Stamp quilt

My mum was a quilter too.
She made some lovely quilts and of course all by hand, because otherwise it wouldn't be a REAL quilt.
We've got a double wedding ring on our bed and this little wall hanging:

It's 72x53 cm with a 4 cm border; in inches: 28"x21"with a border of 1.5".
Each piece is 1x1 cm (0.4"x0.4")
And it's called a stamp quilt because each piece is as big as an old fashioned stamp.

I've been wanting to make something like this and when I saw Oh, Fransson!'s tutorial on it I was very pleased. Except for the fact you wouldn't be able to use it as a quilt because of the interfacing she used.

Here's the quilt I mean by Oh, Fransson!
And here's her tutorial.

So I had to find some interfacing that doesn't stay on, like  a water soluble?
Floriani has a solution: Stitch N Wash Fusible.
Do you have any experience with it? If so, please share your knowledge here.

What I've done so far is cut a number of 1.5" pieces and sewn a few together using this interfacing.
I looks like this on my sewing board.

It's tiny and thus comes close to the dimensions I wanted.
I'll make a 1.5" version too, to see which will look better.
And I'm not sure about the choice of fabric/colour.
This could be an abandoned project in the making ... we'll see.

Just in case you have thought of a name for my brown/cream quilt from my last post: PLEASE tell me.
My mind has gone blank(ety blank)

Have a great week!!

A Friday Finish!

This week I was too late sending my Japanese x and + blocks to Issabellathecat.  Sorry everyone, but it just wasn't as contageous as I'd thought ... I couldn't get the right combinations or so I thought.
I made 5 blocks and sent them;  I hope they will arrive today.

It's not very often I really like what I've made, but yesterday evening I was so pleased when I finished the babyquilt I started Monday. The quilting is a first to me, using the whatyamacallit on my sewing machine. The thing you can add on to the foot so you get even spacing.
Sorry, a picture is worth a thousand words:

 

This was the try out version.

And this is the real thing:

Front and back, but which is which?

I like both sides!

I love this echo quilting.

The friend I've made it for is expecting her baby in two weeks and she wanted to match it to the colours of the baby room: brown and cream.

I just added a tiny bit of green-ish.

I love it!

Quiltstats:

Size:  32" x 40"

Fabrics used:  made of a fat 8ths packet bought here + 4 strips (22" x 1.5") from a green (Robert Kaufman) fat quarter

I cut the fat 8ths all into 1.5" strips, 6 out of each one.

Pattern: adapted 1600 Jelly Roll Race version.

Name: open to suggestions!

I'll be linking up to Amanda Jean's Friday Finish.

Have a great weekend!

Honey bun quilt + gift

Saturday I received this in the post. I won it! Kersten of FrozenKnickers wrote her 100th post and made a mini quilt of 17" square as a giveaway. It is absolutely cute!

 

The tutorial for this quilt in a bigger version is here.

A while ago I ordered these shot cottons for a baby quilt. The parents used brown and beige as the main colours in the baby room and did not want it to be too colourful. I had a look around for a nice pattern in all kinds of brown. I could have used the above, but somehow I love the grey and the happy colours in it. And it's very difficult for me to think of a pattern in different colours sometimes most of the time.

One advice on the net was to make your honey bun quilt from a jelly roll quilt pattern.

Great, but in the end I decided I wanted to use all colours and I loved this pattern by Kersten.

So I bought it, read it, read it again, and still didn't understand it. 

The only thing I'm slow at is making quilts (and cleaning LOL).

So I thought I'll make a jellyroll1600 quilt from my shot cottons.

Now I could use my Go! Cutter for the first time for a quilt!

It was so easy cutting 100 strips of fabric into 1.5" strips.

I also put in 5 strips of a greenish fat quarter with tiny peacock feathers as subtle othter colour.

And here's the result!

with guard dog!

I hasn't been ironed, I still have to clip all the loose threads (and there are many).

It's too big for a baby quilt, so I'll use my left overs for the back and it'll become a double sided quilt.

Maybe I can show you the final result tomorrow?

I have to hurry now!

See ya!

A New Week with new chances!

This weekend I finished the baby quilt for baby Storm.
I wasn't pleased at all with the quilting: at first the tension wasn't right and I had to unpick a quarter of the quilt. Luckily just a baby sized one!
Then I started quilting again and it was all sort of big, giant like.
Anyway: it's done now and the result isn't bad. Could have been better perhaps, but there you have it!

Quilt stats:
Fabrics used: Anne Kelle's Urban Zoologie Collection bought at the FQShop +
Kona Cyaan Blue and Kona Solid Chartreuse Green + a matching striped fabric bought here.
Size: 35.5" x 44.5" = 93 cm x 113 cm (before washing)
You can find the pattern I used here: can be made in one day (I didn't).

Now I really have to get a move on with the Japanese x & + block!
And have you all joined in the fun at Lynn's: by now over 1300 entries for the giveaway!
So glad I don't have to choose a winner there.

Hope to see you again some time this week.

In shock

The worst thing that can happen to you as a parent is losing your child.

Yesterday a former pupil of mine, one day after her 16th birthday, died in a car crash.
Two other girls (former pupils too), ages 15 and 17, were in the car but were relatively unharmed.
And so was the 20 year old (male) driver, WHO HAS NO DRIVING LICENCE

The car ended up in a ditch and this is what was left on the motorway:

A reunion and Art

I suppose I have some catching up to do but I also have to tell you a lot this week, hence my 3rd post.
Last Sunday we've been to Amsterdam, the Mister, the pup and me.
While I was in the big and warm exhibition hall, they were outside: walking and waiting. And sitting in the car with the engine on because it was cold with a considerable windchill.
After and hour (and a half  ... ish) we went to another exhibition on a much smaller scale in a small gallery very near the centre of Amsterdam. As we entered this part of the town called "de Baarsjes", we were greeted with signs like these

Welcome to Amsterdam!

It made us laugh straight away.
We went on to the gallery where a very dear friend was waiting for us. She and I went to secundary school together, at least for 4 years and we had a lot of fun and I mean FUN.
As I entered I was greeted with a big hug! Yes it was good to see her again.
Funny thing is, I would've walked straight past her in the street. She was a little familiar, but her voice has changed (a little) she looks taller now (maybe it was the heels?) and her hair is very dark and curly  now. It used to be dark blond and very straight. A natural development, she said, and I believe her, and it is a big difference.

So we sat down, had a coffee and started talking again.
Funny that with some people you can just start again where you left off.
Well, to be honest, there were some gaps to fill: we hadn't seen or spoken to each other for 30,
that is THIRTY years. Yes that is a long time.

Then I had the time and patience to walk around in the gallery to have a look at her work.
I'd seen pictures of it and it didn't particulary appeal to me.
But on seeing it and seeing the true colours I was stunned!
I loved it!
And nearly every single piece.
But I was brave and after talking about it together, we decided to buy 5 small "Dutch tiles", these:

I wanted you to see as much detail as possible, but this is how they'll hang at home:

You can read more about Loïs here or about the exhibition in the gallery, here.

There's no more time to tell you about the Dutch Folklore Elfstedentocht, so I'll do that tomorrow.
Hope to see you then.

Betty

Exhibition = inspiration, part Deux

As promised more photographs of beautiful and inspiring quilts as I hope they will inspire you, too.

 

The above quilt of thimbles or tiny tumblers is made by Supergoof. She does all her patchwork and quilting by hand. Her whole website and all her quilts are inspiring. Have a look!

This one was made by Wietske Kluck: each block is about 0,5 cm or 0.2".
A little more detail, though slightly blurred, below.
She makes stunning work with a very high dosage of originality.

These were made by Marijke Snijders-Witte (she doesn't blog). I thought this quilt was fantastic! Original! The idea is simple (always in retrospect) and the effect is stunning. Can you hear the cows? Or smell them?
I love this.
Below in detail.

The next 4 are made by Marijke Snijders-Witte, too.
Kaffe Fasset's fabrics nearly all are loud, and this quilt certainly is that too. It is softened by stripes of other fabric sewn over it. Now a kind of lattice appears.
Very original and absolutely beautiful.

 
See what I mean with lattice?

I couldn't get my head around this one (below).
I can see blocks, but no other pattern.
Just blurs of colours.
Like a watercolour paining.

This one (below) is called FIRE
For obvious reasons.

Now three miniquilts made by quiltgroup De Uitdaging (=The Challenge).
I've seen this somewhere before ...

Love this one (below); great idea and superbly done.

 

Any corn farmer would love this one too.

As do I.

Now onto quilting men. A minority in quilt world but some men do make the most stunning work!
A lot of geometric shapes, but also a lot of other stuff.
All of the below quilts were made by Arnout Cosman. If you live in Europe you might have heard of him. He has a wonderful website, with lots of details about quilt shops all over Europe. (winkels=shops).
Say you're on holiday in France. You can look quilt shops up on his website, really cool!
Or perhaps some of you use QuiltAssistant? He made it.

Here he is, quilting away. He seemed a bit shy. But I suppose it is somewhat awkward, sitting amidst your quilts and all these woman drooling over them.

Perhaps he's just not into PR?

I love his work!

Like this one: when we embraced the EURO, we abolished our guilder (gulden). 

We did have some really cool designs on our bank notes. Arnout Cosman incorperated these in this quilt.

Doesn't this one remind you of a famous Dutch painter?

A labyrinth, with a butterfly.
Did you see the butterfly on one of the other geometric quilts?

I also love the lady on the left, looking at his work in awe ...

Really great if you've had the patience for these 18 pictures.
Tomorrow I'd like to show you what else we did in Amsterdam.
And about the latest buzz in my country at the moment: with temperatures below zero now for nearly two weeks, all ice skaters are getting really excited about the Elfstedentocht.
Till tomorrow.

An exhibition means coming home full of inspiration!

First of all I have to thank you, dear devoted followers, because I haven't been blogging very regularly lately, but I'm sure you all know why (the head). My pace is slowing down and my finishes are neatly tucked away in a corner nonexistent. Which is no wonder, of course.
Which is also why I have not been able to attend Lily's Fresh Sewing Day or Small Blog Meet. But there's always the first of the next month!

And this week I REALLY won something: a lovely and cute mini quilt. I'll post a picture when it has arrived.
If you'd like to win something very original, hop over to Noas'. (you won't regret it)

Yesterday I went to a quilt exhibition (in Vijfhuizen, near Amsterdam) with lots of market stalls as well (and I only bought 2 items!)
And I've seen some stunning work! So many different techniques! Simple and intricate, made by male and female quilters, all different and (nearly) all beautiful. Like these, for example
(brace yourselves for 13 pictures):

not a perfect picture, but you still can see the details of the quilt

yes, bits of newspaper!

pieces of fabric, rolled up, some with a bit of batting and sewn to the foundation (=fabric)

from afar it did not look very appealing to me

but I was stunned by the details!

And I still don't know how she made this

Just by adding a few strands of yarn (is it?) this quilt is starting to move, flow, like a river.

What is this?

AMAZING

Tomorrow I'll show you some more.
Have fun today.