Christmas Swaps...

Recently I commented that I didn't sign up for as many Christmas Swaps in 2014, but when I sat down and toted them up, it was only one less swap than 2013 :-/ . I've shown photos of what I received in the Santa Sack Swap and the Chookyblue Secret Santa Swap and in this post I'll show photos of what I received in the Aussie Christmas Swap run through Instagram. 

This parcel didn't arrive until after Christmas and I'm sure my swap buddy must have felt quite apprehensive whether her parcel was lost! 

But it arrived in that week after Christmas...

A lovely vintage doily, a key fob, the sweetest mini charm pack, some delicious pistachio nuts in a Christmas cone and some beautiful knitting needles...and...

A lovely table runner featuring Christmas trees...so nice and festive! 

My swap partner wrote her initial and surname on the back of the postpac but I didn't know her first name. I went through the #aussieechristmasswap site trying to find someone whose initial was 'L' but without any luck. But I did have an address so I wrote out a thank you card and sent it via 'snail mail'. Then today, my post on IG was noticed by one of the organisers of the swap and she let me know that my swap buddy was Leesa. Another big thank you Leesa, for all my lovely gifts. 

Very soon my post tally will be 1010 which means, allowing for a number of encore posts, will be 1000 'first run' posts. Definitely cause for a celebration. So for 5 posts I will have a small Giveaway each time. The next post will be about tonight's Friday Night with Friends and then...the Giveaways! 

Friday Night Sew In...

Yes last night was FNSI here. I signed up but left a comment saying that as it would be a lot of 'secret sewing' as I continue to finish off projects for the various Christmas swaps...there would be not much I can show...:-)

So...

There's a clue in that photo...I'm using a little adhesive thimble pad which suggests stitching...could be EPP? or some hand quilting? Or even some embroidery? 

It could have been all three...or even something else? 

Unveiling of the projects is still a while away I'm afraid! Lol.

Best of all though, last night I got a lot done...great progress...that adrenalin is kicking in as deadlines get closer? 

Why not use the links on Wendy's blog post to see what others worked on on Friday night? There were 47 of us according to the Linky widget.

Check it out here...http://sugarlanequilts.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/fnsi-sign-ups.html

Christmas Swaps...

I've been a bit slack lately writing posts for the blog. But it's that time of year when suddenly it seems that the posting dates for the various Christmas Swaps that I have signed up for, are soooooo close! 

So I have been stitching...and stitching...and having fun despite the rising feelings of panic that I will run out of time...gasp...horror! 

Tonight I wrapped up one lot of gifts ready for posting...one swap can now be ticked off the list! 

One gift to go under the tree and the small one, my swap buddy can open straight away...it's a decoration/ornament...

The teddy fairy button was one of the Christmas buttons I bought from the Quilters Store in Salisbury (Brisbane)...it looks cute in the centre of the hexagon flower. 

Here's a glimpse of the other gift...yeah, I know...more hexies! Lol

Now my swap buddy doesn't live in Australia so that was a great excuse to use some great 'koala' fabric that I bought at Fantazia in Tweed Heads South a month or so back...

The next due date for posting swap items looms next week and I still have some stitching to do for that...so I'd better get busy :-)

Some more Christmas 2013 Swap goodies...

I thought it was about time that I got back to writing posts. DH and I were delighted to have some house guests after Christmas when DsD1 and her partner came to stay for 5 nights and also one night where Dan's sister also stayed over. Having guests stay  means many things, but an important one is the need to tidy up my craft rooms (yes, I have more than one room of the house filled with projects and 'stuff') as these rooms just happen to be 2 spare bedrooms. The table that my older sewing machine sits on is now tidy...unbelievable as it must seem! lol

Despite writing 2 posts about those Christmas swaps already, I still have more to show. This post is devoted to the huge number of lovely items that Pat sent me. Pat (no blog) was my partner in the swap organised by Maree.
I was thoroughly spoiled by Pat...
'For the Tree'...

A closer look at the lovely decorations that Pat put on each parcel...

 For the Tree continued...

Pat also made this tree bauble for me...

 Notice the letters, 'm a'

Turn the bauble just a bit...and the letters 'r i a'...a very personalised Christmas ornie...how lovely!

 Next parcel was 'Something that smells nice'...

 The goodies in this parcel included a fragrance candle (complete with a candle mat), beautiful body lotion, fragrance sachet, lavender for a heat bag, and a beautifully embroidered heatbag...

The sweetest candle mat!

 Now the next parcel (yes! there is more! I guess it was an understatement to say that Pat spoiled me) was 'Something for the Sewing Room'...
An amazing bundle of sewing notions...

 And this would have to be the swishest knitting needle gauge that I have ever seen...
It's wonderful!

And some lovely fabric!

The next parcel I opened was 'The Something to eat'...look at all those goodies :-)

 A close up of the wreath filled with silver wrapped sweets...

The parcel for 'Something for under the Tree' had the sweetest little box...

 And in the box was some more surprises...

 Including this cute Santa who changed colours when you flicked the little switch underneath...I love items as they colour change like that...

 Pat had also made a beautiful bag for me...

 The bag featured some decorative seaming which was so classy....

And inside the bag was a knitting needle roll...

 And just look at the lovely bright knitting needles inside...I'll have fun using those!

Thank you just doesn't seem enough but of course I did send my thanks to Pat and I will say it once again here in this post; thank you so much Pat, your generosity is just amazing and I appreciate all the items that you sent me. 

Christmas swaps, continued...

Another Christmas swap that I signed up for was the Santa Sack one organised by Cheryll over at 'Gone Stitchin' '
My partner in this swap was Alison, and here are the lovely parcels that Alison sent me...

We were given a date which was 'opening day' for these parcels and I opened all but one...leaving this one parcel until December 25.

And this is the lovely surprise that I found inside this parcel...
I was absolutely thrilled with this delightful  bag with the beautifully embroidered hexagonal panel...it's gorgeous!

A close-up of the stitching...

 Because I have used a 'red and white' theme in my hutch decorating this year, I put the lovely mug that Alison gave me with my 2 other red and white mugs...it looks wonderful!

And another big thank you to Alison for all the beautiful gifts that she sent me. Thank you also to Cheryll for organising this swap.
Now for quite a few weeks (on and off from September actually) I was doing 'secret sewing/knitting' as I prepared gifts for my swap partners...now I can show some of the items...
The little gathered fabric basket I made for Alison...

I popped in a pack of paper serviettes with a Christmas theme...

I also made a wall hanging for Alison...surprise! The design used hexagons! lol

Also for Alison, I made some bunting and one of my hexie ornaments...

 My goodness, yet another hexie design. This time I made a Christmas themed hand towel for Alison and paired it with some locally produced handmade soap.

 I've already shown most of the swap gifts that I sent to Barb in Maree's Xmas swap...now i can reveal what  was in the parcel to be left under the tree... I had bought some interesting yarns for Barb's gift but then I read the 'rules of the swap' again...oh dear, it said that that gift had to be handmade...so that's how the fabric basket came to be made.
I used some knitting themes' fabrics from my stash...

And here are the balls of yarn; the brown tones (hand dyed merino 4 ply) one came from 'Knitch' and the Bernat yarn came from 'Yarn Over', both yarn shops here in Brisbane.

In Chookyblue's Christmas Swap, I was partnered with Satu, all the way away in Finland. I took advantage of the cold weather that Satu must endure at Christmas time, to knit her gift...
I used some Patons Lace which has sweet little sequins threaded on the yarn. I have shown little glimpses of this project as I worked on it some SNwF and FNSI...it ended up being quite long and I needed two towels spread out to block it on...

And here it is, folded up and tied with some Christmas ribbon ready to be popped into a postbag to begin its journey to Finland.

And this little kangaroo stitched on a face washer went along to Finland as well!

Satu wrote a post here recently and she included some delightful photos of her cat Fenix checking out the goodies which Satu received in the mail! He's beautiful!

A finish and a parcel opening...

Firstly, I finally got back to my FNSI project and finished it this afternoon...

Bunting all finished...(our 'glass topped' table certainly gives some interesting reflection images!) 

What was achieved in FNSI...

And remember that big bag of gifts that Pat, my swap partner in the swap organised by Maree, sent me a few weeks ago...?

I've been putting off opening the gifts, thinking that I would open them on Christmas day...but then I thought of how excited I am at the prospect of people opening the parcels I sent them and then hearing from them...so maybe Pat would also like to hear from me about the gifts she made and chose for me. So I opened the parcel with the label saying 'Something to read...'

And hasn't Pat spoiled me!!
Just look at how beautifully wrapped the parcel is...the lovely gold wire Christmas tree is exquisite...

This book of Christmas projects is filled with delightful items to make...

 As is the Spotlight Projects' booklet! There are also some very useful vouchers on the back cover that I can use up to December 31...and I will! :-)

 Pat also gave me a lovely teal coloured pocket diary which I will carry around in my handbag in 2014.  And a 2014 calendar which features beautiful photos of flowers and rather inspiring quotes about friends and friendship...very nice.

Pat also gave me a bookmark with the famous 'Footprints' text which has a lovely message.
Now this was only one of my parcels from Pat, and like many other bloggers have been saying, I am quite overwhelmed by another's generosity and thoughtfulness in these swaps. Many thanks Pat...and this is only parcel #1. You are thoroughly spoiling me!!