A Special Gift & Surprise

A couple months ago, while CountryBoy and I were back home to grab a few things out of the barn we made it a point to visit with family and friends since we have been on the road a while and haven't seen them.

One late afternoon we went to a dear friends' house for supper and to hang out.  The boys immediately gravitated toward the big screen TV with tons of movie channels to choose from.  Us girls headed straight to her sewing room (smile).  We discussed different ways to rearrange to get the most from the space, looked at her latest works in progress and we checked out her growing fabric stash.  She pulled out a piece of fabric that was absolutely adorable and so me with chickens, garden tools, garden gloves and the color was right up my alley; love it! Come to find out, she had picked up that fabric with me in mind but hadn't decided yet what to make with it.  (So sweet!)

Meanwhile, I have been in awe of the purse that she had made for herself.  It was amazing!  With pockets, zippers, hardware, compartments... I just couldn't imagine being able to sew such a thing.  AND, she's only been sewing about a year now. She obviously has a ton of natural talent for sewing and is simply amazing! 

After hearing me go on about her purse she checked to see if she had enough of that fabric to make the purse and, lo and behold, she did!  Yay!  Now we just needed to find two coordinating colors to go with it.  After looking through her stash and not finding anything that wowed us we decided to leave the boys glued to the TV and head to Hobby Lobby.  (Honestly, I don't even think they would have known we were gone had we not told them, wink!)

We found some lovely fabric that would work great, picked up the notions she needed and headed back to her place.  I was so excited I was beyond myself!  I showed the fabric to CountryBoy but somehow he just didn't pick up on my excitement.  Go figure!

Anyhoo, my purse arrived in the mail last week.  Gahhhhh! I couldn't wait to check it out so I opened the box in the Post Office parking lot.  It was gorgeous!

 

Is that not totally me or what?!

Those of you on Facebook have seen most of these photos already but I want to show you all the cool things about this purse.

Tons and tons of pockets and compartments.  A padded, zippered compartment in the middle that holds a tablet, eReader, even my iPad fits in there.

Pockets with elastic and a velcro closure...

Aren't the other two fabrics pretty?

A doo-dad to hook your keys on, another pocket and above those is another zippered compartment...

And there are two pockets with elastic on the sides of the purse.

Isn't it amazing?!

And the craftsmanship?  Unbelievable!

As I was checking out the interior of the purse I saw something else in there.

I pulled it out and it was a beautiful matching wallet/clutch!

I almost cried!  What an awesome surprise!

See, I have been looking for a wallet for several months since my wallet of the past 20+ years (I kid you not) was starting to come apart in a few places.

I haven't been able to find one that I liked (OK, so I'm particular about my wallets, don't judge, ha) and when I pulled it out and opened it up it was perfect!

Now I know why I couldn't find anything that suited me!

 

There's a place for everything.  Plastic cards, checkbook, coins, bills and even all that miscellaneous stuff that usually ends up in a wallet...

Again, the craftsmanship; amazing!  I love it them and filled them both up right when we got home!

I am so lucky to have such a talented and generous friend.  Love her to pieces!

She really enjoys making bags and purses and will soon be opening up an Etsy shop.  So if you've been thinking that you wished you had such a gorgeous, functional purse and/or wallet/clutch now you can!  And, with Christmas around the corner these would also make lovely gifts.  If you would be interested in purchasing a bag, purse and/or wallet, or if you just wanted to check out her shop, let me know in the comment section and I will notify you when the shop is open along with the link.

Till next time my friends...