Handmade Bag Swap

You've seen the handmade bags I have sent out on my other posts, here, here, here, and here.

This is a bag I received.

The quality and workmanship are wonderful. The fabric is a delightful combination of colors. Notice in the upper right she put a fabric covered button in the center of one of the designs. It is a nice touch. She also made a matching coin/card purse which is lined with felt.
The center picture shows some goodies she put in the bag for me.

Here are two of my sweet girls.
Oh, how my heart is full of love and hope for them.
I thank the Lord for the gift of being their mother.
Lord, grant me wisdom in being their mom,
help me to make the right decisions - rooted and grounded in love.

Dilettante

I discovered a new word today and it sounds a bit like me! I love art, I love crafts, but I really am just so-so, truly an amateur. But I enjoy what I do.

dilettante definition

n. pl. dil·et·tantes also dil·et·tan·ti
1. A dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge.

---------------------------

Noun

Singular dilettante

Plural dilettantes or dilettanti

dilettante (plural dilettantes or dilettanti)

1. A person who enjoys the arts.
2. An amateur, someone who dabbles in a field out of casual interest rather than as a profession or serious interest.
3. A person with a broad but superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge. (Sometimes derogatory.)

March Secret Pal Swap

I knitted and felted this orange bag and gave it to my secret pal.
I had a lot of fun with this swap. Every week we were given a task like, send your partner a lucky charm, send your partner an ATC about you, etc.
This was the last package she received.
I put some goodies from Peru in her bag as well as some treats for her and her son.
The necklace was a gift for her as well.

I am in another secret pal swap now.

When I was younger we attended a church that had a Secret Sisters group. It was so much fun trying to keep your identity a secret.

My Black and White Package

This is the Black and White swap package I received. I loved the notepads and notecards. She had black and white plastic eggs that held chocolate. She also made me a cosmetic purse, you can see it on the left. It zips up and is made so well, excellent craftsmanship. It was a wonderful package to open!!

Handbag Swap

handbags 168
Originally uploaded by sweetpeas.

Here is my bag and coin purse that I got in the mail!
This was part of the SEW KNIT CROCHET FELT QUILT EMBELLISH TOTE.
My package was a delight to open. The purse is nicely done and I enjoy the feel of the fabric.
Look to the right and you will see that the creator of this gorgeous bag added a fabric covered button. It looks so nice and adds character to the bag.
She also made that coin purse or card wallet. It is lined with felt which gives it good body and some extra durability.

Morning in Lima, Peru

My first morning in Lima was so bright and sunshiny, the light filled my room and sparkled!
I woke up to birds singing and looked out the window to see lovely flowers in bloom and a tropical cactus planted across the street.
I had left behind 30 f degree weather and almost two feet of snow. The birds at home were still gone for the winter, so when I woke up and heard the chirping, it sounded so delightful.

Traffic in Lima

I am very disappointed as I thought I had shot several pictures depicting the various modes of transportation and the traffic in Lima. However, after downloading my photos, I had only a few.
The driving in Lima is OH MY GOSH! I can´t believe people survive, seriously.
No one regards lanes and often drive down the middle of the road. A typical two or three lane road will have five or more rows of cars.
Pedestrians will cross anywhere and vehicles do not stop for them, do not slow down and just honk their horns.
There aren´t turn lanes and cars will often make a left turn from the right laneor a right hand turn from the left lane.
I have not seen any posted speed limits, which doesn´t really matter in the city because there is so much traffic that continually slows everyone down.
People drive with their horn, meaning they honk all the time: "lookout I am turning, don't get in my lane, don´t cross the street as I am not stopping, quit going so slow"....
Buses and taxis stop in the middle of the road for a pedestrian who flags them down. Some of the buses called coaster have hagglers hanging out the side trying to get passengers to ride with them. They yell out destinations and how much they charge. There ar many of them in competiton and long lines of them at intersections trying to entice people to ride.
It is crazy!!!!!

Yarn Scraps

This was a GREAT swap! We each got a partner and just traded yarn remnants from our stash. The above photo is the beautiful assortment I received. The green is SO soft, I think I am going to make a lacey type of scarf on big needles that I can wear in the summer.
The orange, light gray, and the turquoise balls are of the same material and it is so cushy, I just love it. It feels like a cotton or cotton blend. The multi color ball is so fun looking! It would make a great sweater for Norah if I had more.

The bottom photo is what I sent out. My partner had posted that she likes to make scrap yarn afghans therefore, I tried to color coordinate the items. She also crochets edging on her afghans so I thought the vintage edging book would give her some stitch ideas.

I wish I knew how to knit a yarn remnant afghan, if you you know of any links or have any pictures you can direct me to, please do so in the comments section of this post. Thanks I sure would appreciate it. I am a scrap kind-of person and think I would love to create something like a remnant project.

Mail Call

I LOVE mail days like this!
When there is this much good news, I don't mind the bills so much. :-)
Look at all the goodies just waiting for me to unwrap.

Bookmarks

I am trying my hand at making bookmarks and am having a lot of fun. I was inspired by a bookmark swap at Swap-Bot. Now I need to make some for me!







How do you like these bookmarks?
Do you make bookmarks as gifts or for yourself?


I usually use the subscription inserts in magazines for bookmarks. I pull these nuisances out before I read my magazine as I hate the way they make the page flip and bend. They have come in handy for page markers though. :-)

Chilca, Peru

One of my favorite adventures on my recent trip to Peru was the mud bath in Chilca. The black mud is beneficial for the body and the white mud for the face. I am not a believer in miracle cures (apart from God's healing power), but I will tell you my skin was so soft and smooth! And my face looked healthy and deep down clean. The lakes are mineral lakes, deep green in color and so full of salts and other minerals that you float in the water.
The water was warm as a soothing bath and because I just floated right on top it was tranquilizing, peaceful and refreshing.
I could float here ALL day!
I wish someone could make a bed that makes you feel this weightless and comfortable.

Tea Swaps

Tea swaps are definitely a favorite! The turn-around is fast, the swappers all seem to follow-through and I get a great variety of teas to try.

Pick 3 Swap

I had a mother/daughter duo for this swap, so instead of mailing them something to share, I mailed them each a little package. It was fun! Having 4 daughters of my own I know how much girls love packages! Even grown up girls like me love packages.

Handmade Bag Swap

I knitted and felted this gorgeous bag. It has long been one of the favorite bags I have made.
This bag has been sent to Britta in Denmark and she loves it!
Included were a few little goodies based on her Swap-Bot profile.
This was for the SEW KNIT CROCHET FELT QUILT EMBELLISH TOTE Swap on Swap-Bot.