Not so secret stitching!

Now that i'm back from holiday and I know both my secret pressies have been opened..... I can finally show you what I was working on:

I found this pattern for a Stitchery Roll in Australian Country Threads Vol 8 No 6, ages and ages ago and have been meaning to make one ever since...... me being me, I decided to make a couple of changes.
Firstly....I changed the stitchery a little to remove the writting on one end.... I basically just reversed the pattern from the other end with minor differences. I also made my own ties with the same fabric as the roll instead of using ribbon and with the second roll, I stitched the ties into the seams which made them look neater once finished.
It irritated me that the space on the inside of the roll was wasted so I decided to make another roll that fit inside to hold all the threads and other bits and pieces.... The only problem I had then was what to do with the very unattractive red plastic ends if i wanted to be able to open it. Hubby to the rescue.... he and my wonderful father-in-law whipped up some much nicer wooden ones for me on the lathe!

The result:
Two completed stitchery rolls...... One for my Secret Santa swap partner Julie of Jewells

And one for my Aunt...... who just loves anything I make her:

Unfortunately.... I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of this one rolled up in the rush to get it finished... I was still sewing it at 10.30 at night when we were to be leaving to head to the coast for Christmas at 4am.... Whoops!

I'll be back tomorrow to show you some more of my pressies.....hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas!

Until next time

Lucky Me!

Finally!....... After much anticipation I opened my Secret Santa pressie from Julie of Jewells this morning to find i've been totally spoilt:Not only did I receive this cute-as-button Christmas quilt and pillow but I also received another parcel full of goodies for the whole family:

Thanks sooooo much Julie....... I love everything you sent!

SSCS 2009 - Received

My Secret Santa partner received her parcel yesterday...... so now I can show you the ornament's I sent:

The lovely Julie at Jewells was quite amused with my little reindeer.... thinking of all the corks she's thrown out over the years, lol (maybe she'll be keeping them now).

Until next time

SSCS 2009 - Posted

I was so excited about receiving my Christmas parcel last week that I forgot to show you the parcel I sent off......... to who???:This is all I can show you at the moment as it's still a big secret until Christmas day. Although I will be able to show you a photo of the ornament I sent (small parcel), once I know it's been received!

Still secret sewing happening here at the moment so not a lot else to show!

Until next time

How Excitement!

Look what arrived today from my 2009 SSCS partner!

It looks like Julie from Jewells has spoilt me....with 3 lovely parcels, one huge one just for me, one for my whole family & one containing my beautiful handmade ornaments that I couldn't get opened quick enough..... sorry Julie..... no paper saving here today!

I did notice when I took the main parcel out of the box that it had a tear in the wrapping.... but thank goodness Master 7 was around to save the day..... he had that hole taped up quick smart, so no peaking for me!

So now all I have to do is look at this enormous parcel for the next 18 days....... not that i'm counting.
Not just one gorgeous handmade ornament....... But three...... how lucky! Thanks Julie..... I love them!

And, Thanks again to Chookyblue for organising such a wonderful swap...... it must take a huge amount of work to organise it all and make sure everything goes smoothly.

Until next time....