One More Swap Post

Whelp, my fall swaps are officially done, a fact that brings some sadness that all the fun is over, but no small amount of relief that I made my deadlines on time! These are the gifts that I sent to Holly of Two Cheese Please as part of the most recent Craftster Invite Your Partner Swap (you can take a look at my lovelies from Holly here).

First up, the item that she requested from me: a reconstructed sweater. I didn't think to get a 'before' picture of this one, but it was your basic grey pullover. I sliced it up the center and finished both edges with wide aqua satin ribbon used as a facing. I then added a brown velvet ribbon down each side, and two bright blue strips of lace seam binding (backed with a darker blue bias binding to really make it pop). I tried to give this an unexpected mix of colors that would be subtle enough to work with any everyday outfit, while still looking a little special. This thing literally sat on Beatrice for weeks while I debated what to add and what to edit to come up with a good balance. I was happy with the final product, and am glad that Holly is happy with it, too!

The doily/button thingamajig is attached to a pinback, so it can be removed for a simpler look (on a side note, do you know that "thingamajig" is a real word according to Firefox's spell check, but "pinback" is not? Neither did I!).

Next up is one of the surprise gifts I sent along - a little embroidered picture inspired by the sweet story Holly has shared on her blog about her screen name. I thought the story was so cute that I just had to send something along related to it.
(somehow I didn't get a picture of this before shipping; this one is borrowed from Holly's photo stream)

Finally, the last of the surprise gifts - appliqued tea towels. I decorated both sides of each towel to give lots of decorative options. The appliques came from a tablecloth that belonged to my grandmother; I am totally in love with these cute little squares and have been thinking of various ways to use them. I sent along one towel decorated with a deer on one side and a tree on the other, and one decorated with a ship on one side and a house (church? School? I can't tell.) on the other.

Thanks again for swapping with me, Holly! To everyone else, I highly recommend checking out the Two Cheese Please Etsy Shop - I can say with authority that Holly's stuff is amazing and beautifully made!