A Pincushion Swap

Greetings dear friends & readers & Happy Wednesday to you all !!

A couple of years ago my dear friend Leeanne emailed me & said  "here is a blog I think you might really enjoy"
The blog she was referring to was Janet's blog "Rogue Quilter"
I began following Janet & spent many hours drooling over her beautiful quilting & fine detailed work - in particular 
her mini quilts

On a post a few months back, I happened to comment how beautiful I thought this bowl of pincushions was - 
all made from leftover scraps by Janet
"Would you perhaps like one ?" asked Janet
And so I offered to do a small swap with her - we both quickly agreed not to put any pressure on ourselves & just make this swap very casual  - which suited us both perfectly

I wasn't sure what to send to Janet - but I remembered her mentioning how much she loved my upcycled projects 

I came across these two wooden spools - they had been tossed my way when a friend was throwing out an old spinning wheel that had gotten wet & somewhat swollen in size

(I have probably had these for about 4 years now)

I decided to upcycle one of them & make into a pincushion for Janet

I made the top "pincushion part" by gathering a circle of raw linen, filling it with wadding & affixing it to the spool - then I wound some thin batting around the centre stem

I covered this with some tape measure ribbon that I already had in my stash

Because the base was not sitting stable I glued a large washer to the base & then covered this with black wool felt - this gave the whole thing some weight & good stability
(This was actually The Mr's suggestion - not mine) 😉

I had enough small beaded letters in my stash to spell the word "quilt" - unfortunately not enough to spell 
"Rogue Quilter."
I stitched some tiny hexies to the top & then sewed on a couple of copper effect sewing charms - also in my stash

My pincushion was ready to send across the oceans & the miles to Janet in Utah.

As I forgot to photograph my parcel before I posted it I have borrowed this photo from Janet's blog

I purchased some handmade lavendar soap from this gorgeous Lavender Farm just 5 minutes up the road from where I live.,

Also I purchased some Whittakers chocolate, made here in New Zealand - & sent one of my linen lavendar hearts.

I crossed my fingers & toes that all this would get through Customs without a hitch 😉

You can read Janet's blog post about receiving my parcel * Here *

Yesterday - to my utter delight - Janet's swap package arrived.

Let me tell you friends, before I even got the end open, I could smell this most delicious fragrance !! 💗

Janet had sent me some of her own handmade herbal soap - it is Sooo divine, I cannot describe the 

incredible smell of it (& that beautiful bee shaped soap made my heart skip several beats)!!

Along with the wonderful promised pincushion Janet had included one of her mini quilts ! 😊

This one had been made from scraps retrieved from the rubbish bin while Janet was on Retreat - one lady had tossed all her scraps out & Janet had "rescued them". 

I was just delighted & quite honestly - speechless! The workmanship & tiny piecing is just incredible.  

Also included was a notepad & some delicious sounding choccy treats (which won't last long in my hands I can assure you !!)

Thank You So Very Much Janet - your parcel made my day & I just can't stop staring at all my treasures.

You are so kind & generous & I wish there wasn't a great big Ocean in between us !!! 💕

Yesterday was a Tuesday-with-Sid-day & as it turned cold & rainy, we - (I) - made a hut!

It only seems like just yesterday I was making these for Sid's Daddy - covering my old wooden clothes horse with sheets to make a hut !

While Sid had a nap in the afternoon I sat & bagged up fresh supplies of both my citrus & my cottage garden potpourri's

I supply these to The Farm Shop at Gordonton & they were low in stock so tomorrow I am driving over to replenish their supplies.
This afternoon I have finished making up more of my teacup birdfeeders - these are also going to the Farm Shop to be sold on my behalf

I sell each birdfeeder with a small bag of Wild Bird Seed

Anyone who has been following my blog for awhile now knows my addiction inclination towards old vintage china - I love to scour the Op Shops for it.

So I had a good stash to choose from to make these up today.

Before I drive to Gordonton I am driving across to the opposite side of the City to attend my eldest Grandsons Daycare as they are having a Grandparents Morning.

Thanks So Very Much for your visits today dear friends,
I hope the rest of the week goes well for you & you find some happy moments in the busy-ness of your days,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the furry ones x0x0x0