Stitch It and Gift It!
Blog Hop Events

Stitch It and Gift It!

mspdesignsusa

Hi Quilting Friends!

Welcome to the “Stitch It and Gift It!” blog hop, hosted by our friend Carla at “Creatin’ in the Sticks”. We’ve enjoyed hopping around to see what the other participating bloggers have been stitching and/or gifting. We hope that you’ll be inspired too!

When we read about this blog hop, Sharon was concerned that we really didn’t have anything to blog about. I reminded her that my best, best quilting friend (Linda) at work was retiring and two of us in our little lunchtime crafting crew were making her a few special gifts. My friend Jeanette and I decided to make Linda some coffee cup cozies and chose three designs from a couple of Nancy Halverson’s books.

Nancy Halvorsen books

First things first, our friend Jeanette had been exposed to blanket stitching when she was younger and would need a refresher lesson. She and Linda were working on a little bunny banner made from wool felt, so Jeanette and I found an excuse on that project to practice her stitches before she started stitching on her cozy.

Jeanette

Sharon and I were meeting Linda at one of the local quilt shops, so it was my job to purchase some fabrics that Linda would love, without her knowing that the fabrics would be used on the project for her. Linda believed that I was shopping for Jeanette so that she could make a mug cozy for her mom in bright spring colors. Sharon kept bringing fabrics to put with the others that were atrocious (ON PURPOSE), definitely not something that “Jeanette’s mom” would like, so I asked Linda to please “save me and help me find fabrics for Jeanette” (Sharon was in on the sneaky too!). If you recall, Linda is the friend for whom I made a black/white/red quilter’s bag last year. I was really sneaky while getting that project together, allowing Linda to select several of the fabrics for her bag.

Here’s the fabric pull with pretty bright colors that Linda chose for her mug cozy from Jeanette:

Linda's fabric pull by Susan @ Ms P Designs USA

Now the fun begins, stealthily stitching with Linda still unaware of the surprises that were in store for her. Time flew by and Jeanette finished her flowers … aren’t they cute?

Flower Cozie B by Jeanette
Flower Cozie A by Jeanette

I made some bunnies and also some snowmen.

Bunny Cozie A by Susan
Bunny Cozie B by Susan
Snowman Cozie B by Susan
Snowman Cozie A by Susan

It was really fun finding coffee mugs to wrap with the cozies. I love the messages on these two mugs.

  • Mug A Back
  • Mug B Front

Linda is now officially retired and I miss her smiling face at work, but I love to see all of the projects that she has been able to finish now that she has more time to “play”! She has promised that she’ll meet me at the quilt shop, every now and then.

Linda

Thank you for joining me on my little adventure where I got to help Jeanette remember how fun it was to embroider and surprise Linda with gifts to let her know that we are always thinking about her! It is such fun to “Stitch It and Gift It!” We’d love to hear your stories about stitching, and/ or gifting, so please leave a comment. And don’t forget to visit the rest of today’s participating bloggers for inspiration!

Happy quilting!

Susan

Here’ the list of today’s participating bloggers:

Quilted Delights Seams To Be Sew
Ms P Designs USA
Just Because Quilts
Inquiring Quilter
Susie’s World
Creatin’ in the Sticks


Published by mspdesignsusa

Ms P Designs USA: Creators of whimsical quilt patterns

33 thoughts on “Stitch It and Gift It!”

  2. Yep another project to add to my To Do list!!! Thank you for sharing and I am sure she will have very happy memories of work when she has her morning coffee. Hugs, Susie xx

    Like

    1. Thanks, Susie! Linda is adjusting to her retirement gracefully. She misses her friends here at work but isn’t missing the early morning rush to get to the office! Susan

      Like

  7. I love those cozies. I have made them for the typical coffee shop cups, but these are just as wonderful! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Like

  8. What a great story and love the coffee mug cozies. They are very pretty. I love the element of surprise and you certainly pulled that off by having her pick some of the fabrics. Thank you for joining the Stitch It and Gift It blog hop. Great post!

    Like

  9. I love that series of books … I have about fifteen of them, but neither of the two you mentioned. Next stop, Amazon. LOL! Those cozies are so stinkin’ cute! They are definitely smile makers and day brighteners! Good addition to my list of inspiration from this hop!!! 🙂

    Like

  10. Oh my goodness, these are adorable. I love the retired mug. giggle
    quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

    Like

  16. The cozy idea is great, do you have any patterns I missed when reading your blog? Whenever one makes a mug of tea or cocoa a cozy would be helpful both since the mug is hot and to keep the liquid warm. Thank you.
    quiltyladyrr at gmail dot com.

    Like

  18. Those are adorable! I think the snowmen are my favorite. What fun you had all along the way with these. The 8-yo daughter of a friend wants to make pillows for each of 4 family members for Christmas, so I’m getting her some Friday nights after school, and the day after Thanksgiving, so she can get those made. She has sewn junior RxR rows since she was 6, and done most of her own cutting, so her experience is growing! These are the good times. =)

    Like

  19. Those are the cutest cozy wraps I’ve ever seen! That snowman is adorable…love it! Thanks for sharing.

    Like

Comments are closed.