Awarding Credit

I wanted to give credit where credit is due with the birds I recieved in the Birds of Change Exchange. Because of one thing and another I'm only just getting to it now.

First up is this darling little wooden number from Cathie Sweetwolf. It's actually reversible, with stripes of color on the other side and a green wing. (That photo didn't turn out well at all. Too much glare off the finish on the bird.)

Next we have a little brown bird from Whosies. I think of Thanksgiving when I look at it. Whosie has some really adorable handcrafted items in her shop over at Etsy.

This pink creation is, not surprisingly, from Sweetina. She is actually reversible too, with a little darker flower on her tail on the other side. I love the sequins and handstitching on this one.

Sistermama made this red bird out of a recycled sweater. She did not felt the sweater first; you can see the cable knitting in the body of the bird if you look very closely. The little wire feet grabbed my heart first but I love everything about this bird!

And, last but not least, "Beauregard." Technically this would be Beauregard the II or III or something because the original Beauregard had a pair of spectacles and went to the winner of his maker's give away. I was thrilled to find one of his brothers in my box. :- )

Back at the end of January Finn nominated me for this award:

I was very flattered as I have seen this on the blogs of some pretty creative people. I would now like to take this opportunity to pass the award on to each of the women who made the birds I received in this swap. I think Regina at Creative Kismet has received this award once already too, but since she's the one who came up with this exchange idea and did all the work involved in the actual swapping of birds I think she should get it again. According to the rules of the game I have to nominate 7 other bloggers as part of my acceptance of the award so I'm also going to nominate Calamity Kim. I'm pretty sure she has received this award in the past too, but if she hasn't then it's long overdue.

For those I've nominated, here are the "rules" if you want to play along:

1. The receiver is to copy the award button to his/her blog.

2. Link to who gave you this award.

3. Nominate at least 7 other bloggers.

4. Link to each nominee.

5. Leave message at the nominees blog.

This Exchange was a complete success in my book (I know they don't always turn out that way). The only downside is that I now have even more blogs to try to keep up with!

Black Cover's Contest

I was checking out what some of the other TIF participants have been doing for this month's challenge when I came across Marie's blog. She has apparently been heavily involved in journaling lately and mentioned a contest she is hoping to win. Black Cover is a blog dedicated to finding the "perfect journal," a moleskine alternative. They had some Picadilly journals donated for their review that they will be giving away at the end of the month. Well, now Marie has some additional competition for those journals! If I win maybe I'll share ;- )

Peace, Man

Okay, I always wanted to be a hippie but never really suspected that I could be a hippie... As it turns out, I am!

You are a Hippie

You are a total hippie. While you may not wear birks or smell of incense, you have the soul of a hippie. You don't trust authority, and you do as you please. You're willing to take a stand, even when what you believe isn't popular. You like to experiment with ideas, lifestyles, and different subcultures. You always gravitate toward what's radical and subversive. Normal, mainstream culture doesn't really resonate with you.

Are You a Hippie?

(Probably the people who know me best are not surprised by this finding at all.)

You May Now Address Me As...

So it turns out that Maggie, (Magpie's Collectables) who was so helpful with my Pink Artist button, is also known as Her Exalted Highness Duchess Maggie the Tremulous of Chignall Duntisbourne. I clicked on the link and discovered that I am:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Baroness Sue the Mirthful of Happy Bottomshire Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

After the success I had yesterday I had to laugh at how appropriate this was for me!

The Magpie Who Is Otherwise Known As...

My pirate name is:

Red Anne Roberts

Passion is a big part of your life, which makes sense for a pirate. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr!


Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
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Two For One

So I'm not feeling so hot again today. Accidental exposure to household chemicals. (We're throwing that stuff out right now so it doesn't happen again!) It's not real bad, but I do have an intense headache. This has been a rough week in terms of my physical well being. It's interesting to me that it sort of seems to run in cycles. I was doing great for several consecutive days and now I've had several consecutive days of less-than-wonderful-ness. The worst part of these headaches is that I can't think. I want desperately to sew up a little Halloween doll quilt, just for the fun of it, but I can't for the life of me come up with a pattern I want to do! Well, there are lots of patterns that appeal to me. Maybe it's more a matter of not having the energy to follow through once I choose one...

I finally put a binding on my Orphan Train quilt yesterday. Sewing down binding is a blissfully mindless project that was exactly what I needed. The catalyst for putting on the binding was another quilt made by a member of my local quilt guild for the Quilts With Love project. It needed a binding but no-one else in the guild had the time to do it. So I volunteered. I had a reaction to fumes released when I ironed the fabric while making the binding but sewing it down didn't seem to be a problem. I finished that one up this morning. Now I can surprise them with two quilts instead of just the one when I turn them in this week!

In lieu of pictures of quilts (which hopefully will come later) I leave you with this little assessment of myself. I think these personality quizzes are fun. I've taken a few of them but haven't had the courage to try putting them on my blog before. With DH's help (it wasn't so hard afterall) here it is:

You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits. Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle. Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it. You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.

What Time Of Day Are You?

The Name Game!

Since blogger doesn't want to upload my picture at the moment let's play a game. This is called The Name Game. I found it on Calamity Kim's blog, here. If you haven't visited Calamity Kim before you might want to get a snack, something wonderful to sip, and plan on being there for awhile!

Now, on to the game...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): George Ion

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Tin Roof Brownie

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): S-Bro

4.YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):
Elaine Tawas

6.YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Bro-Su

7. SUPERHERO NAME (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
The Yellow Cider

8. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Gordon Earl

9. STRIPPER NAME (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
Lilac Chocolate

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother’s & father’s middle names):
Ann Lester

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Silloway Seattle

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
{Day of the} Dead Gardenia

13. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Strawberry Socky

14. HIPPY NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):
Cereal Willow

15.YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”): The Stitching Sunshine Tour

This was a lot of fun to do. Some of the answers are "better" than others but I guess they can't all be winners. If I wrote fiction I'd seriously consider using a couple of them for character names!

Scattergories (or, How to Avoid Doing What You Really Should Be Doing!)

So Lora at Lora's Keyhole has started a game for us. I came across it on Beading at the Beach and thought I'd play along since I'm avoiding the sewing table for some reason. The game is SCATTERGORIES. I figured I'd better jump in early as the answers using my letter could get used up in a hurry!

Here are the rules:

~ Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
~They MUST be real places, names, things ... NOTHING made up!
~ If you can't think of anything, skip it.
~ You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
~ If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!

My name is Sue:
1. Famous Singer/Band: Springsteen
2. Four letter word: S**t!
3. Street: Salem Ave.
4. Color: Scarlet
5. Gifts/Presents: Skeins of yarn/thread
6. Vehicle: Saturn Ion
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Souvenirs - duh! (Oh okay, Stickers)
8. Boy Name: Sean
9. Girl Name: Shaunna
10. Movie Title: Serendipity
11. Drink: Sparkling mineral water
12. Occupation: Sales
13. Celebrity: Susan Sarandon
14. Magazine: Scenic Byways
15. U.S. City: Saugatuk, MI
16. Pro Sports Teams: Steelers
17. Fruit: Seedless watermelon
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Stuck in traffic
19. Something You Throw Away: Soiled disposable diapers
20. Things You Shout: So long!
21. Cartoon Character: Snagglepuss

And now maybe I can settle down to sew...