It is better to give...

I love giving gifts. I love really thinking about the person I am going to make something for so it becomes personal. As I get to know people, making gifts for someone becomes great fun.


This week has been packed in the first two days. It has been filled with friends yielding their needles. I spent Monday afternoon with my two lacemaking friends. Jannie has inspired me to try a project that I hope to start with her advice in the autumn so you will see more about that later.

Sonja had a birthday back in May. We did not see her then as she was away. I had given her part of her gift a couple of weeks ago when I saw her up at Cranberry Cottage. She remarked once about how fun she thought florkjes were when we were out so I got her some.


Her other part of the birthday gift I gave her on Monday. I found this sweet little rack in a garden center and immediately thought of her. She loves stitching little hearts. I made her two fabric Tilda hearts and the other two hooks she could fill with her own creations. She has it hanging and it looks so pretty to see her stitched hearts on it. You can see them on her blog.


Then yesterday, I was off to visit Dutch blogger Annemarie who was hosting the Sip 'N Stitch this time. We wanted to especially go to her house in July which you will see why in just a moment but after changing my mind three times about her gift, I decided on a new Moda Bake Shop pattern and a little book for her son Pelle.


This honeybun giant pincushion is a recent addition to Moda Bake Shop and was fun to sew together. I decided to jazz it up a little with some beads and buttons though.

One of the fun things about this pincushion is that it can be used on both sides which gives you the idea of having two pincushions. One side had the brighter of the pinks prominent which looked spring/summer...


...while the other side was a dusty pink making it look more autumn/winter.


Now why did Annemarie HAVE to host the July Sip 'N Stitch you ask? Why this sweet little guy of course! Pantoef is her new little kitten and we all were looking forward to see him as the newest member of our little group.

Pantoef found his friend for the day in Harmien and decided to settle down for a nice long nap. If only she would sit still instead of stitching all afternoon...meow...

I am off to rest for today with my needle in hand. After two days of fun with other stitchers, I am happy to have a quiet day at home.

Summer days...

...are days that can be spent doing things like sailing the ocean blue...

This block is a Dutch sailboat called a "botter". I am making these for our Dutch block swap which is the next step after having made these for a group in America. We decided that we wanted to swap the Dutch blocks we made previously with each other. If you want to see more about this swap, just click here and here. We will be receiving each others blocks during the September quilt evening.

...among the stars in the summer sky...

Centennial Star block for my Centennial Sampler quilt.

...or being in the company of friends...

My latest progress photo of the 10 Virgins. I still feel like this is going slowly but have two new "friends" completed to join me while I stitch farther.

...sitting in the garden doing hand patchwork...

My quilt friend Saskia came last week for an afternoon in my garden working on our Centennial Sampler blocks and having goodies and dinner. I completed a pink and brown Churn Dash block and she the Grandmother's Fan.

...but so much activity sometimes leaves me seeing double!...

I only discovered afterwards that I had already sewn a Churn Dash block so now I have to make an extra block for the correct amount for my sampler. I will use one of these on the back for my quilt lable.

I hope you are enjoying your summer days with a needle and thread!

Fisherman's giveaway quilt fabric winner is...Hazel. Enjoy the fabric!

Primitive ornaments SAL - Joy To The World

The 8th primitive ornament is a host of sweet little angels...

Click on the handwritten chart and copy to a Word document or email to print out the chart.

These ornaments can be hung in a small tree or garland or attached to a wreath...

Calling all fishermen?

I am starting to clear out my quilt studio so I can make some changes in how it is set up. This room needs so attention so it can once again be the haven it was to me before I moved rooms. It means going through a lot of items to organize things once again. I am selling a number of items online but something I came across today made me decide to offer it here on my blog to someone who would like it and put it to use.

Years ago, I purchased this fabric and pattern to make a medallion quilt for my brother Bill. He has a collection of duck decoys that he painted himself and I thought the quilt would look really nice in his house along with a series of stitched duck pillows. Sorry but I don't have photos of any of the things I made him as it was long before the age of internet and blogging.

I have come across the panel and fabrics that were left over after making the quilt. There is enough fabric here to make another small wallhanging, backpak or tote bag or anything your imagination desires. I would love to know this excess fabric is being used but don't have anyone in my family to make such a quilt for. Any ladies out there with a fisherman in the family that would be interested in this fabric? I would love to send it to you so you can make use of it. Just leave me a comment with your email address or use the email on my profile page. I will get this in the mail to you right away.

On Wednesday (July 15th), the next Primitive Ornament will be online so if you have any photos to share of previous ornaments, please email me before Wednesday.

Fickle stitcher

Yes, that is me! I have been trying to work on a rotation with all my WIPs which I hear works so well for many stitchers out there. It has left me feeling like I work a little on each project never nearing a finish. Of course, it does not help that I have so many project going at once.


So I decided to deviate from my fickle ways and concentrate on a project until it is finished. I had my fickle moments of decisions of course too. Which to choose??? I love them all and want them all finished. With no fairy godmother in sight, I just had to use the 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe' method and my 'Giggly Girls' won. Now my last update of the 10 Virgins can be seen here on my old blog. It has been a long while so it was high time to give these ladies some attention. I am really enjoying watching this wonderful sampler that Gigi created come together.

I have many projects waiting on finishing also so I decided to try and set a goal to finish at least two projects a month. I am also trying to use more of what I have instead of buying more. I have two of my Ohio samplers ready for framing. This one has been now framed in a frame that I got out of my frame basket. I love buying a pretty or unusual frame when I see it. I keep them all together in a basket. It did not fit well since I had planned on a smaller frame but liked how this one looked with the design. Time for creative thinkng. When I have a problem with my linen being to tight a fit to lace the stitching, I sew it like a pillow case using muslin on the back. The nice thing about this way of framing is that it also fits tightly when cardboard is inserted. Excuse the poor lighting on the photo. I was too anxious to do a blog entry and it is too late in the evening for my camera to get a good shot.

I have not been quilting since I got sick but decided that I want to start doing a little. Right now I need to get a large stack of fabrics traced and cut for my second charm quilt for this year. This is a true charm quilt with anything goes. It is going to be simply colorful and fun. My first charm quilt (made early in the year) is fast becoming one of my favorite quilts and very useful for a chilly evening.

Do you do a project rotation for your WIPs? Do you find it works for you? Please console me and tell me that you have stacks of things awaiting your attention... *grins*

Christmas in July

Since 1999, I have been having Christmas in July celebrations with my quilt group. The current group started in the autumn of 2001 as a second group and this group is still together. I enjoy having these 12 ladies here each month and coming up with fun ideas for us to work on. Often they are things I design myself but sometimes I come across something and just know it will be great for us to do. This patchwork charm wreath is one of those things. I saw it on Bep's blog. She has a quilt shop in the east of Holland.


This is my version of the wreath using two charm packs from Moda. They are from the Mistletoe Manor collection. I added little pinecone Christmas ornaments. This was fun to make and I am going to do one now for autumn.

What better to try and forget our summer heat this year but making a Christmas project while enjoying a Christmas picnic and seeing a little Christmas tree. I still have the tree up in my living room hoping it will cool me off. *grins*

Please note this special little slideshow for a special friend! Saskia organized the 6 volunteers for our Christmas picnic and did a mini version of our annual Christmas party. I do quizzes for them each year at our party where they can win prizes. She make us all a mini Christmas cracker and then had 2 play a 'name a quilt block' game which had a different color prize in their cracker. She then cleaned up my entire living room and even put my furniture back in place while I was not looking. She is a gem! Thank you so much Saskia!

At our High Tea, she asked me why there were no photos of her. Well, she took my camera and shot many of the photos of the group. I teased her that she cannot take the photos and be in them at the same time so this slideshow is for you Saskia...