Today Is My 100th Post!...

Today is the day! I can scarcely believe that I've posted one hundred messages to you since I first started my blog in March. Time sure flies! In celebration of this auspicious day, I have selected items from previous posts to offer as giveaway gifts to three of my Brynwood Needleworks readers.

Do you want to see the gifts first, or do you want me to tell you how you can enter to win one? OK, I'll show you what I've selected to give away first! (I know, you're doing a little happy dance, aren't you?) Drumroll, please. (Handsome is sitting here with his favorite snare drum, just to help me announce my gifts!)

Giveaway Gift One
This gift includes items from the fragrance line that I wrote about here.

Philosophy produces their "Grace" line in two or three different fragrances (Pure Grace, Amazing Grace, etc.), and the one I love is Pure Grace. When I wrote about it in my original post, I said that in addition to smelling so fresh and light, I also liked the messages that the company prints on some of their containers. In this set, you will find Pure Grace Perfumed Buffing Wash (to which I've added a white tulle bow and one of my handmade birds nests); a tube of Perfumed Body Butter (who doesn't LOVE butter?); and a roll of twill tape with the word "Blessings" repeated over and over its 4 ft. length. I love what's written on the bottle of buffing wash:

" pure grace is the sweet breath of God, the soft green grass that lies still against a child's back, the whispers of the words i love you, the quiet and the solitude, the prayer that is always answered with "i will guide you home" rather than yes or no, the heart that makes forgiveness its soul passion, the spirit that drapes itself in humility, the mind that exercises free will while surrendering to divine outcome, the person who takes their hands off the wheel, closes their eyes and says "you drive and I'll enjoy the ride".

All of these items will arrive in a beautiful box decorated with birds, eggs and butterflies.

Giveaway Gift Two

I wrote about the Brynwood Lazy Daisy Tea Towel here and more recently, the Silk Ribbon Shaker Pincushion appeared here. Both of these items, handcrafted by me, are part of this giveaway gift. In addition, I'm including a pair of snips with large-holed handles to make them easy to use, and attached to that is one of my handcrafted Scissors Fobs that I wrote about here. I sell the fobs in my Etsy store. This one has pretty crystals and a pewter spool of thread to "pretty up" the scissors. Also included is a small purse-size tube of Aveda hand cream. Everything is packaged in a tiny hat box - a smaller version of the one that I used to pack up my granddaughter's birthday crown.

Giveaway Gift Three

My third gift set features the Birds Nest Button Jar that I wrote about here. I started by making the birds nest and added a silky ribbon to the jar lid (so that you can still remove the lid without removing the embellishments). I then attached it to a Longaberger Basket-patterned jar. I've even included some buttons in the jar to add to your own collection! You can read the original post for the rest of the details. To this I've added one of my duplicate vintage pincushions. This one is a sweet owl...a bit "loved", but so sweet. Both will arrive nestled in a beautiful box decorated with birds, eggs and butterflies.

You can click on any of the photos to enlarge them so you can see more of the details.

Now, be truthful...Wouldn't you love to own one of these giveaway gift sets? I hope so! So, let me tell you how to get your name in the drawing.

• If you're a "follower" of my blog - your name and/or image appears in my "followers" list - you automatically have TWO entries in the giveaway. If you're not already a follower, you can become a follower now and you will receive your TWO entries.
• If you write a comment IN THIS POST ONLY, your name will be entered an additional ONE time. Multiple posts here will not earn you multiple entries, though. I'd love to hear which gift you like the best and why.
• If you write a comment IN MY UPCOMING POSTS, your name will be entered an additional one time per day. REMINDER: Be sure to sign your posts so that I know who to credit with an entry!!!
  
• If you have a blog and post a link to my giveaway, you will earn another ONE entry in the giveaway. (Please be sure to let me know you've done this, so I can give you credit!)
  

I will draw the winning names NEXT FRIDAY, August 14th.

• The First Name I draw will have First pick from the gifts.
• The Second Name drawn will have Second pick from the gifts.
• Of course, the Third Name will be the recipient of the final gift available.

I hope you're as excited about this as I am!

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has stopped in to read my musings. You motivate me to be my best so that I can share the best of me with you. God blesses my life daily with my wonderful Handsome husband and our family. You honor me when you stop in to read what I've written to share just with you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

A Fun Stash Buster Project...

This past weekend, I decided to take a little stroll through my rather extensive collection of yarn. I came across a large quantity of Idena Cotton Sport yarn in a lovely cream color and decided to make some new dish towels (Mum would call them "tea towels") for our kitchen. The store-bought varieties just don't seem to last very long anymore, so I thought I'd much rather have some of my own making instead.

You can see the result in the photo. After knitting up my own pattern, I added a sweet little crocheted flower, which I then affixed to the towel with a daisy-shaped button.

So, if you'd like to make a few of your own...and use up a little of your stash...I'm going to share my design with you. I think it's a little addictive. Once you make one, you'll want to make more!

Brynwood's Lazy Daisy Tea Towels
(Click on the Brynwood Tea Towel Photo below to download a pdf file of the pattern)

Approx. 250 yards of yarn per towel (You want them nice and big)
A Little scrap yarn in a contrasting color (for your flower - more if adding a contrasting stripe)
Size 6 knitting needles
Size H crochet hook
1 fancy button

Seed Stitch Pattern: Knit 1, Purl 1 across row. Next row, Purl the knits and knit the purls.

Cast on 64 stitches. Work in Seed Stitch for 6 rows. On subsequent rows, work the first and last 6 stitches in Seed Stitch. Knit all other stitches. (You'll end up with Garter Stitch on the area inside the Seed Stitch borders.) Continue in this manner until the towel measures approximately 21 inches from the beginning. Work 6 more rows in Seed Stitch (all the way across the towel), and then bind off all your stitches. Tuck in all your loose tails.

Flower: Using a size H crochet hook, chain 5 stitches. Join chain. Into the circle single crochet 1, double crochet 3, single crochet 1. Repeat five times, ending with a single chain. Tie off and tuck in loose tails.

Now, using a button that is bigger than the center of the flower:
Place the flower in your desired location, place the button in the center of the flower and, using perle cotton thread, sew the button to the towel. (You don't even have to sew the flower to the towel if your button is larger than the center of the flower!)

For a different look:
You can add three to five rows of your contrasting yarn color all the way across your towel when you're knitting it up. Just join in the desired location and stay in pattern using the new color. When you're ready, just switch back to the main color and finish your towel. (I knit six rows of seed stitch, then five rows of garter stitch in main color and then three rows in contrast color before changing back to the main color for the balance of the design.)

Your first towel is complete! Now, you can have a ball knitting new ones in your favorite colors - and go through some of that stash at the same time!


By the way...Feel free to email this link to your friends to share the pattern! Everyone should make at least one special tea towel for their kitchen! All you have to do is click on the little envelope with the arrow (below), to forward it to a friend. You can click on the tea towels photo or go to my "My Completed Knit/Crochet Projects" album to see a larger photograph of the tea towels.