Saturday, July 7, 2012

Where to start.........

Hi everyone,
I didn't mean the gap between posts to be quite this long but I have had a V.I.P guest staying and I wasn't at the computer as much as I would normally be.
Friend Angela from UK came for a ten day visit. This was very exciting as we have emailed back and forth for about twelve years and spoken on Skype but until now had never met in person.
Angela brought paper chains, paper hats and little UJ flags so that we could have a belated jubilee party on the day mutual friend Sheila came over.
It was actually morning coffee rather than afternoon tea but how we enjoyed our cheese scones and coffee cake!




It was almost like a birthday party as there were gifts!




with a patriotic theme - fabric, ribbon, cotton tape and Angela's gorgeous handmade pinkeep cards.



and also some Cath Kidston goodies - fabrics, buttons and a fabulous set of postcards.



Once we had demolished the edible goodies we set to work and soon the table looked like this!



Angela had made me a very special gift of a covered notebook with a beautifully stitched mermaid on the front. Isn't it gorgeous?




She wanted to learn how to make a bag so we had a little bag making class and what a great pupil she was!
Here's the bag Angela made using fabrics from Moda's Peace on Earth fabric line



and here's one I made earlier made from Rural Jardin fabrics by French General for Moda. The pattern is the Charm Party Tote by Quilts Illustrated




I also made a tiny keychain clutch from this pattern to attach to a tab inside the bag



Angela has had this primitive doll on her wishlist for some time now so I granted the wish and made one for her



I think that's probably enough for this post but since there is not a lot of stitching content this is Letters Scissor Pouch by Stacy Nash that I stitched a long time ago and finally finished.



It was so nice to spend time with a stitchy friend who I am missing already!




I learned how to do an altoid mint tin finish and hope to show that off next time.
For now thanks for your continued visits and lovely comments.
Wishing you all a very happy weekend.
Margaret

46 comments:

Abby and Stephanie said...

That is so exciting. Friends, food, fun, fabric, sewing and gifts! I think you covered all of the bases.

Pat said...

It looks like you had a great time with Angela. Your sewing class went well as both of your bags look lovely. Your sewing bag turned out beautiful. I know Angela must have been excited to finally have her own. I am thinking of you today with tears on my cheek. What a wonderful gift to meet a friend in person after twelve years. You both look so happy in your picture. Have a wonderful weekend. Hugs are being sent your way.

Laura said...

Can you see me smiling from ear to ear???? How much fun is this post and how wonderful that you gals got together! So happy for you! Love all the British stuff!!!! What a wonderful time you had!!!

Anonymous said...

So happy to see your post Margaret and what a lot of fun you all had. I did not realise you and Angela had been computer pals for so long and it was great you were both able to meet. She is indeed a very generous lady and so pleased she was able to make a bag something I knew she wanted to make for so long. I am sure I will see it for real soon.
Your Jubilee coffee morning looked wonderful both before and afterwards.
I can imagine her delight in getting her own prmitive doll.

Relax now Margaret.
Love and Hugs
Hazel

Daffycat said...

A delightful post! Your Jubiliee party was a treat! How much fun to visit with a blog friend-and TEN days? Heavenly!

Sheila said...

What a lovely picture of you and Angela...and what I great time I had with you both - thank you :)

Katherine said...

Oh, Margaret, that's so lovely and what a wonderful friend to bring such goodies so you all could celebrate! How terrific that you could stitch and sew together. That mermaid piece that she made you is just beautiful!

Giovanna said...

What a great time you must have had - and what gorgeous finishes. Well done to you both.

Cindy said...

Sounds like a wonderful time and so many goodies!

Vickie said...

Oh that is wonderful to finally get together! What a nice time. I love your mermaid notebook.

Anonymous said...

I love your post, how nice to finally meet someone you have corresponded with. Your bags are lovely and the doll is gorgeous.

Karen said...

Looks like y'all had a great time! What a joy to spend crafty time with a friend. Love the bags you made...so pretty!

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Well that all looked like fun!! :)
I liked the look of the table both with the edible goodies and the crafty ones too!
Love the bags and the little doll is so cute. :)
Vivienne x

Barb said...

What a nice get together! Looks like you both had lots of fun and what wonderful projects!!

Lesleyanne said...

Looks like you had a wonderful time with your stitchy friend. Lovely goodies made by both of you.

Chookyblue...... said...

glad you had a great time with your friend........lovely bags.......so which one is you in the pic??

Anonymous said...

Extraordinary!!!!!

XXX
Françoise

Margaret said...

Looks like such a wonderful time! I'm so glad you had your friend to visit. So much good stuff -- food, gifts, bag making and all!

Lisa V said...

How much fun it would have been to have met up with a "Stitching Sister", you are soo lucky!!

Kaisievic said...

Wow! It looks like you had so much fun together. The bags are gorgeous and so is the primitive doll which you made.

Ellen said...

It's great to spend time with stitchy friends! What wonderful gifts!

Love the bags and pouch, they are wonderful!

Hugs,

Zeb said...

What a wonderful time! :) And I must know what that mermaid design is? Tis gorgeous!

Zeb said...

What a wonderful time! :) And I must know what that mermaid design is? Tis gorgeous!

Sandra Coleman Clarke said...

I look forward to your posts and am never disappointed. You do beautiful work and I am glad you had a wonderful visit with your friend.

Michelle said...

Oh Margaret - your Jubiliee party looks wonderful! How much fun to spend time with a blog friend. I adore the bags you make and that little clutch purse - stunning xx

Caz said...

Looks like you had fun, Margaret! Goodies,, food,, and friends! What more could a girl want???

marly said...

What a wonderful gathering of projects and friends. So many lovely items on that table!

Mouse said...

ohhhh gorgeous stitching , gifts and those bags ... can I bob over and have a lesson too please :) and very nice to see you both too :)
glad you had a great time together :) love mouse xxxxx

Carol said...

How wonderful that you finally got to meet Angela in person! I think it is amazing, this stitching bond that draws us together as if we were all old friends...

How lucky she was to get a personal bag-making class from you, Margaret--the bags are so pretty and I love the little clutch bag you made of that pretty blue fabric and the doll is precious.

Good to see both of your smiling faces even though I have no idea which is which? I'm guessing you are on the left in the photo as you live in Spain and probably have a darker tan? But, I could be totally wrong :)

Nancy said...

Margaret I know you, Angela and Sheila had a wonderful time! How fun to have a belated Jubilee party, and everything you and Angela made is just gorgeous! I loved seeing the picture of both of you - you can see in your faces how much you enjoyed your visit!

Lili said...

The mermaid is gorgeous!! How nice colour!!!
Lovely bags!!!
She mad a wonderful work in the primitive doll!
The letter scissor pouch is amazing!!

Have a nice week!!
Hugs.

Heather said...

How wonderful! All the projects are fabulous, and it sounds like you ladies had a great time.

Apple Avenue Quilts said...

It looks like you had a great time! Good for you!!! Isn't it nice to have friends with so much in common.

Andrea said...

All of your finishes and Angela's bag are wonderful. It looks like you both had a marvellous time.

Khris said...

How fun having your friend visit with you....and how special. It truly does bond the friendship even more meeting in real life...hugs Khris

Penny said...

What a wonderful get together! Love those bags! So many lovely things to look at!! :)

Melissa said...

Hi there! I'm a new follower, I found you through Daffycat :)

What lovely jubilee goodies you have!!! There's no better way to spend a holiday than with a good friend that is for certain!

I hope you enjoyed your time together and I look forward to seeing more of your stitching!

Melissa

Mary said...

Hi Margaret
how lovely to have had a friend come to stay and play. Your tea and gifts looked like a lot of fun.
Mary

Brigitte said...

Margaret, you must have spent a wonderful time together. Isn't it great to finally see and meet someone in person after a long internet friendship? I had this experience with some of my penpals back in the times when I was still penpalling.
And you even were doing some sewing together. I love the bags that you made out of some gorgeous fabrics. I have the pattern somewhere, so I think I'll have to make my own bag when the summer holidays start at the end of July. Of course, I don't have these wonderful fabrics but maybe I can order some online until then.
Great gifts that you exchanged.

angelasweby said...

Margaret,
I think it's about time I made a comment on your wonderful blog post too being the VIP that was honoured to spend a dream holiday with you. I can't believe the much anticipated time together has come and gone. We had looked forward to it and planned for it for months. I also can't believe that we accomplished so much, had so much fun and saw quite a bit of Spain at the same time. Where you live is truly like Paradise.

Your followers are in for such a treat in subsequent blog posts because they haven't seen everything that you finished and trimmed while I was there. I learned so much from you, most of all patience :-) When a finishing problem you were trying to solve was proving to be a bit of a nightmare - and some definitely were :-) you stuck at it until it was exactly right. I won't mention how many times I had to undo a seam in my bag until you accepted that it was 'almost' perfect...haha!

It was such fun sharing time with you and Sheila and stitching and laughing together,and eating your delicious scones and cakes, of course. Meeting Bob too was a real delight :-)

Your little SN heart is beautiful and the bags are exquisite but most of all I adore my beautiful primitive doll whom I have affectionately called Maggie Good. She has pride of place on my shelf.

So glad you liked the mermaid book folder and the Jubilee party treats. It was such fun to do. The whole holiday will remain with me as one of the huge highlights of my life :-)
Thank you my dear friend.
Angela xx

Kathie (Prairie Stitcher) said...

Hello: I'm a new follower and enjoyed reading about your Jubilee/Meetup. Isn't it wonderful to meet new friends for real? I have email/blog friends like that all over the place and it's wonderful. I love them so much. I'm anxious to see what you do with Altoids boxes! Please stop by and visit with us, when you have the time, and follow if you can. Regards from Odessa, Washington, America.

Karoline said...

Sounds like you had a great time with Angela.

Your finishes are gorgeous, congratulations

Jeanne said...

What a great time you two had and waht a thrill to finally meet in person. Your Jubilee party looks like such fun. I've made the Charm Party tote 3 or 4 times now and it's always fun. A girl can never have too many bags, right? LOL Nice post Margaret and good to see what you're up to.

Sally said...

It's lovely to see a post from you Margaret. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with Angela :)

Carol R said...

I know how much Angela was looking forward to her visit with you and I am glad that both of you had such a wonderful time. Beautiful gifts exchanged and a friendship sealed for life!

Julie said...

Hello,just found your blog.

You have made so many wonderful things,and being bag mad i just love those bags you have made.

For someone who is clueless with a sewing machine i am getting itchy fingers to get the machine out of the loft and having a go.Something small of course. :)