All My Scattering Moments

A heartwarming giveaway...

2012-01-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Three days left in January including today and guess what??? I am sticking to my UFOs only so far. Yep...no new starts as hard as it is. My willpower is holding its own although the temptations are great indeed! *grins*

I spent some time yesterday afternoon setting up my Valentine's tree and a few decorations here and there. I now have to get my red quilts out to hang on my quilt ladder today. While getting things out, I came across my heart penny rug candle mat. I have never used this after making it for a tutorial back in 2008. So I thought it would be fun to give this to one of you to say Happy Valentine's Day and celebrate my achieving my goals of no new starts for January's end.

If you would like a chance to win this penny rug, just leave a comment on this post. If you do not have a blog yourself, please include your email address on your comment so I can contact you if you do win. I am pulling the winner's name on Wednesday, February 1st when I will also start a new project. A day of double celebrating being able to have the excitement of a new start along with sharing something I made with one of you! Good luck...

Just a note...those who commented on my last blog post will receive an extra chance at this giveaway. Thank you so much for your comments!

Friends old and new...

2012-01-27T05:27:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh when I read the comments on my last blog post. You see...someone who knows me well now for a while commented that it was easy for me to promise no new starts in January. No my dear Joke; it is not an easy promise to make! I can get myself into major trouble with new starts with just a day left to the year let alone the six days I had at the time. I am resisting all temptations which is not easy...

You see...I received my first issue of Mollie Makes in the morning mail. Oh my! This is such a beautiful magazine and inspires you until your head spins. There was even a beautiful little package of cotton trim included. So I took a UFO break with a pot of tea at my side to look through the pages. I first heard about this magazine some time ago on Christine's blog. Since I had no way to see it, I looked into it online. I still could not find enough information to decide I would subscribe. Then I saw one in my local magazine shop when I went to purchase my monthly British Country Living magazine. It was wonderful but the price wasn't at 12,50 euros for one issue. I did however decide to get a subscription.

And Joke, if you do not believe me just look at this...

I have two crochet and one stitching project all lined up to get started. I will not start them in January....I WILL NOT start them in January....I will not start them in JANUARY! *grins*

And now back to my granny square afghan UFO and Christmas pillow UFO... You see I am really trying to be a good girl.

Stringing along some finishes...

2012-01-25T10:40:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for the wonderful comments with your own reminiscences about family heirlooms in my last blog post. It was so heartwarming to read them all! I have been wearing my scarf and it keeps me warm inside and out due to the connection to my grandmother. I think of her when I put it on.

I now have my 5th finish for 2012...woohoo! It is really addicting to pick up UFOs and finish them. Actually there is a 6th finish but it is a secret for a little while longer. *grins*

I made a Celtic knot ornament in bobbinlace. It has been on my lace cushion forever waiting for the last curve to be stitched. In 2011, I had two lace finishes one of which was this tree which was completed but needed stringing to help it stand as it hangs in the Christmas tree. My other finish was the singing angel.

Bobbinlace has taken a backseat to my stitching, quilting and crocheting but I am trying to keep a little on the go to be sure I do not loose the knowledge of how to make it. I am now going to start a larger project on my lace cushion. For now though it is back to a crochet UFO which I pulled out. I have decided that there will be no new projects in January giving me a great deal of time to get some projects cleared up sitting in my studio.

Fingers crossed that there will be another happy dance before this month is out. *wink*

I love Granny!

2012-01-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

I grew up with the sweetest, most magical grandmother on earth! She was so special and I just loved her to bits. In my memories of her, she would sit for hours in her special chair and crochet the hours away. Those beautiful hands of a very old lady creating afghans and tablecloths. Everyone in my family have some items she made. One of the things I have is a granny square throw she made once at my mother's house. My mother got out a big bag of scrap yarns and dumped the bag out at her feet. She got to work using up the scraps and this is the result...

Dagi decided to help model the afghan. *wink* This afghan inspired me to grab a number of various colors from my yarn stash...yes, I now have yarn stash and lots of it...and my grandmother's crochet hook...this was one my mother brought to me...and started crocheting...

I had seen the pattern (Flower in a square) on for this block on Sucrette's blog. It was perfect for my spin on my granny's granny square afghan come scarf.

Here is the result which I am just totally thrilled about. I told my mother that my Gramcrackers (as I called her) made it since it was done with her own crochet hook. *grins*

It is not even the end of January and I have three crochet finishes under my belt...woohoo! I am really hooked on these UFO finishes. I had been working on this since the autumn so it was also a UFO. I decided to keep up the challenge and turn up the rate to maybe 4 or 5 finishes before I can start something new for myself. Once you get started challenging yourself, it comes easier than you think. How about trying it too?

Framed!

2012-01-15T10:30:00.000-08:00

Way back in July of last year, I happy danced my way to you with this Quaker Row sampler. I stitched it up and for some reason, it sat unnoticed. This past week when I discovered it while sorting out things dumped in a room upstairs when we moved in a year ago. I am going to create a second guest room in this space. I have no idea how I forgot about this until now. I even had the fabrics I was considering to use with it for the framing set aside with it. I choose the fabric and Jos helped me get it into the frame. In my bid to use what I have, I used a frame that had a poster in it that I was no longer using.

I am really glad that I have a first stitched finished piece for this year. I have decided to give myself what I am calling my '2 for 1' challenge. I have to finish two UFOs before I can start a new project. I have finished two UFOs already this year and my new project is a gift I am making which I cannot share for a little while. I am also working on a bigger quilt UFO at the moment. It is going well and I hope to share it soon. I am also grabbing a crochet UFO tonight to get busy with. It will be fun to keep a quilt, stitching, crochet and bobbinlace UFO going side by side. I work on things I am in the mood for unless it is a gift that has to be finished so keeping the various things going works for me.

Anyone else out there in blogland working on clearing out their UFOs this year?

Hooked on finishes!

2012-01-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

I had said I was going to review my year of crocheting in this post. What a year it has been! Now I can also show you my first two finishes for 2012 before I share my 2011 finishes. I have been beavering away at a rather large afghan for my husband. I had been wanting to try a ripple afghan and found this pattern which I adapted a little to make more masculine.

He is 6' 5" so this had to be long enough to cover him well. The afghan is 6 foot in length. It contains more than 1300grams of yarn so should be nice and warm for the winter months. Yes...I am still hoping for a couple of real winter weeks here in Holland. *grins*

The afghan matches our couches perfectly. I had fun making this ripple pattern and my next goal will be to try a granny ripple but first I want to finish a couple of other crochet projects that I already have going.

I received a crochet pattern calender 2012 from my mother for Christmas. One of the first patterns for January was a ribbon scarf. I wanted to make something for a dear friend's birthday and this was just the thing. She is a member of my quilt group. Our group is named De Gouden Draad Quilt Groep which translates The Golden Thread Quilt Group. I had this ribbon yarn with hues of gold.

This is not a scarf for warmth but almost a piece of jewelry. It is worn as an accent to an outfit. I hope you enjoy wearing it Bep (no blog)!

Here is a scarf I made in December 2011 for Ginny. I could not show it until she received it in the mail which I found out this week that it arrived. She has read my blog since almost the beginning and I thought it would be fun to surprise her with this red neck warmer. Now all she needs is some winter snow to go with it. *wink*

Crochet finishes for 2011:

Red lacey scarf - giveaway for Catherine

Red neck warmer for Ginny

Red double cowl for my mother

Pink angora cowl for my mother

4 blue and white coasters - gifts

4 hot cocoa mug cozies - gifts

blue and grey scubbie -gift

blue and grey pan handle cozy - gift

blue and white magic hot pad - gift

Project basket

Freedom Poncho

Shell dishcloth

Black, grey and white cowl for Barbara

Granny stripe poncho

Purple double flowers scarf

Denim cowl - giveaway for Barb

Brown-black cowl

Purple cowl

Granny square stool cover

Japanese flower scarf

Kitchen twine potholders

Baby blanket for Abigail Lynn

Brown variegated scarf and beret

Grey angora wristies

More finishes from 2011 and stitching goals completed...

2012-01-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

I was a busy elf in December and worked on a number of gifts. It was why I was so quiet on the blog with my nose to the grindstone.

I participated in an ornament swap with some friends in an online housekeeping group. I made them each a patchwork tree...

Our theme this year for the Christmas party gift exchange was cloth napkins. I got napkins made of batik fabrics with a Christmas/winter look. I used them when I set the table and really love them. Elly S made them for me.

I had Joke's name and she wrote about using silver and crystal on her table during the holidays. I knew as soon as I read this that I was going to use this blue, grey and silver metallic fabric. It brought to mind her table setting.

I finished them and then decided that she needed a special quilted pouch to hold the napkins when they are put away.

I spent every moment I could working on 13 crochet gifts for the door prizes this year for the quilt group. I made 4 hot cocoa mug warmers, 4 coasters for large tea mugs, a magic hot pad, a scrubbie, a pan handle pot holder (slips onto the handle) and two crazy quilt pincushion...one made in an egg cup and the other in a sunflower tea light holder. I totally forgot to take photos of the gifts before I packed them up so this photo is the best I can do to show you what I made. *grins*

I had made an extra set of napkins for Mieke. I was concerned the person who had her name would not make it and wanted to be sure she had a gift. I took some fabrics from my stash and created a set of green and gold tree napkins for her.

2011 was a year of stitching also and here are the projects I was able to complete last year:

Simplify
Christmas tree pillows - Christmas
Holly and berries
Natale
Poinsettias
Noel
14 Sajou letter ort jars
Blessing to all pillow
Dagi's sampler wall - Crows, Corn and Cats
C is for Cat
Rosie
S. Claws
Minerva cat sampler
Alsace Heart ornament
Little Red Riding Hood Christmas pillow

Next time I will review my year of crocheting...

Quilts in 2011

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have been neglecting my blog once again but it is because I am really busy with Chirstmas 2012. Yes...I said 2012. Tomorrow evening is the start of my quilt group's new year and new theme. I am really looking forward to this year! It is exciting to start a new theme at the best of times and this year should be really fun. So I have been working on the design which I will keep that under wraps until I have had my evening and can post a few sneak peeks. So stay tuned...

I had my friend Sonja and her husband over for dinner on 2nd Christmas Day (December 26th is still a holiday here in Holland). We had been out one Saturday afternoon and I found this jolly wooden Santa in a shop. I knew as soon as I saw it that he needed to hold this...

I grabbed my Christmas fabric stash and got started making St. Nick his very own quilt. I am afraid I no longer know what size it as I forgot to measure it before I wrapped it but it is small. The pieces of the four-patch blocks are only 1 inch each. A label to mark the date and some wrapping...

Off the Santa and quilt went to live at Sonja's house...

I had a pretty good year for my finishes. I will reflect on them as I post in the coming week. I like to think back and see that I accomplished more than I thought while setting some fun goals for the new year. Here is a list of my quilt finishes for 2011...

Merry Christmas mini quilt for Mike and Sonja
Tree shaped cloth napkins for Mieke
Black crazy quilt heart hanger for my mother
Tree shaped cloth napkins and quilted holder for Joke
Lucy's Little Stars doll quilt
Trees and house patchwork mobile
Civil War blocks patchwork bag
Vintage fabric cloth napkins for Tammy L
Quilted casserole cover for Saskia
Black heart crazy quilt hanger
Victorian's Not So Crazy doll's quilt
The Meaning of Christmas quilt

My Farmer's Wife sampler quilt, which was the quilt group theme for 2011, still needs the hand quilting completed so this is going to be my first UFO finish for 2012.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T00:06:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and my 2012 be a creative and inspiring new year.....

I love to give!

2011-12-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

I crocheted a white flower for the red scarf as I felt it needed something. It is now ready to be sent out to the winner. I just love giving gifts to people so a giveaway is great fun for me.

And the winner is...Catherine. I hope you will email me as soon as possible with your address so I can mail the red scarf to you. I would love you to have it in time for Christmas.

My mother and step father are back on American soil. They landed in Detroit about an hour and half ago so are awaiting their flight home now. On Monday, I made this crazy quilt heart for my mother just in time for her to pack it in her suitcase.

She wanted my heart I made this summer. We happened to find one last metal heart when we went to the shop where I purchased it while she was here so I got it for her. Now she has her own unique crazy quilt heart too. The photo looks dark with the black metal on my table. If you click on the link, you can see my heart hanging on my quilt studio door which shows it better. The metal heart is beautiful with its lacy cut edge.

The warmth of winning...

2011-12-11T01:46:00.000-08:00

We have a winner! I placed all the names in the random list generator and Barb's name came up at the top of the list. Barb and I are longstanding happy dancing partners. *grins* Please email me your address Barb so I can pop this package in the post for you.

But I am not stopping there. I made this lacy look red festive scarf which I am now crocheting a white flower for. This will be ready to send off in a couple of days so let's have another giveaway. If you would like to enter, then again leave a comment on this post and leave your email if you are not a blogger so I can contact you if you win please. I will draw a name on Tuesday, December 13th. I want to be able to get this scarf out to the winner in time for the holidays.

Hope you will give it another try and sign up for this red scarf to wear during the Christmas season...

A giveaway to keep you warm...

2011-12-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

Have I been away that long from blogland? My mother and step father decided spontaneously to come to visit for two weeks. I was already having trouble being able to blog as I am busy making 13 gifts for my quilt group Christmas party and my swap gift for the party. As you can imagine, it is all top secret until after the party. It is also a busy time as I decorate the house for Christmas.

In the meantime, a gift to my blogging friend Barbara arrived. I was so pleased she likes it (photo above). I made her a cowl of her own which you can see above.

I had made this blue one for my mother but now she decided that she wanted a red one instead. I already crocheted her a cowl just after she arrived last week. She and I thought it would be a good idea to give away the blue cowl. Here it is and it could be keeping you warm for the winter if you leave a comment on this blog entry. If you are not a blogger, you must leave your email address in your comment in order to enter. I need to be able to contact you if you win. *grins* The giveaway is open until Sunday, December 11th. Good luck!

Edit: This giveaway is open to everyone no matter where you live. So yes, I will send it to Spain or any country if your name is drawn.

Autumn warmth.....

2011-10-28T06:15:00.000-07:00

It is autumn so that means wrapping up to keep warm as a chill enters the air. I had been wanting to make Martha Stewart's Freedom Poncho and decided I wanted to have it to wear now. I found this wonderful chunky yarn in a shop and it was perfect for it. I used this pattern link which I cannot seem to get to work today but want to share in as I think the site is being serviced. This poncho has a large fan trim and a roll neck.

I had 600 grams of the yarn and thought it was going to be enough. I ended up having to hunt for more of it which is not a problem since all the dye lots work together with this variegated yarn. So I went to 4 shops and one had one skein while the others had none. One of the girls called another shop for me but it just seemed to be all sold out. Jos suggested we look in the opposite direction of the middle of little Holland as they might have it in a different area. He was right! They put aside 3 more for me and Jos ran me over to get it last Saturday. I ended up needing 850 grams to complete the poncho.

I also ended up with 150 grams left over. So what to do? I did not want to put it in the already growing basket of scrap yarn. I had also been wanting to crochet my own project basket and here it is......

I looked up patterns online and tried two to no avail. I couldn't make either work well as my bottom waved higher than the North Sea in a storm. *wink* So after 7 attempts, I decided I would try one more time doing a bit of this and a bit of that to see if I could get it to work. It did! I have no idea exactly what I did so I can not make it again but I have my project basket...

I did not quite have enough yarn to get the height I want so I grabbed some solid grey yarn from my stash (yes, I now have yarn stash...lol) and changed my series of single crochet to one row of single and then a row of double crochets. I did this three times and did a last row of single crochet and a fan stitch on the last row to give it a nice edge to turn over. I left the row up on the last photo so you can see the fan stitch better. And look inside...

I already have a new project inside the basket. *grins*

Sorry I have been away for a while. Last week, I kept very busy and then had my scan at the hospital for my eyes. I was convince when my eyes stayed low pain and calm for 2 weeks and 5 days that maybe the disease was not active any longer. But it is awake and calling my name since yesterday. *sigh* Back on medication again but bearing up okay. I see the eye specialist in the beginning of November so will hear more then. In the meantime, the thyroid doctor is thinking he wants an immunologist to look at me. He had been sick over the summer when I should had seen him and only just learned about this development.

I also ended up Monday starting to feel unwell. By the evening, I had a bear of a soar throat. I also had terrible shakes and pain all over. Flu? No...just a bad fibromyalgia flare up due to having a viral bacteria in my throat. All well now and my FM is back to its normal pain levels. I am looking forward to doing lots of handwork over the weekend now.

Happy weekend!

Things are getting spooky!

2011-10-07T23:41:00.000-07:00

I am slowly starting to add my Halloween decorations to my autumn ones. This year, I decided I wanted to create a bowl of Halloween thread keepers as decoration. But I also wanted to make a bowl filler pillow to go with them. When I saw this freebie on Nan's blog ThreadworkPrimitives, I knew it would be just right. I sewed a piece of black and linen colored plaid to the bottom half and added a piece of lace made in black metallic thread. It looks like spiders webs doesn't it? The little stitched made above each zig zag is called a 'spider'. To each corner of the pillow, I added a black button to complete the pillow.

Combined with my black bead garland, I thought it looked really cute in my small dough bowl. The three thread keepers are by Isabella over at ThePrimitiveHare. I just love them!

I decided when I had the bowl done to keep it in my quilt studio. I put out a Halloween quilt too. And those pumpkins? You can see how they are made on my other blog on Monday.

Now I am off to hunt for my Halloween stitching UFO in my quilt studio to take to Cranberry Cottage.....

Lucy's Little Stars - A doll quilt

2011-10-06T08:07:00.001-07:00

I have many blog posts lined up to do but have found myself very slow paced. My eyes are worsening slowly and this week the pain has increased. I am hoping it is temporary. My sight is also becoming more blurred. I do not get out much at the moment as I will not drive when I feel this much pain but I am keeping my mind occupied with my needle and thread. That is just the best medicine!

I decided to challenge myself from now to the end of the year with finishing as many UFOs in my quilt studio as possible. I showed you my prettied up bag in my last post and now a little quilt finish. This is a doll quilt created from a star block challenge I did while in Kathleen Tracy's online group. I sewed seven of her little star blocks and set them on point. I then created a very scrappy border to surround the stars.

I called the quilt Lucy's Little Stars and my handmade label was sewn on last night to complete the project. It measures 15 by 20 inches. The combination of blues and browns give it an old fashioned look.

It was so much fun for me to hand quilt this! I do love the quilting process especially these doll quilts. I had the setting triangles to be able to use to play with some quilt stencils, changing things to make everything fit just right. There is something indescribable about the feel of my needle and thread going through the layers.

So this quilt has been added to my miniature armoire which is becoming full.

I have some ideas for changes on my bookshelves in the living room and want to place this cupboard in the shelving units. I will show you when I do it but first I have to read books to create an empty shelf. *grins* It is my hope that eventually the miniature armoire will be filled with only the doll challenge quilts by Kathleen. I am no longer in the group but still want to complete the challenge quilts along with the six American doll quilt club projects.

You can see the other doll quilts I have created using Kathleen's designs here, here and here.

Fun with finishes!

2011-09-28T03:02:00.000-07:00

This month, I entered Beth Twist's challenge of Heartstrings Around the World. This is the photo I sent to her which she selected to take part. It was fun seeing my photo among the others...

I received a wonderful pattern from her which I hope to start in the coming weeks. First, I have to spend more time with needle in hand as I have set myself a challenge to bring 2011 to a close. I want to cut back on the amount of UFOs I have in my quilt studio. I am not even thinking of those I stored upstairs when we moved in. I will move to some of those next year. Yikes!

My challenge is to use or complete some of the bits and pieces I have in my studio now. It will involve sometimes simply finishing a project. Other ones will mean rethinking something I am not happy with or needs a finish. This is the first finish from those UFOs and to read more about it, go to my blog TheCranberryChronicle by clicking on the blog name. I use this bag so often but it was not the nicest looking bag and I love it now that it has been "prettied up". *grins*

While we had our week up at Cranberry Cottage, I had also taken a ball of cotton yarn that is in my yarn basket in the studio. Part of this challenge is finally using the yarn I have bought for certain projects. This cotton yarn had a fabulous coloring which I bought in a little shop in the Mosel area of Germany. I used it to make this pretty crocheted dishcloth. I just love this shell pattern! It turned out to be just enough for one dishcloth as what you see in the darning needle is all the yarn I had left.

My current crochet UFO is coming along nicely but I will keep that for the next post but here is a peek...

Have any idea what it is? Off now to bake a cake for a SAL day tomorrow. Nice thing about baking a cake is that I can stitch a little while my cake is in the oven....

Dagi's sampler wall - Crows, Corn & Cats

2011-09-19T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for all my comments on my last entry about my Dagi sampler wall. I had mentioned that I kitted up the next design to take with me to Cranberry Cottage. I found a little scrap of 32-count evenweave fabric in my stash and used the recommended DMC colors with the exception of the cat in the lower right corner.

Since autumn has started here in Holland, it was fun to stitch this design while enjoying the time at the cottage. We had a couple of storms during the first few days we arrived so it was the 'purrfect' weather to stitch. Who am I kidding? Any weather is good weather to stitch in my book. *grins*

This is the cutest little design! It came out about 4 inches square stitching this 2 over 2. I kept the naughty cat climbing the corn stalk in black as this represents our neighbor cat. She has a rough life as an outdoor cat and is always here begging for Jos' attention. He fed her while the neighbors were away on summer vacation and since then...well...Jos has a girlfriend. *wink* She is black with little white tips on her paws. She is also quite a naughty little cat but then she does have to fend for herself outside at all hours with very little food to eat. Poor thing! Dagi is in the bottom corner looking at her antics. *grins*

My wall is taking shape and I am going to start another design this week. I hope to get out in the next week or so and see if I can find three more square frames. I need to be able to base my linen count on the frame size since those square frames are hard to find. Before I get back to another cat sampler, I want to stitch a Halloween design (already almost done) and do some crocheting. I am working on a gift. Oh how I love being an elf! *wink*

Don't forget you can click on any photos to see them in more detail...

All the cat sampler patterns are by The Goode Huswife.

C is for Cat - Dagi's sampler wall

2011-09-10T01:13:00.000-07:00

....is coming along now in leaps and bounds! I had set myself a goal to do this wall in 2011 and have realized that if I want to accomplish this goal, I am going to have to concentrate on it in the coming months. It is September and the year is approaching its end faster than we think. Why does time go by quicker each year???

I finished Chester who is not Chester but Dagi. I changed the colors once again to reflect my handsome little man about the house. He is quite in charge here in our house...meow. *grins* The colors I used are all DMC: 3033, 3782, 3032, 3790, 844 and 504, 502, 500. I tea dyed a piece of 30-count linen.

This design really does look like him. Dagi is a lilac tabby-ticked Mandarin or Javanese cat. When he was a kitten you could see his tabby stripes on his belly, paws and head. Now they are only visible a little on his forehead. He is starting to grow his lion's mane again in his neck so the cold weather is coming.

He was curious what I was doing and crawled into the antique cradle by my table. He was very unhappy at the fact that the cradle rocks though. Silly cat!

I have purchased a few frames for my upcoming designs. I still have 3 more frames I need to find all of which are square. They are more difficult to find. Since we are off to stay at Cranberry Cottage, I have kitted up the next design which is much simpler than Chester and I should have finished in no time. One of the cats will again be changed to Dagi's colors of course. It is an autumn design which is great for stitching in the woods as autumn begins! Can you see my smile? My favorite season is beginning!

Time flies!

2011-09-06T02:42:00.000-07:00

You know the old saying 'Time flies when you're having fun'? Well, where has 25 years gone? It cannot be 25 years can it since I am not even that old. *wink* But today, 25 years ago I arrived at Brussels Airport to start my life with Jos.

I arrived with two suitcases packed with clothes and stitching supplies hoping I was going to like this new life. I had no idea what was in store for me. Since then, I have learned the language but more importantly the country's spirit. I have become Dutch. Funny that when I was a little girl, my father used to always tell me "Don't be Dutch" which is a cute way to say don't be silly. I can still hear him saying it to me. *grins* Sorry Dad but here I am 25 years later....being Dutch.

I have met many wonderful people here in Holland and have had the good fortune to lead a group of ladies here in my own home for a monthly quilt group. One of them is Saskia. She was the very first person to call to join the group when I placed the pamplets at a quilt shop. She showed up at my house one late afternoon last month on her way home from work with this basket full of gifts and instructions. I was to open one gift a day until today, September 6th when I was to open the one gift with blue lace trim on it.

Each day for 24 days, I had a gift. All wonderful although Jos is claiming the cookies and licorice. I will share with the exception of those speculaas...well, maybe just one... *wink*

This morning I opened the final gift. I removed the lace holding the stitching to the roll and what did I find???

How cute is this? I will be making some patchwork around it and turning it into a very special little quilt in honor of a very dear quilt friend! I just love Saskia...my quilt sister! Thank you so much for making this silver anniversary that much more special Saskia!

In an hour, she and her mother will arrive. We are off to a country tea house for high tea. See you both soon...

Note: Thank you all for your warm and caring comments about my last post! I am still busy emailing each person individually if I am able to see your email address. Your thoughts and prayers mean very much to me! I feel very positive about this and will make it through. All of you are a big help in that process.

When things happen.....

2011-08-31T01:30:00.001-07:00

Sometimes life brings things into your path that turn life a bit upsidedown. This summer has brought something to my path that I could never have expected. I have been diagnosed with a rare and incurable eye disease called Graves orbitopathy. After having become very ill weeks after radioactive therapy for my thyroid, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease. It is so rare that only 1% of the patients develop thyroid eye disease.

I had been having severe eye pain for some time now and finally talked with my regular doctor about it in the summer. I had thought it was from my Fibromyalgia. She said she did not think it had anything to do with this condition and told me to be sure to tell my endocrinologist as I was due for my next check up. I had a new doctor temporarily who immediately suspected it was Graves. The eye specialist has now confirmed it this week.

The coming 3 to 8 months will be critical while the disease is active. He says there is nothing they can do until it runs its course. Only then will I know how much damage my eyes will have. They are keeping track of changes in my eyes and I will have a CAT scan done in October to see how much growth is taking place to the tissue around the inside of my eyes. All I can do is wait now.

I have days that I am not able to do much of anything with needle and thread but they are not constant thankfully. I do have trouble focusing but am learning to be patient with my eyes. There is a hazy spot now that I cannot seem to get rid of even using fake tears to keep my eye moist. I have a great deal of hope in me that the problems I am left with will be minimal once the active phase is passed.

You see...for me eyesight is something I have always been grateful for as I adore working with fine linen. I do hope that if I am not longer able to work on this linen that I will however be able to work with a larger count to continue my passion. But I know there are reasons for everything we encounter in life and I am more thankful than ever for all the wonderful things I have been able to make. They are taking on a whole new light to me at this moment. I am finding that each stitch I stitch or quilt is special and much more fulfilling if that is even possible. I do so love doing my needlework!

I am working away at my latest cat sampler and as you can see...Chester is now Dagi as I once again changed the colors. Dagi sat on my lap last evening as I worked it and I think he is pleased. We have hung all the frames I have up to now for my sampler wall. As soon as I finish this one and put it in its frame, I will share the wall with you...soon...very soon.

This is a long blog entry but bare with me for one more little item...

I showed you my new poncho in my last post which is keeping me warm in our cool summer weather. Now I found this video from Smithsonian Folkways which I just had to share. The song is so sweet and cannot help but make you smile but be sure to pay attention to the granny stripe and granny square ponchos. Love them!

I hope you enjoy each moment you can spend each day with needle and thread!!!

Happiness is a warm poncho!

2011-08-26T04:29:00.000-07:00

It is pretty chilly here in Holland so that is my motto for the coming weekend. Why is because I finished my granny stripe poncho early this week...

Oops! I see that I did not straighten it out when I laid it down to take a photo. Oh well...crooked or not, I love it and it keeps me warm. I was inspired by Hazel when she shared this pattern on Le Monde de Sucrette's blog. I loved it and thought why does it have to just be for kids??? Why indeed as I have now seen more granny stripe ponchos in blogland.

I was able to make mine for a super bargain price as it cost well under 5 euros for the yarn and I have a good deal left too. I used a 4.5cm crochet hook and started with a 112 chain stitches for my multiple of 8 which ended up being 14 granny square clusters to start. I finished it off with a row of single crochets around the neck and a shell edging along the bottom.

My mother says I had one of these same ponchos made by my grandmother as a little girl. Unfortunately, she cannot find a photo but I guess this is proof that I am still a little girl...right mother? *grins*

So I will be keeping warm with my poncho. You just have to be warm and happy in a poncho! My weekend will be busy working on my latest cat sampler. What about yours?

Have a happy and creative weekend with needle and thread!

Stop by my new book and food blog Bookshelves and StoveTops...

Fun with napkins!

2011-08-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Each year for my quilt group's Christmas party, I come up with a theme for gifts to exchange. I had been telling my homekeeping online group about my choice for this year's theme...cloth napkins. They decided that they also wanted to do this exchange so I got to make a practice run with them. *grins*

I had them fill in a questionnaire about their dishes and color choices when they set the table. I then gave each person their secret partner's answers. I had Tammy and these are the napkins I made for her.

The fabric is a vintage reproduction with a matching plaid for the back. The napkins are sewn in half circles and then folded and ironed to create a tree.

Tammy created a Christmas table setting to show the napkins after she received them. I am thrilled you like them Tammy as I had fun making them especially for you!

More SAL fun!

2011-08-19T03:43:00.001-07:00

It has been a while due to circumstances but Bep, Saskia and I had our 4th SAL day yesterday. We started the 4th pillow in this fun Christmas project. I decided to go ahead and string my first three pillows onto a piece of jute. I will add a new pillow now each time I finish. There are six in all so we have two more get togethers before our pillow tree is complete...

First a cup of coffee and something sweet to get us started...

After we finished our strawberry cream cakes, we put our finished pillows together for a photo and then started stitching the next one...

This is Rover who is a special someone in Saskia's life. He spent the day in the quilt studio watching over us...

We do pause for lunch of course! We have a theme each time we get together. We bring something to eat based on that theme. But doesn't the table look bare???

This time Saskia choose the theme of tapas (appetizers). We were supposed to make things along the idea of a tapas using meat for one, vegetable for a second and our own choice for the third. Here is my meat tapas which you can find the recipe for on my new food and book blog by clicking on BookshelvesAndStoveTops...

Not only was the table no longer bare...

There was a cornucopia of truly delicious food to eat...

It was a fabulously fun day Bep and Saskia and I am already looking forward to the next one!

P.S. - Don't forget to become a follower of my new blog to keep up with my recipes and book reviews.

Flowers to keep me warm.....

2011-08-08T01:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true. This winter, I will have purple flowers to keep me warm with this Japanese double flower scarf...

Someone had asked me to help her figure out a pattern. It is using a diagram instead of a written crochet pattern. I tested the flower with some yarn I had. I found I had to use one color since I did not have much of this thickness laying around. They are larger than the original flowers should be since I did use a thicker yarn. But what to do with two or three test flowers??? Why make a scarf for the upcoming winter of course. To add interest since these flowers are large, I sewed a glass bead in the middle of each flower.

The only problem this winter is going to be how to choose which of my new scarves to wear. *grins*

Remember my cat sampler wall?

2011-08-05T03:44:00.001-07:00

Well, if you do, I bet you think I forgot? Here is the story of the beginnings of this project if you want to look back. I became discouraged and set everything aside but more about the reason in a moment. Here is what I have finished up to now...

With three done, I am going to start putting them up on the wall soon and just keep adding to it. I had finished this sampler but decided to add Dagi name to the bottom. His name is Adagio and we call him Dagi for short. I needed a good frame for it which I found about a month after I finished it but did not frame it until this week. Here creeps in that discouraged feeling again. I loved this sampler so it should have been framed right away along with this one I did.

I just have you clicking all over the place to read on past posts, don't I? *wink*

Anyway, what discouraged me you ask? It was this little design (photo below). I did not like it. I used overdyed threads I had in stash and went with softer colors than this design called Rosie had recommended. But it is just so different and I ended up hating it and put it aside. I had it almost finished too. I was disheartened and did not pick the samplers up again for months.

Fresh eyes can help as I opened the booklet from The Goode Housewife again this week to find this staring me in the face. I filled in the last fews areas thinking it was not all as bad as I thought. But Rosie will have to be called Bunny Honey now after a name of one of the threads I used. To fit Bunny Honey well in her frame, I added a piece of well matched quilt fabric to the bottom. Nice new girlfriend for Dagi. *grins*

Threads used:

The Gentle Arts - Brandy

Crescent Colours - Bunny Honey, Chocolate Cream Pie, Copper Penny and Whatley Woodlands

So time to flip through the book and pick out another sampler. This time I am making Chester. Since I once again will change the colors to be the color of Dagi himself, I will be calling this Dagi instead of Chester of course.

I tea dyed a piece of fabric and pulled my colors. Just look at this gorgeous pattern!!! Wonder if you would notice if I just framed the pattern and hung it instead? Yeah...you would, wouldn't you so I guess I had better start stitching.

Have a creative weekend!

Farmer's life.....

2011-08-03T05:38:00.001-07:00

Time always passes so quickly and it is once again the first Wednesday of the month. That means time for the next quilt group evening. I have the newsletters ready and am off now to start setting up the studio for all the ladies to arrive. Here and the next four blocks for their Farmer's Wife Sampler...

Left to right: Squash blossom, Corn and beans, Rosebud and Cat and mice. Enlarge the photo for a better look.

As I looked for a farm theme painting to share with you on this post, I can across this painting by W.G. Hofker. It was painted in 1965 but he must have been inside my head as I would LOVE to live here! *grins* What a dream of a house...

I wish I could live here with my own Farmer's Wife sampler. It is coming along nicely and about half quilted now. I am looking forward to having it done and laying it out on my table. In the meantime, I am also enjoying making a red version of the quilt now too. I will have to start sewing these blocks together now as I have about half of them needed for the second sampler. But for now...time to get things ready for tonight...

A quick stitching fix.....

2011-07-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

I simply needed another quick stitching fix!

Yesterday, I pulled out a frame I had purchased a while back now and found this free chart from Primitive Betty's which worked perfectly for it.

And now it stands proud as a peacock (quite literally!) between two samplers on my living room wall.

Stitched on a scrap of Wilchelt Imports 32 count Jobelan Bay Rum - 2/2
DMC 844, 645 and 924

Christmas in July part three

2011-07-21T10:04:00.001-07:00

Each year for Christmas in July, I design or look for a fun extra project for my quilt group to do. I thought it would be fun to put it on my blog as a tutorial. It is a fun and simple pattern. It is a country patchwork mobile. Of course these could also be made as ornaments to hang in a tree.

Think seasons. I created this one in warm colors that work for autumn and winter. Why not make them for spring and summer too? You could use a floral fabric for the tree to create a summer rose topiary bush for example.

To begin...

Sew a series of scrap stripes together. You do not have to cut them the same size. I would recommend you have a little wider stripe at the bottom to make it easier to add your stem.

For my trees, I made sure I had a width of 10 inches. Iron the seams flat and fold the stripes with right sides together.

Now be creative and cut out a shape of a tree freehand. No two trees are exactly alike as are our patchwork trees. With the wide bottom stripe, create a section of about an inch hanging down lower (see photo) for attaching your stem later. Insert a small length of cord (about 7 or 8 inches folded in half) at the top of the tree between the layers for your hanger.

If you would like to use a trim of any kind, be sure to pin this in place between the seams before you start to sew your tree together. Begin sewing on one side and work your way around. You will be turning the patchwork through the section that your stem is attached to.

Turn your piece and stuff. Stitch around the bottom opening with a running stitch which you will pull closed after the next step.

Use a branch about the width of your pinkie and cut it to about 4 inches. Glue the branch about 1 inch deep and along the top. Insert this into the little opening. You will need an extra pairs of hands for this step but while you hold the stem in place pull the running stitch to close the end against your stem. Tie a double knot and snip off the threads. My glue fastened immediately.

For your patchwork house, cut the following pieces:

a - 2x 3-1/2 x 4 inch - roof

b - 4x 1 x 3-1/2 inch - house

c - 4x 1-1/4 x 1-1/2 inch - top windows front and back

d - 6x 1 x 1-1/2 inch - house beside windows

e - 1x 1-1/2 x 3 inch - front door

f - 1x 1-1/2 x 2 inch - front window

g - 1x 1 x 3 inch - house beside front door

h - 2x 3/4 x 2 inch - house beside front window

i - 1x 2 x 1-1/2 inch - house under front window

j - 3x 1 x 2 inch - house beside back windows

k - 2x 1-1/4 x 2 inch - back windows

l - 1x 3-1/2 x 1-1/2 inch - house

The diagram from below is from my newsletter and in Dutch but can be used to see the placement of all the pieces for sewing the patchwork. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

In order to create the correct angle for the roof, fold the fabric in half to mark the middle point. Lay your ruler on the point to the lower outer corner and cut the fabric along this edge.

Front of house...

Back of house...

Hang the ornaments on a branch. Use garden rope to hang the branch.

If you make this mobile or the ornaments, I would love to see them so please share a photo.

Christmas in July part two

2011-07-08T23:37:00.001-07:00

This year, I gave the ladies a bandana in either red or blue and challenged them to make something out of it. You were allowed to keep it whole or cut it up as long as you used it in your handmade gift. Each year, the quilt ladies creativity seems to grow. Here are the gifts from this year. You can enlarge this photo to get a good look.....

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a slideshow of our evening.....

Part three is next. I design or find a small project each year for the ladies. This year I designed a country mobile to hang in the window. I am going to share this project on my blog. It is very simple and can be sewn in no time so great for gifts.

Until my next post...have a creative and fun weekend!

'Christmas in July' part one

2011-07-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

There are two evenings that my quilt group really look forward to. One is our December Christmas party and the other is 'Christmas in July'. Last night, the ladies arrived with gifts and food in hand ready for laughter and a touch of Christmas in summer.

I had asked them to save me jam jars from a certain brand for a recipe I was going to use for the dessert for this evenings buffet. They did such a good job saving the jars that I had more than double what I needed. What does one do with all those jam jars? Why start stitching of course! I made ort jars out of them...

...with their initial using a vintage Sajou alphabet. I just love playing elf! *grins*

We exchange gifts at these evenings. I gave them all a bandana and the challenge to make something from them. I was looking forward to seeing the ideas they came up with but more about that in my next post. Here is my gift wrapped up in bandana wrapping paper ready to give away. Want to peek inside???

I kept the bandana whole and created a casserole carrier. I simply sewed backing and batting together with the bandana and then machine quilted it. I needed it to be strongly stitched so it can be tossed in the washing machine over and over.

Dutch gabled houses on ribbon were used for the handles.

I found a really pretty white casserole dish to add to the gift. After all a girl can never have too many casserole dishes, can she?

In the next post, I am creating a slide show of the fun. I will also be showing you more of the wonderful creative gifts that were made. Hope you come back again for more.....

Is it cold out yet???

2011-07-04T07:32:00.001-07:00

Remember when I made this? Well, I could not help myself and had to make another one. This one is much thicker as it was done with a specialty yarn. It really turned out nice and will be toasty warm. So is it cold yet???

And just for my mother who is pestering me (yes, I had all my hair cut off mother) to show it on myself...

By the way, I love making these and think I am going to go get more chunky yarn. *grins*

As promised.....

2011-06-29T03:17:00.000-07:00

After much frustration with attempts to blog this week, it has finally allowed me to download photos. I know others are also having problems so I am not alone. Not that it makes it less frustrating.

Finally, I can keep my promise to show you my Farmer's Wife sampler. I took this photo to share some time ago and since they have been working on the hand quilting. When it is not too hot, I am trying to quilt a block a day.

I am thrilled with the old fashioned look of this sampler. I think I have been under the influence of wanting to start rereading the Little House on the Prairie series along with watching the movie Sarah Plain and Tall again too. Oh....how I *love* that film! And to me this quilt looks like a prairie garden at the end of the summer. That is going to be reflected in the quilt's name which I will share only once I have finished the quilting. If the summer is not too hot then that should not be allllllll too long. *grins*

We have had three extremely hot days and when I was originally trying to post this blog entry I could do little more than sit at the laptop and drink one of these.....an iced coffee. I am also busy getting ready for next week. It is our annual 'Christmas in July' quilt evening. So many secret projects that I can only share with you after Wednesday evening. So back to work for Miss Pickles the Elf (that's me)! *wink*

Happiness with a crochet hook!

2011-06-24T05:57:00.001-07:00

How can one be so happy with just a crochet hook to hand? I had promised myself when I finished my Japanese flower scarf I was allowed to start a couple of new quick projects before pouring myself back into my flower blanket. These were two projects that I had bought yarn for, looked up online tutorials and were waiting in the wings.

I made this up so quickly and I am so pleased with how it turned out that I wish it was October and full of autumn chill outside. Last autumn, on one of our grocery runs we make to Germany once in a while, I found a fabulous chunky purple yarn with a tweed look. As soon as I saw it I knew it would make a great cowl. It was the only skein left in a drug store but thankfully a large skein of 200g so just enough for this project. There is literally about 12 inches of yarn left.

If you are interested in trying a cowl, this is the tutorial I used. Just adjust the chain size to fit you. I used only 60 chains to start and ended up with rows of 59 double crochets.

*sigh* I do have to wait for the autumn chill so for now this is draped over my 'Lord Byron's lady' statue in my living room. You can not hide away such yummy yarn now can you???

My second project was to create a stool cover in a large granny square. Now I must admit this is one of two. The second is a little more complicated with it elongated shape and I had to put it aside for now as I needed to search for another skein of the same yarn. That project is still in the works but this one came up in no time.

Maggie had asked if I would share some of the videos I have used to learn to crochet. This is the one I used to learn to make granny squares. It is a really good clear tutorial and this one is for using one color with a link to her video for changing colors on the blog page. This is the YouTube link for easy scalloped crochet edge I used.

I am still working away on some secret projects but there is great news. I sandwiched my pink and brown Farmer's Wife quilt to start the hand quilting. I will show you my progress over the weekend next week. I am excited to get started on the quilting now!

Have a creative and color-filled weekend!

Mary, Mary, quite contrary.....

2011-06-10T05:03:00.001-07:00

...how does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells,
and 78 flowers all in a row.

To say I am thrilled today would be a gross understatement! I have just completed my Japanese flower scarf which has been my most involved project to date. It is almost a year ago now that I put on YouTube videos and started to really undertake trying to crochet. Chatting online with Hazel got me addicted to these flowers. I started this along with a larger flower for a blanket back in March. Neither was progressing well enough so I decided to put all my attention to this scarf for the time being. I just love how it has turned out and 78 flowers later...it was all worth it. I never imagined I would be able to crochet even the simplest of things let alone this!

Now I cannot wait to be able to use it regularly. I have a scarf feddish and wear them a great deal. I had been using it already to keep warm with while I was still crocheting it. My medication levels are not right again I think as Jos says he can set the clock to me saying I am cold each evening and having to wrap up in something. What is most fun about having one project done is that I can grab the next.....

For more floral inspiration, you can visit TheFlowerBed blog. It is an honor to be joining in with this talented group of inspiring ladies. Beware though as it is addictive!

I heart crazy quilting!

2011-06-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

I love adding crazy quilted touches to items I find. One of my favorite things is creating crazy quilted hearts on wooden heart ornaments. When I recently found a black metal heart that was supposed to be set on a table with candles on it, I saw what I wanted to do with it immediately! The metal has a lace look edging so......

I grabbed fabrics and laces from my stash and got started. I just love how it has come out and what better place to hang it that on my quilt studio door...

I heart crazy quilting!

Farmer's life.....

2011-06-07T05:29:00.001-07:00

I am still among the living working hard on the farm...my Farmer's Wife sampler quilts that is. I finished the last block of my pink and brown version so the quilt is now being pieced together with borders. I will now fully turn to the red and brown version. The blocks below are the four used for my quilt group this month. We met again last week and it is fun to see all the different samplers coming together.

I am working on 14 gifts for my quilt group as our next evening is our annual "Christmas in July" get together. It is an evening of wonderful food provided by selected members of the group and a fun easy project appropriate for making as Christmas gifts. Until I get these gifts made, I have to keep my other projects running at a minimum but I do have a couple of finishes to share with you later this week. It has kept me quiet on this blog as I know a number of the ladies in my group read my blogs. An elf knows how to keep a secret. *wink*

The Farmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Gardner Bougereau

*sigh* Some of you already know that I have always had a dream of having chickens but living in the middle of the suburbs I do not want the hassle of the neighbors not being happy about chickens. When I saw this painting, I knew it had to be the painting for this month's Farmer's Wife post. Can't you just hear the chickens squawking at her feet?

My blog visits have been sparse and I am missing going around visiting everyone. Things will be back to normal when my elf workshoppe closes for a little break soon. I will be back in a day or so with a finish I can show you though.....

Farmer's life.....

2011-05-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

It is the first Wednesday of the month once again. The month passes so quickly and it is time again for my quilt group to come this evening. The blocks for this month are done and the newsletter printed. These are the four blocks for May.....

And this is my quilt top as far as I have it together today. I have the next row ready to sew together and only need one more block to complete this top. I am going to then work on the red blocks for my mother's quilt top. I like having the top with 25 blocks which is the perfect square quilt for a wallhanging.

Isn't this painting by Alfred Roll beautiful? I know life on a farm is not romantic as we might think. It is just plain hard work but the office is the beautiful countryside. It seems a more natural place for a human to be than cooped up on the fourth floor (I asked Jos what floor he is working on in his building...grins) looking out at other buildings. Hearing the birds sing and the trees rustle as opposed to air condition humming in the background. A life where your bread and butter literally depends on your getting up in the morning and working hard. But then you can sit in the evening and look at the countryside that you are custodian of.

For now, I must be content with my patch of garden and my quilt top...
Manda Lametrie, The Farmer's Wife

"I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidences of the determination to live."

~ Vita Sackville-West, Country Notes

Not so crazy.....

2011-04-26T04:15:00.001-07:00

Lately, I have been thinking about how my UFOs seem to be increasing instead of decreasing. I feel the need inside to get some of these projects finished before starting up new things. I also am working on a challenge from a Yahoo homekeeping group I am a member of. It is letting go of old and unused things. Now my UFOs do not fall under this category but I felt like I needed to tie up loose ends so I could move on.

So when I looked through some of those UFOs laying in my studio, I decided to pick out the one that was ridiculously almost finished. I only needed to sew on one sawtooth border to complete the top. Told you it was ridiculous! So I got to work and voilà!

This quilt is the sixth in the series of American Dolls quilt patterns by Kathleen Tracy. It was a quilt called Almost Crazy referring to the play on a crazy quilt theme. Since I played with the theme even more, it really was not so crazy by the time I was through with it. It just happened as my fabrics spoke to me. Then when I completed the pattern, I felt it needed more. It was not finished due to my own choices with just one border. I added a second dark floral border onto the striped border. It was still not quite right so I used the cast off triangles that you have when you sew this patchwork to create a sawtooth border to complete the quilt.

"Now what" was my next thought. I decided to refer back to the idea of a crazy quilt that it would be fun to machine quilt it with one of my crazy quilt stitches (enlarge first photo to see the stitches) on the sewing machine. Well, I take my hat off to you ladies who quilt regularly with your machines. I find it intense to do it preferring the ease of hand quilting. That being said, I am glad I had a chance to practice doing it again.

Over the Easter weekend, I had the quilt with me to work on hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt and then tucking in all the threads from the quilting by hand too. It takes a good bit of time to do that. Since I believe a quilt is only finished when the tunnel and label are added, I got to work on that part this morning. I am calling this one Victoria's Not So Crazy Doll quilt.

Happy dancing my way back to my quilt studio to pick out yet another UFO to finish. *grins*

The tale of the Flopsy Bunnies.....

2011-04-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

"It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is "soporific."

I have never felt sleepy after eating lettuces; but then I am not a

rabbit.

They certainly had a very soporific effect upon the Flopsy Bunnies!"

Okay, these are not the same Flopsy Bunnies in Beatrix Potter's wonderful story but ones that I created back in 2007. They were sewn together and dipped in coffee, dried and strung as a garland.

But being taken out each year before Easter has had a soporific effect on my little bunnies. *wink* At first they stood happily when hung waiting for their big day ... Easter Sunday.

But this year, they were sagging very sadly as they hung on a mirror. A friend came over who does not even do any handwork and commented about how they were flopping about. She exclaimed that I should try using wire in this. So I got out some fine wire but the bunnies did not like that at all. I then tried a thicker wire and...

...they went from this...

...to this! And love have their bunny ears tickled and bent about in place.

Now they stand proudly once again along my mirror.

Of course, you could also enjoy the real story of the Flopsy Bunnies if you prefer as it is a fun thing to see for the Easter weekend. I am taking a blogging break for the long weekend. Enjoy yours and talk with you again next week...

Happy Easter!

Hopping along.....

2011-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

But I am one slow bunny as this was supposed to be posted on April 14th. Must be because this bunny has to be ready for Easter??? *wink*

Since I already started stitching part 4 of the SAL sampler aux Bouquets, I thought it was time to hop to it and share this part with you all.

Bunnies, birds, tupils and butterflies... What could say spring more than these images?

SAL get togethers.....

2011-04-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

I am a very fortunate person to have many friends who love coming to my home for what I call "playdates". These are days when someone comes to stitch or quilt or make bobbinlace. They sometimes come the entire day and we have a lunch together.

In December 2010, Bep, Saskia and I started a year long SAL together. It was a pattern we purchased when we all went to The Alsace in September. Every two months, they come here and we start the next of the six pillow which will make up a Christmas tree. You can see the pattern and Christmas tea we had in December here.

At the end of January, we had our next date. I had suggested we do a different theme each time. The first time, I had made a Christmas High Tea for them. I set the table for our theme of a pot luck lunch. Since I enjoy giving table gifts to people, I had agendas wrapped and on their plates as a surprise but to my surprise there suddenly was a gift that appeared on my plate. Thanks Bep!

I baked a lemon cake for a treat with our coffee/tea.

Our menu was a tossed salad, Dutch surprised meatballs and meatloaf parcels.

This was the progress of the second pillows when they left later in the afternoon and the results again for our get together we just had this month...

Being close to Easter, I decorated the table with that as a theme. I made a crepe paper nest filled with chocolate chicks and bunnies and a variegated thread for each of them. It has also been Saskia's birthday so I had a little surprise waiting for her on the table too.

The cake this time was a marzipan cake with dark chocolate glaze.

My little Easter tree took center stage...

Our theme was chosen by Bep this time and was Greek. I made Gemista which are stuffed red peppers. Bep brought a Greek potato dish and Saskia a salad.

We have started our third pillow which is the word "Natale". This tree has the word "Christmas" in English, French and Italian. We now have another date coming in June to look forward to.

There really is nothing like stitching together with friends! I wish I could invite all of you blogging friends over.

Farmer's life.....

2011-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

With our work in the garden these last couple of months, it feels a little like a farmer's life here. Jos and I pulled out old wire fencing along the side of the garden this week. We still have the back section to pull out and that will look much neater. Worked was delayed in one area when Jos discovered Mrs. Tiggy Winkle (a hedgehog) hiding in the bamboo on one side that fences our garden off from the neighbors. We left her to rest from the shock of Jos hacking away at the roots.

Tonight it is our monthly quilt evening though so I will be inside with the other ladies being inspired by each other's work.

The newsletter is printed and ready but while I set up the extra seating in the studio, I thought I would stop in to show you this month's block from the sampler.

If you remember from my previous post (click here to read), I am already sewing my blocks together which is why this looks like a strange way to lay them. I had to lay one of the blocks on the other three which are already in place. I am anxious as I do not have many to go on this sampler before I concentrate on the remaining blocks in red colorways for a second sampler for my mother.

Isn't there something special about painting depicting farm life in ages long past? Even in the midst of hard work, there seems something joyous and serene about that life. I remember once on an Amish farm I toured that the Amish woman said they felt sorry for the English as they had too many things to worry about in their modern lives. Their Amish farm life was hard work but they just got on with life. I think that is what this hard work in the photo is saying to me.

"There are only three seasons for farmers:
before harvest, harvest and after harvest."
~ farm saying

The ABCs of flowers.....

2011-04-03T04:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the start of our new part of the SAL sampler aux bouquets so time to share the finished section with you once again. Look at one of the reasons why I could not resist stitching this design.....

My favorite things on any design are alphabets and houses. This was a fun alphabet to stitch. Now I have put it aside for a few days when I finished it to work on some other projects. I like the assignments as they give you time to do other things too and yet feel as though you will have this done before you know it. The best of both worlds.

"I cannot count my day complete

'Til needle, thread and fabric meet."

~ Author Unknown

Something quilty this way comes.....

2011-03-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

And it is high time! I have been doing lots of quilt projects but have not shared any lately on the blog. No idea why but here are two of them...

I missed posting last month on the day of our quilt group. I have since then not only made two months worth of blocks but also decided on a major change for my own Farmer's Wife sampler. First, I removed the blocks with red in them as I am going to make a small sampler for my mother using only red accents in the blocks. It is her favorite color and I kept thinking as I was sewing the patchwork that my mother would love them. So now she can.

Then I decided to use 25 blocks to make a smaller square sampler using my blocks. I arranged the blocks in a pleasing order and needed to start setting them with sashings, cornerstones and setting triangles. I am giving the group the information this month so they can start adding sashing with the idea that you do not have to do it all at once at the end this way. I needed to decide on which fabrics I would use myself. I wanted to use a darker shade of brown for the sashing. I also knew I want to use a fabric in my stash with a stripe which I think will make the border striking. Then can the big choice (as I really like them both) between old rose or cream background for the floral stripe. And the winner is.....

I went with the cream background as I thought it brightened up the overall quilt. What is it about brown that works so well in a quilt to me? I love brown and find it works well with so many other colors. Brown and pink are one of my favorite combinations. This is a Farmer's Wife in the Garden quilt. *grins*

Another quilt project I started a while back is the Civil War BOW (block of the week) quilt. I am having trouble getting into this project enough. I just find the blocks so large after many small sampler blocks as well as doll quilts. *sigh* I think once I get enough finished (and no I am not making them all) so that I can start playing with a setting, I will enjoy them more. I specifically wanted to dig into my old purples for this quilt. It seemed too two dimensional to me so I started to add touches of red which is really making it zing.

I need to finish the last bits of a border on a doll's quilt so it can be finished off. It will stay a surprise for later when I have it finished though. I think doll quilts are just about my favorite things to do. I love to stitch over one for the small look and love the small quilt blocks too. Perhaps it is all a normal thing following my efforts for three years now to work from stash only?

I also am hand quilting a row robin that was made by my quilt group a number of years ago. Back to the quilting and more about it soon.

"All the flowers of tomorrow are in the seeds of yesterday."

Spring and bouquets.....

2011-03-24T08:25:00.001-07:00

Where does time go? It must be the sunshine that put so much distance between this and my last post. *grins*

In the beginning of March, I came across this SAL going to start very soon. I told myself no I did not need to start yet another project and definitely not one this big. Did my self listen??? Nope! I thought I really needed this as another little pillow on my patchwork quilt in our bedroom. Small it is as I am stitching this one on 30 count off-white Flemish farmer's linen 1 over 1. I do love stitching this over one! The smallness of the stitch seems to do something magical to the piece.

In my quest to use more and more of my stash, I pulled colors out of my jars of overdyed threads for this project. I am using Crescent Colours: Jakey Brown, Clay Pot, Country Lane, Dandelion Stem, Desert Mesquite, Milady's Teal, Wavy Navy, Whatley Woodlands and Bramble Bush.

The next section has the first of three alphabets. I do love anything with an alphabet on it and this one has three and my other favorite thing....a house. But for now, I will enjoy my pretty blue flowers on a sunny spring day.

Hope you are having a day filled with stitching sunshine wherever you are!

Goin' gardening!

2011-03-18T05:35:00.001-07:00

That is where I will be this weekend. We have some major catching up to do in the garden at Cranberry Cottage so it will be a nice spring weekend here and we plan to use the time pruning and clearing things up.

But I am also gardening indoors with my crochet flower afghan. I have lately become totally addicted to crocheting these flowers. While my afghan has big and blousy flowers, I started some small ones using this tutorial for a shawl. They are so much smaller and it is fun to make both sizes.

I am using a very fine yarn which I think will give this shawl a chic look for wearing out to a restaurant on a summer's eve.

This weekend, I am going to try and crochet many more flowers for the afghan and will show you my progress next week. I have a great incentive to finish as I have already bought yarn to make an African flower hexagon afghan next.

Can you tell I have become totally hooked on crochet??? so much so that I joined the CAL (crochet a long) at The Flower Bed. They are all so inspiring there!

I promise a quilt-y and stitch-y post later this weekend. I am very busy with a couple of projects and want to share them with you.....

Have a great and creative weekend!

This is why.....

2011-03-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Please turn off my music on the sidebar as you need to hear the clicking of the knitting needles which is something I remember as a child. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate and take time to watch this amusing video and be sure to watch it to the end.....

Mother...will you make me a scarf??? *wink*

Now my mind turns to two conclusions after seeing this cartoon:

1. Now I understand why my mother has always had short hair!

2. I know why I took up crocheting instead of knitting. *grins*

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

2011-03-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

...at least it is in Ohio with all its snow. So I will celebrate it with a little Christmas finish here in a springlike Holland. *wink*

Yesterday I found this freebie and decided it would be nice to start and finish stitching something on the same day. All my stitching projects at the moment are large. So I dug into my stash and pulled out some 26 count unbleached linen and thread. I was aided along with yummy dark chocolate covered raisins from my friend Carolien who visited on Tuesday for a fun playdate. They are delicious so thank you so much Carolien.

Even though I am having another fibromyalgia attack today, I was able to sew and stuff the little pillow today. I am having attacks much more often than I used to have. I think my having Hashimoto's disease now is making my FM flare ups come much more often.

At least, I have the comfort of needle and thread and can enjoy this finish. I want to make more little pillows including some little quilt block pillows. I am going to use them as bowl fillers for my large wooden trough (dough bowl) at Christmas with some green branches and berries. Oh how I do love Christmas and we have such a long wait until it comes again. *sigh*

Anyone else working on fun Christmas projects? *grins*

I'm in the garden.....

2011-03-07T06:08:00.001-08:00

...the front garden that is. Time has been passing too quickly and I had a couple of blog entries to write which I never got around to. We spent two weekends working on our front garden of our new house. It was a big job as there seems to have not been much maintained in this garden in the 16 years since it was planted. It looks like the only thing done was trimming the beech hedge and even that was not done well resulting in a hedge that is far too high and too deep out onto the street. We worked on cutting out dead wood from the tree, trimmed some plants, weeded out the moss which was everywhere and turned the hard and compact soil. We also created a larger path so that we can enjoy the evening sun there when spring and summer arrives.

Gardening must be on my mind as I was persuaded by Hazel to start working on a crochet flower blanket. My first flower is sitting outside on our bench but it is too chilly to crochet out there just yet. I will be attaching the next flower to this first one today so I am excited to see how it comes out. I decided to work from what little yarn stash I have to try a flower out. Seeing how it work up and the yarn matching my couches well, I decided to go ahead and make the flower blanket from this yarn. I have 8 skeins of this yarn so I will see how large the blanket will become as I go along.

I will be planting up my crochet flowers along with real ones out in the front garden as the temperatures allow.

With all this gardening, you must be hungry? How about a cookie and a cup of tea? I love cooking and baking. I have been trying out many new recipes for the last two months.

When I do not have a needle in my hand, I have a book instead. I finished reading a young adult historical fiction series which I really enjoyed. It is The Quilt Trilogy by Ann Rinaldi.

The first book is A Stitch in Time introducing you to the Chelmsford family. Sisters Hannah, Abigail and Thankful are each stitching their part of the family quilt which goes with them as their lives take shape far apart from each other.

In Broken Days, Thankful's daughter returns to the family with her piece of the quilt. Thankful had been captured by indians in the Ohio territory so will her daughter be accepted by the family?

In the final book, The Blue Door, Abigail's granddaughter returns to the North to visit a family she has never met. These books combine quilting with American history especially the history of the mill houses of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Speaking of gardening, here is the stitching UFO that I finished recently. I had mentioned it but wanted to share it after I had sewn it into a finish. I have not had time to do it yet and thought I would go ahead and show you the piece. It is from a SAL I did last summer. I had been waiting for the last email when I realized that I had missed it. I got the email but it ended up truly getting set aside. There was so little left to do that it was a shame it got pushed aside. Now it is done and I want to have it totally finished well before the summer this year.

Jos and I have both been sick. We have bad coughs that keep us up at night. He has a terrible cold along with it and I have lost my voice. It was a whisper for the last four days but today it is starting to get stronger. You don't need a voice to garden, crochet, read, stitch...do you? *wink*

Life is a ball of yarn?

2011-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Yep...it just rolls along and I am week farther before I blink an eye. Gardening, more fun with friends and preparing for the quilt group tomorrow has kept me from blogging again. In the meantime, I also finished a baby blanket.

My niece is having a baby girl named Abigail Lynn this summer. She is already being referred to as Number 3 Lynn by us in the family. You see I am Number 1 Lynn and Abigail's mommy is Number 2 Lynn. So I wanted to make my little namesake a blanket (click here for the pdf of the pattern) for her mommy and daddy to wrap her up in when she comes home from the hospital.

I did not lay it out very flat so sorry about that. I used 3 colors of baby yarn which is so wonderfully soft. Abigail will have the cuddle factor a little extra when wrapped in this soft afghan.

This is only my fourth crochet finish so I was really pleased when the edging came out so nicely. I searched online for one and used this pattern which worked up very easily.

This beret and scarf have been finished for a couple of weeks and I still had not posted it. I must tell you it is not easy to get a good picture of these without wearing them. *grins* For some reason, my scarf has grown about 60cm in length since I finished it. Is that from the loose stitch used for it? Anyone know? I keep teasing Jos that if it grows much longer, we can wrap it around both of our necks. *wink*

The past few days, I have been making the next series of 20 granny squares for my afghan. I have to make 140 of them total so I am working on it on and off...20 at a time. It is fun to work on but not that many of them in a row. I do not have a deadline for it to be finished and just want to have fun making it.

Humm.....tomorrow evening my quilt group comes and I must go take the photos of the next block to share with you. Until then.....

I heart (love) finishes!

2011-02-22T08:32:00.000-08:00

Don't you just heart finishes? I have a number of them but just seem to be too busy to get online enough to blog. There have been a number of friends come by over the past month. I realized I have not even shared my crocheted beret and scarf plus I have another stitching finish but first this one.....

Recently, I decided I had better unpack a moving box that had many of my UFOs in it. I kept hoping that if I left it all in there long enough the stitching fairies would come by in the night and finish them for me. No such luck. I opened the box and there they all were staring at me, begging me for a little appreciation of their beauties. This heart was so almost done that it was ridiculous that it ever achieved the status of being a UFO. I stitched the last bits and turned it into a heart ornament.

By the way, see the sweet little pincushion sitting next to the heart? It was a gift from Jantine who came here last week for a day of sewing little quilts. It was fun to finally really get together, something we had planned to try and do about a year ago. Why did we not do it sooner could be the only question as it was really great fun to sew together and the day was over before we knew it.

A rose pearl button as accent.....

Red plaid backing fabric and a ruched ribbon to trim the heart. In my quest to use stash in all times when possible, I have to make the ruching a little less full. It feels so good to use something again that I already had. I want to make more heart ornaments in the course of the year and hope to only work from stash. I am dreaming of my Valentine's tree filled with my own stitched hearts. Here is a peek at that tree (click for link to my other blog) which I put up each year.

I promise to show you another finish yet this week since I have another stitching finish and two crochet finishes.

Intertwined

2011-02-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

Interwine - to unite or be united by twisting or twining together

Being intertwined pertains to two levels of this post. I have two finishes to share so they are united in both being finishes. And of course, bobbinlace and crocheting are both methods of intertwining threads. Okay...enough of the English lesson. *wink*

I finished my bobbinlace singing angel and am really happy with how she turned out. She will happily take her place on my lace tree again next Christmas. I will be starting another ornament next Monday. This time we are making a Christmas tree with pearls hanging as ornaments from the branches. It is becoming enjoyable to be working on lace again. I neglected it for too long time.

What can you do with kitchen twice besides lacing up a stuffed roast? Why get out your crochet hook of course! That is just what I did with this blue and white twine and crocheted two new potholders. I already put them to good use today getting a chocolate cake out of the oven as I am having a blogger over tomorrow for a day of quilting together. I am really happy with how they turned out and they work very well too.

I have more finishes to share. I have been working on getting some UFOs finished so I can start something new. I have an adorable chart which was given to me by my friend Carolien for my birthday last weekend. I decided I have to finish two old stitching projects first so this gives me lots of incentive. One is finished and the next is almost there. So back to stitching.....

Meaning.....

2011-02-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

The meaning of happiness? Finishing a quilt, of course.

Back in December, I mentioned this UFO (unfinished object) that I decided I wanted to finish. I had the stitching done and patchwork sewn together in time for the holidays but then decided I would rather spend time hand quilting this than rushing it finished by machine quilting it.

You see, I really enjoy hand quilting. I find it so relaxing and soothing. I love seeing a quilt come to life as my needle gathers through the layers.

I took my time, enjoying each and every stitch! The results are very pleasing to me and I now have a new quilt to look forward to using next Christmas.

A quilt is never finished until the label is sewn on. Another step in the quilting process that is great fun to me is naming my quilts (I call this one The Meaning of Christmas) and making a label for them. I could do this as a career that is how much I love creating labels. *grins* They are always done freehand, letting my inspiration work itself out on the fabric.

Speaking of fabric...this is an extra special quilt since it is done with the fabric I bought at my friend's quilt shop. She passed away and I think of her when I see this series of homespun fabrics.

Off to grab another quilt UFO to work on.....

Down on the farm.....

2011-02-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Time to visit the farm again. Tonight the farmer's wives...meaning my quilt group...will gather round the table and share their choices for their first blocks. I am excited to see them all.

Each month, I translate a couple of the letters to Dutch from the book Farmer's Wife quilt sampler and test the blocks. Last month, they had 7 blocks to choose from and this month there are these eight blocks...

I am looking forward to thinking about deciding which fabric I will use for setting me blocks in this sampler. Once I have about half a year of blocks ready, I will be able to make some concrete decisions about what color to use for my sashing. The stack is growing in the meantime.

Holland is a small country but has much diversity in the 12 provinces that make it up. I have been including the various kinds of farm buildings in the monthly newsletters showing how different each area built their farms. A farm in Holland is unique in that the animals sleep in the 'deel' which is the barn section right in the house. There is only a door between the family and them. You can see some photos of Dutch farms on an entry I did last year from the open air museum in Arnhem. Just click here to read the entry.

Above is an oil painting by Jos Lussenburg entitled Farmer's wife darning socks. It shows a typical Dutch farm inside. Funny but we have lost so much of what was good in the world in the good old days. We throw away socks with a hole in them and a darning egg or mushroom is now considered a sewing antique. We are such a throw away society and just pitch the socks, run to the store and buy new ones. Am I crazy for thinking it would be fun to try darning a sock once? First I will have to get myself one of those antique darning eggs. *wink*

Speaking of eggs, here is a fun school blackboard saying from the 1920s farm life...

"Words spoken, like eggs broken, are hard to repair."

Keeping warm.....

2011-01-29T07:57:00.001-08:00

Bet you thought I got lost huh? Nope! I have been on my computer very little. Just been very busy with lots of fun playdates with friends and working on tons of projects. Speaking of projects...why did I ever learn to crochet????? Now I have one more thing that I desperately want to do each day. Yeah, like I needed yet one more thing...

So I was online searching for a beret pattern, as one does, and then I found this pattern for wristies on a blog, as one does, and could not resist so I grabbed my yarn and a crochet hook, as one does, and got tucked in yesterday. Okay, now do not call the grammar police. I know that was an incorrect and long sentence but that is how the crochet muse got a hold of me yesterday. *grins*

I wore these this morning with my winter coat since it is rather cold outside at only 0C/32F. They felt so soft and kept me warm. I think I am going to make another pair as it would be fun to have them in other colors. I am also going to add one more row of the single crochet row at the start as they will be just a tad longer.

Oh and by the way, I also made a beret but I will save that for another post as I first want to finish the scarf I am making to match it.

What are you up to this weekend?

My Christmas Cat!

2011-01-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned, I have another finish to show you. I finished the second cat sampler. It is S. Claws by The Goode Huswife.

This ended up being my own version of the design. I had many comments about the fun of changing the cat's colors to Dagi. Thank you so much! I worried about this as I received an email in the past from a designer about my changing a color on her design. I just hope that if the designer of The Goode Huswife ever sees this blog that she will never take offence to this. I am loving making my wall dedicated to my sweet Dagi from her beautiful designs!

I used the recommended colors (DMC 400, 680, 3051, 3053) for the most part only changing the cat to DMC 3032 and 3781 once again. I left out the filling in of the patchwork motifs under the cat as I like the fact the Ohio Star pattern stood out more this way.

Fabric: Zweigart Autumn Fields 28 count stitched 2/2

Dagi really is my Christmas cat by the way. His birthday is on December 23rd so he is like a little present under the Christmas tree.

"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats."

~ English Proverb

I'm hooked!

2011-01-14T11:22:00.000-08:00

On crochet that is! I am surprised that I like doing it as much as I do. I just do not know how to delegate my time to be able to crochet, stitch, quilt and make lace. Anybody know where I could buy a few extra pair of hands and perhaps a couple of extra hours a day while I am at it???

I have put together the granny square I have made up to now. I am going to make this into an afghan we can use while laying on the couch. I use my afghans and quilts often on the couch due to my health. I am making this 10 squares wide which means I have about another100 squares at least to go...

My squares look so plain after looking in my new book. This just arrived in the mail and it is a fabulous book. Many of the projects have a patchwork feel to them so they will satisfy the quilter in me too.

Have a wonderful weekend! I will have a finish to share at the end of it. *grins*

Dagi's sampler wall - Minerva

2011-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

I have finished the first sampler for Dagi's sampler wall. I am making a wall of little cat samplers this year. The first is from this book from The Goode Huswife which you can see in this previous entry. Oh and a photo of my adorable little man Dagi himself! *grins*

I started this last Thursday and hated the color of the cat so I ripped it back out again and started over. I changed the colors to DMC 3032 and 3781 for the cat creating one that looked like Dagi. Dagi is a Mandarin cat which is a half long haired Siamese and his color is lilac tabby ticked. When he was a kitten you could see little bits of stripes on his fur which fadded as he grew. Okay, okay...I know the color is lilac but there is nothing purplish about my little man. He is a beige color actually. I am thinking about changing more of the cats to look like him as I go along.

Used for this sampler...

Zweigart Autumn Fields 28 count stitched 2/2

DMC 3032, 3781, 3045, 3012 and 3371

In the meantime, I also started pulling thread for the next cat sampler from the book called S. Claws. I have to start searching for frames now as I finish these. They are all small samplers so it might not be easy to find frames for them. I have to start looking around. Humm...an excuse to shop?

Note: I call Dagi my little man since he has such a big personality. He is really a little human with fur.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 12th day...

2011-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

On the 12th day of Christmas...

...you! Yes...you! I cannot hold a 12 days of Christmas without thinking of how lucky I am to be able to blog and having 'met' you in the process. Back in August 2006, I decided to take the plunge and start blogging. I had no idea if anyone would read it. That blog is now full and I since started anew here. I have been inspired by so many people I have met online. It has been a journey filled with passion for needlework and wanting to share that with others.

I am a very old fashioned girl. I do not take easily to new found trends and appreciate doing things with a tint of days gone by. This is what attracts me to how I try and make my quilts look faded or older while still making it unique. I love stitching samplers. But there are advantages to new things and one is that we have such beautiful patterns available to us online. In November, I came across this sampler and fell in love with it. I decided that I wanted to start stitching it but wanted to wait until the new year to start it. I start it on Monday evening so there is very little progress but I just love these cornflowers. With full excitement, I am looking forward to starting on the letters too. Oh, how I love alphabets on stitching! Here is the link to this sampler. I wonder if anyone else will be tempted? Jenny...you love alphabets too...won't you join me? The only thing better about stitching is stitching along with friends!

Thank you each and every one for taking time from your day to read my blog and share my passion with me. If you have never done so before, why not say hello. I would love to hear from you.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 11th day...

2011-01-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

On the 11th day of Christmas...

...finishing up more old projects. This is another piece of stitching that my mother did for me but gave me to finish. She made this because it reminded her of me ringing the doorbell for her to come to the door when I was a little girl. She answered the door and I was everyone except Heidi but loved saying I was Little Red Riding Hood best.

When I took this out of the cupboard, I noticed that the fold of the fabric from being in the packaging before she used it had yellowed. Now what to do? Well...coffee stain, of course. I know my mother would have cringed if she would have seen me doing it but the yellow stripe has disappeared.

Dress it up with some pretty fabrics, lace and trims and you have a festive pillow for Christmas.

I puckered the tips and added some buttons.

Next year, I will have a well dressed couch for the holidays. And less projects left sitting in my cupboard waiting for some loving attention.

Tip: Instead of buying expensive filling, go to IKEA. They sell a pillow called the Gosa Slan for only 99 euro cents. Cut open the end and use the filling material for your projects.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 10th day...

2011-01-03T12:44:00.001-08:00

On the 10th day of Christmas...

...family inspirations! I come from a family that was always busy doing some kind of handwork. My grandmother, aunts, mother, big brother, sister... I suppose that is why my own stitching and quilting takes a huge place in my life.

One year for Christmas, my dear aunt sent me this child's hat she knitted for Christmas. Not when I was a child but as an adult. She often sent me her wonderful knitted or crocheted dishclothes and edged hand towels but this time it was this hat. And a very special hat it is too! It is the same pattern she used to make me a little green hat when I was a little girl. That hat we no longer have. My mother has a picture of me in it somewhere but we talked about it and my Aunt Janey made me another one.

This was not easy to get a good photo of as I cannot fit it on my head obviously. I hope you can get an idea of how cute it is? It is very special to me. My aunt passed away a number of years ago now yet I think of her often. I put this hat out during January along with my winter decorations.

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 9th day...

2011-01-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

On the 9th day of Christmas...

...SALing. Now I have stitched along with online friends but for the first time I am am doing a SAL with two of my quilt sisters. We are getting together for a playdate to kick off each pillow of this project so it makes it so much fun! Bep (no blog) and Saskia are ready so we have to set out next date and start on the next section of this pillow Christmas tree. You can read more about it here.

I am using some of the homespun fabrics I bought from my friend's shop which I talked about in this post. I am going to finish each pillow as I go. The trick is getting it filled but not too full so it hangs well when they are all connected. I am anxious to get more of these finished. Shall we set our next playdate Bep and Saskia?

It is never too early to think about Christmas projects. *wink*

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 8th day...

2011-01-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

On the 8th day of Christmas...

...mystery novels with a needlework theme. They are another fun passion of mine. In 2010, my online friend Joanne mentioned that Terri Thayer's quilt mysteries where a favorite of hers. I ordered the books but never made time last year to start on them. So this year, I am resolved to read these.

I really enjoy reading books with stitching, quilting and knitting themes in them. My love affair started with these kind of cozy mysteries back in the 90s when Monica Ferris wrote Crewel World. I was even able to get my mother hooked on them. *grins* We love Monica Ferris (needlework), Maggie Sefton (knitting) and Laura Childs (tea house and scrapbooking) for their handwork cozy mysteries. We also love reading Joanne Fluke (cookie) and Joanna Carl (chocolate).

Another favorite of mine is the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert and I would love to make time this year to reread them again starting from the first book. Yes...they are that good!

Any cozy mystery fans in blogland that balance reading them between stitches?

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 7th day...

2010-12-31T07:29:00.001-08:00

On the 7th day of Christmas...

...a cup of tea? *grins*

My mother got the Prairie Schooler chart called Button Up from me and I keep pestering her to start stitching it. She never did but sent me a card with this one section of the chart stitched up. She stitches me things and gives them to me to finish myself. I do have a rather silly mother. *wink* She had done this but the sky was not stitched. Since I knew what I wanted to do with it, I told her she had to stitch the sky in a grey blue for me while she was visiting in November so I could finish it.

I used a small unfinished wood box I already had in my stash which I treated with antique wax. I then glued the stitched on to the front of the box with a trim around the edges (also from my stash) and I now have a cute little tea box to sit on my drainboard for my winter afternoon cup of tea.

Care to join me for a cup of tea?

I was looking back at my list of finishes for 2010. I lost time during September, October and November due to moving but am still pleased with what I accomplished this year. I set out to get 6 UFOs finished but finished 11 in total among the new projects I did this year. I am continuing with the same idea in 2011. I am going to review my UFOs tomorrow to set a new goal for which ones I want to finish within that year. You will hear more about that in the future.

Here is the list of my finishes for 2011:

2010 Quilt/sewing finishes
Sewing bag with spool pincushion, scissors and fob for Bep
Wool felt scissor holder and fob for Marsha
Blues large friendship bag for Marsha
Eliza Jane's Nine-Patch doll quilt
Pumpkin Fields quilt
Strawberries, Cupcakes and Sweets needlebooks - giveaways
Strawberries, Cupcakes and Sweets quilt
Large friendship bag for Caroline
Wool felt scissor holder and fob for Jenny
Blue star needlebook - giveaway
Little cottage thread holder
Teapot Wallhanging
The Hand Me Down doll quilt
Friendship bag - blue/brown fabrics - giveaway
Pollyanna's Pinwheels doll quilt
Friendship Bag - summer fabrics
Becky's Block doll quilt
Pride and Prejudice Quilt - top finished
Nutcracker tree
Two By Two - Noah's Ark

2010 Stitching finishes

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 6th day...

2010-12-30T13:24:00.001-08:00

On the 6th day of Christmas...

...stitching what you love! I was just emailing with Jenny (no blog) about a shared love for things with an alphabet and/or a house on it. Can I add one more thing to that list Jenny? A cat! Last year, I won Olga from Deborah this year and saved it for 2011 since I also got the The Goode Huswife's Book of Designs Vol. 2 for my stash also. And what charts are in this book? Cat and cat samplers. Just adorable...

After all, most days I am stitching with Dagi on my lap so he needs to be honored with his own wall of cat samplers, right? He has been very patient and accepting moving house last month. He is happy now in his new home and wants to spend his days cuddling away here. Yes, that is my cat laying on my couch under my quilt with his head on my pillow. He is a little man with fur. Great personality and a great companion.

I am looking forward to starting this major project of a cat sampler wall. Humm...I think I might have to start looking for more frames. It should be a purr-fect year full of cats.

Are you planning any major stitching projects to start in 2011?

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 5th day...

2010-12-29T11:21:00.001-08:00

On the 5th day of Christmas...

...quilting friends. I could not make a list of things about this year and my needlework without including my very special group of quilting friends that meet once a month here in my home. We have become a family and I love each one dearly. This past summer they started working in secret to make a house block for me as a surprise. In November, with our first evening here in my new home, they gave me these blocks.

I spent some time pondering what I wanted to do with the blocks. I wanted to set them up in a way that was more interesting that just sewing them together for a house quilt. I finally came up with an idea. Here is a sneak peek with more to come later in January...

"A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be. "

~ Douglas Pagels

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 4th day...

2010-12-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

On the 4th day of Christmas...

...planning, research and sewing. Does that sound strange in relation to needlework Christmas thoughts? This is always a very busy time for me. I start the new theme for my quilt group each January. Once our annual Christmas party is over, I go into full swing of preparing for that first month's new theme. Now I love connecting historical themes to my quilting as you have learned reading this blog regularly. It is logical that I try and place that in my newsletters for my group as much as I can.

This year, we are going to all become farmer's wives and create the sampler from this popular book. Everyone is going to put their own twist on it and I am looking forward to seeing how the quilts turn out. I am choosing two or three of the letters from the book each month and we can make one block or more a month to create our quilt by the end of the year. I will be including lots of fun facts about farms in Holland in the newsletters throughout the year. I am spending time doing research now.

I am testing the blocks by sewing those included in this coming month's newsletter. Here are the first few blocks. There are 7 for this month. I decided to start out this sampler with some fabrics I received as a gift from two of the ladies in my group. I will pull more from my stash as I go that work with these. I am going with a combination of browns mixed with blues and pinks or reds. Normally I would mix either the pinks and reds or the blues with brown and not all together. I thought this would be fun to do both and help them to work together by using dark brown later with my sashing. After all...the life of a farmer's wife is never dull I am sure and this represents her many talents.

Farmer's wife in the Veluwe by Edzar Koning

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 3rd day...

2010-12-27T11:23:00.001-08:00

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

...inspiration! Sometimes, you see an idea or a chart online and it takes hold of your heart. You cannot seem to put the idea out of your mind. You are compelled to start the first stitch.

I find the online blogging world to be very inspiring. Often I am amazed at the beautiful designs that talented stitchers offer to us all. On Christmas eve, I found this free design on Danybrod's blog and could not get it out of my mind. I immediately thought it would look so nice stitched and placed together with this quilt I made last year. So I started stitching it on Christmas Day. I then remembered a frame I had in my stash and went to look for it. By great fortune, I had already started the design on a stitch count that made it perfect to fit this frame and stand. Today, I framed it ready to use in my January decorating. I like to decorate with a winter theme in January as a transition after the Christmas holidays.

While I was busy stitching, I decided to change the French text to English. I also changed the top line and a few of the snowflakes to make it fit the design. I am so pleased with the results!

Fabric - cream jobelan 26 count, stitched 1/1

Thread - DMC 3021 and 3032

"When snow falls, nature listens."

~ Antoinette van Kleeff

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

~ John Ruskin

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 2nd day...

2010-12-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

...yarn and a crochet hook! I always loved feeling yarn in the shops but, when you do not knit or crochet, in the shops it stays. But this year, when I found yarn that was soft and pretty at a shop here called Action, and for only 94 cents per skein, I decided it was time to fulfill a dream to learn to crochet and make my own granny square afghan. I choose purple, light grey, pink and dark grey.

I used this tutorial from a blog and away I went. I am enjoying making them although I feel like I need practice. I want to make this afghan large enough to really wrap up in so I guess practice I will get as I only have 12 made so far...

Can you believe that I am already thinking ahead to the next one from granny hexagons? Humm...maybe I should finish this one first. *grins*

Needlework 12 Days of Christmas - 1st day...

2010-12-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Today is the first day of the 12 Days of Christmas. I thought it would be fun to reflect on the needlework year past and look forward to the year to come in the coming 12 days. I hope you will join me here or perhaps even decide to create your own 12 Days of Christmas.

On the first day of Christmas...

...a renewal of my bobbinlace hobby has taken place just recently. My mother bought me a black pencil pine tree and small candle lights for my lace ornaments. This is larger than the green tree or white branches I used to use. It also shows the lace so much better! The tree is now standing in my quilt studio.

I am currently working on another ornament which is on my lace pillow. These are some of the ornaments I had made in previous years...

In my quilt studio is a schwibbogen from the Erzgebirge area of Germany. On one of my visits, I was able to buy this Christmas light with the 'official' symbols of the area. You see this in some villages as you enter in a very large form. It contains the figures of the three major industries of the area...a wooden toy maker, miners and a lacemaker.

During that same visit, I bought a bobbinlace pattern for in a schwibbogen. It was not easy to puzzle how to work this pattern but I am still proud and a little amazed that I was able to finish it. I want to give you an idea of how it looks at night so I laid it on the floor lit up. Enlarge the photo to see the lace closer. Jos called the man in Germany that makes the wooden frame as one of my lights has burned out as you see and we are not able to replace it here in Holland. He is kindly going to send me a couple of extra lights.

For me, Christmas is complete when I can use my needlework throughout my house to create a festive feeling in our home.

Here comes Santa Claus!

2010-12-24T04:55:00.000-08:00

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane

Vixen and Blitzen and all his reindeer pulling on the reins

Bells are ringing, children singing, all is merry and bright

Hang your stockings and say your prayers 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight.

Yes and just in time! I finished my Santa Button sampler yesterday. It needed a night to let the glue set before I could reveal my finish...

I used green buttons to match a color green thread used and also had this frame in my stash which worked really cute with this design. I found out that it was not a regular frame so I had to think of a way to make it work. I made a top half of a pinkeep and glued it into the opening. You can find my step by step pinkeep instructions here on this old blog. I left the instructions there as I often hear the people are still using them.

I hope your Christmas eve is full of wonder and magic as well as a little needlework. I am going to start my needlework 12 Days of Christmas as of tomorrow. If you can join me, please do.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Christmas fun!

2010-12-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening our annual Christmas party was here for my quilt group. There seemed to be more excitement this year as we had Secret Sisters. We were all anxious to find out who our Secret Sister was when we got our handmade gift from her.

I had Bep as my Secret Sister. She loves batik fabrics so I bought them especially for her. What I had left after I made her gift, I folded up and wrapped with a ribbon for her to keep.

I sewed a folded bag for her to keep her thread and scissors together as she quilts and inside...

A large wooden spool wrapped with a crazy quilt pincushion pad...

which holds a pair of scissors with a beaded fob to make the pincushion and bag.

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Enjoy a slideshow of all the members with the gifts they received. As you can see on their faces, everyone really enjoyed their gifts and rightly so. There were many beautiful things made. You can click on the slideshow to see the photos larger. We had a wonderful meal and I had fun creating games and giving out many gifts. It hardly seems possible that another quilt year is already coming to an end.....