Spring Fling Towel!

Hey Guys!

Oh boy, I'm so excited about sharing this with you. You might remember that a few of my stitchy friends and  I decided last year to do an embroidered tea towel swap. We each started with our own, blank slate towel which we sent out into the wide world to be embroidered by our friends. It took a lot longer to complete the swap than we initially thought it would but I love this so much that it was worth the wait!

Here is my completed towel! This small piece of cloth has traveled around the world, much farther than I have, but more than that, it was held for hours and stitched by each of my friends! Many of whom I may never meet "in real life" but who are just as dear to me as if they lived across town. I will cherish it always, let's start the tour!

Eeeeeeep! My friends know me so well! I love these people dearly.

Could it be the Dormouse?! I think it is!

This adorable little fellow and these tea-rrific teacups were stitched for me by Erin Gibson, she lives in swinging city of Las Vegas, Nevada. This little guy makes me smile, he's one of my favorite characters. Love his tiny hat!

Oh, this sweet flower girl, I cannot get enough of her! 

This little lady with her perfectly pink French Knot hair and all these beautiful flowers was stitched for me by my friend, the one and only Pam Pedersen of Portland, Oregon. I have met Pam in person, I was fortunate enough to get to spend a few days with her last September, and she is just as fabulous as she seems. Love ya, girl!

 Oh my!! Oh my!! I love this one to death! A Mad Hattress!

This delightful lady was stitched for me by my pal Becky Stancil of Raleigh, North Carolina. Ok, look for a moment at this, look at the detail! She has my hair color, she's wearing pink, she has big bazooms (heehee!), she's in a chair that's embroidered with flowers, and she's embroidering flowers! I love flowers! And, and! She's resting her little Mary Jane clad footsie on a teapot! I mean, does Becky know me or what?? It's perfect. I wonder if I could rock a top hat in real life? 

Oooh, look at this cool dude!

This handsome Praying Mantis was stitched for me by the enormously talented Victoria Crowder Payne in Kansas City, Missouri. Did you know that one of the earliest references to the mantis is in an ancient Chinese dictionary and it's attributes are that of courage and fearlessness? That's Victoria in a nutshell, she's as 

courageous and fearless as she is beautiful. Thank you, VCP!

It's not just ladies in this tea towel swap, oh no!

The irrepressible, Bascom Hogue of Wichita, Kansas stitched this wonderful little winged elf, perched on a mushroom for me, he's a real fungi - haha, get it, fun guy. Oh, I kill me. He is wonderful (actually, they're both wonderful, Bascom and the elf!). I love him, and I really love Bascom's style. Bascom has been through a lot these last few months. You're in my thoughts & prayers, Box. 

Eeep! A scooter girl!

I've wanted to stitch this pattern for a couple of years, and my friend Jack B. Nimble of Salt Lake City, Utah stitched it for me! Woohoo! I love her, and her flirty little dress and her cute little shoes! Although, I do have to admit, if I saw this young lady in person, I'd be compelled to have a very serious conversation with her concerning her scooting apparel, safety first! 

Off to New Zealand!

This fantastic Maori poi spinner was stitched for me by my friend, Jo Ashcroft of Auckland, New Zealand! I love, love, love her! Jo stitched something for each of us that related to her adopted homeland, and I was the lucky duck that got this lovely poi spinner. Unknown to Jo, is that several of my friends and family spin poi! My friend Lorna does it with fire! I love this spinner, reminds my of my friend Jo who lives so far away, and of my family here at home ♥

 I want to take this with me everywhere!

My friend Becky Wagner of Greensboro, North Carolina stitched this beautiful Scandinavian design for me, it is so, so pretty! Becky is a elementary school teacher, which makes her a superhero. Teachers don't get the credit, or support they deserve. They devote so much of themselves to the children they teach, so much more than spelling and arithmetic, and they never really "clock out", I don't know how they do it, especially in an increasingly demanding, results orientated environment. Like I said, superhero. I wish I'd had a teacher like Becky when I was a kiddo. Bee-dub, you're the bomb!

 Eeep, flowers & tea cups! 

This happy cuppa was stitched by my pal, Crystal Rhew-Staley of  Chapel Hill, North Carolina and I just love his sunny disposition. Those sweet flowers, too! I want to eat them I love them so. Speaking of things I love so much I could eat them up, Crystal had the sweetest little boy last year, his name is Baxter and he is a doll! You can read more about Crystal & Bax here. His smile is enough to turn me to mush, cutest kid ever.

Hey, is that Bigfoot?!

Why, yes it is, and he's rather a dandy gentleman, thankyouverymuch. This fact is evidenced by his gold, striped bow tie and his oh, so proper meerschaum pipe. If I were to imagine the whole ensemble, I see Mr. Foot as a professor. Professor Foot, and he would be wearing a tweed suit, slightly rumpled with patches on the elbows. And polished wingtips. With a name like Big Foot, snazzy footwear is not an option. My pal, Tara Fields of Florence, Montana (formerly of Portland, OR) has a sincere love of the Big Feet. Check out all the sightings she's caught of him! Tara has stitched a variation of Big Feet for all of us in the swap, they are fantastic! 

And that, as they say, is a wrap!

I can't say enough how much I love what everyone has stitched for me, every one of these embroideries is perfect, simply perfect. I don't know yet what I will do with my towel, currently it's hanging in my craftroom where I can gawk at it at close range whenever I pass by. I always see something new, too.

Thank you, stitchers & friends. You're silver & gold to me!

oxo,

Lisa