Pure Fun...

 Last weekend, friends joined us for a homemade pizza/salad party at our house.

When I prepared our table, I kept the Moda "Pure" tablecloth that I made in 

2011 on our antique oak table. I used store-bought napkins and decided that

I really needed to make napkins from that same fabric line in the near future.

I wanted to have a coordinated look for the next time we had company.

Yesterday, I decided to take the time to make a set of matching napkins.

 It didn't take very long. I cut the fabrics (for two-sided napkins), stitched my 

BW acorn onto a corner of the darker fabric, sewed the fabrics together. All 

that was left to do was turn them inside-out, press and topstitch them and I 

was finished. Fast finish. Six new 12" square napkins in less than 2 hours!

 Now I have matching, reversible napkins to use for just us, and when we

have guests. The only thing is that, last weekend, my girlfriend really

wanted to take the tablecloth home with her. Handsome said next time, she'll

have a whole set to walk off with!  The good thing is that she told me that 

she'd like to hire me to make a circular tablecloth for her table instead!

I'm looking forward to creating something customized to her decor.

 The rest of my daytime was spent preparing my teaching materials for

the Classmate™ class at Crazy Quilters today. I'm looking forward

to helping my students create their own organizers to take home.

My day ended with our monthly guild meeting. It was great to see

my quilting girlfriends, and to also meet our newest members. 

All in all, it was a really productive and great day.

Sand and Sweetwater...

Web image

Tag and I are taking it easy. He's lying upside down and sleeping as I write this post. Perhaps he's dreaming of running in the sand at the dog beach? Soon, Little Man. No swimming 'til you're healed.

I'm back in the studio working on a project that I'll show you next week. In the meantime, I'd like to share one of my favorite Etsy and blog sites with you.

Sweetwaterscrapbook on Etsy

Have you ever visited Sweetwater? (Their blog is subtitled Make Life Sweet and this is the link, but don't run off quite yet.) The company is a mom and two daughters (Karla, Susan and Lisa) who create all their wonderful products in Colorado.

I'm sure you've seen their designs before, and you've seen the quilt I created using their Pure™ fabric line. (Here's that blog post.) I love everything they design and create, but I think their Pure™ line will remain a favorite. What I want to tell you about are their fabulous fabric labels!

Sweetwater Sewing Organizer Labels

They have a great line of patterns that call for their labels, but many of the labels can be used for other projects, too.

I know you want to go check them out, so this is the link to their Etsy shop. Have fun window shopping (or spending a few dollars). They ship quickly and their products are all wonderful. (No. I'm not being compensated in any way. I just like to share great finds.)

Leave a comment today and I'll share a little Sweetwater love with you! (Make sure I have a way to reach you. I can't contact "no comment bloggers", so if you are one, be sure to add your email address to your comment so I can get your mailing address!)

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll chat again soon.

Pure Bliss...

My Pure table quilt is finished.
I picked it up from Kathy and Nora's shop
on Thursday and I bound it that night.

Kathy chose a beautiful blue variegated thread for the
meandering flower quilting. I think they're perfect choices.

I really love this fabric line.
I know. I say that about all of my Moda fabrics.
You've got to admit, though, Moda really has a way with cotton.

I mean, look at these colors and patterns.
Can you really blame me?

Handsome said this one is his new favorite, too.

My new Pure table quilt.
Pure bliss!

Join The Mug Mat Swap...

Thanks for all your comments about the Mug Mat Swap. I've decided that I'm going to host the swap to begin February 1st, with all mats to be received by February 14th...Valentine's Day.

I will do a tutorial on how I create my mug mats over the weekend. They're really simple to make, and I love adding trim and embellishments (that won't tip over mugs, of course!). They only take me about an hour and a half to make now, so this really isn't a huge project. Of course, you can use a different design (perhaps a mini four-patch on one end?), to make your mat unique. Don't feel like you have to style them just like mine.

With all that in mind, please send me an email (dliljegren@brynwoodneedleworks.com) and put "Mug Mat Swap" in the subject line if you're interested in participating. Also, tell me your favorite color, please. I'll pass that along to your swap partner. I'll play, too, so one participant will have me as a partner. Please respond as soon as possible and I'll place a list of participants in my sidebar. (If you already responded in an email, I've added your name. If I've missed your name, please send me another message so I don't miss you.)
I've made a button that you can use on your blog to show your participation in the swap, too. Feel free to grab it and post it in your sidebar, linking back here. So, girlfriends...Let's get the party started! Email your name and blog name to me and I'll add your name (which will link back to your blog) into my sidebar.
I finished the Pure Table Quilt piecing today, put the backing together, and then immediately got in the Explorer to take it to Kathy at Sandy's Quilt Shop. Of course, Kes and Fezzik rode along. Dogs love trucks, you know. (Well, in this case, SUVs.) I promise to show you the finished quilt as soon as it's back and bound.

Fezzik has been working on his post for tomorrow, too, so you'll want to stop back to see the adorable photos he's uploaded to share.

Multitasking Is A Wonderful Thing...

I adjusted the plan a bit for my Pure Table quilt. I was attempting to create this quilt using only charm squares and fat quarters, but soon realized that I was going to need yardage to make it the size I wanted. (The finished size will be approximately 60" x 72".)

I popped over to Etsy to one of my favorite sellers (thesproutzstore), and ordered up yardage in a few of the fabric patterns I was already using. My order arrived on Saturday and now I have many more options for finishing my project.

The first thing I decided was to add another band of white from my jelly roll, and then the new blue/brown 4" border. I'm liking how it's looking!
Today, I'll add the tiny white dots on a sand-colored background (the folded piece on the left side of this picture), as my final border. I'm making this one 6" wide. Then, I'll piece the backing fabric and take everything over to Kathy at Sandy's Quilt Shop in Harbour Heights. I want to have this one professionally quilted, instead of doing it myself.

I have enough fabric to make some placemats out of the same patterns, and perhaps a couple of...yup!...mug mats, just for fun!

I finished another project over the weekend, too!
While Evvie and I were stitching away on the Pure quilt, Miss Ellie was busy stitching out the eagle and my nephew's name on a sweatshirt. It's cold in Wisconsin, and this will keep him warm. Ethan is nine years old and involved in scouting. He told me that he'd like to become an Eagle Scout when he grows up. I thought the eagle might be a little inspiration for him.

I sent it off to him yesterday. I know it's going to be a little big for him, but he'll have "room to grow". I hope his mom sends me a photograph of him wearing it when he gets it. Wouldn't that be nice?

A Little Birdy Told Me...

I'm still making mug mats. Can you even believe it? Well, I do have a method to my madness. I'm making them as gifts. I'm not going to show you more of this one right now, but it's all finished and ready to go to its new home.
I also worked a little more on the Pure Table Quilt. I'm having fun piecing the borders because I only had charm squares and fat quarters of the Pure line, along with one jelly roll of Moda Basic in white, to work with. I admit it's a bit of a challenge.
I do have the fabric for the backing, but I'm still deciding if I'm going to cut some of it for the front and piece the back or not. I'm going to do another strip of white next, and then decide which fabrics I'll use next.

I hope you're all doing something fun today. Especially if you live where there's a lot of snow right now. Gosh! I can't even imagine living in snow again. Although, I fondly remember hot chocolate, a roaring fireplace and a couple of dogs lying on the carpet. I loved the days I spent working in my northern studio with the sun reflecting off the snow and brightening up my workspace.

I hope you have something to do that makes you smile today. Warm hugs from our home to yours.

Feeling Better, Thanks...

I was feeling so much better yesterday, that I couldn't resist sewing for just for a little while. I managed to piece the center section for my Pure Table Quilt.
The next step will be to decide how I want to assemble the borders. I love how it's looking so far.

If you haven't visited Sandy's blog, Vintage Sandy, you'll want to click here to see what she just created with the same fabric line. It's beautiful!
I got an email from Mary Ann from Ohio, who said that I inspired her to create her own mug mat. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the fabrics she chose, and I could learn a thing or two from her photo staging! Thank you so much for sharing (and allowing me to share) your project, Mary. I can't wait to see what your next one - or five - looks like. (giggle)

I have had a few of you say that you'd like to participate in a Mug Mat Swap. I've decided that I'm going to organize a swap in the near future. I'll have more about it soon.

I'm so glad to say that I don't expect to be lollygagging around today. The hacking and nose blowing is, thankfully, (mostly) behind me. If you're looking for me, I'll be back in the studio...with a big smile on my face.

You Win A Few...

I've managed to catch a nasty cold, so I've been sneezing and coughing all weeekend. You know me by now, though. That's not going to keep me down!

I had this project on my 2010 Goals List, and knew that I wanted to use Moda's Pure fabric line for a pretty, new table quilt in the kitchen. No time like the present to get started!
I cut each charm square in half and then sewed them together alternating lights and darks (or darks and lights). I then added a light piece to one end of each light trio, and one dark piece to one end of each dark trio.
Next, I added a white piece of Moda cotton to the opposite end of each set and sewed them into four lines, alternating a light with a dark. This will be the center section for my table quilt. By the time I'd gone this far, I needed to take a nap.
I pay a lot of attention to my dogs, so when I looked at Fezzik yesterday, I knew something was amiss. I gave him a benedryl right away, but he continued to swell after this photo, so I took poor Fezzie to the emergency vet clinic. Don't know what he snuffled, or what perhaps gave him a little sting, but the corgi's face was doing some serious swelling. The vet gave him another half benedryl tablet (I guess I erred on the light side - which is a good thing), and then he got a steroid shot to bring the swelling down.
By the time we got back home, he was ready for a nap, too. Both of us spent the afternoon in Slothville, but I can report that he's looking and feeling much better. I'm hoping for a minor miracle to move this cold out. I'm getting sick of being sick.

Oh, but not too sick to choose a winner for my PhotoBook Creator Giveaway!! I popped over to Random.org and put the numbers into the random number generator, asked Handsome for a little drumroll, and voila!

The winner is:
Shirley C of Shirley C blog

Who said #1 never wins? Congratulations, Shirley! Just email your address to me and I'll have your PhotoBook Creator on its way to you this week.