Two swaps

 I have taken part in lots of swaps so far this year and here is the Stationery Swap (organised by Tracy from Mad About Bags).  I was partnered with Amanda from Graham's Landing and we did the usual email chat to find out likes and dislikes and got swapping.  I was stunned by Amanda's generosity!  We had to swap five things, one of which needed to be hand made. I loved the beautiful tissue paper the gifts were wrapped in.

 Here is a photo of the whole parcel - Amanda had put together a wonderful mixture of unusual items...

 ...stickers, postcards, number pegs, envelopes...

 ...writing set, notebook and more stickers and trims.  There was also a lovely felted notebook cover with a heart.  I love it all - you can never have too much stationery, can you?  Thank you so much to Amanda for being a fantastic swap partner.

Here's what I sent to Amanda, including a bookmark I made incorporating some of her favourite blues.  It was a great swap and thanks to Tracy for organising.

The other swap I recently took part in was organised by Kimberley from Creative Chaos and I was partnered with the lady herself!  (I must say how fantastic the postal service was - my parcel got to New Zealand in five and a half days!)  This was the Send Us Your Country swap and the idea was to do just that - send things from your country and your area.  Again, I have to say how generous people are in blog swaps!  The photo above shows the mountain of goodies Kimberley sent to me.

Lovely wool socks, tea...

sweets, a Kiwi pencil, postcards, a kiwi key ring...

 a beautiful bright and vibrant bag (perfect for shopping!)...

 a gorgeous cushion featuring New Zealand flora and fauna (Kiwi and Tui birds)...

...the sweets and chocolate haven't lasted long, but were much enjoyed!  Thank you so much to Kimberley for both organising the swap and being such a wonderful swap partner.

Here's what I sent to Kimberley - Lincolnshire postcards and note cards, a ceramic K by a local maker, stationery items, English Breakfast tea from a local tea shop, a bracelet and felt heart, fridge magnets and ribbon.
I have been so lucky with my swap partners (and all the lovely gifts I have been sent) and have really enjoyed taking part in all the swaps I have done over the years.
There are two more swaps to report back on in the next week or so - an Easter swap and a Tea cup/Mug exchange.

Doorstops

Back in January, my friend Maria visited from Canada and we went to Stamford.  You can read about it here.  While we were there, we went to a very nice interiors/haberdashery shop and Maria saw some material printed with a London map, which she absolutely loved. I bought a metre of the material and rashly promised to make her a doorstop, for her birthday in July, which I would send to Canada.   I did some research in books and on the internet.  I was looking for a pattern which had velcro on the base, and a handle and I ended up feeling a bit like the Prince looking for his Princess in the story of 'The Princess and the Pea'...one was too small, one had a zip, one didn't have a handle, one was a pyramid shape...you get the idea.  Eventually, I found the perfect one for me!  If you'd like to have a go yourself, it's here.  I liked the jokey way the tutorial was written and can say that it was easy to follow and surprisingly easy to make.  I practised first by making a lining from calico, which was a separate cube placed inside the main one, for ease of filling.

Look, here it is!  I made this!  As you can tell, I am pretty pleased with myself. 

 I did have to think about which way up the pieces would have to go, but it worked out well.

 The fabric looks good too.

Not content with that, I also made a notebook cover, with a felt flower made from my felt.

It all arrived safely with Maria (only a few weeks after her birthday...oh well...) and I think she liked it.  It's a little reminder of her visit to England.