A Happy Birthday To You, Friend....

Shortly after I became Molly Flanders I found Patchwork N Play...

we became buddies!  She would help me decode quilt patterns that didn't quite make sense....and....well, I am not sure what she gets out of this long distance relationship! Tee hee!

The genius behind Patchwork N Play is Susan, of course! I was drawn to her blog because of her attention to detail.  Her piecing is always perfect.  Her choice of fabrics and colors are always thoughtful.  And she has fantastic style! And to top it all off she is a really nice person....really.  She is just a gem!

So if you aren't her friend too {although I know many of you are} then you should be.

Susan has a February birthday and I wanted to make her something special.  Gifting can be tricky when it has to travel all the way to Oz.  So not too big and heavy, but something special for her day!

   

Since I was working on Molly's quilt and had just finished the Flowering Vine, I was in a bit of a flowery/vine-like mood.  And, of course, I turned to Denyse Schmidt for more inspiration.  

 

Denyse Schmidt's first craft book includes a pattern for embellishing a wool skirt with felted wool flowers and vines.  I borrowed this idea and applied it to a table runner/dresser scarf for my dear friend.

  

I had so much fun making this!  The strips of wool felt did not need to be cut on the bias to get these nice curves...the edges didn't need to be finished.  Just cut and stitch!  yay!

    

I used Essex linen for the background fabric and simply added a dot of Roxanne's Basting Glue to hold the pieces down while I stitched.  The entire vine has a couching stitch to hold it in place.

  

And I used my favorite Valdani Thread for all my stitching and embellishing!

 

Another gift stitched with love! Susan is posting about her gift today...please pop over and wish her a happy birthday!

happy wednesday!

mary