Gift Received/Gift Given

08 May 2010 4 Comments

by averyclaire in Cross-Stitch, Gifts, JBW, Rabbit Tags: ,

I have received the MOST wonderful exchange gift from my friend Maggy.  She made me this lovely needlecase.  I adore autumn colors and she chose the loveliest fabrics.   She also put lovely delicate feather stitching around the edge!

It will be great to hold a pair of my scissors……….

or perhaps a good portion of my collection!!!

And she even made me a lovely scissor holder to use while I am working. I am always losing my scissors in the cushions, so this will save them!

I love both of these handmade items. Thank you Maggy. We have decided that an exchange for Les Muguets Day (May 1st) will be the perfect time each year to have a little exchange. I must begin thinking of something special for next year now.

I posted last week about the gift I sent to Maggy….but this week I am sending a small gift for Maggy’s daughter who recently had a beautiful little baby girl. You have seen photos of this bunny before, but it is completed now. I finished the bunny and was waiting to add the name of the baby and the date.


Baby Pauline is absolutely adorable….all pink and pretty.    Maggy now has three grandchildren!   Congratulations!!!

Amities, Averyclaire

A Gift for A Friend

18 Apr 2010 6 Comments

by averyclaire in Cross-Stitch, Gifts Tags: , ,

This is a little gift that I made for my friend, Joan, for her birthday. She has two cats whom she calls “Inside Ollie” and “Outside Ollie”.   Inside Ollie came first….then she adopted “Outside Ollie” from her yard.   They both live inside now and fight like crazy.   So…two cats…Inside Ollie and Outside Ollie.   Joan loves it!!!

The pattern is from Chessie and Me and you can find it here at the House of Stitches…I modified it a bit to suit my needs.

The wonderful little black scissors are Italian made and very sharp.  I adore these scissors and have bought them as gifts for friends several times.  You can find them here at Anitas Little Stitches.  Because they are so sharp, I created a pocket on the back to hold the scissors when they are not in use.    It was such fun to make.

Joan and I have been friends for a long time….I am blessed by her friendship as she is one of those people I can always count on.     We all need people like this in our lives and I am so grateful.

This is not the surprise that I mentioned in my last post.   That gift is still making it’s way across the ocean.   As soon as she receives it, I can show you the photos.

On Friday this past week I attended the huge International Quilt Show here in Chicago.   There were hundreds of vendors from everywhere and thousands of women shopping just like me.    I confess though that I really didn’t see very many new things at the vendor booths.   So much I have seen years before.  However, the quilts were exquisite and it was inspiring to see such beautiful work.   I did not take photos because most of the quilts could not be photographed.    Unfortunately, this was the last year for this particular show here in Chicago.   From now on it will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio.   I probably won’t be attending every year like I have for so many years as it is too far and will be cost prohibitive.    But it will be wonderful for all of those women who live in that area of the country!    Put it on your calendar if you live anywhere near Cincinnati!!!

Note:    Haven’t finished my Eiffel Tower yet.

Amities,   Averyclaire

Gifts

28 Jan 2010 4 Comments

by averyclaire in Friends, Gifts, Thank You Tags: , , ,

I had a birthday in November and wanted to show you a couple of very special gifts I received from my good friend, Maggy, who lives 4,000 miles away from me.    She spent several months living in Morocco with her husband on an extended holiday.  They sent me this beautiful little treasure…lovely, pale lilac, Moroccan slippers.   I was thrilled when they arrived.  Aren’t they the best?   So unusual…at least where I live they are!!!  The leather is so soft and pliable and the color so delicate.   Maggy sent me quite a few other lovely gifts as well…too many to show at this time.  I will never catch up on showing all the beautiful things I have received from my friends.   I love them ALL, Maggy, thank you again.

And as another special surprise she had French designer, Marie Therese St. Aubin, send me one of her patterns that I simply adore….It is called “L’Adieu.”

There is even a lovely note to me signed by Marie Therese herself.   I was delighted beyond anything when I opened the package.    It is so special I couldn’t believe it!

So then of course, I immediately ordered some delicate silk thread for this beautiful pattern.  It will surely take me quite some time to complete as there are never enough hours in the day.  And here I sit playing on my computer, posting, and surfing blogs!!!    I must remember…less computer…more sewing!!!

And last but NEVER least….I received the most wonderful gift from another friend, Nicole.   She also lives 4,000 miles away and is a lovely and talented artist.   Her designs are more and more beautiful each time I see one.   She created for me this lovely notebook cover for Christmas.  Thank you again, Nicole, I love the batiks and your art is exquisite!!

All of us have the most wonderful friends.  We must remember how fortunate we are.  I am grateful.   Thank you to ALL of my good friends out there.  I couldn’t live my life without your friendship and support.    Averyclaire

PIF Gifts Mailed to Recipients

07 Nov 2009 7 Comments

by averyclaire in Award, Cross-Stitch, Embroidery, Friendship, Gifts, Quilting Tags: , , , ,

Here are two gifts I made and finally completed for a Pay It Forward.   Last Fall I received a Pay It Forward award (a lovely temari ball) from Jane at World Embroideries and now after eleven months, I have finally sent my Pay It Forward awards to the two people who won them on my blog.   For Anne at Nanouanne, I made a needlework biscornu.   I forgot to take a photo of the biscornu I made, but Anne took a lovely photo of it and she is letting me use her photo for my blog.

biscornu

And for Karol at  Rosebud’s Stitching I made a small Amish Friendship Basket Wall Hanging.   I forgot to take a photo of Karol’s finished gift as well, but here is a photo of one exactly the same as I made for Karol…only Karol’s had a different binding.AmishBaskets

Both items were made in friendship.   I chose a quilted piece for Karol because she is an expert needleworker and is not a quilter that I know of.   And for Anne who does lovely quilting and is an artist in many areas including Art Trading Cards, I thought to make a cross-stitched piece because I don’t think she does cross-stitching.   I just wanted their gifts to be different.   It was a fun thing to do to send a surprise in the mail.    Amities, Averyclaire

Home Again

08 Feb 2009 8 Comments

by averyclaire in Gifts, Needlework, Thank You Tags: , , , ,

Temari Ball2A big thank you to Jane for the beautiful gift I received in the mail while I was away in Colorado.   As a winner of her Pay It Forward Award, she sent me a beautiful Temari Ball.   She has made many of them and each one is different.  On her blog she has just recently posted directions for making the core of the Temari Balls.  It is very interesting.  Stop in and take a look at World Embroideries to see how it is done.  Thank you so MUCH Jane for the lovely gift.  I am still working on the gifts for the two who won my Pay It Forward.

Thank you too for all of you who sent well wishes and prayers for my son.  He is recovering slowly and making excellent progress.   In another three to five months or so he will be back to normal.   I was so fortunate to have been able to spend this week or so with him and see for myself how he is doing.   This trip to Colorado was a very special time for us.Sunset in Colorado  Here is one of their lovely sunsets.

 

 

 

 

Buffalo

 

On our return trip we did a little detour and did some middle-of-the-winter touristy things.   We stopped in Custer State Park to see the free roaming buffalo and other animals. Buffalo2  The buffalo amaze us.  

 

 
Pronghorn2
Then the beauty of the Pronghorn antelope is so refined.

 

 

 

 

 

mountain goatWe did a quick visit to Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills and saw a wooly mountain goat grazing.Mt.Rushmore

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Quilted MooseQuilted Moose2On the way home, I did manage to find the quilt shop that Jill from Cottonwood Quilts in Niwot, Colorado told me about.   It was not hard to find and it certainly was well worth the trip.   The owner, Debbie, has done a fantastic job of having a LARGE variety of fabrics, patterns, threads, etc. for her customers.   It is a delightful shop and it seems to be busy with lots of things going on all the time.   They do quite a bit of internet business as well.   So stop in to see them at The Quilted Moose in Gretna, Nebraska.  It is a lovely town just west of Omaha, Nebraska.  It was difficult to walk out of the store without spending a fortune.   I could have bought one of this and one of those and some of these….etc. etc.   Since my sewing room is shamedly stuffed already with things I haven’t finished…I refrained and just picked up some small pieces of fabric I had been seaching for.

 

Fiber HiderOne special find of this trip to Colorado came from The Stitcher’s Garden in Longmont, Colorado.   Nancy showed me a delightful tool called a “Fiber Hider.”    It is super for all kinds of thread or yarn.   One can just slip the looped end under your threads and pull the tail through with the other hooked end.   It is a bit pricey ($30…would make a delicious gift), but once I had it…well I can’t imagine not having one now!!   And I love the little silver turtles.    In the past week, I have used it over and over again!  Don’t know what I did without it.

Unexpected Gifts

13 Jan 2009 6 Comments

by averyclaire in French, Friends, Friendship, Gifts, Thank You Tags:

Today I received some wonderful unexpected gifts from my special friends in France. Maggy sent me a belated Christmas package. Inside were LOVELY rose napkins rings

Rose Napkin Rings

A beautiful needlecase
Needle Case

With the tiniest button I have ever seen!!
Open Needle Case

So “couture” !!!
Needle Case 2

And a wonderful and colorful table mat with six coasters…I think the fabric is catalan fabric from southern France.
Table Mat and Coasters

She also included a French Magazine, “Marianne”…for me to practice my French. It has the most wonderful news articles from all over the world. And I can see what some of the French are thinking about the U.S.!! She is truly my sister on the other side of the world! Thank you Maggy….I love them all..!!!!
Marianne Magazine

And my good friend Elisabeth (who visited me here a few years ago) sent me a belated birthday gift. She did a crazy quilted Needlework Design Journal. I have never seen one. It is lovely and so unusual.
Needlework Design Journal

Her stitches are the tiniest ever! on the front and on the back!
Back of Needlework Design Journal

And the inside has a place for me to design my OWN needlework! How great is that????!!!!
Inside of Needlework Design Journal

Last, but not least, she sent me some handmade Belgian Lace. I can’t imagine the patience it must take to make something so intricate. Thank You Elisabeth…what a delightful surprise from a very special friend!!!
Belgian Lace

What delightful surprises for my day today…totally unexpected, but VERY much appreciated. There are some days when I am just simply DOWN. And today was one. These far away packages made me smile and I felt the warm hugs all the way across the ocean! My dear friends, I cannot thank you enough.

Pay It Forward

28 Nov 2008 2 Comments

by averyclaire in Gifts Tags:

There are two posts today…taking care of business.

I won a “Pay It Forward” challenge on Jane’s blog.  I’m excited!  I am going to receive something handmade by Jane in the next 365 days.  How exciting…and what a surprise it will be.  She creates the most beautiful handmade things.

rose 1

Now I want to Pay It Forward as well.  I have chosen one of my photos…this rose as a symbol of my gift to two of you.  Here’s how it works: If you would like to receive something handmade by me within the next 365 days, please comment on this post to say that you are interested. Tell me a little something about yourself.  I will then draw two names. If you are one of the chosen two, please post the same offer on your blog in return…hence the name Pay It Forward!  You may use my rose as your symbol as well.  I will do the drawing two weeks from today, Friday, December 12. See you then!

 I don’t mind mailing to anywhere in the world so join in!  Anyone can win! You can even participate if you don’t have a blog, just keep it going.

Unexpected Fun

27 Aug 2008 2 Comments

by averyclaire in Gifts Tags:

Today I had to go “one more time” to the fabric store to buy more batik fabrics for the wedding quilt I am making for my son (who was married one year ago already).   I never seem to have enough of what I really need.  (SMILE)   Of course I found what I needed and then some as always.

Upon returning from my errands, I found a package waiting for me on the front porch.   A gift for me???  Could it be??  Of course I couldn’t wait to open it.   There was a virtual treasure chest of items just waiting for me.   An English needlework magazine (one I had never seen), some skeins of silk floss, and silk/wool yarns, a hank of wonder twist, a spool of gold thread, a card of #18 cotton needlepoint thread, two bits of lovely lace, some adorable little porcelain kittens, an assortment of lucscious beads and colored little flowers and embellishments.  And there in the midst of ALL this magnificent treasure was the best of all…a handmade biscornu pincushion embroidered with my initial.  Just last week I’d been asking Marjorie about different types of embroidery threads.   While my stitching has spanned a couple of decades now, all I really know is DMC, perle cotton, and a bit of yarn for crewel and needlepoint.   I had asked Marjorie for some advice on different types of threads, etc.  She is a prolific stitcher with lots of talent, creativity, and knowledge.   What a surprise to find this gift from her just because.   How thoughtful and generous and kind!  Thank you Marjorie…what a blissful surprise.   She enclosed a note telling me to experiment with what she sent…perhaps making a crazy patchwork pincushion of my own…and enjoy getting to know these luscious threads and embellishments.   And of course, I have the magazine to spark my imagination.  Rather than tell me about them or show me the threads, she sent me my very own supply of wonderful stitching threads PLUS.  I told you she was creative! 

Be sure to visit Marjorie’s website Moonsilk Stitches and get to know her.   She is lovely, kind, and generous and certainly knows how to make a person feel special.    Thank you again Marjorie, you are delightful.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! 

A Part of the Past

14 Aug 2008 Leave a comment

by averyclaire in Knitting, Needlework, Sewing Tags: , ,

Each time old photos are viewed, it brings back a memory of a special gift for a special person and how relationships can enrich my life. This teddy bear was a gift for a my daughter, who will remain in my heart forever. She was a wild young thing, but grew into a beautiful and lovely young woman. And a handknit blanket and homemade outfit for little Joey who is SO very adorable. We all make gifts, little ones and ones that take eons to finish. They are gifts not only for the recipient, but for those corners of our hearts where memories linger forever.

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