Grateful

I love the kindness and generosity with which folks in the online crafting/sewing/knitting community treat each other.  Partly I mean giveaways, but also the time and care that people put into items for swaps, the supportive comments, and a general "I've got your back" mentality.  I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows and that there are frustrating and imperfect sides of it too, but overall I am really grateful for this community.  And I have been on the receiving end of a number of generous gifts in the past few months and I wanted to take the time to say thanks.

I participate in a weekly sewing/quilting chat on twitter, Talkin' Tuesdays, which is really just a lot of fun and a great chance to meet some lovely folks who are just as fabric-obsessed as I am.  Even better, they have prizes each week, and I was lucky enough to win this charm pack of Sugar Pop, a yard of coordinating ivory colored Bella solid fabric, and a cute table runner pattern, all from Fabrics N Quilts.  I am not sure when I will have time to make this quilt (and still need to get backing fabric) but I was so excited when it came in the mail that I starting laying it out right away!  So above is a preview of what I am currently thinking I will ultimately make with these cute fabrics.

I recently won the Felt Friends book in a giveaway on Stacy Sews and it came in the mail yesterday, and Leslie from A Friend to Knit with sent me this Classic Elite Yarns pattern booklet a few weeks ago.

Leslie had posted her finished Elizabeth sweater which I had seen in her previous in-progress post, and I left a comment mentioning that I loved how hers had turned out and hoped to make one in the future, but needed to track down the pattern booklet.  She emailed me a few hours later asking for my address and saying she was going to send me her booklet.  It was such a kind gesture and really meant a lot to me.  I can't wait to knit this sweater! (OK, I really need to finish my cables and O's sweater first though).  I am thinking I will make it in a single tone kettle-dyed yarn, maybe a charcoal or a burgundy color, so the striping effect will still be visible but a bit more muted.  I think I will wear it a lot and I'm excited that it uses worsted weight yarn so it should knit up fairly quickly (for a sweater).

I was really surprised I won the felt friends book, since I had the first entry in the giveaway, but I guess #1 has to be picked by the random number generator sometimes too!  The book is super cute - check out the monkey and elephant above (although I think when I make them I may skip the berets).

And check out these cute animals... you can tell it is a Japanese craft book because all the animals have oversized heads but maybe if I make some of these I can adjust the size of the body a bit.  Although the oversized head thing is pretty cute too!

Finally, I had sent my blog friend Shelley from Rebel Homemaker some vegetable seeds that I knew I wasn't going to use, and she sent me this lovely sampling of blue and green fabrics from Patty Young's Sanctuary line (which I love) as a thank you.  This was so sweet, she knows how much I love fabric and that green is one of my favorite colors.  Really, I was just happy that the seeds might have a chance to grow and I wasn't expecting anything, so it was a lovely surprise!  I'm not sure what I will do with the fabric but I am thinking I may make a pillow for our bed.

How about you?  Have you been on the receiving (or giving) end of this generous community lately?

And speaking of giving - don't forget to check out the raffle of handmade baby items to benefit Japan relief!