I'm putting together a pile of treasures to post off for the Modern Scrappy Bits Swap.  I enjoyed the last swap so much, I had to give it another go.  On a local front, I've signed up for the scrap bag swap too. I'm not sure it this makes me wise, impulsive or just a glutton for as good thing.

This is my first attempt at a fabric basket.  I'm trying to keep it soft and flexible to avoid annoying the postal gods. I'm beginning to wonder if some vintage tea towels might make good baskets too.

I've been very lucky in the last week with these two parcels arriving in my mailbox. The first is part of the Rapid and Tiny Zakka Swap - a namebadge from  Lori at Lollydo. The second is part of the modern scraps swap, a pincushion from Steph at Sewing by Stephanie.

My parcels are winging their way across the world.  I'll share them once they have arrived.

After planning, cutting and stitching, my work for the Modern Christmas Table Runner Swap is done and in the post. After leaving it hanging on the wall for a few days, I decided that I really needed to add some french knots above the "e" before posting. I have even managed to get to grips with machine quilting using metallic thread.

For now, I will keep quiet about where it is going, but can only say it will be accompanied by two swift flying birds.

I have often wished for something magical that did your dishes while you were not looking. I think I may have found one. As you can see, Miss H had some time to spare while waiting to go trick of treating.

It has been a full on week in the Seven Stitches household and I feel like I am only just coming up for air. I'm looking forward to a day with the kids tomorrow, doing kiddy things and hoping for another visit from the cleaning fairies.

On another note, the Small Hands Christmas Swap partners have been emailed out, so everyone should be making or thinking of making at the moment. Wonderful, I'm off to put my feet up.

Sign ups are still open for the Small Hands Christmas Swap. There is a delightful list of Helping Hands gathering below the button* to the left too. These Helping Hands have signed up on behalf of some very eager Small Hands. Drop me a line of you would like to join them.

I've been hunting for some craft ideas for your small hands. The projects above were found by searching through both The Crafty Crow** and Sew Mama Sew. You can find details for each of these projects in the following locations:

1 - Bead Stars
2 - Mini Wreathes
3 -Thumbprint trees
4 - Kids Felt Decorations
5 - Cork Trees6 - Paper Balls
7 -Clothes Peg Fairies
8 - Bullfinch Decorations
9 - Pinecone elves

And there is a whole heap of Christmas Card ideas over here too.

*It's finally working, but you will need to head over to the flickr group to get your copy of the button.

** Pure brilliance in kids craft. If you haven't visited there already, you must. Go! Now! or even shortly after signing up for the swap.

In our house, we love to make things. We love to post them too. My children watch with awe as new parcels arrive in the mail box, so this year I am setting up the Small Hands Christmas Swap. It is a swap where the children have a chance to get creative and get posting.

Each set of little hands will be making a Christmas Card and a decoration to send to their partner. The task is inclusive rather than demanding. While you will not need to put glue to paper straight away, the swap has been set up early in order to get you thinking about it well before December.

Pairs of hands will be put together with some consideration of age. Upon consideration, a 9 year old has very little appreciation for 2 year old's experimental drawings and neither is the two year old impressed with intricate cutting skills of a big kid.

Here’s what you need to know:

When is it?
Sign ups are open October 6 – October 27
Pairs of hands will be emailed out November 2
Posting starts November 25 and finishes on December 9

How do I sign up?
Drop me an email seven.stitches.amy(at) gmail (dot) com with your name, the name of the little hands, your contact email and postal addresses, their age and two things about them and Christmas
i.e Miss January is 1, loves wrapping paper and twinkly things
or Master August is 7 and while he thinks spiderman is the bees knees, he thinks father Christmas looks pretty good in red too.
Be sure to join the flickr group too.


What if I haven’t a child?
If you have a significant set of little hands in your life, be it nieces, nephews or the kids you baby sit every second week talk to them about joining in. Perhaps it is something you could do together.


What if I have more than one child?
By all means sign up all who are interested and going to be able to take part in the swap.

Is it open to international participants?
Yes it is open to international participants. However to keep postage times short, if possible I will pair up the little hands within the same country.


If there is anything I haven’t covered here, drop me a line and I will get back to you quickly. Over the next few weeks I will be adding a list of participants to the side bar and posting links to some great tutorials for Christmas crafts suitable for little hands.

A lovely parcel arrived on my doorstep this week. Stella sent a parcel of kitchen goodies as part of the vintage kitchen swap. On Monday, little E ran off with her egg cup before I could make lunch and filled it with flowers. Today, Miss H joined in too. The egg cups are a sweet folk art painted pair in the cheeriest red and yellow.


Also in the parcel was a blackboard jar - now holding our fridge letters. There was a host of other little treats too. Miss H is seen here shaking the salt and pepper shakers. If you put them together you can see they make a bank.


You can see more the vintage kitchen swap over here.

I'm signing up for the New Zealand Christmas Ornament Swap. It has moved and this year you can find it over here.

I'm already trying to think of something new to make for this year. Maybe some felt, hopefully something I can put together on a train.

In the interests of starting small, I singed up for a button swap over at Feeling Stitchy. These little daisies found themselves on their way to Lorna at CraftyMess. They are more of a play with colour than a technical masterpiece. Can you tell what my favourite colours are at the moment?

Has it really been over a month since my last post?
Recently, I have been taking delight in small moments of peace. When E is out and Miss H is asleep, I get a few moments to myself. I used to rush around madly and trying to get everything done but now I just stop. The jug is boiled, coffee brewed, computer turned off and I get to choose a grown up cup to have my coffee from. It is nice to have those uninterrupted moments before I get into everything else. In a similar vein, I am going to take a moment to say thanks for some wonderful mail love before I send one out myself and get on with the crafting

Thank-you to the Anzac Bee ladies. My blocks have arrived and with the exception of two still to go, I am looking forward to laying them out at quilting on Tuesday night. They look amazing. You can take a peek above.

I have been lucky enough to win some giveaways. First up was a set of hand painted buttons from Steph. Deciding on a project based on the buttons is kind of like buying a Ferrari because someone gave you a wheel, but in this case it will be worth it. I am thinking natural linen cushions with an elegant button closure. That way they shouldn't go through the washing machine and can be easily rescued when the cushions are worn out.

Then there was the wonderbundle from Joanna. A parcel stuffed with the tidyings of her craft room – vibrant morsels of fabric, some great wool tweed, a frog and a magazine. There was even some park slope in there which has already been put to good use. I have never been so delighted to sort through the mail.

So here’s the giveaway – I will fill a wonderbundle and post it on. I know I can certainly lay my hands on felted wool jersey in many shades, liberty swatches from recycled clothing and maybe a magazine too. Most likely, I will do a little research and tailor the package to the recipient. Just leave a comment below and let me know the best thing to come through your mail box this year. I will leave this open for a week, before choosing a winner.

When Jennicakes asked for some extra helpers for her quilting bee, I had my hand up in a flash. I was like one of those kids in the class saying “Pick me, pick me”. It’s so rare that these virtual quilting bees are open to international post.
Jennifer sent a small bundle of fabrics to make two traditional blocks out of. I tried to make both blocks without any substitutions. After cutting the fabric, I saw another way, but it was a little too late. Some vintage chintz snuck in there too as it was the closest blue I could find in my stash.
I have also posted off my last two blocks for the Kiwi Quilters Block Swap. This was more of a swap than a quilting bee. First up there is the flower for Maree and then there is the aptly named “Lynda’s Star” for Lynda.
Thanks to everyone for letting me take part. I know I can be little tardy at times, but I got there in the end. This leaves me looking for another to launch myself into. Anyone want to swap?