Busy week

It has been a busy week.
I am working on a secret project that I am not at liberty to blog about again,
and in between I have been doing a little applique on Some Kind of Wonderful
+ a star from last year’s class with Sue Daley.
I could not find the background fabric for the star, but as I found it the other day, I could finish the star :-)
The SKoW block still lacks some stitchery.

What is happiness
but the simple harmony
between a quilter and the life she leads?

Hanne

One stitch at a time

One more block for Some Kind of Wonderful quilt done!

The next block is in the making.

A stitch in time saves nine
(if you take care of a problem while it's small you won't have a bigger problem to deal with later)
or,
as Dr. Who likes to say: A stitch in time takes up space!

Hanne

A busy week

One more block of Some Kind of Wonderful quilt :-)

I was so lucky to get 2 Tunisian crochet hooks, and I had to test them.
Dish cloths are good test products :-)

My friend Bjørg has had a productive summer - it is very inspiring to see her work.

Now my stitchery is packed for a week of vacation in the sun - see you in a week!

Every now and then,
when the world sits just right,
a gentle breath of heaven
fills my soul with delight...
~Hazelmarie ‘Mattie’ Elliott, A Breath of Heaven

Hanne

The best things in my life …….

are handmade -
like this wonderful angel I got as a gift from May Britt recently.
Miss Angel is watching over my sewing corner every day.

- like these gorgeous hand painted buttons I got as a surprise gift from Yvonne
I am in awe for the wonderful miniature details. The star is only 1 5/8" big.

It is so nice when I have request sewing from my loved ones - DD2 wanting to give her cousin a toiletry purse like her own, and me having the pleasure of sewing it, with fabrics picked by DD2 in my fabric collection.
She picked a lovely lining too, and I think it was a good thing to do, to have the best fabric as a lining.
There will always be other "best fabrics" in my sewing corner, all the time, why not just use them :-)

DD2 has bought good things for her cousin, to put in the purse, to make a wonderful girlie birthday gift :-)

I am so in to this project - even if I did not expect myself to have the perseverance to keep on keeping on at this project only (more or less) for 3 weeks.
I am not working equally fast on the blocks all the time though, but I am getting there - aiming at finishing all the applique blocks before long.

Friendship is sewn with love and measured by kindness.

Hanne

Never a dull moment :-)

It looks like I can not stop making these blocks - I am hooked :-)
I just had to spread my finished blocks on the dining room table today, and it absolutely helps on keeping the motivation too.
I so love the soft colours on the applique and the different light backgrounds.

Hanne

Some Kind of Wonderful is wonderful :-)

I dedicated the shoe block in this quilt to DD2, and I am dedicating this cat block to DD1, who brought us Miss Cat, aka the furball, aka Tullerusk or Rusket, into our lives.

What is not to like with a sleeping cat?
I wonder what she is dreaming about…… nibbling on mice maybe……. she made funny noises in her sleep :-)

After deciding that I am doing the Some Kind of Wonderful blocks in very un-numeric order, the good feeling for this project is back.
In less than 2 weeks this is my progress, and now I  have 8 more blocks to go.
The last 8 are more work intensive, so I will need more time to make them, but one stitch at a time, they will be made.

The pile of blocks is growing :-)

May the colours of your life be bright,
and the threads in your life very strong

Hanne

New shoes

Since I never walk with high heels, I dedicate these simply gorgeous shoes to DD2.
She loves shoes, and she even works in a shoe store this year.

I do not think she owns red shoes……….

Did I mention how much fun I am having making these blocks for the Some Kind of Wonderful quilt ?

When DD2 came home from a year in New York, she came home with a lot of shoes and boots, so the other day a lot of old shoes and boots left the building.
I think I have shared the house with a centipede - also called Thousand Legs in Norwegian :-)

Family and friends make a house a home
and with a quilt of friends, it will never be cold

Hanne

Sunday stitches

I have not seen many butterflies this summer - it has been to cold, to rainy and to windy.
Making one is nice then :-)
I am soon done with the simple blocks on this quilt, so I guess I must push the pedal to the metal if I want to make good progress.

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well,
the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.
~Dale Carnegie

Hanne

A block a day…….

….. keeps the quilting blues away - or something like that ;-)


Today I could sit outdoors for a while too. It was so nice.
Can you see the sky reflecting in my veranda glass table?

Passion:
There are some things in life that catch your eye, and then, there are those that capture your heart.
Pursue those.

Hanne

I am having fun :-)

After deciding that I will do this quilt "my way", the F is back in Fun :-)
I am focusing on doing the applique blocks - first the applique, then adding the stitchery, 2- 3 blocks at a time.

Doing the stitchery is perfect while watching (listening) to the Olympic Games on TV.
DH enjoys watching, and my sewing corner is in the same room.

I do enjoy doing the blocks Bingo Style - picking the blocks I want to do first, regardless of where they will be in the quilt later. There will always be a block to do first as I move along.
This is how I made my Dear Jane quilt and my Nearly Insane quilt, and it works for me :-)

I will not give sashing and borders another thought before all the blocks are done.

These 2 blocks I finished this morning.

I feed my soul...by the stitches I sew

Hanne

This & That - and a Christmas surprise in August

I am in applique mood, and right now I am in the mood for more summer colours than the red and white you have been seeing lately.
We are not having much summer, so the light, bright colours are nice to work with.

I guess my brain is not tuned in to doing a project starting with block 1 and ending with block 20-something.
I have recently come to the conclusion that I am a mess when it comes to follow a very strict A-Z quilting plan, and I am hereby confessing in public.

I decided to give this project some full days attention, and it is paying off.
I now have a lot of finished appliqued blocks - the 3 blocks below lacking stitchery.
Not long ago I asked Chookyblue, who is the hostess of the SKoW online BOM, if it is ok to do the blocks  bingo style instead of in numeric order, so now I can post without feeling like a mess.
That put the joy back in the project again - thanks a lot Chookyblue :-)

Looking through my project box I find that 4 out of 5 projects are applique and stitchery combined, in one way or the other - the same 4 projects are also of Australian design…..
The last project is my own design.
Do not worry - I do have more projects than this - these are on my current short list - the others are put away for now.

Miss Cat could not care less about my projects as long as she is allowed to rest in her chair, on a quilt, looking her very best :-)

Christmas in August :-)
The postman brought a packet from Melanie for participating in Scandinavian Christmas online BOM.

Thank you very much Melanie!
I am not done with the BOM - but I do still enjoy the process, and the quilt will decorate my home for Christmas - that I can promise :-)

I love gingerbread cookies -  my favourite Christmas cookie - and these were home made and very tasty with my afternoon coffee.

The cute coaster is pinned to the wall in my quilt corner to remind me not to forget that SC quilt will be done this year :-)
I will enjoy the hot chocolate one of these cold, rainy summer days, while working on the blocks.

A creative mess is better than tidy idleness -
I am a Project Management Flunkie!

Hanne