HOW HOT WAS IT?

"I keep my end tables full of needlework and quilting so I don't have to dust them"
                                                                          ~author unknown

Ice Cream Truck In Bakersfield Yesterday

This is how hot it was in Bakersfield yesterday.   I was sent this picture via email and knew that I just had to share it.  It really did feel this hot yesterday.  Officially our high was 111', but in my backyard we reached 112'!!!!!!  I know I said I wasn't going to complain, but come on now!  I only ventured outside to feed my bird friends and to collect the mail.  So, this is my picture for the day.  I hope it made you chuckle.

I thought today would be a good day to do a nail laquer review.  I recently gave myself a mani in China Glaze Street Racing.  I know it's not a new color, but then, I have only started doing my nails about a month ago and several years of naked nails.  This is a much brighter color than I normally wear but the color in the bottle was just irresistable.  I think this color could be worn in both summer and winter.  The best description I can provide for Street Racing is it is reddish with a rosy gold metallic.  It's not quite a duochrome but it does show two different tones in different lighting. 

Outside it picks up more of the deep red and definitely shows the golden shimmer

In the shade, it has a softer look appearing more orangey

And, then under indoor lighting, it picks up both the deep red with highlights of a warm orange

I used my normal 3 coats and a top coat.  Speaking of top coat, not long ago my daughter made a comment on her blog how the polish she used "shrunk" (you can see this example at Kitschy Suburbia).  It looked like it had several days of wear at the tips after just a couple of hours.  One of her followers asked her if she used Seche Vite top coat, and she had.  The follower stated that the Seche was probably the cause of the shrinkage.  After reading that, I thought maybe that is why my manis always look worn at the tips after just 24 hours.  So, with my lates mani (not the ones in the pictures) I switched to China Glaze No-Chip top coat.  I still topped it off with Zoya's hurry up speed dry drops, but this time my mani still is looking worn at the tips and it's been over two days and lots of time on the keyboard.  So I'm thinking there is something to 'shrinkage' and the Seche Vite.  Have any of you had a similar experience?

Only a couple of more days to enter my first giveaway! 

Another chance for the Accuquilt GO! Cutter can be found at Sew Many Ways...  hurry on over and enter for a chance to win (or not, so maybe I could win - lol!)

One more AccuQuilt GO! Giveaway. Check out Sweet P Quilting and Creations to enter!

Do you like aprons?  Bobby over at A Vision to Remember is having a great giveaway!

Do you know of any other giveaways that you would like me to include?  Drop me a line and I will try to post them in future postings.

Off to The Village Grill for lunch - definitely a good thing.  Not sitting out on the patio today because I don't care how much shade there is, it will not be cool.  Not much else doing around here.  Still working on the blue and brown quilt and stitching the Christmas Stocking.  Stay cool and keep creating!

GIVEAWAY!!! GIVEAWAY!!! GIVEAWAY!!! (Get the hint?)

It's time for my first giveaway!  I know I said I would post this Monday, but I just couldn't wait.  Look at all of the stuff you can win!!

Here's the entire giveaway

Four skeins of Lion Brand Baby Soft Yarn. 

The color is Candy and all are from the same lot number

"An irresistibly cuddly sport weight yarn in gentle pastel colors...perfect for baby or mom"

china glaze nail lacquer with hardeners

Rose Fantasy

ThreadArt Cotton Thread - White

"Long Staple Mercerized 100% Cotton Thread, 50/3 ply, 1000M Spool"

YLI Wonder Invisible Thread

"100% Nylon, 1500 yards, Clear"

3 Purple Hippo Buttons

"Hand Washable, 3/4" Size"

The Simple Life

Cross Stitch & Counted Thread Design by Elizabeth's Designs

Stitch Count 47 X 52, Kit includes Weeks Dye Works Overdyed Floss - Seaweed

Antique Gold Sun & Cat charms

PICTURE THIS! Rail Fence Quilts Book by Billie Lauder

13 different quilt designs in this book

The Vineyard by Barbara Delinsky

5 CD's read by Lauren Mufson

Coventry Cottage by Linda Hohag for P&B Textiles

6 Fat Quarters

You have to admit this is quite a collection of items!  I would think that there must be at least one thing in this you could use. Here's what you need to do to enter:

For your first entry -   Follow this blog (or tell me that you already follow) - leave a comment that you have become a follower or that you already follow; include a way to be contacted

For your second entry - Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with a link to your blog

For your third entry - share this blog, Stray Stitches, on Facebook - leave a comment telling me you did so and include your contact information

The only catch: This giveaway is open only to U.S. residents!

Make sure that you leave three separate comments so that you get three chances to win. 

This giveaway will last until August 30th.  The winner will be selected by random.com and will be announced on my August 30, 2010 blog.  GOOD LUCK!

Make sure and tell your friends about this giveaway!!!!!

My TTYL Surprise and Christmas in August

Can you believe it's Wednesday already?!?  Time flies even when you're not having fun.  It's still hot and I don't see much relief in sight.  You would think I would be used to these long hot summers since I was born and raised right where I live!

I'm still experimenting with nail polish.  Here is my story on China Glaze TTYL.  Was I ever shocked when I completed my latest mani and walked outside.  I had been doing my nails in a dimly lit room and thought, well, this is a pretty mundane pink with tan undertones.  I thought I could probably live with it a few days and figured I would never use this one again.  I even had to redo my thumb as it was going on rather thick and streaky.  Not a very good quality of polish, I thought.  Then I walked outside to take a picture and was I ever very completely shocked and even said OMG!  There were different shades of pink, some oranges and even golds along with a lot of shimmer!  It is gorgeous!!  What more can I say.  While talking to my daughter, Megan, I explained to her what happened and she said that this polish is from the OMG Collection and is a holo polish.  She had previously used a blue one (can't remember the name) from the same collection and showed it off on her blog.  I had loved the look but would never do blue (after all, I am a grandma!).  The only bad news is that is started chipping just after being worn for 24 hours :(  Guess we can't always have beauty and wear together.  I will use this polish again but will probably save it for more special occasions than just for wearing around the house.  Here are some pictures:

This is what I thought was a fairly boring color - poorly lit room (please ignore the ugly thumb)

Better here under florescent lighting

WOW!! It still doesn't show all of the colors that appear in sunshine

I thought I would share my current cross stitch project with you today.  I usually don't work from a kit, and this just reinforces that thought.  I prefer to have my charts done in black and white and not multi-colored like this one.  I also like the stitch indicators to be big enough to see easily, but every time I think there might be a change, I practically have to get my nose up to the chart to see what the little symbol is in the square.  This is a 14 count fabric, which is okay, but I much prefer to work on 18 count.  By now, I'm sure you are asking why I selected this one.  I am making it for my son-in-law, Ryan, and it was chosen by my daughter.  Poor Ryan had been using a store-bought red fuzzy stocking with puffy paint writing for his name each Christmas.  It looked rather out of place next to all of the rest of the family's stockings that have been stitched either by myself or my mother years ago.  So, I'm determined to finish this and my goal is to have it done by the end of the month.  Here are pictures:

Here's the kit I'm working on for Ryan's stocking

This is the kind of chart I hate - multiple colors and very tiny symbols

Work in progress in my cross stitch frame

That's it for this wacky Wednesday.  I'm off to work on my Hawaiian quilt pattern - I'm actually going to draw it out on the big paper instead of the tiny 8 1/2" square that I started with.  Wish me luck!!