50 days challenge for myself

40 days ago I decided to give myself a 50 days challenge, with an average of 2 blocks a day on 2 projects – the one above + Cornelian quilt, which is in the stitchery phase.

Along the way I added a sewing machine project – the angel log cabin quilt.

My usual Tour de Fibre blogging went down the drain with some family matters here,
but I have kept up with my at-least-2-blocks-a-day on Instagram, with daily photos.

As much as I do enjoy writing my blog, the Instagram format is quicker, more like a postcard, and it fitted this challenge so well. If you are into Instagram, my user name is Hanne Schneider and/or hannequilt.

In between I have also done some knitting of dish cloths, the new fun-to-make and so nice to use in the kitchen.

No doubt – I will always be a quilter at heart, but knitting is very  fun and very portable, and with these smaller projects they are done before my arms acts up – win win!

10 days to go on this challenge!

The love of my life and dear companion for 32 years has had some serious health issues going on for the last year and a half.
He won the lottery last week  – the new growth / tumour is benign for now, and he will be back for a new ultrasound check-up in 6 months. The growth has held us on our toes for a while now and it is good to be able breath both in and out.
It surely sets everyday life in a new light – everyday life is not boring, it is good!

I do not know if it helps or anything, but I do believe that what you eat makes a difference, and I enjoy making food from scratch. All the chemical additives might make the food last for a long time, but I seriously doubt they are good for us!

Carrot lemon marmalade and home baked bread

Bread rolls with a lot of fiber

Just had to try cinnamon rolls with a half-wholegrain dough too – success!

Oatmeal cookies with real vanilla and raisins. The taste was so right, but they were a bit crumbly. I will try them again. Maybe they need more time in the oven?

Dinner includes a lot of veggies and less starch than before. If we are what we eat, we are getting there, meal by meal.

 

Give someone you love a hug today!

Hanne

Hand Sewing Fun

Some new fabrics from my local shop Trådsnella and Kathrines Quilte Stue + a recently bought pattern from Trådsnella, containing both stitchery and English Paper Piecing  - Edelweiss from Helen Stubbings + some paper pieces for English Paper Piecing is on my table today.
I also have a BIG  pile of hand work Ufos that will get attention while I give the sewing machine a rest ordered by my doctor.

Tour de Fibre 2014 is also coming up shortly and hand work is great during summer and also while watching TV.
It is time to start planning for this year’s Tour de Fibre!
It will be running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th 2014, along with the famous bike race Tour de France. Join in the fun if you like :-)

I am very happy to be a quilter with many skills so I always can adjust what I am doing to what fits into my life  :-)

This is Marianne at Trådsnella’s Edelweiss quilt, pieced and stitched by Marianne’s skilled mother and beautifully quilted by Merete at www.Sy.no

It is my inspiration to get some of my hand work Ufos done so I can start this one!

Do  you have this pattern too ? Maybe we could do it together ?

The angel table topper is coming along too – I like to stitch the angels – it is a little like having guardian angels on duty.

Hanne

Scraps and life and all that

Life has been giving me some health scraps lately, and as the quilter I am my solution is to make quilt blocks ;-)
Hand piecing is quiet and comforting and let the mind flow in a good way.
Even a troublesome body sort of goes away for the duration.

I also love the way a hand piecing project is so easy to move with me, both indoors and outdoors.
The weather forecast says that the lovely warm weather is leaving now, so it is good to have enjoyed it while it lasted. This year we got summer in April – I hope we get some summer in summer too.

I celebrated my birthday teaching last week, and I was given a wonderful surprise party!
What a treat – the very very best chocolate cake ever – and the birthday song to go with it.
Thank you ever so much you wonderful people – I am very touched :-)

My dear husband is taking me to the theatre and out for fine dining with some friends of ours on Wednesday – it is his birthday gift to me and my birthday gift to him too.
Good moments and happy memories lasts forever!

Time to pull out one of the many Ufos and move it forward.
I enjoyed sorting the pieces and re-starting this one. I know there are a lot of other projects which should have had priority, but this one is my choice for now.

When I started this quilt about 1 year back, I planned to work very organized, using my Log Cabin ruler, pre-cut and sub cut the strips and all that.

Well – my mind does not work like that, and it sort of takes away my creativity to pre-think everything. I am somewhat impressed with those who can work so organized  (or maybe not) – on the other hand I accept myself for who I am and who I am not……
So, I went back to do scrappy my favourite way, scrappy, random in a planned way, as I work along.
It sure put the F back in Fun!
I wonder if more of my Ufos stalled for somewhat the same reason……...Have to look into that as I go along…..

15 blocks done – 20 to go :-)

Hanne

This and that

Easter is here and it is nice to have some quiet days – well – maybe not so quiet, but fun and revitalizing sewing with friends.
The quilt from the previous post is done, but I have not taken a good photo of it yet.
I love how it turned out!

Lately I have spent quite a lot of time baking different kinds of bread.
The wholegrain braided bread with sunflower seeds and grated cheese is one of my favourites so far, as it tastes good, keeps well and freezes well.
I love to find my own bread recipes – the daily bread is an important part of the nutrition – I do like to experiment with different ingredients. Grated carrots and grated cheese combined is a winner too.

Saturday through Monday I was spending time with a group of friends sewing all day.

Saturday I finished this 1600’’ top from my yellow scraps for a charity quilt.
Someone else with find a backing and do the machine quilting.

Making charity quilts is a win win situation – I get to find good fabrics in my boxes, have the pleasure of sorting and cutting and sewing, and someone will in the end be warmed by the quilt.

I am sure I am not the only quilter buying more than I can use for myself ??

Well – I am not buying that much anymore – or at least I try not to buy for storage  – I like to buy for using right away, and I am not saving the good stuff!  :-)

These lovely fabrics I just bought at my local store Trådsnella instead of buying Easter sweets for myself  :-)

I am very much in hand piecing mood these days – it is so relaxing, so I  have kick started an Ufo from a class with Sue Daley.
I hope to finish the table runner through the Easter holiday.
As you can see from the top photo, I have different hand projects on the go, and after the charity quilt I was working on the different projects through the weekend  :-)

 

True to the very best Easter tradition ever, I arrived at May Britt’s house yesterday and we had a lovely late lunch with Sunshine Buns.
Even if Easter is late this year, it is quite cold outdoors, so we have spent most of the time indoors.
We had a Sunshine Bun outdoors today, with a little bit of hand work on the side, but it soon was  to cold to sit there, even with thick coats and quilts over our knees.

 

Wishing you a Happy Easter !

Hanne

Just 4 fun, just because

I think I need a new project like I need a hole in the head, but I do need some airing out,
so maybe a hole in the head is not to bad after all ;-)

I have started this quilt once before, or maybe it is 2 times, but it did not really catch, due to colour choices (I think).

This time, a complete different colour choice!

I am just prepping blocks for now,

putting the finished pieces in small zip lock bags marked with block numbers

perfect for travels and sewing moments outside the home :-)

I have tried out a new way of organizing this project – a tray from Ikea is now filled with the fabrics I use, the templates and right now the finished kits ready to sew.

Hanne