Friday started off really well with the excitement of Christmas in July. And it continued its upbeat theme when the mailman arrived with two more parcels - wow!
I had won a
giveaway on the Cottage Tails blog; Leanne is a fellow kiwi from further down the island.
This is what arrived in my parcel -
The beautiful wool is a lace weight; don't you think that is a most gorgeous colour? It came with a pattern for a lacy scarf - I am so looking forward to making it. {The pattern is written by Margaret Stove, the lady who made a shawl for Prince William when he was a babe and who also designed the shawl given to Prince George on their recent NZ visit.}{Little old me rubbing shoulders with royalty :-)}
As you can see Leanne popped in some other goodies, including a violet plant (after another little conversation we'd had) which got planted straight away as per instructions! Thank you so much Leanne!!
And I was also on the receiving end of a delightful 'smile' from
Jacquie; a truly random act of kindness. Jacquie has been sending these cute pincushions out all around the world. What a lovely thing to do.
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| Thank you Jacquie, it does make me smile when I look at and use it! |
Now to share what I made for
Jan for our Christmas in July swap. I got the impression from Jan's blog that she disliked a lot of the commercialism in Christmas and also thought that the likes of Snowmen at Christmas were inappropriate for an Australian Christmas. So these impressions guided my gift choice.
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To go with the pot trivet I shared with you a few posts ago, I made this
oven mitt and a decorated tea towel. |
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This was a fun little notebook. You can see I used one of
Michelle's (Rag Tag Stitchin) alphabet people to decorate the front. |
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This was a new type of notebook cover to me; it had a flap that
folded over from front to back. I also liked the pen holder in it. |
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I thought these sentiments were lovely and you can see I had
fun with the quilting! Blew a few cobwebs away :-) |
It feels quite amazing with all these gifts too-ing and fro-ing all over the place! There's a lot of sewing I'm trying to do at the moment (more gifts and more projects!) but my days as a lady of leisure :-) are being curtailed by a few of these little critters -
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| Yes, calving has started so I'm a (nearly) fulltime farmer at the moment! |
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| Spring is on its way!! |
Thank you for visiting, have a happy day,
and happy creating,
What lovely mail , that smile pincushion would make me smile too:-) oh that wool looks gorgeous can't wait to see the scarf you knit up . Lovely the gifts you made for your partner , very pretty and practical too .
ReplyDeleteHi Raewyn boy you sure did receive some lovely gifts and i sure do love what you sent Jan,what a fun swap,hope you are enjoying your evening.xx
ReplyDeleteCHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!! That yarn is gorgeous! I love working with lace weight. Your swaps always look like such fun. I don't know if I will ever get used to the difference in seasons. We are having a really weird mild July. Not sure what that means, if anything, for our winter. The very best thing about spring is the flowers beginning to bloom.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful box of surprises. Gorgeous wool! I'd love to see the violet when it is blooming!
ReplyDeleteI love the random pincushion idea. Very fun to get something totally unexpected.
You are a hard-working lady, Raewyn! : )
Such a happy post. I agree, the wool is beautiful, looking forward to seeing the shawl. Great gifts for Jan. Enjoy your new babies and the hints of Spring.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to see what you make with the yarn. I Love the colours you chose.
ReplyDeleteNow that is the mail you want not bills! Great prize you won, also love the colour of the wool! The gifts you made where beautiful and I know what you mean about those critters-mine aren't meant to arrive till today and already 13 have decided to come early! Gotta love mother nature!
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Lovely sewing and great gifts, I'm not going to craft today but I think I might randomly grab one of my gazillion magazines and make something. Hope calving goes well and your paddocks are recovering xx
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful gifts you received and what wonderful gifts you gave!
ReplyDeleteHi Raewyn, your gifts you made are so lovely & you sure put lots of thought into what to make. I love the notebook so much :-)
ReplyDeleteLucky girl receiving some gorgeous mail from Leanne too - you will enjoy knitting that beautiful wool. Have been thinking of you & guessed you were right in the thick of calving now :-)
Your gifts are all lovely and what you sent is stunning too. Have fun with calving.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you received and gave some wonderful "Christmas" gifts! I love the saying on your little quilt! Sounds like a busy time for you! I hope all is well since the flooding.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely gifts!!!The wool is beautiful - can't wait to see what you do with it. Love the quilting on the wall hanging! The smile pincushion is lovely - I got one the other day too! Love to see the calves coming - but that means a lot of work doesn't it? No daffodils here yet but some buds are coming!
ReplyDeletexx
Beautiful Xmas in July gifts Raewyn. hugs.....
ReplyDeleteLovely gifts you have there and the wall hanging is so appealing, very nice saying on it. Calves and daffodils a sign of spring. We are having a great summer but the other day I noticed leaves are already changing colour, very early to be happening, suppose that is the lack of rain but can`t grumble as the sun has been glorious
ReplyDeleteCool win from Leanne!
ReplyDeleteYour CIJ presents are awesome.
Look at all those cute babies coming to your farm.
what gorgeous gifties sent and received!
ReplyDeletelove your blessing mini, so beautiful and the quilting is wonderful.
how lovely to have all those babies to look forward to.
Oh Raewyn I love the note book cover, it is so cool. I think I could even make that!! Spring is springing here too, yahoo!!!
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Raewyn,
ReplyDeleteMy goodness but you have had a busy month. Lovely gifts received and given.
I love your embroidery and that book cover is wonderful.
Have fun with your new yarn . . . can't wait to see what you do with it:)
Have a marvelous day.
Connie :)
What a delightful collection of gifts you have been receiving and sending. All gorgeous and thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all your farming duties.
Beautiful gifts.....
ReplyDeleteWhat sweet gifts, both sent and received! Enjoy your spring! :0)
ReplyDeleteOh my such lovely gifts! One can really see the care given in making of each one. I love the little calf. Just too cute.
ReplyDeleteWow such lovely lovely goodies! What gorgeous creations and makes :) ooo calves - my girls just delight in all the frm animals.
ReplyDeleteThat fine lace wool is beautiful - love the colour too!
ReplyDeleteI've joined a quilting class at Patchwork Passion, a quilt shop near me. It's english paper piecing and I'm going to try and make a little hexi bag - start small is best for me!
I've wanted to have a go for so long so hopefully this will get me off the ground!
I love the notebook cover. I may have to make one like this. I can maybe practice my walking foot machine quilting.
ReplyDeleteOh my the yarn is such gorgeous colours! And such a cute "smile" to receive ;) Your Christmas gifts are superb! Love the shape of notebook holder and the fabric is too cute! Jan is so blessed to have had you make for her :)
ReplyDeletefabulous gifts.
ReplyDelete