NeedleNecessities

Goodbye's...

2009-06-15T12:03:00.002+02:00

...and hello's! My blog has reached full capacity and I decided it was best to start over again with a clean slate and some new ideas. I am no longer posting on this blog but will not delete it for the time being. I do hope you will come over to join me at my new blog called All My Scattering Moments. Please take a moment to stop in and let me know that you found me there. I will look forward to hearing from you.

Teatime Tuesdays ... oops ... Thursday

2009-06-11T20:57:00.006+02:00

Here I am very late with my Teatime Tuesday. I had a day out with a friend on Tuesday. She came and got me so I had a day out of the house. I was so tired in the afternoon when back home that I did not post my teatime recipe. So here we are on Thursday and I hope you will forgive me but I wanted to share the next recipe.

What is a tea without the English tea sandwiches? They are so very good too. There are many kinds but this is the one I used for my last tea.

Cucumber and rocket tea sandwiches

Sturdy white bread
Cucumber
Rocket salad leaves
Butter
Salt and pepper

Spread butter on one side of two slices of bread. On one slice, cover with rocket leaves and then add a layer of sliced cucumber. Don't slice the cucumber paper thin as you want to be able to really taste the cucumber. Salt and pepper the cucumber to taste. Press the next buttered slice of white bread on the sandwich and cut off the crusts with a sharp bread knife. Slice the sandwich in half diagonally and wrap tightly in cellophane. Keep in the fridge until using. These sandwiches can easily be made up the day before a tea and stay fresh and crispy in the fridge.

One sandwich per person for a tea table.

I have been doing many bigger projects lately and really needed a finish. I decided to pick up a project that I put aside a year ago. I designed a little sampler for one of the hornbooks that my step father made for me. I finally decided what thread to use. I did the entire design in Carrie's Thread "Thanksgiving". I have to start working on a design for the next hornbook he made which is a very special one.

My mother and I have come up with another fun idea for a hornbook and now I just have to convince George to start making it. He said I still had to do the other ones so here is a finished hornbook George! *grins*

Edit ~ There have been a couple of questions about what a hornbook is. See an old blog entry I did about hornbooks here.

I'm in the garden...

2009-06-08T13:05:00.007+02:00

Yes, that is where I spent my weekend! Not here through the garden gate at Cranberry Cottage but looking out the window at our city garden. It was a bit too chilly for me to sit outside and stitch but think of the garden I did...

This is because as I mentioned in my last post, I was starting my Nobody Love Me sampler. Now I decided to join Annemarie's Lovelorn Sisterhood as I sang this child's song when I was young and still sing it today. I love teasing my mother by singing it to her! *grins* I have understood that some have never heard this little ditty so check out this adorable version here. How cute is this little boy!?!

Well, when a sampler is dedicated to this, you just have to stitch it, right? That being said...the only worm this girl would put in her mouth would have to be made of yummy pure chocolate but don't tell my mother I said so. I would not want her to no longer take my song seriously of course. *wink*

So here are the fruits of two days of my gardening labors. Gee, this kind of gardening is great fun! It is really going quickly which I am pleased about since I already know how I am going to finish it. I am so excited to get started on the finish but that will have to wait for a couple more weekends of 'gardening'.

The linen is Wilchelt-Permin 32 count Star Sapphire which has a very soft blue hue although it does not show well in the photo.

Getting into trouble once again...

2009-06-05T17:31:00.008+02:00

What's a girl gonna do? I came back from my check up at the hospital tired and weary of some news. I have to have another biopsy for sure this summer and my thyroid is hardening from the treatment so it is 'perhaps', as the doctor put it, going to be more uncomfortable this time around. Humm...her way of saying it is going to hurt? I am hoping it will be okay and she gave me some medicine to take starting the day before I go in. Okay, enough of that...it is now out of my mind.

So I came home minding my own business and that business this week is stitching on my French Abecedaire SAL which is very sadly behind.....

When the latest issue of Sampler & Antique Needlework Quarterly dropped on my front door mat. I opened it to have a little peek. I was really only just going to peek and then get back to my stitching. First, I started reading a wonderful article about a simple little sampler which had me salivating (I think I want to reproduce it and add a copy of the letter dating the sampler to the back of the framed piece) and then...

I browse through the rest and see this! Why did I look??? Now I have to start stitching this wonderful sampler! I remember this little verse from my childhood. The colors are wonderful on it and best of all...look at all those cats! Why did I look???

On top of that, I had planned to get a start on my new project this weekend. I have become one of Annemarie's Lovelorn Sisters and was the first on the Traveling Pattern list. There are 19 of us in the Lovelorn Sisterhood if I remember correctly. I have my marking copy run off so I can start stitching. I also have a fun idea for the finishing which I hope I can make work when it is done.

I pulled the colors today. This however is not going to be the fabric. I have decided on Wilchelt-Permin 32 count Star Sapphire. I hope to have enough of a start to share it with you this coming week.

So as I said, why did I look??? I want to start my next red and white sampler soon too. I really do have more than enough projects in my basket. And we won't even discuss how many other are hidden around my house. And with all this...I really do have to start on a few quilt UFOs as soon as I feel up to it. So here is me getting into trouble once again.

Teatime Tuesdays is seeing letters...

2009-06-02T14:01:00.006+02:00

I only just realized a few days ago that I missed the last Teatime Tuesday. Sorry about that. We are trying to find humor in my forgetfulness right now and blaming absolutely everything on my silly thyroid gland. You hear us going around the house with any mishap exclaiming "Oh it's just that gland again!" whether I am the cause of the mishap or not. *grins*

This week, the recipe is one that is good for a refreshing end to a tea but also just a fun summertime treat to be enjoyed anytime.

Strawberry Buttermilk

500 gram (1 pound/2 cups) Fresh strawberries
500 ml (2 cups) buttermilk
1 tablespoon sugar

Wash the strawberries and puree them with a stafmixer or blender. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar. I taste a strawberry first as you made need more if they are not very sweet. Do this according to your own taste. Now add buttermilk. I used probably about 400 ml. Buttermilk seems to be very thin this year while we are used to a thick buttermilk normally here in Holland. You don't want this drink to become too watery. Taste a spoon of it as you go to get it just right. You can use it as a summer drink at this stage or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an extra creamy treat. For a tea, I place a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in a wine glass and pour the strawberry buttermilk over to fill the glass. Serve with a spoon. Even if you don't normally like buttermilk, give this a try as I think you will be surprised.

I can finally share an update again on my French letter sampler. This is a project I am doing with two friends. We will be using it on a wooden sewing box. It is great fun to let this sampler develop as I go along. Each time I pick a new letter H or symbol that I want to use on my box. I have used scissors and plan on stitching a few more sewing symbols.

I want to include things like my DHs initials but also a silhouette of a cat to symbolize Dagi. Thanks to SS for her help with this but I now have found the purrfect cat! This just looks so much like Dagi. He sat on my lap this weekend while I stitched it so there are even a few of his cat hairs worked into the piece for good luck.

I finally pulled out the stitchs of this little H that were in the very light shade of pink. It did not work well on my linen so I have restitched it in a brick red now that works well on the linen but also with the fabric I will be lining my sewing box in. I am off to search through my charts again for some more motifs. Gee, this is such great fun 'designing as you go' that I would highly recommend it! If you have ever wanted to create your own French letter sampler, just get out your needle and thread and start. You won't be sorry.

Needle in hand...

2009-05-24T21:30:00.005+02:00

That is how I have been spending my time when I was not sleeping. I am happy to say that I fall asleep less now during the day and today did not feel so cold until late afternoon when it was back to my clothes closet to slip on a sweater. I do feel while it is slow going that I am improving a little. My doctor felt she was perhaps increasing the dosage of my medicine too quickly which was giving me strange headaches in the middle of the night. She is slowing the pace a little and still assures me to just be patient.

So what do I do to be patient? I sit with needle in hand of course! It has been my best friend through all of this. I don't have the energy to quilt so I am working on my stitching projects and making slow progress. So slow, in fact, that the tortoise would look like a speed demon beside me but that is okay.

We had a long holiday weekend here in Holland and drove up to Cranberry Cottage on Thursday. We stayed through Saturday and decided to drive home last last night as it seems that Holland has discovered the beauty of the north. They were 'all' up there this weekend. Traffic was terrible. By coming home on Saturday night, we were able to avoid the traffic having to return home on Sunday.

So we decided to enjoy our Sunday here in our city garden. I sat in the shade with my stitching while Jos was refinishing an old iron garden table. It has turned out to be a thing of beauty by the way! I tried to spoil him while he worked and made him a fresh fruit salad of Galia melon, banana and strawberries for lunch and then a break later with Ice Coffee. Yep! You can see them next to my stitching. *grins*

My 10 Virgins is coming along nicely and I actually finished 5 more letters from the moment I took this photo. Alas, it is at the neglect of other projects! I need to get back to my French Abecediare SAL very soon. I am so behind on it. I just cannot seem to get away from these 5 giggly gals as my friend Angela has dubbed them. I have decided I am not allowed to work on them this week so I can try and catch up a little on the SAL.

I am also hoping to spend some time visiting many of you this week to see what you have been up to lately. For all our American friends, I hope you are enjoying a happy Memorial Day weekend.

What are you working on???

Primitive ornaments SAL - Candy Canes

2009-05-15T11:31:00.009+02:00

Our next ornament is something that every child delights in on a Christmas tree ~ candy canes. A candy cane is a simple way to add festive cheer to even a glass vase during the holidays and I am hoping you will find this primitive ornament adding holiday cheer to your month of May as you stitch your set of ornaments.

Enlarge the hand drawn chart and copy to Word or an email to print it out.

I received the following photos of ornaments finishes. My mother, Nancy, surprised me when she stitched up the Let It Snow ornament. She has said she was not going to stitch them but being a snowman lover, she decided she did need to make this one. She did not tell me and surprised me with it on her blog. I loved the addition of the sweet little snowman button.

Letty finished her ornaments from April and they are both beautiful as ever! Her version of Peace On Earth is just that ~ peaceful and calm in white thread. It reminds me of a snowcovered Christmas eve...

Goodwill to Men works so well with her pretty trims she is using.

This month's winner of the giveaway drawing is Nancy. I will be sending out a little gift this coming week.

Teatime Tuesdays and a finish

2009-05-12T16:50:00.015+02:00

Tuesday is here again and this is the next recipe...Italian ham rolls. These are just so simple to make. They are great for a tea table but also if you want something to serve when people stop by. You won't believe how great they taste!

Italian Ham Rolls:

Frozen puff pastry
Pesto
Grated cheese
Raw ham such as Parma ham or Spanish Serano ham

Allow the puff pastry to thaw. In Holland, we can buy it in little squares of approxiametely 5 inches. If your sheets are larger, cut it down to work for you. Spread the pastry with pesto.

Sprinkle on the grated cheese. You can use any cheese you wish but I use Dutch old cheese as it has a fuller taste.

Now lay enough ham over to cover. Be sure to use a ham that has a good strong flavour such as any Italian or Spanish ham. Regular ham slices will not taste good with this recipe.

Now roll up your square of pastry. I use a little of the pesto residue to help close the end.

Cut each square in 8 slices.

Lay on a baking sheet covered with foil. This helps make for an easy clean up too once they are baked. Don't worry about making these perfectly neat and round. Some may even pop open as they bake but they look great and taste even better. Place for 15 to 20 minutes in a preheated oven - 200C/400F. Enjoy!

And now a finish...

With spending much time on the couch resting and keeping warm while I am recovering, I am using my time with my needle. This is the Blackbird Design freebie Petite Letters Rouges that I think the entire stitching world is working on. I did not make mine to enter their contest but as I thought it was a sweet way to honor my grandmother who was very magical to me. I have a number of little samplers in mind for names of family members and this is the first of them.

I have finished this framing it first with vintage lace from Brugge, Belgium and little vintage buttons and then using a wooden frame that I have had for over 20 years. Fun to see that something I have had so long now came to great use again. It was just the right size.

My grandmother grew up thinking her name was Bertha Alverna but only after asking for a birth certificate did the family find out that she was named Bertha May on the certificate. Even this is odd as the name is spelled Mae in her family but May on the certificate. I decided to use it exactly as is on her birth certificate. She was born in 1902.

I loved being with her. I loved helping her out as she could not get around well. When I got my driver's liscense, I enjoyed stopping it to see her, run over to help when she needed it or come get her in her wheelchair and take her shopping. I enjoyed her stories of the old days when I asked her about things for a school project. I remember her making us a wilted lettuce salad that we don't know how she made. I remember her always telling my little brother and I, as soon as we came in the door, to go get a piece of candy from her candy dish. We broke the lid once and she got the same candy dish in plastic afterwards. I rescued that candy dish as my aunt was going to throw it away when she died. She exclaimed it was plastic and trash when I asked it I could have it. Not to me it isn't and I still have it in my quilt studio!

Health update: Last Friday, what I thought was a cold got so bad it made it impossible to breath and Jos took me over to our emergancy doctor's post by the hospital. The doctor there put me on antibiotics to help with the slime building up which was making me feel like I would sufficate because of the enlarged thyroid. I had a severe sinus infection. The antibiotics are helping and I feel much better in that respect. I just have to be patient while I get started on the thyroid medication as the specialist said my thyroid is not working anymore. That means allowing time for my body to respond to it all. Still cold, tired and in a good deal of pain but happily stitching away with my charm quilt keeping me warm.

Still cold....

2009-05-08T17:27:00.006+02:00

...so lets talk Christmas. No I have not lost my mind (well maybe I have but I will find it laying around here somewhere!) but am working on a StockingAlong with a few online friends. I wanted to share a weekly update. I mentioned I was making this with charms using the hexagon shape. I had basted a number of fabrics I pulled from my stash. Believe it or not, this will be a Christmas stocking when it is put together. I have an idea how I am going to sew it and only hope that it works as I start sewing it.

In the meantime, I decided on the size I want it to be (I hope) and will be adding these yummy fabrics which I took from the basketful of them waiting to be traced with the template of my second charm quilt. Now I can add fabrics given to me by ladies in my quilt group which is fun too.

And yes, I am still very cold. I am in a turtleneck again and have the heating on but just cannot warm up. In the meantime, on Wednesday, my doctor called from the hospital and told me that I have complications from the radioactive therapy I had done in March. 30% of patients are at risk of their thyroid slowing down in the first five years. Mine has slowed so much so fast that she says it is no longer functioning which explains being so ill since last Thursday. I am afraid I am making only baby steps with my stitching and quilting but do what I can. It will be a few weeks yet before I start to feel better as I started the medication on Thursday. She said while my complications are extreme, it will be set right with time. It will mean a very bad couple of weeks yet. We get very little sleep now as I am experiencing heart problems and pain both now as well as breathing problems. I caught a cold now after coming back from the hospital which is making it worse but I am so tired that my immune system is not working either. It is like your body is just shutting itself down. But I have hope and know I have to be patient. So I am off to sit on the couch with a quilt over me for warmth of body, a DVD of the Brontes for warmth of the soul and stitch on my sampler for warmth of my blood.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts, comments and emails. I am slow on blog visits but know you are always in my thoughts!

Teatime Tuesdays

2009-05-05T15:06:00.005+02:00

I have had so many requests for my recipes I used for the High Tea that I thought it would be fun to have 'Teatime Tuesdays' for the coming months and give you a recipe from my teatable. These are fool proof recipes (definition of fool proof ~ if I can make them, you can make them!) and I hope you will give it a try.

I will start this new item today with Zucchini Soup which I renamed Green Goo Soup for Barbara to make for her kids...lol. For the High Tea, I serve it in a little liqueur glass which makes it that little bit special.

Zucchini Soup

2 zucchini, cut in slices and then quartered
1 onion, diced
1 liter (4 cups) vegetable bouillon (you could also use chicken bouillon and I use cubes)
olive oil
salt and pepper
pesto (I used the dried pesto mix as one of the ladies has a nut allergy. It gives you the great taste but there are no pine nuts in this dried mix.)

Saute your onion and zucchini in the olive oil in a soup pan. Place on a low heat with the lid on the pan and allow the onion and zucchini to become soft about 5 to 10 minutes. Make vegetable bouillon and add to the vegetables. Let simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes. Puree the soup. I find a hand held staffmixer works very well for this but you can use a blender or food processor if you prefer. Season with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of pesto. This soup can be served hot or cold. It also tastes great reheated.

I had to run over to the hospital unexpectedly this morning to have new blood work done up. I am having side effects from the therapy I had done in March and not feeling well which took a turn for the worse since Thursday. The doctor had me come in and will call me tomorrow as she is having the blood work rushed. As I sat in the waiting room with a turtleneck and fleece on while everyone is dressed for spring, I felt like a blizzard was on its way. I simply cannot get warm so it is a warm fire in the woodstove kind of day. I am going to sit with a pot of hot tea by the fire to warm me inside and stitch.

My mind went to winter as it does at moments like these and I pulled out a very old UFO to complete that winter feeling. Why not? I might as well go with the flow right? So I am going to pretend I am not feeling cold because I am unwell but because it is winter and I am out 'Gathering Holly' as the pattern is called. *grins* I love this sweet little pattern and don't understand why it even became a UFO.

Sip 'n Stitch Sunday

2009-05-03T20:28:00.004+02:00

Today, we had the Sip 'n Stitch at my home. It was the first time I had Harmien, Barbara and Annemarie to my house. I really enjoyed the day together and preparing a High Tea for us all. It took us a while to get to the table as I showed them my home and then we looked through a number of my quilts and quilt tops.

Our menu was:
Zucchini soup
Stuffed vine tomatoes
Italian ham rolls
Cucumber tea sandwices
Friesian smoked 'droge worst' (sausage)
Oreo truffels
Fresian sugar bread

Pot du Creme au Chocolat

Strawberry buttermilk floats

As table favors, I had asked them a favorite color before they came and made them each a beaded scissor fob which I laid at each plate along with a strand of Carrie's Thread. I kept the table favor stitching themed.

I felt totally spoiled as if it was Christmas as I received a pinkeep made for me by Harmien, two speculaas moulds to add to my collection from Barbara and a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a package of quilt fabrics in chocolate brown and pinks from Annemarie. Thank you all three so very much, first for the company to brighten a Sunday and then also for your wonderful gifts!

You can enlarge the slideshow by clicking on a photo.

French letter samplers update

2009-04-27T21:28:00.003+02:00

Once a month, I get together with my two lacemaking friends for an afternoon of tea, chatting and handwork. These are the two friends I gave the wooden boxes and fabric to last year for their birthdays. We have now all three started our letter samplers using threads to match the fabric we will be using in our boxes. Here is the start to the three samplers.

I was able to get alot accomplished today on my own piece. I finish the lower case H I had started and started another H which is now almost half finished. I then need to stitch a few more symbols. I am searching for a shillouette of a sitting cat. I also want to include more sewing symbols. I will share photos of our samplers after we add more to them each month.

I was asked about the printed hexagons I showed on my last entry. There is a free online program you can use to print out any size hexagons by changing the settings. I used a double thickness computer paper to print them on. It was a bit tricky to get the thick paper through my old laser jet printer but it worked. You can find the link here.

A full load...

2009-04-24T11:57:00.008+02:00

And why? Well, obviously I have no will power when it comes to a needle and thread. I just love a project and get started. Never mind that I have a stitching basket sitting there filled to overflowing.

So my French Abecediare SAL is taking a backseat this month but I plan to remedy that this weekend. We are off to Cranberry Cottage as our new firewood shed is being built and I should have lots of stitching time between making coffee. I do have a start on the latest part as you can see.

I blame Gigi for my problems. *grins* She came up with yet another amazing free design on her blog and I fell head over heels in love with it. I started my version of 10 Virgins the same day I saw it. I am using four DMC color that will work well with my other works on my sampler wall in our bedroom. I am using DMC 730, 3781, 3750 and 3858 on Sandstone 40-count linen. I love how it is coming along.

I joked on a homekeeping list about holding a Stocking Along and we are starting it today. I printed some hexagons and will be making a charm hexagon stocking that fits in very well with my quilt group's theme for this year.

I added two more motifs to my Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler. Then I ordered two more books about her to add to my bookshelves. I thoroughly enjoy reading more and more about this amazing woman!

I have, last but not least, finished scissors on my French Letter sampler for my sewing box. I still need to rip out the tiny H in the light shade. It just does not work on my linen and need to decide if I am gong to add another shade instead. I don't think any light shade will show up well though so I may end up having to go with just the two shades I am already useing. For now, this one will be set aside while I catch up with my Abecedaire SAL.

Yes, I do have a full load but I think it is the way I like it. I seem to find a creative energy in working on each and every one of these projects. Now we won't even go into how many quilt projects I have going...lol!

Note: I did not iron these projects before I photographed them as we are leaving early for Cranberry Cottage. I hope my online friend Joni enjoys seeing my unironed projects. See Joni, I am not so obsessed!

Have a wonderfully creative weekend dear friends!

Primitive ornaments SAL - Peace and Goodwill

2009-04-15T13:16:00.007+02:00

I could not decide which ornament chart to share this month and then decided to give you two at once. To me, these two go together just like the Christmas Carol. I could just see and hear Victorian carolers in my mind as I stitched these. Enjoy!

My photo seems like the linen is light instead of the dirty look hand dye. All my ornaments are being stitched on 30-count Old Mill Java hand dyed linen.

I used a star eyelet stitch for on top of the pine tree. You could also use a small button or large bead. For the holly berries in Goodwill, use either a large red bead or 3 small ones. You could also use a small red button for the berry.

Goodwill To Men is slightly blurred as the beads are too large for me to scan this well.

Here are the two charts for this month...

Enjoy the slideshow of the photos I have received since our last SAL entry. Keep these beautiful photos coming in as each month, I draw a name from that month's photos. It doesn't matter which ornament you send a photo in from as they are all entered each month. This month's winner is.....Letty. Please contact me with your snail mail address Letty so I can get the gift out to you right away. Congratulations to you and everyone for their wonderful ornament finishes.

Easter is a time of.....

2009-04-12T12:27:00.008+02:00

.....tulips.....

.....Easter bunnies.....

.....Easter eggs.....

.....baby chicks.....

.....and nests.....

I wish you a very Happy Easter and a color-filled and joyful spring!

Note: Please send your photos of any of the Primitive Pillow Ornaments to me before April 15th to be included in the next giveaway.

Afternoon tea anyone?

2009-04-09T20:51:00.004+02:00

Today, I took my quilt group out to a beautiful old Dutch farm for an Afternoon Tea. We all had a really fun afternoon together. Here is a slideshow of a few of the happy moments from this afternoon...

Note: If you click on the picture itself on the slideshow, you can see the photos larger.

Coloring Easter eggs?

2009-04-07T10:22:00.007+02:00

Remember the sneak peek photo in my last entry? I used the various fabrics in purple, yellow, green, pink and blue to make fabric Easter eggs.

On April 1st, Letty had an April Fool's Day surprise hidden on her werbsite. It was the pattern for these eggs. I love the old fashioned look to them with the stitched seams. I think it spoke to my love of 'crazy quilting'.

Placed with a simple twig wreath in my creamware dish and I have a sweet new Easter decoration. I just love it and want to thank Letty for sharing this pattern.

I also want to thank you all for your comments about my charm quilt. I enjoy linking history to the quilts I make and try to use a great deal of symbolism in them. I am so delighted that you too enjoy hearing these precious stories from the past too. And thank you for the sweet anniversary wishes too...

Note ~ Please be sure to email me photos of your Primitive Pillow ornaments as the latest ornament is coming up next week along with the drawing for the giveaway.

Old tales made new...

2009-04-03T14:27:00.008+02:00

I am so glad I can start my weekend knowing that I have finished my charm quilt. This is the first of two I am making this year for my quilt group's theme. In case you are new to my blog or missed the entry about this...my quilt group is making charm quilts this year. We are swapping pieces to have enough to complete our projects. A charm quilt is made up of all different fabrics using a one-patch block. My quilt is made up of fabrics in shades of creams, beige's, browns, pinks, blues, greens, yellows and grays.

I decided I want to become better at machine quilting and will practice on a few of my quilts this being one of them. I am really pleased with the results this time.

At first, I debated about using blues in the quilt, but later as it came together, I found the blues added an exciting element to the whole quilt. I wanted this quilt to have an old fashioned look to it. There are 390 pieces of fabric in this charm quilt.

You can see the two directions that I quilted from the back. I quilted horizontally first and then went back and did the vertical zigzag lines of the hexagons.

Now why is this an old tale made new? I named this quilt 'Vintage Brain Training' because when you research charm quilts, you will discover that some woman made these quilts to use for their children when they became ill. They would repeat a fabric which would entertain a child who was sick in bed searching for the two pieces of like fabric print. I thought this was such a sweet story and could imagine a child searching along the patchwork for these matches. It was like the memory games or the modern day brain training computers. Why use a computer when you can sit and stare at a quilt instead? My quilt has 7 repeated fabrics and, believe me, they are not that simple to find. I love being able to tie stories of quilt history into my own quilts.

Here is a sneak peek at my weekend project. If you are curious to see what these fabrics become, stop by and visit me next week. We are off to Cranberry Cottage for the weekend. It is our 22nd wedding anniversary and we want to go out to eat at a favorite restaurant near the cottage. This will be my first stay since the New Year as my breathing problems were making it too difficult to stay there. I am looking forward to going again.

Whatever you do this weekend...enjoy it!

Something old, something new...

2009-03-31T18:19:00.008+02:00

Something old, something new, something with pink to share with you...

Here is my French Abecedaire SAL part four is finished and I have started the new part. I am really enjoying this sampler and it seems to get prettier with each part that Claire shares with us. So this is my 'something old'...

...and for 'something new'...

I have started a new project. Last year, I gave my two lacemaking friends a box and half meter of fabric as a birthday gift. It was for us to make sewing boxes. We are first each designing our own French letter sampler. I will be stitching not only Hs on mine but also sewing items like the scissors I have started, my husbands initials and a cat to symbolize Dagi. I am having lots of fun adding letters to this but am very unsure about the lightest of the three pink shades. It does not show up well at all on the fabric although it matches my fabric choice perfectly. I am going to have to change this shade and rip out the small H I already stitched.

We will be lining the box in fabric and making a few accessories for in the sewing box. I will share progress as I go along and hope to show you the other two boxes also. This is going to be fun to do since they are going to become very personal to each of us.

A tale of UFOs

2009-03-26T15:01:00.005+01:00

This is a tale of some UFOs. Just some mind you as I could never even admit to how many I have. That is what happens when you used to teach patchwork and lead a quilt group. You have to keep coming up with new things meaning the 'old things' never get finished. But I am going to share a few tht I have been concentrating on this month of March.

This is the first of my two charm quilts that I am making this year. Each year, I create a theme for our quilt group to work on. In January, we started on charm quilt. These are quilts using a one-patch block and in which all the fabrics are different. This type of quilt became popular in the Victorian period while women saved a scrap of fabric to use for making this quilt. You can read more it about it here.

We are swapping our scraps to help each other get as many fabrics as possible. My top is now ready to be sandwiched and quilted. I have made this charm quilt with a twist in its tale but I will reveal that when I show you the finished quilt next week. Did I say next week? Yes, I really want to get this quilt finished before my next quilt evening on the first Wednesday of April. Crunch time for the deadline!

I will keep the tale of this second quilt (sorry for the wrinkles) a secret until I am farther along with it. I am again making this quilt with a historic connection in mind. Are you intrigued? I hope so and I will tell you the tale soon...

Finally, this applique block has a tale. I have never been a lover of needle applique so I decided to start this Bunny Hill BOM to make myself practice the technique more. I am very behind as this is the January block and I have yet to start on February or March. I will start the next one after I get the quilting done on my charm quilt.

Next post, I will share my stitching projects. I just started a new project which is going to be a very fun one to work on!

Birthday party for a blogger!

2009-03-25T08:12:00.004+01:00

Today is a friend of mine's birthday. This very blog brought her into my life. She commented one day saying "Hello from another 40-something woman from Amersfoort". I commented back to her through my blog. We not only were the same age but from the same city. Later she started her own blog and we met for real.

She is a warm and caring person and I am so glad that this blog brought me her friendship. It is her birthday today and she is very busy now working so does not have time to blog as she used to. So I thought it would be fun to hold a birthday party for her here on my blog. Please help me to wish Carolien the most wonderful day today!

Happy birthday to you my dear friend! Time to get together soon so I can give you a little birthday gift...

A thread box

2009-03-22T11:27:00.009+01:00

So often I see something in a shop and instantly imagine what it will become when I start working on it. This happened one afternoon when I went to a little discount shop to buy my shampoo I use. I saw this box and opened it.

When I saw the inside, an idea I had was confirmed and I knew I had to buy it to start on a gift for a friend.

So I measured out the raised space on the top of the box and worked on a design that would fit just right. When finished, I mounted the stitched piece.

I then attached it to the wooden box to create a thread box for Diane. I finished off the edge with a piece of trim. This sweet little box has a removable tray and little places to hold special threads. I enjoyed trying to turn this box into something just that little bit special.

Monogram fun

2009-03-20T12:11:00.005+01:00

I just love stitching these French monogram letters. They are just instant beauty and who doesn't love a gift with their own letters on it?

These are a birthday gift for a friend of mine. She loved the ones I made for our bedroom at Cranberry Cottage. I have been wanting to make her a set.

I stitched the letters S and T for her and her husband's first name and L for their last name.

The frames where ones I found a couple of years ago in IKEA. I fell in love with them right away. I often see a frame and immediately get an idea of how to use it. The funny thing is the this same friend has seen these frames and is always telling me that she wants to buy them from me. How can she when I meant to use them for her own gifts. *grins*

She does not do any kind of crafts herself but loves things like this and I cannot wait until I see her next week to give them to her.

Primitive ornaments SAL - Noel

2009-03-15T17:03:00.005+01:00

The 15th of this month came very quickly with being at the hospital most of this week. I am sorry to be so late in the day but here is the third ornament of the SAL. This month, we are doing a universal Christmas word - Noel.

Once again, you can click on my chart photo to enlarge it and print it out. This ornament uses beads under each of the three bells.

Here is a slideshow of all the photos I have received so far. I am thrilled to see the various results and have really enjoyed seeing how everyone is finishing their own ornaments. Another idea for finishing is to complete each ornament and save it until all the ornaments are stitched at which time you can sew them together into a little quilt.

I have also decided to hold a giveaway each month from the photos entries received. Jos has just drawn the name of the first winner. Susan will be receiving a little gift in the mail very soon. I will look forward to next month's ornament and giveaway. I can't wait to see your results.

More swap blocks...the US blocks

2009-03-13T14:37:00.015+01:00

I am out of the hospital and back to trying to pick up my handwork once again. I am very tired but the treatments went well. They gave me three days of isolation at home. That is very short compared to normal as my body is releasing all the excess radioactivity very well. I now have to play the waiting game. It will be a year before they know if the treatment is a success. With lots of luck, I may find a 15% reduction in the swelling by about 4 months. I do have to have everything tested once again in 6 weeks as it is almost certain that the treatment will result in my thyroid no longer functioning properly and I will have to take medication. I just pray the treatments are successful so I can breath and eat well again.

These are the quilt blocks that my quilt group received from the ladies in the US. They all live in and around Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Karen led the group on that side. She and I have been visiting each other's blogs for some time now. She asked me if we could maybe organize a swap. It has been great fun!

Here is Karen's block - wool pennies made from cotton fabrics...

Paulette's block - Pinwheel made of MN State fabrics by Moda

Jolene's block - Old Maid Puzzle

Kari's block - Northern Lights

Carolyn's block - Stripes and Star

Joyce's block - Lady of the Lake

Mary Ellen's block - Kaleidoscope

Carri Jane's block - Hole In The Barndoor

Marcia's block - Friendship Star

Ruthie's block - Fall Strip Piecing

Gail's block - Card Trick

Liz's block - Buggy Barn Star

If you missed the entry about the Dutch blocks sent over to the US, you can still see them here. I will be back sometime over the weekend with an update on some things I am working on. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.