Teacup Pincushion Exchange Part 1

Three months ago, I joined an exchange organised by NNC. It's been so long since I've joined an exchange that I've forgotten how it works. Almost :P

My assigned send-to partner is Paul Lionel and the exchange is a teacup pincushion to be exact. Here's the box that greeted Paul when it arrived at his doorstep yesterday ^^

I decided to make a rose teacup pincushion that I modified from this Rose Coin Purse. The teacup and saucer are a matching set from the Bretagne line from Provincial Living.

I had purposely picked a green teacup and saucer as I feel it would resemble the sepals and leaves of a rose, thus better showcasing the rose pincushion. I really love the scallop detailing on the edges of both teacup and saucer.

Together with the rose teacup pincushion, I had added a box of Matilda's Own Flower Head Pins. After all, I didn't want the pincushion to be lonely without pins for company XD

In the package, I had also included some fabric buttons, charms, a box of green tea and variegated yarn from Lincraft (I absolutely love this Australian crafting store... So much goodies).

Made a simple card to accompany the package too. And that's it! Exchange completed. Happy that Paul is happy with it :D

Till next time, Happy Stitching! Now, back to my uni assignment. Sigh!

Coaster Exchange

Back in June, NNC had another exchange. This time, it was a coaster exchange. I received this gorgeous set of coasters from Bee Ee. 

 

Her handiwork is so fine. Absolutely exquisite!

She also included some lovely items in the package. 

To my chagrin, I had completely forgotten about the exchange. Hence, it wasn't until July that I sent my exchange to Usha.

I made her these coasters. The tutorial can be found here.

   

As you can see, these coasters can be either used the traditional way or put on the base of wine glasses. 

 

I made each of them slightly different to enable the owner to identify their glasses. No more wine glass mix-up :)

Included in my package are also some random craft goodies.

 

I hope Usha likes them.

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Another Goodbye...

I'm truly saddened today that a good friend from our NEEDLESnCRAFTS Yahoo Group lost her battle with cancer early this morning.

Last month, members of our group decided to make her a quilt to show her we care. Luckily, with the efforts of all who contributed the blocks, not to mention Zarina's quilting skills, the quilt was finished and delivered to her just this past Saturday.

Not a moment too soon either :(

Words escape me at the moment so I'll just let the pictures do the talking... Janet's Quilt.

My blocks were not on the front of the quilt though due to unforeseen delays. They were sewed onto the back instead.

Paul's remark that the teddies can personally keep Janet company under the quilt when she snuggles under it warms my heart. Giving Janet comfort and company was precisely my thought when I hit on making teddy bear blocks.

We were asked by Mel to take photos of the making progress of our individual blocks so she could compile it into a photo book for Janet to look at in bed while she's recuperating. Sadly, that was not to be.

However, I figured I'll show them here anyway in remembrance of Janet as these were taken for her while thinking of her.

For me, the blocks started out as crude sketches of teddy bears I saw online.

Then they were traced onto a 12" x 12" white/cream based fabric.

We were told by Nik, organizer of Janet's Quilt, that the colour palatte is red, green and blue.

Sewing up the applique pieces...

The bears soaking in the bath.

Red Teddy Bear 

Blue Teddy Bear

My pair of applique teddy bears.

Janet, you will be sorely missed along life's way, quietly remembered every day.

No longer in our life to share, but in our hearts, you're always there.

Pincushion Exchange

Where has August flown to? In the blink of an eye, it's already September.

First and foremost, I need to apologize to my fellow bloggers. I'm so behind in visiting your blogs that I have no idea how I'm gonna catch up. My Google Reader is exploding with 1000+ unread posts. I think I just might clear it and start over.

Let's see, what have I been up to? I was pretty much incapacitated by migraines near the end of July to the first half of August. For some reason, during that period, my migraines intensified from once or twice per month to once a week, lasting two to three days each time. It wasn't pleasant to say the least. All this while, doctors have only given me painkillers which didn't help much, if at all. Finally, I went to the hospital and was prescribed Metoprolol. The pain stopped and once again, I can function like a normal person again. Thank God!
As a result, I don't have much to show. First off, here's my TUSAL update. My ort jar is posed with the Coca-Cola Olympic glasses offered by Macdonald's. I managed to collect them all and meant to post this in August. That didn't happen. Sigh! Best laid plans and all :P

I did, however, participated in NNC's Pincushion Exchange. My partner was Bee Ee (no blog) and she sent me not one but three pincushions along with a cut of fabric. Lovely, aren't they?

For my part, I went on a Cathedral Window Pincushion making craze and ended up with a stack of four.

I think they're so pretty. Do you agree with me?

This is the one I picked to sent to Sally.

I sure hope she likes it. I gave one to my mum too ^.^

And guess what? For returning to visit my long neglected blog and sticking till the end of this post, I have two more to give away.

Just leave a comment letting me know you'd like to be included. That's all. Winners will be drawn on 15 September 2012.

Also, watch out for My Memories Suite giveaway next post. I've been given two free copies. One for me and the other for you :D Now if only I could find the time to play with it. It sure looks fun.

Happy Stitching!