Liebster Award: Online recognition from fellow bloggers for fun new blogs!

Last week I was introduced to the Liebster Award, which appears to be a kind of Random Act of Kindness for blogs to give some exposure to new blogs or blogs others might not be familiar with. Different versions of the award exist, but I am going to play along via the rules of the blog that nominated me, so here we go:

1. Give Thanks

Say a little something about the person who nominated you.

I would like to say a heartfelt thanks to Sleepy Kitty Stitches for the nomination. She just started her blog at the beginning of this year, but she is already off to a fantastic start with lots of posts about her stitching adventures. I happened across her blog right when it started and immediately started following, and I always look forward to seeing her posts in my WordPress Reader. So, go check out Sleepy Kitty Stitches!

2. Spread the Love

Nominate up to 11 of your favorite bloggers.

This is tough for a number of reasons. Sleepy Kitty Stitches nominated some great blogs and I second many of the folks she nominated! I follow a lot of stitching blogs (over 100!), so it is tough to select just a few, but here are a few of the new or new-ish blogs that I enjoy reading:

1. Black Cat Stitchery — You have got to see the Old World Map cross-stitch project she is working on right now. The pattern is from Heaven and Earth Designs and it is amazing.
2. Crafting Beyond Words — Allison just started her blog at the beginning of the year, and she is a talented stitcher and artist who posts about her stitching projects, pages from her sketchbook, zentangle doodles and much more.
3. Emz Crafty Creations — Emz recently started her blog and posts about cross-stitching and finishing her dissertation! I enjoy seeing the crafty projects she is working on.
4. Needles, Threads & Things — Lenore & Christine recently rebooted their blog and they post about a variety of embroidery projects, including blackwork, reproduction historical samplers, contemporary designers and more. Always fun to see what they are working on.
5. Stitcheroo’s Life & Craft Site — Claire has several HAED patterns in rotation. Right now she is working on The Astronomer, and I am loving seeing her progress photos. This pattern has been on wishlist for years.

If the blogs nominated above would like to play along, feel free to pay it forward to some of your favorite new or under-appreciated blogs and share the love. But, please don’t feel any obligation to do so.

3. Tell Us About Yourself

Answer the questions your nominator asked.

These are the questions Sleepy Kitty Stitches asked:

1. Where/How did you learn the things you blog about? I mainly write about stitching, and I learned to stitch when I was about 10 years old. My mom is the one who taught me. My first cross-stitch finish was a reindeer ornament kit that I completed as part of Girl Scouts project.
2. What’s your favorite/most memorable vacation? I have many wonderful vacation memories as both a kid and as an adult. One of my favorite trips in more recent memory was a trip my husband and I did in 2009. We flew out to California near San Francisco to visit my husband’s family for the holidays. Then we rented a car and drove down Highway 1 along the California coast from SF all the way to Los Angeles. It was a beautiful drive that took us two days and we made many stops along the way, including visiting the Winchester Mystery House, Monterey, touring Hearst Castle and spending a day in Solvang. The trip ended at his parents’ house in Orange County where we spent New Year’s before heading back to Chicago.
3. What’s the weirdest dream you’ve had recently? I’ve been having a lot of weird, vivid dreams lately. Although most of them would be difficult to describe, I did have a classic stress dream recently where I was starring in a play but didn’t know any of my lines. :(
4. What are you watching lately? A couple weeks ago I finally had a chance to watch the “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell” mini series that aired last year. I read the book many years ago, and I really enjoyed the adaptation. They did a great job with the series.
5. If you had to be reincarnated as an animal, what would you be? A rabbit. Definitely a rabbit.
6. What do you like to learn about (in school or in life)? Ha! I’m a librarian in my day job, so it’s fair to say that I love to learn about just about anything. My current interests include psychology (especially all the studies now about the science of happiness), religion & spirituality, mindfulness & meditation, creativity, running/starting a small business, and anything embroidery or stitching related.
7. Growing up, what were your favorite toys to play with as a child? I grew up in the ’80s, so I had a lot of Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony dolls (the originals!).
8. Wish one thing to come true this year, what would it be? I would like to finally start the business I keep talking about but haven’t had the guts to start yet.
9. Would you rather visit the world 100 years into the past or 100 years into the future? I’d like to visit the world 100 years in the past, but I’m not sure if I’d want to stay there. I kind of like being able to vote and all that.
10. What makes you antsy if you haven’t done it in a while? (What relaxes you?) This is a great question. I feel out-of-sorts when I haven’t gotten enough physical activity. I have been feeling this lately. I have not been working out the past couple months and I am feeling sluggish and unhappy as a result. Stitching, drawing or doing something creative is another big one. If I start ignoring my creative side for too long, I get very unhappy, stressed and anxious.
11. What would you do if you did not have to work? (If you pick travel, be specific!) I would spend more time riding my bicycle, stitching, reading all of the books on my ever-growing to-read list and, yes, travelling. I would like to get my passport renewed so my husband and I can travel to Europe together. My husband is a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, but he has never been to London. I want us to go together someday, preferably sooner rather than later.

4. That Wasn’t Enough–Tell Us a Little More About Yourself

List 11 random facts about yourself.

1. This is not my first blog. My first blog was That Rabbit Girl, which I started waaaay back in 2003 and kept until 2008 or 2009. You can still find pieces of it preserved by the Internet Archive, but someone else has the domain now so ignore the weird stuff that starts up around 2011–that’s definitely NOT me.
2. I started using the That Rabbit Girl name because I had a pet rabbit at the time, which  was unusual enough that it became sort of thing that people remembered about me.
3. I don’t have any pets now, but I really want another rabbit–or a cat. I also love cats.
4. I work as a librarian at a local university. I mostly work on the technology and technical services side of things, which means I spend most of the day staring at a computer screen.
5. I collect stereoscope cards and View-Master slides. I have two vintage steroscope viewers and three vintage View-Masters.
6. I also love decks of cards–and not necessarily playing cards. I have card decks about Chicago history and travel, playing cards, affirmation cards, fortune telling cards, etc. I am mostly drawn to interesting artwork and card illustration.
7. I have a master’s degree in art history. My areas of specialization were medieval and Renaissance art.
8. I love to ride my bicycle on local trails, weather permitting. I am hoping to ride over 500 miles this year. I did not make that goal last year, so I am trying again.
9. I love Indian cuisine, but there are no Indian restaurants in my area of the suburbs, which makes me very sad.
10. I met my husband at the opera, and we are still subscribers. I love opera and we see at least 8-10 operas each year, mostly at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
11. I would say that I own too many books, except that it is not possible to own too many books. I love to read.

5. Questions for My Nominees

List 11 questions.

If my nominees would like to play long, here are my questions:

1. What was your favorite book as a child?
2. What book have you been recommending lately?
3. What was the most recent movie you saw in a theater?
4. What song/band/musician are you loving these days?
5. What is your favorite ethnic or regional cuisine (Italian, Thai, Ethiopian, etc.)?
6. Coffee or tea?
7. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you be?
8. What band or musician would you love to see live but never have (yet)?
9. Favorite comfort food?
10. What or who inspires you?
11. If you are in school, what are you studying? If you’re not in school, is there something you would love to learn or study if you had the time?

6. Logo Time

The last step is to post a Liebster logo.

Many folks create their own, but this logo is from this site:

Whew. If you made it this far, thank you!