Thanksgiving Giveaway!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last updated my blog. I posted a few things on Instagram in the last few weeks, because it is much easier to shoot a picture and post it with my phone, but the truth is that I wasn't in much of a mood to do any social media after the surgery. I wonder if I was going through a mini depression of sorts. The first couple of weeks after I came home, I stayed in bed most of my time and either slept, read, or watched TV; which is very unusual for me. Usually I already have a hand stitch project ready by my bed and I would have been working on that. When I delivered my second son through c-section, I was doing applique in my hospital bed by day 2. This time, I really didn't have much desire to do that. When I thought I was getting better, I got an infection. With that, my recovery was set back a couple more weeks.

The last week or so, I starting to feel like myself again. I am up and doing more. Don't worry, I am still being very careful and not lifting anything heavy, but, I am doing light cooking (which my family loves!), putting some make-up on everyday, and I started creating again. As you can tell by the title, I am hosting a Thanksgiving giveaway. I will give you the entry details, but first, let me share what I am thankful for.

Every year, I would say I am thankful for my family and friends. I would say the same thing this year also, but I say it with much deeper meaningful feelings attached.
Diagnosed with cancer and going through a double mastectomy really reminded me of how our life is very fragile and precious. I have been through a lot medically since I was little and I have thought about mortality in the past too, but your prospective changes when you are a mother of three.

I REALLY. DON'T. WANT. TO. DIE. I want to stick around much longer; watch them grow, thrive, and be there when they need a shoulder to cry on. Sure my kids are not little anymore and my role as a mother is changing, but my job as a mother is never over. Then I thought about the many people who had to go either by accident, through illnesses, or whatever reason. My heart saddens to think about them, about how they must have wanted to stay with their loved ones too. Also it gave me renewed perspective to treasure my family and the other people in my life and not to take them for granted.

My life is not perfect; and boy, I am far from perfect. I do complain about the small stuff too, but the last few months really gave me a reality check of what is more important. These are the things I am thankful for this year and probably they will be at the top of my thankful list for as long as I live.


I am thankful for my life. I am thankful waking up every morning and a chance to do good and do better.

I am thankful for my family and friends. I pray every day about how grateful I am to have them in my life.

I am thankful for the gospel. I am thankful that I can rely and trust in God to help me seek the many small miracles in my life rather than the faults. It has always given me strength to pull through in difficult times.

I still have some concerns about my health and I met an oncologist last week. I don't know how everything will turn out, but I want to live my life with fullest of gratitude and love everyday. :)

I thought about all my friends who helped me though this difficult time and I thought I will do a giveaway not only to benefit the winner, but her friends too!! One lucky winner will receive: one Tiny Tin Sewing Room, and 7 bags of goodies for your friends! The bag contains a stick-able bottle cap pincushion, measuring tape and clips. I bet they will make fun gift exchange for Christmas. So, are you ready for the giveaway details? The rules are simple:

1. First entry: Leave a comment and share what you are thankful for.

2. Second entry: Go to my Instagram page and enter there as well.

I will post the winner on the morning of the 23rd. Good luck everyone!

Update ~ Post Surgery

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since my double mastectomy. I wouldn't say it has been a smooth and easy recovery, but I guess it's not that horrible either. In fact, I am still seeing lots of blessings these past two weeks.

The picture I posted here with the pink ribbons are a surprise from my wonderful neighbors. I don't really know exactly who was involved, but they were not only tied to the pillars and on the mailbox of our home, they are in our entire neighborhood and streets. How amazing is that? I truly feel like I live in one of the BEST neighborhoods with the most amazing people.

I had the surgery on Wednesday, we thought I could go home in a couple of days. The next day, I was having a reaction to the anesthesia, and kept throwing up all day and night. By Friday, my right breast started bleeding inside and they had to take me back to the OR. During this procedure, my blood count dropped to 14 and I had to get two units of blood. Then, the next day, my other breast started having the same issue, and starting to swell up. This time, my doctor was able to use a needle and syringe to removed the blood without taking me back to the OR. I don't have a blood disorder or anything (not that I know of!), but the doctors were scratching their heads as to why I was having this kind of the bleeding. My suspicion is that because of throwing up so intensely for a day, put too much pressure and that caused the bleeding, but who knows. I am VERY sensitive to anesthesia and most pain meds, they always make me extremely sick and I will throw up all day. I would rather be in pain than be sick, so I don't take anything. The first couple of days after the surgery, I got Tylenol through the IV, and that is that. I am doing ok. I think some pain is expected; well, I had surgery.

My condition was stable enough that I was released on the 6th day. Driving home, I was sitting in the passenger seat and reflecting on everything that happened in the last several months, the recovery ahead of me and more surgeries to come. Also, I was a little down about how my body always seems to have some problems, is unpredictable and hard to live with. Most people get surprised if I tell them I do have blue days sometimes, because I am usually a very happy person. But, this body of mine packed with medical issues tires me out sometimes... I wish I could take a receipt and exchange it for a better one.

But then... When we turned in to our neighborhood, and saw all those pink ribbons on the trees and mailboxes on both sides of the streets and cul-de-sac my eyes starting to well up and my heart was quickly turned around to see the blessings in my life. How wonderful to have a chance to live and be a part of this world. How can I live better once I am all healed up and move on from this?

When I was asking this questions to myself, many people's faces came to my mind who have been a great example to me. During this new challenge in my life many people showed love and support for me. I think I know my answer already.

Surprise Package with Liberty of London fabrics

I received a fun surprise package from one of my dear friends last weekend. It is always such an exciting feeling to find a package on my door step, and when I opened it up it was filled with Liberty of London scraps!! If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I treasure my scraps especially my Liberty of London scraps... You can see some examples of how I used my scraps; even the tiniest pieces in the past; like mod podge mini tree, wooden spool necklace and wall art.

Obviously, she is a kindred spirit... she kept tiny and skinny scraps. How sweet of her to pass that on to me with a sweet card saying "I thought you might use these tiny bits & pieces in you crafting!..."

Yes I will!!

Look how pretty they are even as scraps.

These strips will be perfect to make more of the spool necklace or connect them together to make twine to do some knitting. I am going to have a procedure soon, that will be perfect thing to do in bed while recovering.

I can use them to do mod podge projects or piece them together to create something.

More and more strips...

Organizing them well gives me an idea of what I have to work with. They are like paint colors when I try to create wall art.

I am working on other projects right now, so I can't get my hands on and play with them yet. Meanwhile... they are on my desk sitting pretty and giving me a happy thoughts. Thanks C for your thoughtfulness and generosity! :)

Year 2014 Last Project ~ Herringbone Quilt

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I started working on this quilt for a really close family friend for Christmas. Because there was tons of stuff going on; just as you would expect in the month of December, I was distracted numerous times. He wasn't going to come to town until yesterday so I had a little more time to work on it. Whew! It was a close call, but I finally finished it a couple days before he arrived.

I didn't follow any particular pattern, and just used half triangle squares to create the herringbone design. If you would prefer a more unified look, you should use more of the same colors and tones. This quilt is about queen size. I was going to make a "throw quilt" for him, but I realized that he is about 6'4" or 6'5", Uh-uh, that wouldn't cut it. It needed to be bigger.

I usually hand stitch the binding, but I used my machine this time. Don't you think these stitches kind of mimic the herringbone design?

This is not my usual color scheme, but it is so fun to think of the receiver and trying to come up with a design that would fit that person. It stretches my imagination and forces me to try something new. Before handing the quilt to him, I had to test it outside...

Saying good-by to a quilt you spent so much time and effort on is a little bitter-sweet. Well, I guess it is more sweet when I think that something I created will be used for years to come by someone you care about. We were able to give him the quilt and I am very happy to tell you that he really loved it!

This was my very last project that I completed this year. What was yours? Of course if you love to work with your hands; what ever that may be, quilting, sewing, crafting, drawing... etc our work is never done and there is always the next project, right?

So, my friends, how was your 2014? What are your hopes and dreams for the year 2015?

I wish you all the very best! Really, I thank you and am grateful that you are visiting my little spot in blog land.

Have a Happy New Year!! xoxo

Sachiko

Tutorial ~ Leafy Felt Pillow

Hi everyone! Amber of the amazing blog, Crazy Little Projects, is doing a fun sewing challenge every month. This month's theme is "Gift items". I was so excited to be asked to be a part of it and to share my project today!

Halloween is behind us and Thanksgiving is approaching. Is your home all decorated for fall? I love decorating my house with some things appropriate to the season. I thought it would be fun to make a decorative pillow with a bunch of leaves with a little splash of jewel color.

That. is. not. all. I created this pillow on a small budget. You might want to make several to give out to your family, friends, Thanksgiving dinner host, and even to yourself. Isn't it one of our dramas as a sewer/crafter that the cost of materials add up! If you were looking for something nice to make on a tight budget, this might be what you are looking for. :)

{You will need}--- and some tips, please read before you head out to shop

Felt --- They were having 4 for $1 sale when I bought them. I needed 10 felts (4 silver gray and one of each colors) which was only $2.50! They usually cost a little more. Since you only need about half the felt for each color for the leaves, if you decide to make two pillows, you can make each one for slightly less. You will need the colors below.

Gold, Golden rod, orange, coral red, olive, aqua, Silver Gray

The color of the thread you want to use --- I used dull orange colored thread from start to finish. If you don't want the color to pop against the gray felt, it is totally fine to use a different color.

1 3/4 yards of Pom-pom --- this can make the cost go up, but Jo-Ann Fabric always has coupons. Look for a 40% or 50% off coupon!

Fiber fill

{How to}

1. Cut 2 pieces of silver gray felt the long way. Now you have 4 pieces of 4 1/2" x 12" pieces.

2. Sew them on to the sides of the whole felt. Over wrap 1/4" on the seam and sew with zig-zag stitch. Do the same with the other pieces. Now you have 2 pieces of 12" x 17 1/2" silver gray felt.

3.Print out the PDF pattern for the leaves I created. Cut them out.

4. Trace them onto the felt. You need 22 leaves total. You can mix and match however you want.

5 Draw a nice wavy line. This will be a guide line for the placement for the leaves.

6. Pin the first leaf and sew then move on to the second leaf. Repeat the process until the leaves reach to near the end of the line.

7. Lay the back and the top felt together. Starting at the middle of the bottom, pin the pom-pom trim all around the pillow.

8. Switch the presser foot to Zipper foot on your machine. leaving 4" to 5" opening in the bottom, sew all around the pillow.

9. Stuff the pillow with fiber fill. Pin the rest of the pom-poms, front and back felt together. Sew the opening shut with your preferred method.

Now, you have a leafy felt pillow to give or to cozy up part of your house.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. :)

Happy fall!

Aftermath and Good News

Wow, it was a kind of an eventful for me week last week... I mean emotionally. After that incident, I received many supportive comments on my Facebook, Instagram and, blog. Also tons and tons of emails. I am trying to reply to all, but it is taking me a long time, sorry if you haven't gotten a response from me yet. It doesn't mean that I didn't read your email or don't care, it is quite this opposite. I truly appreciate many of your kind, encouraging words. Because of your great support (and of course my family's) I am pretty much over it.

I knew I always had such supportive friends and readers, but times like this really helps me to remember not to let a few negativities drag me down and instead to focus on my many blessings in my life. I hope I can be the person that is there for my friends and family when they are in need to lighten up their burden.

Our lives are weaved by many good and bad moments. I am a believer that they are there for a reason. As is human nature, I would love to avoid tribulations, but how we react to those "bad" moments determines what type of person we are and is how we become more interesting and beautiful, wouldn't you agree?

I have been doing a "pep talk" with myself again in my head. I still make mistakes in English but you know, I have come a long way since I got here. As I wrote in my last post, I did horrible in English when I was in school. I thought "I would never use it or need it, therefore I am not going to put effort in to it". Boy, talk about an attitude! After I got married and moved out here I wrote to my high school English teacher; he got a kick out of the fact that me, his failing student got married and moved to America! I know if we have a chance to meet again, I can knock his socks off with my English skills, hehehe...

At last, I have a great news to share...

One of my projects has been featured in the latest American Patchwork & Quilting magazine! It is a Christmas issue, and has many wonderful projects that are perfect for a Christmas gift. You can find my project on page 31 and page 114. If you see them on the magazine stand, please check them out! :)

Thank you again for being there for me, I am done dusting myself off and am standing again! I hope I can save a safe and fun spot here in blogland for you when you feel like you need a friend. :)

Love

Sachiko

Um...Misspelling, Mean Comments, and Here is What Happend

I just felt strongly about writing this post about what happened after I posted the scarf tutorial for Riley Blake Designs the other day. I really thought that sharing my experience might help others who have gone through the same thing. I will warn you that it will be kind of a lengthy post. If you are not really interested in reading about this well known truth: "The internet can be a brutal place as well as an amazing place" (or maybe it's the other way around) post. I have seen this happen to others, but I never in the 6 years of blogging needed to deal with it. Well, we live and learn right? This is a story about my experience.

So, here is what happened...

I checked to see my post on their blog in the morning, and made sure my post for the giveaway was up on my blog. Then I walked away. Throughout the day, I would publish the comments on my blog, and saw the comments on my Facebook and Instagram and they were fine. I was really busy that day, and I didn't check to see Riley Blake Design's Facebook page.

Long story short, they found a spelling mistake in the title picture after it was published, so we fixed it during the day. I thought it would be fine and didn't think twice. Then... I found out that there were several not really nice comments about me, and about the misspelling of the word left on the Riley Blake Design Facebook page. By the time I found out and read a couple of them, other ones were deleted by the people at Riley Blake. I don't even want to know what had been said.

Before we move on, let me tell you a little of my background, in case you don't know:

I moved here to the United States from Japan when I was 23 years old, and since then it has been a journey to get to this point. In Japan, I learned English from 7th grade to 12th grade. It was mostly memorizing words, grammar and reading from the textbook out loud (of course with a thick Japanese accent!). We pretty much only studied for the exams. We did not study nor attempt real conversations. Also, I had this attitude, "I will never be able to leave this country with my health issues anyways, I don't need English" (boy, talk about teenage attitude) I did poorly in English. Little did I know, a few years later I married the man of my of my dreams and moved here. No family, no friends, and left everything familiar to me behind. The first couple years were very tough, I am not going to lie.

When I was in Japan, unlike the subject of English, I did very well in the subject of Japanese. I read all the time, I wrote essays that were featured in newspapers; I won awards at speech contest and essay contests. Now I want you to imagine... coming from feeling like you are really good with words to BAM! Here I became a caveman. Even though, I knew the words, my pronunciation was bad, so people had a hard time understanding me. I was having a hard time understanding people and was too shy to speak, because I didn't want to sound stupid or child like. If you ever lived in a different country and struggled with the language, you will probably know exactly what I am talking about. It was very humbling, and an eye opening experience for me. Eventually, I attended ESL (English as a second language) and saw many people who were like me. Some of them had really thick accents, or their use of words or grammar was no better than mine, but they kept trying. They had a determination to keep progressing. With their great examples and love and support of my family and friends, I eventually gained more confidence; confidence that I needed to get to this point. I still make mistakes, and sometimes I feel anxious about opening my mouth in front of people I don't really know. But, you know what? Whenever I feel that way, I give myself a little pep talk, "The language is just a tool, the most important thing is to communicate with people!"

When it comes to writing, it is a little different story...

I have been blogging for about 6 years now and even though this is my hobby (as well as partly my business) I take writing good content take very seriously. I also create embroidery/sewing patterns, I make sure there are no mistakes in them. People are willing to spend money on my creations, I want to make sure whatever I produce; either the writing or physical item are high quality and worth their time and money. I especially get worried when I am writing an article for a company or magazine.

After I write everything, I always ask my husband to edit it for me. He is such a supportive and loving husband, the last 6 years, he has been the person behind the scene, editing the content. Without him, I don't think I would be doing this.

That night I wrote the post, I was really tired, and I didn't think that I made the spelling mistake, Mr. TRH was working at the same time when he was editing the content, didn't catch it and the post went live. It hardly ever happens, but it did. Because we are human. So, after I found out about the mean comments and such, I felt mortified and embarrassed, mostly I didn't want my error to reflect poorly on Riley Blake Designs who are so kind and supportive during the whole thing. I just wished I could go back in time and catch the mistake on the picture. Negativity... it is a funny thing. Even when you don't want to think about it, the thoughts creep in your heart and mind. Then, it just keeps growing and festering in your head if you let it. I just wanted to curl up in my bed and pretend I didn't exist. Ugh... then, something amazing happened.

There was an outpouring of supportive comments on the Facebook page that started to appear from people that I became friends with through blogging and even from strangers!! They were so encouraging and kind, it literally made me tear up. If you are reading this and you are one of them, THANK YOU! Your comments turned my worst nightmare moment into an amazing moment. Not only that, some of my blogging friends link-shared the corrected post, so people will be aware of the giveaway I am doing! I don't really know how social networking works but it was amazing to see the different ways you can support your friends on the web. I am going to return the favor if someone is going through the same type of situation. It made a world of difference to me.

I have seen really nasty and hateful comments before left in other peoples' posts. I feel like it happens mostly on Facebook and YouTube. I just don't understand why people take their precious time and effort to leave such comments. What do they get out of doing that? Did they have a bad day, so they feel like it's OK to take it out on others? I feel like they are hiding in a dark ally and jump out at you as soon as you make a mistake saying "HA! got ya!". Also, there are problems in our society with cyberbullying. Just because you are not face to face with that person and you can just walk away does not mean you can be mean and rude? This whole experience gave me a lot to think about. As a mom of three, there are several things that I want to teach my children. Here are some examples:

"Don't say anything when you don't have anything nice to say" (Golden rule)

"It matters how you treat people and how you make them feel. Especially when they don't really matter to you, or when people aren't looking" (I really strive to live by this. This shows who you really are, don't you agree?)

"Words can hurt people, as well as uplift and edify others. Use them wisely." (In the end we become who we are because of our thoughts and action.)

If you can think of more, please share them in the comment section!

I want to clarify that I am not against good constructive criticism when someone is honestly trying to help. But people can tell when you are really being genuine, or just plain mean. One of the comments that was left on the Facebook page that really lifted my spirits up this morning was from a friend who quotes by Dr. Seuss:

" ...those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
When it happened, I really felt sad and gloomy. Though, I know who I am and I know what I have been through to get to this point. I am not letting this put me down nor am I going to stop what I love to do which is to create and share (with misspellings or not!) I will put my chin up and go about my way!

I want to give a big thanks to Riley Blake (and Paige, you are so awesome! I love you!!) from the bottom of my heart for your supportive way of handling the situation. Thanks my blogging friends and my readers for your kind and encouraging words. People like you make this community a brighter place to hang around. Lastly my family... Thank you for being there for me, always. It is because I know have a safe place filled with those who love me despite my countless flaws, I can be who I am and do what I do everyday.

In the end, it's all good.

LOVE YOU ALL

Sachiko

A Little Break for Me

My friend Christie over at A Lemon Squeezy Home is going to have a purse challenge contest on October 4th through the 8th. She asked me to be one of her judges for this challenge and I excitedly accepted it! Please head over to her blog and see all the details and great prizes she has. It will be fun!



Well, you all read about my crazy car situation last week. While we were down to one car I was the full time chauffeur for my family. In the morning I took them to work and school, I have one child that needs to be picked up midday, and the other two at few hours later and my husband at later still and they are two cities away...

It is crazy, but I did it. I did it with a pretty good attitude, because I had something I was looking forward to. Girls weekend getaway!!

My friends and I went to Vegas for the weekend. It was so much fun! When you hear "Vegas" you might think crazy parties, something we need to leave behind...

NOPE, not us! It was lots of shopping, eating, talking and laughing. Very clean healthy fun. :)

Here are some pictures that I took...

Oh...this was so good. More food came after this, but I was busy eating and forgot to take pictures of them.


I love taking picture of architecural designs and such for my design inspirations...(at a buffe, food and culture, two bird and one stone!)


Amy Butlerish(is that even a word?) carpet.


Also, we went to a HUGE swap meat. It was held outside in very hot weather. Near the end I thought I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion. Although, I found some great stuff, and here are my most favorite items.



The purplish pink necklace is all handmade and I bought it for only $5! I love the uniqueness of it, and I know it will be great addition to my fall outfits. I also found a vendor who was selling leathers (in this picture, this brown background you are looking at is the leather). I wanted to buy some leather for quite a while to use for my basket makeovers. I was so excited!! I will be using this leather soon.

It was a great getaway! The funny thing is though, I was never completely "AWAY". I guess once you become a mother, your heart is always attached to your loved ones no matter where you go.

Now I feel rejuvinated and good to go! I am back in to my routine and I rediscovered that I am happiest here with my family and I am such a lucky girl to have a husband who care about me enough that he will let me go for a weekend to take a break. :)

Sashiko Bag and ...

Around Rachel's birthday, we received a package from my mom who lives in Japan. She sent the kids lots of Japanese candies, some books for me, and a birthday gift for Rachel. My mom has been taking Sashiko lessons every week from a lady for almost a year now. She made a beautiful Sashiko bag (my mom did Sashiko, then her tutor made it into a draw string bag).

Basically, Sashiko is a traditional Japanese quilt design. Here is what I found out from a Sashiko book. In winter, a single layer of cloth wasn't warm enough, so people layerd two fabrics together and did Sashiko to stableize them. Then, when some parts of the cloth wore out, they added more layers of fabric and did sashiko to make it stronger. In olden day, Sashiko was used for practicality, but now people enjoy Sashiko design as a hobby. Like my mom.

Look at the stitches...


I called and thanked her and we talked for a while. Time like this I get little bit sad about living so far away from my mom. Usually, I am so busy and don't even have time to feel that. Looking at something she made, one stitch at time made me miss her.

Rachel loved her new bag and immediately started putting things in to carry around the house. Hmmm... where did she get the bag lover quality from... my husband?...

By the way, guess what I found at a quilt store the other day...


YES! New oil cloth!! They are so pretty, I had to buy some for my etsy store.

I have been sewing a lot lately. My friend who lives in Japan is going to exhibit her and her students' stained glass. The place she rented is so big, she wanted me to send some stuff from my etsy store to showcase and sell them. Also, my sister makes amazingly beautiful jewelery, so she will have a booth there too. My friend is making post cards to send out and posters to get the word out. I wish I could be there to decorate my own space and everything but I trust my friend's style. We have been friends since 10th grade and the distance and lack of seeing each other for years hasn't changed our relationship much. I guess only for better, because we are both busy moms who enjoy our current stage of life.

I am so excited about the exhibit!!

I am going to make more oil cloth bib from the new fabric. I already picked out the fabrics that I am going to use for the bias tape. I think they are going to be cute! I am going to sew some more before I hit the pillow. Well, every one, enjoy your labor day weekend!

Last Weekend...

Last weekend was so fabulous!

Lots of Thanks to my mother-in-law, she took all the kids fishing on Friday and afterwards they had a SLEEP OVER at grandma and grandpa's!! Needless to say, they had a blast! My hubby and I don't even remember when we had all night to ourselves. We ate out and had nice conversations without any interruptions. Strolled around an open mall to just browse. We never ran out things to talk about and it is nice to remember what is like to be a "couple" once in a while. Not, a Daddy and a Mommy.

The next day, we spent sometime together, and then I went out with my friends to celebrate two of their birthdays. It was fun! We are all busy, but it is so nice to get together with girl friends to catch up. We ended up stay at the restaurant for almost 4 hours chatting and laughing.

I was also, able to make gifts for my sister. She and her husbund just bought their first home and I've been wanting to send a house warming gifts. It has been a while since I made her an apron so I decided to make an apron and eco bag for her.

My sister loves simple designs. She doesn't do bold colors and fussy designs. So, I just picked a simple plad fabric.

The eco bag is reversable. I tried to make two diffrent looks with the same fabrics.

  

The apron is actually my most favorite style. It's a very simple pattern and never goes out of style; I have been using it for years.



I hope she will love them.

Last weekend was so nice. I felt like I rested a lot(mentally), reconected with people I love and accomplished a lot. Thank you again Mom, I didn't know that I needed that.

An Earthly Angel Visited My Home

Yesterday afternoon, I heard a knock on my door. I was not expecting anybody, so I was wondering who could that be? I opened the door and there stood one of my neighbor friend, with some fabrics in her hand.

She said, "I found these at a garage sale and noticed that these are moda fabrics and thought of you!"

She handed me the fabrics.

"Really?! Wow, thanks! How much was it?", I exclaimed excitedly.

Also thinking that, wow there are actually people out there who sell MODA fabrics at a garage sale?! Bring it on! One of the fabrics I had bought a few years ago and really liked it; you can always use simple red like that one. The other one was a pattern that I have never seen before and I FELL IN LOVE with it!!

I was eager to pay and claim them as mine. Then she said, "Oh no, it's a gift!"
I asked her a couple times but she insisted that I needn't pay to recive a gift.

I was very touched by her kindness and the fact that she thought of me while she was out having fun at the garage sales. She not only gave me fabrics, she also showed me how to be kind and make someone feel so special.

Thank you! You totally made my day, and I want you to know that you are one of my earthly Angels. :)