A Crafty Swap

Do you remember last year when I had the most beautiful scarf and hand-warmers made for me? I wrote about them here. The weather is getting colder and it’s time to pull them out again!

Here they are:

   Aren’t they gorgeous? I love them.

Valerie and I were talking during the year after I picked up my beautiful scarf and hand-warmers, and I said I’d like a brooch to match them – black background with white flowers; that I loved her knit brooches. She said she loved my felt ones. We decided we’d do a trade – brooch for brooch.

I sent Valerie a few options, red and white, all red, or all white. She chose the all white option with crystals.

The crystals aren’t showing up very much in this photo, but one of Valerie’s gorgeous scarves is! She really is so very talented.

Here’s what Valerie made for me.

I love it! I pinned it on an old fleece jacket I was wearing that day, but I think this needs to go on my dressy black wool coat. It will really stand out then.

Happy creating!

A Few Thoughts From Other Blogs

This week I want to share a few thoughts I’ve had from reading other blogs.

The first one is from Erin. Do you follow The Sewing and Life Adventures of Emerald Erin? On her June 11th post Erin made an announcement:

“A Special Summer for the Bra-A-Week Challenge!

Hi All! I said earlier this week that I would announce the summer host for the Bra-A-Week Challenge – and here is the announcement!

I am delighted to announce that the Bra-A-Week Challenge will be hosted by the lovely….

Michelle!

 

Of Michelle’s Creations

 

“Michelle is such a wonderful fellow bra-maker, and I’m sure you’ve all admired her work over the last 21 weeks like I have, and she most generously offered to host the challenge for the months of July and August for me!!”

Thanks, Erin! I’m pretty excited about hosting the challenge, and hoping some of my bra-making friends will join me and sew up a bra or two (or more) along with all the other wonderfully creative sewists who have contributed.  There’s more information on Erin’s blog if you’ve been participating in the challenge already and want to continue. You’ll still send your submissions to Erin. I’ll just be doing the write-up and posting it.

It’s great that the challenge will continue over the summer months!

This next blog comment I want to make really has nothing whatsoever to do with sewing – or does it? My good friend, Valerie over at Intricate Knits has been blogging about and telling me about her favorite author for years now. She just recently posted some scarves she designed that were inspired by Susanna Kearsley’s novel A Desperate Fortune. You can see Valerie’s designs here. After seeing the scarves, and having heard so much about Susanna, I decided I’d get A Desperate Fortune and read it myself.

This photo is from Valerie’s blog and shows a couple of the designs Susanna’s book has inspired. Valerie does such beautiful work. Check out her blog, and if you see something you love, she sells her beautiful creations on Etsy.

Aren’t these lovely?  This morning as I came into my sewing room, I didn’t even want to sew! I wanted to get back into A Desperate Fortune. So far, I have to say, I can recommend Valerie’s favorite author as well.

Happy creating!