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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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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