Giveaway Winner!

Though my little partridge has been quite happy sitting on my mantle, it is time he goes home for the holidays. I am so happy to be sending him along to Eve of Lee Hill Primitives. She sounded in her e-mail so thrilled to have won. It truly made my day to know that I had brightened someone else's. Take a minute and visit her blog. Her work is so lovely I know this little guy will feel perfectly at home with her. Her work is so beautiful I'm actually afraid he may feel a bit like the poor cousin. Earlier this month Eve had a giveaway herself (I'm so sorry I missed it) and her Santa is breathtaking!


The partridge and pear are all packed and awaiting tomorrow's post and however happy I am he's to grace Eve's home this holiday season his parting has left a bare spot on my mantle. I'm considering filling it with this prim tree. Can you believe it's just a styrofoam cone and some torn muslin? I'm wondering if I should spray some tea stain on it and perhaps sprinkle some cinnamon. It'll stay on the mantle for now, at least until I'm done fussing with it. Though, to be honest, no holiday decoration in my home stays in the same place for more than a few days. I'm creating and arranging (and rearranging) right up until Christmas Eve. It's just too much fun!

In case you must have a partridge of your own the pattern I used can be found at Our Pioneer Homestead. The original design was intended as a dove, but once I added the top feather it made a perfect partridge. The top feather was fashioned out of rusty wire looped with a small bell attached at the end. The base is an unfinished table leg (maybe a leg for a footstool or ottoman given it's height). It's just what they sell at any home improvement store. You can finish it however you like. Mine, of course, is painted and stained and all grunged up. The pear was something I've used to decorate my home in the past but Pamela has a tutorial for that as well. The only difference is I tend to paint mine white rather than black and I use spray paint instead. I've also spiced apples without painting them at all. The little bit of red showing through is very festive. If you're not a follower of Pamela's blog you should be! She sells lovely finished goodes as well as shares patterns and tutuorials. I'm sure you'll get more than a few ideas for holiday decorating.

The rest of the week is full of holiday concerts and hopefully some holiday shopping (hooray!) but I'm sure they'll be time for stitching (even if there isn't I'll make time) and more patterns to share. I'm also looking forward to seeing finishes of the Winterberries free pattern. It certainly has been my most popular free pattern to date and I hope all of you enjoy stitching it. Again, thank you, everyone, for entering my giveaway, following my blog, and being such wonderful friends!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

A Patridge & A Pear Giveaway

In honor of my one year blog anniversary I am hosting a giveaway for a sweet little partridge make-do and one of my prim pears. This is my creation from the other day and just so you know there is still cinnamon stuck under my fingernails :)

The partridge is heavily painted and stained with wool wings stitched to his body and a rusty top feather made of wire and a little bell. He is firmly stuffed with cotton and tied with string to a painted and aged wooden base. The pear is painted and then dusted with cinnamon and coffee grinds and smells wonderful! The make-do measures about 9 inches tall including the base and the partridge measures about 7 inches from tail to beak.

The rules to enter are simple. You must be a follower of my blog (new followers welcome) and leave a comment on this post. That's it! (My apologies but I can only ship within the US). Though it's not a requirement to enter feel free to post about my giveaway on your blog or post my link on your sidebar. I will draw the winner on November 30th, the anniversary of my first post.

Everyone says it but I can't believe it's been a year since I started my blog. It started entirely on a whim, bored sitting at my computer one evening. It's grown a bit since then; I'm nearing my 100th posting and have over 150 followers. I would never have guessed I would have had that much to share or that so many people would be interested in it. I am so thankful for all of my followers and for all the friends I have made in the past year. I can't say how much I appreciate all of you. Reading your comments and seeing your finishes of my patterns always brightens my day. This blog has become such a part of my life I can't imagine ever stopping but it wouldn't be any fun at all without all of you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart <3

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

A gift from a friend and a giveaway prize

My sweet, sweet friend Lynn sent me this little care package of flosses. Two are Crescent Colours which I don't normally stitch with and don't really have a stash of. Of course now I need to start one. She also sent a skein of Gentle Arts Brandy. I already have a skein (or two) of that thread but the one she sent me is a completely different shade. That's one of the things I adore about hand dyed threads: no two dye lots are identical. It was such a sweet and unexpected little surprise. Thank you, Lynn!

My second surprise this week was winning Sandy's giveaway on her blog The Humble Stitcher. This sweet little pinkeep arrived in the mail just yesterday. The stitching on the piece is beautiful and the fall colors are so rich. My youngest daughter, Mina, went to it as soon as I opened the package. Apparently, she's a lover of prim as well. She especially loved the buttons hanging for its' beak. I haven't decided yet where I'm going to keep this little lovely but it will have to be out of her reach.

Last week Mina was evaluated for a speech delay. Despite being 20 months old she has the speech production of a 9-12 month old. Both of her older brothers had moderate speech delays and are still receiving therapy for some articulation issues. They're seven and nine years old, so issues like these aren't resolved quickly. It's a struggle for both Mina and I, but having been through it twice already I feel as though I am in more of a position to help her than I was with either of my sons. I am just thankful that this is so far the biggest challenge any of my children have had to face.

Other than that it's been quiet here. Later this week my husband is going out of town. It's both a blessing and a curse. I enjoy having time with just the children and I and yet it's also very challenging having so much time with just the children and I. I don't realize how much I rely on my husband for back up until he's not there to help. The weather is warming up again; Summer is having one last hoorah. By next week the Autumn season will be in full swing. The Halloween costumes will be arriving, we've planned a trip to the local pumpkin patch and corn maze, and soon after will follow pumpkin carving and decorating. By far my favorite time of the year it always goes so fast. I've often complained to my husband to move to a part of the country where the weather is more often like it is now. I swear, Summers here last nine months of the year. But then again if we did move to such a place then Autumn wouldn't be nearly as precious, so I'll simply enjoy the days I have, and wish all of you the same.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Giveaway Winner and Wooly Worms . . .

The winner of the giveaway is Teri from Dixie Sampler Designs. I have to say I am very luck to have met this woman (albeit through the internet only) and I would like to think I have come to be able to call her a friend. She recently finished my French Letters Bluebird and I love the way it came out. She stitched it on a larger count, 28 count I believe she said, which made it harder to finish into the little bluebird. I think he's precious and well worth a trip to her blog to see.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway, left me a comment or posted about it in their blog. I had a lot of fun with it and can't wait to do it again. I'm thinking Easter isn't too soon, is it?

Last week I ordered some wool strips. I saw them listed on Etsy and simply had to have them. Aren't the colors just perfect for Spring? I purchased several months ago some monk's cloth and an inexpensive hook; I just never got around to actually working on anything. I think these wooly worms are just what I need to finally get started. I have no design in mind but the colors look so lovely together I think any arrangement would look great. Any suggestions for someone who has never put wool to hook before?

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

Spring Peacock Sneak Peak

I'm still working on my punchneedle. For something that sounds so easy I can't figure out why I have such difficulty with it. *sigh* At any rate I've decided to distract myself with something I find a little less challenging. I've begun work on my Spring Peacock. So many people enjoyed my Wynter Peacock I'm looking forward to releasing this pattern. I was originally looking for a 1950's reproduction fabric to coordinate. The design is in pink and blue-ish green which so much reminds me of that time period. Instead I found this Civil War era fabric and it's perfect. I've been wanting to work with GA Lexington Green for awhile now; I adore the color. I used GA Roasted Marshmallow in my butterfly and it's now my new favorite color. And who doesn't like pink? I think I'll really enjoy stitching with these shades. I've already decided to finish the patterns into a sewing book and pincushion. Hopefully stitching this will make me comfortable with saying goodbye to Winter and more welcoming of the arrival of Spring.

Don't forget about my giveaway; antique linens that are also a wonderful way to welcome Spring.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

My First Giveaway

I've been wanting to have a giveaway for awhile now. It appears to be customary to have a giveaway when one reaches one hundred followers. I got a few things together for the giveaway last week but apparently I overestimated how quickly I would reach one hundred followers :) No matter, I have little patience and simply don't want to wait any longer. Perhaps the giveaway will help me reach one hundred followers. At any rate, having a giveaway has just always sounded like so much fun. So here are the rules:

1. You must be a follower and leave a comment in this post, that's one entry.

2. You get a second entry if you post about this giveaway in your blog. If you don't have a blog don't worry just tell a friend. You have to let me know either way so I know to give you two entries.

3. You get a third entry if you've purchased one of my patterns. It can either be directly through me or through Etsy and it doesn't matter if it's a printed pattern or an e-pattern. If you haven't had a chance to purchase one yet just let me know which one you like best.

4. Finally, you get yet another entry if you've stitched any of my patterns (including free patterns) and have sent me a picture of your finish. You can also simply send me a link to your blog if you've posted a picture there.

Enough chances to enter? I have to admit that last one I threw in for perfectly selfish reasons. I love seeing finishes!!! I'll post the winner on March 20th; hopefully that gives everyone enough time. I'll ship to anywhere in the continential US and for my international followers we can each pay half of the shipping to your home.

Now onto the prizes. These are a few antique linens I've had in my collection for awhile now. For years they came out in the spring and graced my hanging rack but haven't made it out of their box in quite some time. Two of them look to be table linens with the most beautiful hand embroidery on them. One has pink flowers with green leaves which seem to be done in feather stitch and french knots. The other has tiny pink flowers of french knots, green lazy daisy stitches for the leaves and an undulating border or pink and blue french knots. Both have delicate crocheted borders. The final is a hand crocheted piece. I know nothing about crochet; to my eyes they are simply tiny rings sewn together in a diamond shape. They all have the most wonderful age to them, the embroidery is perfect for Spring, and they smell of honey and orange (the scent of the sachet I had them stored with).

It's a shame to have them sitting in a box in my craft room. Hopefully they can grace someone else's home and I hope everyone has some fun with the giveaway.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn