Janet of JMD Designs is holding an "artistic event." Make an owl based on her free design and you might win some fabulous prizes. There are two categories to enter. One is for hand stitched needlework or hand applique and the other is for mixed media. All the details on the Evie Owl Event are here. Link via Denise at Craft Gossip.
And, here's a tutorial to make a baby felt owl. Link via my Facebook friend, Shonna.
All I want to do is go to bed so I'm going to post a link to a post on Average Jane Crafter and ask that you please go read it and then vote for Rachel. She embroidered the moon in a really cool way and now she's entered in the 2010 Space Craft Contest presented by Etsy and NASA. Yes, that NASA. Read all about by clicking the link posted above.
Goodnight!
Craft Gossip is giving away a copy of Aimee Ray's Doodle Stitching: The Motif Collection. Leave a comment on this post by November 14 to enter.
They're also giving away ten copies of Amy Sedaris' new book Simple Times: Craft for Poor People and a $250 craft voucher. You have until November 21 to get in on that one. Go here for more info.
Good luck to you all! And, here's hoping I win.
I was happy to see that Tie One On has another apron contest going on. (Would that be an apron-along?) This one is Apple Cider and you can read all about it here.
The deadline to post a photo of your finished apron to the Flicker gallery is December 1st and the prize is a randomly selected book.
FYI: Amy from Angry Chicken is behind Tie One On.
When was the last time I linked to a contest? 1957?
There's a poetry/embroidery contest going on over at Checkout Girl. The embroidery has to be done by hand and include a poem or part of a poem. The prizes sound great: hoops, linen, floss and more. Melinda from Checkout Girl will be judging the entries along with Corinne from So September. All the details on the Embroidereading Contest are in this post.
After you read about the contest, go see this ring bearer pillow from Checkout Girl and also her Felty Shih Tzus. How freaking cute are they? [Link via Needlework News]
Back to work on a post full of links that I hope to have up by October Thursday.
This post could be a drinking game. Take a swig every time I mention the word Scottie/Scotty.
The other night, I went through the pile of papers on my bedroom floor and found over 40 cross stitch, embroidery and sewing patterns that I had printed out over the past couple of months. These are the tutorials and projects that I don't bother to download because I am going to start making them the very second I turn off my computer.
I'll give you a minute to stop laughing.
Anyway, in the pile was a pattern for a patchwork dog pillow on Ohdeedoh, which reminded me that Kellie had linked to a similar pattern from Denyse Schmidt on Facebook not too long ago. (I think it was Kellie. My apologies if it was someone else.) I must make one of those Scotties. Never mind that I don't know how to use a sewing machine or make a patchwork anything.
That patchwork Scottie made me think of the cute Scottie dog pillow over at Bustle & Sew? I must make that too. Never mind that I don't know how to applique.
Next, I somehow ended up on Flickr and found some groups for Scotties: Patchwork Scotties, Vintage Scottie Dogs, and also one for Scotty Stuffies, which I believe I joined after I actually made the AllSorts Scotty dog. And then pigs flew, hell froze over and the world exploded.
By the way, Jenny at AllSorts is having a giveaway for one of her Scotties. You have until "sometime next week" to enter so go do it now.
Hey, Denise at Needlework News at Craft Gossip is giving away several books and some note cards. Go to the main page and check out all the November 15 posts. (Yes, I am too lazy to link to each one.) You have until next Monday to enter. Good luck!
It's giveaway time over at Sibling Craftery and the prizes are pretty fabulous. To celebrate their one year blog anniversary, Kandra is giving away embroidery floss, fabric scraps, two tea towels to stitch, and a copy of Embroidered Effects by Jenny Hart. You can read all the details on how to enter here.
And be sure to check out Kandra's latest Homemade & Heartfelt embroidery freebie and printable gift tags. They're really sweet.
Remember when I used to post links here all the time? Yeah, me either. I just put a couple up on Facebook and wondered why I wasn't posting them here as well.
CakeSpy is giving away a $50 gift certificate for Bake It Pretty. You have until Friday October 16 at 12PM PST to enter. Check this post for details. By the way, Bake It Pretty has a blog and I was just there for the first time and saw this recipe for Ginger Tea Bread. I think I need to make that.
Speaking of recipes, last week my mom and I made this Asparagus, Artichoke, and Mushroom Saute with Tarragon Vinaigrette -- well, I made the vinaigrette and she did everything else because I was dealing with some evil antibiotics that made me nauseous every time I moved my head -- and it was really good. I love anything with a vinegar dressing on it and I love tarragon so this was perfect for me. It's served warm and it was totally fine that way but it was even better the next day after it sat in the fridge overnight.
Jenny over at Allsorts, renamed Owlsorts for now, is sharing some free patterns for making Halloween spinners. How fun!
Edited to add: I just came across this thanks to Denise at Needlework News at Craft Gossip: The Gum Tree Designers are sharing a free Christmas pattern every Monday in October and November. The first one is a gift bag that I just love. I'll definitely be checking their blog every week to see more of their freebies.
I have a couple of giveaways to tell you about.
First off, Llyn is celebrating her one year blog anniversary by giving away some cool prizes. Go see them and enter here before Friday, May 1st.
And, over at It's Daffycat, you could win some of Sharon's hand-dyed cross stitch fabric. All the details are on this post. The contest ends on Monday, May 4th.
For the past two Saturdays, I've thought Easter was the following day. Seriously. Since I don't do much of anything that involves any kind of planning anymore, I never know the day or date or when the next major holiday is. Plus all the chocolate eggs I've been eating makes it feel like that bunny should be here at any minute.
I haven't had anything to blog about since I haven't finished a single cross stitch, embroidery or felt animal in quite awhile, and I have yet to do anything fun or illegal that's worth writing about. Oh, I did go back to the foot doctor who still has not heard anything about my surgery getting approved. It's been four weeks since she first suggested it so that's another month down the drain. In my mind, I keep extending the date for when I will once again have a life and I've now set my sights on December 25th.
Well, I'm depressed. Excuse me while I go shoot myself. Hey, how about some links to make us all feel good?
This one makes me happy. You can win a snazzy sparkly pink reversible vintage apron over The Polka Dot Barn. (I so want that cake in the blog header photo.) Details on the giveaway are here. Link via The Apronista -- check this post for even more Apron giveaways.
Kandra over at Sibling Craftery has been sharing a set of DOW embroidery patterns of these cute little ninja girls. My favorite is Thursday's ironing ninja. You can find links to all of the sisters' wonderful freebies here.
There are some new embroidery patterns up at knitting-and.com: a flower and Victory Kittens. Oh wow, it looks like Sarah has added even more vintage transfers since I was last there (last night?). The latest additions are bunnies and piggies and Weldon's Nursery Designs, both circa 1930, and she added a missing bunny to a set of Semco transfers. (That's where I found the puppy I used for my iPod cover.) You can find an index with links to all the patterns on this page.
I have three felt egg shapes sitting in front of me that need some embroidery so I'm going to go play with them. Maybe the next time I post, you will see a picture of them. No guarantees though. Happy Not Easter Sunday!
Earlier today, some guy knocked on the front door and I was ready to jump up from the computer and go answer it when I realized it was after 2:00 in the afternoon and I was still in a robe and pajamas. How did that happen?! I seem to remember coming up with a plan, while I was eating breakfast, to give my bedroom a good spring cleaning -- I was even going to move furniture so I could vacuum everywhere -- and then next thing I know, it's early afternoon and I'm still in my PJs and playing on Facebook. Have you tried the Pick Your 5 application yet? It lets you make lists of your five favorite whatevers -- movies, bands, TV shows, beers, sports teams, books, slopes, dog breeds, etc, and then share them on your page. I love doing that kind of thing, and also seeing what other people put on their lists. And, making fun of people who think Hannah Montana is one of the best shows ever always cheers me up.
And, it wasn't just Facebook that kept me busy today. I also wasted a ridiculous amount of time trying to get a pattern to print. Normally, I'd give up after the second try but it's for this adorable donkey on Etsy's blog and I HAD to have it. Who knows why but I couldn't get the pdf to open no matter how many times I tried, and printing the page only gave me the sidebars -- the entire middle section with the pattern itself was blank. Signing into Etsy didn't make a difference and neither did using Firefox instead of AOL's browser. To make it more fun, my computer kept freezing up when I was trying all these things so I had to keep starting over. The weird thing is I had the same problem a few months ago while trying to print another pattern from The Storque blog. I would love to link to that other pattern now but I just got stuck on Etsy again and had to re-start AOL. Anyway, the donkey is cute and I am sure you will have no issues printing the pattern. I think I'm just special that way.
On to the good stuff . . . You can win a copy of either The Apron Book or The Kitchen Linens Book by EllynAnne Geisel from The Apron Goddess. All the details are on this post. You have until midnight, Saturday, March 28th, to enter.
Kandra & Renee at Sibling Craftery are holding their first giveaway for some great prizes. (fabric! a pincushion! floss!) You have until Sunday, March 29th, to get in on this one. And, I know I've linked to them before but in case you missed it, be sure to check out their fun embroidery patterns too. I heart the Valentine's Day one.
There's another way to win one of EllynAnne's books but it's a little more involved: EllynAnne, along with Colonial Patterns Inc., is giving away six prize packages (full of Aunt Martha embroidery transfers, some towels to stitch them on, and copies of her books), over at Apron Memories, but to enter this not-a-contest giveaway, you need to create something using vintage household goods, (fabric, handkerchiefs, toweling, embroidery, doilies, place mats, napkins), and then post it in their Kitchen Linens Flickr pool. The deadline to enter is April 30th.
I am really in the mood to stitch something now but first I must print out even more patterns. I wouldn't want to get kicked out of Hoarders Anonymous any time soon. They're all are for embroidery except the felt Easter cone, which is now on my to-do list. (I'm considering joining Felt Anonymous as well.)
Bunnies and chicks at Orange Flower: Patterns and Tutorials [via Meet Me At Mikes]
Springy Chicken Day, flower for Spring, and (my favorite) Itty Bitty Circus and (even more favorite) a felt Easter Favor Cone at Tangarang
Henry the Hedgehog and Padraic O'Malley (links are in the right sidebar along with a few more) at Chichiboulie
Bunny pattern for March from Bad Birds (thanks, L&L!)
Have a great Thursday!
I was born on a Friday the 13th and sometimes when I tell people that, they say "Well, that explains it." Explains what? I don't get it.
Guess who won a knitting book from Protector of Vintage? I'm so excited! And, now, I have no excuse not to learn how to knit. Actually, someone taught me how when I was kid but I didn't keep up with it. I remember I had really cool blue needles and would always get them out when we played Little House on the Prairie.
Speaking of giveaways, Amy is having one at Early Bird Special and she's giving away lots of cool prizes, including a squirrel tea towel that she embroidered herself. You have until Wednesday, February 18th to enter.
LollyChops just did an entire week of embroidery and she shared some really cute patterns. We're talking hedgehogs, whales, birds, mushrooms, frogs, and my personal favorite, Hank the Tree Stump. Go check them out.
Guess what I received in the mail yesterday? A jury summons. Yay. And, it wasn't the kind that has you call on a certain date and see if you're needed; it was the kind where you have to show up in person on such and such day. (Guess that's why they call it a summons, huh, Patty?) Oh, and it's for Superior Court. The one time my mom was on a jury at that courthouse, it was for a rape case. Ugh.
I've had jury duty twice: once for a civil case where a man was suing the owner of the car that rear-ended him on the freeway because his injuries kept him from working and doing things like play basketball with his kids. The car was driven by a teenager but the plaintiff was going after the father since the dad owned the car. (What kind of money could he have gotten if he sued the 17 year old driver?) The guy also claimed he wouldn't be able to participate in the upcoming LA Marathon because of the injuries he sustained in the accident. As soon as we all went in to the jury room to deliberate, everyone started laughing at the idea of this fat guy running a marathon. It would be like me announcing I was going to run a mile around the track tomorrow. You would all be rolling on the floor in hysterics. It seemed very unlikely this guy even owned a pair of running shoes, let alone was ever going to run 26 miles. There were other factors involved, like a workers' comp doctor who seemed kind of shady and did not convince us the marathon-er was truly hurt when his car was rear-ended, and we ended up deciding that the guy did not have any lasting injuries from the accident so he was not entitled to any money from the father. [insert sound of gavel banging on desk here]
The other case was similar: a guy was suing a female driver who had bumped him with her car in a mall parking lot while he was bending over to put down traffic cones or something, and hit him in the butt. He wasn't seriously injured when it happened but he wanted damages for whatever injuries he was claiming he still had. A physician whose name was pronounced "kee-ster" was brought in to refute the testimony of the doctor for the guy who had been hit in the hiney, so as soon as we got in to the jury room, we were all giggling over that. We didn't award that plaintiff any money since we didn't believe his keester or any other body parts had suffered any longterm injuries from being hit by the car.
Anyway, the whole point of this long story is that I was able to go online and postpone my jury service until September. That's reason #72 why I love the interwebs.
I have two giveaways to tell you about. But, really, you can skip entering them since I would love to win both, and with less participants, my chances of winning will be better.
Over at doe-c-doe, you can win one of G's sweet little embroidered dresses.
Urban Threads is having a Crafty Love Giveaway and the prizes are pretty nifty (an embroidered tote bag, some fabric, a crafty bunny, and a $100 gift certificate) . There are four questions to answer, but never fear. You only need to answer at least one question to get in on the giveaway.
Thanks to the contest questions, (one is What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?), I've been watching clips from "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" on You Tube. I can remember my mom taking my sister and me to see some Burt Reynolds movie in 1975, and since we arrived really early for it, we went into the theatre where the Holy Grail was already playing and we sat down, not knowing anything about Monty Python. The movie was half over so we had no idea what was going on, but when I watched the knights "riding" across the screen and realized they were using coconuts to make the sound of horses' hooves, I decided it was one of the funniest movies ever I had ever seen. We came in right before the killer rabbit scene.
Look at my new shoe. Isn't it lovely? I wish I could say I was up at Big Bear and twisted my ankle while snowboarding, but it's for an infection in my toe, which keeps developing because apparently I walk funny, and this stupid boot will take the pressure off my foot, and give my toe a chance to heal.
And, this is my GOOD foot, not the deformed one.
I'm really tired of all of this crap with my feet. It's been going on for about a year now and I am ready to move on.
And, now that you've sat through my whining, (thanks!), here are some links for you.
Did you guys know Stephanie Nielson has started blogging again? How great is that?!
Go enter the giveaway for a stitchable tote bag and some Aunt Martha iron-on transfers at Bookwormbethie. (Remember, if you're not into embroidery, you could always give your winnings to me.)
Cross stitch designer Sue Hillis has a blog and back in December she posted a free chart of a Santa Pirate. "Yo ho ho ho!" (It's never too early to start working on your Xmas ornaments.)
I found some adorable embroidery patterns on Flickr from Jacque Davis. I'm adding the Friendly Margarita and the Salsa and Chips patterns to my to-stitch list.
A Vintage Collection is chock-ful of ...uh...vintage pictures, graphics and patterns (including some for embroidery and quilts). Go take a look.
And, now my stupid boot and me are off to the doctor to give some blood for labwork. Hey, next week, when he tells me how uncontrolled my blood sugars have been lately, I can blame it on my infected toe. Yeah!
There's a vintage Valentine card giveaway going on at The Crafty Crow. And, since it's Monday, there are two other giveaways going on. Go check them out.
For more Valentine fun, visit Two Crazy Crafters where Lindsey will be posting a vintage card every day until February 14th.
And, if you like vintage Valentine postcards, check out the free graphics at SilverCollectBlog.
So, yesterday, I called the only phone number listed on the webpage for the local DMV office, hoping to speak with a live person who could help me either make an appointment to take the written test or to confirm the seventeen appointments I had already set up thanks to my seventeen attempts at using their lame automated online system. (Why, yes. I do have a huge N stamped on my forehead for naive. How did you know?)
Let's just say they use an automated phone system and it's just as lame as the online one.
I may call back tomorrow just to give goofy answers to the male voice. When he says "Enter your zip code," I will say "I'll have the filet of sole." And, when he asks how many items I need to process, I will say "666...Damien!"
Moving on to happier things...
Arizona is looking for free embroidery patterns for princess-y things like a crown or a magic wand for a quilt. I'm sure I've come across patterns she could use but can't remember where I saw them. If you know where she can find some, please leave her some comments on her blog, The Craftivist. Thanks!
Look at these cute stickers you can print out from Lotta Bruhn [link via Craft]. And, if you have some time, wander around Lotta's blog for a bit and check out her amazing artwork.
Andrea Zuill has posted her January embroidery freebie over at Bad Birds. I really like this one. Ok, I like them all.
Over at Canadian Living, you can find directions on making "cute bears to sew from felt." I may never get around to making these but I get giddy when I see anything made of felt and must link to the pattern. [Link via How About Orange]
This French site has a bunch of cross stitch charts for bookmarks with a variety of designs. Click each bookmark for a copy of the pattern. (Thanks to Diane on one of my Yahoo lists for that link.)
I mentioned the Whirl Into Winter Quilt Blog Giveaway the other day but forgot to add that Jenna from CorgiPants is one of the participating bloggers. If you win her giveaway, you get to choose your prize: either her Pillowcase Pinnie Apron pattern or her Black Forest Scoodie pattern. Enter by January 14th.
Sublime Stitching is holding a Micro Monogram Stitcher's Challenge. To enter, stitch up a teeny tiny monogrammed pillow and submit it to their Customer Gallery, and you could win a boxed set of the first four issues of Craft magazine. You have until January 20, 2009. (OMG, it's 2009!)
Be sure to check out the Whirl Into Winter Quilt Blog Giveaway. (Thanks to Loralyn for the link!) The prizes are fabric, quilt & apron patterns, magazines, books and finished handmade items. Every blogger has their own requirements on entering so read their giveaway posts before you leave them some comments. Good luck!
