Baking and Another Giveaway

I took a wild hair (as my Mama always says) and baked some Chocolate Chip Cookies - here they are - fresh from the oven.

I've always wondered how home bakers get their cookies all even and perfectly round - mine always come out many different shapes and sizes - which leads to my DGSs spending much time trying to pick out the largest!  However they are shaped - they are mmm-mmmm good!  Now I've some bananas that are very over-ripe - that means it's time to make some Banana Bread.

Loretta is having a giveaway over at her blog - and it's a goodie!

She is very generously including the needed DMC floss and the fabric (25 count linen) as well as the chart.  You have until 13 February to enter, and she'll be drawing one lucky winner on 14 February.

I plan to change the background tomorrow to match the new month - just have to decide what to use as a new header.  I'm sorely tempted by the latest pic of my currently youngest grandchild (got another one due in March!) - because, to me, it's a classic:

Thanks for visiting today.

Giveaways

These are in no particular order:

Sharlotte over at The Happy Needle is giving away this adorable strawberry - just leave a comment to be entered.  But hurry - you only have until Sunday, 31 January.  BTW,  I love Patti's comment that strawberries are called dorsies at her house!

Lots and lots of stash is to be given away over at Calico Prairie.  Another one that ends Sunday, 31 January.  This is just one picture of about eight (I said it was lots of stash - weren't you listening? lol!) 

Julie is giving away  four cross stitch magazines - one each to four lucky winners.  Only one of the four is pictured.  Yet another that ends 31 January.

And for more giveaways than you can shake a stick at - click on the picture to visit One World One Heart - where 579 bloggers (thus far) are participating in a huge international giveaway.  Be sure to read the post - it explains the theme - "The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet." - and how wonderful is that?

Thanks for visiting today.

Whew - I'm Back!

After a very frustrating time of trying to resolve the issues on my home network - I think it is all finally working!

I haven't forgotten my giveaways - I'll hopefully post about that tomorrow.

First, some overdue acknowledgements:
I was thrilled to win Day 9 of the 13 Days of Halloween Giveaway over on Missy's blog. Her presentation was charming:

And look at all the goodies! Can you see the bat stickpin in the second photo? Mega cute!


















Thank-you, Missy. I love it all!






Then, I was lucky enough to win a copy of Simon's Cat from Daffycat. Besides being beautifully wrapped in the ladybug paper you see in the photo, she included a heart charm - I have a project in mind for it! Sharon, thanks a million - I'll let you know what the grands think of the book - I know I'll enjoy it.




Monique received the Needle Book that I stitched for her for the Tiny Treasures Needle Book Exchange, so I can post a picture of that.


The design was a freebie months ago on Danybrod's site - I thought it adorable.



Here's a before photo of the EMS Rose Sampler SAL that I stopped working on last year:


And an update tonight of the progress I've made over the last ten days or so:

I'm stitching this in hand - and so it looks fantastically wrinkled right now! This is one of the projects in the basket by my comfy chair that I want to finish before the end of the year.

And last, but not least - my TUSAL update:

Better late than never! I am having to push down on the orts as I place them in the jar, but I think it will last until the end of the year (I hope!).

I have a gazillion blog posts to catch up with, and mega-dozens of emails, so that will be all for tonight.

Thank-you for visiting my blog today.

ETA: Blogger is driving me crazy with the way it handles photos - and it's a very short trip!

Friday 56 6 Nov 2009 and Giveaway Winners

The Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The book closest to me is The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory.

When he’d been a lot younger, there had been a certain excitement in seeing the sigils glowing with magick as they hung in the air before him; there was even a kind of aesthetic pleasure in creating them, for like ornamental writing they were pretty in an austere, yet baroque fashion.


Giveaway Trivia Answer: Gingerbread Girl by Waxing Moon Designs (no one hazarded a guess) and here is a pic of my finished ornies. I did change the little girls dress to have a white collar (the design had the plaid continue across the yoke of her dress).

The Winners: Not too many entries - was it too complicated? But the lucky few had increased chances of winning thereby!

None of my DGS was interested in doing the drawing - so my DDIL did the drawing for me. Without further ado - the winners:

For the books: Blu said...

Entry 1 for both. The books, because hey, there's no such thing as too many books. And the kit, because that plant looks like something my aunt would like on her walls...

For the kit: Blu said...

Entrys 2 & 3 since I'm a follower!

Please email me your snail mail address so I can get your prizes in the mail!

I'll be posting another giveaway Sunday - so be looking for it as I share some of my blessings with you.

Thanks for stopping by today.

100th Post (it's about time)

Woo-hoo! Here it is: my 100th post.

All Souls Day William-Adolphe_Bouguereau

It also happens too be All Soul's Day (or day 3 of El Día de los Muertos) - so don't forget to say a prayer for your family members who have departed.

You may remember that I'm in the midst of cleaning and sorting my craft room. That is resulting in a stack of craft supplies that I know I'm never going to use. What I didn't share previously is that it's all part of a Grand Scheme - and all parts of our home are undergoing cleaning and sorting. I have stacks of another person's treasure all over my house.

I have so many blessings in my life and I would like to spend the month of November sharing some of my blessings with you. So, to celebrate reaching this milestone, I've decided to have a serial giveaway. What's that? You may well ask. Haven't you enjoyed the giveaways hosted by Missy, Jolene and Cameo? Mine is a variation on the theme:

1. Every few days in November, I will post an item or two for giveaway. Each giveaway will end three days after it starts, and I'll give you the ending date on each post.
2. Comment on that post to be entered into a drawing for that day's item(s).
3. If you are or become a follower on my blog - that will get you another 2 entries. Comment again to tell me so.
4. Post about that day's giveaway - get another 2 entries! To keep me straight, I'll have to ask you to comment again and give me the link.
5. Each giveaway day will have a Trivia Question (the answer given when I announce the winner!). Answer correctly in a comment - 1 more entry.
6. I will send internationally - I already have friends all over the world and I wouldn't mind a few more!
7. Please make sure I can contact you - either through your blog or by including an email address.

Now, that's 6 chances of winning that you can be eligible for. I will be drawing each giveaway's winner the old fashioned way - by having one of my grandchildren draw a name out of the Magic Basket. So, if you qualify, your name will be in there six times!

The Giveaways:

OK, enough blathering. First up today are two hardback books: Shadowmancer and Wormwood, both by G. P. Taylor. Remember that these are from my personal collection and are not new, although they are in very good condition. Both books will be going to one lucky winner.

I also have a Dimensions kit - and yes, I'm not ashamed to say I bought it on clearance! But I am ashamed that I bought it - it's not my style at all! This is a complete kit with 14 ct beige aida and thread.

You can enter for either the books, or the kit, or both!

Trivia:
I've got a current WIP that I scanned just because I thought it looked funny at this particular stage.You can blame this on my clean-up efforts - I found a scrap of aida from another project that was the perfect size for these ornaments. The one on the left is an adaptation by me, but the one on the right will be an accurate reflection of the designer's chart. Your mission - identify the designer! Hint - I pulled the chart from my huge collection of online freebies, and I saved it on 15 November 2003.

Entries will be closed at midnight, CST on Thursday, 5 November 2009.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today - and Good Luck!

Long and Filled with Pictures - You Have Been Warned!

Over the past several months, I've won several giveaways - and have been remiss in acknowledging them here. So that's first:

Belinda sent me a mini heart shaped yo-yo maker. I'm currently working on a project featuring it - hope to have pictures of the project soon!


Bonnie had a wonderful giveaway - and to my amazement - I won! Look at all the goodies: Two kits (my children are trying to take possesion of the wizard - but I'm holding tight!), an Omnibook of Flying charts, a beautiful biscornu chart, and a set of Kreinik silk floss in Christmas colors!


And last, but not least, Cameo hosted a serial giveaway (I'm not sure how many days it ran!) with daily winners - and I won two charts: Thank Heavens for Little Boys (with four DGS - it's perfect for me) and a Janlynn Anniversary chart, that I hope to have stitched by next June for our 38th wedding anniversary!



Something New: I spotted this button on Tanya's blog and I think you should check it out too (the image should be clickable - I hope!).

New Giveaways (at least new to me - lol!)

Daffycat's 2nd Blogoversary - she's giving away a copy Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield to two lucky readers

Kathy is having a One Year Blogging Anniversary giveaway - and she's being very generous! She's giving two prizes - and I would love to have either one!

Geta is a quilter extraordinaire! Go and see the shadow trapunto tabletopper quilt she is giving away.

And finally (for tonight, at least!), Sherry is giving away not one, but two Quaker charts by the Workbasket.

I'll be posting links for all of these over on the right, so you could also click there.

Exchanges:

Monday, the mailman was very good to me! He brought this beautiful Needle Book from Pokua in Western Australia. We're currently exchanging Needle Books and Humbugs at TTE, Too.

And, not to be outdone, Sheila (no blog?) sent me this absolutely stunning ornament for the EMS 6th Annual Holiday Ornament Exchange.

Whew! If you've stuck with me this long, I thank-you! And I want to remind you about the 13 Days of Halloween giveaway - today is Day 9!

I hope I've remembered everything I wanted to say today - if not, tomorrow is another day - right?

Thanks for visiting today!
ps: this is post #97

Two More Giveaways

To be perfectly honest - I thought about not posting this - I'd love to win both - and the fewer entries the better my chances - right?
But here I am, letting you know I found these so you can have a chance too. The soul of generosity, that's me - lol!

First up is Craftymoo (Sarah) who accidentally purchased two lots - her mistake is some lucky stitcher's gain! And she's even including fabric! How sweet is that?


And then there is April (whom I know thru TTE, Too) - she's been inspired by all the other giveaways in blogland to have her own generous giveaway. It's a MYSTERY, but she lists an incredible number of things she's including, not the least of which is something stitched by her very own self. Good for you April!

I did the finishing for my Holiday Ornament Exchange over at the EMS Board, so it's ready to go in the mail Monday. Next on the stitching schedule is the Humbug for TTE, Too.

I've been trying to decide how to finish I'm Wicked - I stitched this on a scrap of dark blue aida - and only today when I hauled out some orange fabric did I realize that would give it the wrong team colors (you have to be an Alabama Football fan - Roll Tide! - to understand).

I've also been sorting out my craft room - a daunting task - and looking for the old, old piece I want to finish before the end of the month for SALsuffit.

I'm putting a few stitches in the EMS Rose Sampler SAL from 2008 tonight. I had to put it down last year when my eyesight deteriorated (all fixed now - yea!), and only recently got it back out so I can (hopefully) finish it before the end of this year. This is the last progress picture from last year - and it literally had not been touched in a year - I'm so ashamed, because I love this piece. Do you have something languishing in your stash that you want to get out and stitch?

My stash diet was truly broken last night - temptation won! I ordered two charts from The Sampler Girl (they were on sale!): Jane Austen on the Weather (which I fell in love with the first time I saw it) and The Witch School Sampler 1821 (ditto!). I will probably tell DH, "Look what you got me for Christmas!" - lol! Please tell me I'm not the only one to break my diet. You've done it too, haven't you?

Thanks for visiting today!

ps: post #96

Enablers of the First Order

Tanya has nearly broken my stash diet - and there are still about 18 hours left of her sale Here. I don't think I'm going to be able to resist the temptation. Get thee behind me, temptation - and don't push! lol!


Jolene continues her weekly giveaways. This week is So Much to Be Thankful For and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling her three things you are thankful for. Sounds easy, right? But how do I decide which three things to list? I have so much in my life that I'm thankful for!


Flo has a link to this giveaway - what a cute lapinette! Virg is offering to dress her to suit the winner. I always love visiting Flo's blog - so inspiring!


Svetta is having a SAL over on her blog (Thank-you, Google Translate!) If I understand correctly, she plans to finish this in a week! Svetta is an online friend I met over at TTE, Too.


I read someone's comment (somewhere?) that this seems to be the season for giveaways. I don't know if it's the upcoming holidays, or a reaction to uncertain economic times, but it goes to prove that we have a huge community of wonderful people in Blogland.

So, what's going on in your neck of the woods?

Thanks for visiting today!

ps: Post # 95!

Unfortunately....

Annie had this on her blog – it looked like fun, so I tried.

The idea is to type unfortunately followed by your first name into Google or your favorite search engine, and see what you get.

Here are the first ten for me:
1. Nita was unable to provide for herself financially.
2. Nita ***** folded like a cheap camera and relinquished her own quest for the Senate to allow Her Highness to take that position.
3. Nita was on holiday during out stay but Mike looked after us very well!
4. Nita said her goodbyes at this campout because she's leaving next month to accept a new job and oversee the constructing of their new home.
5. Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association (NITA)
6. Nita stayed with the Follies for a long while, gradually becoming one of their leading attractions.
7. Nita ****** is a nice grandma with a sweet ride: a seafrost Jaguar!
8. The NITA Foundation is pleased to award a scholarship …
9. Nita **** dunked me on her first ball tossed
10. Unfortunately this caused Nita to break off her engagement to him; she can't bring herself to love a clown.

If you decide to play, be sure to leave a comment so I can visit your blog and see your results.

Don’t forget Missy’s 13 Days of Halloween Giveaway – today is Day 4.

I received the charts I won in Cameo’s recent giveaway – no pics yet, but I can’t wait to stitch them both. {But they will have to wait until after Christmas – I just can’t eke out any more stitching time :-( }

No stitchy pictures today - I'm still working on exchanges!

ps - if you're wondering, this is post #94!

Thanks for visiting today.

edited to add: if you are a woman of a certain age, visit Jennifer's blog today for a much needed ROTFLMAOASTC!

Great Giveaway!

Brenda over at Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilt Shoppe is having a fantastic fat quarter giveaway. I drooled all over my keyboard!

Just click on her logo above to go and visit and find out how to
sign up.  Entries close at midnite EST on Halloween.

In other happenings - I was finishing the Needle Book for the
TTE Too Needle Book Exchange this evening.
It seemed the further I got into the finishing the less I liked it.
So I de-finished it (you know what I mean - lol!), and started the
finishing over again.
Much happier now - but it won't go in the mail tomorrow as I had
hoped.
Sigh.

Thanks for visiting today.

Missy's 13 Days of Halloween starts Today

Missy's 13 Days of Halloween starts Today!

Here's a teaser from today's post:





It does look like it will be spooktastic!

Thanks for visiting today.

The Friday 56 - 16 October 2009

The Rules:

* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to Storytime With Tonya and Friends.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!


The book closest to me is The Alibi by Sandra Brown:

One couldn’t help what he’d been born into, but if he didn’t like it, he knew instinctively that he was destined for bigger and better things, he could sure as hell shake one image and create another.

_______________________________________________________________

Change of subject: it’s taken me a long time – over three years – but this is post # 90. I do plan a giveaway for my 100th post – so watch this space.
_______________________________________________________________

And I was looking at some old pics and found this one from a long-ago Easter. That’s two-year-old me on the left.We are not being shy - anyone else remember being forced to stare into the sun in the days before flash cameras were common? Just wanted to share.

Thanks for stopping by today.

10 Book Reading Challenge

Vickie over at Reading and Stitching has issued a 10 Book Challenge. The Challenge is pretty simple - read 10 books by the end of the year. The gauntlet has been thrown! My initial list is simply some of the books I have on my wish list on Amazon to be pre-ordered- but you can change the list if something more interesting comes along.

Because today is the last day to sign up for the challenge - I'm going to issue my own challenge!
Sign up here to read 10 books before the end of the year by leaving a comment on this post by 30 September 2009. Add a list of the books you plan to read to your sidebar and mark them off as you read them.
Read at least the 10 books by 31 December 2009. On 1 January 2010, I'll post so that you can leave a comment that you have completed the challenge. I'll have a random drawing for a $10.00 gift certificate from Amazon from amongst all those who tell me that they have completed the challenge on 30 January 2010!

Elisa is having a Give-Away!

Elisa is celebrating her 200th post by having a give-away! As you can see, she has a lovely selection of gifts for the lucky winner. You have just over a week to hop over and check out her blog, Old Ragged Threads.
Good luck to all who enter, and thank-you, Elisa, for your generosity!

The Sisterhood is Ready to Travel Again

Jill has finished stitching the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pattern (aka My Needle and My Floss by Waxing Moon Designs). It all started with Harmien and now the Sisterhood has been traveling the globe, enriching the lives of stitchers everywhere. Daffycat has recorded the travels as of 8 August 2009, and Lizzy has recorded the history of how it all began: "once I finish it (I'll stitch it immediately as soon as I get it) and then I'll offer it up again to other commentors on my blog. And boy will this chart be going on a world tour... :)"If you would like to have a chance for the Sisterhood to come to visit you, visit Jill and leave a comment on her post. But hurry - Jill will be drawing the lucky recipient's name next Sunday, the 13th.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Patti is having a Giveaway!

Patti is having a giveaway! No, silly, that's a picture of her new grandbaby! But the giveaway is in his honor.

Hop on over and enter to win this complete kit of Lauren Sauer's Sunflower. The kit is complete and unused and has everything in it that you need to make this beautiful bag.

Thanks, Patti!

Thanks for stopping by!