It's a little bit International

Our new home is delightful, well insulated and cosy, but when it comes to hanging things on the wall, I have to admit that there is a lot less wall space to play with.  I have not been able to hang up all of my Christmas things, so guess I will have to bring some of them out on rotation every couple of years.  I have some of my overseas items on show this year, sent to me over the years by my lovely quilting pen friends – would you like to see them?  Apologies to long term readers if you have seen them before.

This pretty little quilt “Christmas Baubles”,  was sent to me by Diane in 2009.  Diane lives in Oregon, USA, and we have been fortunate to have met up with her twice, once when she travelled out here to New Zealand, and later on we went to stay with her for a week when she lived in Alaska.

Christmas Baubles

“Robin Redbreast” comes from the New Forest area of England, and the Christmas lights flash over it in the evenings.  My pen friend Rose made this for me in 2002, and I love it, all those little Robins amongst the trees.  We have been very lucky to have taken two extended trips to the UK, and have met up with Rose both times.

Robin Redbreast

My pen friend Janet from South Australia sent me a pretty little Christmas wall-hanging made with yo yos, and beautifully decorated with stars and tiny beads for my birthday last year.  It is currently hanging in the hall way over the Christmas season.  I haven’t had the chance to meet up with Janet so far, perhaps one day.

Yo-yo Christmas tree

As well as wall-hangings, I have been very lucky to receive several exciting international Christmas parcels over the years.  I have been corresponding with Carol from South Dakota for quite some time now and she has sent me some lovely gifts over the years.  “A Stitch in Time”  shows Santa getting ready for his night of travels, doing some sewing repairs to his Santa hat.   His grey tabby cat is curled up fast asleep in the sewing basket on top of fabric and threads.

A Stitch in Time

And two more from Carol.  I received the cute little “Jim Shore”  snowman with his broom in 2004, and the larger snowman ringing his bell came out in 2003.  They are both gorgeous, aren’t they?  I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Carol yet, but who knows, perhaps one day.

Two little snowmen

I have met my pen friend Gail, who hails from Ontario, Canada, about 5 years ago.  We were on a bus tour to Niagara Falls, and we were thrilled when Gail and her husband drove up to meet us.  I remember her saying it was no trouble at all, people are used to driving long distances in Canada!  Gail’s daughter Natalie helped choose this, my other wonderful “Jim Shore”  piece of a teddy riding a polar bear on top of a globe of the world.

Peace on Earth

I treasure each and every one of these beautiful pieces I have received over the years, and love receiving letters from my pen friends.  There is nothing quite like a “real” letter, is there?

So that is a few of my international items – I’ll show you some of my own creations which are currently out of their crate for Christmas tomorrow.