A Few of My Favorite Things

Several years ago when I started this blog, I knew I wanted it to be more than just about my stitching.  I also wanted people to learn a little more about me.  I'm more than just a stitcher, although that is a big part of my life.  But I have a few other favorite things too.  So I occasionally will post about one of my favorite things and today I thought I would post about my love for cats.

Squeak Our Calico Kitty

I have been a cat person since I was a little girl.  I grew up wanting a cat to call my own (I do realize that you don't own a cat, it owns you).  But for some reason my mother would never let me have a kitty.  Later when I had grown and left home, she ended up with 10 of them but that's a whole nother story.  So after we had kids, Dave and I added a kitten to our brood (which consisted of 3 kids and 2 dogs).  Tiffany was the quintessential  cat.  She was aloof and regal and occasionally grumpy.  She would only sit on my lap and had to be carried up the stairs every night in order to sleep with us.  But we all loved her and were devastated when she left us to cross over the Rainbow Bridge.

When Tiffany left us, I knew I had to get another kitty.  So off we went to the pet adoption event and Squeak crawled her way into our hearts and has been there ever since.  Squeak can be the sweetest cat in the world then in the next second be so ornery that you wonder if it's the same cat.  But I guess that why I love her (and all kitties) because they keep you on your toes.  She's almost 11 now and I hope she stays around for a long time.

So cats are cool.  They do what they want, go where they please (within the confines of the house), love whom they want.  Who wouldn't want a cat?

GYOB Giveaway Gifts!

Now that I know both Cheri and Donna have received their giveaway gifts, I feel like I can safely show what I sent them.  Since this is a cross stitch blog, I sent cross stitch gadgets.  I love gadgets.  I have more scissors than I can count and they all have fobs to go with them.  I have needles galore, needle keepers, you name it and I probably own several of them.  So I wanted to send some new gadgets that I thought most people could use.  As you can see, I sent some needles (who can't use some more needles), a  really cute needle minder, a cute little cradle for storing more needles, and a thread hopper.  If you want to know what a thead hopper is, go to MT Designs and read all about them.  They're  a really cool gadget and I wonder why someone hadn't thought of them sooner.  I even ordered one of them for myself.

I had fun choosing things for this giveaway.  So much so that I may have another soon.  So keep watching here and you never know what you'll find.

Stitching Bloggers Blog Hop

The question is what stitching subscriptions do I currently have and love?

I used to get all the cross stitch magazines that were out there.  Just Cross Stitch, Stitcher's World, CS&N, I got them them all.  Then I discovered they were ending up in piles in my closet and I couldn't find anything I wanted in them.  So I got ruthless and went through them all and cut out what I wanted and got rid of the rest of the magazines.  I stopped getting magazines for a while.  Then I discovered Zinio.  I could get all the magazines I wanted and they only take up space on my Ipad.  And in the case of the British magazines (which I love) they are half the price.  AND I can check magazines out of the library and not pay anything for them!  So now I get Crazy for Cross Stitch, the World of Cross Stitch and most recently Cross Stitch Collection.  I will have them on the device as long as I want and then can store them them in the cloud.  I can also print the patterns I want off the Ipad and not have to store a bunch of paper.  So in my mind, I can have the subscriptions I want at a price I can afford and greatly reduce the clutter in my house.  And for someone who recently downsized, that is a big plus in my book.

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here. 

Throwback Thursday

This is one of my favorite pieces I have ever done.  It's from EMS Designs and I believe it's called Summer Bouquet.  It's stitched on a hand dyed fabric from R & R Reproductions with DMC floss.

The only thing I don't like about EMS Designs is that she uses a lot of the same symbols for different colors.  She has 3 different sizes of dots, squares and triangles.  I stitched the lily with pale shades of lavender before I realized it should have been stitched with pale taupe.  Very frustrating to rip it all out especially since the fabric was very fragile.  I almost decided not to finish it but I REALLY liked the design and so I spent several hours very carefully frogging it.  I am glad I stuck with it cause it is one of my favorites.  And after many years of hanging in the shop where I worked, it's finally at home in my family room.

The View From My Back Door

 We had quite a bit of snow yesterday.  I think the final total was 8-10 inches.  Of course, it's mostly melting today so I decided I needed to get some pictures of my backyard.  This is the view from my sliding glass door in my kitchen.

I love the way the snow piles on the trees.  I love the contrast between the white snow, the green trees and the blue skies.   Now I know I've said I hate winter and that is still true but views like this could make me think a little more kindly about it.  

The Winners

of my 2015 Grow Your Own Blog Party have been chosen.  By random number generator DJH of SIN=Sometimes I'm Nice blog and Cheri The Quilting Nanny have been chosen to receive my two giveaways.  Both of these ladies have wonderful blogs (Cheri has several which are very interesting) and I hope you all get a chance to visit them if you haven't already.  Ladies, I will be getting in touch with you probably no later than tomorrow for your mailing information.  I think this morning I will be shoveling snow (I HATE winter!) and I have to work this afternoon.  So my blog stuff will have to wait.

I want to thank Vicki of Two Bags Full for organizing this year's party.  She and her trusty assistants did a wonderful job of getting things organized and running this year.  If you haven't visited all the blogs on the list, I hope you get a chance to stop by and see some of the ones you may have missed.  There are some wonderful blogs out there in blogland and this gives us all an opportunity to find and hopefully follow them.

Well, I must go dig out my driveway if I'm going to make it into work today.  I had hoped to spend the morning stitching or perhaps knitting but it looks like Mother Nature isn't going to let that happen today.  Did I mention I hate winter?  Oh, to be back in Phoenix right now.

Just a Reminder

My little friend and I wanted to remind you that the sign up deadline for my Grow Your Own Blog giveaway is tonight.  It's not too late to comment on the GYOB post and get entered into the giveaway.  I'll draw 2 names for those who have commented on the post and let you guys know who the winners are on Monday.  So leave me a comment and get entered in my Grow Your Own Blog giveaway.