July SBQ

Lake Stitcher has put up another thought provoking question for us this month. (Well, two questions.)

1. "Stitching is an activity that tends to be solitary. Sometimes I wonder if we choose stitching because we are more comfortable with pursuits that we do alone, or does our stitching cause us to loners?"

Actually, for myself, stitching is a way to be less of a loner. At my husband's family functions, I can be a bit overwhelmed, and my natural inclination is to stay at home. However, if I bring some sort of handwork with me, I find that I can retreat when the group gets to be too much. Then when I'm feeling less stressed, I put it away and rejoin the group. Also it has been a way for me to connect with my husband's nieces, as I've been teaching them to stitch and knit. When I go to visit my mother, as often as I can, I join in with her at her needlepoint class, which is a wonderful way to meet other people. My husband is very gregarious, and I usually am as well, but I find that when it's a struggle, my stitching often provides a way for my to be present with him, without feeling like I'm stressed.



2. "If you could create your own perfect stitching group, what characteristics would make it perfect?"

To be perfectly honest, I would prefer a group of all women. It's not that I have any problems with men, but for me, stitching has always been a way to connect with the women in my family, and so I deeply associate it with women. (Even though my husband knits, and I drag him to my LNS for help choosing colors.) I've always been a girls' girl and feel the most comfortable around other women. I would also be happiest if I was the youngest of the group. I have a hard time relating to people my own age. I guess I'm just an old soul, and have always been able to better relate to women my mother's or my grandmothers' ages than women of my own. In the summers when I would visit my grandparents, I much preferred the time I spent just hanging out with my grandmothers to the times I was taken to play with a playmate.

4th of July Surprise

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. DH and I spent July 3rd surprising my mother. I called my father in the morning to see where they were planning on spending the July 4th holiday (aka Mom's birthday). Since they were planning on being at home, Daniel and I packed up quickly and started driving to go and visit them. (They live 3.5 hours away, the way Daniel drives.) When we got to their home, Dad was out running last minute birthday errands, so Mom was alone at home. We snuck in the gate, and started obnoxiously ringing the doorbell. Of course Mom was a little flustered at the jerk who wouldn't stop ringing the bell, so she left the house through the garage, and walked over to the gate, not realizing that we were actually ringing the front door bell! She looked mad as a hornet, I'm assuming that she figured it was kids playing a joke. So when Daniel said "Don't worry, we let ourselves in," Mom got quite a shock!

I'm so glad we were able to go down and visit her, and I was even happier that we thoroughly surprised her! We went that night to a restaurant that was new to all of us, a Belgian bistro, and everyone really enjoyed their meal. Then Sunday morning we got up and went to a local cafe to have coffee and pastries. Mom isn't a big fan of cake, so she celebrated with a yummy sticky bun. Then it was back home to open presents. Mom's local yarn store was having a 50% sale, so I convinced her to take DH and I, and we all left with goodies, at WONDERFUL prices. I got 1 skein of Noro Aya, 2 skeins of Sublime, 2 skeins of Debbie Bliss Chunky Cashmerino, and 2 skeins of a Aimee by Louisa Harding for $35. I was SUPER pleased. (The Aimee was Daniel's choice, and I'm not allowed to touch it. It's in this really yummy mint green, and I'm excited to see what he's going to make with it.)

For Mom's birthday I gave her a red pincushion (BBD's Bluebird done in red) that was finished by Vonna, and a squirrel scissor fob with squirrel scissors (from a The Heart's Content kit). I think that she liked them. I know her dog thought that the pincushion was a squeaky toy for him, so she'll have to keep her eye on it! LOL

Also, on Sunday I had Mom do the drawing for my giveaway. She was tickled by all the great comments. I was sad that we had to leave on Sunday, but I was just so happy to be able to spend the day with my Mom. Of course, I'll have to be EXTRA tricky next year. :)

We Have A Winner!

Here are all the numbers, waiting to be picked.

The suspense is killing me.

Number 11!

It's Sylvia!!!! Woohoo! Sylvia, send me your snail mail address (kgknitter@aol.com). Duke and I will get cracking on choosing some great things for you.

4th of July GIVEAWAY!

In honor of the GIANT celebrations held all over the US, just to commemorate the birth of my mother, I felt that it was only fair that I hold a giveaway. (She does just love those fireworks you know, but maybe this year we could have a rock concert on the mall? She's into the Kings of Leon right now.)

Wait, you mean those fireworks aren't because of my mom? Oh, the US has a birthday that day too? Well, that's just silly, why would a country need a concert on the mall? And isn't the red because it's my mother's favorite color? Oh, the flag, huh....

(That's about the conversation I had at age 8 or 9 when my parents finally told me that no, the whole US wasn't throwing mom a party. I was very gullible at that age.)

Actually, when my grandmother woke up from the morphine they gave her (that's the way to have a baby! lol), she was asked what she wanted to name her baby girl. Gramma asked "What day is it?" And the nurse responded "The 4th of July." To which my grandmother said, "Then name her Betsy Ross." Happily, the nurse was a friend of my grandmother, and went away for awhile, until the drugs had worn off, and my mother ended up with her name, which has nothing to do with Betsy or Ross.

But, seriously, in honor of my dear sweet mother. Ok, who am I kidding? I love my mother dearly, and she is truly my best friend, but sweet, that's a stretch. She's cool and acerbic, and a little jaded and totally sarcastic, and the best mother I could have EVER had. If I could have chosen a mother, I would have chosen her. And because of all that, I'm having a giveaway!

It's going to be a surprise in what you get, but I promise there will be new charts, new linen, and new threads in there. Plus, other fun goodies. (It probably won't have any patriotic stuff in it, just as an FYI.)

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. For a second chance to enter, post about this on your blog, and let me know either via email or via comment on this posting. DH will draw a name on the 4th of July.

This guy is going be helping me decide what to send you. He's a thread snob, so he'll probably pick all silks.

Edited: Also, I'm happy to ship anywhere in the world. So, please, if you don't live in the US, still sign up!

Signups close at noon (Central Standard Time) on July 2nd.

June Goals ???

What happened to June? I woke up this morning, and it's JULY?!?! Already? The year is really flying by. However, my stitching is NOT keeping up. I didn't do ONE thing on my June Goals list. Not one blessed thing. I did finish the stitching for one exchange, and sent that with two other pieces I had previously finished to Vonna, the Twisted Stitcher, to work her magic. I made a million hexies, which I now have to do something with.... I sort of started the BBD Anniversaries of the heart, but I hate fighting with that 1/2 yard of fabric, and DH hasn't had the time to sort out a scroll frame for me. I think that I'm going to break out my quilting frame and give that a try. At least to get some progress, even if I have to dismantle it each time. (ugh!) I'm not posting any more goals. My only goal is to progress. It doesn't matter on which projects, just so long as at least one item gets finished per month, even if it's really small.

I know what the problem is, you see, I have an addiction. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Real Housewives.

I know, it's total trash. My DH thinks I've lost my mind, and I can't bear to admit it to my mother and father. (All that education to watch the Real Housewives?!) But, what can I say? It's like crack, or at least catnip. I find myself waiting for the new episodes to air, wondering what crazy thing they're going to do next. I've even watched the Bethany spin off show. I tried to explain it to DH by saying that it's similar to watching a soap opera. I'm enthralled with these women, but I don't actually think they live that way. I mean, it's not like you would believe that Beau really killed Hope, but you can't rip your eyeballs away, even as you hear the sound of your brain cells dying in agony.

So, hopefully the Housewives will keep the trash talk to a minimum so I can get some stitching done this month. (Although I don't think so... heehee)

I hope that our friends to the north had a wonderful day to celebrate their fine nation, even if McGill didn't let me in when I applied for college. ;-) I hope that all my fellow Americans enjoy either 4th of July celebrations, and that you stay cool in the shade!

Also, I'll be holding my drawing on July4th, and will hopefully post the winners that night. If not, I'll post the morning of the 5th. Good Luck!! Duke is looking forward to helping me choose your prize. He's been rooting around looking for the good stuff, and I think he's got a pile going. :)

I'm a winner!

Melissa at Words and Blooms had a giveaway recently, and I was lucky enough to win! Last night, after my niece and I had dinner, she helped me open the package from Melissa, and look at the lovely charts inside! My niece has already requested that I help her stitch the Brightneedle chart. It's the Covered Bridge Sampler. For myself, I'm looking forward to stitching everything! (I also received The Workbasket's Pithies 3, and The Sampler Girl's New Amsterdam 1624 sampler.) Thank you Melissa for having such a lovely giveaway!

My Niece

My niece earned straight A's this past school year, and as a reward, I promised to take her to the "meat buffet." (Churrascaria or Brazilian steakhouse) Today we picked up a new dress for her to wear. Then tonight I did her makeup as well, so she really looks like a grown up. After dinner we went to a local shopping area and got ice cream and wandered around the park like setting. Then off to Barnes and Noble to get a drawing kit for her.
This is her "I got straight A's smile."This is her uncle, my DH. He had to bend over to get into the photo, but I don't think it'll be long before they're looking eye to eye.
Wow, we look like part of a normal family.
Ah, that's more like the Uncle Danny I know.
Serena, I hope that you had a great time. I had a lot of fun with you tonight, and I'm so lucky to have a wonderful niece like you.