My Name is Molly.....

and I am Diane's banana-loving beagle-basset (AND the most adorable dog in all canine-dom. Mom told me, so it must be true.) In case you didn't know, my Mom has been SO busy settling in with her new job. While she was at work, I was reading her post about PROMISING to draw a winner for the free pattern give-away. Since she apparently STILL hasn't drawn winners, I decided to help her out by picking them myself. Please don't be too irritated by her tardiness. She does work hard so that I can dine on the finest Blue Buffalo kibble that has ever crossed my canine lips.

After drawing the winners and writing the names in my bestest writing, I had to figure out how to work her blasted camera. I've seen her use it a million times, but never paid much attention since I spend much of my leisure time sleeping keeping watch over the house.

The cat isn't much help either. All she does is hiss and glare at me. It might be because Mom calls her "worthless" but I think it's REALLY because Mom thinks I'm cuter......

I had so much fun pulling the winner, that I lost all control and in pure puppy-like fashion, I pulled 4 more names. I don't think Mom will mind, since Silver Creek Samplers HAS been going and growing for 5 years now. I'm trying to get this post done before she gets home, so here are the winners. Don't forget to email Mom your address so she can get your patterns mailed out....... Uh.... Hi Mom.... you're home early. I was just...........

Mom told me I had to....

update my blog! It's been nearly 2 months since we have last visited. Since our last chat, there have been some wonderful life-altering changes...no I'm not pregnant! But, I have been blessed with full-time employment. After 4 1/2 months, I am proud to say I am a working girl once more. I am gainfully employed at a local furniture/appliance store as a graphic artist/web manager. They have been in business for 100 years and it's employee owned. My first day was July 21. I still have a lot of things to learn, but am very happy where I am. The best part was going clothes shopping. Between losing weight and never having to dress professionally, all I owned was blue jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. All of which, to no surprise, are not considered "professional". I actually LIKE getting dressed up and looking like a lady. But I'm still a country girl at heart who can't wait to get home and put on shorts and t-shirt!

In my last post, I tempted you all with a free give-away of one of my new patterns. I have not forgotten about this. I will draw the winner this weekend and post the results ASAP. I know that my newest designs aren't exactly "new" any more, but a promise is a promise, no matter how outdated. So stay tuned to see who wins the give-away. I think I should pick a couple of winners to let you all know how sorry I am for leaving you hanging for so long.

Because Mom says I've waited "WAY TOO LONG", she is sitting right next to me making sure I get this post done. She knows what a procrastinator I am, but she loves me anyway!

Also this weekend, I have plans of picking colors for my next design. It's a Halloween theme and that's all I'm going to say!

Thank you all for your prayers, good vibes, and caring support throughout my unemployment. Even though I've never met most of you, it warms my heart to know that so many people care.

So please bear with me if my posts become fewer and father between. I'm still stitching and have no plans of stopping.

We'll be chatting again REAL soon and I'll share the names of the winners too!

Your friend till the creek goes dry,
Diane

HAPPY ONE HUNDRED!!!!!!!

Not only is that the number of calories in my favorite light greek yogurt, it's the number of lovely folks who are now following my Silver Creek Samplers blog. To whomever just started following my blog... THANK YOU! I have hovered at 99 for so long and FINALLY, just today, hit the 100 mark. So you all know what this means, don't you?.........................
It's time for a FREE GIVE-AWAY!!!!!!!!!!
I have just shipped THREE new patterns to my distributors today. So in light of that information, here are the SIMPLE rules of my give-away.....

1) You must be a follower of this blog.
2) You must post a comment which includes which new release you would like to win.
3) All comments MUST be posted by Friday, June 27.

That's it! I will then randomly draw a winner from all who commented.

Now I suppose you are itching to see these new samplers that you will have to choose from, so hang on to your hats. Here they are........

"Seeds of Freedom"

"Shadow of Your Wings"

"Garden Bliss"

There you have it. So to all my followers: get commenting and stay tuned to see who the lucky winner will be. It could be YOU!

Thanks for stopping by the Creek,

Diane

Ohio or BUST!

Hi Friends!
Gosh it's been a long time since we've had a chance to chat, so pull up a chair and sit a spell so I can catch you up on what all has been happening here at Silver Creek!

First the job hunt. I'm still unemployed but have a very good bite on a graphic artist position. I am waiting for a call any day now to hopefully hear when my interview will take place. So I ask for any and all prayers/positive vibes/good wishes that you may be willing to send my way. I am so ready to go back to work and waiting is the hardest part.

Secondly, my running. As many of you know, I have been in weight loss mode since last September and have lost 65 pounds. I have participated in two 5K races so far this spring. My times were 32 and 33 minutes respectively. I am very happy with my results and hope to keep improving on them. I plan on running some more 5K races this summer.

April 26 in Carbondale, PA

May 4 in Binghamton, NY

And last but not least...the MOST exciting news of all...I had my first Meet the Designer event this past weekend. Last fall, I received an invitation from the Crossroad Stitchers group located in Strongsville Ohio. 

I designed a small sampler especially for this day and I will share a sneak peek with all of you in just a bit. I invited my mom to ride along with me since it was a 6.5 hour drive from Montrose, PA to Strongsville, OH. I had a BLAST with these ladies. What fun it was telling them all about me, my family, and how Silver Creek Samplers came to be. My trunk show included about 29 of my designs. I had no idea I had so many until I laid them all out on my dining room floor......

We enjoyed each others company so much that the day seemd to end in the blink of an eye. There was a charity raffle, great food, and inspiring show and tells shared by all. It's a shame you couldn't have been there as I "show and telled" 3 of my upcoming designs that no one else has seen. Here is my promised sneak peek from this weekend. I plan on releasing this in the near future, so be on the lookout for it soon!

COMING SOON...."Stitching Feeds My Heart"

I would LOVE to have the opportunity to do another event like this one. So if your group is within reasonable driving distance (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia etc.), I'd love to spend some time with you! 

That's about all the news I have for now. Thanks for stopping by and spending some time reading this long overdue post! I really enjoy sharing my happenings with all of you and do hope you'll stop by for another visit here down by the creek.

Diane

Move Over June Cleaver.....

and make room for me! As many of you know, March 7, 2014 was my last day at the print shop. I want to thank so many of you who left kind and thoughtful comments, and to those who didn't, but kept me in their prayers. It has been a tough road for sure, but bored I'm not! I have kept myself busy like never before in my life. Some of it, I'm sure, is nervous energy. But I decided to NOT treat this like a vacation-sleeping in, staying in my pj's all day while I stitch up a storm. I've done everything but. Being unemployed has offered me the time and ambition to do so many things around the house that I previously lacked time for. Our bathroom sink, like most, needed a shelf underneath to make organizing easier, as did our kitchen sink. Such wonderful open spaces....so WHY don't they come with shelves?! I am happy to report, that with a little yankee ingenuity, shelves have been installed under both sinks and look a little bit like this:

The next project I tackled was scrubbing the kitchen floor on my hands and knees. Our kitchen gets all the foot traffic and as you can imagine, it's impossible to keep the floor clean. Our tiles are very forgiving, because their color allows the dirt to be camouflaged making one think that "they aren't THAT dirty"..... and that my dear friends, is called denial! I perused Pinterest and found a wonderful recipe for heavy duty floor cleaner. Warm water, washing soda, white vinegar, a bit of dish soap, a Mr. Clean scrub brush and LOTS of elbow grease, back strength, and arm power......BAM! My floor looks brand new once again.

I Wish I Had Better News....

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I am a graphic designer by trade.

I knew from the time I was a junior in high school, that I wanted to spend my life designing and letting my creative spirit soar.

I have held graphic designer positions at 5 different jobs since high school graduation, and 3 of those 5 have closed their doors.

I received word from my boss yesterday, that our tiny little print shop will be going out of business and that Friday is our last day. I still can't believe it even as I write this terrible news to you. I am at a loss. I have had the wind knocked out of my sails so many times that it's going to be hard to pick up the pieces this time around.

Jobs are NOT plentiful in my neck of the woods or any neck of the woods for that matter.

I truly wish to continue designing my samplers that so many of you have come to love, however that won't and can't replace my full time salary.

I think it's time to leave my graphic arts field in the dust and pursue a mid-life career change. I haven't yet received a sign from "The Big Boss" as to what I might be gainfully employed at.

My faith has always been such a big part of who I am, and I'm finding it so very hard to look to the heavens for help and guidance.

Please pray for me and my family, that peace and prosperity might soon again visit our place down by the creek.

With much love,
Diane

Tomorrow's Birthday is dedicated to....

my INCREDIBLE mom. That's right folks, tomorrow is my 42nd birthday. Just me and ole Abe Lincoln. I like to tease my mom and ask her why she couldn't have held me in for another 2 days so that I could be a valentine baby and celebrate with my grandpa.

This was my 1st birthday in 1973. And the man holding me was my amazing grandpa.

Every birthday I am reminded how blessed I am that God gave me such a wonderful mom. She was faced with the challenge of raising my sister and me after my father left. I always felt that mom deserved flowers on my birthday for giving me the gift of life. Mom, these are for you...

Thank you for being strong for me when you felt weak. Thank you for giving me what I needed, not what I wanted. Thank you for keeping your cool throughout my childhood temper tantrums. Thank you for making me feel important yet not allowing me to think the world revolved around me. Thank you for loving me when I was unlovable. Thank you for telling me I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Thank you for giving me life. I love you!

Mom always made sure I was clothed, fed and loved.

and when I was bad, she fed me to the goats!

1973: In my pj's hanging out with mom

Such a toothy grin! 1st grade 1978

Graduation Day! 1990

2004: When mom married my step-dad

Life is so good! Here's to 42! May it be full of wonderful things (like perhaps a piece of chocolate cake with peanut butter icing)!

 

Thanks for celebrating with me down by the creek!

Diane

Snow Day in PA...

Hello and welcome to a very snowy Silver Creek Samplers blog post. I hope you wore your boots and mittens because we are cleaning out from a storm that left us with perhaps 10" of that cold white stuff. I can't really complain too much as I have said I'd rather have snow than the brutally cold temperatures we (and a lot of you other folks) endured for much of January.

While my boys are out shoveling, I thought this would be a good time to catch you up on what's happening in my corner of the world. With the projected storm on it's way, yesterday my boss declared today a snow day. The print shop I work at is a very tiny company with 3 employees and my boss has a 1.5 hour commute to work every day. He said he couldn't expect us to get to work when he himself would most likely not make it either, so we closed up shop for the day. Quite sensible if you ask me.

So glad the boys didn't have trouble getting the shovels to start!

First order of business: an update on my transformation. I mentioned in a previous post, my long over-due and sorely needed trip on the weight-loss wagon. I'm still riding the wagon with a total weight loss of 55 pounds so far. I haven't felt this fantastic in many years. I can't put into words how good it feels to look in the mirror and actually like what I see. I have taken my picture every month so I can remind myself how far I've come. If you don't mind, I'd like to share them with you now...

September 2013

 

October 2013

 

 

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

I'm up Monday-Friday by 5:30am to walk my 4 miles on the treadmill. I also walk every Saturday, just not as early. I hope to participate in a 5K in May and another in July. Thanks for sharing in my victories so far. Now on to NEW stitching business...

With so much of my focus on weight loss, I don't seem to be stitching or designing as fast as in years past. BUT I do have something new in the works that I'd like to share a sneak peek of...

"Shelter of Your Wings" will be my next release, as soon as I can finish the stitching. As with weight loss, stitching does take time and doesn't happen over night, but the rewards are sure worth it!

Thanks for visiting with me here at Silver Creek. Oh by the way, I'm almost up to 100 followers. Me thinks that it's almost time for another fun pattern give-away, so spread the word and invite some new friends to join my growing list of followers.

Stay warm and happy stitching dear friends!

Diane