Friday, January 18, 2013

"Grow Your Blog" event - hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full

"Grow Your Blog" hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full

Hello, readers!  Today, I am blogging about something a bit different.  I am participating in an event called "Grow Your Blog," hosted by Vicki over at 2 Bags Full.  It is a way for bloggers to reach out and meet other bloggers and other readers.  So, to start with, since I (hopefully?) have some first-time readers here, let me tell you about myself and my blog!

My name is Erin.  I am a twenty-eight year old veterinarian living in Boston.  I work at a research institution in Cambridge.  My official title is a veterinary postdoctoral fellow, which means that I spend my days reading through research protocols and journals, writing papers, and performing benchtop experiments in our lab.  I am also working on a PhD, and I am in my third year of both programs.

That's the boring stuff.  The fun stuff is, I also love crafting!  My great-grandmother (who has since passed away) taught me how to cross stitch when I was about ten years old.  I remember going through her stash at her house in Green Valley, Arizona, and picking out floss colors for my first sampler - it was two anthropomorphized rabbits standing in a field, à la "American Gothic."

Since then, I have continued to stitch all sorts of things under the sun!  In college and in vet school, I used cross stitching as a way to relax after hours and hours of studying, but over the past year or so, my hobby has really kicked into high gear.  I made my favorite finish to date, Teresa Wentzler's "Egyptian Sampler," and I have branched out into designing my own patterns, such as this Byzantine-inspired Christmas ornament.  I have sent handmade items all over the place: to Boston, to Kansas, to Minnesota, and to Italy!  I have also spent a lot of time working on my knitting skills, and I have no qualms about taking out my needles and working on a hat in the middle of rush hour on a busy subway train.

This blog details my crafting life.  Here, I write about my works in progress and my finishes, and I throw in the occasional free pattern and photo shoot.  If you want to see some pretty stitching, take a minute and browse through my 2012 finishes!

To thank you for browsing through my site, I am also offering a free giveaway!  I will send a free cross stitched cupcake keychain to one lucky reader who comments on this post.  So, if you like what you read here, please let me know, and you could receive a little gift for your trouble!

Cupcake keychain - free to one lucky commenter!

And, finally, because I am a veterinarian, yes, I have to include an obligatory word about my cat, Orange "Julius" Caesar.  He is an eight-year-old male (neutered) domestic shorthair - and he is an orange kitty, and yes, they are the best kitties.  :)  Keeping him away from my needlework is a never ending battle.

Orange "Julius" Caesar - my orange kitty!

So, thanks for stopping by and checking out my little corner of the blogosphere.  I hope you enjoyed it!

Have a great day!

Cheers,
-Erin

47 comments:

  1. Fun to read blog. Have fun with the "party"!

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  2. Thanks, Cathy! Oh, and one thing I forgot - the keychain giveaway closes on February 1, so readers, make sure you comment by then to enter! Please make sure your e-mail address is either in your comment or accessible via your Blogger profile so I can contact you if you win.

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  3. It's great to meet another MA stitcher. Enjoyed looking at your blog. I have a Tortoiseshell who also likes to help me stitch.

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  4. Hey Erin! Have fun with the blog hop! It was interesting reading your Bio!

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  5. Hi Erin. Nice to meet you thru GYB! Hope lots more readers join me in following your posts. -- Pam

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  6. Nice to meet you (and Julius, of course!) Please pop over to one of my blogs (www.dormouse.wibsite.com ) to meet my four kitties!

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  7. Hello, Erin! Glad to meet you:) The blog's name is great!your cross stitch is beautiful:)see you here and hope to make good friends with you.
    Anna

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  8. hello. you had me at "bitching" - i love your blog name. so funny!! ha. ha!! i'm a new follower. & i hope you will stop by my blog for a bit. i love the blog party. such fun!! have a great weekend. ( :

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  9. So nice to meet you! I love cross stitch, too. Got into quilting, but I need to throw in a cross stitch project soon! I'm now a follower!

    Stop by my blog if you can!

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  10. Hi Erin,

    I love the name! I have discovered your blog through the 'party'. I look forward to getting to know you. x

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  11. I found your blog through the GYB. I love your stitching. Very nice work. I'll be adding you to my blogroll so I can remember to come by often.

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  12. What a lovely blog!

    Your cat is sooooo cute! I love his name too. :D

    Please enter me in your giveaway!

    ~McKenna
    mckmuff(at)gmail.com
    http://chiccrafting.blogspot.com/

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  13. Hi Erin,
    I look forward to following your blog. Please include me in your give-away. Thanks.

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  14. Designing is so fulfilling, isn't it? I just recently started designing some patterns of my own (but not nearly as intricate as yours).

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  15. we have 5 doggies and 2 kitties. our 2 kitties were found @ 1 day old (their momma had been killed), long story short, I could bear to see them thrown in a dumpster and took them in "to give it my best shot", I had to at least try. We are/WERE doggie people and I was clueless, but boy did I learn and amazingly the little darlings made it and are no permanent members of the household and 7 or is it 8 months old? They do have some doggie traits having been raised partially by and with doggies :) Looking forward to following and getting to know you :)
    http://stitchcrazy1.blogspot.com/

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  16. I love both the name of your blog and your cute designs. I enjoy cross-stitching but I have yet to move beyond bought kits. Your little cupcake is adorable.

    Velody of
    www.treegoldandbeegold.com

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  17. I have 2 cats and 3 grand dogs. And I blog about them off and on. Especially the dogs. I am a typical "grandmother"!!

    I love the fact do cross stitch. I used to do counted cross stitch but it got too hard on my eyes. But I love the look of it.

    Hope you will stop by and see me and my cats and dogs sometime.

    Elaine
    retiredknitter@gmail.com
    http://mynext20yearsofliving.blogspot.com

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  18. Hi Erin...enjoyed reading your blog post, and seeing your kitty.

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  19. Ha! I had to laugh at your Orange Julius playing with your floss... whenever I took out my cross stitch (which sadly, hasn't been for way too long) one of our three cats, Dakotah, always jumped up and had to "help" me stitch.

    And I always wanted to be a vet! I can see though how stitching can be a great release away from your job!

    So glad to have found you via Vicki's party... off to sign up to be your newest Follower now!

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  20. I love your kitty. What a precious face he has. And your stitchwork is beautiful. Thanks for joining in on the blog party.
    ~Elizabeth

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  21. Hi Erin - Glad you joined the party- Have fun hopping...
    (Your keychain is adorable- thank you for the giveaway)

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  22. Hi, I am a new reader and new follower of your blog. I am a Deaf cook and avid cross stitch addict.
    Your keychain is adorable.
    I would like to join in on the party, I am going to link up!

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  23. Joining your party, I'm having one too! Beautiful stitching

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  24. Really???? Will you stitch 1" square on 25 count with confetti stitching just for a buck?????? Just joking :)

    You have a lovely blog. I'm a new follower and participant of 'Grow your Blog'. Have fun at the party!
    Evalina, This and that...

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  25. That cupcake looks good enough to eat. Went through a couple of your previous blogs and enjoyed them very much.

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  26. yummy cupcake indeed. Gorgeous cat too, I also have a ginger cat with big golden eyes like Julius. The grow your own blog sounds like a great idea. I have just gotten back into stitching and blogging after a few years off, so nice to be back.

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  27. Hi Erin, I really like what you do here, so I’ve nominated you for a Liebster Award. Check out my post with the details and let me know if you have any questions! It’s all about new blogger getting to know each other and motivating each other! http://crossroadsofmymind.blogspot.com/2013/01/another-liebster-this-is-so-fun.html

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  28. Orange Julius Ceasar looks like a wonderful friend. My kitties love to play with our threads and projects as well - silly fellows. They sure do make life pleasant, though!

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  29. visiting via Vicki's GYB Party. my Levi goes to the vet on Thursday to be neutered. I've got a crowd on the farm and a giveaway on my GYB post; come visit when you've time.

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  30. Hello Erin - I am here from 2 Bags Full.

    I am in awe. You have a BUSY day job and still find time/energy to do cross stitch. I used to spend a lot of time doing that and enjoyed it immensely.

    The sock monkey might just be the pattern I stitch up first. Very creative way of framing it.

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  31. Wow! I just looked back at your Egyptian Sampler finish its wonderful! I'm planning a TW start in the spring!

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  32. OMGosh, your work is beautiful. Such a lot of time involved - one art that I have not enjoyed. It is gorgeous. Hugs from Alaska (via Vicki and the Blog Party)... kareninkenai@gmail.com (www.karendorcas.com)

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  33. We love our veterinarians. Who would look after our soft babies,. Thank you. And do come to visit my blog, since the party goes on. I have a nice vintage lace book to giveaway. See you there.

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  34. Hi. I'm an RN, and I thought I wanted to be a Vet until last night when my cat had to take some pills for a mild infection. My daughter helped me scruff her and taught me how to give her pills. My daughter has been volunteering at our Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue since she was in the 7th grade. Now she's a junior in High School, and she has gotten a lot of "hands on" experience. She goes every Friday evening unless she stays home from school that day with illness. I'm very proud of her ;) I have a flame point Siamese named Izzy. We have a Jack-a-poo named Boomer, my late sister's Himalian named Mr. Smuckers (she passed from cervical cancer at the age of 29), and a hedgehog named Jacklyn after the late Jackie Kennedy-Onassis. Jacklyn is my daughter's pet, and my daughter is obsessed with the Kennedys lately, and the Beatles. It used to be Elvis. My daughter makes me smile, she's so funny to me ;) I love the keychain it's so cute!!

    I look forward to reading your blog!
    karrie

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  35. Nice to meet you at the party!
    Beautiful blog and I love your lovely giveaway...
    Cheers!!

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  36. beautiful blog
    visit me at mscreations27.blogspot.com
    love
    maria

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  37. Pretty stitches! I'm loving that owl in your blog header too.

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  38. Hello Erin, what a lovely blog and what fine stitching you do! I scrolled down and saw many of your projects. The Egyptian piece is amazing! Wow! I can't imagine doing that. I have done cross stitch but not for a while now.
    It is nice meeting you.
    Hugs,
    Terri
    artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com

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  39. Hi Erin, I really enjoyed reading your blog..a cosy place to stop ...so nice to meet you via Vickis GYBP! Just started following you-want to see more of your beautiful crafts...
    Warmest regards from Germany
    Ines/ E. Blumenstengel

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  40. Nice to have found your blog through the GYOB party! Your cat is beautiful! Looking forward to reading more...

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  41. Hi Erin I just found you through the GYB party ... yep here I am still partying after all these days, there are so many wonderful places in blogland to visit It's taking me a while to go to them all.I enjoyed my visit, your stitching is wonderful and look forward to following your adventures in the months to come

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  42. ... Julius is adorable !!! luved reading your blog and thanks for the opportunity at your blog candy.. mitz_zee@yahoodotcom

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  43. Happy to have found your blog on the GYB hop! I admire Orange "Julius" Caesar! He is lovely! And your cupcake keychain is adorable!
    DeniseB
    deniseb777ATgmailDOTcom

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  44. Hi, Erin...love your blog! I love anything to do with art and animals so your blog appealed to me very much! Come see me sometime!

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  45. Hi Erin, what a wonderful blog you have and I am so pleased that I ran across your blog through GYB party. Your stitching is fab and so Orange "Julius" Caesar. I'm delighted to meet you Erin and I do hope you will drop by and say hello.

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  46. I'm visiting through the GYOB party and I'm thrilled to meet you. I'm also a stitcher and cat lover so I'm delighted to see your works and meet Orange "Julius" Ceasor. You did an amazing job on designing your own byzantine ornament. It's gorgeous! I hope you'll drop by my blog as well and comment for a chance to win at my giveaway.

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  47. Hi Erin!
    I have a kitten (well, she will be one next month, so I guess she is officially a cat now) and I have to be super careful when I stitch, because whenever I put my project down, even if it's to just check my pattern, she will pounce on it and try to grab the needle with her mouth. She has actually managed to grab it and pull it from the thread and run away, but I've always managed to get it away from her.

    I've actually taken to keeping my magnet needle holder on my light, and putting my needle on the light whenever I need to put my x-stitch on the couch, because she appears out of nowhere and will attack my work with the purpose of getting that needle.

    Cats sure are quirky, aren't they? I've had cats all of my life, and I've never had one that has such a singular obsession before (well, that doesn't revolve around catnip, temptation treats and bed mice)

    I just thought I'd share.

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