Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Pure Joy - A Holiday Get Together

I am so very blessed! I have so much to share today, I am not quite sure where to start - I think I will have to split this post into two days...

I spent my morning and early afternoon with my two dear friends Merry and Kimber - we had a very special holiday gathering at Kimber's cozy 1885 farmhouse. The three of us had so much catching up to do and so much to share, it was pure joy to get together. First, we spent some time in the kitchen - Kimber had a phenomenal assortment of hot teas (see all the tins - it was hard to choose which one to try) and snacks...plus Merry brought a selection of her delicious homemade sweet treats (so very yummy!), and I brought cinnamon rolls, so we had a cornucopia of delicacies to choose from!
























After a sipping hot tea, sampling each of the sweets, and lots (and lots) of chatter - we couldn't wait any longer...we had to open gifts! There were so many beautifully wrapped presents - it was hard to decide where to start - most of them were so pretty, I hated to open them...but it *had* to be done. Merry and I each had three gorgeously wrapped gifts from Kimber....I will show you those first...






















The first gift I opened was the adorable snowman box, which had three surprises inside - the cutest tiny spun cotton reindeer I have ever seen (which immediately made me smile), a unique little package of sticky notes, and a package of two seasonal note cubes...all so thoughtful and fun...plus, we all know how much I like to open little packages. Note: isn't the little winter house on the table the sweetest holiday decoration...I just had to get it in the photo....and the reindeer looks so perfect in front of it...






















Next I opened my gift wrapped in pink tissue paper...and oh my gosh, I was giddy - a lovely assortment of fabric fat quarters - beautiful colors and prints....and I was immediately thinking of projects for their use....





















I saved the fabric wrapped gift for last - Kimber actually used fabric and glass head pins to wrap a gift - a beautiful idea! After carefully removing the pins, I unfolded the fabric to reveal a gorgeous set of quilt pattern notecards - these are so very cool - there are 12 notecards (2 each of 6 different quilts) and inside the notecard are the "how-to" directions to make the quilt on the front....and the template for the quilt shape used is on the back of the card...these are so awesome, I just might have to keep one of each for my own collection! The three of us had quite a laugh looking at each of the quilt patterns, as the number of pieces to cut for each quilt seemed astronomical - the first one we looked at (Clam Shells - 1932) said to cut 1,000 clam shells using the template on the back of the card...another (Little Cedar Tree - 1940) said to cut 768 light triangles and 768 dark triangles to make 192 blocks that are 6" square...these are definitely some labor intensive quilt ideas!






















I have plenty more photos to share with you - but I think I will share them tomorrow - I want to spread out the joy! You will definitely want to stop by tomorrow to see Merry's homemade gifts....you all know by now that she is an over-achiever (and if you hadn't figured it out yet, tomorrow's post will definitely prove it!)....

Today really felt like Christmas - spending time with close friends, enjoying a hot cup of tea, stitching by the fireplace, and gifts from the heart - I really can't think of a better way to spend the holiday. My blessings are many and I am truly thankful....

3 comments:

  1. As a tea lover, I can say what a great assortment to choose from. The gifts are so very nice..looking forward to your next post.

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  2. What lovely gifts to receive! So, which tea did you end up choosing to fill your cup? Love the pair of reindeer in the first pictures as well!

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  3. What a great post. I love the gifts. There is nothing like spending time with friends and exchanging small gifts. Thank you for sharing. Can't wait to see the next post.

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