A pretty little blog swap

Hello lovelies, I hope you are all enjoying a good week. Mine has most certainly been perked up by a gorgeous parcel I received from a bloggy friend. Towards the end of last year the lovely Marianne from Ladybird Diaries suggested we did a little swap and needless to say there was no delay in the uptake. After a few emails with some specific questions, we both settled on something for the kitchen.

 

Before I go into the detail of what I sent Marianne, I am dying to share my gorgeous gifts with you.

 

 

The parcel was so beautifully wrapped and I just loved the handwritten letter, it feels like ages since I've received a proper letter and it felt super special, thank you Marianne.

 

 

 

 

So in my gorgeously wrapped parcel was the loveliest of tea towels, with lots of beautiful hand appliqued flowers on it. I love the fabrics that  Marianne chose for the flowers and I must say it is already looking beautiful in the kitchen.

 

 

Next Marianne crocheted this gorgeous potholder, which I absolutely LOVE!!! It fits in perfectly with the rest of my collection and if one day life will bless me with a few more hours each day I might get around to making many more of these for my potholder wall that I keep dreaming about. Needless to say I am smitten to bits with this beauty!

 

 

 Lastly Marianne sent me this rather gorgeous and sweet sign for the kitchen and she added this beautiful crochet heart to it, such a special and pretty touch and I heart it! I am currently trying to find the perfect little spot for it as it definitely needs to be appreciated every day. Thank you Marianne, you have really spoilt me and I love each and every one of the gorgeous gifts you made.

 

 

From the outset I had it in my mind that I wanted to have a go at making these pretty little potholders by Amy from Nana Company. I have been meaning to do these for such a long time and finally I had the perfect excuse to play. Thanks to Amy's wonderful tutorial, it was really straightforward and I really enjoyed the process, in fact I am already looking forward to making myself some at some point.

 

 

what I really like about them is the little pocket for your hands and also the gorgeous little frill, it just gives it that extra little girly touch. Amy is so clever and if you haven't already visited her lovely blog do yourself a favour as there is a mountain of gorgeousness awaiting you.

I didn't follow the instructions to the letter (yes I know its becoming a bit of a habit), but I felt a little unsure about gluing the back of the bias binding before top stitching it from the front, so I decided to hand stitch the back of the bias in place, just like one would do with a quilt, and personally I think it gives it a neater finish.  Marianne told me that her current love was red polka dots, so I had fun incorporating it into both the potholders.

 

 

I spotted this lovely cup a few weeks ago and I thought of Marianne, so it only seemed right that it went to the right home. To ensure that it got there in one piece I had to post everything in a rather big shoe box, which I covered in some old wallpaper I had lying around. Isn't it amazing what a little paper and glue can achieve?!

 

 

 

All in all it was such a fun project and I really enjoyed getting to know Marianne a little better too. I also love the fact that slowly there are little bits from other bloggers lying around the house giving me a gentle reminder of the people behind these gorgeous makes. It was my first unofficial swap and I must say I am already looking forward to the next.

 

 

 

Now before I go, I just wanted to say that there is still a couple of days left to enter my giveaway that you can read about here.

 

Wishing you all a lovely week.

Warm Wishes

Hannapat

xoxoxo