Stitching Santa – in detail!

Late again – but I really did need to say a big thank you to my Stitching Santa partners and particularly to the lovely Sheila at Sewchet who organised it again this year.

My first parcel (the knitting one) was sent from Nana Cathy. She has some lovely pictures of what she made in this post but here are mine. I meant to take a picture of the stocking before it was taken off the tree but I forgot. The Santa actually comes out and fun was had moving him around. I love the scented owl – he(she?) may end up in my ‘smalls’ drawer but might just as easily be a nice lavender whiff by my pillow to help me sleep. The lovely multi coloured basket is now full of my pattern cutting pens/pencils. Very useful. I’m tempted to leave the knitted pear in the fruit bowl – it wont go off but I suspect the ‘real’ fruit wont do it any good 😦

The sock yarn is gorgeous! The colours are fabulous, and though there is a sock pattern obviously designed for this I am tempted to knit a neck warmer of some description as it goes beautifully with the wool I bought to make into a coat. All I have to do is actually get the blessed thing made (and knit the neck warmer) before the need goes away.

The hat and gloves have already been put to good use – they were almost not photographed as they had been moved after wearing on one of my freezing cold walks. One of the benefits of retirement, I have discovered, is to make the most of any dry spells to go walkies. Sadly dry doesn’t mean warm so these are much appreciated. Can you see the bat? Nana clearly did her homework and also found my running blog (not used at the moment as I’m broken). Thanks Nana!

Fun knitted stuff

Sock pattern and dreamy yarn

Gloves, hat, and bat!

The sewing parcel came from the lovely Deborah at Sweet Fallen Angels. The box it was all packed in was almost too good to open – but I wasn’t going to let that stop me!

Quilting cotton, and phone case

Bag, purse, and sewing stuff

Deborah is an amazing embroiderer and apologised for the handmade items in the package. No apology needed Deborah – they are gorgeous. The blue projects bag (anything bag – try to take it off me!) has pockets all the way round which aren’t obvious from my photo. This will be used lots. The little purse is a style I have seen in magazines/blogs but never actually ‘in the flesh’. It’s lovely – even more so because it’s full of buttons and what dressmaker doesn’t like buttons!

Stolen picture – Sorry Deborah!

There was a phone case that I had to make sure that I still had when my daughter left after her visit! It has a dog on one side and bone on the other in a reference to the cockney rhyming slang for phone. The stitches are astoundingly neat – this is why I’m a dressmaker rather than embroiderer.

I’m not certain what I will do with the quilting cotton yet but it will be a project for myself as the fabric was a gift.

What Deborah didn’t know is that I have a fairly large collection of mice built up since my sister gave me one in childhood – look at the tree decoration she made! I didn’t realise until I came to write this post that the tree mouse had been carefully packed away with the decorations so I hope Deborah won’t mind me stealing a photo from her blog. Isn’t that mouse cute!

What about my parcels? Again I was pretty useless at taking pictures before they were sent so I will give links to their recipients.

The knitting parcel went to The Snail of Happiness. Isn’t that the most amazing name for a blog? The post about her parcel can be found by clicking this link . I even managed to foul up writing her card which meant that I had to put a spoiler alert on the outside! When will I learn.

The sewing parcel went to The Hazelnut Thread (another great blog name – I’m feeling a name change coming on…..). Again I’m sending you to her blog via this link to see the parcel contents. She has a delightful little girl and I was able to include some fabric I bought and loved but was never enough for an adult garment. I hope Hazel likes it!

Well another year done, and a warning for Sheila. My daughter is so impressed with the Stitching Santa idea, and the contents of my parcels that she may want to join in next year. Except that despite my best efforts she can neither knit nor sew. Look out!

 

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