~*New Pattern Releases!*~

Hello Dear Friends! Oh... I just can't wait any longer... here they are...

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~*Pure and Pleasant*~

92 by 64 stitches


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~*Spring Pillow Tuck*~

107 by 54 stitches


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~*Never Enough Thyme*~

123 by 109 stitches

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Don't you just think these are all most wonderful for Spring? Primitive, yet elegant... maybe even a little shabby chic.

I've added the patterns to my Etsy Shoppe. If you are interested in purchasing any of my patterns, you may visit there or email me (my email link is on the sidebar to the left)... or visit your local needlework shop. If they don't carry my patterns, please ask them. My designs are carried by two distributors... Norden Crafts, Ltd. and Hoffman Distributing.

In fact... if any of you are lucky enough to go the the Nashville Needlework market this weekend... swing by Norden's booth... and also The Gentle Art's booth... and you can see the models for these designs! I'm so tickled that they are there... wish I could be too!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Daffodils*~

... oh how I wish they were real and not just imitations...

~*Awesome Giveaway News*~

Hello Dear Friends! Oh... I just have to tell you about this giveaway! Primitive Quilts and Projects is hosting a most wonderful giveaway! It is possible we could BOTH win too! They are trying to get more followers... and are hosting the giveaway to do just that! You see, if you sign up to be a follower & tell them that I sent you... then we could both win a new pattern! Or if you sign up & refer a friend and then they pick your friend... you both could win a pattern! How cool is that? They are expecting to give away 5-6 patterns from The Woolen Willow. Who wouldn't want a free pattern? Be sure to swing on over to sign up on their Follower List... I liked 'em on Facebook too!

Here is the link again.... Primitive Quilts and Projects


I have signed up for their magazine due out soon too...A quarterly quilt magazine... projects from your favorite designers... projects for making primitive quilts, rugs,punch needle, dolls, and so on. Now, you know I'm not a quilter... but I do play in lots of other mediums.

Best of luck with the giveaway!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Winter Cheer Swap*~

Hello Dear Friends! In yesterday's mail was a box full of delightfully, CHEERFUL goodies from my buddy Mimi! Our prim, online group, AAPG, hosted a ~*Winter Cheer Swap*~. With the creative guidance of our fearless leader, Kelley... and some truly awesome pattern doodles by Rebecca we were to share some simple, ~*Winter Cheer*~. Mimi did just that!

Here are all the wonderful treasures from my box...



Rebecca gave us several doodles to work from. Mimi used two of them to create this stunning rug & super,sweet penny mat...





Thank you so much Mimi! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE everything!

They sure did spark a great sense of ~*Winter Cheer*~! In fact, I am ready to pull out my Spring decorations... and brighten up the house & the studio! My plans for today (and probably the rest of the week) are to take advantage of the warmer temps... to clean & decorate to my heart's content! By Thursday we should be enjoying low 70s outside! This morning, however, it is still a little cool. Next door at the studio when I was taking pictures to share with you...

just a little too cool...



But I've turned on the electric fireplace and have it warming up. Doesn't the penny mat fit perfectly on the fireplace?



I'm not sure it will stay there. At the store the other day, I picked up a few fake Spring, blooms to set out & make up some wreaths. Plus, as a Valentine's gift from my loving husband... a few new bell jars. So with all the new treasures... it will be great fun to get some decorating done. I'll share more pictures soon.

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Here are the hand~mades I sent for the ~*Winter Cheer*~ swap. My gift went to Chelle. I made her a penny mat adapted from a Maggie Bonanomi pattern. The pattern was in her awesome book Comfort Zone. Maggie had a 2nd layer of tongues on hers. I can't really explain why I only added one layer... maybe I was just lazy. I was very pleased with the finish though... and may have to make a second one for myself!



I also made her a needlepunched pillow tuck using one of Rebecca's doodles...



The doodles Rebecca provided were just so super SWEET! Thank you Rebecca!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Friday Finishes*~

Hello Dear Friends! TGIF! We have had another week of snow... heavy snow... and school was canceled two days because of it. However, we are in for some warmer temps soon... so all this snow will be gone. I'm hoping it will be gone for the season... but know we will most likely get more ice/snow before May gets here. I've kept busy crafting and have gotten a lot done. But look at all these fabulous ~*Friday Finishes*~ that I've received! WOW! These are all so amazing! Thank you ALL for stitching and sharing! I just LOVE to see your finishes... and know others do too. It is always so interesting to see how the same design can be interpreted so differently & so beautifully. :)

Faye has been doing a lot of Valentine's Day stitching! AND... she has these up for a giveaway on her blog... Click Here to do to that post. These are just so super sweet!




I spied this finish on her blog too...


From Betsy... stitched lovingly on Aida, stained with coffee, and filled with bits of wool...




From Mary...Mary has her Mom staying with her. Her Mom isn't well. She knows how her Mom likes pretty things with pastels and pale shades... so she is filling her house with things she knows will make her Mom smile. She ended up making this into a small pillow that hangs from a ribbon. Precious!


From Lauren... she says she wanted to make this into a pin keep but didn't feel like lugging out the sewing machine. She finished this off into a darling lil' mat. I just love the fringe! This finished off to about 5 1/4 by 5 3/4 inches. She said she was putting it in the mail the other day for a friend. Lucky friend! :)

From Cathi... another sweet Valentine pillow! She has a few other beauties stitched up & finished like this. Unique finish with the cross stitch on the top of a tall, skinny pillow... very cool!




Theresa is jumping ahead a few holidays... preparing for Halloween. She has an 18 month old that keeps her pretty busy... so she thought she would get a jump start! These awesome lil' pillows will be Halloween goodies for her friends... TOO CUTE! She used bits n' pieces of ~*Wicked*~ and ~*Wicked Notions*` to stitch these up.


To end this post of ~*Friday Finishes*~... Laura from Germany sends me some of the most beautiful photography. She has used some of ~*Live Laugh Love*~ to make a few lil' sweets... her stitching is lovely, but her photography is stunning!



WOW, huh? Thank you all again for sharing! Please remember, if you have finishes to share... email them to me & I will highlight them on ~*Friday Finishes*~. Also, if you have a blog to link too...please include that in your email too.

Wishing you all warm smiles... and happy stitches!

Betty

~*Just a Little More*~

Wool applique that is...



This sunflower was from a doodle drawn by Kelley... kanknchester. She always has such sweet, prim doodles!



I still can't share what the 'whats' are yet. But I will tell you, they are stitched on an old army blanket... inspired by the famous Maggie Bonanomi!

The appliques are simple & don't take long to do... but the 'whats', from begging to end... with a few to several interruptions... take a day for me to complete. I would like to think I'm getting faster having made 6 so far... but I think that is only a happy thought. I will say for sure though... I'm REALLY liking the finished 'whats' and I hope they bring joy to the recipients too. Heck... I'm liking these so much... that I may make a few extras to offer on my Early Work Mercantile page for March... and a few more for that craft show in April! I'll be stopping by the store today to get a few more supplies... so I can keep on makin' 'em!

Be sure to stop back by tomorrow... I've got a bunch of ~*Friday Finishes*~ to share with you. I'm sure you will be delighted to see 'em all... I know I was!

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty