Christmas Swaps Catch-up.

Well I have spent this morning catching up on washing and putting away all the things we used for our family lunch yesterday. Now I have time to catch up on my swaps. I have been very spoilt with all the lovely things I have received. Firstly is Chookyblue's SSCS Swap. I finally found out who my partner was when I opened the gift under the tree, Raewyn from New Zealand. Her parcel was full of the lovely gifts below.

Choccies, Cottage Garden threads, a permanent marker, gorgeous buttons, Xmas stitchery with my name,  thread catcher and  needle holder with the tiniest hexagons and stitching.

Thank you so much Raewyn for being my Secret Santa.

I am unable to show you what I sent at this time as my secret partner has gone on holidays and forgotten her parcel according to her blog.  I will wait until she gets back to show my main parcel.
Thank you to Chooky and Googy girl for hosting another successful swap.

I was also in Maree's Xmas Swap. I opened my parcels from Fiona. They are all beautiful so thank you so much Fiona. Your stitching is wonderful and I love all the handmade things that you have given me. Below are my gifts :

6 gifts in all : Something for the tree, under the tree, to eat, smelly, to read and something for the sewing room. Missing are the chocolate almonds that were found in the bon bon.
I have posted about my gifts to Anna who does not have a blog. She has sent me an email to say she has opened her gift for under the tree so here it is, a Xmas table runner.

I still have my Let's Celebrate gifts but will leave it for another day as this post is getting a bit lengthy.
You would have to agree that my gifts are just gorgeous. Thank you to my partners for making my Christmas Day perfect.
Will be back soon.  Hugs.............

 

Last parcel sent, Swap updates and a few surprises.

Today I sent away my last parcel to Kali. All year we have been sending and receiving gifts as part of Mrs Martin's Let's Celebrate Swap. My parcel is quite late in being sent so a big thank you to Kali for giving me extra time to get it done.

 Kali's Xmas parcel arrived today along with my birthday one, they are under the tree awaiting Christmas Day. Can't wait to open them. Thank you Kali, they are wrapped beautifully.
Today Cheryll  from Gone Stitchin announced that our opening day for her Santa Sack Swap is this Thursday the 19th. Here is a photo of the Santa Sack I received from my partner Cath of Bits 'n Bobs .

I haven't looked in the sack so it will be a surprise when Thursday comes.
My parcel in Maree's 6 Xmas Items has arrived at Anna's place and she has opened all the parcels except the one for under the tree. She sent me a lovely Christmas E-card to let me know. Thank you Anna. Here are the gifts :

Something to Read : some lovely bag patterns in this mag. 

Something to Eat : Chocolates, Coffee Sachets, Shortbread and a Xmas Mug Rug 

Something that smells nice : Lavender soap, wardrobe sachet in a jewelled gift bag 

Leanne Beasley pattern, Thread holder, Spotted buttons, Erasable pen, Ric rac, 2 Fat 1/4's and some Post it notes for the Sewing Room.

Something for the tree : A Felt heart with stitched gingy and a Silver stocking with room for a photo.

I have also had a couple of  lovely surprises over the last few weeks.
A card and Christmas Pudding Felt Ornament from my friend, Michelle Ridgway.  Thank you very much Michelle .

 Cheryll from Gone Stitchin has also sent me a parcel. A card, 6 coasters (that have Cheryll's and my blog address around the outside), fridge magnet, bookmark and a fabric thimble.

Thank you Cheryl for your lovely gifts. They certainly brightened my day when they arrived.
Well, I have much more to write about but time has got away from me and the plumber will be here at 7.00 in the morning for a bit of much needed work in the bathroom so must get some sleep. Will be back soon with more show and tell.
Till next time ........ Happy Stitching...........

Snakes, storms and quilting....

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday as I went to feed my chickens. Opened the back shed and a red-bellied black snake slithered away from the door. Probably only about 3 feet but it got my heart racing. Needless to say I quickly shut the shed. Rang the snake catcher man and he came and caught it for me. I certainly got quite a fright. I know they are around but always imagine they are in someone else's yard not yours. Am going to buy a pair of wellington boots to wear in the yard in future and get some for the grand-kids as well. Scary..........
While waiting for the snake catcher, we had a bad storm and lost power for 8 hours so I think I have had enough excitement for this week, do you agree?

Earlier this year, I joined Maree's Xmas Swap and received the name of the person who I was to send my parcels to. Below are the wrapped parcels I sent last week. It is good to know the parcel arrived safely and Vanessa enjoyed receiving her gifts.

I also received my parcel and even though I promised myself I wouldn't open it until Christmas, I gave in after a couple of days. So here are my gifts sent by Marlene. Thank you so much, they are all lovely. I am looking forward to putting my table runner on the table Christmas morning. Included, something to read, something smelly, something handmade, something for Christmas and something for the craft room.

I will show you the gifts I sent next post.

Below is the label I stitched for the baby quilt my quilting group gave to the minister and his wife for their new baby due to be born very soon. We have been meeting at the church hall since our group was formed over 3 years ago so have got to know Dan, the minister, quite well. 13 of our members made a block each, Cindie put it together and quilted the top and Jan added the binding. We presented the quilt on our break-up day last week. They already have 2 little boys and as we didn't know if baby is a boy or girl, we included both blue and pink in the design. Safe arrival Baby Talbot.........hope you like your quilt.

Well must go now as I am going over to my son's to help him get the house ready for sale. 2011 will bring a few changes but hopefully they will be for the better.

Thanks for reading my blog, I will try to blog a bit more often next year. Have a great day, until next time...........