One of the things I really love about the blog world are all the opportunities to participate in swaps, sew-a-longs and other community events. I love the fun of joining in something crafty with other lovely peeps, the sense of community that develops from these events, and the excitement of receiving surprises in the mail!
Recently I signed up to join in the Ornament Exchange organised by Kelly over at True Bias.
I wish I was one of those organised people who jump straight into a task as soon as possible, however in my usual style I did lots of research on Pinterest, dithered over what to create and got temporarily distracted by going on holidays for a week. So by the time I'd finished stitching my ornaments, I hurriedly popped them in the mail and didn't even take the time to photograph them. (But hopefully one of the recipients will do so and I'll show you then!)
The sweet Christmas tree above was first to arrive from Renee of Nearest the Pin.
This sparkly star arrived from Alison.
And this spunky little reindeer (or, I suspect, dachshund in Christmas attire!) came from Nicole of The Solmnolent Dachshund.
Thanks everyone! (Plus there's another couple that will be waiting for me when I return from holidays in a couple of days.) So much fun! It's so nice to have special decorations with a personal story don't you think?
Update:
Thank-you so much Renee for sending through a photo of my bird ornament! I used a vintage cotton print, gifted to me by my lovely neighbour Jenny, machine-stitched to an unbleached cotton linen fabric. Then added two layers of cotton quilt batting and hand-stitched together with red perle cotton.