Blogoversary Giveaway

The little gadget thing over on the left is telling me my blog has been alive for 1 year.  Instead of baking a fabulous cake and celebrating with sugar and carbs (who am I kidding, I'll probably do that anyway), its time for a giveaway.  

I've been thinking about this for months, and decided to go with a

vintage

or

funky

theme.

Leave a comment stating your preference for vintage or funky, and I'll draw 2 winners on August 26 (I need the 3 weeks to figure out prizes).  I'm not totally sure what the winners will receive, but there will be a stitched item for each and some extra goodies, all suited to the vintage or funky theme.

Fine print:  I'd love it if you're a follower, you're welcome to advertise the giveaway on your blog, but no extra entries, my mind can't handle keeping track of that.  Good luck and thanks for hanging out with me the past year, its been a rough one!

Mail Day!

I took a break from studying today and went downstairs to grab a Diet Pepsi, and mom asked me if I'd seen my mail.  Of course I hadn't, I'd been on the computer all day working on my e-commerce class.  She said I had 2 small packages.  Of course that meant she was curious and wanted me to open them right then and there.

First up was some of the gorgeous new trim Nancy (Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe) added to her product line.  She's calling it primitive hand-tinted jute-cotton ric rac.  This stuff is amazing!  Its about a 1/2 inch wide, and the cotton strip down the middle has been painstakingly hand-tinted, not just on one side, but both sides.  I imagine its pretty time consuming to do this.  I received red (perfect for a project I just got done stitching), but I'm hoping Nancy decides to add black to the line so it can be used to finish some prim Halloween ornaments.

Next package really made my day.  It was from Lynn, and was my loot from her recent giveaway.  She sent me the sweetest little pair of bunny scissors, some very cute buttons, and a skein of gorgeous Carrie's floss.  I already have a project in mind for some of the buttons, and have a feeling the scissors might end up in my mom's project basket.  She immediately grabbed onto them and commented on how cute they are.  I'm fine with that, since I set her to work on a project cutting and piecing together fabric for a witches hat.

Lynn and Nancy, thank you so much for brightening up what was going to be a very boring study day!

Edit:  It seems Nancy is a smart lady and knows her market well, she got back to me and said she's already tinted black and orange trim, in anticipation of our Halloween needs!   

Amazing mail day!

This morning was supposed to be hair day.  I haven't had my hair highlighted or cut in over 6 months, so it was way past due.  Well, when you decide to save money and go to a student for a full head of highlights, the morning turned into over 5 hours.  I can home tired, hungry, and just slightly cranky.  All of that went away when I saw the pile of bounty waiting at the front door.  Not to be totally greedy, 2 of the 4 packages were for mom, since its her birthday today.  I'll even let her open them when they get home from the camping trip!

First up was a box from Terri.  Back before Christmas I won a giveaway from her, and the prize was going to be a surprise.  I was definitely surprised.  And amazed.  And wowed, shocked, and almost cried.

For everyone that's having true winter weather, please don't hate me for opening the mail on the back patio, in the sunshine.  I'd actually enjoy a bit of winter and gladly trade places - for about a week!

I started in on the pile-o-pressies by opening the big daddy with the adorable twine.  Jackpot!

An amazing hinged box with a stitched top.  And look at the inside, incredible!

Sorry for the fob being upside down, but its stitched with an M on both sides, and filled with what feels like crushed walnut shells to give it some heft.

Lots and lots of extras were included.  Two different kinds of stitching fabric, two kinds of quilting fabric, some red ribbons for trim, needles, Godiva chocolate, monogrammed tissues!  And OMG, the charts!  Terri had asked me what I liked to stitch, and my response was I had eclectic tastes.  That's exactly what she sent me!  Two different reproduction samplers, an adorable Heart in Hand chart called Red Letter Day (she knew my favorite color is red), and a fantastic Ewe & Eye & Friends chart.  I have a few of the Primitive series by them, but never managed to find Primitive Star!  Totally amazing, she couldn't have picked out better stuff for me.

Next up was a box from Shepherd's Bush.  Hrmm, a box?  I thought all I was getting was an envelope with January Word Play, part 3 of Margaret Cottam, my Eggshell floss for 6 Fat Men, and my Christmas Garden chart.  Well, my friends at the Bush and my EGA chapter surprised me with some gifts.  It was like Christmas all over again, opening up the guild Christmas present and other surprises.

I cried when I opened up the BBD chart and saw a lot of the women had left me a message inside.  I really miss them.  Moving around so much I didn't make a lot of friends, but I made enough in Utah to make up for the lack in previous states.  I really miss the ladies, and its been hard adjusting to not being able to pop over to the Bush whenever I feel like chatting.  Not to mention those spur of the moment Wednesday evening calls inviting me out to dinner, or a place to take all my baked goods whenever I felt the urge to bake.

I've gotten a bit of stitching done this week.  Not as much as I'd hope, since this is supposed to be finished by Sunday.  Not sure if I'll make it.

LHN Poinsttia House, stitched over 1 on 28 ct evenweave,
my conversion to silk floss

Last January my mom had picked this chart out of my stash and put in her "wish list" pile.  Its chart I've always loved, and I came up with the bright idea of stitching it for her this week while she's gone as a birthday gift.  Unfortunately, between hair appointments (mine and grandma's), looking for a gym to join, finalizing my enrollment into my MBA program, Annie, household chores, and a plethora of other stuff, I haven't had as much stitching time as I thought.

Ok, enough time at the computer, Annie is complaining that its late, and we both should have eaten dinner an hour ago.  Thank you for stopping by!

Giveaway

I mentioned a while ago I needed to have a giveaway, since I found some duplicate patterns in my stash.  In the spirit of the season, and following the tradition of generosity of other blogging stitchers, I'd like to host a giveaway instead of trying to sell them.  I think there might be a chart or 2 missing from this pile, Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler should be there too.

There will be more than 1 winner, number yet to be determined based on the number of entries.  I might also include some other treasures (OMG, I haven't shown you the button stash I found!).

I'm not doing anything fancy like multiple entries for jumping through hoops, mainly because I want to keep it simple for myself.  Just be a follower and leave a comment in this post.  I'll do the drawing on New Year's Day, to give everyone that's started their holiday vacations and travel a chance to enter. If you get one of the holiday charts, sorry, no chance of getting it done this year, think of it as a project for 2012!  If you have a favorite chart in that pile, or don't care for one, put that in your comment and I'll try to work around it.  No sense in someone getting a chart they don't like.  Be honest, you won't be hurting my feelings.