A lot of info you don't really want to know!

Name: Sharon but go by Dede since I was born (sister pronounced baby as dede) I have 4 sisters and 1 brother. About 47 on my side of the family.  Hubby has a sister, BIL and his parents still living (88 & 87)

Have lived n rural eastern Kansas all my life except while attending nursing school in Missouri.

Married: 40 years to a high school classmate--didn’t date till after we graduated. 3 sons, 3 DIL, 3 granddaughters (12, 10, 8), 2 grand sons ( 2 ½ years and 7 months). Youngest granddaughter visits most Mondays to stitch with me.  She has the bug so far! Oldest son lives just 2 miles away and the other two live in Kansas City area. So happy to have them all close!

Stitching since 1974.  Learned from a co worker working the evening shift at hospital. My largest piece is BBD Anniversaries of the Heart--which I still need to personalize, Completed

the Randje per Week 2014.  Haven't started the 2015 yet but plan too. I have dabbled a little in hardanger and white work.  A little knitting and crocheting too.

Work--a few years at local hospital and  part time at a nursing home until our second son was born then decided I was raising them and not a baby sitter.  Hubby farmed for a few years then was offered a job at local bank selling insurance to their customers and working with loans.  He now owns the insurance agency, started a real estate agency, manages some properties, and publishes a little town paper that just covers the local news.  I help with publishing and distributing and watch the office when needed.

Other hobbies are photography, flower gardening, birding, genealogy. I joined several yahoo groups and found Kansas Stitchers thru one of the groups.  We meet about every other month in either Wichita at Hearts Desire, Topeka at a members church or Abilene at Picture This Plus.  And a couple times at Old Mill in Liberty, MO.  We have a group now on Face Book too.

Love living in rural Kansas.  We are far enough away from big city (Topeka, Kansas City, or St. Joseph, MO) but close enough to visit occasionally.  We have one dog that was dumped on us 2 years ago.  A yellow dog much like the one we had for many years.  When Ellie died I vowed never to have another as did not want to go thru that again but here we are.  Daisy presently is presenting us with voles she is catching out in the fields when hunting.  3 bodies decorate the patio--easy pickings when there is snow cover evidently!  She loves to go on walks with me in the pasture when we have warm weather.

Rachel's Introduction

Hello all,

So, to tell you a bit about myself.....

I'm Rachel, hubby's Anthony and we've known each other since we were 4. We are both now 44, have been married for 16 years and are the parents of two wonderful children, Heather 13 and Toby 11.

I have a degree in Geography and Development Studies but before becoming a full time mum worked in London as an accountant.

I voluntarily run a local school library and have just been asked to return to a second school to sort out their messy library.

I have been my mum's sole carer for five years. She had a massive brain bleed in 2008 which left her body damaged but her mind and mouth functioning perfectly!

I am very soppy about my pets. The 2 cockatiels will often sit on my head whilst I am stitching or "help" by picking at my needle and thread! The 5 guinea pigs are just loveable rumbling balls of fluff and fur!

I started cross stitching in 1991 but gave it up in 2006 to concentrate on scrapbooking before returning to cross stitching two years ago.

I am extremely OCD when it comes to organizing my cross stitch stash and projects (and there's quite a lot of it to organize!) Everything has to be just so.

Finally, although I'm quite introvert I'm never short of a few words when it comes to writing things down! You'll rarely find a short blog post from me!!

And on that note I'd better stop before I give away any of my deep dark secrets!

Love Rachel x

Trina's Introduction!

Hi there folks. My name is Trina and I have been stitching since I was 21.  I am 43 so that means I have been enjoying stitching for 22 years. My favourite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz and have quite a collection of collectibles and many copies of the movie. I keep trying to declutter my stash but I keep finding more things that I know I need.  I have been happily married to a wonderful man, Todd for 7 years and I have 2 grown step children - Kimberley and Michael.

My big WIP is Heaven and Earths - Wizard of Oz and although I haven't got too much done I look forward to making a decent dent this weekend.

Happy stitching!

Amy's Introduction

Hello folks, I'm Amy. I'm 26, and I learned how to stitch about 15 years ago. I took it up again on and off towards the end of college, and I got back into it a year and a half ago.

I'm active duty military, currently stationed in California. I've moved five times in as many years, and I've spent some time sailing in the Mediterranean.

My other hobby is parkour, though I'm out of it for the moment thanks to an injured elbow. Once upon a time I used to fence, but there aren't any clubs nearby. I'll read any Stephen King books I can get my hands on.

Not married, but I have two cats to keep me company, Sherlock Holmes and Morty, who love nothing more than sitting on my lap when I'm trying to stitch.

February's Update!

     I'm loving stitching on this piece.  It's Serendipity Harbor and you receive a portion of the chart once each month.  It's by By The Bay Needle Works.  Here it is with the first two parts finished.

     Hello and welcome to everyone who is new here.  Glad you decided to join us!

Sarah's Introduction

Reposted from my reply to Tammy's post....

My name is Sarah and I live in the "home of 2011s famous EF5 tornado". I am married to my best friend and have two boys, one's married and has given me two amazing grandsons. We have three dogs and a sugar glider. I am currently in recovery from an accident that crushed my right arm (making great progress in the last month or so). I work the night shift but am hoping to go back to days soon. I have been stitching since I was five....that's ummmm 40 years LOL. I have long red hair that I am regrowing after catching it on fire and burning off 14 inches. It was down to my knees and is now only at my waist.

Introducing Kate

Hello! Tammy came up with the idea of introducing ourselves this month; I think it's a great idea to get to know each other a little better.

If you follow me on my other blog, you know a lot about me. For the rest of you, here are 15 fast facts:

1. My name is Kate, short for Kathryn.
2. I'm 35.
3. I've been married to my sweet hubby, Tim, for 13 years.
4. We have two beautiful daughters, Hope, age 12, and Alex, age 9 months.
5. We have 5 furbabies and 1 feather baby: Sugar and Smores (dogs), Oreo, Cinnamon, and Marshmallow (cats), and Tweety (bird).
6. We've lived in Texas for just over a year; before that, we lived in Florida.
7. I've been cross stitching for 12 years but only really started working on it seriously in the last year.
8. I also love to crochet and scrapbook.
9. I have no sense of smell.
10. Although I love to take care of my family, deep down I really dislike cleaning and cooking.
11. I'm a stay-at-home mom thanks to my job as a jewelry consultant.
12. I've been selling jewelry for 9 years.
13. I homeschool Hope and plan to homeschool Alex.
14. Things I love: Pizza, chocolate, owls, touching flowers (no sense of smell, remember?), listening to the rain, getting lost in a good book
15. Things I dislike: cold weather, crowds, and spiders

That's me in a nutshell :-)
Thanks for reading.
Happy Stitching!
Kate
 

Introduction - Elaine

Greetings!  I'm Elaine, 50-something, and I've been stitching for at least 20 years.  Not many finishes, and in the past I've gone 2-3 years without even picking up a needle, but I'm back at it.  I tend to prefer large designs, which is one reason I don't finish much.

I live in the Seattle area of Washington state (USA).  I'm a born and raised Washingtonian and can't imagine living anywhere else (except maybe the Oregon Coast).  I work as a project director for a Contract Research Organization - we do data management and statistical support for clinical trials.  I work mainly in cardiology, neurology and ophthalmology.  I'd love to retire soon, but that's not in the cards financially.

I've been married for almost 36 years to my high school sweetheart.  We have three children (aged 33, 30 and 29).  The 33 year old has a 12 year old daughter and the 30 year old lives with us, along with her boyfriend and their 5 month old son. The baby of the family is the security manager at a local casino. I also spend time every day with my 85 year old mother, who lives near us in a senior living facility.

In addition to cross-stitch, I scrapbook, knit, read, and follow Seattle Mariners baseball avidly.  

Enough about me - enjoying reading about everyone else!

Introduction

Introducing... me! Okay so maybe not quite that exciting. The thought has been brought up to have a monthly theme post (I'm all for the 15th-ish, just to have something for us all to look forward to halfway through the month). This month's theme is an introduction. So without further ado...

Hello! My name is Caitlin (I'm sure you've all figured that one out). I am 25 and have been stitching for only about 1.5 years... this time. I did try my hand at this about 4 or so years ago, but life got in the way. As it tends to do from time to time. There has always been some sort of craft I've been into though. I can't ever go too long without something to occupy my mind and hands.

I'm a "mother" of two cute pooches. One Chihuahua and one GSD. Yes, the Chi rules the roost. Lol. I currently work in insurance, which is not always fun, but is mostly rewarding.

I love watching crime shows; CSI, Castle, Rizzoli & Isles, etc., The Big Bang Theory, cooking shows, and the list goes on. I also love reading, but haven't really had much of a chance recently.

That's all the "exciting" things I can think of at the moment. I shall leave you all with my miserable progress on Hummers this month. My mind has been wandering and so I've been rotating more of my WIPs than I was in January. I'm still happy with how it looks so far. :-)

CaitlinD

Hi Everyone

well we are off to a great shape.
My reason for my post...
I am in the middle of studying for upgrading my profession, I am a pharmacy Assistant and upgrading to Technician. (which means I'll be able to check prescriptions) I have been working on this since last spring and it has now all come down to 2 exams I need to take in March (40 days to go!!).
So I just wanted to give to a piece of me and the reason why I might not be active that much until after these exams are done. I have to put studying first. Then after that my tiger will grow and hopefully so will my posting :)
So I challenge all of you, we have a pretty small group, in between posting for the SAL maybe we could could have a theme post for the month, get know each other some more?? What do you guys think?? Open for suggestions too!
I could post the theme or question even at the top of the blog and whenever you want or not (its a choice) you can participate?

* so my idea for this month would be to introduce yourself *
My name is Tammy I am originally from Ontario, Canada and now I live just outside of Calgary Alberta. I am married I have a 3 year old son, a husband, a cranky fil and 3 cats. I work as a Pharmacy Assistant. I have been stitching since I  was 16 so that is umm 20 years and love blogging about it. I am obsessed with stitching tools.

Senior moment...

I can't believe it I completely forgot about this SAL. The Super Duper Crazy January Challenge took all my attention and time. I am so sorry and I promise (cross my heart) that I will not miss February's update. My little strawberry pirate Alicia is out from the basket ready to grow.

So long my friends,
Evalina

Third time lucky?

Hello!

It seems that, for one reason or another, many of us (myself included) did not have a very good start to our New Year projects. Nevertheless I have enjoyed watching them all come to life, no matter how many or few stitches were worked.

I have chosen a new fabric for Scarlet Macaw Preening. It will definitely be aida (yippee!) and custom-dyed based on a colourways suggested by the lady concerned. She understands my requirements and has offered to test-dye small samples and take the time needed to get the colours right before I commit to the purchase. How's that for service? I will let you know who she is once I have received the fabric, after which I shall have a lot of catch-up stitching to do!

In the meantime I hope everybody else's February stitching is going well.

Take care,
Rachel x

Fatema's January Check In.

Hi friends,

Sorry I am so late in posting. I have a very good reason for it. I have been very sick and didnt feel like doing anything. Actually I am still not feeling too good.

I couldnt stitch much on my HAED even though I like it so much. I have a few other projects with tight deadlines to finish first.

Here is my Jan progress from Jan 1 to Jan 31st.

Hope to do a lot more in February!!

Starting month two

Everyone's January progress is amazing! We have so many beautiful charts coming together.

I didn't work on mine this weekend. I did manage to put a few stitches in one of my smalls though. Now that the weekend and the Super Bowl are over I will get back to some sort of normal routine and work on Letting Go.  I'm hoping to make better progress in February.

Happy stitching everyone!

Sarah

I can see strips

Yahoo now it's coming quicker. I see tiger strips.