The Competitor

I have never really been known for my competitive fire. When I was in grade school, I won a spelling bee*. As the winner, I was supposed to compete in the next level--district-wide or regional, i can't remember. anyway, i had to do a preliminary round in order to make sure i was qualified, and i purposely spelled my first word incorrectly so that I wouldn't have to participate. (the word was "statue" btw. i left out one of the "t"s)

but every once in a blue moon, I get fired up and I just really want to win. this happens extremely rarely and comes from some generally unexplored place inside my psyche. i think the last time it happened, i ran for Vice-President of my student council just because i really did not like the girl who was running and didn't think she should be unopposed on principle (i lost). right now i am pretty far behind in the feeddog contest. so it's time to up the stakes.

If you visit the blog and vote for me (Sara P) in the sidebar, come back here and leave a comment that you voted. Your entry gives you a chance to receive either this lovely selvedge pincushion that I made last night, or a free pattern from my self-published designs. Let me know in the comments whether you would like the pincushion or the pattern and make sure your email address is enabled so that I can contact you if you win. I will close comments Sunday night and choose 2 winners by random draw.

this being my 3rd pincushion, i improved a few things: it's not filled quite as much, making it easier to insert the pins. i quilted the top to a layer of cotton flannel so it's stable but not too thick. the pincushion is 4.5" square and filled with crushed walnut shells, which will help keep your pins sharp.


In the event that I actually win the contest, I will draw one additional winner who can choose between 3 OOP Fat Quarters from Denyse Schmidt's line, Katie Jump Rope, or a skein of Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! in Karner Blue.


If you've already voted for me, thank you so much! You are also eligible to win, just leave a comment below. Thanks for helping me out and good luck to everyone who comments.

*You may well ask why I won that spelling bee in the first place. My best explanation is that it was sort of an accident. I was a strong speller, and I wasn't aware that the consequences of my actions would be taking part in additional spelling bees. had I known, I probably would've lost that one too.