Thursday, January 29, 2009

fun with swaps!

i've been having such a fun week with two swaps. a fabric swap with nettie, and celebrating handmade: the swap.

nettie and i are swapping some adorable japanese fabrics, hr fabrics, and some flea market fancy!! i feel so lucky to be doing this with nettie, and it has been so much fun!! thinking of all these fabrics just makes me feel so giddy! :)

for the celebrating handmade swap, i'm swapping with jessica yen, and it has been another wonderful experience. there is such a sweet story behind this swap, but it is kind of lengthy, so i hope you don't mind me sharing.

to start out, jessica emails me and tells me that she doesn't have any kids. since this is a swap where we are making a handmade toy she asked if she could gift hers to a little girl that lives next door to her. the little girl is here with her family from iran, and when i read that i started to tear up. i was born in iran when my parents were there with boeing back in the 70's. we had to leave quickly when the shah was taken over, and have never been able to return to visit. i've always had a longing to someday go there. (not right now though with all their political issues) but isn't that some coincidence?

and there is more!!! then jessica emails me a few days later, she tells me about how she just got back from dinner with some friends, and that they gave her a red envelope for chinese new year. jessica then explains to me how the elderly give the red envelopes to the kids for chinese new year, and how her grandmother did that for her. now this was dear to me as well since i lived in shanghai, china for a few years and knew exactly what she was talking about. i taught at an international school since my parents lived there while again, working for boeing. she then emails be back and tells me her brother is living in beijing right now, and she lived there a couple years ago, and that she loved visiting shanghai and is more a southern chinese girl! and of course since i was a young adult living there i have many more memories of china, than iran, and loved every minute while i was there.

hopefully you didn't mind finding out so much about me in one post. :)

little red riding hood~ i thought since little red riding hood is a western fairytale, it would give the little girl something she can take with her when her family returns to iran, that will remind her of living here.

i hope the little girl likes little red riding hood.

14 comments:

  1. Awesome swaps! And great story.

    I just want you to give me your cute fabric and I will say, "Thanks so much". That's the kind of swap I'm lookin' for. :)

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  2. oh wow, you folded my fabric up so nicely...sorry, I stuffed your in a plastic baggie, it's not nearly as lovely.

    What a sweet swap story. Your doll is so cute. I haven't tried to make dolls, but I don't think I could ever make anything that cute.

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  3. Oh wow! That is the sweetest story related to a swap I have read recently :) Thank you for sharing, Kerri!

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  4. what an incredible story! i'm glad you are able to have such a neat experience. i am sure the little girl will love this doll. it's so cute!

    how fun to do the fabric swap with nettie! i wish i had that much fabric to do a swap myself!

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  5. That is a wonderful story and that doll is soooo sweet. I would love to make something like that one day for my sweet little niece.

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  6. super cute fabric, adorable doll... everything here is so nice!
    :o)

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  7. the doll is SO cute, love the way she can sit up and the way her feet point in! the fabric choices are perfect. and i love your reasoning for making her 'Red Riding Hood.'

    and what fun fabric. my favorite is the one with lines of mushrooms, but oh, they're all so cute! so where do you buy that kind of fabric?

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  8. wow, Lovely post you wrote. Happy to read more about you! What a sweet dollie you made! And those Japanese fabrics are so pretty....
    ~Emily

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  9. I just found your blog, and am loving it! =D
    The doll is so sweet, and this is fitting for any little girl! AND, the Japanese fabrics are simply too lovely. If only they are sold at where I live!

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  10. You've made such a beautiful doll!!! I have no doubt she will be greatly cherished for a long time. This has been such a great swap, I'm really happy to have the opportunity to swap emails, stories, and crafting goodies with you :-). Speaking of which, off to continue working on your gift!

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  11. I love your story Kerri! What a wonderful coincidence! I absolutely love the Little Red Riding Hood dolly. She is adorable.
    Also, I was looking at your most recent post, and the Quilt is looking BEAUTIFUL!!!!

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  12. This little doll is too sweet and adorable! Did you make it up yourself or use a pattern? Adorable.
    - dana
    danawillard@gmail.com

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  13. What an adorable little dolly!! Very cool that a little part of you can travel back to Iran.

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Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog!! Your sweet comments are always cherished, and truly make my days brighter! I ♥ reading each and every one!! Hugs!