Alphabet Soup! - or stitching for my grandson

Leland, my eldest grandson, will turn 6 tomorrow! I've been working on an alphabet for his wall, with his name stitched in the design. It will be darling once I get it finished, but I might be creating a monster with this project. It isn't that big, but I have to remember he has FOUR younger siblings that will all expect Mawmaw to stitch something special for each of them. Since the twins are just 19 months, I think I don't have to worry about them ... yet. Austin and Lilly can be a little more demanding. I'm glad their birthdays come later in the year! Still, I may have trouble finding a Tinkerbell or Hello Kitty chart.

Any suggestions?

The Southpaw Stitcher: Blogoversary Giveaway!

Here's a wonderful giveaway ~ let's all celebrate with The Southpaw Stitcher. Check out her blog, lots of beautiful handwork.

The Southpaw Stitcher: Blogoversary Giveaway!: Hey Blog Buddies, Are you as excited as I am that my one-year blogoversary is coming up on January 21st? (Well, probably not...) Anyhoo,...

Stash alert!

Since moving into an apartment, I'm still sorting through boxes and bags and cabinets... Beginning to find a lot of things that I have held onto for far too long. This is what happens when you move from a 4 bedroom house to a 1 bedroom apartment. This is a GOOD thing! Consider this a strange take on the common New Year's resolution: I'm going to lose a lot of weight this year. I'm losing the material baggage that has tied me down for years... including enough cross stitch stash that I could live to be 743 and not have to stitch the same design twice.

So why is this a "stash alert"? Because I'm trimming my baggage down. Including that stash! I've pulled out a lot of goodies - charts, kits, bead packs, materials that I want to share. Since there is a wide variety of items, I've got to figure out how I want to do this. I don't want to go even further into debt over postage costs, but I don't want to sell individual charts like I see on many blogs. I'm thinking of something like an Almost Giveaway....

I'll pull together an assortment of items, list them as an Almost Giveaway, and ask for postage cost from the winner. Will I have any takers? We'll see.

~ Lorraine Thomas

Maukie, the virtual cat

I keep running across this fun interactive cat on other blogs, so I finally added him to mine! My own cat, Gizmo, is much higher maintenance than little Maukie. Gizmo is the first long-haired cat I've ever owned. He's beautiful, but has a real problem with hair balls. He was born with a stubby tail, just about 2" long. He has so much purrrsonality ~ but he's spoiled rotten!

Did I mention that I put a little Gizmo in everything I stitch? If you have a long haired cat, you know what I'm talking about. When he's feeling especially mischievous he even swats at my needle while I'm stitching. At least he doesn't say, "Put your stitching up and shut the light off. I'm trying to sleep." haha!

Giveaways around the world of stitching

I've enjoyed reading the many blogs of other cross stitchers around the world. I've enjoyed looking at all the beautiful stitched items in progress, but I've been especially touched by the generosity of the many stitchers who are offering "12 days of Christmas" and stash-clearing giveaways! I'm obviously too late to begin a "12 days of Christmas" theme, but I will be sorting through my stash for some wonderful items to share.

I am new at blogging, but I'm an old hand at sharing my cross stitch stash! Watch this spot ~

stolen thoughts for 2012

I have to admit I completely STOLE this idea from Stitch Bitch, a fabulous blogger with great ideas.

Plans for 2012

 I need to give myself some direction. This year I will:

1. Get a job, even part time is better than nothing. And it would be NICE if it was in the health care field. After 2 years in school, I need to put my new degree to use. Graduating Summa Cum Laude was nice, but get off your butt already!
2. Start only 2 new large stitching projects for the year. I finally finished the huge "dwell in possibility" project I started when I got laid off. If I could find the charts, I could get the designer's name and the project name right. I still can't find anything since moving in here in July. But in 2012, I'm not going to have a dozen projects going at the same time. I'm not going to pick up any new hobbies or start doing any new crafts. I'll do a gazillion little ornaments and gifts, but it's time to finish some of the UFOs from previous years. Time to use up my stash and all the freebies I've collected.
3. Finish 1/2 of my WIPs. That means I'll have to sort through all my stuff and FIND all the ufo projects! Then I can decide whether I still want to stitch them, and prioritize them.
4. Sort through my books. What I can't sell on Amazon I'll trade or share with others. I'll never understand why I moved all those books with me, or why I have a small storage locker full of books still. I guess I just took them since Kelly kept all my other stuff. Time for those books to find other homes.
5. Get back into my conversion classes. No excuses.
6. Get my digital camera out of Tom's attic and start uploading pictures of my stitching. 

I have a lot to learn about blogging. I hope other stitchers will post their thoughts here. I'd love to make some new virtual friends.

let's get this year started right!

I've been wandering in a fog for a couple years now. Time to get my life back on track... I know, baby steps. So this is where I'm beginning. January 1, 2012. I've joined an ornament exchange group on Yahoo. I've started my own blog. I'm stitching and pondering...

Join me on this journey. Or at least let me know what you're stitching. I've probably got the same project in my stash!

~ Lorraine "raised by wolves"