Sunday, January 11, 2009

Last exchange of 2008 and some birthday gifts

I took part in quite a few exchanges both stitched and quilted in 2008.
The last exchange being a Secret Santa with a Yahoo stitching group.
I had one fat quarter of Nells Flower Shop sampler print (Blackbird Designs for Moda) and one fat quarter of a plaid print from the Blackbird Designs Madeira range.
It was a bit of a squeeze but I managed to get this drawstring bag, a long pincushion and a little fob out of the fabric. The stitched motifs on the pincushion and fob are taken from The Blackbird Designs Sarah Tobias book.
Here's a view of the front......



and this is the back of the pincushion and fob





My exchange partner, Roberta, sent me two packages. One for the exchange and the other for my birthday a week later.

The focus piece is a sweet little sewing bag with a beautifully stitched snowman on the front and several matching accessories using the same fabrics to go with it.
A gorgeous round pinkeep, a little humbug shaped bourse, a collapsible ORT bag, tiny felt pincushion, stork scissors with a tape measure fob, a matching thread waxer and yet another thread waxer in the shape of an acorn.



Another birthday gift is this lovely blackwork pinkeep from Hazel (no blog) which she stitched in red, a lovely hand made card, some water colour gift tags and a dinky little spatula. It took me a little while to figure out what the spatula might be used for until I realised Hazel had intended it for use as a hornbook. All it needs is a hole drilled in the top, a tiny over one stitched design and voila! a mini hornbook :)



I still have more pictures to share but the digital camera seems to have fallen out with the PC so hopefully I'll be able to figure it out and show them next time.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.

Margaret

30 comments:

Nima said...

your drawstring bag,pincushion and a little fob looks beautiful...great finishing

Sheila said...

I have seen the bag and bits that Margaret made and can promise you they are truly gorgeous as are the gifts she received from Roberta... I was able to fondle them all, very carefully, a couple of days ago when we met up :)

Pat said...

Beautiful gifts both sent and received. You have been a busy girl.

Patricia Lessell said...

What nima said and then some! Your finishing is just PERFECT as is your stitching and you received some lovely gifts too. Happy Belated Birthday. Lots of Love Patti xxx

Karen said...

Lovely gifts you made and received;) Hope your holidays were good and a belated Happy Birthday to you;)

Christine said...

I LOVE the items you made with the Blackbird Designs fabric. Perfect. You received some lovely gifts. Probably a silly question, but what is a hornbook?
Happy stitching.
Christine

Love to Applique said...

Margaret,I love the Blackbird design fabric,some really great finishes and beautiful gifts. Hugs Debbie

Dorothy said...

The drawstring bag and accessories are beautiful, Margaret. No wonder you are so in demand for exchanges!
Lovely gifts received too.
A belated Happy Birthday.

angelasweby said...

Well, I am the owner of the WONDERFUL drawstring bag and little pillow and pinkeep and I am smiling from ear to ear. I could not believe my eyes when I opened the package from my Secret Santa :>) I have seen these gorgeous drawstring bags that Margaret makes so beautifully, winging their way over to other lucky friends and felt a little twinge of longing, I have to admit. Now, I have one of my own and I love it. The little co ordinating pillow and pinkeep are so pretty. Thank you Margaret.

On the subject of Secret Santa's, your surprise gifts from Roberta are wonderful. I love the snowman and those sweet little birdies. The round pin cushion is just so so cute, I love it! I must learn how to make one of those. Roberta AND you are real experts. I just love the pretty acorn thread waxer too. What a lovely collection of gifts/
Hugs, Angela

Anonymous said...

wow wow wow! I love the little dilly bag! Jo xo

Cindy F. said...

Oh wow!! These are really beautiful exchanges and birthday gifts!!

Daffycat said...

As always, your sewing and stitching is amazing. Beautiful work, Margaret! Lovely gifts you received too!

Nancy said...

More beautiful things! Roberta must be thrilled with your gift - everything is so lovely. Her gift to you is wonderful - I love the snowman! And, Hazel's redwork pinkeep is simply stunning!

Lelia said...

Lovely gifts! Love the bag & S.Tobias accessories : ) Job well done

Dovilė said...

so many beautiful things:)

CJ STITCHING AND BLOOMS said...

Hello Margaret, Happy New Year and HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Your creations are always beautiful and I reckon you love PINK as much as I do. VBG Your birthday pressie are also very pretty. Hugs Judy in Wintery Michigan wishing I was living in Spain. VBG

Anonymous said...

Treats, treats, and more treats. Happy belated birthday, by the way. I like the BBD pincushion and fob - beautiful finish. Thank you for your recent visits & messages :=)

Tammy said...

Wow, all those projects are fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Very lovely work. I think people who are good at cross stitch are very clever, mathmatical and organized......I am hopeless.....
but I love your work.

hazel c UK said...

Your drawstring bag you made for Angela is beautiful and I am so glad she has one of yours now for she admired mine that you made so much when she saw it in October. Roberta's gift is lovely and that snowman is so cute.
Happy stitching Margaret and thank you for sharing and putting up such a good picture of the pinkeep etc .
Hugs, Hazel (UK)

staci said...

Everything is STUNNING!!! I'm off to drool a bit more at your pictures :)

Sally said...

Oh wow, Margaret, all these pieces both sent and received are gorgeous. I love the drawstring bag you made.

tintocktap said...

What beautiful gifts!

Roberta said...

Hi Margaret, this is my second visit, did have time to leave a message the first time. I am so glad you liked my little gifties for you.

I love what you made for Angela, and I agree with everyone - you are getting some reputation as the "bag lady" meant in a good way.

Hazels, blackwork (done in red) is stunning and I love the little home made card and spatula (hornbook).

Enjoy!

Françoise said...

Lovely !!!Lovely!!!
The BBD Fabric is so beautifull and the finish is just perfect!!!
hugs
françoise

Sue said...

I just had to comment on your drawstring bag, it is really lovely. Beautiful work and lovely exchange gifts too....

Nancy said...

The bag you made is just beautiful again. The gifts you received are also so very nice. That will make a cute little hornbook.
I received the gift you sent to me for being the bingo winner, and I will post pictures next week. Thank you so much for everything until I say it better on my blog.
Nancy

Kit said...

I love your brawstring bag, how lovely!

Dorothy said...

Margaret, the gifts received and sent are beautiful! Such tiny stitches!
I hope you are well over your flu and life is back to normal.

acereta said...

like everything, especially red pinkeep and owl pincussion!