My Angel Package Has Arrived! Also, My Angel Gift has Shipped!

I was thrilled to find a package from Australia in my mailbox a few days ago. It was from Katie at And Sometimes I Quilt. I had suspected that she was my angel but I was playing dumb just in case I was wrong. I was pretty sure when I saw that she said her angel was a teacher like her! How cute! Well, look at the fantastic stuff she sent me! A super cute bag and her stitchery is fantastic. I just love the little birds in their nests on the bag. I wanted to do this one myself but I just never got around to it. Aren't the colors fantastic? I can't wait to take this to my guild meeting to show off.Here is everything all spread out. She wrote me a very sweet letter which I will always treasure. I have a lovely tablerunner pattern - you can see it peeking out there.

These pieces match my stitchery bag. A couch caddy and matching pincushion. I am sorry my flash sort of washed out the pincushion. I just never seem to be able to make really good pictures. Trust me, it is precious.

She also gave me some windmill and water tank fabric. She said that these reminded her of her childhood sneaking around to swim in the water tower. That sounds terrifying to me! I am not afraid of water but swimming in a tank sounds very dangerous. She is very brave, I think!! Do you see the wooden stick? It is not a stick!! It is a pen made from Australian wood. I am going to keep this one in my checkbook. No one else can use it!!!! Thank you so much, Katie. You really made me feel special. I am so lucky to have gotten a really good swap partner!!!

Now for the package I sent. I know that Kris at Life at Rosemary Hill got her package so I can post photos now. She had said that pink and green were her favorite colors so I used some Kaffe Fassett fabric with those colors in it. I made a matching pincushion, but it looks more like a small pillow, it is so large!! I also sent her a scissor keeper with a pair of scissors inside. I hope Kris enjoys these. I also included some other goodies, but I don't remember what all I sent right now. LOL - a sign of getting old I guess.

Here is a little better shot of the couch caddy I sent.

I just love the kitty on this scissor keeper. So cute. I want to make one of these for myself.

I also sent Kris a chicken pincushion earlier in the swap. I guess now she doesn't have to worry about running out of places to stick her pins!!

Thanks so much to the designers who made fantastic free patterns for us to use in the swap.

Helen Stubbings of Hugs and Kisses

Lynette Anderson

May Britt of Norway

Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches

Karen Gass of Cotton Spice

Tracy of Plumcute Designs

Sue Daley of Patchwork with Busy Fingers

Also a HUGE thank you to Helen at Hugs and Kisses who hosted the swap.

Until next time - when I shall tell you some exciting news about my daughter!!

Julie

Fantastic Day & Travel to Providence Canyon State Park

I couldn't believe it Saturday when I got home to find that I had received a package from Jo in Tas. We did a little personal swap and she only mailed my package a week ago from Tasmania. I told her, jokingly, that I didn't know what I would like from Australia other than a kangaroo, didgeridoo, or boomerang - all of which were too large to mail. Well, doggone if she didn't send me a kangaroo after all. In this photo (above) he is attacking Tasmania (a postcard) in the manner of Godzilla. It is the attack of kangazilla!! I also got an Australian Homespun magazine, a bag of Tim Tam balls, a Cadbury's Koala Caramel, (unfortunately these had melted in the heat but I put them in the refrigerator and still haven't eaten them), and some cute fabric and wool. I hope I didn't leave anything out - it is a bit overwhelming (in a very GOOD way. ) Thanks Jo!

Well, next I visited Karol-Ann's blog to find that I had won this fantastic bag of African fabric scraps. I can't believe it! It will be so exciting to receive this fabric which is so different from anything that I have now. I will make something special with it. Thanks, Karol-Ann!Stitching Angel progress - Saturday morning I sent off my first package to my swap partner. I hope she likes it!

Saturday we heard that, sadly, Georgia will be closing some of its wonderful state parks due to budget cutbacks in the Department of Natural Resources. We had always meant to take the kids to Providence Canyon State Park, which is only about an hour away from us. When we heard that it would be closing we decided to go today. (They are also closing the Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House park and museum. I can't believe it! It is another that is close to us and it is so fantastic. We may visit it next weekend.) I took so many photos of the "Little Grand Canyon" and we hiked until we were ready to drop. This first photo above is of a kudzu bloom. They have a heady scent that you can smell from a long way off. The scent is almost like grape Koolaid. Kudzu is known as "the vine that ate the South." We hate it but the blooms are nice.
I have some photos of the canyon below. I won't explain them because they are self-explanatory. I have also some photos of wild flora. I know the names of most of these things but won't go into detail here. I am just going to post the photos for you to look at if you want. There is also a photo of me (I look awful - but who cares :-D).

We had a great day but we are extremely tired and are glad to be home. Thanks for visiting my blog. And here is the picture of me - in all my glory!!

Julie