Secret Santa from Ireland to Australia

Merry Christmas!!

I have now received my Exchange Gift in our Christmas Exchange.  This lovely package arrived in my mailbox on Christmas Eve (perfect timing) and was from Heather in Ireland.

I was truly spoilt by Heather as she also included in the package some lovely Dragon Floss hand dyed threads from Polstitches, gorgeous Santa ribbon, gold ribbon, bell pull hangers and a pack of pink spotted aida as well as a.... Margaret Sherry kitty cross stitch kit - "Purr-turbed". 

This is my first Margaret Sherry kit... I know it seems strange given how much I love her designs, but all the designs I have in my stash are from the UK cross stitch magazines.  Thank you Heather, I absolutely love the exchange gift you sent me and Santa will be on our Christmas tree every year from now on!

Thank you Nia for hosting another fantastic exchange and for hosting this wonderful blog and friendship group.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and I wish you all the best for the New Year!

Hugs
Stitching Noni

Christmas Stitching

I just wanted to share with you the Christmas Card I made for my daughter and her husband.

Christmas Card

Close up detail of Hedgehogs.

Happy Stitching Everyone.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry christmas everyone!!
hugs Angele

From Noni to Olli ♥Christmas Excange♥

My waiting time is over, a surprise parcel has arrived! My Secret Santa is Noni. She spoiled me with nice things (see pictures), it all says Merry Chrismas! The Christmas card hangs on a cord with the other cards, the banner on the wall, the wooden board between the fir branches on the front door and the green bird in my improvised Christmas tree.

Noni, thank you!

Christmas exchange update!

Hi ladies!
Well, now things are going slow but going! We have to be patient and wait.. wait.. wait for the mail to arrive, is like waiting for Santa to come :) hehehe

Parcels posted: 17/18
. Valma - Posted!
. Olli - Posted!
. Angel - Posted!
. Anne Fraser - Posted!
. Heather - Posted!
. Gislene - Posted!
. Judith - Posted! (no photo)
. Noni - Posted!
. Rita - Posted!
. Lentochka - Posted!
. Cucki - Posted!
. Maria Ysabel - Posted!
. Jules - Posted!
. Natalya - Posted!
. Amber - Posted!
. Camille - Posted!
. Debra Vermeulen - Posted!
. Julianne - behind but working on it


Parcels received: 7/18
. Valma
. Olli
. Angel - Received :)
. Anne Fraser - Received :)
. Heather - Received :)
. Gislene
. Judith - Received :)
. Noni
. Rita
. Lentochka
. Cucki
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules - Received :)
. Natalya
. Amber - Received :)
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen
. Julianne - Received :)

Lovely Christmas Exchange from Cucki

Thank you very much Cucki for the wonderful exchange items.  I love it all!!!!!  I had a giggle because when it came I opened it and put the ornament in my tree and put the scissors near my stitching and got it all organized then realized I should have taken a pic! LOL  So i gathered it all together again and took a picture of all your goodies!   Thanks again to  you and also to Nia for organizing this wonderful exchange!  :)  Merry Christmas everyone!! 

Secret Santa From Debbie V. for Julianne

I received a lovely package today from Debbie V.  in South Africa.

Thank you so much Debbie.  You put together a really lovely package for me.  The extras of the stickers and ornaments are so appreciated!

Here are a few pictures for all to admire:

Secret Santa and Amber's gift

Amber mentioned in her post that she was unable to get a good pic of the ribbon on the side of the ornie I made for her. Here is the picture I took before sending it along...

Secret Santa Gift from Jules!

I was snowed in on Monday, so I was delighted when I went down to the mailbox and found that my gift from our Christmas Exchange had arrived! A big thank you to Jules who sent me a beautiful ornament and a wonderful assortment of crafting goodies.

I have to confess, I'm snacking on the yummy chocolates as I post this...

Along with the adorable Margaret Sherry kitty, Jules included two packages of Lindt chocolates (so delicious!), fabric for a cross stitched table runner, embroidery floss, Christmas yarn, and 3 beautiful swatches of blue fabric.

I'm so eager to start crocheting with the yarn or stitching a pattern onto the table runner (I'm considering Margaret Sherry's Bauble Mice, if I can make them fit!) My camera isn't doing it justice, but all these wonderful goodies came in the beautiful box that Jules teased us with in her Secret Santa on its Way post. The box is beautiful and sparkly, not to mention sturdy, so I'll be saving it to keep Christmas decorations in over the years to come.

And now a closer look at the lovely ornament Jules stitched. Isn't it cute? There is also beautiful sparkly ribbon around the edges. I couldn't coax the camera into taking a good picture of that though.

Once again, a huge thank you to Jules for brightening my day with such a wonderful gift! Thank you! And thanks to Nia for keeping our exchanges running very smoothly all year round!

Warm wishes for a happy holiday season to all my Margaret Sherry loving friends!

Sincerely,

Christmas exchange update!

Hello ladies! Again, sorry for the delay, I wanted to update the group on Monday but just had the chance to do it today.. sorry ladies, I bet you are all anxious to know more about your parcels :) I hope the mail service won't let us down and everything will be delivered on time!!

Christmas exchange
. Valma - Posted!
. Olli - Posted!
. Angel - Posted!
. Anne Fraser - Posted!
. Heather - Posted! (no photo)
. Gislene - Posted!
. Judith - Posted! (no photo)
. Noni - Posted!
. Rita - Posted!
. Lentochka - Posted!
. Cucki - Posted!
. Maria Ysabel - Posted!
. Jules - Posted!
. Natalya - Posted!
. Amber - Posted!
. Camille - Posted!
. Debra Vermeulen - Posted!
. Julianne - behind but working on it
Parcels posted: 17/18
!!! All parcels have been posted except from Julianne, who had a problem with her stitched piece and had to start all over again. This was last week so I hope soon she will have more news to us :)

. Valma
. Olli
. Angel - Received :)
. Anne Fraser
. Heather
. Gislene
. Judith - Received :)
. Noni
. Rita
. Lentochka
. Cucki
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules - Received :)
. Natalya
. Amber - Received :)
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen
. Julianne
Parcels received: 4/18


I hope you are all having fun!!! :D

Ooh la la! I got my Secret Santa gift!!

Merci Valma pour le cadeau! C'est magnifique!! Comment savez-vous que j'avais besoin de serviettes? LOL

*****

Valma was my Secret Santa for the Christmas Exchange! Here are some pics of what she sent all the way from France:

I am going to take my new calendar and the ornie to work tomorrow.

And for those of you who may be wondering about the question at the beginning of the post, I asked Valma how she knew I needed napkins, lol.

Thanks again so much Valma!

Update!

I'm very happy to see everyone having fun, I hope your parcels won't take too long to arrive!! I can see the first one has reached destination! Uhuuuuu :D Starting well ;)
I posted an update list on Monday and got many emails since then. Sorry for not replying quicker :p I ask your patience to give me 2 or 3 days to write back, I will reply everyone and update here again ;) It's really impossible to do it daily, sorry ladies =)

Christmas exchange
. Valma - Posted!
. Olli - Posted!
. Angel - Posted!
. Anne Fraser - Posted!
. Heather - Posted! (no photo)
. Gislene - Posted!
. Judith
. Noni
. Rita - Posted! (no photo)
. Lentochka - Posted!
. Cucki - Posted!
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules - Posted! (no photo)
. Natalya - Posted!
. Amber - Posted!
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen - Posted!
. Julianne - behind but working on it
Parcels posted: 12/18

. Valma
. Olli
. Angel - Received :)
. Anne Fraser
. Heather
. Gislene
. Judith
. Noni
. Rita
. Lentochka
. Cucki
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules
. Natalya
. Amber
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen
. Julianne
Parcels received: 1/18


Halloween Exchange
News from Deb, her parcel to Rita was sent yesterday. Let's wait and hope it will arrive before the end of the year...

From Olli!

Hi everybody,

I think i am the  first lucky girl that got her secret santa parcel!
Because we are both from the Netherlands this package arrived quickly.
Olli made me this pretty stocking with a cute pattern i wanted to stitch sometime.
So sweet!
My kids are also very happy (including me, a chocolate addict}with the cute chocolates!
The fabric, little bells, threads and little card they are lovely!
Olli, thank you so much again for this pretty package!
Love it all very much.

Hopefully all packages will arrive before christmas this year!

hugs, Angele

Christmas is almost here!

I've been busy making Christmas tree decorations and I just wanted to share with you the two Margaret Sherry designs that I will be putting on the tree this year.

Two bell shaped Christmas ornaments.

Hanging up the stocking.

A present for you.

Happy Stitching Everyone.

Secret Santa is on its way....

I sure hope the person who receives this gift enjoys!

I sure had fun putting it all together!

Update!

Christmas Exchange
There are packages travelling across the globe!!! :D
Don't forget to send me an email to msherrylovers@gmail.com, with a photo from your parcel and letting me know you have posted it ;) I hope everyone will be able to do it soon, the sooner it goes on the mail, the bigger the chances that your partner will receive it in time for Christmas :)

. Valma
. Olli
. Angel - Posted!
. Anne Fraser - Posted!
. Heather
. Gislene - Posted!
. Judith
. Joey
. Noni
. Rita
. Lentochka
. Cucki - Posted!
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules
. Natalya - Posted!
. Amber - Posted!
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen
. Julianne

Parcels posted: 6/18


Halloween Exchange
Still waiting to hear from Deb Jochim... It's December already and Rita hasn't received anything for the Halloween exchange =/


Sal #4
There's a list on the sidebar where I was keeping track about our SAL but.. I think I'm lost :p I have 4 stitchers who completed the SAL.. anyone else? If I'm missing someone, please, let me know and I will update =)
The same for all the others SALs, check your name, let me know if I missed anything ;) Thank you!

Secret Santa posting on Monday!

I will be posting my Secret Santa on Monday. The past week has been a little rough so I am a little delayed. Hope all of my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that everyone is having a great weekend!!

Greetings from Indonesia

Hello ladies!
I can see that everyone's busy with the christmas exchange and the latest SAL #4.

Well, I'm happy enough to announce that I've finished my SAL #3
Outdated, yeah... But very happy & relieved...
Here, take a peek... :)

1st : Spring Cat - April 2012
2nd : Summer Cat - July 2012
3rd : Autumn Cat - August 2013
4th : Winter Cat - September 2013

Wishing you all a great weekend!
Happy stitching!


ristinia.blogspot.com

Secret Santa is on the way!! :D

You can check your email, all partners info has been sent to each one of you! Remember to keep it a secret, your partner doesn't know from where Santa's gift will arrive ;)

I promised yesterday I would send all emails this morning.. it's noon for me right now! Uff.. I was just in time ;) heheheh

Managing an exchange takes more time than we wish :p I need to wait for emails replies, gather all info, make the draw (I use random.org) and then check with our history on previous exchanges (to make sure no one gets the same partner twice). Finally, send each mail carefully so I won't mess up any address!! Can you imagine how terrible that would be? :p hehehe

Joey doesn't have the chance to join this time and I didn't get Heather's confirmation yesterday. I'm counting Heather on our exchange, if she won't be able to do it for any reason, I will assume the responsability and fill her space ;) I'm pretty sure Heather was just busy, unable to check her email but soon will write back to me :)

On the email, I wrote the rules to follow, very simple things so make sure you do it, ok? ;) heheheh
I've been asked before about the age of each partner, some people say that helps to know the kind of things to send. That was added to the info about each partner, unless I din't get a reply or the person prefers not to tell, in that case you have 'unknown'.
In my opinion, age doesn't say much about each stitcher, seeing the kind of works she does or checking her personal blog, that helps a lot more! So make some use of the link that goes on the email too, ok? ;) that's the best way to know your partner better, get to know her 'style' on crafts, the things she enjoys.. maybe you will enjoy her blog and start contacting more :) Visit other member's blogs, that's how friendships starts! :D

Main rule to everyone: have fun!!! :D
Enjoy this magical season!!!

Update: somehow I missed Heather's email! All confirmed, Heather is in and all partners have been assigned ;) Have fun ladies!! I will be here for anything you need and I will keep track on how things go :)

Christmas exchange - check in!

Good morning ladies :)
Curious to know who your partner will be? You have to wait just a little longer..
I'm waiting for 2 confirmations, as you all know, I sent a group email to check with everyone about their participation. I'm missing just 2 replies, from Heather and Joey, it was the weekend so I'm giving today for them to write back. I think Heather won't miss the exchange :) but I have some doubts about Joey, she was too busy last time.. I'm not sure if she's still in =/ If I don't get a reply, I won't be able to count her in for this time.. I need to be sure, right?

Just a little longer and soon everyone will know where to send their parcels ;)
Have fun!! :D

Greetings from South Africa

Hello Margaret Sherry Lovers.

My name is Debbie and as I am new to the blog, I would like to introduce myself.

I live in Durban, South Africa. I have been married for 13 years and have two sweet little girls, Erin Hope (5) and Ella Grace (2). I am a teacher-librarian and work at an all-girls Catholic School. I love books, reading, stitching and going to the movies, as well as spending time with my family and friends.

I have recently started cross stitching again, after a break of many years. I am slowly building my collection of patterns and threads. At this stage I have only done two small Margaret Sherry designs but I hope to do many more in the future. I love looking at the beautiful Margaret Sherry designs that so many of you have made.

I am looking forward to taking part in my first exchange this Christmas. And I want to learn more about the Stitch-A-Longs too. I hope to make many new friends from all over the world. Thank you to Nia for allowing me to be part of this wonderful community.

Happy stitching!

Love,

#4 Christmas Exchange

Since we had a delay with our last exchange, I'm giving a few more days to sign up for Christmas Exchange!! Still, you can start working on your gift, the sooner you have it done = the sooner you'll be able to post it ;)

Sign up until: November 23th
Partners published: November 24th
Posting deadline: December 1st

Please, extra attention with the deadline to post, it's Christmas season, we know the mail gets even slower at this time of the year!!

To sign up:
send an email to msherrylovers@gmail.com, don't forget to send your address too ;)

What to send on your parcel:
1 handmade » stitch any Christmas design by Margaret Sherry that you like and finish as you want!!
+4 extra gifts » fabrics, buttons, ribbons, threads, any craft supply! Or you can add stationery like pens, notebooks, anything pretty and cute that will make you partner smile :)

Any question? Feel free to comment here on this post :)

Who's in:
. Valma
. Olli
. Angel
. Anne
. Heather
. Gislene
. Judith
. Joey
. Noni
. Rita
. Lentochka
. Cucki
. Maria Ysabel
. Jules
. Natalya
. Amber
. Camille
. Debra Vermeulen
. Julianne

As usual, partners will be drawn randomly but... this time you won't know from who you'll receive! It's Secret Santa time!! :D

Halloween Exchange Update!!

I know, Halloween has passed :p So, what am I doing here still talking about it, right? heheheh

I had already called our Pixies to action and yesterday I finally got an answer from Deb! Our deadline was back in October (1st) but Deb had some trouble to deal with, she would be late on the posting but would still send a parcel to Rita.. so I waited. One month after, Halloween came and still no smoke sign from Deb.. I have to say I was disappointed. I do understand that life happens but I also know it only takes one minute to send an email. I never heard back from Deb until yesterday, not about the parcel to Rita or that she had received Cucki's parcel!

Ladies, please, I ask for such simple rules to follow..
Sending an email to let me know you're behind, letting me know you haven't disappeared or forgotten about your partner, send an email saying you have received a gift. Those shouldn't even be rules, that's being polite.

This group has been great on our exchanges, we have wonderful stitchers and committed friends! But I have to worry with those friends who do it all and then.. their mailbox is empty! Why?!.. it shouldn't be...

I will consider this exchange closed, we will start Christmas theme BUT I won't forget that Rita is still waiting with an empty box. So, there's a tiny red flag here. Not totally over.

#3 Halloween Exchange
Sent parcels:
. Heather - Sent!
. Val - Sent!
. Ysa - Sent!
. Noni - Sent!
. Judith - Sent!
. Amber - Sent!
. Nia - Sent!
. Angel - Sent!
. Cucki - Sent!
. Deb - UPDATE 2013.11.11 Will send in the next 2 weeks
. Rita - Sent!

Received parcels:
. Heather - Received :)
. Val - Received :)
. Ysa - Received :)
. Noni - Received :)
. Judith - Received :)
. Amber - Received :)
. Nia - Received :)
. Angel - Received :)
. Cucki - Received :)
. Deb - Received :)
. Rita

Halloween Exchange - from Dominican Republic to Australia

Happy Halloween! (belated Halloween...)

Hi girls, it's my turn to show you what a gorgeous package I received from **Ysa** (Detallitos de Ysabel) this week.

Halloween Exchange Package from **Ysa**

Halloween Kitty

Ysa sent me the most delightful Halloween kitty and a package of goodies including threads and beads, charms, ribbons, pegs, a lovely orange tea towel that has a great border just right for stitching, a lovely post card as well as a souvenir key ring.  I think that the tea towel will look rather good all stitched up for Halloween next year!

Thank you Ysa for the most brilliant exchange package.  I absolutely love it all... kitty is just delightful... He will be on show all year round not just at Halloween!

Til next time, happy stitching

Hugs

Stitching Noni

SAL #4 - Puppy Love Complete!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to pop in and show that I have finally completed my version of the Puppy Love stitch-a-long. I had the stitching done a while ago, and managed to get the piece framed last week. It's now displayed proudly on top of our fireplace in the living room.

Thanks for looking! I can't wait to see what next year's SAL will be!

Hello From a New Member

Hello Margaret Sherry lovers.  My name is Julianne and I would like to introduce myself.  I contacted Nia to ask if I might join in the fun here.  I have been visiting  the blog for awhile and could see what a nice group of stitchers this is.

I live in Northern California about 40 minutes east of San Francisco.  I have been cross stitching for almost 30 years.  I have a blog but have not been real active with it recently http://juliannep.blogspot.com

I have not stitched any of Margaret Sherry's designs but I did purchase the book of her designs about a year ago and really want to stitch some.  I thought joining the group here would give me the push that I need to do it.

I look forward to joining in here with all of you.

Julianne

Halloween Exchange - from Judith to Amber

Those who regularly read our Margaret Sherry Lovers blog know that Judith has been going through a rough time lately, so I'm deeply thankful and touched that she found the time to send me this wonderful package for our Halloween Exchange.

(Judith, I've tried sending you thank you messages through email, but both times I've received a Delivery Failure Notice saying that there was a problem with the server. Hopefully, you're still checking in with our blog from time to time and you'll see my thanks here.)

My hubby and I moved last March and I'm still in the process of decorating our walls with artwork, cross stitches, and other crafting projects, so the autumny "Willkommen" sign Judith sent will make a welcome addition to our front entryway! Plus, this is the first Archie Bear I've received, and one that I've been trying to find time to stitch for myself, so I was delighted to see that he was the design that Judith had stitched for me.

Once again, thank you Judith! I look forward to using the crafting notions you've sent and decorating my home with the lovely ornaments. I send you big hugs from Canada to Germany!

Sincerely,

From Rita and SAL

Hello all,

A big big thank you to Rita for my exchange package!  I love it :)

The note book has already been given a job ... my stitching diary for next year xxxx  A perfect job for a perfect gift!  Thank you Rita I love everything :) xxxxxxx

From Rita to me! :)

Lovely notebook :)

Thank you again Rita xxxx


I have completed SAL #4 ... well I was going to do all of it but one of the kiddies liked just the main dog and wanted him lol So I decided to just stitch the main part of the SAL rather than do the same picture over again!!  So here he is ...

Doggie SAL

Roll on next years SAL :)

Have a great day all

Love me
xxxxx