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Mary Corbet

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I learned to embroider when I was a kid, when everyone was really into cross stitch (remember the '80s?). Eventually, I migrated to surface embroidery, teaching myself with whatever I could get my hands on...read more

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Trish Burr Embroidery Kit Winner!

 

Amazon Books

Last week, I announced this give-away of a Trish Burr Embroidery Kit, and today, I’m going to announce the winner!

Perhaps I haven’t mentioned this before, but for those of you who read my website pretty regularly, you know I’m a fan of Trish’s. So I was really excited when Trish finished them and released them! It’s a huge undertaking, to prepare enough kits to be able to “go public” with them in the retail world. Trish said that her mom and dad and her own kids and their college friends helped her with the packaging. Can you imagine snipping all the thread, bundling the colors together correctly, making sure everything is in the right little bag, labeling everything correctly, and all the work it must take to package up embroidery kits? All done at home?! Just the instructions alone – making sure that all the colors are labeled, there are no glitches in the instructions with misnumbered colors, corresponding the instructions with the supply lists, with the pictures, and all that – I would imagine this is a painstaking, concentrated effort!

Why am I saying all this? I suppose so that we can better appreciate these kits. They aren’t commercially produced by some large company like Dimensions or Leisure Arts. They’re produced at home, with the help of family and friends, under the meticulous direction of one person overseeing, directing, working… all to achieve the goal of producing a kit for … you. That’s right! Yes, there’s a small profit involved, but compared to to work that goes into the production, the profit is really minimal. Those who have ever set up kits for embroidery classes – or who have ever bought the supplies for a finished project – understand this.

The more I look over the kits, anticipating the moment when I can actually launch in, the more I am struck by the careful attention to detail and all the hard work that must go into making them! Thanks, Trish!

Now, on to the WINNER.

Triah asked if she could pick the winner, and I was ready to let her. I explained the process I use for selecting the winner, and she agreed rather to let me do it! It would be nice to be able to pick a winner on the merit of one’s answer, but the fact is, so many answers are similar, so there’s no real way to distinguish merit objectively! So the Random Selection Approach seems to be the only fair way to go about it.

This is what I do: I keep an ever-developing list of names of those who leave a comment that fulfills the directions of the contest. I fill out this list on a spreadsheet as I moderate the comments. I found it’s a lot easier to make up the list as the comments are moderated than to have to go back at the end of the contest and grab all the names off the website!

I eliminate duplicates, and I don’t include comments left on other posts or sent via e-mail. I’m sorry to have to be so “mean” on this point, but it’s already a ton of work to run the contest fairly; I can’t gather names from everywhere. Besides, it’s in the directions!

Then, once I’ve moderated the stragglers – those are the comments that came in under the wire the morning of drawing – I mix up the names on the spread sheet. This is, in fact, kind of an electronic shaking-of-the-hat before drawing the name.

Then I use a random number generator and it gives me the number corresponding to the winner.

So, you see, there’s a complicated process here, but I try to keep it entirely objective, strictly according to the rules, and completely based on chance. (I would prefer, I think, to do things based on merit, but I don’t know how to accomplish that in these types of contests! Any suggestions?!?!?!)

OK – SORRY – I’m really gabbing a lot. Here it is. The random number was 84, and it corresponded, on the “mixed up” spreadsheet, with Clare-Anne from Wieser, Oregon, who answered the question thus:

What would I do with this? Why, frame it of course! I can’t imagine needleworking something like this and putting it in a situation that it could get ruined in! I would frame it behind glass and hang it on the wall.

I’m 17, but I hope I am still eligible.

Apparently, you are still eligible! Congratulations! Please drop me an e-mail by Wednesday morning, Clare, with your mailing address so I can get this off to you as soon as possible.

Now, if you didn’t win, and are dying to have one of Trish’s kits, you can still purchase them via her website. While postage seems a bit high (it’s been slightly reduced since the kits were first made available), keep in mind that they are coming insured airmail, and that you can order two kits for the same postage. Perhaps you can split the postage with a stitching buddy who wants to go in with you and get a kit, too.

Once more, Congratulations, Clare! I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Do keep an eye out, everyone! I’ll be running a June stash contest later in the month!

 
 

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(14) Comments

  1. Ohhh, I'm sad for me but Congrats to you Clare-Anne, what a wonderful fortune. Please,please give us a see if all goes as you desire on this adventure.
    And thanks to you again Mary, it's still thriller fun just to join in.
    Tammy

    2
  2. I actually purchased one of Trish's kits right after you mentioned them here the first time. You are SO right the kits are just lovely and I'm looking forward to getting to work on it as soon as I finish my current project. I'm also happy to hear that a young person won the contest and will be continuing forward with some wonderful embroidery. Mary, thanks again for all your work here on this site…you are such a wonderful resource for all of us!

    3
  3. Congratulations to the winner 🙂 She is very lucky.
    And thank you, Mary, very much, you make so much for us, your readers…

    5
  4. Ahhhhh, Clare! Such a beautiful name. I am thrilled that you won! Congratulations. Enjoy the project and PLEASE post a picture of the completed project!

    7
  5. Clare, you are such a lucky girl. I am happy to see that a 17 year old is interested in embroidery. My own grandchildren live too far from me for me to teach them. Pity.

    Mary, you are a star. Don't know how you manage to fit all you do in one day. Fortunately for us!! I love your site and go look for things on there almost every day since I discovered your site. Thanks for being so generous.

    8
  6. Congratulations Clare! Enjoy this. Mary your generosity is amazing – how lovely to have such a youthful winner! I look forward to seeing Clare's finished project and one of your own.

    9
  7. Congratulations to Clare-Anne, specially for embroidering being so young!. Hope she can show us her finished piece!.
    Marta.

    10
  8. Yes, Yes someone young should have been the winner. So very nice that she won. I just loved the I am only 17 part, too cute! Congrats Clare-Anne I am so happy someone as young as you so interested in the needle arts.
    BJ

    11
  9. hooo''''aqui creo es dificil
    adquirirlo ,era un sueño
    bueno
    felicidades a la ganadora
    gracias Mary

    12
  10. Congrats Clare!..Welcome to this wonderful form of needle-arts….
    once that stitching bug gets you, you are into this art for life!….
    it doesn't matter how busy you and life get…you will always find peace with your stitching….
    Mary is proof of that…. hope you will enjoy your special gift from Trish and Mary….
    Thanks once again Mary for all that you do…. we are all eyes and ears to learn from you!
    hugs, Kathy K

    13
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