Contented

Eye candy part one - Swap goodies!

WARNING: Picture heavy post!

Last week, Thursday I think it was, I received my paperbag swap parcel from my partner, Claire.

All beautifully wrapped, and I love the stripy string Claire used!  You will notice in the above picture that the top parcel is labelled "early christmas present" - well of course I opened that one first!!  Yes, I admit I have no restraint whatsoever!  Inside was this lovely stocking...

which contained these lovely little parcels...

which contained all these lovely goodies!

You can't really see it properly, but the book is a colouring book, full of winter scenes...

I love it!  Such an original idea.   Anyway, onto the main parcel, which contained the items made with the fabric I had sent to Claire - once again, beautifully wrapped in pink tissue paper and ribbon.

The sweetest little fabric and felt house picture, in a lovely antique effect frame.

A GORGEOUS fabric owl garland, already hanging in pride of place in my hallway.  Not sure if you can see but the letters on the owls spell out "WELCOME"

This last item is in fact an apron, which I just realised I didn't get round to photographing in it's entirety but, trust me, it's beautiful!  It has the two hexagon flowers on the front, the back is lined in pretty pink gingham and there are sweet little daisies embroidered on the waistband.  (I will try and get a proper pic of it for next time - promise!).  I admitted to Claire that I don't actually wear aprons at home normally, but I think she might have changed all that!  Thank you SO MUCH Claire, I love all the goodies you sent me and I just hope you will like what I'm sending you.
 
I'm aiming to post my parcel to Claire tomorrow, so will hopefully be able to show you what I made for her later this week.  To all the other paperbag swappers - please do let me know once you have blogged about your parcels so that I can pop by and check them all out!
 
Tomorrow I shall be back to tell you all about the wonderful Country Living Christmas Fair.

See you then!

R x
 
 
 
 

 
 

Happy Friday!

I've finally been able to enjoy some fun sewing this last couple of days.  The dreaded Santa's Grotto curtains are finished (hooray!!) so yesterday I had a lovely morning playing around with fabric, cutting and sewing and generally making a huge mess all over the dining room table!  I made a piece of patchwork which was to be the front of a cushion cover.

The fabric was pieced directly onto a piece of an old fleece blanket, a technique I've seen on a few blogs, and I was really pleased with how this worked.  I then machine quilted around the squares and, this morning, I cut up one of Peter's old shirts to make the back.

Such a brilliant idea to use the front of the shirt, so I didn't have to worry about making any kind of opening at all!  I think I might check out the charity shops for some flannel shirts, then the cushions could be even cosier!

I had bought some cheap cushion inserts from Argos which, by the way, DON'T!  They were rubbish and only about half full so I cannibalised some old Ikea cushions we had lying around and put some extra stuffing in to make the cushion nice and firm.  I am so pleased with how this has turned out so there will definitely be some more being made very soon!

Also making me happy today is the fact that my little pink baby quilt has been featured on Katherine's blog, Wolly Wotnots, as part of her Pink Friday series, in aid of Breast Cancer.  Do pop over and take a look if you can.

I also finished writing my letter to Susan for the Letter Swap and got that posted off today.  I wanted to make something a bit different for the envelope so I had great fun cutting and sticking pages from old magazines!  

 

I hope she likes it!

Have a great weekend!

R x

 
 

Swap news

Hopefully, everyone participating in the paper-bag swap has made contact with their partners now and are busy making friends!  The deadline for posting out your paper bag of supplies isn't until Monday (19th) but myself & my partner Claire, have already exchanged parcels - they both arrived today!  And rather spookily, we both sent rather similar fabrics!

Here's what I sent to Claire...

 

Some scrummy French Hatbox - a floral and a polka dot - and this is what Claire sent to me...

 

...a very pretty pink floral and a polka dot!!  What can I say, great minds obviously think alike!  Despite this being my swap, I found it really hard to choose what to send, at one point my dining room table was literally covered with fabric as I "auditioned" combinations! 

 

Claire and I didn't pick a theme for our makes, but we have agreed to make one thing useful and one thing "pointless but pretty"!  I've been busy today looking online and through all my craft books for some inspiration and ideas and, to be honest, I'm not sure I can pick just two things to make!  But I'm really looking forward to it and I know that my fabric is in safe hands too.

R x

 

Paper-bag swap partners

So here's the list of participants for the paper-bag swap.  Only twelve of us this time, but that's fine, hopefully it'll still be lots of fun.  Please do look at my original post for the details of what to send etc.  I have had one other lady contact me at the last minute, so if anyone else would like to join in, or if any of the current participants would like two partners, please do let me know.

Katy and Sophie

Tracey and Valerie

Denise and Emma

Lauren and Maxine

Mary and Jenny

Me and Claire

Please click on the link to your partners blog and leave them a comment to introduce yourselves.  (Give me a shout if any of the links don't work!) Then you can swap mailing addresses and start making friends and putting your paper bags together.  If you want to agree a theme with your partner then that's absolutely fine.  Remember, the deadline for sending out your paper bags is 19th October and the deadline for sending back your handmade goodies is 16th November. 

It's entirely up to you what you make - it could be one larger item (like a bag or cushion), or it could be several smaller things - and you can add supplies from your own stash as well, as long as you use the supplies you have been sent.  I think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway!) but please make something that you think your partner will love.  This is where is really helps to read your partners blog and take the time to get to know them.

If I've missed anything out or if anything is unclear please do let me know!

Happy Swapping!

R x

 

Last call for swap sign-ups

Just a quick reminder that the swap sign-ups close tomorrow, so now's your last chance to join in.  Click herefor more info.

Have a great weekend!

R x

Lovely mail

Who doesn't love getting lovely things in the mail?! This morning the postman delivered a parcel from my other seaside swap partner Marie of Protect the Cookie.  Yes, I know the swap was AGES ago!  but I had pre-agreed with Marie that she could have longer to complete her part of the swap, so this felt like a wonderful bonus.

 

Inside the box...

lots of goodies wrapped in pretty pink tissue paper, which contained...

 

 

 

the most beautiful, turquoisey blue jewellery set - necklace, bracelet and earrings - which SHE MADE HERSELF!  I LOVE them!  But that's not all....

 

some gorgeous turquoisey-blue yarn,

 

plus a very cute notebook, three sticks of Southport rock and some gorgeous smelling bubble bath.  Thank you so much Marie, I love all my goodies!   Joe did start eyeing the rock but I have told him he will have to share!

While we're on the subject of swaps, don't forget there is still time to sign up for the paperbag swap - full details in the post below.

Have a great week!

 R x

 

Paper bag swap!

Thanks to those who left comments about the paper bag swap idea - I'm going to go ahead with it so sign-ups are now open!  Here's how it's going to work:

This swap is open to UK based bloggers only.

Sign up will be open from now until Sunday 4th October.

I will post the list of partners here on Monday 5th October.

You then have two weeks to get in touch with your partner, make friends and put together your bag of supplies.

Bags should be sent out no later than Monday 19th October.

When you receive the package from your partner, make them something lovely with the supplies they've sent you and send it back to them no later than Monday 16th November - that gives you 4 weeks making time which should be plenty I think.

Here are the rules regarding what you should send:

Please send 2 fat quarters of fabric plus one spool coordinating cotton thread.

Optional extras could include: a couple of skeins of embroidery thread, some ribbon or rickrack, or some buttons etc

Your supplies should be packaged in a nice bag - it doesn't have to be paper but I think we could really have a lot of fun making and/or decorating our own paper bags, but fabric would be nice too - just NO PLASTIC BAGS PLEASE!

When you come to make your items, you may add extra fabric or other supplies from your own stash but you must use the supplies that your partner has sent you.

If you want to send any little extra gifts then I would suggest you do that when you send back your finished items. 

I hope that all makes sense!  Any queries just let me know, and I'll go over it all again when I post the list of partners.

Jennyflower, A Bun Can Dance, Tiny White Daisies and DollyDollop - you're already on my list.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

R x

Another swap anyone?

I recently signed up for a Letter Writing Swap which is being hosted by Denise at A Bun Can Dance, and yesterday found out that my partner is Susan Ashman, who runs her own Interior Design business.  I immediately loved the idea for this swap - to simply write a letter to our partners - as I used to love writing to my various penpals as a teenager.  I am still in contact with one of them (hello Catherine!), but nowadays we correspond by email.  I couldn't tell you the last time I actually sat down and wrote a proper letter!  So I am really looking forward to choosing some lovely notepapers and maybe a new pen too!

This obviously got me thinking about doing another swap.  Despite me having said how keen I am to get back into some fun sewing, I am in knitting mode at the moment and am having a hard time finding my sewing groove again.  So what better way to give myself a kick start than to arrange another swap?  Some time ago I read about something called a "Paperbag" swap (I think it was here) and thought it sounded like a really fun idea.  Basically, you send your partner a pre-set amount of supplies eg. some fabric, ribbon, buttons, embroidery thread etc) in a paper bag (although it really doesn't have to be paper!), then your partner makes something using the supplies you've sent, and sends it back to you (and vice-versa).  What a brilliant idea!  You still get a surprise in the post but, because you've chosen the materials, you can almost guarantee that you'll love it!  This might be a great way to make use of some fabric that you've been holding on to but can't decide what to do with?  What do you reckon?  Is anyone interested?  Let me know and if there's enough interest then I'll set it up.  I think though, that because it obviously involves posting out twice, I'm going to limit this one to UK bloggers only, in order to keep the costs down. Sorry!  But do let me know what you think.

R x

Trying to keep up

There are now just two weeks of the summer holidays left.  It's gone so fast and has, actually, been relatively pain free so far!  We've not been particularly busy, but I am starting to feel like I just can't keep up with everything - housework especially.  Now, you know that housework is not my strong point (!) but, honestly, with the kids around all the time it's just getting ridiculous!   No sooner do I tidy something up, than they come in and trash it all again!  Joe's toys are EVERYWHERE, and William is still leaving his stuff all over the place, despite several reminders to pull his finger out.  Although I'm not yet at the stage of wanting to scream, I'm starting to feel it might be nice to have some time to myself again.  Not least because I want to be able to get the sewing machine out and spread some fabric all over the place without having to stop every five minutes to see to the kids! 

Talking of fabric, that reminds me of several things that I have been meaning to show for ages and have not yet gotten around to (another thing I can't keep up with!). 

First of all, my parcels for the seaside swap.  I had two partners and I decided to make them a mini quilt each (I really love making mini quilts, so fun!)

 

This one went to Marie at Protect the Cookie.  The embroidered words at the bottom mean "gone to the beach" in French.  I made a similar mini quilt for Maxine at Tiny White Daisies:

 

Oh dear, that looks horribly crumpled doesn't it?  My quilt photography skills leave a great deal to be desired!  I also sent them a little zippy pouch each, a candle, a little seaside sign, some embroidered applique motifs, some body spray and chocolate.

 

Thanks so much for swapping with me ladies!  I had great fun, and I have really enjoyed seeing all the other swap goodies popping up over blogland.  I think I can call my first go at swap arranging a success!  I do already have an idea for another swap, but I'll wait till we're all settled back at school before I post details, probably at the end of Sept/start of October - so watch this space..

Before I go, I did promise some pictures of my finished Georgina quilt, didn't I?  Well, this is about the best I could come up with!

 

In the garden, and here it is in it's proper home, on our bed:

 

Again, looking horribly crumpled (probably because it is - ha!).  I didn't actually quilt this, it would have taken me FOREVER to hand quilt it and I just didn't feel confident enough to put it through the machine so I tied it instead - there's one tie at each corner of the patterned rectangles.

 

Because the weather is so hot and muggy at the moment, this is perfect on our bed, with just a duvet cover (without the duvet) underneath.

Happy Thursday!

R x

Swap Swag!

Warning - picture heavy post!

I've been feeling very happy today!  We haven't been anywhere exciting, but Will and I went into Tunbridge Wells this morning for some more back-to-school shopping (plus I also treated myself to that very expensive walking foot - don't tell Peter!) and when we got back there was not one, but two bits of post waiting for me.

The first thing I opened was this ENORMOUS box from Maxine, one of my Seaside Swap partners.

 

Now, I think I did put in the swap guidelines that the parcel should be no bigger than a shoebox, so Maxine has been very naughty breaking the rules, but who am I to complain when all this lot was inside?

 

First out was this lovely bag, made from the softest denim - yes, I know it's an appalling pic but I was very excited!  Here are some close ups:

 

  

There were more goodies inside the bag!

  

Two skeins of this gorgeous wool, (can you see? It's called "Sea Spray"!)

 

some ice-cream shaped sweets, a little pot of ice-cream lip balm (cookies & cream flavour - mmm), some real, vintage postcards,

 

a little fishy pencil (immediately claimed by Joe!), a flower-windmill and a very cute bucket shaped candle holder - that I think is intended to be stuck in a flowerpot (or sandcastle).

But that's not all!  In the box was one more parcel, containing this:

 

 

The most fabulous, beach hut cushion!  Thank you so, so much Maxine!  I absolutely love everything, you have been so generous and a wonderful swap partner!

Now, as if all that wasn't enough, I also received this lovely card and little gift from Jackie, as a thank you for arranging the swap:

 

 

Some gorgeous wineglass charms, with little seashells on them!  Thank you Jackie, they are lovely, that was so sweet of you!

Wow, it's taken me ages to post all that so I'll leave the photos of what I sent to my swap partners for the next time.

Don't forget, the swap deadline is tomorrow, so I hope everyone has sent their parcels off now!

Happy Thursday!

R x