mainely stitching

Thanks for all the well-wishes regarding today’s showing. The realtor was enthusiastic about it, and complimented us on how well the place showed. Hooray for insane cleaning! The lookers are at home, discussing the house, while we sit here with crossed fingers.

It was a very hectic day, which isn’t particularly pleasant, but things got a lot nicer when I found out I’d won Beth’s giveaway via her FB group. Yay! And thanks, Beth! I love her designs and now I get to pick one of my choice!

And speaking of great designs, I took the plunge and ordered a couple of Niky’s designs. I’ve long admired her blog, though I’m a lurker. She sent them incredibly fast. I really love how she packages her charts – aren’t they adorable? I’m a little less enthusiastic about the layout of the charts, however, because there’s no stitch count and no center point marked. I’m lazy, I’ll admit it – I want someone else to do the work for me. But these are super-sweet designs that I look forward to stitching up once my obligations are done.

Gilbert seems to think he needs his own Daylight lamp. When he was having some free time yesterday, he let me know that I’ve got the angle all wrong. LOL!

And to close on a very silly note, here are my three younger kids acting up in the tub. Nick and Rowen are into Halloween this year and were trying to pull their most dreadful poses. With some help from Picnik, I made Nick into a proper ghoul.

I hope you’re all doing something fabulous on this rainy end-of-October day! Thanks for visiting!

Tomorrow the realtor will descend upon us with the photographer in tow, so today I’ve tried to re-do all the cleaning of the past week to ensure that the place is picture-perfect (literally). Nothing like redoing a week’s worth of cleaning in a day. LOL. What do you think? Would you buy the place?

The kids have the week off school, so hopefully once this horrible housework is done, we’ll be able to relax and enjoy some time together.

During my little rest breaks today, I checked in at The Crafty Crow (one of my regular stops) and they’re having the coolest giveaway. I can just imagine how much fun my kids would have with these setups. If I don’t win, I just might have to buy one anyway! Once we’re where we can happily make a mess again, that is! LOL!

Enjoy a wonderful week full of laughter and love and licking cookie crumbs off the table!!

Whewie, it has been one of those days. But there are seven new winners today, and that  makes it a Grand and Wonderful Day in my book. Without further ado, the winners are:

Margaret - Strawberries So Faire by With My Needle

Staci - Lavender House by The Sampler Girl

Leena - The Red Bird Sampler by Ewe & I & Friends

Mary Laird – Antique Flower Needlecase by Elizabeth’s Designs

Anne S – Red Desert Scissor Pocket by The Cat’s Whiskers

Chantal - What Are You Looking At by Enchanting Lair

Kim R. – Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers And Such

Ladies, I’m going to start sending you all emails after I post this. Please reply with your postal address. Perhaps I’ll manage to get them all out in tomorrow’s mail if I hear back from everyone.

Once again, thank you all for visiting me here. Without you, there wouldn’t have been 1000 posts!!!

IT’S FOUR O’CLOCK. Comments after number 75 are not included in the draw. Check back soon for the winners!

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, what’s the worth of a thousand posts? Because as utterly shocking as I find it, this is my one thousandth post. No doubt this is a milestone that deserves a lot more fanfare than I’m able to give it, but I can’t let it just pass by, either!

So, Constant Reader, please tell me in your comment on this post for which of the following giveaways you want to be included (please note this is for a pattern, not a kit nor a completed project):

1. Strawberries So Faire by With My Needle
   
2. Lavender House by The Sampler Girl
   
3. The Red Bird Sampler by Ewe & Eye & Friends
   
4. Antique Flower Needlecase by Elizabeth’s Designs
   
5. Red Desert Scissor Pocket by The Cat’s Whiskers
   
6. What Are You Looking At by Enchanting Lair
   
7. Quaker Style Friendship Sampler by Samplers & Such
   

I’ll chose winners randomly on Friday the 9th at 4 pm (my time, which is EST +6). And to everyone, thank you so much for continuing to stop by and visit with me here. The friends I’ve made through blogging warm my heart on the dreariest days and keep me smiling through thick and thin. You guys are GREAT!!

Well, after more or less abandoning any attempts at organization, the flying-by-the-seat-of-ones’-pants approach seems to be working a bit better in regard to the kids’ summer holidays. We’ve had several fun adventures at the zoo, thanks to our family membership, and have also made forays into town by bus, car and foot.  Tire them out is my new motto! The weather remains completely unpredictable with each day seeing both rainfall (sometimes serious T&L storms) and blazing hot sun, so outings are chancy but we’ve avoided burning or drowning so far. However, in attempting to keep them too tired to fight with each other, I’ve also succeeded in making myself too tired to stitch in the evening. Instead, I’ve been reading in the evening – I’m halfway through Raymond Feist’s second novel in The Rift War series (miles better than his crappyFaeirie Tale novel) and am also luxuriating in Virginia Woolf’s stream-of-consciousness novel, Jacob’s Room.  Reading Woolf’s writing is like meeting up again with a close friend from college days that I haven’t seen in over a decade – pleasant, a bit challenging, and with unexpected surprises.

I’ve also been designing, as a few keen-eyed commenters noticed in my last post. Yes, that WIP is one of my designs (and it does feature HDF silk & linen), and it’ll be showing up again in surprising places. I’ve also been stitching a little design by Deborah Thorpe that she’s using to help a friend of hers through illness. You can read more, or order the design, at this blog post of hers. I’m making my version for a Comfort Doll.

It is raining once again, but at the moment the children are relatively quiet and the rainfall sounds peaceful instead of conjuring up feelings of claustrophobia at the possibility of a day stuck indoors.  Long ago, I used to appreciate the odd rainy day as a chance to rest and reflect and no doubt that as the kids grow older, I’ll enjoy those feelings again. Here are the younger three enjoying a rare quiet moment together.

I have heard from three people about the giveaway packages that I sent out recently, but by now everything really should’ve arrived. If you did not receive your little packet, would you let me know? Thanks!

Wishing you and yours well, and hoping that if the sun isn’t shining that at least the weather brings some special pleasure of its own!

My little silk order from Vikki Clayton arrived and now I’m kicking myself for not ordering Be-Bopped earlier. It’s a really gorgeous shade of pink (from the woman who doesn’t really like pink). But the rumor is, there will be another Be-special price offer in the future, as Vikki continues to develop this line. The other bundle of silks is for Tulips for My Love by Examplars from the Heart – a little something I’ve meant to stitch for about 3 years now. LOL. I also ordered a nifty book over antique samplers from eBay. There are 30 reproduction charts, but the truth is, they are not always very easy to read and there are several that one simply wonders why anyone bothered to reproduce them at all. But there are a few that I love, and they make the purchase price worth it.

The kids are doing so well with their reading. For those who’ve asked, the kids are raised bilingually, but we haven’t taught them to read or write English (they simply speak and understand it). Kids here are taught English at school around the age of 11, depending on the school system and other factors. Max repeated a grade, so he won’t officially begin English lessons until after the summer holiday. This will hopefully give him a leg up. Anyway, as fun is also an important part of the learning process, we’ve also been engaging in that. Yesterday’s trip downtown saw us all coming home with felt, and as it was “C” day, Rowen asked me to make her a cow. Here’s her drawing and the actual felt cow. Her drawing is cuter, but the final product was limited by my skills (or lack thereof).

Unfortunately, Arden’s come down with an ear and nose infection this week and is a sick, unhappy little fella. I took him to the doctor this morning and we have some drops and sprays that will hopefully have him feeling much better by the end of the weekend.

While the kids are quietly playing, the dogs demonstrate why these are called ‘the dog days of summer’. Rough ol’ life, isn’t it?

Seems like the cyberworld is just jumping with fabulous giveaways this summer, doesn’t it? The latest that I simply had to put my name down for can be found at this new-to-me blog (now part of my bloglines, though!). Go check it out!

And on Sunday, don’t forget to head over to Paulette’s blog to sign up for her amazing give away of five (gasp!) of her designs, winner’s choice of which charts! I’ve put it in my Outlook reminder!

Not only do a have the winners from my blog giveaway to announce, but I also have the details for another fabulous giveaway at Prim Originals to share.

First off, Prim Originals is having a giveaway and I really hope I win! So I probably shouldn’t tell you about it, right? Fewer names = greater chance of me winning? Nah, that wouldn’t be playing fair. Liz is a talented artist and to prove it, I have two of her prints hanging in our living room on my “art wall”. Okay, it’s really only a half wall, but it will grow…. My embarrassing admission is that one of these prints was purchased as a gift, but I liked it so much that I kept it. (Don’t worry, the intended recipient never knew what happened and got a different gift that made her just as happy!)

On to my giveaway, I was surprised at how fast the comments poured in – and very touched by all the nice things you said! Thank you! I printed out the first 40-odd names at  midnight when I was getting ready to go to bed, and printed the rest out today. Snip, snip, and into the hat so everyone had a chance to pull a name. Without further ado, here are the five winners:

Congratulations, and once again, thank you so much for your friendship and encouragement!

Today’s adventure was heading over to the doggie hotel where Rigby and Lola will be staying during our time in Maine. I wanted to see it for myself and also to give Lola a chance to experience it before getting “dumped” there for three weeks. Lola’s a bit of a scaredy-cat and I thought it would be less frightening for her if she could see it beforehand. Ideally, I’d prefer to bring both dogs but I can’t handle both of them and all four kids in a new setting on my own. Visits to the kennel are only permitted during certain hours to reduce stress for the dogs who are already staying there; Niek would’ve been glad to help, but of course visiting hours occur during the workday. But we managed fine and I’m feeling better about the necessity of leaving our dogs behind.

Other recent adventures have involved ice cream. It’s been hot-hot-hot, and that means cool treats. Arden is a huge fan of popsicles and since we are all huge fans of Arden, I thought these pictures would bring a few smiles.

And there have been some cooking adventures as I experiment with some gluten-free products – I want to show my mom how easy it is to live gluten-free (so she’ll stick to her doctor-recommended diet), and that means experimenting on my family beforehand. Ha ha. I’ve learned that soy flour cannot replace regular flour, but only enhance it (to add extra protein/moisture/etc.). I should’ve read about soy flour before attempting this soy-flour foccaccia bread. As you can see, it was a resounding failure. Fortunately, I baked a “normal” one at the same time so we did not go hungry. LOL!

Tomorrow’s adventure will be having Annemarie over for a visit. Actually, she’ll be the one having an adventure, as both dogs are shedding like mad at the moment and even twice-daily vaccuuming doesn’t keep up with the furballs and dirt that’s constantly getting tracked in. Chateau Chaos looks much more chaotic than usual these days, but Annemarie’s a brave woman. I can hardly wait to see her!

Wishing you well! Thank you once again for visiting with me here – I certainly enjoy the company!

13:05  1 July, Edited to add:

Drawing closed to choose winners who will be announced later today!

2005 till 2009 makes four years of blogging, as of today. The time really does fly when you’re having fun! Thank you to my cherished, long-standing friends who’ve been with me from the start (or nearly so) and to all the wonderful people I’ve met in the years since then. You’re the best!

I’ll randomly choose five people who comment on today’s post to send a gift – it may be a chart from your wishlist, or a cut of fabric, or maybe some floss you’ve mentioned wanting to try, or … well, whatever strikes my fancy! It’s just a small token of my enormous appreciation for your readership and friendship!

In the spirit of supporting blogs, here’s a new-to-me blog that I don’t know how I ever overlooked. What talent! Happy blogging, everyone!

What a positively productive weekend this has been! I’ll admit to you now that I was a teeny bit nervous about everything I hoped (and needed) to get done – but here it is, Sunday evening, and everything that was on my To Do list is done. I should keep a Done list, shouldn’t I? Wouldn’t that be uplifting to look at?

First off, we had fun. That’s always a top priority on the weekends. Some of the highlights included outdoor water “fights”, a pancake extravaganza, a visit from the neighbor, and lots (& lots) of playing. As usual, the fun shows up best on Arden’s sweet face.

Secondly, some important writing got done to my satisfaction. I can’t show you that, but I will say that if you have let your TGOSM subscription lapse, you’re really missing a lot!

And thirdly- stitching, of course! You didn’t think I was going to list housework chores or something like that, did you? LOL!!! My finishing pile is growing – hooray!

I finished this compilation of designs by Blackbird Designs ‘(I’m calling it Blackbird Pie), leaving a bit of blank space for personalization. Think it looks weird? Don’t worry – it’s pretty fabulous in it’s finish-finished form! (But you can’t see that yet. Ha ha!)

I finished Curious as a Cat by Birds of a Feather. This is stitched on a piece of 35 count linen from Vikki Clayton using the suggested fibers. My only change was to use red for the wording rather than blue.

I finished Busy as a Beeby Birds of a Feather, again using the suggested fibers on 35 ct. HDF linen with the wording changed to black.

(Both BOAF finishes are hampered by lousy photographing – nighttime photos are not my forté!)

And I worked on a little something that you’ll be seeing a lot more of in the upcoming weeks. Curious? Get that TGOSM subscription and all will soon be revealed….

When our neighbor came over to visit, she brought me a kit to say thanks for some help I was able to offer. Very sweet and thoughtful, but unfortunately the design just is not to my taste. I hate to see it languish in a dark drawer, so if it’s something you’d like, please leave a comment here. If more than one person is interested, I’ll pick a name at random.

My birthday was as beautiful as these gorgeous flowers sent by my father and step-mother, Jim and Gaby!

The day began with a bit of a lay-in (as it was a holiday here) and when I came downstairs, Niek had breakfast all ready. The Chaos Crew was also ready to dig in – opening presents had to wait till after appetites had been assuaged!

We did, however, sing. Arden got very excited with the hip-hip-hooray bits, as you can see.

But the wait was worth it. Max had painted me a castle with a wishing well and Rowen made me a treasure map. Niek surprised and delighted me with a new camera!! WOW! I could hardly believe my eyes. And a fabulous case to keep it safe in.

Needless to say, as soon as I opened it, I had to start taking pictures of everything and everyone around me, which Nick felt was his cue to duck under the table. But not quick enough to escape this veteran child photographer! LOL!

Not long after breakfast, we piled into the car to go to the open air jazz festival in Den Bosch, aka Jazz in Duketown. I’m a big fan of blues and of traditional jazz but there aren’t that many opportunities to drag kids (who aren’t usually big fans) along to performances. In the southern end of the country, though, around this time of year, there are informal, open-air performances that are ideal for a family like ours. Of the kids, Arden enjoyed the music the most. Rowen, as you can see in the pictures, was a pretty critical audience. LOL!

No birthday would be complete without at least a little bit of stitching, so here’s a peek at my latest project (Curious as a Cat by Birds of a Feather). And hold on to your hats, I’ll actually be keeping this one! Hopefully exchanges will arrive at their destinations this week and I’ll be able to show you some other pictures.

the winner is:

There were 56 entries for my birthday giveaway and the randomizer chose Coral. It’s pretty cool when a long-term, regular reader gets chosen. Coral, your gift will go out before the end of the month! And everyone, thank you so much for commenting and for extending your good wishes! I received a beautiful card from Dianne, ecards from Rachael, Harmien & Annemarie, and emails from several other good friends including birthday twin Deb. Thank you all SO MUCH – your friendship means the world to me!!