Presents, Stitching and Flowers

When I opened the mailbox today I was greeted by a package from my good friend Heidi in The Netherlands :) She told me she was sending a belated birthday gift and I knew she had made something, so naturally I couldn't wait to see what was inside.

First, I love the way she wrapped the gifts, using fat quarters of beautiful autumn fabric and tied with raffia...



(That autumn paper with the leaves was sitting on the table since I had just been writing a letter to my friend Denise in New Jersey.)

I opened the small package first since it felt "squishy" (don't you love that technical term?? hehe). What I found inside is the cutest little pincushion you could imagine. Here's a picture from the front...



And here's a picture from the side...


The bottom of the pincushion has a "Handmade By Heidi" label which you'll see in a later photo.

The other package held a book which I can't wait to start reading! It's called, What I Learned From God While Quilting.

Here's a picture of the book, fabric, bottom of the pin cushion, and the pretty notecard. Don't they make the nicest gifts!!??!! I have several pretty notecards and postcards I've received from Heidi, and I think I'm going to put them in a collage frame and hang them in the guest room (which is also my crafts room). They're always too pretty to be hidden somewhere.



I recently finished stitching the Prairie Schooler design "Thanksgiving Comes Again". I really had fun with it (although the bottom portion seemed to take forever... I think I had too many interruptions). I've pulled out my fabric and this week (really!!) I'm going to make the banners I've been talking about for months now. I can't wait to see this finished piece, along with "Pumpkin Patch" and "Autumn Leaves" hanging in the living room.




And finally, here are some sweet little red flowers that popped up in several places in our yard. They do this each fall, and are always such a pleasant surprise. This photo was taken of the flowers that popped up in the front flower bed, amongst the hedges. (Just ignore the branches and "nut shells" that the birds and squirrels have been sending down from the Live Oak trees, lol.)