Incoherent Scribblings

Cat-O-Lantern
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and this year I got to do something that I have wanted to do ever since she was a baby: This year I celebrated Halloween with my niece. Of course, by waiting until this year I got a bonus: Now that my nephew is here I got to celebrate his first Halloween with him too.

Once upon a time, a young, hip mom found a cowardly lion baby costume that was just the perfect size for her baby. He looked so adorable when he tried it on that the mom was conned in to declaring that Baby would celebrate his first Halloween as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz.

The young, hip mom also had a daughter and it just so happened that the little girl’s current favorite movie was The Wizard of Oz. With charm (and a little bribery) the mom convinced her daughter that she should be Dorothy for Halloween. The little girl (who, from now on will be referred to “Dorothy”) was very excited to be Dorothy and her enthusiasm was so contagious that her aunt nominated herself to be the Scarecrow. Because Dorothy and the Scarecrow were teasing the mom about how wicked she was, the mom decided then and there to be the Wicked Witch of the West. And true to her wicked ways, a few days later she drafted the dad into being the Tin Man.

And so it was done: On All Hallows Eve, Dorothy (and Toto too!), the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Wicked Witch of the West started out from Munchkinland and worked their way up the yellow brick road to the Land of Oz.

The entourage stopped along the way to gather chocolate nourishment and was requested several times to sing for its supper. Dorothy and the Scarecrow sang and danced their way up the road while the Witch and Tin Man pushed the Cowardly Lion in a cart. The ordeal was so frightening that the Cowardly Lion fell asleep half-way through the journey.

After Dorothy clicked her heels for the Fairy GrandGodmother the little group ended up back at Dorothy’s house in Kansas Iowa. The Cowardly Lion was asleep by this time so the Tin Man stayed with him while Dorothy and the Scarecrow hopped in on to the Witch’s car broomstick and drove flew off into the night to finish celebrating Halloween.

The End.

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Lee and is:

How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?

This is a really great question and I can’t wait to read other people’s stories concerning their blog titles! As for mine… Yes, my blog title has special meaning to me.

You see, with my three fur-babies my ex-hubby used to always tease me about how I probably stitched with just as much cat hair as I did regular floss. I tried to explain it was just another specialty fiber, but he never quite saw it that way. However, after that I always claimed that everything I stitched was stitched with love and cat hair.

Anyway, a few months before I started blogging about my stitching I stitched a piece and framed it. On the back of the frame I decided to add a little sticker that had the stats and it was on this sticker that I used the phrase “Stitched with Love and Cat Hair” (by Renée) for the first time.

Then when I decided to start blogging about my stitching a couple of months later I didn’t even consider another title: After all, my stuff is (and always will be) stitched with love and just a little bit of cat hair!

Boy, oh boy, do I (finally) have a bunch of stitching stuff to share today!

First up is the scissor fob and goodies that I received from Jenna in the Robin’s Nest Scissor Fob Exchange. I felt so spoiled when I opened the package and found not only the adorable little autumn-themed fob attached to a pair of scissors that Jenna painted herself, but a whole slew of fabric and fibers in my favorite colors as well.

I have a little confession to make concerning the scissor fob exchange: Right before I left Germany I decided that my soon-to-be-ex owed me a going away present in the form of a pair Gingher Sophias. I knew that these pretty little scissors would “need” a fob, so I decided to organize this exchange. I had planned to use the fob I received for them, but now that Jenna sent me a pair of scissors with her fob it looks like I am going to have to stitch a fob for those scissors myself after all!

Thanks again Jenna! Everything is lovely!
Next, I thought I would show off some progress that I have made over the past few days on one of my WIPs. In case you have forgotten, (it has been a while since I have worked on this piece) this is the spring cat from “Four Seasons Cats” by Donna Vermillion. As you can (probably) see, I have completed the cross stitching and am finally ready for the backstitching.

I originally bought this pattern because I thought I might use it for a round robin. However, I decided that I liked all four cats enough that I wanted to stitch them all. And I must say that I am glad I chose not to use this for a robin because this pattern is pretty intricate. I am not having any trouble with it, but the color changes and confetti stitching have made it a time-consuming stitch that would probably not be appropriate for the time constraints of a round robin.

And finally, here is a quick recap of my October goals:

1. Finish my square on Mylene’s fabric for the Group 4 RR. (Yes)
2. Start, finish, and mail my Scissor Fob Exchange Piece. (Yes)
3. Participate in the Robin’s Nest October Stitch-a-thon if I don’t have to work that weekend. (Yes)
4. Stitch a little bit on each piece in my rotation. (No… But I did work on two of the six!)

For November I hope to:

1. Start, finish, and mail my Stocking Stuffer Exchange Piece. (Post date December 1)
2. Start the final round of the Group 4 RR. (Post date December 15)
3. Start my Winter Quaker Exchange Piece. (Post date January 10)
4. Start the “Baby’s 1st Christmas Ornament” from The Victoria Sampler for my nephew.
5. Participate in the Robin’s Nest November Stitch-A-Thon.
6. Work on getting through my rotation.
7. Stitch for an hour a day.

Oh yeah, this week’s SBQ will be posted shortly…