Gifts and Swaps and a Good Sense of Humor......

As I mentioned in my last post, I've received a few gifts and while I've sent my thanks for the gifts, I want to share photos, too. Who knew that blogging and Yahoo groups could mean so many gifts and fun things would come in the mail?!?! I love to see the mailman pull up and have to come to my door with a package. :-) So, here's a bit of what he has brought these last few weeks............
Renita from Florida is in both my Yahoo groups and we are also in a Yahoo pincushion group (Crazy About Pincushions) and in Pat Sloan's Quilt Mash-up group. Yes, we are never bored. :-) She sent me the plaid pincushion right after Wooly Buddies 2nd Anniversary. I love the size of it ............7" diameter and very plump! I keep it right by my sewing machine. :-) The little pincushion with the gingerbread man arrived this past week and I had no idea he was headed my way. Dorothy from Texas sent him and I put him on display in the Christmas corner of my sewing room. If memory serves me correctly, Dorothy is also in both my groups and the pincushion group. :-) He looks good enough to eat so I better keep him away from Kaiser. Yes, he has eaten a crafty thing or two, so I have to keep the treasured stuff up high where he can't get it.

Then an unexpected envelope arrived that contained that pretty fat quarter from Dianne in Newfoundland. The Friends & Feathers Words of Wisdom booklet came from my good blogging buddy, Pat. She said she saw it at an Amish quilt shop and that it "screamed buy this for Sandi". I understood perfectly. :-) And in that little red bag there is a little heart shaped box filled with little paper bits for cardmaking or scrapbooking. It came from Ramona, who found my blog during the One World One Heart blog event back in February. I'm here to tell you that I have met the coolest people since I started blogging. If you are reading this and you aren't blogging yet, well, think about how much fun you are missing and start blogging ...... soon. LOL!

From gifts, I'll switch to swaps...........I participated in the "Spring Fling Swap" over on Pat Sloan's group and the person I received my swap from was Cindy in Alabama. Look at all the lovely gifts she sent!!!

The swap gifts had to include an appliqued tea towel that used one of Pat's designs from her "Farmer's Market" pattern and a set of coasters and anything else you wanted to send. :-) Oh, and we had to give our favorite color/theme, candy, etc. so our swap partner would have some idea of what to make. I said I loved pink ...... and Cindy covered it to a "T". And I said I love chocolate with hazlenuts.........covered! And they are all gone! Yummy!
The person I sent a swap to was also named Cindy but she is Cindy in New Hampshire. She said she loved anything that had to do with farm life and planting flowers with her granddaughter. Her candy favorites were Hershey's Kisses and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and that's what is wrapped in those rick-rack fabric packs. :-) I chose strawberries for the towel because they just said "spring garden" to me and I included lots of flower seeds and even a silly cow puppet for Cindy's granddaughter. It was really fun putting the swap together and Cindy said she has never had such a great swap package come in the mail!

Back to the Yahoo pincushion group.............There was a spring swap on that group, too, and I thought ........sure, why not? It was called "Link to Spring" and we were challenged to make a pincushion using an Internet link that inspired us. I was partnered with Chris in Michigan. We have been partners before in a Crazy Quilting pincushion swap so I knew her work would be lovely. It was.............take a look........

Chris used a variety of wool pieces to create the pincushion ball and then embroidered on it and added lace embellishments. (Inspiration for her pincushion came from this site.... BirdNestOnTheGround .) She made some pretty pins for it and added a personalized tag. I almost cried when I took this out of the box. It is so lovely, I don't know how she parted with it. She did tell me that she liked it so much she is going to make one for herself now. I can see why! I've already eaten the M&M's and I'm making plans for that jelly bean fat quarter. No, I'm not going to eat it but wouldn't it make a cute little mat for under a candy dish?

So what did I send Chris? Well, I made her a little tulip pincushion from my hand-painted wools that I did with my grandson last summer. I used the pattern for my rose pincushion and just drew a tulip that said "Spring". Her favorite color is blue. :-) Chris said she loved dark chocolate so I chose the best..........Dove eggs. Then I added two fat eighths of strawberry print fabric because everyone knows that chocolate and strawberries go well together!

And now to "a good sense of humor"...........It's not everyone who gets underwear in the mail, so when Norma in Florida sent this to me as thanks for some fabric I sent her, she added........."I hope you have a good sense of humor." I sure do and thought this little "undie shaped" zippered bag was just too cute.

There was even a tissue holder to match! I decided to keep my valuables.......you know, wedding ring, cheap pearl earrings, etc. in my "undies" when I'm traveling. Works for me! Hope you, too, have a "sense of humor".

I love all the gifts, the note cards and the comments that you leave me, and it's all thanks to blogging and on-line groups! And here I thought turning 60 was going to be so awful. I've had more fun this past year than I could ever have imagined!! Thanks sooooo much to all of you!

Sandi