Strawberry Pincushion Swap - Sent

Have you ever taken part in a sewing swap?

Erin of "Why Not Sew?" blog had the great idea

to host a Strawberry Pincushion Swap,

and I joined in the fun!

Photo from Why Not Sew? blog

I loved the subject matter...

little berry bits of squeezy strawberries,

of any size or design.

This classic pincushion design always looks cute,

no matter what fabrics are used.

Susie made hers from Fig Tree fabrics,

using their Strawberry Shortcake Pincushion pattern!

Photo by Susie's Sunroom

There are lots of patterns out there,

and some of them are even free!

You can find a list of them here at Why Not Sew.

{Pictured here are the strawberries that started it all for Erin.}

Photo from Why Not Sew? blog

Flickr is a great way to have a stitching swap.

Erin made the partner assignments

and sent us the addresses for our partners.

We could check out their photostreams

to get to know one another a bit better.

Soon some sneak peeks began to appear,

and the excitement started to build.

It was so much fun to wonder

who was our partner,

and which package would appear in our mailboxes!

{Here's just one example of the creative swap sets, from Sew Berry Sweet.}

Photo by Sew Berry Sweet

It just so happens that I have had

this adorable Crabapple Hill pattern

 for a Vintage Strawberry Pincushion, for several years.

I've used it a few times to make lovely floral pincushions,

and I thought it would be fun to make one

for my swap partner.

Photo from Crabapple Hill Studio

For the swap, I decided to use bright red prints

to make the large and small berries.

I had some pretty green felt for the tops,

and found some coordinating floss,

ricrac, and ribbon for the details.

Next I made the little wool felt needlebook.

for this project, I had a piece of

red wool felt that was not of the same high quality

as the white and green felts.

{Boy, did I notice that, as I blanket-stitched

my way around the needle book!}

Fortunately, I think the finished product looks just fine.

A high quality felt really helps to make the stitching

enjoyable, though, and it's essential for the detailed tiny pieces.

{I bought most of my good stuff from Retromama on Etsy,

and she carries many fabulous color choices.}

Once the stitching was done,

I put together some other little goodies.

There were some fun strawberry candies and cookies.

I even had a charm pack of berry-themed fabrics!

Everything just fit into my little mailing box,

and in no time, my swap gift was shipped to

my new bloggy friend, Heidi, from The Banks of Frog Creek.

Through this swap,

I've met lots more bloggy friends,

who are berry berry sweet.

I would highly recommend joining up in a swap,

if you find time in your stitching schedule.

After all,

a little mug rug swap across the pond

started my dear friendship with The Patchsmith.

Look how far we've come together, since then!

{Hard to believe that The Patchsmith had never even heard of mug rugs, 

before the Zakka Style Sew Along!}

Who knows what magic will appear in your mailbox,

when you join a swap?

Any day now, I'll find out who made something berry special,

just for ME!