In Case You Were Wondering...

I spent a nice part of Sunday just sitting in a comfortable chair and stitching. I hadn't done this in a long, long time.

I selected a kit that I'd purchased in Williamsburg, VA the day I went shopping with Shell May. It's a Maureen Appleton (The Hearts Content) counted thread kit. If you're not familiar with Maureen or her work, I'll tell you that all of her designs are stitched with one thread of floss over one thread of linen. In this case, the linen is 26 ct. Glenshee. (That's 26 threads to the inch, if you're not a needleworker.)

Maureen is from Wisconsin, and she and I are friends. Although I haven't seen her in a long time, I am a huge fan of her stunning designs. Stitching "one over one" creates a level of detail that you really must see.
This is as far as I got on Sunday. I didn't need a magnifier, but it is easier to see what I'm doing in bright daylight. I will wait for another sunny day to progress on this piece. I do know that this sweet squirrel will make a lovely scissors fob once assembled and attached to my squirrel embroidery scissors (which came in the kit).
Additionally, the ladies (Judy and Sue) have selected their mug mats (from my Second Blog Birthday celebration), so I created or chose a few special things to go along with each of their mats and Target gift cards.
I sure hope they like what I've chosen for them! I managed to include items that fit the theme of the original mat they selected.

I haven't decided what I'll work on today. Tuesdays are busy with Soundsations rehearsals from 1-3 pm, and then getting together with the Books A Million girls in the evening. I think I'll just keep it simple...whatever I decide.

I hope you all have a creative and fun day today. See you tomorrow!

Fezzik Friday - 41 Weeks and Winners...

Hi, everybody!

It's time for another Fezzik Friday!

Everybody has been asking how Kessie is, so I thought I'd share my post with her this week. I know. "Another pool post", you say, but really. If you had a full-time fur coat, lived in 80º weather and had your very own pool as a way to stay cool, what would you do?

The other exciting thing is that Mom let me click the Random Number Generator (twice!) to pick the two winners of our Second Blog Birthday celebration. Now, don't peek ahead. I have a story to tell you first!
It all started with one of my favorite toys. The blue rubber ball. I was rolling it around on the pool deck, like I usually do and sploosh! Right into the pool. Kessie was standing there watching it, and being the retriever she is...
into the pool we both went! I'm not much for water retrieves (yet), but I just couldn't resist when she jumped in.
Of course, Kessie got to the ball first and then the two of us swam to the stairs. I promptly took the ball away from her, but she didn't really seem to care.
As long as I was already wet, I figured I might as well enjoy a little swim. I think Kessie agreed.
She jumped onto the swim-out with me, and she decided to go in while I watched. She really has that dog paddle down pat!
How can a corgi compete with that technique? I mean, look. She steers with her tail!
And, while I was showing the proper respect. Yup! She walked off with MY ball. Man! A corgi gets no respect around here!

Guess, if I want some respect, I should choose the winners of Mom's Second Blog Birthday giveaway. No April Fools around here!!!

The winner of First Choice from the mug mat gift packages is
#169
Miss Judy
of
Prim2Pink

The winner of Second Choice in the giveaway is
#53
Miss Sue K.
of
Beyond The Cellar

Please contact Mom and tell her which mug mat you'd like so that she can put together your prize packages. (Just go back to the giveaway post here and choose which one you'd like. Miss Judy gets to pick first, so Miss Sue, please give first and second choices in case Miss Judy picks the one you like.)

Well, time to end another week's adventure. See you again next week! 'til then...

"More wagging, and less barking."
Fezzik Inconceivable

Golden Slumbers...

They're finished and "installed" in the Flying Cloud. I got the two quilts back from Kathy on Friday and I bound them over the weekend.

Flying Cloud quilt - Manly (Handsome's) is on the left and Flying Cloud quilt - Girly (mine) is on the right. Handsome's is 12" longer overall because he needed the extra length.
After I finished binding the quilts and they were ready to go to the "cottage", I realized that I needed coordinating pillow cases. I've made multiples of these, but they give you an idea of the main fabric, trim and borders I used for each pair.

These pillow cases are easy to make. I created six of them in about an hour and a half, so they're quick projects too. Sorry I didn't get photos of them on the pillows in the cottage. Let me know if you'd like a photo tutorial for the pillowcases.
One more view of the bedroom in our cottage. I wanted you to be able to see the difference on the borders, too. Handsome's (Manly) quilt is more musical and a little darker than mine. My (Girly) quilt has more flowers, but does have border and binding in the same music-themed fabric so that they "go together"...just like Handsome and I do! More cottage projects soon. I do have a question for my crafty pals out there. The photo above is from "Julry" on etsy (Here's her link) Do any of you have tutorials for safety pin button bracelets like this?

My friend, Natalie of Hungry Hippie has shared one, but Sharon of Corgis in my Garden has been looking for one that uses lots of buttons with shanks. Something on the order of the one in this photo. I told Sharon I would put the question out there and see what my readers might be able to share.
Finally, I want to remind you that my Second Blog Birthday giveaways end on the 31st. There's still time to enter. You can click on the giveaway button here to enter.

Thanks, always for visiting and leaving comments for me. Good luck to all who have already entered the drawing! See you again tomorrow.

Think Spring; Think New Wardrobe...

Spring is in the air, and an ol' girl's thoughts turn to new clothes for the new season. But seamstresses don't head to the store. No. They head to their stash!

I started by opening the top drawer of my pattern cabinet and choosing the outfits I'd like to make. I want to wear more dresses and skirts this year, so I started there. My first choice is this New Look pattern (sorry, it's discontinued and no longer available for purchase). I have never made anything from this pattern before, even though I've had it for a loooonnnng time. I'm going to make the outfit that's second from the left.

After the first pattern was chosen, I went into my clothing fabric stash and chose these white and light (Margarita) green knit fabrics.
I also have the red knit fabric, so I'll do it in this colorway as well. I have enough of the white to make both tops, and then make the skirts to match them. Right from the start, I'll have two complete new outfits for spring and summer. Well, actually, they'll work nearly year-round in Florida, but if I head North, they'll be perfect for spring and summer.
After I'd decided on the first two outfits, I pulled out my Lutterloh pattern book and chose this ensemble. I'll be making it in the more - ahem - modest length. I've had these two linen fabrics for over twenty years! I loved them so much, I couldn't bring myself to cut them. The fabrics are in perfect condition but I'll launder them first, just to be sure they're stable before I layout, cut and sew the dress and jacket.

In case you haven't heard of the Lutterloh system, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. This will be my first project using the system and I'm quite excited at the prospect of having a pattern custom-fit to my mature - and currently zaftig - figure. I have enough of the printed linen to make an additional skirt and jacket ensemble in matching fabric. If I do that, I'll have at least two more coordinating new looks!

So now you know what I have planned for this week. What have you planned? The weather is absolutely perfect around here. Mum told me that they're expecting another snowstorm in Michigan. I couldn't help but groan when she told me. Really? More snow? So much for "global warming", I say. I hope that it's a false alarm and that wherever you live, your weather will be perfect for you, too.
Don't forget that there's still time to enter my Second Blog Birthday Giveaway. There are lots of ways to add entries, but you can only enter on the giveaway post. Click here to learn more. As they say here in the South, "Good luck, y'all!"

My Second Blog Birthday...

Today marks the Second Birthday of Brynwood Needleworks - The Blog. Since I started this blog two years ago, I have written 688 posts and met many new and wonderful friends.

I never, in my wildest dreams, thought I would find so much satisfaction and enjoyment through this venture, and I never knew of the long-lasting new friendships that would be forged.

To say thank you for joining me on this journey,
I'd like to offer a new giveaway.
The feedback about my mug mats has been so positive
that I've decided to make them the centerpiece
of each giveaway package.

I'm offering two gift packages
one each to two lucky winners.

The winners will be able to choose the theme for their gift set, by choosing one custom-made mug mat from the four shown here. Each mug mat has a name (shown on each main photo).

The first name chosen will get first choice of the mug mats.

Then, I'll add at least four more items to each gift set
that follow the theme of the mat chosen.

PLUS...
Both recipients will also receive
a $25 Gift Card to Target!

The second name drawn will be able to choose one of the remaining mug mats for their gift package.

I've selected four of my personal favorites
from which the winners may choose.

I hope you like them...or at least find one that would be your favorite.

So, to recap...

• TWO winners (Second Birthday = two winners!)
• a $25 Target Gift card in each gift package
• at least four more items personalized to the theme of the mat chosen (perhaps vintage, or "made by me", new or "natural", just to give you a few hints.)
  

How can you enter?

• Leave one comment to enter
• Leave A SECOND comment if you are a follower
• Leave A THIRD comment if you post my button (below) on your blog to let your friends know about my celebration (You may use any additional photos from this post, too.)
  
• ONLY COMMENTS ON THIS POST WILL COUNT.
  

If you do not leave separate comments for each entry, only one entry will count. (Each entry is automatically numbered for this giveaway. I won't be going back to see if you get separate entries for separate comments.)

This drawing will close at
11:00 pm on March 31, 2011.
The winner will be announced on April 1st...No Fooling!

Thank you for your friendship and comments.
I look forward to sharing many more days with you.
Good Luck in the Drawing!

UPDATE: 11:45 PM, 03/31/2011. DRAWING CLOSED.

More Needle Dancing...

Peace Lily Mug Mat

I played in the studio on Saturday. I just couldn't help making more mug mats! Scraps from the Flying Cloud quilts, for the Peace Lily mug mat...

Coffee Break Mug Mat

...bits of this and snippets of that.
Vintage laces and printed twill tapes...

Birds of a Feather Mug Mat

beautiful hand-drawn artwork from other talented hands...

Nesting Mug Mat

...and the occasional image printed onto cotton fabric. Then, I top it all off with the meandering quilting that I like to call "needle dancing". All these things gathered together as I spend the day joyfully turning fabric scraps into heartfelt gifts.

I think that I've finally fine-tuned my own design style for my mats now. I hope that when you look at one of my pieces, you'll be able to say, "Yes. I can tell that Donna made that one."

How did you spend your weekend? I'm working on creating just the perfect giveaway gifts for my Second Blog Birthday. Be sure to come back tomorrow to find out all about it!