Business, Then Pleasure

Hi all!
It's Hunky Friday, and I actually remembered!!! I know, you're shocked.

But before the eye candy, I want to share with you a blog that I'm intrigued by. This is a designer that I hadn't heard of before. In fact, Kevin at Cabbages and Kings has introduced me to a goodly number of designs/designers that are new to me. Thanks Kevin! (BTW, Kevin is getting close to a follower milestone, so head on over there, and say HI for me.)

The designer is Beth Ann Seal of Summer House Stitche Workes. She is having a blog giveaway if you want to check it out, But, hurry! The deadline is April 7.




Okay, now that the business is out of the way, here is the pleasure...

I am bringing back an old favorite from early last year, but you shouldn't be disappointed at the repeat, because it's SHEMAR MOORE!

Let the drooling begin.

The Lucky Winners!

I've done the drawing. I found an easy-to-use Random Number Generator.

For all the winners: Please message me with your mailing information. Thanks!

Prize #1: RNG = 12
And the winner is...Ginny!

SW 16 ct Aida Solo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prize #2: RNG = 18
And the winner is...Isabellii!

SW 28 ct Cashel Solo

Prize #3: RNG = 11
And the winner is...SouthpawStitcher!

SW 28 ct. Pink Waterfall Lugana

Prize #4: RNG = 12
And the winner is...Linda (Stitchin with my Furbabies)

Charts and misc. fibers

And the winner of Squish is....ME! I'm going to go give her a squeeze. :)

Congratulation to all the winners! I hope you enjoy your prizes.

Another All-in-One Post (sorry)

Yes, I did it again. I got a bit behind on blogging. Apologies! Now I have to update you on everything at once.

Let's first discuss WIPocalypse and Theme-a-licious:

The WIPocalypse theme for this month was:
March 27 – Themes: Designer – Chatelaine, Style – Springtime, Colors – Green and Yellow

and the theme for Theme-a-licious was:
MARCH MADNESS - Work on something different every day...it's madness...of the funnest kind.

 I posted during the mid-month check in that working on something different every day just wouldn't happen this month since I had so many RRs that needed to be done. I did try to put a few stitches into other things each night, to a varying degree of success.

I was not about to start my first Chatelaine, and will not likely do one this year. I did do a wee little bit of Springtime stitching, including some green and yellow.

Here's some pictures -
  

I finished my section on Laura's Celtic-themed band sampler round robin. It came out rather fabulous, if I say so myself. :)

I also finished my section on Angi's band sampler round robin. I used bands from Just Nan and Sweetheart Tree. Angi provided tons of coordinating silks, metallics, and beads. They were amazing.

In honor of Spring (wishfully thinking), I stitched the "Phlox" section of Butterfly Garden from The Drawn Thread. Included was some green and yellow stitching. See, I'm trying to go along with the themes.

I added a couple more bottles to "99." Each time, I ask my hubby if he recognizes the bottles. So far we have Blue Moon, Heineken, and Fat Tire Amber Ale.

Oops, I allowed myself yet another new start. Naughty me. I'm amused by my interesting word combo.

I've been working on Andie's Mirabilia large-stitch round robin, but I don't want to show any pix until it's done. Andie is, after all, an attentive follower of this blog. She follows the hunks, anyway. :P

I also did some more stitching on "Baked Goods," but I forgot to take a picture.


Speaking of being naughty...I've been ordering stash right and left. I got the most wonderful package in the mail yesterday, from Leslie of Under the Sea Fabrics. Included was my custom FOTM, perhaps to be used for the upcoming Joan Elliott RR, a bunch of fabrics I picked up at her latest Jewel sale, the most adorable mermaid tail scissors and mermaid fob, and, best of all, I won a full kit from Leslie. The kit is for the Poppy Pixie, and Leslie created a fabric just for her. It is called Volcano, and it is truly amazing. I'm going to try to stitch her up for the Pick-a-Pixie Facebook SAL. Thanks, Leslie!!!

The WIPocalypse theme for April is:
Themes: Designer – Mirabilia, Style – Samplers, Colors – Blue and Orange

Mirabilia will be easy. I don't have any current plans for samplers, since I finished the RR, but we'll see. Blue and Orange? Umm, maybe.

The Theme-a-licious theme for April is:
AMAZON APRIL - Dip your needle into the vast swath of fabric dedicated to your BIGGEST projects.

That'll take some thinking. I'll get back to you on that.

DON'T FORGET: If you haven't already entered my 100-follower giveaway, your last chance is tomorrow, March 31. I will do the drawing Monday or Tuesday. Leave a comment here.

Last but not least, I owe you a hunk.
I have another reader request. I thought him appropriate, since my hubby and I saw The Hobbit last week. I offer to you, Thorin Oakenshield, King of the Dwarves, aka Richard Armitage.

Another one who is not really my cuppa, and honestly, I couldn't bear to show a pasty white bare-chested pic of him, but he has really pretty eyes.

I hope to not overwhelm you with any more all-in-one posts. Key word=hope.

100-Follower Giveaway and TUSAL, too

Who is ready for my giveaway?

Well, you have to wait for a moment to check out my ort jar, presented today by the lovely and talented Squish.

 

Now, on to the giveaway.

Rules:

1. You must be a follower. I will mail anywhere.

2. You must leave a comment on this post. If you mention my giveaway on your blog, I will enter your name twice.

3. There are four prizes/packages. You may choose two that you would like to win.

4. Entry deadline is March 31. I will pull names on or about April 1.

5. No pushing, shoving, biting, scratching, or swearing. Oh, nevermind. Have at it. tee hee

 

Prize #1

 Prize #1 is a fat quarter of a Silkweaver solo 16-ct opalescent aida.

Prize #2

Prize #2 is a fat quarter of a Silkweaver solo 28-ct. Cashel linen.

Prize #3

Prize #3 is a fat quarter of Silkweaver Pink Waterfall 32-ct. Lugana.

Prize #4

Prize #4 includes 4 charts, 3 skeins of WDW floss, and 3 miscellaneous metallics.

Good luck!

Shall we make plans?

Shall we make plans for a celebration?

I've noticed that my followers are now up to 85. 85?!? I can't believe so many people are even remotely interested in what I've been up to. Or, is it about the hunks? Wait! Don't answer that! Let me briefly revel in a passing cloud of self-importance. (It wasn't gas, I swear!)

So, anywho...

Welcome aboard to all my new followers! I'm glad to be able to share my silliness with you. I do my best to follow all of you. I may not comment all the time, but I make an effort to spread the love around when I can.

If we can entice another 15 people to agree to listen to my blatherings...er, follow my blog, then, guess what?!? I'll have a giveaway!

That's right, you heard it...a giveaway. Perhaps I could even be persuaded to dig around in my frightfully large stash of hand-dyed fabrics. Oh, you perked up at that, didn't you? Maybe I'll even toss in a gift certificate to somewhere...

If you'd care to help me get to that magical mark of 100 followers for a giveaway, then please mention me on your blogs.

I have another exciting event to celebrate! Sweet Kate from The Suddenly Kate Show is having a book blog tour, called "The Pasty Tour," to promote the launch of her new e-book, 12 Days Young/Young 80. She'll be visiting right here at My Stitchy Ramblings on March 27th. I'm very excited about this!! I'll shortly be reading the book myself, so I can sound like I know what I'm talking about.

The book sounds really fun! It's actually two short stories. One is a romantic comedy, and one is a scary story. From the short stories that I've read on her blog, so far, I've already seen warm, descriptive narratives, visceral chills, a wicked sense of humor, and wonderfully twisty endings.

If you're ready to check it out, you can get the book on Amazon here.

So, please make sure you join us on March 27th for The Pasty Tour. How fun is that?

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

The entries for my Blogoversary giveaway were as follows:

McKenna - 2
Annie
Andie
Katy - 2
Cucki
Wagapapa - 2
Emma/Itzy
Ginny - 2
HannaHackroyd
TeaNorman
Kathy A
and Susana

I put all the entries on little slips of paper. (For the life of me, I can't figure out random number generators, and the like.)

And the winner is...

McKenna! Congratulations!

So, please email your mailing information to me at kmcewan (at) sbcglobal (dot) net

This is my 100th post. That's pretty cool, too. :)

Thank you everyone!

I'm thinking about doing another giveaway for the "Grow Your Blog" party at 2 Bags Full. Keep an eye out. If you want some more followers for your blogs, come join us!

Blogoversary Giveaway!

Hello Dear Followers!

I only have a couple of minutes, here, but I thought I'd offer up a small giveaway to celebrate my Blogoversary.

I'd like to give to someone my gently used chart of Nora Corbett's Peony Pixie. This is the only full-sized chart I've finished in the last 2+ years. I've done countless partial charts for round robins and new starts, etc. But actual finishes? Not so much.

Here are the simple rules:
1. You must be a follower of my blog.
2. You must leave a comment on this post by my Blogoversary, January 15, 2013.
3. You may have an extra entry if you post a link to me on your blog.

Thank you for reading and commenting, and making the first year of my blogging enjoyable for me!

*hugs and stitches*
~ Karen

Pay It Forward (PIF) and a SAL conundrum

A little ways back, I read a blog entry from dear Rahenna. She was chosen to participate in an exchange by the equally dear Kaye. Kaye had been sent a PIF gift from someone else, and was inspired to pay it forward by offering a handmade gift to three more people who agreed to then pay it forward to three more people each. (Sorry if that's confusing.)

I recalled that I've been very blessed (and lucky) to have been sent a number of lovely gifts this year, so I asked Rahenna if I could participate.

Would you like to receive a handmade gift from me?

Here's how it works:

1.  Understand that you will be expected to offer three gifts to others if you participate.
2.  Leave a comment here with your email address so I can contact you. :)
3.  If more than three people are interested in the PIF, I will do a drawing.
4. Stitchy gifts are the best, but you don't necessarily have to limit yourself to cross stitch. Any handmade gift will do, but you should specify that when you post yours. I will likely do a small cross stitch gift, and/or something sewn.
5. You may set your own time limit for when you will make and send the gifts. Kaye chose 12 months. I think I will go with 6 months.

I will leave the sign up open until November 30.

I'm excited about this opportunity to share with you how grateful I've been for your friendship.


Now, for my conundrum. I think I definitely qualify as a Serial Starter. There are so many projects out there. I have so many charts and projects kitted up. I want to do them all right now, but my ability to make progress has been, shall we say, spotty? Just wait until you see my WIPocalypse summary at the end of the year. (eyes roll to back of head)

I've tried to limit my commitments to round robins for next year. I've only signed up for two: the Mirabilia Large-Stitch, and a new Joan Elliott. I really want to do a little stitching for myself in 2013.

I think I have an addiction. There are several SALs starting next year, and a project or two that would work nicely as a monthly goal sort. As it is, the Passione Ricamo Mystery SAL I started this year has stalled. Part 5 was released Nov. 1, and I've only completed Part 2! I'm trying to convince myself to either not join/start any more SAL/monthly projects, or just pick one. (I'm hopeless...really)

Here are the ones I'm thinking about:
1. Country Cottage - Santa's Village SAL (Here's the FB group)
2. Joan Elliott Fantasy Stitcher's Diary SAL
3. Ellen Maurer-Stroh Flowers of the Month
4. Ink Circles "99" (I will probably start this anyway. I can pick it up any time and just add one bottle. It's for my DH.)
5. Country Cottage - Cottage of the Month

What am I to do? I'm nuts. Seriously.

Parsley's having a giveaway!

Dear Parsley of Seasons of My Mind is giving away an adorable chart that she just finished stitching up. It's Herb-a-licious!

Click here to go to the post. Good luck!

And the winners are...drumroll...

I have winners of my 50-Follower Giveaway!

 I don't know how to do a random number generator, so I went the old-fashioned route. I wrote all the names for each package on a little piece of paper, put them in a bag, and had the Boy-child pull one out. (Now I have little folded Post-its scattered all over my kitchen. ;-P)


Without further adieu:

Package #1 (Ribbons)  Winner: Rayeesa
Package #3 (Sweetheart Tree)  Winner: Kathy A.
Package #4 (Mixed Charts)  Winner: Tadamama
Package #5 (Kreiniks)  Winner: Kaisievic (Kaye)

and the hotly contested, most popular Package #2 (Weeks floss & Towels)  Winner: Rahenna!

If you won a package, please email me your mailing info. (Kathy, I know where to find you. tee hee)

Congratulations to all the winners!! I hope you enjoy your prizes.

Thank you to all my followers! I love you and all your comments, and I love reading your blogs, too.

*hugs*
~ Karen

Last call!

Hello again, Dear Followers,

I managed to survive the first day of Cub Scout Day Camp...barely. The heat, the humidity, the pain of being on my feet all day, lots of walking, lots of lifting heavy stuff. Ack!  If anyone has experienced plantar fasciitis or know what it is, you probably have a bit more sympathy for poor, old Karen.

On top of all that, I had to put loaded air rifles into the hands of 60 10-year-olds and teach them what to do with it.

Only three more hot, long, sweaty, miserable days to go. Is it Hunky Friday yet? Tell me when it's over.

Okay, now that I've finished my pity party I want to take a moment to remind you of the deadline to enter my giveaway. Entries must be in on or before August 4th. That's this Saturday.

The rules are easy. You must be a follower. You need to leave a comment on my original giveaway post. You may pick two packages to be entered in. If you post on your blog with a link to my giveaway, you get double the entries. You can click on the button at the top left to get to the post with the packages and entry.

Good luck to you in the drawing. Good luck to me in surviving the rest of this week!

A Hardy, Hunky Friday

Hello Dear Followers,

It's that time again. Yes, Hunky Friday. I know you've all been waiting to see who I'd post this week. Well, with all the hullabaloo about Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, I considered Christian Bale. Now don't get me wrong, and for those of you that love him, more power to ya, but I'm just not into him.

However, there is a certain villain in the movie named Bane. I'm not all into the mask-on-the-face thing, but the guy that plays him...hubba hubba!

Without further adieu I give you Tom Hardy...

 

If you've gotten this far without fainting or having hot flashes, then let me remind you to enter my giveaway. Deadline is August 4. See button on the top left.

 

Don't Forget!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! And remember, if you post a link on your blog, you double your entries. Entry deadline is August 4.

Check out the cute little button I made on the left. :D

Hugs and smooches!

Today's Teddy TUSAL, and...GIVEAWAYS!

Time for a TUSAL? Totally! Just ask Teddy.

My jar is starting to get pretty full. Will it last the rest of the year? Dunno, guess I'll try mashing them down a bit.

As promised, I've gathered some things to celebrate my 50-follower milestone. There are five packages. Please leave a comment including which package(s) you'd like to be entered for. I think you can select up to two. If you post about the giveaway on your blog and mention that in your comment/entry, I will put your name in twice. The deadline for entries will be August 4. I will post the winners around Aug. 5 or 6. I will be suffering at Cub Scout camp all the previous week teaching 10-year-olds how to shoot a BB gun. I will be quite exhausted afterwards. (Have the margaritas ready, Honey!)

* Edited to add...to enter you must be a follower of my blog. Thanks!

Package #1

 Package 1 is for the ribbon embroidery lover. There are 4 skeins of ribbons, a mixed bag of ribbons, and a little Santa kit.

Package #2

 Package 2 includes 6 skeins of Weeks floss and two pink, stitchable hand towels.

Package #3

 Package 3 includes two charts from The Sweetheart Tree; Blueberries 'N Cream sampler and Catnip Kitty Fob.

Package #4

 Package 4 includes three charts: Wombat Creek-Hearts As One wedding sampler; Ewe and Eye-Me & Thee; and Shepherd's Bush-Button Santa.

Package 5

Package 5 includes seven miscellaneous Kreinik metallics.

I hope you like the giveaway options. Be sure to check back that first week of August to see the winners. Thanks for following me!

Hugs!!

Holy smokes! - a milestone

Wow! I'm now at 50 followers. Who'da thunk?

Welcome to my new followers, and hugs to all of you that have been around since the beginning all those long months ago. tee hee  I'm a little surprised that I didn't scare any of you off with that photo of Mel last week. (He almost scares me off!) I have to blame that on dear, sweet Parsley who said "It would be funny if you sneak in a real stinker some time." So, it's all her fault. ;-)

I have been gathering things for the giveaway that I promised. I just haven't gotten around to taking pictures of them. I will do so in the next day or two. It'll probably be posted with tomorrow's Hunk. I guess I'd better pick out a good one!

Well, I'm so flattered that all of you are interested in my nuttiness. Every time I get a new follower I have to run and tell the hubby to remind him that he should be listening to me, as well. I'm so naughty!

Thank you all so much!

Getting close to a milestone

Oooo, looky! I have 45 followers!

When I get to 50, I will be sure to have a giveaway. Spread the word.

(And I just noticed that this is my 50th post. How fun!)