This Friday I'll be boarding a train to London, the old fashioned way!
I signed up for the retreat in December, when it was announced and that was a good thing. Booked the hotel on the other side of the street) and my journey by train.
I wonder if I would've done it now? Yes, probably, because I'm dying to meet so many other bloggers. It's a big blog meet to me. The workshops are an extra.
The icing on the cake is the location: Londen ahhhhhh
The down side is I will not be able to see the English queen on her boat trip; but I'll get over that.
What will they all look like?
Like Beyonce of course! How long will it take for the ice to break?
2 seconds Will others be nervous too?
Everyone! Will I meet everyone?
YEA Will anyone recognize me?
Now you will
Will I learn a lot?
Yes and like when you were attending secundary school: you learn even more outside the classroom (LOL) Will I buy anything?
You bet! Will I have fun?
Me and 100 others. Will I cry Sunday afternoon?
That's my forte, so yes, probably (I'm such a softy).
Yes, I'm looking forward to this weekend!
See you all!!
And for those who don't go: I hope to make tons of pictures!
Last week we were invited to a friend's party, she was turning 40: well worth a celebration!
So the night before I thought it would be a great idea to make her a quilt. And I started cutting my fq bundle of Jenean Morrisson's California Dreamin' which I (needless to say) love. I think I bought it here, but that was a few months ago.
Sorry about the flash, but the light was bad, it was in the evening, and the work HAD to be done.
Sadly to say the next morning I woke up with a migraine ...
So no party, and certainly no quilt yet.
It might have been a stupid odd idea to whip up this quilt in one day ...
I can't help it, I'm optimistic.
That's what I like to call it anyway.
My inspiration for this was a quilt by Amanda Jean; you can see a picture of her quilt in the left hand corner of my photo and you can find the tutorial for it here.
After the migraine is gone, it always takes a few of days to get my energy back; so now I will have to lay in the sun! (it was 34 degrees in the shade here yesterday which was too hot)
With the iPad reading blogs!
I've such a hard life ...
I've finished my quilt for this charity: each sibling receives a quilt
at the end of their summer camp as these siblings aren't in the same
foster family. I've added mine in the Flickr Pool for all Siblings Together Quilts; have a look and be amazed!
I was wondering as I was admiring my finished Siblings Together quilt: should I wash it?
Is it dirty?
The fabric looks so crisp and nice now and after washing it, it might look like a second hand quilt: all crumpled and crinckly, and not the real original colours it had before you stuck it in the washing machine. You and me know it isn't a hand-me-down quilt, but does the first time quilt owner know?
I have the tendency to just go over it with a lint roller and then give it with washing & drying instructions. I've only washed one of the 16 projects I've made so far.
Having blogged for over 100 times, I thought it was time for something nice for all my readers. Because for some reason you lot seem to be growing. That's great! and flattering too.
Brown and cream were no colours I would choose voluntarily a year ago, but now that I've seen the effect and how WARM it can be I can only say: I love it; I might even do it again!
The quilt I'm talking about is this one (which you'might have seen before)
With a lot of help from dear quilting friends Alison and Nicolette (both great bloggers!), I have managed to write a pattern for it.
You'll find it at the top on the page "Quick and easy, stripy quilt tutorial".
And of course: if you've made a quilt like this: mail me, because I'd love to see!
Well, I hope I haven't disappointed you by not sending you (all) any fat quarters or other fabric.
My finish this week (so I'll be linking up with Amy and Amanda Jean) is a sketch for a quilt with these RUBY fabrics, from Oakshot Fabrics:
All to be appliqued on Potash also from Oakshot Fabrics.
And I haven't got a clue when I'll be making this one.
Perhaps just in between making City Harbor for a dear friend and her wonderful sporty husband?
Have I told you yet he (the wonderful sporty husband) will be cycling from Italy to his hometown for CHARITY!
If you'd like to make a donation for his team "Fietsers zonder grenzen" go here (in English!) but any other team will do too, because it's to enable doctors and nurses to be able to operate where they're needed most!
Have a lovely weekend and keep supporting yours; they'll carry you through!
I'm so glad other quilters remind me of finishing something. One of the motivators is Lee at Freshly Pieced every Wednesday: what's the score?
And also Cille for she is so disciplined to finish something before she starts the next: I admire that and I'm not sure I can do the same. I like so many things (she does too, I'm sure)!
So, the quilt for Siblings Together: is it finished yet? No, but I'm more than halfway quilting it. So it can be finished this week.
Last week the Mister and I went to the Open European Quilting Championships in Veldhoven, a two and a half hour drive from our home. And right next to the city where my in-laws live, so we went to see them too.
We went the night before the opening, because I had to deliver a quilt to Michael Oakshott who wanted to hang it in his shop there. Perhaps it's a bit silly that I did not take a picture of that. I was ever so proud, but did not want to be über proud (which is considered a bad thing in some households).
But you know the one: brown and beige strips + circular quilting: easy to make, great result!
Our entrance was through the hotel (we'd slept there) where we had to buy a ticket in a small hall as if we were on our way to the toilets! Then we came into a room (not big) where 2 ladies were spinning. No not on a bike, I mean making a thread from sheepwool.
We both thought: where ARE we? This is not what we'd expected!
This is a European Championship!
We walked through the room and saw a bigger and much more lighter room: the big hall where approximately 500 quilts were hanging. We stepped in and my husband said after a while:
You can close your mouth now!
I felt like a real country girl for a moment: I have never been to a big exhibition like this!
Here's an impression:
There are more impressions on You Tube (OEQC 2012), here on Shulamit Ron from Israel, here on quilts from Italy and here on quilts from the USA and here one on Reiko Kato, from Japan. I have to warn you: they play the same kind of music in all these films!
I have posted a selection of my 110 photographs on this blog, have a look; there would just be too many pictures in this blog. There's so much to share!
As so many women there, I probably bought too much. Although I have to say I bought a free motion quilting bobbin holder for my Janome and a walking foot with a special 1/4" foot thingy too.
Will someone please tell me what this is called in English (that metal plate)? I have a number of dictionaries but none of them name all the details of a sewing machine. I bought this one to stop the fabric from getting eaten by my machine: this one has a small hole where the thread goes through (up and down).
And yes, I bought fabric too: this is the only bundle I could not resist. It's a fat 8th bundle of youknowwho and only for sale (then) in Veldhoven. When I came home I regretted not buying the fat quarter bundle, because they're sooo beautiful:
RUBY
I've been racking my brain on what to make with them: a miniquilt like the second one on this page.
That would be totally out of my comfort zone, but soooo lovely. I also like this one which is a less wonky. It's the wonky bit that scares me, it does.
I hope I can let you see a design some time this week.
At the end, when we'd been walking from 10 till 4, the Mister asked me which one I liked best.
That was very, very difficult. These two definitely are in my top 3, and the colours are so much more beautiful than on this picture. Both by Shulamit Ron from Israel. These quilts will hang in the synagogue on the Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur.
Hope to see you again this week, not just with a sketch or pattern or inspiration for the RUBY bundle, but I will also have a surprise for you (a giveaway for everyone)!
I started the month off really well on a short holiday to the German isle of Langeoog and I enjoyed the sallowthorn cake.
Back home I went on to sew this one for Siblings Together (nearly finished now)
I made this one, as my first commission and wrote the pattern for it (with help from 2 quilt friends!)
I joined the Potholder Swap (no 11!) was struggeling with the yin and yang potholder idea I had and will be working on that this month.
Instead I made these, which are more in line with the SUMMER theme:
I've caught the Granny Squares bug, but my solid is not white (which I would smudge during sewing, I suppose) but a soft green.
I haven't been (wasting time) weeding, and I've been enjoying time with Angus, our puppy of nearly 8 months now.
For next month I'm going to make a start with City Harbor for a dear friend.
And then, there's another dear friend waiting for a quilt too.
So .... busy, busy, busy.
