No, I haven’t forgotten the posts I had been promising you back in December (my December not everybody else’s) Remember? I owe you two posts about choosing the perfect gift. And ta da, today you’ll get the first as I finally had to edit all the pictures involved for another exciting project. (which means that this blog and its readers were apparently not important enough for me to sit down and get it done. Sorry.

Prepare for some self-praise and braging as I am really rather impressed by my own cleverness in this one.

So, the task was to find a gift, that shows on one side how grateful I am for what the team in question has done without, on the other side, ignoring the fact that I am not actually special for them, just one out of many. Whatever gift I can come up with won’t be kept, realistically. So a cheap and non bragging item that can ideally be used up or is a useful item in everydays life without taking up any space. But still having a personal touch. Obviously.

So, what could tick more boxes than an individual cotton tote bag with goodies for all sorts of situations: mandalas, sudokus and cross words (including a personal one) to kill too much waiting time, a bit of coffee and tea for keeping awake and relaxing (whatever is needed), a piece of chocolate for comfort and a silly joke for when you need a laugh. And a card with a few personal words. So, the content doesn’t cost much and will get used up. Nothing embarrasing will take away space on someones shelf. The individual cotton bag will remind people of the crazy sewing lady and her family. In Austria, cotton bags are a huge thing. You know, recycling and sustainability and all that stuff. Plus it can be used as a stylish accessory. But if people choose not to use their gift bag, then never mind, it is just a cotton bag. So, I can honestly say, I could not have come up with a better idea than that. Really. I did underestimate the workload a little bit and I do have to admit that the rather monotone work did get a bit boring at some point. But it was well worth it, that’s for sure. But enough talking, here they are:

I know, that one picture is rubbish, you can’t really recognise anything.

Do you want to see another one? Yes? Ok.

Another one? Really? Okaay.

Ok, I just show you the whole lot.

“Technical” details:

I have used a mix of classic application (secure zig zag) and freestyle machine embroidery.

I have chosen the fabrics for the “2A” for particular reasons, some as a reminder of my family, some because I knew of a particular interest or hobby of the future owner, some just because I thought the person might find it pretty.

The pictures in the top left hand are symbols for the profession of the presentee.

As I said, I am for once totally happy with the outcome of the whole project. It ticked all the boxes and I think, it was also very appreciated.

For the last remaining “perfect gift” post, I can not yet give you any details, pictures have not yet been taken so it might take forever a while. It is very likely that I’ll show you other exciting projects first. For example the secret of this box: