something rosemade

Good Things Do Come in Small Packages When You Have Quilting Friends

I think quilters love to exchange gifts with their quilting friends.  I have now reached the Quilter's Trifecta of Gift Receiving.  I have received gifts locally, Thank You, Carol, by Interstate, Thank You Mary and Dee and now I received one internationally from Australia (now don't get jealous, Dee).  I received this parcel today from Susan Snooks who blogs via http://patchworknplay.blogspot.com and we recently became friends.

I've long admired Susan's creations on her blog and have left her comments never realizing that we would become friends.  Her work is amazing; Melbourne Town, which is a version of Jen Kingwell's pattern, Small World, which I considered almost doing but then Gypsy Wife got in the way and haven't full recovered from that experience, her Chuck Nohara blocks which are a great example of her piecework skills and eye for picking just the right fabrics, as you can see from my gifts above, and sew forth.  (You really need to check out Susan's blog to be inspired.) And all I did was send her some leftover Cotton+Steel blocks and scraps.   This may be hard to believe but I asked Susan to send me a photo of her fabric stash and I could maybe only find a couple that I already had.  She shops from a different planet than mine.  

Susan is also my unofficial Help Desk for starting this blog and now my tutor for how to send a parcel fit for a quilter.  I read other quilt blogs from Australia and noticed the way they send pretty parcels to each other.  Of course I didn't realize my faux pas until after I sent my package to Susan and had to send a FB message to warn and apologize before she received it.   I was too hung up on meeting the postal requirements in sending an international package and I just put everything in a ratty plastic storage bag because I wanted to make sure nothing got wet.  Of course, Susan's package was encased in a crisp plastic bag with Washi tape with colored coordinated tissue paper.  Talk about being put to shame.  I've learned my lesson in a good way.

So cheers to Susan and to my good Quilt friends and for the continuation of  wonderfully wrapped parcels to each other. I am thankful and blessed to have you in my life.