I Must Be Strong

A while back Kim was giving away some stash to a good home, and when I saw Tradewinds and Heartfelt Chatelaine I pretty much threw myself at the keyboard to hammer out a message.

Imagine my surprise to find that she'd also thrown in English Cottage Sampler and Father Winter. More TWs for my stash!

And you know what I else I realized as I was pawing at everything? Tradewinds is a kit. Meaning the Loophole Exception applied to it too...

Why does the universe tempt me so!

Gratitude & Acknowledgement

Lisa (who's currently in Cambodia and posts pictures of that exotic locale) sent me this cute little keychain!
So ages ago I won Barbara's giveaway of this year's JCS Ornament issue. And when it never appeared I figured that CP had eaten it (it happens more often than is acceptable). So I was delightly surprised to spot this in the mail. Now in addition to the Christmyth series I've got a whole bunch of designs in this that I want to stitch!
Which brings me to an important question I've also been meaning to ask the readership. How do you deal with the following situation: you won something; it was mailed out; it never arrived; you aren't asking for a resend (really what kind of greedy-guts are you?); you don't want that person to think you got it and are being rude by not saying thanks. So how do you say: Hey, I know you said you mailed [item] out, and that was awesome of you, but it didn't arrive and I want you to know that I'm not being rude, but I wanted to make sure that you don't think I'm a non-acknowledging person, but in no way am I making some sort of "send me something, since that got lost" demand. So yeah, what's the proper etiquette in this scenario?

A Mishmash of Items

Starting off with mail from Kati.

You know how they say that some people can flog a dead horse? My guidance counsellor once told me that I could flog a dead horse and then keep flogging it until it became a skeleton and still keep going. Why bring up this point? Because CP still sucks. This took a week to travel across 3 provinces. And my mail from the US is over a month late. Hilariously the government letter arrived and a duplicate arrived the next day. *Heads back towards that accursed horse*


So after admiring the charts I headed to my stash to see if I had any suitable fabric for Fine China. I was two seconds from pulling open my fabric drawer when I noticed three of my WIPs stare at me accusingly (one very close to a finish). I couldn't handle the guilt. I've managed not to start anything by avoiding my stitching area. This has the unfortunate side effect of preventing me from adding the ~100 beads necessary to finish off Celtic Spring...

Onto the second item on the agenda: this month's TUSAL.


The gold is from Celtic Spring, who as I've mentioned is waiting for beads. And there aren't that many beads either.

Item three is that my letter from my penpal arrived. I'm crafting my response back. (Ok, I've pulled out a piece of paper.)

Final item: I've decided to make some ornaments for Christmas. I'm not sure why since I don't celebrate Christmas and I've never had a tree and I don't plan on having one and I have no idea where to hang them. But I'm going to make them. I've already got Cool Christmas, and I'm thinking that I'll make things easy by picking some quick finishes. This way if this Christmas mania leaves me there's still a chance I'll have finished the designs.

So far I've scrounged up Daffycat's Reindeer Trio, some of Teresa Wentzler's freebies, Log Cabin Needlework's Noel, gazette94's Noel and Dragon Dream's Christmyth series.

Does anyone have any other small could-be-finished-quickly designs? And despite having several "Noel" I'd prefer secular ones. And this sudden desire to have several small finishes has nothing to do with the fact that it's almost November and I have half the number of finishes I had last year!

Mission Complete

We at the Organization would like to congratulate the 28 agents that completed the previous mission. (A special acknowledgment of Agent Jo who submitted her paperwork 2 minutes before the deadline)

TSCESR (The Sub-Committee for Evaluating the Submitted Reports) was unable to reach a consensus on the most suitable candidate for AWMSCTM ("Agent Who Most Successfully Completed The Mission"), and the final decision was determined by TR (The Randomizer).

Agent Denise please contact your HRR (Human Resources Representative) in order to fill out the requisite paperwork in triplicate.

We, the management, wish to congratulate all agents who completed the mission and would like to remind each and every one of you that you are a valuable member of the Organization and that there is no "I" in "TEAM"*

*Note: Management has no comment regarding the fact that there is a "ME" in "TEAM".

A Mission

As hinted at previously, I present my 200 followers giveaway. And since I'm in a bit of a silly/funny mood it comes with a mission...

Your mission should you choose to accept it:

1). Go online and find a picture of Prairie Schooler's "Sweeping Cobwebs". Alternatively, check your stash!
2). Look at the rightmost frame and pick your favourite of the six motifs
3). Decide whether you prefer a pincushion, pinkeep/scissors holder, or a small bag
4). Let me know in the comments
5). Feel free to tell anyone you think is interested in playing along

This message will be locked on the 25th of May at 4:37 pm Central Time.

Good luck!

It's About Time

No, the mojo is still MIA. I'm talking about my last giveaway (that one in January), which I finally assembled and sent out last month.

Add in that Kathy had completely forgotten that she'd won, and my note had gotten buried...


That's actually the first pincushion I've ever made. It's dead easy and I'll definitely be making more.


You can't really tell but the back has a pocket.


Making this was an interesting experience and I'm very glad Kathy likes it (she has a ton more pictures on her blog) and I definitely learned a lot which will be useful, since I see that I have 200 followers.

Old Mail and New Mail

Ages ago Christine very generous decided to pass on Midnight by Lavender Wings.


And yesterday the second part of my winning from the Ink Circles SAL arrived. Rachel offered a GC to Anita's Little Stitches which Anita doubled, so toss in a bit more dough and I get this pile in the mail:


I now have all three Cirques. And Dani is to blame for Art Deco Spirits, and Justflo for 12 Days of Christmas. I kinda want to stitch 12 Days for this Christmas, but we'll see how it goes.

In other news I am now officially on Reading Week, a time to study for my exams on Feb 28-Mar 4. Sadly this won't happen since I plan on getting caught up on my stitching and reading (and cram on the last weekend).

The Winner

So did anyone think I'd forgotten my 150+ Giveaway?

Well, you were half right. I thought it ended tomorrow!

All names were thrown into the Hat of Destiny!!! (lie: I stick with randomizer. I could claim to be eco-conscious, but it's actually sheer laziness) and the winner is
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How about a peek at what I'm up to?


Oh, you want to know who the winner is?

That would be Kathy from Kathy's Stitching and Other Comments, who, if you don't know, posts (along with gorgeous stitchery) the most amazing pictures of her dog Rory.

Kathy, drop me a line (and I'll get you winnings out as soon as I finish it, find an envelope, battle my way to the post office...)

Creature of the Day

Today's post is all about that hippocamp. When Riona had it up as part of her giveaway I threw my name into the hat with fervour (ok, so I throw my name into just about every hat, but still) because it's a limited edition Dragon Dreams and it's so cute! Lucky for me I won, and it arrived a few days ago accompanies by all the other booty.


And before anyone cries foul, hippocampi can be winged or not.

Mostly Green

With a touch of red ribbon:
Pictured above are what will become something for my 150+ giveaway.

There is only one requirement:
Leave a comment saying that you'd like to enter.

The fine print:
Deadline is January 24, 2011 11:00 PM Winnipeg time
International entries welcome.

Music to my Ears

Continuing what appears to be a December theme of posts with little stitching, here's what I scored from Berit who's currently decluttering. The entire Mill Hills Harmony set of charts! The whole set! (And yes, that very cute Halloween chart and that yummy silk) but the whole set! I plan on stitching the whole lot together and turning it into a cube finish.

Berit is actually decluttering another lot of stuff right now. She goes by the unscientific (yet simple) method of picking a winner when she feels like it, so if you're interested drop by.

Ocean Waterlilies

Ages and ages and ages ago Veronica had a giveaway that I (among many) won, and ages and ages ago she mailed it off to me, and ages ago I received it. So isn't it about time I shared a picture?



It has the cutest dolphin charm, a gorgeous dark blue central bead and just a tiny bit of pink here and there as a lovely counterpoint. Basically it's very pretty. And adorning my pinking scissors.

Halloween Goodness II

Mail from Missy actually arrived the same day as Annette's. But first my camera died and then I just got lazy.
The whole lot. Taken on the first day which is why the candy is still there.
I love that cat! And after I finished drooling I wondered what happened in 1862.
The inside with skull pins! And tons of more fun stuff. I have to admit I love the safety pin as a closure.
Vlad's coffin. Tutorial here: I, II, III
More pins and a pair of scissors (which I still haven't tried out to be honest!)
Ok, so my first reaction on seeing the spider was "That's just wrong! Spiders are arachnids and they have 8 legs. I should write a letter of protest!" But since it's such a cute spider I got over it pretty quick.
The skeleton needleminder! a) This is so cool!!! b)Now I don't have to make one myself c)Instructions here
And a bunch of dishcloths. So I've managed to figure out (after several days) that the orange is a pumpkin and the beige is a ghost, and I think the green is skull. But I'm lost on the others and I think the picture is too dark to make out what they are.

This makes the 2nd year that I've won the annual BIG Halloween giveaway:) I love Halloween!

Halloween Goodness

So I was the grand winner in Missy & Annette's 31 Days of Halloween. And after 3 weeks I got two of the most gorgeous packages in the mail!
Today is devoted to Annette's. Mostly because my camera batteries died before I could take pictures of Missy's.
The whole pile of goodies.
The fob went on my scissors immediately. The spider and the frog are so cool.
Check out the adorable little kid on the cushion. It's actually a pretty hefty cushion. Feels like rice? The bat has these loops for feet. Presumably so he can be hanged upside down.(Or at least that's my plan).
Batsy actually folds up!
A couple of cute bags. The skeleton one has an opening like a glasses case, the one where you squeeze it to open and it auto shuts. (No idea what it's properly called). The other has that cute witch print!
Book one of the Mercy Thompson series. It's been quite a while since I read them so a reread is clearly called for. And since I'd borrowed them from the library it's great to have my own copy. Bookmark Frankie's expressions are so hilarious.
The rest of the fun stuff. I adore Frankie. He actually lurches about. It took quite a while to figure out what the bat thing was: a stamp.
And not forgetting the candy! Quite possibly the most important part of Halloween.

I'm still suffering from the winter blahs. Almost no stitching, no homework finished, no assignments completed and no new books read.

And the Randomizer picked...

Now, I was planning on posting the results of the giveaway last night, but sheer exhausting and too much reading got in the way.

No screencap, but the winner of the kit and biscornu is
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D@isy who is a pro at biscornus so I'm sure I can expect to see Spring Blossoms finished soon *hint, hint*

and the biscornu is
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Mel (who doesn't appear to have a blog).


Ladies send me your mailing address and I'll have your prizes in the mail soon-ish. (I'm not promising Tuesday because I know better!)

A big thanks to everyone that played along and enabled me with a lot of great designers. A hearty welcome to my new followers, y bienvenidos a mis amigas quien habla espanol. Siempre es agradable encontrar a nuevo bloggers. (Como se dice blogger en espanol?)

Giveaway~

As promised: To celebrate 100 (now 103) followers, a giveaway.

I've already gushed about this, so I'll spare you the blatherings ;) Now, I know there are a lot of biscornu makers out there, but I also see people who have yet to embrace it for varied reasons. This is for folks who want to increase their collection, folks who want a biscornu without the work ;), folks who just want a stamp from Canada, etc.

Details here, but this is Lenka's Heart Biscornu that I modified the tiniest (ok, a lot). They are both exactly the same, but this way you get to see both sides.


To make this a bit more fun, there will be two winners. The first will win one of the above biscornu & The Sweetheart Tree's "Spring Blossoms" biscornu kit. The kit comes with everything except the stuffing.
The second will get the other biscornu.

Old friends, chronic commenters, silent lurkers, curious newcomers, all and sundry are welcome to enter.

So.

The Facts:
First place winner: Heart biscornu & The Sweetheart Tree's Spring Blossoms kit
Second place winner: Heart biscornu

The Rules:
The following two statements must be present for your entry to count:
I wish to enter (or something to that effect)
I have never stitched a biscornu, but I will soon. OR I have stitch ___ biscornus and my favourite is ____. (Hey, I'm always on the lookout for more patterns)

The Small Print:
You do not have to be a follower to enter. You do not have to blog about this to count (however I would appreciate it~)
I can and will ship anywhere. (Although if you're from somewhere I think is exotic I may beg a postcard in return~)
I will announce the winner here and send an email (if possible). You have a week to respond after which I'll pick someone else.

Deadline:
July 31, 2010. 10:00 PM Winnipeg Time

If you're still here after that wall of text: Good luck and may the Randomizer be on your side!

Canada Post not at fault!

Way, way, way back in February(!) I had my first giveaway, which Angela informs me has arrived. And while I'd love to blame Canada Post, I can't. They actually delivered in less than a week. I, on the other hand, took way too long.

The tale is a tragicomedy, involving a sudden crazed dislike of the initial backing fabric and finish, a frantic restitching of the piece, a somewhat satisfying finish and a whole lot more angst. But I won't bore you with that.

Angela sent me the most wonderful email and has such a lovely post about it. I've just been smiling all day (and read that email over a dozen times)!

I suppose it's true that we are our own worst critics.

A couple of pictures of what I sent:



I had a lot of fun trying out new stitches for the finish. The initial is in outline stitch.


I've learnt a few things from this:
I should have the entire giveaway ready, and only have to write a note and put the address on the envelope. Otherwise I'd just procrastinate like crazy!

And there's nothing, nothing like finding out that the recipient likes what you made.

Mail from across the pond

Cath, over at The Stitchin' Chicken, had a small contest a while back and sent me this very cute pincushion! Cue to me spending the next ten minutes trying to figure out who the designer is and where I'd seen it before (since it looked familiar). After my mental acuity failed I turned to Google which gave the answer in 0.18 seconds.


A Hug Will Do

A shot of the very pretty backing. Why is it that my local stores never have anything like this? Or if they do, why can I never find them?


And it's my very first Lizzie*Kate.

Two weeks worth of mail

All rounded up in one convenient and late post.

First was this ton of ribbons from Staci. This by itself has almost quadrupled my ribbon stash. Now I can stop using that single giant roll of black (which technically matches everything) and add more colour! Canada Border Services must have been particularly paranoid when they checked this because the envelope was very chewed up when it got to me. Ah, what would we do without Ziploc bags?


Second was Why Hoard Gold by Dragon Dreams. I won this on a SAL and it winged its way pretty fast. A big thanks to Silverlotus who also tossed in the Marlitt threads, all the while telling me what a pain they are to use~


And wrapping it up this is lovely lot that arrived from Nima in Oman. A lovely piece of soft feeling fabric, beads and embellishments (some of which sadly broke in transit, but the rest are fine and very very cute) and she even threw in these gorgeous crochet flowers. She suggested that they could be coasters, at which I gasped in revulsion. Such pretties deserve a much better fate! (I am very hard on coasters. I misplace them at a ridiculous rate.) On this day Border Services seems to have been unconcerned since it arrived with nary a crease!

Mail & lessons in geography

Paula from Spokane, Washington sent me all this as a giveaway win. I have plans for that fabric. (Well, I have plans for all my fabric, they just don't leave my mind.) Leftover fabric and everything else will be somehow involved in something St.Patrick's Day themed.

I keep hearing "from our studios in Spokane, Washington" in my head. Any ideas where this is from? I keep thinking it's Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune, but they're apparently filmed in LA...



The card about Spokane is really interesting. Of course, I had no idea where Spokane was and had to look it up. It's in Washington, which I thought was the city with the white Lincoln Statue. Not so. It's a state below BC. (I'd have guessed it was out east.)

Out of curiosity: where did you think Winnipeg was, or did you already know? Before we moved here my mum thought it was on the coast near Vancouver! And what's the weirdest misconception you've heard about your city/state/country?