The Kindness of Strangers

Yesterday a parcel arrived, addressed to me. I was really excited to see that the sender was Danielle from One Small Stitch. The parcel wasn’t completely unexpected: she had contacted me to ask for my address as she had something she thought I might like. I am very nosey and love surprises, so was completely unconcerned about giving out my home address to a (let’s be honest) complete stranger that I met on the internet. Kids, do as I say, don’t do as I do! As it turns out, Danielle, who lives on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, has been to my particular tiny corner of Edinburgh! How about that?!

Back to the parcel. I had been intrigued because I had no idea what Danielle might want to send me. It was beautifully wrapped in brown paper, twine and some gorgeous vintage style cotton fabric, that I will definitely find a use for.

Inside was…

 Nearly 3 metres (3 yds) of large check black and white gingham! What a girl! I spent a good amount of time this summer looking for this exact thing and was so frustrated about not being able to find that, and some other specific fabrics I had in mind, that I wrote this post about it. And Danielle saw the fabric, remembered me, bought it and mailed it to the other side of the world! There are so many posts written across so many blogs about how supportive, generous and kind the online sewing community are, so this post is hardly original, but I had to share my gratitude.

My original plan was to make an Archer . a la Andrea, with the gingham, and I think I will stick to that. I am also inspired by Katy's recent Recre-Kate inspiration skirt, but I think I will get more wear from the shirt at this time of year. Now of course, there is additional pressure to make something worthy and to do Danielle proud! I don’t want to mess it up and waste the fabric. This must be how the Sew Bossy participants feel! :) So, an Archer! But since my pattern matching skills and my shirt making skills are negligible, I might need to go a couple of practice runs first.

Danielle also penned a very thoughtfully written, complimentary note, which I felt unworthy of, remarking on my ability to stay positive through my current work situation (and I thought I was just sewing, blogging, reading posts and commenting as a form of job-search procrastination). Which brings me to some good news. I have managed to secure another job! Hurrah! I will be staying within the same company and actually within the same office and I start on Monday! Sadly, it’s a full time role – I currently work 4 days a week – and there will be weekend working, but it’s a good opportunity to get some additional experience, to try some new challenges and, at the end of the day, it will pay the mortgage! I haven’t had much time to think about the role itself, but I am excited to get going next week.

So, thank you Danielle. So, so kind, thoughtful and generous. Thank you! And for anyone else reading, I am now looking for a good few metres of top quality silk crepe de chine... :)