Special Deliveries

This week, a nice little haul by mail arrived at my house.

I've been following Melissa of Bridgman Pottery for a while now. I love her style, and she prices her pottery very affordably. Her berry bowls have been very popular; I might have to have one of those. Anyway, I have been crazy to have a butterbell for years but began to understand that unless one uses a lot of butter each week and replaces the water that keeps it fresh, not so good, and the potters I met at craft shows just weren't making them anymore. One day at World Market, I found a tiny little butter dish with cover that holds a few tablespoons, perfect to sit out for a few days. However, it's just all white with a little cow head for a knob, so I was still on the lookout. Until Melissa made this little posting here.

Good thing I started using Google reader for my favorite blogs. I was just checking to see who had a new post one day, and there it was. I ordered it immediately, probably like six minutes after it was posted and scared her, but it was mine and here it is. It looks great on my little cupboard with my other pottery.

A couple of weeks ago I showed you my contribution to Michelle's embroidered button swap. I confessed that I used my embroidery machine because I felt my drawings weren't clear enough, but they seem to have gone over well. I received my little package in the mail on Friday. Wow! It's like a little art show of my very own. Here is what I received.

Giraffe - Starla
Paw print - Anina
Hummingbird - Regina
Whale (see her process at her blog) - Elizabeth
Snail - Lia
Hedgehog (do you see how tiny the butterfly is?) - Val

Michelle sent a little giraffe to all of us for participating. Her eyes must be exhausted; it's so tiny! If you'd like to see more tiny artworks, check out the embroidered button flickr site to see the rest.

Finally, I received a Visa gift card in the mail from one of the contractors I work with. I knew just what I wanted to do with it - BUY MORE FABRIC. Not any fabric. I wanted the "sketchbook" pattern of Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room set (see photos above). I was set to hit the order button on an on-line store I know well and then remembered Kathy started her fabric shop, Pink By Post, and jumped over to see what she had, and there it was! For just starting out, she has some very pretty lines of fabric. So, I ordered enough to use up my Visa gift card. My package arrived surprisingly fast, from outside Seattle to Lexington, SC, in just two days. Very gratifying. Now I just have to decide what to make out of the fabric. Pillows, I think, will be great to show off the scale of the pattern.

Kathy also included a treat, too, as a thanks for testing her Mail Sack pattern, which, I understand, has been selling very nicely. It's so exciting to have been able to help out with that. Anyway, above are the fat quarters she sent to me. My daughter and I were just loving the designs, decided what would look great in tops and bags, and now we want to order more of the same! Thanks so much, Kathy.