The Best Things in Life Are Hand Made

The thing I love most about a hand-made gift is that it is really a gift from the heart. Not only is the maker giving you their time, but they are also giving you a little piece of him or herself. I guess that is part of the reason why I love to make quilts. Some of my favorite treasures include: a gorgeous cedar hope chest made by my brother Jeff; several painting by my Mom (my favorite one is beside my bed so I see it first thing in the morning and before I go to sleep), as well as the lovely quilts we received for our wedding that I blogged about previously.

So I was thrilled to receive a couple of hand made gifts for the holidays from two of my girlfriends. My friend Marion made me this lovely scarf in my favorite colors of pink and purple. Marion knows that I love ruffles and frou frou. Can't wait to wear it!

I let Elvis model it because he feels that Larry has been over-represented in the blog and he was feeling a little left out. The vibrant colors stand out nicely against his black fur. (Note to Marion: I only let Elvis wear it for a minute while I took the photo).

Joannie surprised me last night with a couple more hand made gifts. First, she gave me this really fun M&M's pillowcase. This year alone, I've made 43 pillowcases, and I don't even own one.

Once again, Larry Pug sneaks into the photo.

 She also made me a set of bunny place mats, featuring Patch.  Patch was part of a Dedham Public Art Project this summer. 15 bunnies were painted by different artists and placed around town. The original Patch is hand painted by artist Iris Sonnenschein and is about 4 feet tall. I was in love with Patch. The bunnies were auctioned off for charity and I think that Patch went for about $7,000, which was a little rich for my budget. At least I now have Patch place mats and a framed photo of Patch (also by Joannie). These placemats are Joannie's original design and she claims that all of the fabric came from her stash!

Up close

...and on the table

Hope that you are enjoying the holidays!

Pugs and kisses,
Nancy