The Generosity of Strangers....

The internet is an amazing thing.....

Through this wonder of modern life I've made connections with women I may never have been privileged to meet through my everyday existence.  This realisation hit home to me today when I received a package in the mail.

Recently I participated in an on-line handmade swap.  This is the first time I've ever done something like this - creating and swapping items with women I had never met in person.  My only contact with them is through Facebook and blogs relating to quilting so in actuality, they're strangers.  The swap is simple.  You are assigned a partner to create a handmade item for.  You know who you are making your swap gift for but you don't know who you are assigned to.  This is a mystery until your gift is received in the mail.  The way you discover your swap partners likes and dislikes is through a posted documents that lists members preferences for colors, choice of gifts -bags, mug rugs, etc.... and most importantly, their blog address.  As you can imagine, you can learn a lot about a person from reading their blog.

Well the gift parcel I received today completely blew me away.  As you can see from the photos below, not only is the tote bag remarkably beautiful, it was also packaged with thought and care.   And as a sweetener (literally) my Australian swap partner Kristy gave a special gift of American candy to me, her American swap partner.  What can I say - I'm speechless.....

My antique Little Oxford Dictionary, circa 1949, defines a stranger as:

'....a person unknown, alien or unfamiliar to someone or something'

I wonder how this definition changes now in the year 2012 with the event of the Internet?  When it's not alien or unfamiliar any longer to develop and nurture friendships through electronic means exclusively.  I've never met Kristy in person yet I know her through the colourful quilts she makes, the fabric she likes, the fantastic tutorials she posts....is she still a stranger?  I think not.

I feel privileged to be a member of the on-line quilting community.  Through my Internet connections I've 'meet' so many wonderful, talented and caring women.  I so wish my grandmother were still alive today so we could compare notes on our individual experiences with our quilt groups.  I think she would be amazed at the community of world wide quilters now.  I just know she would have been the kind of woman who would have jumped in both feet first into the pool of Internet quilting.

So thank you Kristy for the wonderful swap gift.  I plan to drag this tote bag to every quilt and book club meeting I have and tell everyone about you and my experiences with my on-line group of quilters.
 
But I have to tell you, the candy isn't going to make it past the weekend!