Xmas in July Gifts which I made and sent....

.... to three, hopefully, happy bloggers.  Here are all of my parcels piled together ready to post.

Now, this is what I sent to either Lyn or Michelle (sorry, silly me forgot to take note before I posted these two parcels). Update: to Michelle.

I sent these three gifts to Julie from Jewells and yes, she loved them - luckily for me, blue is her favourite colour!  (Coincidentally, Julie sent all those lovely gifts to me, I posted about last post for the swap)

.... and these three gifts were sent to either Lyn or Michelle.  Update: Lyn.

I hope that they loved them as much as I do - I love every minute of the making, stitching and finishing.

Thanks Cheryll for being an awesome swap mama - you can check out what other people received if you go here.

hugs, 

Christmas in July Swap.....

..... Each year for the past few years, I have taken part in two Christmas in July swaps, an Aussie one run by Cheryll from Gone Stitchin' and an international one run by Kim from Wisdom with Needle and Thread.

I have sent off all three sets of my gifts (pics in my next post) and I have received the two Aussie swap parcels (and opened them) and I am just waiting for the overseas one to come - it will be a lovely surprise when it does come.

So, without further adieu, here are my lovely gifts  (I can tell you, I have been wonderfully spoilt!):

The single parcel at the back is from Julie and the three at the front are from Ilene.

So, I opened Ilene's first:
See the gorgeous ornaments she used as tags?

The first parcel from Ilene contained this gorgeous stitched table topper and some yummy heart chocolates in a sweet heart tin (if TraderVic is lucky, I may share some with him - lol!)

Furio approves!

Inside the next parcel were some lovely Christmassy handtowels - just perfect for my kitchen.

The third parcel had two lovely wall hangings - a christmas tree and a snow man.  Thank you so much, Ilene - lovely gifts.

So, then Furio had to help me open Julie's large parcel. Imagine my surprise when I found it was full of lots and lots of goodies!

Gorgeous button present tags, a little friendship book and some christmas ribbons.

A cute reindeer.

A christmassy thread catcher (or chocolate bowl) plus an apple and rhubarb scented candle (now how did she know I had been making apple and rhubarb compote yesterday?).

More Christmas ribbon.

A christmas apron - perfect!

oooh, what is inside this tin?

Some crocheted wash clothes and...

... some cat salt and pepper shakers, oh, I love them, Julie.

They are perfect with my little dutch girl and boy and my thimbles (and can you see Henry Viii) lurking in the background?).

Julie and Ilene, I cannot thank you enough for your lovely gifts, I feel so spoilt - I just love them all.


hugs to everyone,

FNSI_June Update

I managed to squeeze in a little bit of stitching for FNSI last night - in between starting work at 6 am, attending a funeral (the mother-in-law of a friend), coming home and doing some more work, going to the movies with friends (Jurassic World - it was okay but not as thrilling as I thought it would be) and then some stitching while staying up to wait for TraderVic to come home from the footy (the Mighty Tigers lost - bad luck!).

However, as it is still secret stitching for my Christmas in July swap, it is only another sneak peek.

Click FNSI to see what everyone else got up to last night.

Have a good weekend, now I need to think about what to stitch/sew/finish for IHSW!

hugs,

Christmas in July swap - the gifts I gave....

As you know from my last post I received lots of Christmas bounty in the two Christmas in July swaps I took part in, but, of course, I gave to two people, too.

Firstly, I made these gifts for Anna (no blog), who despite being assigned to me in the international swap actually lives only a few streets away and as a result of the swap we have renewed our friendship (we had met once briefly before for a coffee but then life sort of got in the way).  How lovely is that?

The first gift was a stitched cushion finished with a lovely flannel Christmas fabric.

Gift 2 was one of these sweet Christmassy bunnies. (the one on the right).

... and Gift 3 was The Snowflake Tree, I was so pleased I found that I had the perfect frame in my stash - how lucky was that?

... and here they are, all wrapped and ready to go.

My second Giftee was Asta from Yarns from my Sewing Basket.

The first gift was a tin with an embroidered Noel wreath on the top.

Gift 2 was another Joy cushion but finished with a different Christmas fabric.

... and lastly, Asta also received a Christmas Bunny (the one on the left)

So, another successful Xmas in July swap is over.

Thanks again to Cheryll and Kim for organising the two swaps.

hugs, 

Woo hoo! Xmas in July gifts.....

Boy, oh boy! Have I been spoilt - it is like all my Christmases in July have come at once!  Well, at least two of them!

You might remember that the other day I posted about the parcels arriving:

So, on opening them up, these exciting parcels were inside.....

Finally, after a little bit of squishing, the big day came for opening the presents.  The first set of parcels I opened was from the Overseas Sister Swap, run by Kim from Wisdom with needle and thread.  Well, I found out that my giver was Kim herself and she was oh so generous, as she sent along some RAKs as well!

Now, you will notice that there is a bit of a theme here - cats!  So, let's look at the lovely gifts the wonderful and generous Kim made for me.

What can be in this box?

Oh my goodness, it is a miniature Furio on a sweet tiny jewel box.  Now, I am pretty sure that Kim made and painted this herself.  Thank you, Kim, I shall treasure this always.

Then inside the little black bag were all these very sweet Xmas tags/ornies plus a couple of handmade thread holders - one in a cat-shape and one with my initial stitched over one - so exquisitely detailed.

Now, this parcel was delightfully squishy!

.... and look, a flannel afternoon tea cloth, with, you guessed it, the sweetest cats imaginable!

Hmm, I wonder what is in here?

A gorgeous Angel, of course!

.... and look there is more....

Oh, a sweet pussy cat ornie.

... and one last parcel...

A beautiful flat fold ornament....

... and here are all the presents together, can you see the very sweet kittycat Christmas card as well?   Kim, I do not know how to thank you.  Such gorgeous, generous gifts, you are indeed a special, stitchy friend.  Love you heaps.

Then, I opened my second package.... from Sharon of Lilabelle Lane.

A skein of my favourite Cottage Garden Threads, "Blue Heaven" - gorgeous!  And look at these sweet little charm squares - 42 of them only 2 and a half inches across.

Look at  Sharon's clever use of tape to turn the string into a sort of bunting.

Some honey shower gel - just what I needed, actually, as I was about to run out! lol!

Look, there is more....

Some yummy Lindt chocolate, this went straight to work with me for my desk drawer for when I have that 3pm slump!

 Some great autumnal fabrics....

... ooh, I think that this one contains a stocking....

Yep, I was right!  Isn't it lovely!

Some beautiful bath soaps....

Hmm, how can there be a snowflake in here?

This is how! A matching wall hanging to the stocking, with jingle bells on the bottom.

Wow! Look at this lovely table runner - I just love it, as I am very fond of hearts.  This will match my decor perfectly!

,,,, and here are all the wonderful goodies from  Sharon.....

 Again, Sharon, I do not know how to thank you.  I love all of my gifts and I cannot thank you enough for your generosity.  You are a wonderful friend and swap partner.

Thanks also to Kim and Cheryll for being awesome swap mamas!

hugs to you all,