Stitching a Cure

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Heather

This year my family had its first close brush with cancer. Thankfully, in just over two months life is back to normal for everyone involved, the the chance of recurrence is thought by doctors to be very low. We were lucky, but cancer never goes away, you just have to hope you die of old age before it comes back. To put it plainly, cancer sucks.

Peace Love and a Cure, designed by Lizzie*Kate

Peace Love and a Cure, designed by Lizzie*Kate

A few years ago I started stitching Lizzie*Kate’s Peace, Love and a Cure. And although it is dedicated to breast cancer (not the kind of cancer we dealt with, at least this time), it sort of feels like the right time to finish stitching this. So, it has been put back into my rotation and is my current computer stitching.

I hope desperately that my family, and your family, never have to deal with cancer again. But if we do, I can only hope that it will be as relatively painless as this experience was.

 

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Santa’s Coat

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Heather

Spring has finally started to make an appearance here in Southern Ontario (although I understand we may see a bit of snow over the next three days o_O ). And lovely spring weather is making it hard to work on Christmas projects. Nonetheless, stitching continues on Santa’s Journey Stocking.

Santa's Journey, designed by Dimensions

Santa’s Journey, designed by Dimensions

I think it is turning out quite nicely. And I’m so glad I stitched his face first. Now he sits on my stitching table and implores me to continue working on him. 😉

6 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Guided Journaling Giveaway Winners!

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Heather

First, I’d like to apologize for taking so long to post the winners. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. Shocking, but true! Also, you all call it a couch, not a sofa! I usually say sofa, and sometimes chesterfield. I guess I’m just weird that way. 😉

Anyway, on to the winners!

Guided Journaling Giveaway Prizes!

Guided Journaling Giveaway Prizes!

So, thanks to a spreadsheet and Random.com, I’d like to announce that the winner of the of the first giveaway, the Adventures in Guided Journaling – Vol. 2 is:

Anna of Stitch Bitch

Lots of journaling goodness!

Lots of journaling goodness!

And, again thanks to Random.org, the winner of the large package for everything you see above is:

Darlene of CraftKitten

Thank you very much to everyone who participated. If you didn’t win, I sure hope you will take the time to check out Christie Zimmer’s free journal pages and her etsy shop.

And, most importantly, I’d like to thank Christie for making this giveaway possible. She was very open to the giveaway when I suggested it, and she generously donated the items. Thank you again, Christie!

1 Comment | Posted in Site News |

Guided Journaling Giveaway – Part 2

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Heather

I’m so glad to discover that I’m not the only one who loves journaling, and that I’m also not the only one to have given it up even though I really love it.

Thanks to Christie’s generosity, I’m now able to offer two prizes! One of the prizes is the Adventures in Guided Journaling – Vol. 2 and the friendship card that I shared with you on Monday. (Don’t forget to head over to that post and leave a comment to enter.) The other prize is below:

Lots of journaling goodness!

Lots of journaling goodness!

All together you could get Adeventures in Guided Journaling – Vol. 1, Adventures in Guided Journaling – Vol. 2, the Friendship Card set, and the Guided Journaling Stickers.

To get a second entry into the giveaway, please leave a comment below. This time, why not try a lightning round (inspired by Christie).

sofa or couch; up or down; grey or silver; mild or spicy; wind or rain; water or wine; play or movie; Christmas or Halloween; tv or book

All entries will count towards winning one of the prizes, regardless of which post they were made on. Make sure you post a comment on both posts to get two entries! And tell your friends, or anyone you know who loves journaling. I think Christie’s journals are fabulous, and I think everyone should know about them. 😉

Don’t forget, both comment sections will close Saturday evening at about 9pm Eastern.

While you are waiting, don’t forget to check out Christie’s shop and her free printables on her blog.

7 Comments | Posted in Site News |

Bunny and Being a Passionate Mom

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Heather

As I was putting away the Easter decorations on Tuesday, I realized I forgot to take a picture of this little cutie:

Dwarf Bunny, designed by PlanetJune

Dwarf Bunny, designed by PlanetJune

The pattern is Dwarf Bunny by PlanetJune, and the yarn is Bernat Satin in Antique Rose. I’m not sure I like the colour choice, but I still think he is kinda cute. 😉

By the way, don’t forget about my guided journaling giveaway!

passionatemom

I also wanted to share one more thing with you. I was lucky enough to be able to read a book called [amazon_link id=”1595555099″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Passionate Mom[/amazon_link] before it was released, and I have to tell you that I really, really enjoyed it. It talks about how to be a good mom using ten points that are taken from the biblical store of Nehemiah. Now, I’m sure a lot of you know that I’m not exactly Christian, but I still found that this book really spoke to me. The framework might be a biblical story, but the advice is firmly based in the real world. The ten points (Perception, Pondering, Passion, Prayer, Patience, Preparation, Purpose, Planning, Problem Solving, and Perseverance) speak to any mom, regardless of her religious beliefs (or lack there of, really).

The Passionate Mom Book from Family First on Vimeo.

Check out the trailer for the book, and also Susan Merrill’s blog. And, if there is interest, I might be able to do a giveaway for a copy of the book as well.

4 Comments | Posted in Crochet, Site News | Tagged , , ,

Love Stitching

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Heather

I love to stitch, and I love Mill Hill kits. So, of course I had to stitch this:

Love Stitching, designed by Mill Hill

Love Stitching, designed by Mill Hill

I know that several stitchers out there are stitching this, so I’m sure you’ve seen it before. 😉 I like the design, and it was interesting stitching with Sullivan’s floss. But, I’m pretty sure now that I wouldn’t go out of my way to stitch with Sullivan’s again. Will I avoid Mill Hill kits because of it? No, I don’t think so.

I think my main issue with Sullivan’s is that is very sewing thread-like. By that I mean it is tightly twisted and doesn’t feel as soft as DMC. It also seems to tangle and twist more easily, but because it is so tightly twisted to begin with, it is a bit easier to unknot it. Ultimately, my experience just confirms that DMC is my cotton floss of choice.

Giveaway!

Hey, did you know I’m hosting a giveaway right now? Check out this post for more information.

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Guided Journaling Giveaway

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Heather

Last year, thanks to Pinterest, I came across Christie Zimmer and her fabulous free guided journaling pages. I used to be an enthusiastic journaler before I got into more regular blogging, but I have never lost my love of journaling and especially my deep love of guided journaling. And when she started offering small journals for sale in her etsy shop, well, I had to get one for myself and another for a gift. And then she released a second volume and I realized that I needed to share these fabulous journals with all my blogging friends.

Guided Journaling Giveaway Prizes!

Guided Journaling Giveaway Prizes!

So, this week’s giveaway is a copy of Christie’s wonderful Adventures in Guided Journaling – Vol. 2 along with a very cute friendship card that you can colour, fill in, and mail off to one of your friends.

How do you enter? Just leave a comment below and let me know about your first journal/diary, your favourite journal, where you like to journal, or anything along those lines. You need to tell me something about your journaling to be entered, even if you don’t journal and just want to get started tell me that. The giveaway runs through today (April 1st) through to Saturday, April 6th at about 9pm Eastern. Please be sure to leave a working email address so I can get in touch with you if you win.

Interior of pocket journal and the front of the business card

Interior of pocket journal and the front of the business card

And the best part: there are a few more goodies that will be revealed later in the week. Come back and leave another comment on that post (I’ll have a new question for you) and you can get a second entry into the draw.

And, while you are at it, please take a moment to head over to Christie’s blog Grace is Overrated and check out her lovely artwork and free journal pages and printables. She is a very, very talented woman, a genuinely nice lady, and she was super helpful when it came to putting this giveaway together. Thank you, Christie!

19 Comments | Posted in Site News |