a little treasure

As someone who likes to give handmade gifts, I feel very special when I receive something that has been crafted by a person of a similar mind. So I was thrilled at Christmas when I was given a very unique gift from Mary Kaiser (mother of my son-in-law) that she had designed and made for me. Inside a shiny gold box I found a totally decked out walnut! It hangs from a velvet ribbon and actually opens up like a locket.

Except this locket holds a mini sewing kit! The inside is covered in velvet and contains a tiny thimble, spool of thread, safety pin, and a needle and straight pins wrapped in gold tissue! I am in awe of the detailed work that went into making this. Just getting the right parts in place and glued together would take me forever!

Mary makes and sells wonderful bags and accessories from her website and on Etsy. You can also find her on Facebook. I had wanted to share these pictures with you for awhile but just didn't get around to it, and then yesterday I found that Mary had put up some pictures on Facebook showing her special walnuts and that jogged my memory enough to get this on here. Again, I thank you, Mary! And how great that the kids get to ski today with Dan at Mammoth Mt.! They do have a good time!

I am settling back into being at home and happy to be here. We had a great stay in Chicago (actually Long Grove) at the home of Kelly and Ken Friend. Our quilting friend, Diane, is Kelly's mom and is staying there but we miss her so much that we had to make sure to get there for a visit. And became Chicago Bears fans for the weekend, too! It was a bad result for the Bears, but a good party with wonderful food. Chef Ken knows his way around the kitchen, and kept everyone well nourished! My only regret was that I had some kind of stomach bug that prevented me from enjoying it as well as I would have liked to, but that only means I will have to make a return trip! I actually slept for almost the entire 7 hour drive home, and today feel back to normal. Right now listening to Bob nailing down the baseboard in my sewing room after finishing the new floor! Pictures coming soon to a blog near you!