Angel Swap Gifts from Norway

Last week I received a nice email from May Kristin in Norway revealing herself as my Secret Stitcher's Angel Swap gift giver. She wanted me to know that my gifts were on their way across the ocean and that I had not been forgotten.

George the mailman made me very happy today, leaving a wonderful little bundle of handmade love from Norway in my mailbox. I couldn't wait to open it. I even turned off the stove and made everyone wait for dinner so I could open it! Take a peek with me and see just how much May Kristin spoiled me.


Don't you just love wrapped packages? I like to think of them as Pretty Packages of Potential!


The first item May Kristin worked so beautifully is the cutest little drawstring bag with the cutest little hand embroidered angel. The fabrics are gorgeous with the layers quilted together, and the coolest wooden beads on the drawstrings. May Kristin must have known how much I love bags! There really is no such thing as Too Many Bags!


Here's a close-up of that friendly little angel with her big happy smile and her poofy hairdo, fancy dress, skinny little legs, super shoes and pretty heart shaped flower in her hands. Entirely too cute and every stitch is perfect!


Then I opened a lovely little needle book with a cheerful buttonhole stitched flower on the front of it. The center of the flower is satin stitched perfectly which I admire so much because that is one stitch I never mastered.


Inside the needle book are two pages of felt and on the back are two little pockets for holding handy little helpers like the tape measure that May Kristin included. I think my favorite needle threader will go in the other pocket.


This pin cushion is just the neatest thing. It has these 5 points that stick up with that pretty red flower button in the middle...just the most clever design I've seen for a pin cushion. I also found a little ring pin cushion in the package which is the little blue heart on the left. It slips on a finger like a ring for easy pinning. Very clever!


This is the underside of the 5 pointed pin cushion. I love the fabrics and the buttons May Kristin used. This pin cushion will definitely have a place on my sewing table. I've actually not had a pin cushion for about 20 years, and my last one was one of those inexpensive tomato shaped things from Walmart or somewhere. This one was definitely worth holding out for!



May Kristin must have been poking around my website because she knew I also enjoy knitting and crocheting and so kindly included two skeins of sock yarn for me. I have actually never knitted socks but have wanted to attempt a pair for quite some time. Now that I have the yarn, I really have no excuse for putting it off. You can be sure I'll let you know how I do with it!


Along with all the handmade goodies and the yarn, May Kristin also wrote a lovely note to me and included her website address which I will add to my following list. I need to keep an eye on this crafty lady!

I just cannot think of enough ways to say thank you to May Kristin for taking the time to stitch such beautiful things for me. I certainly hope we run into each other in a future swap or exchange.

Speaking of exchanges, a few days ago I posted my Pay It Forward exchange and am still looking for someone to take me up on the challenge. I know my Angel Swap friend from Australia, Lyn, is already making something for me, but I can't Pay It Forward unless someone signs up. Please don't make me feel guilty accepting Lyn's gift! If you can't do it, please pass on the information to others who might be able to. Thanks!

Happy Stitching!

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Pay It Forward Exchange

Lyn from Bluebird Quilts in Australia was the person whose name I received for the recent Stitcher's Angel Swap so I have been following her blog for a while now. She is quite a quilter and I have admired her work ever since I first popped in to see who I would be making things for. This week I saw that she had just announced her participation in a Pay It Forward exchange and would be sending something handmade to the first three people to comment on her post about it and agree to do the same thing.

So here's my Pay It Forward Exchange announcement:

This is to the first three people who leave a comment on this post asking to join the Pay It Forward Exchange and who agree to do the same thing on their website:

I will send a handmade item to each of you sometime within the next year. In turn, each of you agrees to post a similar announcement on your website and send a handmade item to three people who will continue to Pay It Forward in the same way.

This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs.

So who's up for some fun?

Happy Stitching!

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More Goodies in the Mail -- Christmas Ornament Swap Gifts

George has done it again. He brought me something nice in the mail. Some nice person in Utah sent me a beautiful handmade Christmas ornament as part of the Christmas Ornament Swap I joined a few months ago. Take a look at the twisted wire and pearl snowflake as well as the other nice things she sent to me...


Won't this look beautiful hanging on the Christmas tree? My Secret Santa did such a nice job twisting the wire and making all the loops so even. She said in her little note that the pearls in this ornament were from a vintage necklace. The little gem in the center will catch the lights on the tree and add a bit of sparkle. I just love it. I think I might even leave it hanging in a window for the winter.


Besides the festive snowflake, she also included five handmade cards which I think are just so cute. There is one for Christmas, one for fall, one thank you note, a darling little handbag card complete with handle, and a new baby congratulations card. Aren't they just so creative?

I would love to thank the sender of these gifts personally, but she didn't reveal her identity in her note, so this will have to suffice as my thank you note for now. I hope she sees this and contacts me so I can send her proper thanks.

I've enjoyed this swap and the Stitcher's Angel Swap so much that I would love to participate in others. If you hear of any, please let me know.

Happy Stitching!

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Crocheted Angels for Christmas Ornament Swap

A few months ago I ran across Jo-Anne Carter's website of family and craft happenings. She had just posted a call for participants in a Christmas Ornament swap and, having only been in one other swap myself, I decided to sign up. A little time went by and soon I received an email from Jo-Anne telling me who I would get to play Secret Santa to. Of course I can't say who it is, just in case she's reading this, but she'll know soon enough because I will be mailing her a package this week.

Would you like a sneak peek at what I made for her? Go ahead and twist my arm just a little more.....Ok, here you go...

This Leisure Arts pamphlet is one that I have had for a long time, and it has some very pretty patterns in it. The one that caught my eye and made me put the pamphlet into my shopping cart was the crocheted angels. I just thought they were so sweet. I love crocheting with thread and after looking at the website of my secret swap partner, I thought something like these angels would go very nicely with her holiday decor. I hope I am right about that!


Here are the twins just hanging around my sewing room. The dress is crocheted starting at the neckline, then the bodice and the skirt, then finally the two wings are added on and the halo is stitched separately and glued onto the back of the clothespin head. I love how the clothespin head peeks out the top and the little clothespin legs peek out the skirt.


I added a length of tiny white ribbon around the waist and tied it into a bow at the front just to finish it off. The shell pattern of the skirt and wings with the little scallops in between make a lovely, feminine, lacy design for the heavenly clothespins to wear on the Christmas tree.

So that is what I will be mailing this week to someone out there. Perhaps it will be You! But if not, I do have one more angel all made and just waiting for a home. I'm thinking of doing a Christmas ornament giveaway sometime around Thanksgiving, so make sure to check back often so you don't miss out on it. I just know my third little angel would love to spend Christmas at Your house!

Happy Stitching!

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Angel Swap Package Arrived Safely in Australia!

Just 10 days ago I showed you pictures of the gifts I had made for my Angel Swap partner Lyn in Australian. Lyn received them all safe and sound, and has put a little post on her website about them. Pop over there and see what she had to say, and then be sure to browse around a bit and enjoy all the creative things she does. I've enjoyed spending time on her website and taking a peek into her life and hobbies.

In my next post, I will show you a little trick I used for the paisley trim on the handles and around the outside pocket and bottom of the tote bag that I made for Lyn.

Happy Stitching!

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Angel Swap Gifts Ready to Go

It seems like just yesterday that I stumbled upon Helen's website Hugs from Helen and the intriguing Stitcher's Angel Swap that she was organizing. Being pretty new to this whole blogging thing, I had never heard of a swap and was very interested in participating. So I signed up along with somewhere around 200 other people from all over the world. Not long after that, Helen sent me information on the person to whom I was to send three stitching related handmade items. How exciting this was for me to be able to make something for someone I didn't know and will most likely never have a chance to meet except through the internet, and also receive something from someone else I don't know and will also probably never meet.

I got busy thinking and planning and anxiously waiting for the new designs that were being offered each week by some very talented designers, and I finally settled on what I was going to make. I've shown a little bit of what I made already, but here is the final gathering of the gifts before they get sent on their way to Australia.


The tote bag is a pattern I have made before which I found in a fabulous book on making all kinds of bags. It is fully lined and has two large pockets on the outside, one stitched with my original design of a wild-haired angel watering her button flower garden. This bag is also expandable and has a zipper to keep it closed.

The mattress pin cushion has the cute little Blue Wren's Nest design that Natalie of Cinderberry Stitches offered for the swap. Her design was for a little tote bag, but since I had already made a tote bag, I used it for the pin cushion. It was just too cute not to use!

The scissor holder is a design that Lynette Anderson offered for the swap called "Here Kitty" and that one was fun to do, stitching the little kitty and then putting it all together.

And then the last gift is the Fancy Beaded Scissor Fob which you have seen here before when I had my 100th post giveaway.

Besides all this, I also included a few other little items to fill up the box. I have not yet revealed myself to the person receiving these items, but if she's been reading my website then as soon as she sees the box with my name on it, she will know what's inside. I hope she enjoys having them as much as I have enjoyed making them for her. Could it be you? Perhaps!

Happy Stitching!

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Embroidered Mattress Pin Cushion

Last week I gave you a little update on my Angel Swap gifts and showed you a sneak preview of the embroidery on the last item I am making for this swap. Well, it is finished and I'll show you how I did it.

While cruising around and in and out of lots of different websites, I ran across this tutorial for a beautiful mattress pin cushion at Cote Passions which I am guessing is from France. Even though I could not understand one word of the writing, the pictures told the whole story. I just HAD to make one of those!

Then I came across another mattress pin cushion in the making at The Twisted Stitcher and after reading about the method, I knew I had figured it out correctly from the pictures on Cote Passions.

So I set to work.

First I took the entirely-too-cute Blue Wren's Nest design from Natalie at Cinderberry Stitches and traced parts of it onto my linen. Using DMC Perle cotton I backstitched the entire design. Then using the blue from the birds as my main color, I backstitched around the edges of all the pieces - front, back, and two sides.

This is what the linen looked like at this point:

It took a lot of counting and recounting and envisioning how the side pieces would go before I finally finished backstitching all of the outlines, but I did it!


Aren't Natalie's little birds just the cutest? I added the red blanket stitch edges on the back along with some of the lazy daisy stitch flowers so the little bird family wouldn't look so alone.


For the side pieces which I had stitched before I knew exactly how I would place them, I had to work the outlines off set from each other so the stems would end up on the long sides and the blank sections would be on the top and the bottom.


I stitched my initials and the year on the side section that would go on the bottom and the left, then I stitched the name of the wonderful lady who will receive this on the other section so her name will be on the top. Then I cut out all the pieces leaving a generous edge so the linen would not unravel.


Using the same blue Perle cotton of the embroidery, I stitched the sides onto the top with a whip stitch, matching up the backstitches from each piece. If I counted right, everything would fit perfectly.


When I got to the end of the first side piece, I stitched the second one on using the same whip stitch method, then continued stitching the top onto the second side.


Here you can see it is beginning to take shape. After the sides were stitched to the top and to each other, I stitched the back on in the same way, leaving the last little bit open until I had stuffed it firmly with batting. Then I finished stitching it up.


This is how the back looks all finished. Those little birds just crack me up!


And here is the front of the Blue Wren's Nest Mattress Pincushion. I just love the tree and the swirly leaves. The red flowers are pretty darn cute too. Thanks, Natalie, for sharing that pattern for the Angel Swap!

This project was fun and interesting from the very beginning and I loved watching it come together while sewing up the seams. Three dimensional sewing is something I find very satisfying.

Don't forget to enter my fall giveaway by October 14th for a chance to win a very nice pincushion bag and other fall goodies. Good luck!

Happy Stitching!

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Angel Swap Gifts Coming Along -- Scissor Holder

I've been diligently working on my Angel Swap gifts and enjoying every minute of it, even those minutes when things were not working out quite as expected. But that's when I had to get creative and improvise, you know, go off pattern and just get it done. I think we've all had projects like that.

I fell in love with Lynette's Here Kitty Scissor Holder when she introduced it recently for the Angel Swap. That would have to be one of my gifts, it just HAD to be! I couldn't pass up that kitty's face! Entirely irresistible! So I gathered my Stuff and got to work. Take a look and see how it turned out...


In the end, I was quite pleased with the result, even though it ended up smaller than designed. I had trouble with the part where the fabric is supposed to be folded over the cardboard and glued, probably because the iron-on interfacing I used was a little heavier than it should have been. So I cleaned up the gluey parts and just sewed the pieces right sides together, then turned them and stitched up the opening.

In my distress over having to improvise, I completely forgot to sew in the ribbon, so I ended up hand stitching that to the inside of the pouch. With the thicker batting I used on the front and back pieces, the whole thing ended up being pretty sturdy, so I think not using the cardboard worked out fine. I supposed it could even be washed too.

I purposely made the stripes on the front piece go diagonally because I knew I would never be able to line up the stripes to match with the back. I also added a clear glass bead to the middle of the flower on the back piece.


I love herringbone stitch and thought Lynette was clever to use it in joining the two pieces together. It adds such a pretty decorative edge too.

All in all, I enjoyed working on this piece and was surprised how quickly it worked up, even with my glue issues! Now I just have to find a pretty little pair of scissors to accompany this kitty to Australia.

Here's a little peek at what else I'm working on for the Angel Swap...

Natalie at Cinderberry Stitches introduced the cutest little Blue Wren's Nest pattern for the Angel Swap and I couldn't pass that one up either. Natalie makes a tote bag with hers, but that's not what I'm doing with it. I'll be making it into something else, but still stitching related. I'll show it to you when it's finished.

This swap is quickly coming to the end, so I best get on my horse and get my things complete and ready to mail, but there is still one more design to come next week. I wonder what it will be. Surely one more thing I won't be able to pass up!

Happy Stitching!

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Pretty Beaded Zipper Pull -- and Easy Too!

The zipper on my first Angel Swap gift is no longer naked. I dressed it up a little with some embroidery floss and a few beads.

Would you like to see how I did it?


I decided I would make a twisted rope with light blue and white embroidery floss so I took a length of each, probably about 24 inches or so, and separated them into six strands and put them back together as shown in this video. Then I put the two colors together and tied a knot about an inch or so from one end.



Next I taped the blue end to the edge of my sewing machine cabinet and held the white end straight out so that the knot tying the two colors together was in the middle. I moistened my thumb and index finger (kinda gross, I know, but this part will be trimmed off in the end!) and rolled the white end between them somewhere around about 60 or 70 times to twist the floss tightly together. Then, keeping the white end pulled tight in one hand, I took the knot in the other hand and slowly brought the white end towards the blue end. I pulled the blue end from under the tape and held it together with the white end, and then the fun part...I let go of the knot! After it all twisted up on itself, I stretched it out smooth, knotted the loose ends together, and look what I got...


Isn't that pretty? I love twisting thread and string and yarn and anything else together to make different kinds of rope. It's so easy and so pretty.


Then I twisted the already-twisted length again using the same method, so that it would be half the length with a loop in the middle as you can see in the picture above. I put a knot about an inch or so from the end so it wouldn't untwist.


Then I started rummaging through my bead stash. Ooooh, pretty beads! So much potential! I settled on what you see above, but how to get it onto the twice-twisted thread? I pulled out my handy dandy never-ending spool of multi-purpose monofilament and cut off a short piece. I threaded that through the looped end of the rope and brought the ends together to feed through the beads. Then I pulled the monofilament and fished the rope right through the beads! I knotted the rope above the beads and there it was, pretty as could be.


I threaded the loop end of the rope through the hole in the zipper handle thingy, loosened up the loop just a bit and pulled the bead end of the rope through the loop to attach it to the zipper. But I discovered it was a tad too long to be practical. So I loosened up the knot over the beads and moved it up a few inches, slid the beads up to meet it, tied a new knot beneath the beads, trimmed off the excess rope, knotted the two loose ends so they wouldn't come untwisted, and there it was again!


A fancy and feminine way to dress up a boring zipper.

If you like pretty beaded accessories for your stitching, keep checking in here every day this week. My 100th post is coming up soon and to celebrate I will have a few fancy beaded things to give away!

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Stitcher's Angel Swap Progress -- and a few hints!

I've been snatching a few minutes here and there to work on my Stitcher's Angel Swap gifts and the first one is well on its way to actually looking like something. It's been so fun working with this pattern again and changing it up just a bit. I also love the fabric I chose for it. I just hope the receiving Angel likes it as well.

I've also been giving some thought to what else I am going to make for the swap and I've left a couple of hints here about what I'm considering.


Here's the first gift well underway. Can you guess what it is? That stitched picture is original artwork by yours truly -- that's me! You can see I'm not much of an artist, but it was stitched With Love. I sure hope that makes up for its simplicity!


Isn't that a lovely zipper? It's looking a little ... um ... well ... how shall I say it? ... naked? I'm thinking of making something to dress it up a little.


Everyone knows what this is...a pile of pins. A pretty and practical solution to this situation just might be another thing my receiving Angel finds in her package.

After I complete my swap projects, I'll show them to you here. If the Angel I'm sending to is cruising around looking for clues, she just might see her gifts before they ever reach her mailbox. Hmmm ... they might even be for You!

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Hold It! -- A Bag Lover's Dream

Ever since I received the name of my Secret Stitcher for the Stitcher's Angel Swap, I've been trying to come up with some ideas for what I would like to make for her. I checked out the first two free projects that the designers have posted for the swap, and I really like both of them, but I really want to make my gifts unique.

I had a thought today for one of the gifts. A book I have had for many years has provided me with inspiration many times when I needed or wanted to make any type of bag, and that is one of the things I want to make for my Secret Stitcher -- a generously sized tote bag. She is a quilter after all, and we all know how big quilts can get even while in progress!

The book is called "Hold It! How to Sew Bags, Totes, Duffels, Pouches, & More" and one of the tote patterns in it has become My Absolute Favorite Bag of All Time.


This is a picture of the tote bag holding six 7-ounce skeins of yarn and my Basketweave Afghan which is about two-thirds finished now. It isn't really a Huge tote bag, 20" x 14" x 6", but it sure holds a lot! It is Project 10 in Hold It! and is called Expandable Zippered Tote. The top part of the bag, striped in the picture above, has a zipper down the middle and is shown in its expanded state. If the bag were not so full, that top part could be tucked down inside the bag, hiding the zipper.

I made this bag using discontinued upholstery samples from my local furniture store where a friend of mine worked. The bag is completely lined and has a large pocket sewn into the inside on one side. The handles are made of 1" webbing.

For my Secret Stitcher, I think I would choose two or three nice fabrics in her preferred color scheme and some denim. I love working with denim. I am planning to embroider a decorative panel for the outside on one side, and perhaps make it into an outside pocket. I hope this is something she will like and be able to use.

Now back to the book...ooooh, The Book! I love little books like this. 132 pages, paperback, 22 different projects of all shapes and sizes and for all skill levels from beginner to expert with many variations on each, clear directions and diagrams. There are chapters for Flat Bags, Totes, Duffels, Cases, and Rolls & Pouches. Lots of colored pictures of finished projects in various forms. Very inspirational if you're into bags! Check it out if you'd like and see for yourself.



Once I get my Secret Stitcher's tote bag underway, I will certainly share the details so come back and check it out.

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Stitcher's Angel Swap Underway

Earlier this week I received an email from Helen with all the vital statistics of my Secret Stitcher. The first free project was posted on Helen's website this week too. What a nice project it is! Very creative, very pretty and very useful!

I have a few things in mind already that I want to make for my Secret Stitcher and one of them is a little bit along the lines of Helen's project, but not exactly. It's still in the planning phase so I don't have anything to show you, but when it comes together, I'll be sure to post it here. I'm also thinking of sending something similar to an item I made just this week and wrote about just the other day, only I'll make it in a different color. Can you guess what it is?

I checked out the website of my Secret Stitcher to find out what she likes, what she does and a little bit about her family and such. I don't want to reveal too much since this is supposed to remain secret until the end of the swap, but I will say that she lives in Australia and is quite an accomplished quilter. I think that is safe to say because it really doesn't narrow down the field of possibilities all that much. After checking out quite a few of the websites of the swap participants which Helen has listed, I came to realize that a good many of them are from Australia and most of those are very much into quilting!

I am anxious to create some pretty and practical things for my Secret Stitcher and send them off to her. Ooooh, I haven't sent an international package in a really long time. How exciting! I just hope she enjoys receiving them as much as I enjoy making them.

In case my Stitcher's Angel is cruising around my website looking for clues about what to make for me, here's a little hint...I love containers, bags, totes, boxes, anything to Put Stuff In. Now I know where my little pack rat Gracie gets her obsession for bags!


As you can see from the picture, I am also in desperate need of some way to organize my knitting needles and crochet hooks. Of course anything handmade and useful would be a treat to receive. I know I'll love whatever arrives in the mail from my Stitcher's Angel!

Keep an eye out for further clues about what I'm planning for my Secret Stitcher and feel free to offer suggestions on what you think would be a nice gift to make for a secret swap partner.

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The Stitchers' Angel Project -- Looks Like Fun

I was cruising around crafty websites the other day and came upon something that intrigued me. It's a craft swap and the theme of it is Stitching. If you sign up for it, you are assigned another stitcher whom you surprise with at least three handmade stitching projects. In turn, you will be surprised by your Stitching Angel with at least three handmade stitching projects.

I thought how fun it would be to create a few nice handmade items to enhance another stitcher's creativity, so I signed up. It starts August 18 and free patterns will be available on the site from which you can make your items, or you can make whatever you want to send to your stitcher.

I have added the Stitcher's Angel badge to the sidebar so you can just click on that to get to Helen's Hugs 'N Kisses site and join in the fun.

Now I just have to start thinking of some nice surprises to make for my stitcher. I'll let you know what I come up with, and what I receive from my Secret Stitching Angel. If you sign up too, maybe it will be YOU!

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Time to Get Organized -- Hand Embroidery

Here we go with another administrative task. This page will keep a running list of links to any posts on Hand Embroidery projects, patterns, classes, helpful hints and the like. It will be available on the sidebar of the Hooked On Needles homepage for easy reference.

Hand Embroidered Irish Step Dancing Dresses

• Chain Stitch Embroidery - pictures
• Brooke's Step Dancing Dress
• Bridget's Step Dancing Dress
• Katie L's Step Dancing Dress
• Katie K's Step Dancing Dress

Embroidery How-To Posts

• How to embroider Chain Stitch -- Video
• Embroidering on velvet with hoop
• Separating Stranded Embroidery Floss -- Video
• Blue Wren's Nest Mattress Pin Cushion
  

Original Embroidery Designs

• Angel Swap gift -- Tote Bag with Angel Embroidery

Other Embroidered Projects

• Embroidered Scissor Holder
  

Children's Summer Embroidery Class

• Getting Ready
• Finished Sample
• Ready to Go
• Children's Finished Projects
• Sam's Finished Project

Paper Embroidery

• Embroidered Paper Bookmark
• Embroidered Notecards
• Hand Embroidered Card
• Embroidered Christmas Cards
  

Embroidered Craft kits

• Christmas In June -- Dimensions Long Legs Craft Kit

Counted Cross Stitch

• Cross Stitch Kits Vacation Loot

Handy Helpers

• DMC Needle Threader
• Thera-Glove

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