So pretty!

I'm a bit of a bag lady these days so when Linda announced her bag and bucket swap how could I resist?
In my last post I showed the bag I made for my partner but I had no idea who was sending to me until a box arrived from Mar in the USA.
Prior to the swap we were asked to state our preferences. I think I said nothing too bright or gaudy and that I liked soft, romantic colours. Well, Mar certainly took that on board because how gorgeous is this bag she made for me?



The bag is made from such pretty fabrics - all soft greens, peach, lemon, pinks and blues with a broderie anglais trim and beautiful stitchery on the front and back pockets.

This side has my initial embroidered on the pocket!



here's a close up of the stitchery isn't it lovely?




and here's a view of the side of the bag with the drawstring ties




Along with the bag came other goodies - three FQ's of Moda fabric from the Sanctuary line, the sweetest little needle book, Piecemaker needles and tissues that are way too pretty to use.




This was a wonderful swap experience. Thanks to Linda for making it all possible and to Mar for making it such a pleasure.

More on exchanges

I have pictures of a few exchanges to share this time.
I recently joined the SBEBB and was tempted by quite a few of the exchanges that were on offer.
I finally settled on the Shepherds Bush exchange because they have long been one of my top five most favourite cross stitch designers.
Here's a pinkeep I made for my partner Carolyn using the September design from SB a Year in Stitches series of charts.



The colours didn't show up very well in the first picture so here's another attempt. As always the pictures are clickable for a better view.



and here's one of the back of the pinkeep


I forgot to take a picture of the other things I included in the package but you can see them on Carolyn's blog here I think Carolyn's pictures are better than mine anyway!

I had no idea who was sending to me in this exchange until a package arrived from Carol
To say I was thrilled would be an understatement as Carol is someone whose beautiful stitching I've often admired.
Here's a picture of the gorgeous pinkeep she stitched for me




The pinkeep is beautifully stitched and finished and the backing fabric has tiny bees which is just perfect for the design.
Other goodies Carol sent are a chart by Blackbird Designs (another of my favourite designers) WDW Mermaid thread, a cut of the fabric that was used to back the pinkeep, needles, some pretty ribbons and a sweet Mary Engelbreit card.
What a happy exchange. Thank you so much Carol.



Next is a picture of the bag I made recently for my partner in Linda's bag and bucket swap. Once again I forgot to take pictures of what I sent along with the bag
but you can see more pictures on Jenny's blog

here

On the new stash front I've been lucky enough to find an empty Moda Madeira tin which I've wanted for ages.





I absolutely love the sewing accessories Jane Timmers of Fancy Work has designed for this tin which you can see here. To date I believe it's only available as a class piece which is out of the question for me but hopefully it will be available as a chart to purchase one of these days.


Finally a view of the beach taken this afternoon. It's still very hot here but the new school term has started and a lot of the Summer visitors have left.



Thanks so much for visiting me today :)

It's been a while..........

I can hardly believe how long it's been since my last post! My family came from UK for the whole of August and the summer has seemed to fly past.
I didn't expect to get anything done at all while they were here but I found I did have a little time in the evenings to pick up my cross stitch and I have actually managed to get two older projects finished.
The first one, Winter Winds by the Prairie Schooler, was started last year



and the other, Beneath the Sunlit Sky by Blackbird Designs, was finished earlier today! It is stitched on 30 ct R & R Sea Fog linen using a mix of hand dyed threads by the Gentle Arts and Crescent Colours.



This piece will be framed but have a look here to see the wonderful table centre Heidi made from one of her Prairie Schooler stitched pieces. It's the blog entry from August 28th. I'd just love to do something similar with mine.
On to other things here's another dilly bag that I made from the same pattern I used once before only this time I did a Bronwyn Hayes stitchery design instead of using applique. I love this style of bag and have plans for a few more yet. One of the pictures shows the back of the bag and I couldn't decide which picture to use of the two that show the front so you get to see both.





I have another finished bag using the same fabrics but will save that to show next time.

In my last post I showed a scissor keeper and pincushion I had made for an exchange.
Here's the lovely scissor keeper and pincushion I received from Val in exchange.
Val used machine embroidery to embellish the scissor keeper and inside is a small pair of very sharp scissors that are just perfect for cutting out my applique pieces.
The scissors have a little key charm hanging from them and the pincushion has a stickpin again with a charm hanging from it. I just love this little set! What a fun exchange.




I don't know how many times I've entered blog giveaways with only one previous success but August 17th seems to have been my lucky day as I was notified of not one but two blog wins that day.
The first was from Judy in her drawing for a gorgeous fabric postcard. Have a look at this isn't it beautiful?
I love the 3 D effect of the fields


Judy also included some DMC threads, Thank you so much Judy those are always very welcome here and I will always treasure the lovely postcard.

My next win was on Marit's blog
where I was the lucky winner of her napkin box and two matching pot holders.
Marit is in Norway and does such lovely work. I feel very lucky to have something made by her. Thank you Marit :)



Finally I just can't resist showing a picture of my first ever Moda layer cake. Oooh how gorgeous is this? It's the Peace on Earth line and so lovely. I doubt I can ever bring myself to untie the ribbon but I love looking at it!
The great thing is I got this layer cake absolutely free for subscribing to the British quilting magazine Popular Patchwork. My friend Christine tells me this layer cake is $45 Canadian dollars. How could I resist such a bargain?




This has been another long post so if you're wtill with me thanks as always for visiting and for the lovely comments you leave. I hope you enjoy the picture show. They should all be clickable for a better view.

Until next time!