Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Wishing you a...............

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!


I have a little surprise........ I hosted a giveaway and you didn't even know it. And here is the prize I prepared for one lucky person who has commented here on "Tea and Stitches". I gave you a clue at tea last week when I showed the little book "Tea and Friendship" and said I would draw a winner from those who had commented from January through March and that there might be just "a little bit of green fabric that will come along with it, too. " And here it is............


This little bear is bringing someone a cup filled with three lucky green fat quarters! I selected the tea cup from my box of favorite thrift shop finds and then cut the three fat quarters from my St. Pat's fabric stash. I tied a piece of vintage green ribbon about the little bear's neck and place him upon his very own little doily mat. He will be on his way to a lucky someone and who would that be................

Well, I printed out all the comments posted up to March 16 and I cut and tossed them into this little pincushion box (more on that in a minute). Then I drew out the name .......... and it was "Quilting Nana" (go here for her blog)!! Now she already knows she won because as soon as I drew her name, I e-mailed her that she was a winner. I decided to do a giveaway in this fashion because I wanted to show appreciation to those who leave comments and regularly stop by. I so appreciate your comments because they let me know if I should continue sharing my thoughts and projects. So right here and now, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you who visit here (and my other blogs, too). I will be doing this again, but I won't announce when I'll be doing a giveaway. It'll just happen. And that's a special treat for all of you who stop by to read and comment. :-)

Now to that pincushion box. I was needing to do something totally creative to release some stress. I wanted a box to put the comments in because only the winner's name was removed and the rest of the names are there for the next time I do a giveaway. So I had this paper mache box that I had rubbed with walnut stain and thought........hmmmm.........and then I had this little teacup Christmas ornament that I used to hold my tape measure............and an idea was born. I took some woolfelt that I also colored with walnut stain (I have a whole pile of multicolored woolfelt that I have dyed with all sorts of stuff) and cut a circle, sewed a running stitch around the edge and then stuffed with polyfil. I secured the stitches with a knot and then left some thread that I could use for the string for the tea bag. I went to the Twinings website and printed out a page (actually two for a front and back) with Earl Grey tea on it. Then I cut little squares of it for the tea bag and glued a piece of fluff between the layers, then glued the "bag" to the little bit of thread for a tea bag. Then I added a dollop of glue to the bottom of the felt ball that simulates tea (and looks more like hot chocolate). I found a scrap doily and glued it to the box lid, the glued the tea cup to that and there it is.........a pincushion on top and a place for your comments inside the box!!


Congratulations to Kathleen of Quilting Nana and good luck to the rest of you whose names are in the box. And here's a little perk.........if you've commented more than once here on "Tea and Stitches", your name is in the box with each of your comments so your luck is doubled, tripled, etc. So may the "luck 'o the Irish be with ye" when I decide to host another surprise giveaway. :-)
Hope you all have a great St. Patrick's Day!!
Sandi

8 comments:

Andee said...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you too! Smile!

Pat said...

Congratulations to Quilting Nana for that TERRIFIC prize. Oh....to be so creative to make a little pincushion box like that!!! You are amazing, Sandi...you really are! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you. I will leave you with the beautiful words of a well-known Irish blessing that carried MUCH more meaning for me when we parted from our Irish friends after our trip to visit them in 1994....
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

That is the cutest little box - and congrats to the surprise winner - what a great way to do a give-away.

Pat said...

Where have I been? I just found this blog. Happy Saint Patrick's Day to you too.

Anonymous said...

Keep on writing Sandi! I enjoy the relaxing atmosphere when I come in. You just have to say the word tea and you have me...I think that is why tea and stitching go together...relaxing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

Patty said...

That's a fun way to do a giveaway! Congrats to the winner!

Sarah or Semmy said...

I am always a day late. But I did want to thank you for the shamrock freebie you posted at few days back. I needed an idea for an anniversay card for my dd and her dh and one for a vbf who had a birthday on St. Patrick's Day. Your design was perfect for both.
Thank you, Sarah

Kaye said...

Bless Your Heart Sandi, I don't know how you do as much as you do. My fathers parents were both born in Ireland and came here before they were teens.We always spent St Patricks Day at her house as it was also her Birthday. She would do a step or two of the Irish Jig, sing all the Irish songs and eat. We loved it and had a grand time. She was a divel as she would say. because when she passed away we found out her birthday was in Feb. but wanted to celebrate on Ireland's Holiday. She was a rip and I am named after her!!!

A little stitching poem.........

This little poem was written for one of my beginning quilting students - only 8 years old but her stitches were those of a natural seamstress!

For Bailey Anne . . . .
When this you see, think of me.
Sit down and have a cup of tea.
Then place your quilt upon your lap,
begin to stitch . . . no time to nap!
Stitch patiently and you will see . . .

how fine a quilter you can be!

©1999-2008 Sandra E. Andersen