Beyond the Cherry Trees Block #1

This one was easier and more fun to do that block #2.

 

I like the subtle effect of using the different greens and reds.
Block number 3 is prepped and ready to go - this is becoming quite addictive!
As you may notice, I haven't cut the block to size yet.  That will wait until all the blocks are completed and ready to sew into a top.

But before I get stuck into stitching, some household chores first, the re-folding of all my fabrics!  Well, not all of them, I made piles of all the colors, using the mnemonic ROY G. BIV  as a guide plus, black, grey, cream, brown and shirting fabrics.
Where before I kept my fabrics relatively separated into collections, types or fabrics to be used in a future project, they are now all mixed up, old and new, batiks, reproductions, modern, solids, japanese, etc.
Why, because I tend to choose fabrics more on color than print, and it makes things more fun and adventurous to try and mix styles and types of fabrics together....
At least the fabrics that have languished for a few years now in the closet will get a fair chance to show their stuff in the next project, and now I also know that I really need to add orange and purple and double pinks to my collection!

And speaking of next projects, I have become reacquainted with some old UFO's, kits and things I don't want to part with, yet do want to work on.  Time to make a list and see if they can be gently worked in my already growing one for stuff to do this year...

Have a wonderful weekend!

keeping busy...

It's been really quiet here on my blog, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy!
I've mainly spent my time hand quilting and it's coming along nicely.  I've been enjoying the process which is something I've wanted to get into more rather than the focus on finishing a project.
Taking time to just  do something and learning from it has been very enlightening indeed, and has helped me to slow down and enjoy this art even more.

I'm just about half way through the quilting and with each fan I complete, I get more and more excited...

A snap of what it's starting to look like:

But that's not all I've been up to.

I've also decided to take the plunge and make an applique quilt.
I fell in love with the Beyond the Cherry Trees Quilt , was invited to join the blog, and finally got some baseline fabrics together to get started!

My resolution for this year was not only to enjoy the process, but to also make do with what I have and only purchase fabrics or supplies when needed.  I had a bolt of Natural Moda Muslin on hand, so that's what I'm using for the background blocks.  I am however, having questions about using this fabric as it's kind of thin.  I like the color and feel, but wonder if it's the right fabric for this project.  I do want a vintage, krinkly look, and plan to hand quilt when I'm done...

Wondering if anyone out there has had any experience with using this muslin and would want to share their thoughts on it?

Other than that, another activity that has been keeping me away from blogging is the big cleaning of my sewing room!  I guess the easiest thing to do would be to toss everything in the closet and close the door, but after having done that and still spending waaay to much time looking for fabrics or occasionally finding that I've made a double purchase, it's time to do a serious clean and find an system to store all those different sizes of fabrics!

Right now, all the patterns and magazines and being sorted and that's going pretty quickly.  Saving only those patterns I want to keep, putting them in a binder and tossing the rest of the magazine, is making for a lot of space and there's already an empty shelf for the books stacked on my sewing table waiting for a more permanent spot.

Speaking of which, it's time for me to get up there and work for another hour or so in that mess, so I have some time for my hand quilting as well.....

souvenirs from the Patchwork & Quiltdagen....

Saturday I spent a wonderful day with my quilt buddies at the Patchwork & Quiltdagen in Vijfhuizen.
Oh, so much to see, and lots to be tempted with!
Of course I couldn't leave without some souvenirs:

a basket full of goodies:

some tweed, linnens, reproductions fabrics and quilting thread

here's a close up of the white linens

and a snap of the luscious tweeds

Yummy, no?
I've got a few projects that I can't show right now, that I need to get done, and then I can't wait to get my hands on my new goodies!

3 done, 1 to go!

I must be the worst blogger around!  It's been very hectic around here, and time to photograph and think of something sensible to say just wasn't working.  But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy on the quilting end!
I'm happy to say that I did manage to complete yet another project for the New Year's Even UFO challenge!  Here it is:

 "shoo!"

A little quilt done in the liberated style from my bits and scraps.  It was really good fun to make and looking at it now, I think putting the block on point would've been a good idea as well, but at the time I just wanted to put the little shoo-fly blocks together quickly.  I do just love that paisley border fabric don't you?  Those were the last bits left from my "Chicken Soup" quilt. 
As for the machine quilting, I'm still working on getting my head around free-form machine quilting.  I would've preferred to do it for the whole quilt, but my machine acted up again, creating little loops in the back and shredding thread!  I gave up and quilted the center using straight lines....
All in all I like this little quilt, and it gave me plenty of ideas to do for the next time when I make something liberated, which if the stars are aligned properly, will be soon!

till then,

2 done, 2 to go!

I'm motivated.  A comment led me to be invited to participate with the New Years' Eve UFO Challenge happening on Finn's blog, Pieces from my Scrap Bag.  The idea is to pledge to complete an amount (you decide) of UFO's before Year's End. 
Since we're already well into November, I didn't have a spectacular number of UFO's that I could realistically finish in time, but I did have a stack of quilts ready for quilting that I would love to have done so I could get a bit of a fresh start in the New Year.  Besides, having stacks of unfinished tops and projects just cuts into the fun of it all, doesn't it?  I can't stare at them anymore, and trying to hide them doesn't help either ( because we all know they're there, lurking somewhere...), so getting a few done feels good.

My challenge is to finish 4 quilts before year's end.  If I keep up the momentum, and the holidays don't get to me, I may add another!  Here are the first two:

"Cherry & Chocolate": a quilts made, oh months  if not a year ago!  Simple straight line stitching put it all together to make a nice little lap quilt.

Here's a quick snap of the back.  I've also been trying to use up my stash lurking in the closet, and this is part of my ongoing "make-do" project.  After all, what's the point of keeping those fabrics in the dark?  I'm pulling them out and working them into my quilts so I can enjoy them!

"Chicken Soup": now this quilt makes me happy.  Lots of fun fabrics put together in a pretty much random way  and left the border on three sides only to create this vintage look quilt.  I also like the gold binding.  It brought a touch more light into the quilt, and I felt like trying something other than the perhaps more safe choice of using a darker binding.  This was also quilted by machine in simple lines.  The idea was to create an overall diamond quilt pattern, but I ended up with squares on point.  Oh well....
The evening I finished the last stitch of this quilt my daughter snatched it up and took it to put on her bed; it hasn't been seen since...kids!

Here's the back of the quilt - another bit of stash that can now be put to good use.
 This is also the first time I used a bamboo batting.   My fellow house dwellers were not too thrilled with it.  They found it a bit flimsy and light, not enough "beef" to it.  When tested for warmth....eh...perhaps good as a summer cover.  Ok, fair enough.  They may be used to the 100% cotton batting I normally use.  Those quilts are a bit heavier, and so far have kept us nice and warm in the winter ( either on the couch or in bed) and they do have a bit more "beef" to them.  I haven't formed a final opinion yet, but did notice a difference in the feel, and the quilts are indeed lighter in weight and to the touch, although to be fair, they do have a nice drape to them.   I'd need to experiment a bit more...

In the meantime, I returned to the sewing machine guy this weekend and he checked out my Pfaff.  Turned out the "shredding" of my thread was due to the plate not being centered to the needle.  As the threaded needle moved up and down, the thread chafed against the plate, causing the thread to shred and break.  Mystery and problem solved!  Now I can go back and try my hand again at free motion quilting.
Quilt number three is on the table and ready to go, so let me get to finishing!

Have a great week,

heidi

pulling, shoving, bunching....

Pffft!
I love my craft, but this can make me grumble...
...but I'm in that "must. finish. now." mode, and this is quilt number two....(out of four)

So, while the water slides down the window, the wind thumps against the house, like the big bad wolf, I  sing, hum, and bop to my favorite tunes while trying to get through quilting this mass of fabric!

Since the quilt is made up of very busy fabrics and my machine has decided to shred my Yli cotton thread when I attempt to free motion quilt ( yes, I will bring it back to the Sewing Machine Guy ), I'm doing a simple all-over 60-degree diamond pattern.

You can see the paper tape I used here to get me started.  Once that first line is done I'll use the guide to help me to the rest of the lines.

The stitch-in-the-ditch foot is very handy here.  I use the "skate" to follow the line exactly.

You know, it's not all that bad really, I just need to get into a groove, have my tea and music nearby and remind myself that just because I'm sitting behind a sewing machine, doesn't mean things will or automatically have to go faster! Repeating that to myself today while puling, pushing, adjusting, propping and bunching the quilt through my machine, made it go a little easier...a little.......

Have a great weekend my friends!
( I'm heading back to my machine......)

sandwich...

That's my daughter helping me to sandwich the Fall Stars quilt.  A task made very pleasant by working together, chatting away and giggling over some silliness...

...with tea and her freshly baked cookies nearby...

thank you Monki!

shoo-flies...

The moment I finished my "leftovers" top I started playing around with some liberated shoo-fly blocks.

 

 Three inches square, it was fun to work with small pieces again, after the large pieces I quickly put together.  grabbing a handful of stash and just getting started without thinking too much about it was fun and very, well, liberating!

They're still up on my design wall, a bit unruly and needing to be pressed and trimmed, but I think they're kind of cute, no? 

Now I'm wondering how to put them together in a top ..... sashing or alternate blocks?  Hmm...

leftovers

What a fun quilt this was to make!
...and on my Featherweight too...
A simple nine patch and alternate block pattern, I cut lots of different fabrics, some of which that have been laying in my closet for years, and randomly threw them together.
It's not easy to work randomly, but once you get started, it's lots of fun and the quilt just makes itself.

leftovers, originally uploaded by Monkicat.

I'm not too sure about the results yet, so after taking this picture, I folded it away and will not look at it for a while. Maybe after a few days something new will come to me.

Thoughts that have crossed my mind:
- an appilque edge on the bottom? ( simple and folky)
- perhaps a thin border between the main part and the large red border?

Any ideas you may have?

Now off to do some quiet cross stitch...

Veldhoven 2010

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day to head out to the European Quilt Championships in Veldhoven.  There were beautiful quilts to see...

...details that caught my eye...

In the paper bag: a pallet of Japanese fabrics and shot cottons from Kaffe Fasset, for a modern wall quilt.  Oh, and I couldn't wait - they're already cut up and on my brand new design wall - thank you Ro!
A cute little "Basket & Stars quilt pattern.
...and a stack of some solids from India out of my stash that I'm auditioning with the solids I bought.

a beautiful pallet of hand dyed and printed linen fabric from a German Artist.


But the weekend didn't end there...
Sunday I got together with some friends with our Featherweights to begin work on Droomdekentjes.
These are quilts made for children who are seriously ill, suffer from a life-threatening disease, and or have suffered from a trauma be it physically or mentally.  The quilts are there to offer comfort and everyone is welcome to donate supplies for quilt making, blocks, or an entire quilt.
Armed with scraps, a production line was sent up and our little machines were humming away!  I'll post soon with the our simple but heartfelt results.

All in all, a wonderful weekend, filled with quilty goodness!
I'm off now to unpack, and get ready to do some stitching on this cold and rainy day.  It really is a day for some chicken soup made from scratch!

I hope you all had a great weekend...do anything cool?

coasters

I really wasn't in the mood to work on one of my larger projects today, but still wanted to feel like I did something that was on "the list" to finish, so I sat down and made 8 coasters.  I've made these before for friends as gifts, and finally I made some to match the neutral colors in our living room.  I found some Japanese fabrics scraps left over from a previous project, and here's the result:

I really need to make little projects more often!  It feels so nice to have something done at the end of the day to enjoy!  That, and it keeps the hands busy while I decide what to work on next.  I always seem to have a period of time where I don't do much after completing a large project.  There's so much I'd like to work on, that I don't know what to work on!  Ever have that?

But now it's off to make a shopping list of things I really do need to continue and finish some projects.  Tomorrow I'm off to the European Quilt Championships in Veldhoven to meet with friends and enjoy some beautiful quilts.  As far as shopping goes, I will try to stick to what I need, and not come home with yet another bag full of fabrics!  Perhaps just a few to make a modern wall quilt for the living room...?  With the wonderful weather we've been having here, no matter what I come home with, it will be a great day!

12 klosjes

a modest beginning...

12 done, 488 to go.....

old school stitching

I did't get to make anymore klosjes blocks before Saturday, but did spend this week preparing lots of little pieces so I can sit and make the blocks in what will be rare quiet moments this week. Beginning such a project really makes me realize how important it is to have a collection of light fabrics is! Even though I have built up a nice variety of lights, they would not do as the majority in the background effect I would like for this project. EQC is coming up in Veldhoven, so I'll dig around for some there.

It's been a while since I've pieced by hand! I've been so focused on getting to know my sewing machines better, becoming a better machine piecer, and quilter. I feel much more confident working a sewing machine now, and since I have the Featherweight, I have less fears to open up a machine and work on it.
Drawing the block, making the templates, making sure the pieces fit exactly, and using my favorite quilting pencil to trace the shapes on fabrics brought me back to my first days of learning to quilt. There's something soothing and comforting about it. It slows my thoughts, calms and I find joy in the process.
When I stitched the first klosje, it felt slow and clumsy, by the time I completed the second block my fingers knew what do to and where to go. Just like riding a bike.
There's so much on my plate right now, it's hard to keep my head organized, so stitching these fellas in stolen moments will help me catch my breath...

on the bandwagon....

Ok, ok, you got me!
All those cute little klosjes  on all those blogs finally made me relent, grab fabric and get started.

Still making do with what I already have, I found some old Den Haan & Wagenmakers fabrics lurking in my closet.  Finally a good project to use them with!

So you know what I'll be doing tonight right?  Sitting in front of the TV, tracing shapes to make a stack of pieces ready to stitch when I'm not behind the sewing machine.  The old cigar boxes collected during the beginning days of learning to quilt will come in handy now.

So where do I sign up?

I'm currently working on yet another baby quilt, so I don't know how many klosjes I"ll get done by Saturday, but I'll do my best!

little log cabin

The moment I got my little Featherweight, I was itching to start sewing with it, so since I'm "making do" with my stash, I went diving into my scrap bin and this came out.  I made this a few weeks ago, the moment Grasshopper was oiled and lubed and ready to go.

It's now hanging on the wall in our guest room, a wall I plan on using to hang all sorts of little quilts on.
What will be the next project for the wall?  I've been thinking about trying out some classic quilt blocks, to play with color and fabric and hang them up to create a quilt collage.
With all the large quilt projects I tend to make, it will be kind of nice to have some little projects to do in between or as a break.

Do you do that too?

note: in answer to Rhonda's question regarding the size of the quilt that popped up the moment I posted this is:
The quilt's finished measurements are 15 inches square and the blocks are just shy of 2 inches square.
In metric measurements: 38 cm x 38 cm, and the blocks are 5 cm square.

lap quilt

Made for a friend in a wheel chair from her favorite fabrics with a plush fleece for the backing.

The fabrics are traditional Staphorst folkloristic fabrics used in making traditional Dutch costumes.
I decided on simple squares to make the most of the fabrics.  Why make things more difficult when simple is just as effective?

a little baby quilt

made for little Raphael

In my continuing quest to use my scraps of fabric and not to buy anything new, I made this little quilt as a welcoming gift for the new baby of friends of ours.

Handwerkbeurs in Zwolle (long post, lots of pics!)

It took me a while, but here it is, a "quick" digest of my trip...

Two weekends ago I attended the Handwerkbeurs in Zwolle. Over a 140 merchants presented their wares from all sorts of crafts: quilting, spinning, knitting, cross stitch, sewing, tatting. There were stands that had the necessary tools of our crafts, merchants from not only Holland, but Belgium, Germany, France and England, to name a few. My friends Diane and Nanda (who are unfortunately still blog-less) and I got an early start Sunday morning, so we could scope out the place before the crowds arrived.


workshops


knitting tables, to chat and hang out...


First things first: out slipped the lists, with our "necessities": Daylight lamps, adaptors, threads, needles, wool, patterns, batting, scissors, fabrics for quilt classes, and other bits and bobs.


I have a standing Daylight lamp, you know the one that looks like a big glowing doughnut with the magnifying lens that allows me to do micro-surgery on torn pockets and teddy bears, next to letting me stitch for hours on end...
Finally a portable Daylight lamp to take with me on trips and visits!



Another little light I use for reading in bed when the man wants to, or is already asleep is the Mighty Bright Mini light, a handy lamp you clip onto a book or even your clothing. I bought it at my fave quilt shop, and it's even more compact than the table lamp. When I got it home at the time, I was checking out what batteries it would take, and if it could take an adapter - oh oh..it's American! At the same stand in Zwolle, we were happy to find that it had one for Europe! So I had to grab that puppy fast!

Let's see...what else....and what did it look like over there?
It was a well set up place, lots of room for everyone, even for those in wheelchairs and scooters.
Everyone was very helpful, friendly, customers and merchants alike.


fabrics for projects...


my friends picking up necessities...

|
and not so necessary necessities...

This stand got the girls buying sock wool, and me to promise to teach them how to knit socks (with pleasure!). It was tough for me to resist, but I have a full basket at home of all colors waiting to become socks. There is nothing like a hand knitted sock!


I joined Merkwaardig, a national "sampler society" as they call themselves, that focuses primarily on historical samplers and their history, bringing those with the same enthusiasm for these works together.

Now, since I've not been quilting for some time now, because of work being done to the house and my sewing room still functioning as storage room, and I've been keeping to my New Year's resolution of finishing works in progress and NOT starting new ones, I've been left with no choice but to cross stitch (Gasp!!-woe is me! lol!). Having said that, you can imagine my interest led me more to the cross stitch stand than anything else.

Picked up some patterns that caught my fancy for a while now:

Amager Panel 1799- NeedlePrint


Rebecca Blake 1809 - Needleprint

EA 1798 - The Marking Samplar

Into the Ark - Blue Ribbon Designs
I have a thing for Noah's Ark designs....

I just couldn't resist picking up a book or two....


Simple Quilt by Yoshiko Jinzenji (French Translation)
Les Editions Saxes
ISBN:978-2-7565-0220-5


and a signed copy of -
Geschiedenis van de Nederlanse Quilt by An Moonen (Dutch)
Uitgeverij Van Gruting
ISBN: 97890-75879-414


What else? hmm..some bits of marbled and dyed linen, now tucked away (and I'm too lazy to pull it out to photograh) and a few teeny weeny patterns that will undoubtedly show up in this blog one of these days as little weekend projects...

All in all, a great day with friends, lots of ideas, lots of itchy fingers ready to get into the next project, so many new things, gadgets and goodies, so many tips and tricks learned from merchants and fellow enthusiasts. We were completely recharged, and have lots of plans to do lots of things together and individually, all of which I will share with you as they present themselves.

So there you go! I haven't figured out how to put photos next to each other to save a bit of space, so forgive the length of this blog - hope you enjoyed reading, and if any of you went to Zwolle, I'd love to hear what you thought of it!

Now back to my regularly scheduled stitching......
heidi out.

for new ideas and inspiration...

Just wanted to share some recent members of my quilting library.

a quick update

Hi Ho!
Finally managed to make a little time to quickly post some things. It's been very busy here lately and time has been scarce to be behind the computer. So without further ado, here's what I've been up to:

A table runner made up of left overs and scraps from a tryptic made a while back.  I decided to just start sewing, put the pieces together and see what happened.  Not an easy thing to do and had to change my mindset because I've been working on projects requiring accuracy, but so relaxing letting it all go but the brain in neutral and just let the fabrics to their thing!  

Sorry about the funky looking color, but after many, many moons I've picked up the knitting needles up again to finish this UFO, a pair of bright orange socks, a very basic pattern, destined to become a Christmas gift.  It had been such a long time since I had the needles in my hand, but really, it's just like, as they say, riding a bike!  It's tempting me to start knitting more regularly, even pull out the spinning wheel to spin up some fine wool, but "sigh" - there's lots more to finish first before throwing more projects on my plate!

Last but not least: a start on Hannah Beeby 1816.

I'm doing it in the recommended DMC colors, because I just didn't want to spend the extra money especially since I'm trying to maintain my stash diet, use what I have and only buy what I need, not want.  At first the diet was only intended for my fabrics, but I've extended it to all my crafts.  Besides, it'll free up lots of extra change to buy that digital reflex camera I've set my heart on: a Nikon D90.

I have the feeling I'm forgetting something, but oh well, it'll have to come another time.

Now it's back to the needles again, this time sewing on wayward buttons, patching jeans and waxing jackets..good fun!  

smiles,

heidi