Monday, June 6, 2011

A finish, prizes, and a cat no longer a kitten.....

Lots to show you today.  First off, Susan Rambo is finished!

Susan Rambo
from SANQ, Spring 2011
40ct Meadow Rue linen
called for NPI with substitutions



Ok, so I'm showing you too many pictures.  But isn't she pretty?



I'm loving her!  

I ordered a cat bead from Melanie of Moonraker Lampwerks and asked Melanie if she could make it look like Mia.  She makes such cute beads -- she even has cute full body doggie beads.  So I asked her if she could make a full body cat bead of Mia in addition to the cat face bead.  Melanie told me that the tail of a cat bead is too weak for any rough treatment, which is why she doesn't make the full body cat beads anymore.  But I promised I would take good care of it.  Well, Melanie did a great job!  I have two cute Mia beads now!


Melanie caught all the little black spots all over Mia perfectly!


The Mia cathead bead fob is now on my scissors.  Love it!  And the full body bead is proudly on display.  Thanks again, Melanie!

I also won a few prizes recently.  The nice ladies from In the Company of Friends had a giveaway on their blog and I was one of the winners.  I won this wonderful little booklet.


Thank you so much, Julie and Becky!  I love it!

Cecelia of the Threadgatherer (who makes those yummy silks and ribbons and such) had a giveaway for some chocolate/brown Silk 'n Colors fibers and some of her German Chocolate Bath Salts.  And I won!


Aren't the silks yummy looking?  And the bath salts smell good enough to eat!  Thank you so much, Cecelia!

And I won a wonderful giveaway from Deborah of Cranberry Samplings!   Just look at what I won!


I so enjoyed opening all the packages!

This is the main attraction.


How gorgeous is that!  And inside is


Such beautiful lining in the box!  And look at all the sewing goodies Deborah gave me too!  Plus this


Look at the gorgeous pin pillow!  You can see some of the beautiful buttons that Deborah included too!


Thank you so much for my lovely prize, Deborah!  I just love it!  

Last but not least, guess who turned one year old yesterday?  Yup, our little Mia is no longer a kitten.  Here is a pic of our Mia when we first got her.


She was so tiny, she could fit into a kleenex box!  And now look at her.


Definitely larger than a kleenex box!  lol!  I can't believe she's a year old!  I have to stop calling her baby cat.  

Mia definitely has a thing about the girl child.  She doesn't know what to think of her.  She will hiss at her, even scratch her or growl at her.  But she will also settle down and sleep on her.  Very puzzling.  I have the feeling she vaguely remembers the girl child from when she was tiny, so is confused about who this person is.  Poor girl child.  Poor Mia.

Thanks as always for stopping by and saying hi.  I hope everyone has a great week!  Oh, and congrats to Rafael Nadal for equalling my idol Bjorn Borg's record of 6 French Open titles yesterday.  Congrats also to Li Na (Li is her last name, you sports broadcasters, you!) for being the first Chinese woman to win a grand slam title.  Wimbledon is looking to be a good one this year!  


Happy birthday, Mia!

69 comments:

Giovanna said...

Congrats on Susan Rambo, she's a beauty! And all the wins - how do you get to be so stinkingly lucky, lol?

Deborah said...

Susan is beautiful! I love the duck in the pond. You won some wonderful things. Hope that you will enjoy the sewing box.

Bertie said...

Wow Margaret Susan is just wonderful and can imagine you are pleased:))
Congratulations, winning 2 giveaways! those threads are fabulous but the embroidered box even more so:))
Yes Mia has suddenly grown up, she looks big LOL.

Anonymous said...

Margaret, Susan Rambo is stunning! Congratulations on such a beautiful finish. I know you will enjoy this beautiful sampler for years to come. And happy birthday to Mia. Hugs to you - kelley

Sweet Sue said...

Congrats on your Rambo and goodies, they're wonderful! Have a great week:)

Karen said...

Your sampler is a beautiful finish. Do you have any idea of how many samplers you have stitched?

BrendaS said...

Oh, my lots of wonderful pictures. Susan Rambo looks gorgeous! You certainly finished her up quickly.

Love all the gifts you received especially the goodies from Deborah. Very nice indeed.

Happy Birthday to Mia:)))

Have a great week

Annie said...

Susan really turned out great. Just so colorful and filled with interesting motifs.

Melanie's beads are always so adorable and this one is no exception.

You certainly have been on a lucky streak! A lot of fun winnings there.

Nancy said...

Congratulations on your beautiful finish! You sure have been the lucky lady with all those wins, enjoy your new goodies!

Catherine said...

Congrats on your finish!! She's beautiful - love the colors and the funny squirrels!!! Melanie did a fantastic job on your beads - of course she had a cute model! Happy Birthday to Mia - hopefully she'll adjust to your daughter being home. Love all your goodies - you've been on a roll with the wins - have you bought a lottery ticket lately?

Rita said...

What a gorgeous sampler! Congratulations on the finish.

You sure have been lucky in winning the contests lately. Wonderful prizes! Enjoy!

Gabi said...

Susan Rambo is looking fantastic. Congrats with this beautiful finish. Love your box and all the goodies it came with. The top of it looks so beautiful.
Happy Birthday cute Mia :)

Hazel said...

Woohoo another finish!! Congrats. And congrats on all those wins too. x

Dale Innis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
D said...

Oh, those are -bath salts-? Good thing I decided not to put them on my cereal. :) -- th' DH

Glenna said...

Love the pictures of S. Rambo and Mia! Hard to say who's prettier!

Love to Stitch said...

Margaret, Susan is GORGEOUS!!!! Congrats on such a beautiful finish!! I am even more inspired now. I just pulled the magazine out this weekend to get her kitted up and chose the v. meadow rue for the linen as well. Great minds think alike!!!! Great on all your winnings, so beautiful the box and all those goodies :) So excited to see what is next!!!

Jo Ann said...

Margaret,

Kudo's for Susan Rambo finish-she is awesome too. What a windfall on your winning the give-aways. You got some beauties. Last but certainly not least Happy Belated Birthday to the always beautiful Mia.As always my next question is what's next ? You know you have to keep us motivated. I am slowly beginning to conquer the Richmond monster :) Please pray for me on this one. Stay happy, Jo Ann

Scrap said...

congratulations on Susan Rambo ! so cute ! just lovely
have a nice day
kiss de France Paris

merumo said...

Congratulations on Susan!! She is stunning!!! It was so much fun stitching her while you were also playing with yours. I can't wait go get started on Ann Sandles, but will have to wait for a few more weeks till Ann Grant's finish :O And what a cute little things looks just like Mia! I admire people who can make such tiny things with very detailed like that... And congrats on your wins! You have been so lucky to have won quite few this year. Good for you!!

marly said...

Oh Margaret, those pics of Rambo are not too much! Seeing close ups and LOTS of them really bring the design to life for us. What a beauty - love the bottom. And the border. And the motifs. Congrats on all your winnings! I hope you're buying lottery tickets! Happy birthday to the Kleenex cutie.

Annemarie said...

Congratulations all around, Margaret: that gor-geous finish (Susan must be one of the most beautiful samplers around right now. I could KICK myself for not getting this issue of SANQ). And Mia is one already? Time flies.
You got some fabulous gifties, there!

Leneslines said...

Congrats! on your finish (beautiful!), on your wins (lucky you!) and to Mia! Some cats will never really grow up, you know:)

Sylvia said...

Oh my Mia is wishing your Mia a Happy Birthday. Mia's birthday is June 10th... maybe they should be BFFs.

Susan is just so gorgeous - I am always a bit envious of your amazing stitching skills.

Wow, you have just been on a winning streak - you have gotten some lovely stuff.

Kajsa said...

Wow, what a great finish! Congrats!

I love the cat beads.

mdgtjulie said...

A happy, happy birthday to Mia. She's a beautiful cat. As to her reaction to the GC, don't you wish you knew what she was thinking?!? I have that problem with Yes Dear all the time!!! Susan is great. I love the colors in that! Grats on the finish, and on all the wins. I'm glad you're happy with it all!!

woolwoman said...

Susan is exquisite - thanks for all the photos of her. WOW - what a bevy of goodies you've won from all over the place - you are one lucky chickie! Great stuff and Happy one year old to Mia! Too bad you couldn't get a consultation from that cat guy on animal planet - he is pretty dang good at diagnosing their problems. Hope you have a great week ! Mel

Liz said...

Susan is beautiful and such wonderful colours..! How lucky have you been Margaret? All those gorgeous prizes, that box is just lovely. Can't believe that Mia is already one, wow, how quick did that go, she's grown into such a lovely cat too (high praise from a non cat person..!)I think your boy child is her favourite human isn't he?
Lizzie
xxx

Karen said...

Susan is absolutely beautiful...nice job!

Congrats on winning so many goodies - what fun!

BTW, thanks for the info about Macs and malware/viruses. I'm not sure of the difference, either, but I'm sure they're both bad.

And a happy, happy birthday to Miss Mia! Did she get any birthday presents?

Mary said...

Susan Rambo is really lovely. It looks like such a fun stitch with lots of interesting motifs, and the colours are so cheerful.
Congratulations on your luck with the giveaways, being in Australia I miss out on those.
Happy Birthday Mia - you were a gorgeous little kitten and now you are a beautiful little cat.
Mary

barbara said...

Happy birthday, Mia! Did you get a catfish cake to celebrate? ;)

Congratulations on your amazing Susan Rambo finish and on all you happy (beautiful!!) wins! :D

Anonymous said...

Susan Rambo is beautiful! I love the colours on this sampler.

Congratulations on all the wonderful prizes you have won recently. They are all amazing. I especially think Deborah's gift is so awesome. How beautiful!

Happy Birthday to lovely Mia. She's a big girl now.

valerie said...

Happy Birthday to Mia! She is so cute! I love seeing Mia photos!

Susan Rambo is gorgeous! Congrats on a wonderful finish! And congrats on your lovely wins from Cecilia and Deborah!

Carol said...

♫♫♫ Happy Birthday, dear Mia ♫♫♫

Wow! This must be your lucky month, Margaret--you sure got some wonderful goodies. And your Susan Rambo finish is stunning--congratulations on another beautiful work of art :)

Laurie in Iowa said...

Woo hoo... congrats on finishing Susan R. She looks fabulous. Love the Mia beads. I'm going to have to check and see if she has some Corgi beads.
Lovely, lovely giveaway prizes. You hit the jackpot!
Happy Birthday Mia... you're all grown up now.

Karen said...

Such a beautiful finish Margaret! Love your goodies too...very pretty. I just love the cat beads...those are the cutest! Happy stitching on your next project and HB to Mia.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Happy Birthday Mia! It's hard to believe she is a year old already. Melanie's beads are too cute for words. She is really talented.

Susan Rambo looks fantastic! I wonder what is up next for you.

Congrats on all your goodies! It's so fun to get mail like that.

Sue said...

What beautiful stitching. Susan Rambo is GORGEOUS

doris said...

That Miss Rambo is absolutely beautiful! I love all those flowers.

Best wishes to Mia. Her bead look-alikes are too cute.

Roberta said...

Susan Rambo is gorgeous, nice job!

Love the beads of Mia - so cute!! Speaking of which - Happy Birthday MIA!!

Melissa said...

Happy Birthday Mia! Those cute little beads are wonderful indeed!

Congratulations on finishing Susan! She's a beauty! You're on a lucky streak with your winnings - such lovely gifties! Enjoy!

Cari said...

OH OH OH...Susan is fabulous Margaret...just fabulous. I am in awe of your work and I love looking at the pics of her. Congratulations on a stunning creation. And you are one lucky gal...love all of your winnings!! Way too much fun. And Mia of course....adorable as usual. I love the lamp beads. They are such a fantastic treasure. Have a wonderful week and I can hardly wait to see your next start!! Hugs and happy stitching.

jean said...

Absolutely amazing

♥marylin♥ said...

Oh my god your sampler is beautiful! beautiful! sincerely!
your gifts are wonderful so lucky!
Happy birthday to Mia
soon my friend

Nancy said...

You have a gorgeous finish! There are so many appealing things about this sampler, and you stitched it beautifully! I love all the colors, and the border is one of the prettiest I've seen!

Happy Birthday to Mia. She grew into a beautiful cat, and I love the Mia beads!

Congratulations on all your wins. You must be very lucky!

Katrina said...

Wow you've won a lot of giveaways ;-). Everything is gorgeous. Love, love, love Susan Rambo, the colors are gorgeous.

Cute kitty stuff, I may have to order my puppies.

meriem said...

Magnifique sampler, Bravo !

Marjorie said...

Susan is beautiful...love the duck and flowers but the squirrels look a little demonic lol. Congrats on all your wins. I especially love the BBD box--lovely work! And happy birthday to Mia too!

Deb said...

Wow Margaret - Congratulations on a wonderful finish. I'm just drooling. The colors are so pretty!

Love the kitty bead - I wonder if she could do a Bailey bead - the bead looks just like Mia.

And YGG on the giveaways - you've been on a hot streak lately! Good for you! You got some wonderful things.

Nicole said...

Congrats on the finish Margaret!! It turned out beautiful!! Congrats on all the great wins too!!

Michelle said...

Susan Rambo is stunning! Congrats on the finish!! And I'm loving the little full body cat bead - too cute! You've definitely hit the jackpot on the giveaways - lucky girl! Mia is most definitely a beautiful young lady now. I do hope she and the girl child can begin to get along.

Melanie said...

So glad you love them!!! They were fun to make. Mia makes for a great model. :)

Lois said...

Congrats on a gorgeous finish. Susan is just beautiful! What nice things you've won recently! Can't believe that Mia is already a year old - where did that year go?!?!?! Roll on Wimbledon!

Sally said...

Oh Margaret Susan Rambo is simply stunning! Those colours are so beautiful.

You have won some wonderful things lately. The sewing box is gorgeous!

Sherry said...

Susan is beautiful! Congratulations on winning that lovely sewing box! Mia has really grown!

Cathy Lloyd said...

Lovelovelovelove your Susan Rambo! You little blog winner you! Fabulous prizes!

Littlebit said...

Oh, Margaret, Margaret! I am in awe over your Susan Rambo! Do you eat or sleep??? LoL! It is absolutely STUNNING! I can't wait to see what you will do next! You always amaze me, tackling these huge projects and seeing them to the finish. Wonderful work.

Donna said...

Susan in just lovely and happy b day to Mia. You got some beautiful treasures, so lucky. Enjoy them

The French Bear said...

Wow....stunning!!!! I am in awe of all your gorgeous work....you are like my stitching guru!!!!! Whata fabulous prize!!!! You are certainly most deserving of this beautiful gift!!!!
Mia is just the prettiest cat I know!!!! HB to her and hopefully she will overcome whatever it is she has for the girl child.....cats are so funny!
Hugs,
Margaret B
xxx

Kathy Ellen said...

"Susan Rambo" is truly gorgeous! Congratulations upon winning two great giveaways. Beautiful threads and "yummy" smelling chocolate bath salts...your head will be filled with "chocolate thoughts"...every woman's delight!
The embroidered box with all of the wonderful goodies inside are really special too. Lucky You!

Mia is adorable as always, and love the cute little "Mia" button!

Ruth said...

Wowser. Such beautiful stitching. Annnd such wonderful luck. Congrats on all fronts.... and happy bday Mia. :)

Poussy Stitches My Love said...

Have a good week end my friend


marylin France

Melody said...

Margaret, What a post full of exciting news. Congrats on your huge finish of Susan Rambo. That is such a pretty piece, I especially love the border.

You have been so lucky to have won such wonderful items. That box is beautiful. Congratulations.

Mia is so pretty and the beads are cute.

Sharon said...

Such a simply marvelous finish! It's gorgeous. Congrats! Lovely prizes, lucky you!

Anne said...

Your sampler is a masterpiece! It's so beautiful with gorgeous colours! Congrats on your wins! Wow what lovely prizes and how exciting to open them and see the treats within!!

PS I am amazed at how many samplers you have stitched!

Anne Doll's Musings

Brigitte said...

Oh my, I've just stopped breathing for a moment seeing this gorgeous sampler finished. What a piece! And so beautiful with all the red colours.

Valerie said...

Margaret, Susan Rambo is breathtaking! Congrats on a perfect finish!

Boy, you made out like a bandit with the prizes! I love the stitching box!

Happy Birthday to Mia! I have enjoyed watching her grow into the lovely young lady that she has become!

Susan said...

I'm late leaving a comment, but I am absolutely drooling over Susan Rambo! She is gorgeous!! Such nice stitching, as always, Margaret.

Love the pictures of Mia and your winnings as well. Send a little of your luck this way, OK??

Solstitches said...

Oh what a glorious finish!
I am always in awe of the speed at which you seem to effortlessly stitch these big projects.
This one is just so pretty. I LOVE the colours.
The box is fabulous. I hope to stitch that design and finish as a box one of these days.