Purple Passion

You know I love sampler blocks, don’t you ?
I want to make a quilt with a mix of blocks from both Nearly Insane and Just Plain Nuts – just for fun.
I want to show you how I do these blocks.

Just Plain Nuts block 16 – foundation paper pieced

Remember to leave extra seam allowance around the edge – a block that is foundation paper pieced will shrink a little when you remove the paper.
Remove the paper before cutting a block to size.

Nearly Insane block 21

Here it can be convenient to pick the paper off the white sashing strips when you have cut the strips to the right width, including seam allowance! It is easy to sew along the pieced strips.

Hanne

Finishes, Wisps and Dreams :-)

C

I think I will start by showing you my new project, in the Dream section - Cornelian, by Helen Stubbings.

This has been on my Dream list for a while, and now it is here, ready to be started.
As I already have made a big red/pink quilt this year, this one will be blue, and it will keep me occupied for the a long time ;-)

I am very happy with my latest finishes:

 Just Plain Nuts quilt !!

 Ring of Roses table runner

Toiletry bag and make up purse for my favourite niece (the one and only) :-)

From a pile of blocks, through several stages of completion, to a finished quilt in a short period of time!

The stars are hand pieced, and have been done for more than a year, the sashings are machine pieced, and Merete has done the machine quilting for me this week.
This is a BOM from Lappemakeriet, with fabric kit - Snippespekulasier.
As much as I love big quilts and BOMs, I am off the BOMs for a while now.
I have the attention span of a mosquito when it comes to follow the project through through a whole year, block by block. My mind and my quilt urges are always somewhere else after 12 months.
I wonder if it can be called a flaw or if it is quite common?
If I have all the patterns so I can work in my own speed, it is a whole other matter :-)

I have a few more BOMs in several stages of completion here in Quilt Corner.
I WILL finish them all through the next 12 months - promise to self!

I got the quilt back from Merete, the machine quilter Thursday evening, and yesterday I did all the 8 meters of binding. It is a big quilt, fit for a single bed.

.

DD2 has just moved out, to study in another part of Norway, and we will buy a new bed for her old room. This quilt will be perfect for the new bed.

Sometimes a quilt needs repair - especially if it has met cat claws - long story - not the cat's fault reallly.
She could not resist the smell of me on a quilt she was not allowed to use, and DH put it in the wrong spot by accident.
The repair has been due for a long time (2 years) and I got the fabric from a lovely fellow blogger:
Now, finally, I was in the mood for fuzzy cutting repair, and with the new tools of applique glue and the thin Superior thread, the 2 repairs on this blocks are hardly visible.
 Even the machine quilting had to be repaired. I bet you can not see the repairs even if you click on the block photo for enlargement.

I had planned to post my current Wisps ( Work in Slow Progress) in this post too, but I think I will give you a break and post more later ;-)

So far I have 19 finishes this summer since we started Tour de Fibre in late June - Go Me :-))

Time flies!

Time flies when you are having fun - and time flies in general.........

It is time for an update, isn't it?

The computer is still stone dead, and it is in the shop for the 3rd time.
If it can not be fixed now, I will get a new one from the shop, as the warranty is still good.
I hope the problem will be solved shortly, as this old computer belonging to DH is not my favourite, as it does not have the software or the capasity to handle the programs I need, including my ususal photo and blog programs.

The cat has recovered, and is again her happy self. She refuses to rest far from the door now, so her chair had to be moved next to the veranda door. I guess she is afraid the door and the great outdoors will disappear if she does not watch over both.

Both DDs are back at university, and we had the pleasure of driving DD2 and a lot of her belongings to Trondheim in the beginning of the month.

We combined that trip with visiting family in the area, and we had some lovely days.

For several years we  have wanted to visit the Grip Island, an island 14 kilometers out in the North Sea.
The island used to be the home for around 100 persons, but has not anyone living there permanently anymore. The houses are very well kept and are used as vacation houses for those living there before and their families.

The traditional Norwegian wood church is from the 1300s.

Can you spot the light house above - the resque and hope of the sea men.

You can read more about Grip Island here.

Other that the top photo in this post, my Just Plain Nuts quilt in Show & Tell at Kathrine's happening the other day, I find that I have to make more than the 1 planned post, as it has been busy in the Quilt Corner lately.
Not to bad after all, eh? :-)

Tour de Fibre–catching up

It has been nearly 3 weeks since I last blogged…..
It was not intended, but life happened, in so many ways – some good, some not so good.

Here are some of the good things – my finishes :-)
Above – the Just Plain Nuts quilt is done, binding and all. I wonder if I should put a sleeve on the back, as the quilt is going to Birmingham with my machine quilter shortly.

I got a small piece of this New York fabric for my birthday, just the right size to make DD2 a small coin purse for her birthday.
You might remember she lived in New York a year ago, and I got to visit her in April last year.

We were together with friends when this fabric was bought, in the shop The City Quilter in New York and we have been to some of the places on the fabric together, like Grand Central Station and Greenwich Village :-)

Makeup purse for a good friend’s birthday  – I wish you Magical Happiness, always :-)

Digging into the Ufos and Wisps:

The stitchery says: Relax, it will be Christmas anyway:
How true, and something to keep in mind in a few months :-)

I had 3 care quilt tops ready to be quilted. Now they are done, and sent in to the care quilt coordinator.

I have lost the passion for making care quilts, so these are the last ones from my sewing machine.
14 years,
over 100 care quilts,
and a gazillion hours "in the service".
I wonder how many yards of fabric, how many yards of batting, how many spools of thread, and hours of driving I have been putting into the care quilt project over the years. Not few......

Life goes on, and it is good to take inventory and move forward.
More time to focus and quilt on :-)

These potholders are made from the best pieces of an old denim shirt, and is part of a gift for my favourite brother in law, who is a passionate BBQ man, together with a good steak knife and a box of marinade seasoning.

This stitchery is just framed with a binding, like the traditional tablecloth style, and the stitchery do not have any knots or threads wandering on the back side either. My craft teacher from school would be proud of me :-)

What happened to the angel quilt?
The top is done, but I have not done any machine quilting yet.

Hanne

Like a puzzle

I must admit I am a bit surprised about how good this quilt is going to look :-)
I am looking forward to be finished shortly.
In my mind I am already thinking about other projects.

Hanne

Never a dull moment……

Not that I think that you think I am sitting with my hands in my lap…… :-)

It is not enough to take steps
which may some day lead to a goal;
each step must be itself a goal and a step likewise.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Hanne