more thank yous

I have some more thank yous to show you because of more plump enveloppes from generous blogging friends.

From Joce (who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person) a gorgeous stitched bookmark (for a BIG book lol) and a kit to make my own

from Marie-Thérèse, who travels a great deal for work and for pleasure . . . some bookmarks from very far away

In this first photo, two from Dubai (the modern hotel and the camels), one from Ireland and one from Iceland.  And a whole pile of “publicity” bookmarks from closer to home

From Monique la Bretonne – two more bookmarks from her region

And from quaquie . . . a Christmas themed hand-stitched bookmark and a thimble for my collection from Andorra

So a big thank you ladies.  I received a few other packages this morning but you’ll have to wait until I have had time to take photos and thank the ladies personally by email first.

 

Lovely Lionel never gets bored

Lovely Lionel never gets bored with all the interesting mail he delivers to this house ^^ And recently there has been more mail than usual because I’m a birthday gal  hihi.

Debbierose and her MOTH sent me a parcel from Australia (and Debbie even added a message to Lionel on the packaging, although I’m not sure if he read it lol) with some gorgeous fabrics for patchwork and a really cute bookmark made from genuine Australian leather

Fred, a French forum friend, sent me a gorgeous needle keeper (to make ladies at patchwork club drool with envy when I go along next week)

Lilubelle, another friend from the same forum, sent me some blackwork stitching, a book of Hans Christian Anderson tales, a limited edition postcard, buttons and an additional bookmark

From eldest son and his girlfriend, I received some more bookmarks, 4 thread sorters and a lovely little wall plaque

And, while the following were not birthday gifts, Monique la Bretonne sent me two bookmarks

and Jacky, one of my English students, thought of me while touring in Vietnam and Cambodia and brought me back a hand-made bookmark from Vietnam. The other 2 in photo are front & back of a bookmark I picked up at my local library the other day.

more bookmarks

blogging friends are fuelling my bookmark addiction ^^  More arrived in the post last week,

from bbquenouille

and from margilau

Last time I counted (back in November) I had 506 in my collection but I must be close to 600 by now – wow ^^

more surprises

Lovely Lionel has been trudging through snow and ice (which has begun melting) to bring me more goodies from blogging friends.

A lovely card and some hand-crafted fimo buttons from Béa

some more publicity bookmarks for my collection from Chantal

and . . . I won a blog candy a while back . . . and received a box full of goodies from ambre

 

more OOAK bookmarks and cards

It’s been sub-zero temperatures here this week (-6°C today) but Lovely Lionel is keeping warm with all the mail he delivers to this house. I am, once more, amazed at the generosity of fellow bloggers who have been thinking of me and my bookmark collection. Crafting takes a great deal of time and thought . . . and I am therefore very touched that ladies I don’t know in person take the time to make things for me.  Each hand-made item is a true gem, a OOAK (one of a kind) and therefore totally unique.

From chtinange, I received a very patriotic bookmark  so that I don’t feel homesick ^^

From Millie a cat-themed bookmark, stitched both front

and back, with my initial

From La pie kikou, two bookmarks, one stitched with a stitching theme

and from tagada, a lovely hand-made card

Thank you so much ladies ^^

 

keeping Lovely Lionel on his toes

Well I can tell you that my postie, Lovely Lionel, won’t have to worry about all the chocolates he ate over Christmas, because blogging friends are keeping him on his toes and making sure he walks off those extra calories.  Lots of New Year wishes have been arriving from various parts of France with cards from Patricia, Christine and Kaline (who also sent me a little bookmark kit to sttich)

a hand made card from Cathdragon along with more bookmarks and some lengths of ribbon for future crafty projects

a parcel from Reinette, with gifts for an exchange (I sent pressies to her “last” year) and today I received a lovely bookmark and a very original pair of scissors

A big thank you ladies – it’s always wonderful to receive mail, and even better when it’s so full of goodies.

what has Lovely Lionel been bringing me?

My postie, who I affectionately call Lovely Lionel, has been busy again . . . but only because my stitching blogging friends have been busy too.  Lots of exciting mail has been dropping into my letter box (okay so the water bill also arrived today, but c’est la vie) and I’ve been having great fun discovering and admiring lots of lovely surprises.

First of all, from Avis, the most gorgeous knitted cat bookmark.  Avis knows I’m a cat-lover, and that one of my cats is called Le Bleu . . . and now I have the cutest blue striped kitty.

Now, as I just love naming things, I have been racking my brains as to a suitable name for this stripey kitty. My first thought was Tiger, but nah, he doesn’t look ferocious enough for that . . . then I decided that, with his stripes, it rather looks like he’s wearing pyjamas . . . so I’m going to call him P.J.  ^^  And send a big hug to Avis for her gorgeous present.

Also in my letter box . . . more New Year’s wishes . . . with cards from Jocelyne, Nadine and Petitemumu

and from Zazimuth . . . more bookmarks, a card and a really cute cat cushion that I am going to use as a scissor fob

So a big thank you ladies – I am, once more, totally spoiled.

 

 

more thank yous for Christmas

Only another day and 2012 will be drawing to a close . . . it’ll soon be time to take down xmas decorations and forget about festivities for another year . . . the cats will be disappointed as they have been enjoying my way of displaying cards. Usually I stick them on doors around the house but this year I decided to hang from ribbons from the staircase and pin cards to those. Cats enjoy it because they sit on stairs and try to pull ribbons (and cards) up either using teeth or claws.

In amongst the cards there are also a few decorations that people sent, including a lovely heart from Debbie

a glitzy M&S card from Avis ^^

from April, in Switzerland

from mamoures

from Laetitia

 

a card, bookmarks and a cute little magnetic “post-it” dog from Sandrine

and a gorgeous “cat” address book from Valérie

pressies from blogging friends

Well I hope you all got some lovely surprises under the tree this year?  I know I did ^^. From family I got things like perfume, jewellery, books, a CD, DVDs and a “hot cookie” which is a coaster that looks like a cookie that plugs in with a USB and keeps my coffee mug warm . . . and from blogging friends, I received lots of lovely hand-made cards as well as tree decorations and more bookmarks for my collection.

I realise I didn’t take photos of everything (so sorry to Avis and Debbie whose offerings are either in the tree or hanging on ribbons on the stairway) but here are photos I thought to take of bits and bobs as I opened them

from Laurence

from Hélène

from Yvonne

from Agnès

from Sylvie G

from Véro bis

from Monique la Bretonne

from pOmme

and from Titane . . . . a huge pile of bookmarks for my collection

a little bit of patchwork and a new delivery from Lovely Lionel

Two subjects in one post today . . . first up . . . a quick patchwork project.

A good friend asked me if I could make a padded pouch for her Mum: an elderly lady who can only move around indoors with two walking sticks and needed a little pouch so that she could keep the phone close by.  Obviously, if she had a mobile phone, she could just slip it in a pocket, but she doesn’t, and it was for a cordless phone that she needed it.  So . . . I decided to reduce the scale of the squares I made for my recent bag . . . make four of them, and then add a long strap in matching fabric so that she can either sling it over her shoulder or hang it round her neck.  I made my squares 8cm x 8cm so pouch is 8cm x 16cm.

I’m not too sure about my choice of fabrics.  They’re not what I would have chosen for myself, but my friend’s Mum likes liberty style print and pastel colours.  Finished off with two mother-of-pearl buttons to attach the strap and hope that it will do the job.

And on a different note . . . Lovely Lionel dropped a nice plump enveloppe in my letter box the other day, from Stéphanie. More bookmarks for my collection (some in duplicate)

and also a Christmas card, some embellishments AND a lovely heart-shaped cushion to hang up.

So a big thank you to Stéphanie ^^