Very late birthday gift to Kirsi

I'm taking part in a Birthday exchange in Finland and now I even remember that I do... This is what happened. I got the email about my exchange partners in early October last year. Well I had just heard a few days earlier that I lost my job. I wasn't feeling very well then and I didn't put the date to my exchange calendar like I usually do. So I totally forgot the exchange and the dates. On March our exchange host emailed me asking if the package had been lost in mail since the birthday girl hadn't received it. I was so embarrased when I had to tell her that no it was not lost in mail since it doesn't even exist! So so embarrassing...  I promised I will get right to it and started to stitch the present. I had a great start but then we got in the middle of selling our home and buying a new appartment (and after all the hassle someone else made an offer that the seller approved so we didn't get the new home we wanted). Finally this Monday I got the present in mail and luckily Kirsi liked it a lot. :)

I stitched a part of chart called "Flowery Heart" by Cross Stitchers Club. I sewed a sewing caddy from a brown fabric, "Blush" Layer Cake by Moda Fabrics and bias strip. I didn't find model for this so I made up my own. I had seen pictures of sewing caddys in internet and liked them a lot. I thought Kirsi might want to use it as a cross stitch project bag. It has six pockets on the outside for all the bits and pieces. The chart for the card is from Mausimom's blogi and it's called the "Vogelpaarherz". The present also included two thread winders from The Gift of Stitching shop and two needle threaders (with cutting blades).  You can see a good pic of the whole present in  Kirsi's blog since as usual I forgot to take a photo of the whole thing. :D

Many blogs have had spring photos. Well we can't take photos like that since it's still very wintery here in Finland but these photos show that the snow is melting here too. :) We had these beautiful icicles hanging from our gutters. Longest ones were almost one meter long. When the sun shines they sparkle like diamonds.

I felt like baking on Wednesday so I made these yummies, carrot cupcakes. I made those little marzipan carrots myself too. :) As my hubby didn't like these (he is not a big fan of cream cheese... go figure...) I took some to work with me yesterday so I didn't have to eat ALL of them alone. :) It did not take long until they were all eaten. :)

Stitched mailarts and a baby gift

I took part in Finnish stitched mailart exchange and stitched an assisi styled envelope to Lumivalko from the blog Lumivalko ja Ruusunpuna (written in Finnish). The chart is called "Americano" and it's from a magazine  Ricami d'Assisi, I ordered it from Casa Cenina. The magazine has many beautiful assisi charts. Inside the envelope I put two cards and two stamps. I found a perfect rose stamp to the envelope but sadly it was lost in mail and also the other one of the fairy stamps that I put inside was lost too.
I stitched this on white 28ct Brittney evenweave with DMC thread 321.

Front:

Back:

Details:

The dotted lining:

One of the cards had a saying that is perfect for us crafty people. :)

"Ihminen jolla on mielikuvitusta,
ei laske luvuissa vaan mahdollisuuksissa."
("A person who has imagination
doesn't count numbers
but possibilities instead.")

I got an mailart form Marja. She stitched me a beautiful mailart with birdhouses and sent me two matching cards too. And as I like sheep she put in a sheep stamp and one frog stamp in too.

My cousin had a baby girl in January and I stitched a present for her. It's very similar to the one I sent to my friend for her son, a pacifier pouch and a bunny. For the pouch I stitched  Little 'Uns chart Baby Newton from the Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine, issue 65. I stitched it on white 28ct Brittney evenweave, with one over one. I used both Anchor and DMC threads. Charts for the bunny are from the World of Cross Stitching magazine, issue 126.

Details: