Send A Little Love Swap 2017

The holidays are coming to an end and the house will soon feel bare when all the decorations and lights are taken down and safely stored in their boxes for another year and with a few more wintery months ahead of us here in the UK who fancies kicking off 2017 with a love swap.

The idea of this swap is to send 5 things to include :
Some sewing or yarny notions that have a love theme

Something heart shaped or themed

Something deliciously edible

Something handmade

Something red 

If you would like to see what I received and sent last year just click on the link below
Send A Little Love Swap 2016

This swap is open to both UK and overseas bloggers/Instagramers and readers of my blog

(you just need to have an email contact). 
I will be pairing bloggers with bloggers and Instagramers with Instgramers

If you would like to take part then please leave a comment on this post or on my Instagram post, letting me know if you wish to post UK, Europe or worldwide

Sign up by the Friday 6th January 2017

Swap partners will be posted on my blog/IG on Sunday 8th January 2017

Then it's up to you to make contact with your partner and get to know each other a little better, swap details and arrange a timescale.

Swap parcels need to arrive at their destination no later than Monday 13th February 2017 with an opening date of Tuesday 14th February 2017

I don't like the idea of rules for swaps so here are some handy guidelines ;-)

Swaps are supposed to be fun and a great way to use items/supplies you already have at home. Handmade is open to interpretation everyone's skills are different don't ever think that you can't because the chances are you can, as long as something has been made with love then I'm sure it will be appreciated by your partner.

I don't like to put a price limit on swaps but with postage costs at an all time high we can all appreciate a bit of thrifty spending.

Life sometimes has a habit of getting in the way of things, if for whatever reason (and you don't have to say why) you can't continue or need to delay sending out your swap then just let me or your swap partner know.

So that's the boring bit out of the way, if I have forgotten anything then please let me know and if you need any inspiration then there's always Pinterest!

As always I'll be pinning like crazy, I also have a secret swaps board so that I can keep some of my ideas hidden just in case my swap partner is peeping!

Please feel free to use the Send A Little Love Swap button and the link below to share the swap on your blogs/IG. Any questions just ask. 

http://madaboutbagsuk.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/send-little-love-swap-2017.html

  

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone, as I look forward to the year ahead I like to think of a word that will help me make the most of the coming days and months. My word for 2017 is

I have already signed up for the #organisedsewingspace2017 which is being run by Stephanie over at StephJacobson, the first challenge is up on her blog and it is to tidy your sewing table. I'm hoping to get in my sewing room in the next few days and make a start. There are lots of opportunities to share before and after photos, get inspired by other people's sewing room and even win some prizes. So if you would like to join in just pop over to Stephanie's blog or IG feed. 

My sewing room isn't the only place I would like to get organised this year, we have lots of decorating to do as we had some building work done a few years ago and probably like many of you we never quite finished off all the small jobs and some things need proper homes rather than me just moving them around from place to place! 

I'm also hoping to organise my time more efficiently, I'm easily distracted by Pinterest and social media and since Mr Madaboutbags took early retirement I don't have quite the same routine as before. Our days have become more relaxed and whilst this is good in lots of ways I do have a tendency to put things off until tomorrow, especially when it comes to housework! 

I'm looking forward to trying out time blocking and have found a printable over on Pinterest that I am going to use from Just A Girl And Her Blog

and I've also printed off a free 2017 calendar from landeelu.com and will transfer all the important dates across tonight. 

In an effort to organise my time more efficiently today I closed my Facebook page as I want to do more sewing for us as a family and for swaps. As much as I love the challenge of custom makes they can take up a lot of time and I'm not very good at making lots of the same things. I also felt that running the page is just another social media distraction and rather than spread myself too thinly I want to concentrate on my blog and IG.

Finally I want to organise and take part in more swaps this year, I took part in some super ones in 2016, (lots more posts to come about these yet) they really take me out of my comfort zone when it comes to my sewing and I have also received some beautiful and amazing goodies from around the globe. I designed myself a swap organiser a few months ago which will help me keep track of all the swaps I'm involved in. 

So who wants to start the new year off with a swap? This is usually the time of year that I organise the Send A Little Love Swap so keep an eye out for my next post if you would like to take part. 

Stitching Santa Swap - Part 2

When I sign up for a swap I like to do a little stalking of blogs/IG and a lot of pinning on Pinterest, sometimes this is a good technique and sometimes it just leaves me more confused than when I started. My partner for the Stitching Santa Swap was Sally from Sew Sweet Sally

Now Sally sews the most amazing clothes and is one of the Minvera bloggers so I was a little daunted when I saw her name pop up in my swap partner email.

So I stalked a little, pinned a lot, chatted about it with my Sewing Box buddies and then generally did what I normally do - procrastinated until it was nearly time to panic!

It was during this time of procrastinating that I realised Sally had changed the name of her blog and IG feed to The Yorkshire Sewist and bingo, the perfect idea popped into my head. 

An embroidery hoop with pockets

yo-yo's and buttons

and some free motion embroidery  

Probably like most of you, I'm not very good at getting around to making things that might help with my sewing and I thought that Sally might be the same so I added a tailors ham, a large pincushion (I'm always losing pins) and a scissor fob. 

I love that with this fabric I could pick out the sewing notions that I wanted.

I also included so pins (did I tell you I'm always losing pins) a jar of buttons, sewing themed ribbons and some extra fabric in case there was anything that Sally might need to make.

I've had these cute wooden spools in my sewing room for a while and hadn't though about using them for ribbons.

I had some button themed goodies in my swap gifts stash which i bought would be great for little extras.

And as Sally is a dressmaker I thought the book of the film The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet would be the ideal read

I really enjoyed putting this parcel together for Sally once I had got over my initial panic it all sort of fell into place.

Thank you to Sheila for organising the swap, it was great fun. 

Stitching Santa Swap - Part 1

Now that the Christmas festivities are over I thought I would share with you some of the beautiful gifts I received and sent in the Christmas swaps I took part in.

This is the second year that I have taken part in the Stitching Santa Swap organised by Sheila over at Sewchet. This is a secret swap, so you don't know who has put together your parcel until you open your gifts, although with a little detective work on Instagram I did work out that it was Shirley from squirrelsknittingconquest when my parcel arrived.

Look at all these packages, I couldn't wait to open them.

Shirley had been very good at stalking my blog and Instagram feed.

I love the lobster fabric Shirley used for the triangular pouch, and Shirley explained that the leaf mug rug was a last minute make to add to my parcel, I so glad that she decided to add it as I love the colours and the shape, and as for the cottage pincushion, what's not to love, with all those french knots, tiny stitches and a teeny heart on the door.

Shirley also included lots of crafting goodies to kick start my projects for 2017, embroidery threads, pins (these were on my shopping lists as like socks in the washing I seem to lose pins in my sewing room), fabric squares, scissors and an embroidery kit.

Then there was a super triangular crammed full of colouring pencils, which I'm claiming as 'adult only' pencils, a flowers colouring book and an owl notebook, which I am going to have to hide as Miss Madaboutbags apparently needs it for herself!

Swap parcels are usually complete without some sort of tasty treat and Shirley treated me to some delicious Scottish shortbread, another to clue to where my swap partner was from. Finally, I opened the card, with instructions to be opened last, so as not to give away her identity. Shirley had written a lovely note and her last gift confirmed her identity.

Thank you Shirley I loved all my gifts and felt thoroughly spoilt on Christmas morning as I think I had the more gifts to open than the children!

Another super Stitching Santa Swap Sheila, thank you for organising it again this year, I know the mammoth task involved in pairing up all the swapees.

Send Us Your Christmas Swap

Back at the end of October I signed up for the Send Us your Christmas Swap over on Kimberley's blog Creative Chaos. I was lucky to be partnered with Kimberley's cousin, Jackie. Kimberley and Jackie have sent each other an advent calendar of gifts this year and if you would like to see what they have sent each other pop over to Kimberley's blog. 

My parcel from Jackie arrived the other day and the idea of the swap was to fill a plastic tub full of goodies and send it to your parcel. This is what Jackie sent me....

And inside......

What super wrapping paper. 

Jackie is a fantastic knitter just like Kimberley and she made me this beautifully textured dishcloth. Is it just me who likes to just enjoy having a pretty new dishcloth before finally deciding a few weeks later that I am actually supposed to use it!!  

I love the colour of the yarn used to make this little bird and the ceramic leaf is lovely and apparently if I sprinkle over some essential oil and leave it on the windowsill in the sun it will smell amazing. I definitely going to try this. 

Some New Zealand themed fabric and a wooden heart. 

Some delicious chocolate, this didn't last very long. 

A colourful tea towel. 

And here are all my gifts together

I wasn't quite as organised as Jackie and although I had started putting together her parcel I hadn't sent it off by the time hers arrived. So I cheated a little a reused the tub that she had sent me, just changing the paper on the top. Hopefully it arrive in New Zealand very soon. 

Thank you Jackie for all my wonderful gifts and for being such a lovely swap partner, I hope you enjoy your parcel as much as I have enjoyed mine, and thank you Kimberley for organising this swap again. 

Advent Day 19 - 23

My blogging seems to have suffered a slight domino effect, I missed posting my advent calendar photo on the 19th and then the others just followed, so I'm playing catch up again whilst enjoying a breather during our Christmas Eve preparations. So joining in with Julie's Scrapbook Advent Calendar. 

Day 19 - I've been wanting to buy this star lamp for a while having seen it on the West Barn IG feed. It adds a beautiful glow to our conservatory and my sparkly reindeer seem to like it. 

Day 20 - This year I signed up again for Amy's Christmas Card Swap over at Love Made My Home and I was partnered with Lisa over at Jumble and Jelly. After emailing back and forth we came to the conclusion we had been swap partners before but neither of us could remember when or what the swap was! (another Brenda moment as Mr Madaboutbags would say). Lisa sent me this lovely card and funnily enough it was our very first Christmas card of the year too. I completely forgot to take a photo of the card I sent Lisa but if you pop over to Amy's blog she has a little linky party going on where you can see all the cards sent and received. Thank you Amy this was a lot of fun again and a lovely way to find new blogs. 

Day 21 - I think there is an elf in my living room! Master Madaboutbags feeling festive and watching TV. 

Day 22 - Thursday was unseasonably warm and sunny, the perfect weather for a romp in the woods. For the past couple of years our local VisitParks rangers have organised The Big Winter Feed at Danbury Lakes. They hang stockings throughout the woods which the children fill with wild bird seed. This is then collected up by the rangers and used during the colder months to feed the birds and squirrels. Along the route there were also bird related cracker jokes, wild bird information posters and a bird tracker trail. Unfortunately I didn't take many photos as my phone battery died about 15 mins after we arrived. We finished off our walk with a hot chocolate around the camp fire before heading home. 

Day 23 - Usually I am up late on Christmas Eve frantically wrapping presents but this year I decided to be a bit more organised and started wrapping earlier. This also means it's harder for Miss Madaboutbags to find out what her presents are! I found this super Santa stamp wrapping paper in M and S, half price too 

and I have a few left to do tonight and some ribbons to add but this will have to wait until Mini Master Madaboutbags is fast asleep. It could be another late one but I'm hoping that the excitement for tomorrow will wear him out! 

Cracker Swap 2016

I know some of you have already received your crackers and again I'm amazed at how much you have all managed to squeeze inside this kitchen rolls. I had two swap partners in the cracker swap and their parcels are flying their way across the water and should be arriving in America very soon. 

My cracker from Melissa (Iluvmybaronie over on Instagram) arrived on Friday. Melissa described the cracker as a physics defying burrito and she wasn't wrong. 

It was a tug of war to get the fabric rolled parcel out of the tube. 

Inside was some try grid interfacing which I can't wait to use and a cute spool quilt block pattern. 

It was like my very own game of "pass the parcel" as there was another layer of fabric and inside was this gem of a Christmas tree mini quilt. 

Isn't it fab!! 

When I mentioned to Melissa about pass the parcel she hadn't heard of it and had to look it up on google so my question to you American ladies is, do you know what pass the parcel is and did you play it at parties? As Melissa said she wasn't sure if it was a popular game or just that she didn't go to many parties!!!