Christmas Swap Round-Up

So how was everybody's Christmas? Is the whirlwind done at your house? It is for me—we had a lot of fun and the girls looove their gifts, but I can't say I'm sorry it's over now. : ) I actually have a few moments to breathe again!

But before we usher in 2012, I need to share a few last swap goodies from 2011. I swore off most traditional swaps a few months ago, because I seem to just spend way too much time on them, but Sukie suckered me in with her Twitter Secret Santa Swap. We weren't required to send a handmade item, but of course when it came down to it, I couldn't resist making something. After all, my partner was the amazing Katy of I'm a Ginger Monkey and Fat Quarterly! Send her a secret santa gift that didn't include something homemade?? As if.

So here's the gift package I sent to Katy (which she finally received yesterday, so now I can show it to you!) Thangles, a Clover marking pen, some hand-dyed perle cotton, and a FQ from Denyse Schmidt's Picnic and Fairgrounds line from Joanne's. (I was thinking those prints may not be available in the U.K.?)

And I made her this mug rug using Badskirt Amy's x-and-plus tutorial and a newspaper-print fabric. I used wavy-line quilting on it because that's one of my favorite quilting tricks, and I learned it from Katy! I hope she enjoys it!

My Secret Santa swap package came from the talented Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock. Check out the incredible stuff she sent to me: How adorable is this notebook?? I've loved this fox paper-piecing pattern for ages and she totally nailed it with the colors and prints. 

And that's not all—she also sent me this coffee cup cozy, the travel mug that's in it, and she filled the mug up with candy! Whew!

I love the cozy's Half-Moon Modern prints and handstitching. (You can find a Moda Bake Shop tutorial by Amy for this very cozy right here.) And it just so happens that I have another one of these Copco mugs and it is my absolute favorite, so I'm thrilled to have another one. It fits in my Keurig coffee maker (many travel mugs don't) and it's nice and simple, functioning like a basic Starbucks disposable. Except that this one has a reclosable spill-proof lid, which I've never seen on a Copco mug, and I couldn't even find it on Amazon! So yes, I love it—clearly, the fact that I've gone on about a mug for an entire paragraph should indicate that I will treasure it forever, LOL. Thanks, Amy, I love it all!

I also swapped recently with Becky from My Fabric Obsession. I designed a new blog header for her and she sent me these fun goodies in return—a Jane Market Bag in Neptune, and some coordinating FQs! You guys—it's Neptune! I love this collection so much. I bought a layer cake way back when it first came out, but frittered most of it away on some pillows that I didn't even end up liking (this was back when I still didn't really know what I was doing). I used most of the remaining scraps in my Single Girl quilt. So I'm super excited to get a second chance with this hard-to-find collection. Now I just need to decide what I'll do with it! And the bag is so roomy and useful—I've already used it probably a dozen times. I even packed some stuff in it when I went out of town for the holidays. Thank you, Becky!!

And here's one more Christmas present for me (and my girls). I won a giveaway from Kylie of My Addiction to Quilting. She sent me this soccer ball entirely hand-pieced from hexies! The girls love it—it's so nice to have a ball they can freely chuck at each other, LOL. Kylie also sent some beautiful purple fabrics, and I seem to be eternally short on purple in my stash, so they are much appreciated. Thank you, Kylie—you are so sweet to send these all the way from Australia!

One of my favorite things about having this blog is how I've been able to send items all over the country and the world, and receive things right back. Australia, the U.K., Europe, Canada–what a wonderful exchange. Here's to more swaps in 2012.