Jeweltone Needlecase...

Brynwood Exclusive Needlecase - Jeweltone - SOLD

 I had a special request, which I created yesterday. It's already in the mail and on its way to a new home. I used a beautiful jeweltone print fabric exterior, gorgeous royal purple linen and overdyed wool interior, and finished with a sparkling lavender button.

If you really love this one, no worries. I have more of all the fabric and will happily make another just like this. I'm also going to add a number of other prints to my shop in the coming days. They'll be perfect for your sewing box, or as a sweet exchange gift for a needleworker or sewing friend. 

I sold every one of the 22 bottles of hickory syrup I made this week. I've decided that I'll be making more to have available in my booth at the Craft and Vendor show on November 21st. If you're local to me, it will be held at the Kewaskum High School, Kewaskum, Wisconsin. I'm also making a batch or two (12 bottles per batch) over the weekend. 

If you're interested in purchasing some of my woodsy, delicious Hickory Hill Farm hickory syrup, each twelve ounce bottle is $18, plus priority postage (because they weigh more than one pound to post). I only charge actual postage, and invoice through my Square account after I have the postage total. Just send an email (or FB private message) my way to reserve your bottle(s).

I'll be having a great time over the weekend, and I wish the same for you.

Friday Quiz...

Brynwood Needleworks - Friday Quiz

I thought this might be a fun post for a Friday, so here goes! 

There are only seven of these I can absolutely say I've never done. One is a possible, because I'm just not sure. (I know. Cryptic, right?)

 

Anyway, if you want to play along, guess which seven I have never done. Then, just tell me how many of them you've never done (you don't have to say which ones). Bonus if you guess the questionable one.

 

Brynwood Needleworks - Brynwood Needle Minder

 

The first person to get all seven of mine right will win a Brynwood Needle Minder. If you live outside the US, you're welcome to play, but the prize will only be awarded to someone in the US, due to exorbitant postage fees. (Sorry.)

I'll follow your comments, and if you've missed one or more, I'll tell you one that's wrong. No limit to how many times you can guess. I'll announce a winner when someone answers all five correctly. No judgement, please. lol I've lived a colorful life.

It's My First Blog Birthday...

Today is Brynwood blog's FIRST Birthday! I started writing to you on March 15, 2009, and I have written a total of 326 posts! I never knew when I started, how much joy and how many new friendships this endeavor would bring my way.

The celebration is about to begin and I'm so excited! I've been waiting for you! This party is by invitation for my followers, but they can invite their friends, too. So if you're a guest who isn't a follower yet, you'll want to sign up right away. It's ok. There's still time! It's going to be a grand time!I've set the table with tea and cookies, but you'll also find among the party hats and refreshments, all kinds of goodies that I'll be sharing with some lucky followers when I draw names at the end of March.

Because it's March, and because Alice has visited Brynwood before, I couldn't think of a better theme than Alice in Wonderland. Many of my gifts feature Alice, The March Hare, The Dormouse and The Mad Hatter himself! So, the first thing I want you to do is grab your party hats. Hmmmm, should I wear this one?

or do you think this one is more "me"?

(I know...you're all gonna tell me how much
I look like my mum again, aren't you?)

Now, to show you the gifts I'll be sharing for this celebration...

My dear friend, Lenore, makes the most beautiful jewelry. I'm going to share one of her handcrafted crystal heart necklaces with you in Alice's favorite blue and white...just like her dress and pinafore! One lucky winner will receive this necklace from me.

With the exception of this necklace (and the b/w Alice charms I used for the bookmarks) all other prizes have been handcrafted by moi - Mrs. Brynwood Birthday Girl, myself!

THREE lucky followers will win one of Alice's Teacup Pincushions!

Each teacup pincushion is embellished with French silk ribbon roses and velvet leaves, with a tiny clock button on a creamy fabric. There is tea-dyed crocheted lace around the edge of each cup, and look! Under the edge of the cup...sitting on a tiny demitasse spoon is a little mouse. The dormouse is brown, and I could only find white mice. So, I painted them brown for the pincushions, but I had to put a mouse on Alice's Teacup Pincushion! After all, The Dormouse slept in a teacup at the Hatter's party!

I know how much y'all like to read, so I've made Alice in Wonderland velvet ribbon bookmarks, too. Each one is different with a different "Alice" charm on each end of the ribbon. SIX lucky followers will win one each!

It seems that my Brynwood Needle Keeps were a big hit last time I had them in a giveaway, so I've made FOUR Brynwood Needle Keeps with an Alice in Wonderland theme. I used Alice fabric outside and inside each one, and I added my signature acorn charm to the inside.

I'm even going to add a Queen of Hearts stickpin

inside each pin keep for each of the winners!

So, let's get this party started!

You can only win if you publicly follow Brynwood Needleworks.
After all, you've had to listen to me carry on throughout this first year.
There should be some special chance at compensation for you, right?

The Fine Print:
If you're already a Brynwood follower (or want to become a follower now):

• Leave a comment on this post only for one entry in the drawings. I'd love to know you're favorite thing(s) in the giveaway.
• Leave another comment (here only, too) if you post my giveaway on your blog - or put my celebration button on your sidebar.

That's it.

This drawing will close on March 31st at 9 pm ET.
I'll choose the winners using Random.org,
using the well-known Random Number Generator.
I will announce the winners on April 1st...
and I promise there won't be any April Fools!

You may use any photographs in this post for your blog -
and feel free to take the Celebration button, too for your sidebar.
Don't forget to link it back to this post!

If you don't have a blog, be sure to leave an email address or another way for me to reach you if you win. I'll draw another name from The Mad Hatter's hat if I don't know how to find you.

By my count, there will be a total of FOURTEEN sweet winners in this giveaway celebration. Good luck to all of you. I appreciate each and every one of you every day of my life. Oh, and please do take a cookie before you leave!

3/31/10 - 9:08 pm. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED! THE GIVEAWAY DRAWING IS NOW CLOSED.

You know you can click on any of the photos to enlarge them, right?

By the way - You might want to see what else I've been doing by visiting the Boutique. I have a few Alice-themed goodies over there for sale, too!

My First "Wild Hare" Wednesday Post...

Thanks to Michelle from Tales of The Raspberry Rabbits for hosting "Wild Hare" Wednesdays! If I understand correctly, we're supposed to give examples of when we were struck with a "wild hare" and did something completely wild, silly or outlandish. Well, my dears, I think that my posts from the last two days are quite outlandish enough for one week, so instead I'll tell you about how I was struck yesterday with a "wild hare".

Before

In the middle of being "up-to-my-hoo-ha-in-alligators" - trying to complete my Christmas projects - I realized that I had more of a mess than I could tolerate. If you're like me, once you start creating, the mess kind of takes over until you finish the project. As I've had multiple things going at the same time, I just couldn't stand the chaos a minute longer. So, in the middle of all my projects, I tore my studio up a bit more...and cleaned.

I also realized that if I got out Miss Ellie's little sister, Prissy (my Babylock Espire quilting machine), I could actually be doing embroideries on one machine while I sewed on the other. It takes up a little bit more room, but time saved will be worth it.

After

It may still look chaotic to you, but I have clean work spaces and open tables - plus the second machine set up - so it's going to work great for me until after my Christmas Workshop closes for this season!

Here's what I managed to finish yesterday, in spite of the "wild hare" to clean up my studio (hear me roar!)...a set of lavender & wool-filled linen sachets, an acorn ornament, and a linen pincushion with linen lace and hand stitched trim.
The lavender & wool-filled sachets have mother of pearl buttons (a heart, a moon and a flower) and sweet little bows as adornments. I then wrapped them together as you see in the photo above, tying them with a brown ribbon and my signature acorn charm.
Do you think you'd like to see some of these in my Boutique? Perhaps after all the mandatory holiday projects are completed...

One last bit of information. Debra of Common Ground won my Ten Things About Me contest yesterday, but I neglected to share what she won. (sheesh!) I went back and added it to yesterday's post, but I wanted to show it here, too. I've been working on perfecting my needle keeps. All my prototypes were mailed out to the winners of my Followers Only Birthday Giveaway - imperfections and all. I made a number of new ones with my Brynwood label on them, and Debra will receive one of the new designs. I'll be selling these in my Boutique soon.

Be sure to go to Dawn's The Feathered Nest. She's having a wonderful giveaway to celebrate 1200 posts and 400 followers! Congratulations, Dawn on an awe-inspiring accomplishment! You can click on the button here, or in my left sidebar to go to her drawing. Hurry! It ends on Dec. 13th!

A clean studio and a few finished Christmas gifts. Not bad for my first "Wild Hare" Wednesday, I think. Have a great day, and May All Your Hares Be Wild!

We Have A Winner...

Ten Things About Me...

or
The Reality Of It All

I really laughed all day yesterday when I read which declarations you thought were true or false. Of course, by choosing the one you think is false you were selecting what you thought I'd never have done. You made my day, really. Of course, in retrospect, I even surprised myself that I revealed this much about me to my friends here in Blogland! What was I thinking?

Well, it's too late now, so please let me explain:

1. I've been asked on a date by a Secret Service agent.
TRUE: When President Bush (41) came to my hometown during his tenure, I owned my needlework shop on Main Street. You know the Secret Service always travels with the President for his protection. When the President was giving his speech, I walked over to listen from across the street and was greeted by an agent. Thankfully, I wasn't frisked or detained! Afterward, I went back to my shop. About two hours later, the agent walked into my shop - wearing his "Men In Black" trench coat - with a mitt full of fresh flowers, and asked me for a date. I thanked him and promptly declined, explaining that I was happily married.

2. I have jumped off a 20'+ cliff.
TRUE: I'm even afraid of heights, but "all my friends" were doing it! (I can hear Mum saying, "If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you?" giggle) I was 19, and a group of us drove to a popular quarry where we camped for the weekend. Some were jumping off the cliff into the water. They dared me to jump. What can I say? I did it...once!

3. I was forced to take off all my clothes in a field.
TRUE: Handsome and I owned eight acres with our first home. We also had one yellow lab at the time - our first Morgan. We decided to take him out for a romp on the property and we were walking through chest-high tall grass. We stopped to talk a bit and when I started to walk again, I accidentally kicked up a skunk. (Who would do that on purpose, after all?) I was "skunked" straight up my front. The dog refused to stand downwind of me, and Handsome refused to let me back in the house until I stripped down to my birthday suit, leaving the offensive attire outside. Hours - and lots of tomato juice - later, I wasn't as smelly, but it still took quite a bit of effort - and a few more tomato juice baths - to rid myself of that experience.

4. I've been face to face with a live, 6' long barracuda.
TRUE: Handsome and I honeymooned in Grand Cayman, BWI in the Caribbean. We have been there at least five times, returning with the boys on two occasions. We snorkled the first trip, but later became certified scuba divers after taking a six week long class at home in Wisconsin. When we returned to the Caymans the following Christmas, we went diving with a tour boat group. They warned us that there was a huge grouper, and a large barracuda who liked to hang around under their boat. You guessed it. Long story short, I came face to face with the 'cuda, and had to do some panic management to enable me to slowly descend until he just went away. (When you're excited, you're lungs retain air which makes you more buoyant. I closed my eyes and concentrated on breathing so that I could relax and descend.)
5. I have modeled for an international company.
TRUE: I met Handsome when we both worked for Mercury Marine - the outboard boat motor company. Their "worldwide headquarters" are located in my hometown - Fond du Lac, WI. Handsome had been on layoff and was called back to work on June 6, 1981. He was a staff photographer. I started working as secretary to the Patent Attorney the same day. My new boss took me to the Photography Department so I could meet some of my co-workers. Handsome and I met and it was love at first sight...but I digress. When it came time to photograph a new boat and motor, he walked down the hallway to my desk (sigh - just picturing that in my mind - sorry) and he asked if I'd like to model for them. The rest is history.

6. I once won First Place in a strip joint.
TRUE: I was out for an afternoon of fun with friends when I was about 19 or 20. (At that time, the age of majority was 18 in Wisconsin, making it legal for me to drink.) We were at a local establishment, and just for a lark we decided, en masse, to walk down the street to the local strip club. It was winter and I was wearing jeans and a turtleneck sweater. They were having a dance contest. One of my friends got me up on the bar with him and he and I sang Neil Sedaka's Calendar Girl. We had all the moves, too! I won a bottle of champagne without ever taking off a stitch of clothing.

7. I have swallowed a live goldfish.
FALSE: Are you kidding? A girl has to have boundaries!

8. I have only been married once.
TRUE: Handsome and I dated for three years and I married him three weeks after my thirtieth birthday. I had been engaged twice before, but gave the rings back because I just couldn't see myself with those gents for the rest of my life. I never had second thoughts about Handsome, and this month we'll celebrate our Twenty Fifth wedding anniversary.

9. I was a biker chick in the 70's.
TRUE: Handsome refers to those years as "My Colorful Past". I loved that biker like crazy, but not enough to want to spend my whole life with him. He was one of the rings I returned. (He still wears my diamond, but now as an earring.) lol

10. I have smoked cigars.
TRUE: But only when I was out with the guys...mostly during the years I was on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress. (You can read my profile for more on that.) Another habit best left in the past.

So, there you have it. I can't even believe that I shared all this with you. Do you still love me? Believe me, I've tamed down (a bit) since the "old days". Lots to tell our grandkids, but I think I'll wait until they get older.

Congratulations to Debra @ A Common Ground

I can't believe that the first comment, with the first guess, was spot on! Way to go, Debra! I'm sending a Brynwood Needle Keep your way! Thanks to all of you for playing along. It was really fun for me to try to come up with some outrageous events from my past to try to stump you. Ahhhh, those were the days.

Debra, your surprise is on its way! (Remember, I have your address from winning your generous giveaway this fall.)

These are actually Mercury Marine advertising photos in which I was a model.

My Birthday and Giveaway Results...

Wow! My blogging budd's are awesome! Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment yesterday - My Birthday!!! I've gone over to Tara Frey's [typing out loud] blog and used the Random Number Generator she so graciously makes available to all of us in Blogland. Thank you, Tara.
I now have five names...Five winners of my Followers Only Birthday Giveaway. But first, you'll have to endure a few photos. This is what 55 looks like at our house...

First thing yesterday morning, these beautiful flowers
arrived from my BFF Lee in Wisconsin.
Thanks, honey. I absolutely love them.

My birthday gift from Handsome was a brand new iMac with 1 TB of memory! That ought to hold just about anything I can throw at it in the foreseeable future - including those music videos I need to burn to dvd! Thank you, Husband. I had great fun taking down my "old" computer and setting this one up yesterday!
Our UPS driver brought a mystery package from our younger son's family. Daughter-in-law, Jessica made these beautiful placemats for me thinking they'd be great for breakfasts and lunches with Handsome. I called to tell her how much I love her work. As a professional artist, she has complete control of color and pattern combinations, and she's very skilled as a seamstress, too. I didn't take a photo of the box of decadent Angel Food chocolates she, our son and their girls also sent along. I think I'll just keep that to myself, thank you!
The doorbell rang again early in the afternoon. Another floral delivery. This time, roses, snapdragons and lilies from my dear Mum. Pink roses always remind me of Mum and these flowers were perfectly "her". Thank you, Mumsy. I really love them.

Elder son called last night and gave me the gift of his time. We spoke on the telephone for over an hour, catching up on his life and family in Wisconsin, and what his dad and I have been up to. I loved every minute of our chat. He and our daughter-in-law are so busy with their own business and lives, so it's hard for us to find the time for long calls. I thank him so much for his gift to me last night. I really was nice.
Handsome had a music rehearsal to get to, so we ate dinner separately and planned ahead to postpone my birthday dinner with a Friday Night Date Night/Birthday Celebration/Pizza Night. Yay! I get to continue the celebrating!!! When he got home, we shared this birthday cupcake. The truth is that over the past six months, I've been working at losing extra weight (Actually twenty five pounds so far!). As much as I truly love cake, I love being a bit thinner, so I decided it would be better to have a large cupcake than even a small cake which would be around for a few days. We lit the candles, I made a wish and then we shared this cupcake late last night.

So there you have my birthday update, dear friends. God has blessed me with 55 years and I pray that He allows me many more. He's also given me the perfect mate with whom to share my life, loving sons, their wives and children, and I'm supported and blessed by a wonderful circle of friends and extended family. I have everything a woman could ask for...and so much more than many.

Thanks so much to every single one of you who left comments and Birthday Wishes for me today. I loved reading every thought and can't wait to offer my next giveway celebrating 200 Followers! Add to that the phone calls and notes from my loving husband, brother Del, sister Di, Mum, sons and their spice (plural for spouse around here), grandkids, nieces, nephews and dear friends, you all contributed to a perfect day for me. (imagine grateful sighs here)

Without further delay
Here are the winners of my
Followers Only Birthday Giveaway:

Jo Nielsen
•
Marcie from The Rustic Victorian
•
Dee Dee from Dee Dee's Craft Spot
•
Katie from My Paisley Apron
•
Twyla from Two Crazy Crafters

Congratulations, gals! Please email your addresses to me so I can send off your Brynwood Needle Keeps.

A Very Merry Unbirthday To You...

Today is the big day...MY birthday! I'm such a dork about birthdays. I love 'em. They're a big deal. They sure beat the alternative (NOT having birthdays). I drag them out for as long as I can every year. AND, my birthday is far enough away from Christmas that I don't get "lumped" presents! Yay for me!

This year, I'm celebrating (55) by giving gifts to YOU! I'm going to choose FIVE names for my Followers Only Birthday Giveaway today. All you have to do is 1) be a follower that I can see on my list, and 2) leave a comment before midnight tonight. I'll announce the winners in my Friday post!
Each of the five giveaway winners will receive a prototype of my new Brynwood Needle Keeps. These are my trial keeps. I've been working out the bugs, so these not perfect (some of you who know me are running for smelling salts right now), but I do know that these are the only ones that will have these lovely brown velvet ribbons on them. I'm changing to satin ribbons for the rest. Each has my name label front and back (I'm still debating which label to use...my name or Brynwood); two pockets on the inside, as well as wool felt for storing your needles; and inside, my Brynwood acorn charm as the finishing touch.

Watch the video, leave a comment (I'd love to know what you think of them) and I'll be back tomorrow (full of cake!!!) to announce the winners. A verrry merrry unbirthday to YOU!