Feb 28, 2009

a PIF from CJ

Back in July, I signed up for a PIF on CJ's blog. I was so excited when I opened the box!

I've been admiring CJ's baskets ever since I saw
them on her blog. They are so beautiful and she
is so talented!! To top it off, she makes cards, too.


Another view of the basket :)


As if that weren't enough, there was a pretty handmade little box, and a bag of Ghiradelli chocolates. CJ said the chocolate was from her son. What a sweet little guy!

I wonder what's in the box????

The cutest little flatfold I ever did see! I love it!!


CJ is such a dear lady for taking time to create such beautiful things. Big thanks to her (and her little one) for the PIF gifts. I had a stressful night, and this definitely brightened my day and put a smile on my face! :D

Feb 27, 2009

Feelin' The Love

Not only have I been nominated once, but FOUR times!


Friendship Award

Carolyn and Rene passed this award on to me. Thank you for thinking of me. :) The friends I've made in the online stitching community are priceless. Some I've met in person, others I've yet to meet, others I may never meet... You all hold a special place in my heart.

Here's a description of this special friends award:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon's of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. Choose eight friends to share this with.

So here's my list and I would love to include so many more:

Deborah, Debra S, Viv, Carol, Erynne, Danielle, Courtney, and Beth.



Kreativ Award

This award was given to me by Dawn for providing her inspiration. Thank you, Dawn. Now it's my turn to award seven who bring me inspiration:

Kathy, Chiloe, Jenn, Kendra, Milly, Kristin, and Vicki.




Brilliante!

Akila presented me with this award because she thinks my blog is brilliant! I've already passed this award on to others, so I'm going to defer to that list, found HERE. Thank you Akila for awarding me :)

Grab Bag #2

I actually received both grab bags at the same time, however I'm just a bit behind in getting the second post up. I don't know... call it "life gets in the way" LOL!

Without further adieu...




DMC Color Variations.
These are the newest CV's.
This was on my wishlist!









Gentle Art Sampler Threads
Special Edition - Spring Collection





Waterlilies
by The Caron Collection
(Woo Hoo... silk threads!)




Assorted Rainboy Gallery Threads
& Mill Hill Needle Threaders






Olde Willow Linen Thread
Watercolours by The Caron Collection




DMC #5 Perle Cotton
These will come in handy for cording :)





Magnetic Needle Tugger
This was on my wishlist, too!










A nice long piece of linen banding. Love the blue border!









32ct 18x26" French Mocha Linen






Assorted pieces of linen. Aren't the colors great?!

Feb 25, 2009

Grab Bag #1

At the end of last year, I ordered a couple of grab bags from Country Cottage Framing and Needleart. Shirley tries to customize each GB according to the stitcher's likes. I received mine the other day, and am *so* pleased! Here's what came:


FROM MY WISH LIST:

















3 Red Thread Snappers by Bent Creek
Two more and I'll have the entire series. :)





















Love From Dad by Sue Hillis










Flowers for Lily by With My Needle










PLUS OTHER FUN STUFF!




Tiny Beaded Heart Kit by Just Nan











Teapot Frame Kit by
Stoney Creek







Piroutte in Purple Kit
by The Sweetheart Tree











A Pair of Pin Cubes
by With My Needle









Evangeline
by Lavender & Lace










Amelia by John Clayton











#8 DMC Perle Cotton (436)

Feb 23, 2009

Marvelous Monday Update 2/23/09

Four Letter Words
Four letter words are naughty. I know I shouldn't say it. But, I *have* to... S-N-O-W!!! Yes, my area got more SNOW. Everyone, including myself, is soooo ready for it to be done. Alas, it's only February so there's at least another month of white possibilities. This time, we had 5" dumped on us and to add a little more fun to the mix, Mother Nature decided to whip up some winds. So while trying to blow snow, the winds created white-out conditions blasting me in the face with COLD WET SNOW. Talk about refreshing! An hour and a half later, the driveway was clean. I was cold, wet... and looked like an abominable snow goddess! Two hours later I felt like Granny. Every joint in my body hurt. :(


Stitchy Stuff
I've been struck by the stitchy-itis bug. I really tried to fight it off, really I did! Once it sunk its teeth into me, I was done for. Yes, I started a new project. A small one. Well, relatively small. I started Flip Flop Trivet. This is what it looks like after 15 hours:


Giveaway
This time it's something stitchy-related. If you'd like to be included in the giveaway, leave a comment with your name and email addy (if you're not a blogger). What's the giveaway? A beaded scissor fob! If more than one person is interested, I'll put names in a hat and pull one on Sunday. Winner will be announced next week.


A Request
I am looking for a Victorian floral design. A freebie would be nice. The trick is... the design cannot be any larger than 17W x 18H. Does anyone have ideas? Feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email. Any help would be appreciated. :)


School
It's hard to believe I'm already starting the 6th week of class. Two more weeks and the session is done! I've done fairly well on the tests each week, getting 94-100%. I'm so thrilled with that! I have no idea how I've done on the homework assignments because the instructor hasn't made his feedback readable online. He keeps promising, but so far no dice. As for the group class project... My group is *barely* started. The rough draft is due next week and thus far I have received no information -none-nada- from my classmates so that I can write the report. To say I'm worried is putting it lightly!


Tick-Tick-Ticky
For a while now, I've had a rattling/ticking sound coming from under the hood of my car. The only thing was... It was intermittent. You know how it is when you take your car to the shop with an intermittent sound? It won't happen when you get it there and then you look dumb. LOL

The sound starting happening more regularly and became a bit louder so I called the mechanic to have it looked at. Bearings in the supercharger going out. Can't replace *just* the bearings, though. Oh no. Have to replace the ENTIRE supercharger. Was quoted a price of $1800 for a reburbished SC. Ouch!

I did some research and found that it's a common occurence with the amount of mileage on my car. Yes, I could drive the car without a supercharger, but mileage would really be bad. Maybe that would explain why my mileage has been so bad? I also did some research on prices of superchargers. I'm pretty sure the mechanic called the local GM dealer for pricing on a refurbished SC because when I called GM the price was the same. I know from past experience that the GM dealer's pricing is astronomical compared to everyone else's. I called around at some other places I found on the internet and their prices were about 1/3 of what GM quoted. So guess what? I ordered the part, had it shipped to the mechanic, and he's going to install it. The best part of it... the part has a lifetime guarantee. Others I'd looked at came with a guarantee of 3 years.

Unfortunately, with this latest repair I won't be able to go to the stitching retreat I had planned on for this summer. Bummer! :(