A reminder, a finish and a plea

Oh my goodness! 129 comments! Wow that's a lot of comments. And each and everyone of them brought a smile. Thank you all.

For those that don't know or haven't read the previous posting, I am having a giveaway. Actually three! So this is a reminder to go and leave a comment if you want a chance to win one of them. There is still time. The deadline is this Saturday and the winner will be notified on Monday, August 1. You must leave the comment on the original giveaway post.

The reminder part of this post. Just to recap:
Giveaway one is in celebration of my birthday. I was so busy in June that I never had the chance to celebrate with you all so it is a belated Birthday present from me. A surprise stash giveaway. At least four patterns. Some fabric. Some overdyed floss and a few other goodies. Let's just leave it at that because who knows what I'll put in the pile.

Giveaway two. I want to share my happiness of achieving Rory's Championship, a long held dream, with you all. The photo at the head of this post is the official New Champion photo from the show! What better way to share that special moment with you all than with a giveaway. A 30 dollar gift certificate to one of my favorite ONS, Down Sunshine Lane.

And last but not least, Giveaway three. This will also be a 30 dollar gift certificate. But the winner will be taken from the list of those facebook users who go and vote for Rory's photo in the contest. This will be one way for me to say "Thank you" and, oh okay, it's a bribe. No really I am thankful to all those who continue to leave me comments here and on facebook. So that you get credit make sure you mention that you voted on Rory's face book photo in your comment here.

(This is the contest photo)

What facebook photo you ask? Again the details are on the previous post. (click HERE) But to sum up. I have entered one of Rory's photos in a Facebook contest. Many of you have already voted (liked his photo) and I thank you from the bottom of my heart but Rory is still in third place. He needs more votes/likes! If you can help him (and me) win by asking your friends, husband, children, Heck, even strangers on the street to vote I would be so grateful. If you can get more to vote please make sure to leave a comment on the previous giveaway post. Each vote counts as another chance to win the giveaway.

Now that the important business is over on to what else has been happening this past week. Like everyone else it has been hot, hot, and hotter. Add the humidity into the mix and I have not felt like moving. Even Rory went out and did what was necessary and came right back to the door to come in. We had a little excitement the weekend before last which gave me an extra day off this past week. My basement has fluorescent lights. Well, earlier Sunday morning one (or more, who knows) of the ballast went. With a huge cloud of smoke and a stench so bad it stunk for hours. I ended up getting the fire department to come and check for possible hot wires. They did. There weren't. But they turned off the circuits for the electric in the basement. Which also turned off the hot water heater! It took a few days of washing my hair in cold water before I could get an electrician to come and replace the lights in the basement. So Thursday I stayed home for that job. Since it was hotter than heck Rory and I both stayed in with the fans blowing to find relief. For me it was cold drinks and lots of stitching time. Including two new starts.

Friday was time for Rory to go and get his hip x-rays done. (more on that in last weeks post) That was pretty much an all day thing. But I was a nervous wreck. It was the first time I had left him anywhere for any length of time. His crying when I left the vets office was heart breaking. I decided I needed to keep busy so first I went grocery shopping. Took that home and put it away. Then a trip to Joann's Fabrics to pick up a few things for the giveway. Then I got my hair trimmed and my very first ever pedicure! Oh, was that nice. And for the first time my toes actually look nice! And since they weren't too busy I got a matching manicure too! Next stop was the library to take out some dvd's to watch over the long hot weekend. And finally it was time to bring Rory home. He was fine. A little tired from the anesthetic but otherwise fine.



Even though it was 100 degrees on Friday I had kept busy enough that I managed. Saturday was more of the same weather wise. A perfect day to try and stay as cool as possible and not leave the house. So I put in the dvd's and stitched away. I finished one of my upcoming exchange pieces and a small piece for myself. The one I have been waiting to do and that brought back my stitching mojo. I think it turned out too cute. I want to frame it side by side with one of the photos from out trip to the beach. I haven't quite decided which photo yet but one of these two.

After I get mine framed up I want to stitch this one a few more times. Christmas gifts for a few members of the family.




I leave you with a few photos of, who else, Rory keeping cool on a lazy hot Sunday afternoon. And a butterfly I found floating among the Tiger Lilies Sunday afternoon.























Until next time........................

The Plea: Get anyone you know who is on facebook and tell them to Like 14k-9, Designers of Quality Gold & Silver Dog Breed & Designer Jewelry . Then to go to Rory's photo and Like his photo! Go Rory! If you do get someone else to vote please email me at katkiley@aol.com and let me know their name so you will get another chance in the giveaway.

Love and stitches
Kathy
and licks from Champion Rory too

A finish, a favor and a celebration giveaway!! (or two)

The finish. Actually I have had two finishes in the past two weeks but I can only show one right now. The second hasn't reached it's new home yet. And I have two almost finished that will be done by the next post and those I can show you then. My needles are making up for lost time.
The stitching that was shown in my last post was NOT stitched by me. That was the exchange I received from Melissa. I'm sorry if a number of you misread my posting or I wasn't clear. Melissa stitched that piece and beautifully too. Now the one pictured above IS the one I stitched for the exchange. This is Summer from the Lizzie Kate Banner series. My partner was Laura RS and she said she liked it. I think it turned out darling. I really need to get the rest of this series and do them all!

The favor.
And this is a really big favor to me. I hope that if you are a follower here on my blog and are also on face book that you can spare a minute or two to a fellow stitcher. If you aren't on face book than skip this. If you are please read on. You don't need to friend me on face book but I would ask that you "Like" the following page: 14k-9, Designers of Quality Gold & Silver Dog Breed & Designer Jewelry (Click on the name and click on Like) You can always block their posts or delete them later. Then go to Rory's photo and click Like under his photo. (Click HERE to go directly to the photo) They are holding a photo contest and the winning prize is something I would love to win. I could never afford to buy their jewelery and would love something to celebrate Rory's Championship. Oh, here is the photo to look for if you don't follow the above link.
Speaking of celebrations. How about a giveaway? Or two. Or three. That's right three in total.

Giveaway one is in celebration of my birthday. I was so busy in June that I never had the chance to celebrate with you all so it is a belated Birthday present from me. A surprise stash giveaway. At least four patterns. Some fabric. Some overdyed floss and a few other goodies. Let's just leave it at that because who knows what I'll put in the pile.

Giveaway two. I want to share my happiness of achieving Rory's Championship, a long held dream, with you all. The photo at the head of this post is the official New Champion photo from the show! What better way to share that special moment with you all than with a giveaway. A 30 dollar gift certificate to one of my favorite ONS, Down Sunshine Lane.

And last but not least, Giveaway three. This will also be a 30 dollar gift certificate. But the winner will be taken from the list of those face book users who go and vote for Rory's photo in the contest. This will be one way for me to say "Thank you" and, oh okay, it's a bribe. No really I am thankful to all those who continue to leave me comments here and on face book. So that you get credit make sure you mention that you voted on Rory's face book photo in your comment here.

To sum it up.
Giveaway One: Happy birthday from me surprise stash package.
Giveaway Two: Celebrating Champion Rory is a 30 gift certificate to Down Sunshine Lane
Giveaway Three: Thank you for voting for Rory's photo is a 30 gift certificate also to Down Sunshine Lane.

Rules for the giveaways? Only that you leave a comment as to which giveaway you want to be entered in. And yes you can enter all three. (But make sure you tell me you voted if you enter giveaway three.) Just leave a separate comment for each giveaway. And the most important rule of all is that I can find your email address to notify you.

I will announce the winners of all three giveaways on August 1st. The deadline to leave a comment will be July 30th. Rory will draw the winner on the 31st.

Good luck.And thank you to all you commented to my previous post. Your comments mean so much to me. And just saying Thank you doesn't seem like enough. But I'll start tearing up and won't be able to type if I continue. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Until next time.........
Love and stitches
Kathy
and licks from Champion Rory too

PS. To those who are already on Facebook and have voted/liked Rory's photo for the contest please leave a comment so I can include you in the Thank You giveaway.

Stitching, exchanges and a Championship

I'm floating on air. I'm tickled to pieces. I am still pinching myself to make sure I'm awake. Why you ask? This past Friday was an important dog show. The Western New York Irish Setter Club specialty. There were 18 class dogs entered making it a 4 point major to the Winners dog. This was the first time I had entered Rory in the "big boy" class, also known as the open class. The judge shocked me and gave him first in the class of four. (Rory was the youngest.) Then we moved on to the next level which is all the winners of the other classes. The winner of that level gets the points toward their Championship. We do our run around the ring and the judge steps in front of me and says, "Would you like to be Winners?" Of course I am stunned and mumble something like "Uh, Yes?"

And that was it! Rory WON!! This was the win he needed. His first and last time in the big boy class. He is now Champion Beaubriar's Master of Arts. Aka, Champion Rory!!!!! WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Many years ago as a little girl I read a book titled, Champion Dog:Prince Tom, about a cocker spaniel show dog. I fell in love with the idea of owning and showing a dog. Many books and years later I bought a beautiful Irish Setter named Kara. This was thirty years ago and I learned a lot with Kara. I learned about grooming and showing. She hated the show dog life and didn't do well but the experience only whetted my appetite for more. Time and life moves on. Then Maggie came into my life. Unfortunately she had health issues that prevented her from fulfilling my show dog dreams. And other life issues came up the prevented the dog show dream from happening.

Then came Rory. He has and continues to be a joy. And best of all he has made my dreams come true! My very first Champion! And the best part, even the surprising part, is that I have shown him. I have groomed him. Me. Thirty pounds or so over-weight. No longer a spring chicken. With lousy arthritic knees and hands that can no longer make a fist! I DID IT!! Oh, okay Rory helped. Seriously, showing a dog is team work. The handler can make the dog look good or bad. For a while I did think that I would have to hire a handler to show Rory but I so wanted to do it myself. AND I DID!

Now we take a break for a couple of months. Rory will get his hips x-rayed and checked. (Many large breed dogs can suffer from something called hip dysplaysia. Before we even think of breeding we need to make sure Rory's hips are good.) Then Rory and I will continue to show and work on his Grand Championship title. Another step closer to being able to enter the Westminster at Madison Square Garden someday. In the meanwhile we will rest for the summer and let Rory grow more coat and mature some more. And just be my silly baby boy.

Oh yes, before I forget. Rory also won a photo contest on facebook. An organization called Pets for Patriots sponsored a 4th of July photo contest. Of course I had to dress Rory up and submit a photo. thanks to Rory's many facebook friends he tied for first place. I love entering him in these silly contests. Win or lose they are always fun. Here are some of the photos I took to celebrate Independence day.

Now on to some stitching. My mojo is returning. And I owe it all to a dear stitching friend, Cynthia. I originally met her through a yahoo stitching group. Only to discover that she grew up about 5 miles from where I live. She moved away from the area but does come to visit family on occasions. Well, long story short. She was visiting family a couple of weeks ago and stopped for a visit to meet Rory and chat. Of course we were discussing stitching and I mentioned that I really wanted the new Lizzie Kate, Life's a Beach. You know when you must have a certain pattern and you can't really stitch anything else until you get it? Well that was happening to me. A few days later was the July 4th weekend. My local LNS, Lazy Daisy, was having a sale and I thought I would check to see if that LK pattern had come in. It had. And not only that but Cynthia had bought it for me! Along with a skein of Crescent Colors that she couldn't resist called Frogs Legs. Thank you Cynthia. You are the best. My mojo is back. Oh and I had to pick up a few other things that were on sale too.

Cynthia and Rory

Once I had that pattern in my hot little hands I started stitching like a mad woman. Not that new LK but something else entirely!! But that's okay at least I'm stitching and this piece was for the exchange that needed to be done. I finished the piece in three days. Now to finish up another exchange piece and then I can work on my new Lizzie Kate.

Speaking of Lizzie Kate. I am part of the Lizzie Kate exchange blog and received my Round C exchange from Melissa. It is a darling pin pillow. Thank you Melissa it is just adorable. I finished and sent out my part of the exchange but no photos until it reaches its new home.

I only have a couple of photos from the fabulous show weekend (the ones at the beginning of this post.) but hope to have more soon. When they are emailed to me I will be sure to post them. As well as a celebration giveaway. Soon. I promise.

And before I forget again here are my TUSAL entries for June and July. June on the left and July on the right.

Until next time..............

Love and stitches

Kathy

and Licks from Champion Rory too.