Chores and a friend's give-away, too!

I've been quite busy the last few days and have had trouble finding time to sit down to post. I've been scrambling to produce merchandise, fill a few orders and keep up with our daily lives in general.

Don't you often wonder who really wears all those clothes that end up in your hamper each week? I sure do. Seems laundry takes a disproportionate amount of my time. While we're wondering, who actually dirties all those dishes, too, and where on earth does all that dust come from? And now, we need to start thinking about holiday shopping, too!!! I need more hours in my day!!!!

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Only a couple days left to enter my friend's give-away featuring NINE (yep, 9 !!) great items for both your sweet little one and Mommy, too. (Did I tell you one of those prizes is a turkey apron from my shop? You can get it to fit either your little gal or Mommy.) Just take a gander at all that loot -- (ALL of it goes to ONE winner!!)











I told you about this one a few days ago and, at last check, the odds of winning look pretty good. There haven't been that many entries, yet! Can you believe it? One of the blogosphere's best kept secrets, I guess!






Entering is really easy.





Just go to Brianna Bean's blog here and follow the easy steps to get your name in the running.






Talk about getting a leg up on Christmas shopping!!!






Hurry!!! The last day to enter the Give-Away is October 15th!!




Don't miss this great opportunity!

All kinds of goodies - coming and going

So, have you all wondered what exactly was in the Mystery Gift Basket for Stitchers that Charlotte won on this blog last week?

Charlotte is one of those gals who has done just about every form of stitching out there (and is pretty good at all of them, too!) but she predominantly knits and spins. Yes, she spins her own yarn!! I tweaked the contents of the basket a little (just a little) to add some items very specific to Charlotte and her interests.

This is what she's getting:
Included in this pile of goodies are a baseball cap designed especially for a knitter, 2 fridge magnets (both about knitting), a 2012 pocket date book with a stitching quote on the cover, a plaque about stitching, 2 mini-counted cross stitch kits and a plaque I made specifically for Charlotte as a spinner! I hope she likes her prize!!

(I was prepared to specifically customize the contents to go along with the special interests of any stitcher when the winner was chosen.)

x . . . x . . . x . . . x . . . x . . . x

I, too love to receive gifts in the mail so I was thrilled the other day to get a package from my swap partner from a craft forum I participate in. The swap theme this time was "Fall." Here's a pic of the beautiful hand knit scarf Monica made for me:

Isn't it pretty? (Soft, too!)

I can't wait for the next swap. The theme for the next one is Christmas ornaments. We have different partners for each swap and most of us know quite a bit about our swap partners so the gifts are almost always designed to suit the recipients interests and style. I'm already giving my contribution there much thought.

I'm proud to belong to www.CraftBuddy.com and I miss chatting with my friends if I don't stop by often. We chat about our craft work, our family, friends, and life in general. Stop by and check us out there. You just might find a place you'd enjoy hanging out, too.

I have met some fantastic crafty friends online. Do you participate in any forums out there? What are your favorite sites?

Check out my friend's October Give-Away!!

My friend over at Brianna Beans Boutique is running a fantastic October Give-Away on her blog The Best of Etsy! One lucky winner will walk away with a bunch of prizes from nine (9) different shops!! (My shop is one of the contributors.)


My contribution to this prize package is a Thanksgiving Turkey Apron (either in a child's or adult's size - you choose) Other prizes include a sock monkey hat, a flowered hair clip, baby leg warmers, earrings, a fancy headband, a mini hat, a pendant, and a wipes case/set.

Stop over and take a look at the loot and see how easy it is to win this one.

Stitch ...Stictch...Stitch,,, Get those entries in.

*** Just one more day!! Don't forget the Mystery Basket for Stitchers Drawing - Details here.

Just a quick note reminding you that I'll be selecting a winner at midnight tomorrow (Sept. 30). No time for a long post tonight as I'm off working on putting that basket together now.

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Spent the day working on that Barbie Boutique. I could use something motivating to keep me going. Once I get all the walls and the floor done, I'll be more into it as the furniture pieces are small enough to hold my interest. It's just these large vast areas that get awfully boring to work!

What little tricks do you do to keep you going through the "boring" parts when you stitch?

Take 2 . . . (And don't forget the Mystery Basket drawing!)

Hey, y'all, remember the plastic needlepoint Barbie room fiasco of last Christmas? Well, I'm at it again!! (If you weren't around for that tale, check it out in this old post.)Only this time, I'm doing the Barbie Boutique which is complete with glass (fake) show cases for jewelry and such, dress forms, one of those funky little stools they use for trying on shoes, shoe boxes, and so much more. (I've made two before. the last one was for a now 22-year-old.)

I know, Christmas is still 80 some days away, so I've got plenty of time this year. (I really intended it for her birthday on the 9th - of October - but I think I'm revising that plan as it means, even with Express Mail service, I'd have less than a week to finish. (The earlier reference to last year's fiasco only takes you to Part 1, here's where you'll find Part 2 of that tale!)

I'm doing pretty well, so far. I have all of the outside walls done and I'm starting on the interior ones. I honestly enjoy making these. (Just ignore that muttering under my breath.) It's like being a mini-architect and a mini interior decorator.


I've even completed the signage on the outside of the building. This particular design does call for a lot of decorative stitched details above and beyond making the tiny furniture and such.

I also like shopping for the store's stock - sets of shoes, pieces of clothing (No, I've never allowed enough time to make the clothing. My patience does have some limits!) and I'm considering making jewelry for the showcases this time.

So, what do you think?

By the way, any brilliant ideas for a quick and easy, spectacular, birthday gift for a 6-year-old ? I need to ship it by mid-week. (Check out this old post for how the Post Office got the last laugh last year!)

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There's only a few days left to enter the drawing for the Mystery Stitcher Basket. I'll be drawing the winner's name at midnight on 9/30/11.

For more details, see this post.

Is Stitching an obsession? (Mystery Give-Away, too!)

"Such a delicate, dainty art - needlework - created with fibers twisted tight, and sharpened , highly polished steel."

Monica Ferris, Unraveled Sleeve, p.76

"Carol", Royal Doulton


Are you a stitcher? Knit? Crochet? Counted Cross Stitch? Crewel? Needlepoint? Latch Hook? Whatever. (Even tatting.) If it involves thread of some sort and a needle of any kind, it's "NEEDLEWORK."

My mother did just about any sort of needlework one can name. Her mother sewed, crocheted and did beautiful embroidery. I wish I still had some of those delicately trimmed pillowcases she made. (I think we used them until they became threadbare.) My other grandmother did needlepoint and knitted. It's in my genes.




I often say I was born with a paintbrush in one hand and a needle in the other. You might say I have a split personality - half painter - half stitcher. (It makes for a busy crafting schedule and a congested workroom!)




"Beat You to It", Royal Doulton

I believe the stitching I love most is counted cross stitch but I tend to run in cycles. For several months, I'll spend every possible moment stitching. I'll turn out 3-4 pieces (none of which I ever want to part with) and then, I'll force myself to put the cloth and DMC threads away for a while. We seem to have a shortage of space these days and nowhere to hang new pieces. I feel like a museum as I occasionally "rotate my exhibits" and change out which items I have hanging.

How about you?
Does your stitching habit outrun your wall space?
On the other hand, how many throw pillows can one house use?

"There seems to be something obsessive about needlework. I don't know it it draws the kind of person inclined to obsess, or if doing the work brings out the obsession. I have customers who seem to suffer withdrawal if they have to stop stitching for a long as a week."
Monica Ferris, Unraveled Sleeve, p. 74

So, what do you think? ARE stitchers just folks with addictive personalities? OR, Can we blame the craft itself for bringing out the all-consuming, compulsive need to stitch?

Is doing needlework a vice?
(Hmmm, maybe we can start a weekly stitch'n'chat called "The Vice Squad!")

MYSTERY GIVE-AWAY

**** Please share your thoughts on this by simply commenting on this post or posting a comment to my FB wall here. There's a surprise needlework gift basket involved! (A basket containing a number of needlework oriented goodies.) I'll do a random drawing of all comments submitted to both sites between today and 9/30/11. **Be sure I can contact you through your comment.

What a journey!!

Whew!!! I thought I'd never get back!!!

A week or so ago, I set off to visit a few of my Blog Followers, and . . . (WOW !) what a journey it's been!

I tried dropping bread crumbs so I could find my way back, but then, you know, my neighborhood is full of seagulls and geese. Did you ever see the seagulls in Finding Nemo? They're the ones that cry, "Mine! Mine! Mine!..." and snatch every morsel as it hits the ground. So, crumbs weren't a great help. I guess I should take the GPS with me next time.

This time, I traveled far - going back to one of the first Followers to sign on to my blog - Jessica C at The Chickadee Tree. In addition to blogging about her crochet projects and crocheting in general, Jessica creates and sells chainmaille jewelry over on Artfire. Check out her earrings, bracelets and such here.If you like what you see, she's in the middle of a blog Give-Away for some chainmaille earrings. There's lots of ways to enter. Go to her blog for more info on this.

I'm also impressed with a huge crochet project she's taking on - a Tetris Blanket. Using 4" x 4" crocheted squares, Jessica plans to replicate a testris screen! Cool!! This one's gonna take a while but I look forward to seeing the finished project. (I've been a fan - er, "addict" - since the inception of the game.)Oh, yeah, in her "spare" time, Jessica is "Mom" to two little ones. Talk about a busy and creative lady!!!

Of course, before leaving Jessica, I needed to check out some of the sites on her bloglist - and, well . . . time really got away from me. That, and meandering from one to the other kind of headed me off in various directions and wandering around in circles and -- Well, let's just say a "momentary browser failure" helped me find my way out!!

So, if you have a few minutes (or just want to try to win those earrings) check out Jessica's blog. (You can enter for her Give-Away through June 30th.)

The huge Autumn Harvest Extravaganza is well under way over at The Nutshell. It's a full week of give-aways (I think there are 26 items in all)! You can sign up to win one or all of them. Stop by and check out the great items up for grabs. All have been provided by some really creative Etsy shops and will be shipped directly to the winners by the shop.
My donation to the effort, a trio of crocheted Halloween characters, is set to be won on the 16th but there are multiple items each day through the 17th with a large grand prize at the end. So hurry over there to check this promotion out before you miss out on an item you really, really want!!

Whew! Had to step out to handle an emergency.

Sorry to disappear for a few days but we had a family emergency here and blogging simply had to take a back seat for a few days. Things have settled down quite a bit and I hope to be back into my regular routine from here on in.

To our family and close friends that are regular readers, "Thanks, for all of the calls, thoughts, prayers and offers to help if necessary. It's fantastic to know we have so many people who care about us."

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In the meantime, the good fairies over at The Nutshell were working hard to put together the 1st Annual Autumn Harvest Extravaganza and I am a participant in that great event. It's now up and running and ready to go. Be sure to take time to check out all of the give-aways and sign up for those you'd like to win. Just to celebrate the Autumn season, we're giving away twenty+ individual Fall items starting on October 10. You can enter to win one specific piece or enter the drawings for all of them. Use the button on the left or click here to see all the wonderful give-aways that are happening as part of the Extravaganza.
My gift that will be awarded to some lucky winner is a trio of crocheted Halloween characters. These can be used for decoration or as a baby toy. They are completely safe for even the tiniest of babes, made with soft acrylic yarn with nothing to pull or break off and stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Don't want to wait to win these cuties, they are also available in my shop at Splashin.etsy.com .

Entering to win any of the gifts is a simple as fanning the Facebook page or hearting a shop on Etsy.


Come on, join in the Autumn fun!!!

I won! I won!

Check out this beautiful bag I recently won from Olive Street Studio. Isn't it terrific?!?
You, too, can have one. Jennifer still has one listed in her shop, check it out for yourself here.

While you're there, look around at all the other wonderful items Jennifer and her mom offer in their Olive Street Studio shop. (Jennifer has a couple of other Etsy shops, too.) I absolutely adore the chenille quilts (these are their signature items) but they also feature flannel quilts, chenille toys in the form of pandas and bears, stuffed dogs, burp cloths, onesies, bibs and more. Of course, there is a nice selection of tote bags, too.

Need a good read? Jennifer also finds time to blog. She talks about a bit of everything - ranging from her shop and new products, to funny things her little one says and does, to more serious issues in life. Check out what she has to say here.

Thanks, Jennifer.

***Not only did I win, but the Baltimore Orioles (my team, such as it is) FINALLY won a game!!! Yea!!!

Now, if only they can win their home opener tomorrow night!!

2nd Funny Caption Giveaway

Okay, we did this the last time I went on vacation.

The prize for this contest will be something holiday oriented. I'm not sure what yet, but I'll be thinking about it while I'm away! You just have to take my word for it. It'll be something I make and it will be nice.
Okay, Gang, you know how it works. Create an interesting caption for this picture. Submit in the form of a comment. Be sure I can get in touch with you through your blog or email address. You have until November 8 to submit captions for this one.

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The winner of the last Funny Caption Contest was Flannyoak and here's a glimpse of her prize.

I won a Give-away!!! (It came today.)

It’s been gray, cold and dreary here but there was one ray of sunshine in my life today. I received an envelope in the mail from Jan at Little Pink Plum.
I won a giveaway on her blog a few weeks ago and my gift came today. Gave me something to smile about! This is the first time I’ve ever won a blog giveaway. The gift was one of her cute little pocket mirrors which fits perfectly in the little zippered pocket in my purse. She also threw in a selection of matching tags and stickers. Thanks so much, Jan. I love them! Please take some time to check out her shop and her blog. You won’t be disappointed!
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Seriously, about this weather --- we never got out of the 40s today and probably won’t for the next few days. With highs in the 40s and lows sinking into the 30’s, this is winter weather for us. While we do get some colder weather (low 30s down into the teens even), it usually comes in short runs and usually at the end of January and February. Most of our deep snows come in February.

Is the current weather just a fluke or is it a harbinger of a rough winter coming our way? The last two winters have not brought much snow but we did have a long bout of extra low temps last winter (teens and very low 20s). This was also the coolest summer here since records have been kept. What little hot and humid weather we did have came well into summer. We had no days in the 90s until mid-July, a good two months later than normal.

We’ve even got a shortage of pumpkins around here and that’s attributed to the cool damp growing season we’ve had. This is the first summer ever that we did not have Katydids singing in our woods! (For those not familiar with Katydids, they’re just regular cicadas.) We also did not have one cricket in the basement this year. Another first! I’ve got to believe this is directly related to the lower temps.

I’ve got to say, Al Gore has a long way to go to convince some of us about this global warming bit!

Stay warm my friends!

We've got a winner!!!

Okay, I asked you all to come up with a funny caption for this pic:Let me say at the outset, all the entries were good ones and I liked two and had lots of trouble deciding. Happens I had a dining room full of people last night so I impaneled a few to judge for me. Seems the five I selected, none of whom had ever seen my blog, selected the one submitted by flannyoak:



Jay, I made dinner. Now, can I tell the secret family recipe?



She's won an Autumn inspired decorative piece which I will show to all of you later this week when I've finished making it!


I'll be back later with today's regular post.

I feel like giving something away!

I'm feeling like a give-away!


Want to play?

We'll make it real easy. Just provide a humorous caption for this pic. Post your caption in a comment to this post and I'll put together a little judging team here at the house and we'll pick the best one. Deadline for entries will be September 27, 2009.


I don't recall where I found this picture so I cannot give proper credit to the photographer. Suffice it to say, I didn't take it. It does look just like my childhood dog though! His name was Snoopy and while he was talented, we never taught him to cook! (The only time I ever saw him standing at the stove, he was probably swiping something tasty.)



So, what do you win?

Ah, that is the question. It will be an item of my choosing, handmade by me and with a seasonal theme (not necessarily from my shop and probably not infant oriented). Think of it as a door prize or a party favor. It will come to you gift-wrapped. Basically, just a little thank you for stopping by and having a read.



*** Be sure to leave me an e-mail address or some way to get in touch, should you win!