i have found
pincushions and thread catchers are great gifts that you can make. if you happen to send a swapper a pincushion who doesn't collect them, pincushions make great recycle gifts.
i made many a
small thread catcher for other swappers but never one for myself. so my threads ended up on the floor or piled up on my ironing board. i have finally made one for me but need a small one at my ironing board too. also those big
pincushion thread catchers are great handmade gifts.
fabric
boxes or
trays would make good gifts. i don't know about other quilters but i have plenty of stuff in my sewing area such as tailor's chalk, extra bobbins, pkgs of machine needles, glue sticks, seam gauges, rotary cutters, etc. and it helps to have something decorative to put these things in. right now i have them in large yogurt containers. it would be nice to be able to see the things in these containers.
needle cases are another handmade gift i have found useful. i didn't know i needed one until someone gifted one to me. i keep all of my hand sewing needles in it threaded with the floss i use to close up my pincushions or other hand sewing i do. now my hand needled don't have an opportunity to get lost in my pincushion.
potholders and hot pads are another great handmade gift. most of us use them in our kitchens. and i am not talking about making them to fit into someone kitchen decor but making something fun like the
cupcakes,
chickens/hen,
microwave finger mitts and many other
fun patterned or shaped ones. i made a pair of the microwave mitt ones for a swap partner and she said they were a prized possession in her kitchen. i need a pair for myself but just have gotten around to making my own so my fingers still get burned taking dishes out of my microwave. go figure. the
microwave fabric bowls another good handmade.
if you're buying things then note cards(many of us in swaps send plenty of note cards with our swaps), note pads, glue sticks (a quilter's good friend), machine needles (i had a week where i broke several so needed replacements), rotary blades, permanent fabric pens, hand sanitizer (i use plenty of this especially when working with unwashed fabrics), packages of light weight interfacing, fusible web (for applique), seam rippers as i have heard swappers say they always misplace them (i use embroidery scissors not rippers). these are just somethings i can think of quickly.
btw i really like your stilettos so if you get my name in a swap, i would be a happy recipient.
also i think scissor fobs are great handmades. i went to a quilt class at my lqs and had to watch my small scissors like a hawk. i forgot to distinctively mark them & a coupla participants misplaced theirs. ooh also the small hair twists work great as bobbin or thread keepers. you can get a bag of 300 for $1.00 at family dollar stores. plenty to parcel out to swap pals.
mary