Gifts and Giggles

Today was a good day! - I was able to have lunch with my friend Mary - it had been a while since we had seen one another, so it was marvelous way to spend the afternoon...we also did our annual Christmas gift exchange and a little shopping. I had a fun gift bag of goodies prepared for her...including a sock monkey drawstring bag and twelve little sock monkey ornaments that I had made especially for her...(Marsha - I apologize for this post - I know sock monkeys "creep you out"☺). I showed you the drawstring bag several days ago...but I wanted to wait to show you the ornaments until after Mary received them. I found a great sock monkey fabric (Santa's Little Helpers by Erin Michael for Moda) that was perfect to make feather tree size ornaments - each is approximately 2" square. I fussy cut twelve squares for the fronts - used a fabric from the same collection for the back (dark brown sock monkey knit texture fabric) - and used 1/8" red and white ribbons for the hangers. These twelve little ornaments fit perfectly in the matching drawstring bag!

Mary had a wonderful assortment of gifts for me, as well. Check out this adorable wool runner - it is SO "me" - it is 8" W x 18" H and will work perfect on the Longaberger end table in my living room! I just adore the red birds on the black wool...

...and check out this pile of goodies - including a pincushion and sweet pea lotion (two of my favorite things!)...and a beautiful Hugging Heart and snowflake magnet by Isabel Bloom.

We had such a fabulous time...and a lot of laughs...and I just have to share this funny story with you:

I LOVE books - I have three large bookcases full of sewing, quilting, stitching, crafting, needlework, "you name it" creative/artistic books in my studio. Many times I will give my dear friends a book or two for Christmas or a birthday. This year I decided to give Mary the book "Cute and Easy Quilting and Stitching" by Charlotte Liddle for Christmas. It is full of adorable projects that incorporate both sewing and needlework...and I thought Mary would really enjoy it and feel comfortable creating the projects. When she opened it, I could tell by her face that she may already have this book in her collection - when I asked, she said she did not, but she had admired a copy of it - she then told me to open one of the packages she had for me...and guess what...it was the same exact book! We had both picked out the same book to give each other...what a hoot! We laughed so hard....of all the books in the world, we both picked the exact same one to give as a gift. I am actually REALLY excited to have a copy, as there are several projects I can't wait to bring to life - including a super cute embroidered bird brooch that incorporates wool and silk fabric with beads, sequins, and pearls....

So, there you have it, a rundown of my very fun day. I have a little sewing to do this evening - then I am off to do more model stitching on "Redwork Garden". Tomorrow will be another full day, as I am headed to my mother-in-law's house to help her with her holiday baking and cookie decorating.

Wishing you a fun-filled weekend - I do hope you make time to do something you enjoy...