Swap Shop!

Hello my lovelies! Well it's blowing a gale here on my little island today ... very wintry indeed. I'm off out tonight to have tea with an old friend who now lives in Australia, and had ready a pretty summery frock, but think I'll ditch it for something more substantial!

As you can see from my sidebar, I participated in Betty's 'From my home to yours' summertime swap, and parcels were duly sent on Monday.  Betty has contacted me to say that she has received hers, so I'm safe to post on here now!

My parcel arrived promptly on Tuesday morning, so I made myself a cup of tea and made the short journey outside to Dotty (I do feel like I am 'away' when I go in there!), and frantically ripped at it carefully opened it to find a vast array of beautifully wrapped parcels ...

Inside the first group were a packet of poppy seeds; a lovely little blackbird brooch and a bird fridge magnet ... I love poppies and this year mine were rather disappointing so now I shall shake my new packet around with gay abandon and shall once more have poppies everywhere!

Then there was a lovely pair of lavender sachets ... hand-painted with beautiful pink flowers ... the smell greets me every time I open the caravan door ...

and the main present was an absolutely gorgeous silk scarf also lovingly hand-painted by Betty in my favourite pinks.  What a talented lady our Betty is! Pop over to her blog Betty-the-wood-fairy to see for yourself ... she really does make the most beautiful things.

A close-up of the hollyhocks ...

and a picture of the whole thing (sorry for the quality of the pictures ... it was rather gloomy in Dotty that day)

I was also very kindly given a cd of birdsong (when I go on Betty's blog, I never fail to be surprised when birds start chirruping away ... I forget every time!) and a lovely Birthday Book, which Millie secreted away while I wasn't looking ...

Thank you so much Betty! I'm really glad you were my blog partner, and loved the woodland theme.  I forgot to take any pictures of my seaside themed swap before I sent it, but I gave Betty

A hand-stitched picture of the seaside
A hand-stitched picture with a quote Betty chose
A stick of rock
Kendal Mint Cake
An acorn light pull (just what a wood fairy needs)
Some coloured pencils
Sand castle flags
Magazine with a seaside theme
A starfish
A cuddly toy (no, not really)

Talking of the seaside, Dotty is now properly ensconced in her permanent position and has her own private beach area ... complete with pebbles, deck chairs, fishing nets and those ball things that have something to do with fishing, but I'm not quite sure what.

I've been escaping whenever I can, and have even taken up crocheting again ... complete bliss! The cares of the world just seem to melt away and I relax instantly.  Ruby is often to be found in there too. And Harry. And Millie.  But not Steve. He just doesn't get it.

I'll leave you with my latest commission, a lovely Dutch Dresser which was painted green. The lady said it blended in too much with her green walls so fancied a change and chose pink instead.  I must admit I was a bit dubious, but was really pleased with how it turned out.  It isn't really quite so pink as it looks on the picture, it's very pale, but the green shows through really nicely and provides a great contrast. And my customer loved it, so I'm very happy.

Well, I'll love you and leave you as I have to put on my glad rags, but will be in touch soon!

Love Claire xxx

PS: I once appeared on Noel Edmond's Multi-Coloured Swap Shop in the seventies ... but that's another story!