Celebration!

Last Saturday was a celebration of sorts for a group of crafters.  It is the 5th Anniversary of the formation of the yahoo group Needle n Crafts which was held at one of the member's house in Kajang.  Thank you Mel for hosting this year's anniversary meet.

As with the previous anniversaries, there were gift exchanges and door gifts given out.  It was a good opportunity for members who attended to show off their skills (as if there needs to be a reason).  It was set that all who participated in the gift exchange to bring a bird that is made from any kind of craft. And, I think you will agree from the look of the birds below, that they are a crafty lot, in a good meaning of the word.

 Besides the gift exchange, there are door gifts for everyone present contributed by some of the members.  So even if some, like me, who did not participate in the gift exchange, we still took home some lovely items too.

From Nik - sewing needles, pins and tailor chalk; from Margaret - Handmade stamped pin cushion; from Usha - crocheted pin cushion; from Lillie - another disc of pins and a yarn snipper

Diane sent from the US - 3 skeins of floss and a packet of peach tea; Paul gave a couple of sewing thread; from Mel - a roll of fabric tape and self-threading needle; and Radha contributed a roll of ribbon

Sally wove baggage tags; Vivian shared some of her craft papers; and Shanny sent in a fabric purse all the way from Switzerland.

Even though I did not participate in the gift exchange, I too received a bird from Margaret.

 And, can you believe this, I was excited to see the plastic that the bird was wrapped in!  It got me thinking - they look like crochet but can the designs be tatted?

On my part my contribution for the door gifts are these,

Tatted one pair in each shade of Lizbeth size 40, left to right: 108 Sherbet Delight, 127 Butterfly Breeze, 132 Tropical punch, 109 Wildflower, 140 Turquoise Twist, 100 Falling Leaves, 138 Leafy Green, 131 Vineyard Harvest and 114 Seashells.

They are bookmarks tatted from the Mary Konior's "Anniversary" pattern from the book Tatting with Visual Patterns.  I think the name is appropriate since we were celebrating an anniversary too. I also tatted a pair in 140 Country Grape Swirl but did not take a photo of them.

But, these are not all.  Mel, the gracious host, also gave out these to everyone,

The cupcake is a dustcloth to remove static (e.g. from pc screen), huge buttons and a frame pin cushion.

It was like in craft heaven!
Thank you Mel for being a lovely host. Thank you everyone present for making it a wonderful morning.

And lastly, I wore this kilt pin brooch that day, which I made the night before.