! My sweet blogging friend, Edit, mailed this from Spain on December 2nd, 2010! Just where has it been hiding all these months? I'm wondering about your experiences with international mailings...have you ever had a package disappear or take an extra long time to arrive at its destination? Edit and I had both just about given up on it when it decided to make its appearance. But, oh, it was so worth the wait; just look at what she sent: a beautifully sewn stitching pouch featuring one of my favorite woodland designs, some lovely ribbon, tiny aqua blue beads, handmade felt ornament and threadholder, and some brown floss that says it smells like chocolate when you stitch with it! Have you ever heard of such a thing?! What could be better than combining two of the things I love most: chocolate and stitching? Thank you, dear Edit--I'll treasure the pouch for years to come and enjoy using each of the other treats you included. I'm thrilled that we've become friends across the miles...








Finally, the winner of the Hillside Sampling "Seasonal Samplings" chart giveaway from my previous post is Hilda from "Hildi's Good Life" blog in Austria! Hilda, please send me your mailing address and I'll get the chart off to you as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy stitching it as much as I did. Thanks to all who entered--perhaps it will make its way to one of you in the future as it is passed on from stitcher to stitcher.

I have a nice day to look forward to. I'm meeting Lee, the Lake Stitcher herself, for some lunch and an afternoon of stitching. I can't wait--it's always nice to spend time with others who share your passion, isn't it? Enjoy your weekend everyone and thanks for taking the time to visit my little corner of the stitching universe! I always love reading your comments and seeing what you've been up to each week... Bye for now...

Seasonal Samplings

Hello everyone! Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I've just been working more than usual and haven't really been "in the mood" to write. Is it just me, or do you have to be in the right frame of mind to compile a post, too? Many of you are so good about posting each week (or even multiple times a week!). Here I am with over two years of blogging and I haven't even reached my 100th post. Sigh...

But, I do have a "year's worth" of stitching that I've done over the past couple of weeks to share with you. Hard to believe? Well, I...

Started with a bit of Spring...

Added a touch of Summer...

Threw in a pinch of Autumn...

Topped it off with a sprinkling of Winter...

And I had stitched a full year of all four seasons!

I honestly can't remember the last time I enjoyed stitching a piece so much! "Seasonal Samplings" by Hillside Samplings is a chart passed on from dear Melissa over at Words and Blooms last year. I don't know what it was about this piece, but it instantly calmed me down as soon as I started stitching. (Well, except for the point when I realized I had mistakenly stitched eyelet stitches for the apples rather than Rhodes stitches and I had to rip every single one out!) What's the most relaxing piece you've ever stitched?
I used 28 ct. natural brown linen for this piece along with the suggested DMC colors, but I changed the rabbit to brown so he would show up better and resemble the little bunnies that visit my yard each summer. The lettering, rabbit, birds, and year are all stitched "over one." And I love the specialty stitches--they just add so much dimension to the piece.

Since I enjoyed Seasonal Samplings so much, chances are one of you will, too, so I'm having a drawing to pass it along. Just leave a comment (on this post only) letting me know that you would like to be included and I'll announce the winner when I post next (which knowing me could be a couple of weeks!). I only ask that, when you are finished stitching it, you pass along the chart yourself and keep the kindness going...

I've been on a lucky streak lately and want to thank two special bloggers for their generous giveaways. First of all I won a very nice $25 gift certificate to 1-2-3 Stitch from the generous Riona at Oubliette. She was having a giveaway to celebrate her 500th post! Can you imagine?!! At this rate, I'll be 100 years old before I reach that milestone. Thank you so much, Riona--I can hardly wait to go shopping and I'll be sure to let you know what goodies I choose...









And from one of the most entertaining bloggers out there, Barbara at Mainely Stitching, I won this quartet of spring-themed charts. Aren't they so cute and, well, spring-like? Most of you are probably familiar with the adventures of Barbara's four kids and the house rooster (yes, rooster!), but if not, please pay her a visit...There is always so much fun going on over there. Thank you so much, Barbara--I need a touch of spring more than you can imagine after this never-ending winter!









A big winter storm caught western Pennsylvania by surprise Monday night. Things were so bad it took my dear husband almost three hours to make the normally 20-minute drive from the city to our house. Cars were abandoned everywhere and driving was treacherous. I can count on two hands the number of days we haven't had snow on the ground since early December--winter just seems endless this year.

But, the next day dawned sunny and, oh, so beautiful. It almost made up for the fact that spring doesn't seem right around the corner any longer! Just the day before this storm hit, I had seen my first robin and a tiny violet poking it's head out of the ground. Maybe next week things will turn around. Please...enough is enough!

Your comments on my last post meant so much to me--I'm glad you enjoyed my little story about the young mother. Thank you all for your visits, your comments, and your friendship. Hopefully, the next time I write the snow will be gone. And to all of my New Zealand blogging friends dealing with that horrible earthquake, please know my thoughts are with you...

Have a wonderful week everyone and take some special time to do what you love most. Bye for now...

Saying Thanks

Hello everyone... Hope each of you is enjoying a good week so far! I'm just counting each of these frigid wintry days as one day closer to spring. It can't come soon enough for me... This sage green Prairie Schooler Santa is my latest finish--my monthly ornament is actually done early for a change! He can be found in Prairie Schooler's "Santa Moon" book and is stitched "over one" on black Monaco using the suggested DMC threads. Would you believe the most difficult part of this was putting together his little bundle of sticks? I used some tiny pieces of branches that had blown down during a recent windy day, glued them together, tied them with raffia, and sewed them onto the finished piece.


Isn't his large, ruddy nose funny-looking? Hope he is just cold and hasn't been imbibing in too much "Christmas cheer!" I wanted a rustic looking finish for this one, so I used the idea suggested by Vonna for the new LHN "Cardinal Winter" ornament--a twig frame. My husband helped me carve the grooves into the twigs so they would fit together more snugly. (As he says, it's our first collaborative cross stitch ornament!) I then glued the twigs together, tied raffia around the corners and used it as the hanger. What do you think?










My mailbox was overflowing with goodies last week... First of all came this glorious rainbow of hand-dyed threads that I had won in a very generous giveaway from Between Crosses With Nina last month. The talented and generous Nina let me choose 25 skeins of her hand-dyed threads as my prize. I waited and waited and waited--so worried that her package had been lost in the mail, but, one month later, it finally arrived. Oh, were they ever worth the wait--they are amazing!


Of course, I wanted to try them out right away, so I stitched up this Lizzie Kate "Be My Valentine" piece over the weekend. This was the second time I've stitched this--I sent the first to my dear parents as a finished card last February. Aren't the colors pure loveliness? For this piece, stitched on 32 ct. dirty linen, I used Nina's "Old Jeans," "Moss," "Eggplant," and "Raspberry" threads along with DMC 3865 for the border. I'm just thrilled with the color variations and how easy it was to work with her threads. Thank you so, so much, Nina--your gift brought some much needed color and cheer into my gray winter days!



I was truly touched to receive a wonderful package from dear Brenda, also. I had admired this Drawn Thread "Sunflower Bellpull" chart on Brenda's lovely blog (if you haven't been over to visit, please do--I promise you you'll be thrilled with her stitching and darling punch needle finishes!) and she offered to send it to me since she was done with it. Well, imagine my surprise when I opened the mailing envelope and found not only the chart, but the linen, the beads, and all of the threads as well! Brenda, your generosity touches my heart...I can't wait to start stitching this (sunflowers are one of my favorite things as most of you know) and you can be sure I will pass on the chart when I am finished. Thank you so very much!



Last, but by no means least, sweet Valerie sent me a belated birthday gift. She was worried that I might have the charts already, but they were all new to me and each and every one is something I would have picked myself. And look at the tiny packet of BBD fabrics--don't you love them?! I'm sure you'll be seeing some of them incorporated into my ornaments in the future. Most of you are probably familiar with Valerie's blog, but if you're not, why not stop in. Although I am just a "bit" older (okay, I'm old enough to be her mother!) we have become email pals and I love reading about her life in San Francisco and the ups and downs of life as a single young woman. So, thank you Valerie, for your wonderful gifts and for your friendship--both are so special...


Since the title of my post is "Saying Thanks," I want to tell you about a very heart-warming "thank you" that I received myself not long ago... As you know, I'm a librarian and am thanked countless times by people whom I've helped. One evening, a while back, I was walking back to the reference desk with an elderly patron and I noticed a young woman waiting there presumably to ask a question. When I finished up with the older woman, she said: "Thank you, you've been so very helpful." And the younger woman piped in: "She always is." I looked at her quizzically and after saying goodbye to the elderly patron, I walked over to her...


"You may not remember me," she began, "but, I was here a while back and you handed me the books that helped me diagnose my son's condition." Shivers ran up my spine and it all came back to me; a rather distraught, scared young mother, with a stack of medical books surrounding her, looking for anything and everything that could possibly help save her young son's life. None of the numerous doctors she had taken him to had been able to diagnose him and she was bound and determined to find out what was wrong with him. I had pulled every pediatric, neurological, and brain-related medical book that I could find and piled them on the table in front of her as she frantically searched for an answer.

"Because of your help, my son will be operated on at The Cleveland Clinic on Friday and I just wanted to thank you," she whispered, and then began to cry. I came out from behind the desk, hugged her and cried myself. How scared she must have been. You see it was a brain operation on a two-year old. This mother had diagnosed a very rare condition using the books in our mid-sized public library! I told her that I had received many, many thank-yous during the 20+ years I've worked as a Reference Librarian, but hers was like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae.

I saw this young mother soon after the operation and was almost scared to ask about the outcome. Thankfully, her son had come through it with flying colors and, with rehab, would live a normal life. A miracle... I recently saw her in the library again with a "Nursing School Entrance Exam" book tucked under her arm. Yes, she's decided to go to back to school to become a nurse--I know she'll be an excellent one...

I told you this story not because I did anything special--I was simply doing my job. But, the fact that this young woman took the time to come back and thank me for my help--now that is special. Try saying "thank you" to others for even simple things--it might just make someone's day. (And you just might feel better, too!)










I'm so appreciative of the friends I've made over my two years of blogging--I hope you all know how special I think you are. The fact that you take the time to leave a comment or send an email means so much to me. Special thanks to my international friends who take the time to translate my posts and leave a comment. I am really touched at the amount of effort that it must take you to do so... Have a wonderful weekend everyone--only 39 days to Spring--yippee!!

Snowy Finishes and Lucky Winners

Good morning everyone! How are you all coping with this brutal winter weather? We haven't been hit nearly as badly as you poor people in the eastern corridor of the U.S., and yet, I'm still more than ready for some warmer weather. I don't ever remember a winter this cold, day after day, do you? Well, in spite of not stitching much this month, I do have a couple of things to share with you. First up is my ornament for January. I'm doing an "Ornament-a-Month" stitch-along with Lois, Valerie, and Staci. It's so nice to have company :)

I couldn't resist this quartet of Santas freebie that I found here at the Floss Box. It was designed by the very talented Emily Wilmarth to be a biscornu, but I made a couple of changes to turn it into a diamond-shaped ornament. I changed the colors to what I call the "Prairie Schooler palette": DMC 221, 520, 729, 3363, and 407 along with white and black and used 32 ct. gray Barnwood linen. I also stitched red and white stripes up each diagonal corner and added snowflakes on either side of the Santas. Using invisible thread, I stitched through the center of the ornament a few times to give it a "tufted" look. Add on some tiny black beads for eyes, a bit of white cording, and some white and sage green ribbon and I have another ornament for my tree!


My second finish is "January" from the Prairie Schooler "Summer & Winter" booklet. This was the piece I had planned on working on in Florida, but I left the chart at home so it took me much longer to finish it than it should have. But, it was worth the wait. I really love how it turned out and with all the deer we have in our yard, it holds special meaning. You can even catch a glimpse of a small pond behind the Canadian Goose off to the right just like we have in our back yard. (The photo in my header is our pond as seen from an upstairs window.)



No, we don't live in a log cabin, but there is one I pass on the way to the grocery store that I have my eye on! I've always thought a cozy cabin in the mountains of North Carolina sounded like a perfect place to live...Anybody else? This is stitched on 32 ct. Flax Belfast linen (which seems to be my fabric of choice these days) using the recommended DMC threads. I am using the same pop-out frame that I've used for the December, November, October, and September pieces that I've already stitched in this series. What a money saver!

The other day we looked out our kitchen window and spotted these two deer standing on top of our frozen pond. They appeared to be drinking from a small hole near the back of the pond that hadn't frozen over yet. I was just hoping and praying that they didn't fall through the ice and get stuck. Yes, it has happened before and the results were not pretty...I'll never forget that poor little deer.






Do any of the rest of you think you spend way too much time online? Well, I discovered just how much I could get done on Monday when our internet was down for the entire day. I accomplished more than I would normally get done in a whole week including making these cookies for my birthday treat at work (when it is our birthday month, we supply the goodies for our monthly meeting.) Can you smell the butter and sugar oozing through your computer screens? Pictured here are pecan pie bars, chocolate raspberry brownie bites, oatmeal raisin cookies and spritz butter cookies. Needless to say, these were gobbled up very quickly by my fellow librarians. I do love to bake and I think my dream job would be to own a combination stitching / bookstore / bakery. "Stitches, Stories, and Sweets"--how does that sound?



Well, if you've stayed with me this long, thank you. I do tend to run on and on in some of my posts. I'm sure you're anxious to hear who won my birthday giveaways... I called in a little helper to pick the winners. My little snowman reached in with his long twig-like arms and picked the winner of the "Winter Into Spring" giveaway package.



And what name did my assistant pull out? Why the very lucky Michele B..!! Congratulations, Michele B., you are the winner of the "Winter into Spring" giveaway. Please send me your full name and address and the goodies will be on their way to you next week.






For Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow my snowman decided to ask his little bald-headed buddy to help him choose the lucky name. There were far fewer entries for this one so you each had a better chance of winning.






But, in the end, there could be only one winner and my winter friends picked: Meadows08! Congratulations, Meadows08, you have won the chart for "Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow" and the DMC threads needed to stitch it! Please send me your full name and address and the package will be on its way to you very soon.

"WINTER INTO SPRING" GIVEAWAY WINNER:

Michele B. at "X Marks My Spot"

"CHRISTMAS AT HAWK RUN HOLLOW" GIVEAWAY WINNER:

Meadows08 at "For the Love of Cross Stitch"

Congratulations to both winners and thank you all for participating in my giveaways and for the kind birthday wishes. I really loved hearing the stories behind all of your avatars. Very interesting to read them and I felt that I got to know a bit more about each of you. If you have the time--look back through the comments on my last posting; I think you'll enjoy reading them as much as I did. Well, I hope the coming week is good to you and brings you plenty to smile about. Bye for now...

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...