Guitar Man...

Brynwood Needleworks - "Guitar Man" Embroidery

Destiny and I got busy with a new Retreat Bag project yesterday. I'm calling this one, "Guitar Man" based on the embroidery.

Brynwood Needleworks - Destiny working on "Guitar Man"

This Retreat Bag is already spoken for, and it was fun deciding on fabrics because I know who'll receive it. I've chosen a buttery-soft, black vinyl for the exterior, and a musical lining fabric to coordinate with the design "we" stitched out on the front.

Brynwood Needleworks - "Guitar Man" Finished Embroidery

 

The embroidery is finished, and all ll the parts and pieces are cut, prepped and ready to sew together. I stopped so I could to get to Paneras last night, but the rains were keeping our other ladies home. I picked up a loaf of bread, grabbed a soup and latte' to take home, and was back almost before Handsome and the pups knew I was gone!

 

Today is Nifty 50s, so rather than lug my machine and tack in the rain, I'll set up some new pincushions. My shop has been biiiiiizzzzeeeee, so I need to restock. I'm going to add some Daddy-themed Retreat Bags in time for Father's Day giving, too! I hope to list those up on Thursday or Friday, leaving plenty of time for Priority postage to deliver for gift giving.

 

Gotta run. Time for another working "play date"!

 

A Little Monkey Business...

Brynwood Needleworks - Monkey Business Quilt In Process

I'm working on a new child-size quilt for a special kidlet I know. I've chosen a fabric that's really appropriate for the little one, and I'm having fun putting it together.

I cut my yardage into 10" squares and then into half square triangles. Once I'd sewn them together, I played around with placement to decide the pattern I wanted for the finished blocks.

Brynwood Needleworks - Monkey Business Quilt In Process

 

I settled on pinwheels. It's one of my favorite designs, and because of the size of my finished blocks, they'll create big pinwheels, which will finish quickly. 

 

I'll work on it over the rest of this week and send it off as soon as it's done. I'll be calling this one "Monkey Business".

Today is Nifty 50s with the girls in Harbour Heights, so I'm taking a portable project. (Mainly because I'm too lazy to schlep my sewing machine and supplies with me.) I'll be working on my Plum Sweet hexies project again. Good times!

Coming Along Nicely...

Brynwood Needleworks - Table Runner Applique'

 

I'm nearly finished with the applique' for the table runner I'm creating. I'll be working toward completion while I visit with my Nifty 50 girlfriends today. 

 

After I finish the applique' panels (Yes. There are two of them), they'll be attached to the patchwork section. Then I'll layer and quilt it, finishing with binding. No sweat. Right?

 

It will be leaving here - headed for its new home - in time to arrive for Birthday celebrating! It will be fun to share photos of the entire piece with you as soon as it's done. 

I'm packed and ready to head over to meet the girls. I'll see you again tomorrow.

Kitchen Boss...

Brynwood Needleworks - Kitchen Boss

I have a new addition in our kitchen. "Bossy" is now on the wall in our above our cabinets, along with some of my blue & white transferware pieces.

I've had a lifelong affinity for barns and cows, so I really couldn't resist this when I saw her online. I bought her at DecorSteals.

Brynwood Needleworks - Kitchen Boss

She's enjoying a high place front and center in my special dish arrangement. I'm thinking she needs a little "something more". I considered a bay leaf wreath (which I still could do later) or a cow bell, but I want to make a blue & white toile scarf to go around her neck for now.

Brynwood Needleworks - Blue & White Transferware

Here's a closer look so you can see my Pembroke Welsh Corgi plate; black Labrador Retriever plate; Cypress Gardens (FL) plate (bottom center); Stephen Foster Memorial plate and my mother-in-law's bowl and pitcher set.

Brynwood Needleworks - Kitchen Boss and Blue & White Transferware

 

On the other side of Bossy is a Colonial Williamsburg souvenir plate (bottom center) from our travels; a Royal Copenhagen plate of a hunter and his dog (1977); a yellow Labrador Retriever plate; and (right next to Bossy's nose) Thomas Edison's (FL) Home souvenir plate. In the very bottom right corner, there is a blue transferware covered serving piece shaped like a duck sitting in a basket.

These are just a few of my favorite things, framing my latest addition. I will be dressing her in blue and white toile in the near future, and will share a photo once she's fitted out.

 

I played with the ladies at Nifty 50s yesterday. It started raining just before I left home, so rather than schlep my sewing machine and project outside, I grabbed my needlework ("Be Mine", most recently  seen HERE) instead. I'm almost finished with it, so I'll share that soon, too.

I'm into the studio today (of course, I am!). Time to get back to work. Catch you later!

Christmas Eve

Brynwood Needleworks - Christmas Merrymakers

  Yesterday, Nifty 50s gathered for a little holiday merriment (and last-minute sewing). It's always fun when we get together, especially when we can celebrate a holiday! Of course, we remembered to commemorate the event with a photograph.   Today, I'll be enjoying time with Handsome and the critters as we prepare for our Christmas gathering. As always, we'll keep the reason for the season in our hearts.

Brynwood Needleworks - Angel (web image)

Merry Christmas Eve to one and all. If you're traveling, please be safe.  If you're staying home, enjoy all the blessings of family and friends.   Let the angels sing. His promises are true.

A Day For Dollies...

Brynwood Needleworks - Donna and Jamie Making Dolls

My friend, Jamie and I spent most of our time at Nifty 50s yesterday, making dolls to go with Marcy's dresses. Marcy included doll fabric to match each dress, which she tucked into the dress pockets.

Jamie found a template for the doll faces on the internet and, after prepping the fabrics (which I'll explain below), ran them through her inkjet printer for us.

Brynwood Needleworks - Susie, Cutting Doll Hair

My friend, Susie helped by trimming the dolls' "hair" after we sewed the heads up. (She used to be a hairdresser, so this was her obvious calling!)

Brynwood Needleworks - Friends Admiring Dresses and Dolls

There was a lot of interest in what we were doing. I showed off dresses and then we'd elicit giggles each time we showed the finished doll to match the dress.

One group of ladies took pictures of some of the dresses and dolls. I think we may have inspired more volunteers to help in the future!

Brynwood Needleworks - Finished Dolls

Here are some of the finished dolls.

Brynwood Needleworks - More Dolls

Of course, all of them have different hairdos. Some are long, some are short, and some of spikey. All are adorable!

Brynwood Needleworks - Sleepy Face...Happy Face

Every doll has a happy side and a sleepy side on their head. The little girls only need to turn their dolls over to get the other expression.

Brynwood Needleworks - Doll Heads Printed On Fabric

Jamie printed out lots of faces onto different shades of brown and ivory fabric for our sewing day. These are just two of the fabrics she chose, but there were many different shades. Each doll had both faces, one on each side of their head.

Brynwood Needleworks - Doll Heads Printing Images

Here's a copy of the face templates in case you'd like to help with our effort. You could either make dolls themselves, fabric to donate to our project, or print faces onto fabric to send to make more dolls.

We also accept donations of fabric and trims for dresses and dolls, yarn for doll hair, or polyfill for stuffing the dolls. All donations are welcome. (You can send an email to me if you're interested in participating.)

Printing on Fabric Instructions

Start by ironing the fabric to the shiny side of freezer paper. Trim the fabric and paper to 8.5" x 11" (copier paper size) so it will run through your printer. Either run the fabric through your inkjet printer on the copy setting with this template on the scanner bed, or print from your computer (@ 100%).

Leave the faces on the paper until you're ready to sew. Remove from paper and cut around the heads on the lines. We sew the head piece to each body piece (see files on the "Dressed In Joy" page in the Brynwood menu bar at the top of my blog) before sewing the heads together.

Match up the necklines first (right sides of fabric together), and sandwich the yarn "hair" between the head pieces before you sew. Start at one side and sew all the way around the doll, catching the hair as you sew. Leave the bottom open for turning and stuffing.

After turning the doll right-side-out, stuff the head and body with polyfill. Pin the bottom closed and then use a straight or decorative stitch to sew it closed. After sewing it closed, I like to pink the bottom edge for a finish that won't fray. Done!

We'll be doing this again in a couple of weeks. We have more dresses and will have more faces to make dolls. I bet we have more dollmakers then, too!

All Done...

Brynwood Needleworks - Wallet #30 - Tiles and Flowers

Number Thirty is finished, and should be in its recipient's hands today or tomorrow. I love how it turned out!

Brynwood Needleworks - Wallet #30 - Tiles and Flowers Interior

All the fabrics are coordinated and part of the same line. I'm not sure if I have enough to generate one more like it, but I definitely have more of the exterior flap and body fabrics...and other fabrics that look like they were part of this collection (but aren't).

I already have another wallet ordered since I showed this finished one on my Facebook page. I'm actually not surprised. This happens to be one of my personal favorites! I'll make up #31 after I finish my other commissions and work this week.

Today, I'll be at Nifty 50s with my girlfriends.  I'm making samples for the Pineapple Block class I'm teaching to our guild on Saturday. Once they're finished, I'll be set for class. Oh, and Handsome is on his way back from Wisconsin! We're pretty over-the-moon happy about that. We've been missing him a lot!

It Was A Nifty Day...

Nifty 50s, that is.

I wanted to share a couple of projects the ladies were working on, including my own. I loved this patriotic, red-white-blue lap quilt. The strips of patterned fabrics, punctuated with blocks appealed to me.

Even the back, which could have easily been whole cloth, was made more interesting by adding strips of stripes.

My great-nephew, Jace is nicknamed "Little Monkey" by his parents, so I loved this monkey baby quilt made by my friend, Nora. She said it was a pattern from a magazine, but I think it would be easy to mimic. I wouldn't want to copy it, but it gives me some good ideas.

I decided to set up Block Six in my Wooly Critters Sampler quilt project. This time it's a sweet owl on a floral branch.

I neglected to pull the two yellow fabrics to put into this block, but I did get the rest of the pieces cut and placed. You'll notice that my little owl will be a grey, tweed owl rather than the tan one in the photograph.

I told the gals that I think I'm going to go ahead and set up the rest of the set (six more to go), and then I'll be able to stitch from one to the next until I've finished all of them.

When I left Harbour Heights and my day with friends, I drove into a nice, little thunderstorm. It's interesting how the weather can change so drastically in a mere eight miles. By the time I got to our driveway, it was certainly wet, but no longer raining.

My plan was to do something about the toppled star jasmine, so I changed clothes and Handsome and I headed out into the yard. We started by cutting a lot of the top off the bush on the right. That part was easy, considering it was down at eye level. sigh

We also took a lot off the top and sides of the one on the left so that they weren't lopsided. We pulled the fallen plant back into its "upright and locked" position and thankfully, it stayed. I'm hoping that it doesn't drop again, but we'll keep track of it to see if it needs a bit more shoring up.

I guess we'll continue to trim it to keep it stable, but the next time we do an installation like this (perhaps when we move?), I think I'll ask for a larger wood structure, more like a pergola. While I love how gorgeous these plants are when they're in full bloom, they obviously require a more sturdy structure to support their weight. Lesson learned.

Working On The Wooly Critters...

I belong to a quilting and sewing group called "Nifty 50s". It's comprised of women who share a common interest. We're each invited to join the group, and I was fortunate to be asked to become a member last year.

We meet two Wednesdays each month, and yesterday was one of the days for May. We bring our machines, projects and lunches, visiting and playing from 10 am until whenever. It's a great time spent with like-minded, talented ladies.

I took along my current block project from my Wooly Critters Sampler quilt. I took these photos in the daylight, but by nightfall, all I had left to stitch was the butterfly. 

 

This block will go on the "Finished" pile today, and I'll set up two or three more blocks so they're ready and waiting for me. I can work on them at Paneras on Tuesday nights with my knitting girlfriends, or carry them to future Nifty 50 get together(s). At this rate, I might just finish this quilt in 2015!