Hand-Made Gifts

In addition to clothing, I've been having fun making gifts again. Last Saturday was the birthday of a dear friend of mine from the office. So I surprised her last week at work with this sweet little flower pincushion and card.

I made the card using the same pattern that I used with the buttons on this version, but I made fabric yo-yos this time to use instead of the buttons. You can see that I used the same fabrics for the card that I used for the pincushion.

She was thrilled with the gift and said that she'd actually use this pincushion, whereas the hen pincushion that I made her last year is more of a decorative item for her sewing room. (I'll have to post a photo of that pincushion some time. I thought that I had done that already, but that must have been pre-digital camera.)

This friend loves to do crafts, too, and has recently been busy making simple baby quilts for future babies...We have a number of young women in our ministry who are newlyweds, and we're expecting to eventually receive a few birth announcements.

It's a really joy to work at a place where we can really participate in the major life events of our colleagues. In the past five years, my husband and I have had the pleasure of attending weddings and showers (both bridal and baby showers), and we've share in the sorrow of the grief of funerals as well...That makes me think of my Fighter Verse this week, about rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep. God is so good to give us such fellowship in the workplace.