Fat bottomed pear

I won’t go into how I somehow feel a little related to this pear – hmmm;)

Another one of these that I mentioned here. This one is for me, she said unshamedly;)

See you in January – I think.

Dessine-moi un mouton

One of my beloved aunts needed a tea cosy, and I volunteered to make her one. And off I went, and under my arm was her sloppy and a little sad tea cosy for reference and guide.

It was my first tea cosy experience, so to speak, so the edges got a little uneven. Therefore – to best secure the warmth of the tea, the cosy needs a little punch for full coverage;) The result, shown above, reminds me of the shape drawn by the pilot in ‘The little Prince’ It was the only shape that the little prince was happy with, for inside he imagined there would be a sheep (mouton) I enjoy the thought of the ‘hat’ covering my aunt’s tea pot on her breakfast table, wonky as it may be – punched and all.

I loved stitching big with embroidery threads. Hope to do so again soon. Oh, yes for there’s my tea pot. It looks like it is in need of some warmth too!

A big thank you to everyone for stopping by and for taking the precious time to leave me lovely words. Blogging is wonderful!

Take care.

Una

A new family member

Snuppa
Curious, playful, placid – loved.
I think we are about to be adopted =^__^=

Alma Svensson’ apron

This small quilt represents my time as a mom of two toddlers. My children were three and one and I was at home with both of them one day. They were watching a film about Emil – one of Astrid Lindgren’s many well loved characters.

To the eye of a grown up the set and decor is a joy - the clothing, and interiors of early 20th century Sweden. And of course the log cabin quilts covering the beds. Even Lina, the maid, has a quilt.

I grabbed my bin of scraps and found a favorite blue and white stripe for borders, similar to Alma’s, Emil’s mother’s, clothing.

The whole thing was put together in those few precious moments of quiet time. A+J were happy watching their movie, and I was peacefully sewing.

I never found the time then to quilt it by hand – finding time for that seemed an impossible task…  My skills in machine quilting were not very good. So it is roughly quilted by machine.

Now it is an entry in Park City Girl’s Blogger’s Quilt Festival. Go have a look at all the wonderful quilts!

… and the color inspiration

A summer dress. That would make it a summer quilt – no? Or perhaps as a memory of summer…

OK. I’ll leave it at that. To go listen to some more fab radio at BBC radio 4.

My daughter’s quilt

… or learning by doing.

Last month my girl and I had a blast choosing fabrics for her first bigger quilt. I was feeling half an inch of guilt for not having made something for her in a long time. Oh, well. She went through the piles of fabric in our book shelf. And pulled out some oranges, pinks and a red/white dish cloth she had to have in there. Also some blues had to be added – nice to see her pinkish taste slowly  changing.  I added some of my favorites in tune (or so I thought) with her choices.

Having found Diane Gaudynski’s blog some time ago, I’ve been inspired to give free motion quilting a go – again. My abilities as a machine quilter will most likely never reach anything close to her level of artistry, but I sure enjoy the free motion mojo. Diane suggests novel quilters to try their hand at bigger tops. So I had to try it. American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  featured a nice blue and white quilt in their August 2006 number. I reduced the size a little. It’s about a 53 inches square.

I think Diane Gaudynski has a nice idea about starting out big(:)). I learned a lot as I went along. It was a lot of fun.  I goofed up majorly (is that an adjective?) in places. I don’t care. I only hope my daughter will like it.

And she creates her masterpieces on her regular (?) sewing machine. An intriguing thought.

Sewing down the binding is soon done.  

I pieced squares for the back, something that would have been impossible if it were to be hand quilted.

Please bear with me for indulging in such an amout of pics.   

Just taken away by the joy of being able to show something being very close to being finished – in less than two months from start to finish. Pretty revolutionary by my standards (LOL).

Take care. xo

Shirt madness

Call me mad - I'd be the first to admit to such a label. After seeing Anita's progress on her version of Kaffe's Shirt Stripe Boxes quilt I had to tag along. I went to our local thrift shop and found some beautiful men's shirts. To say the least, I went bazookas. For 20 shirts I got 20 per cent off. The gentleman in line in front of me was wondering if I was going to dress up the whole neighbourhood. I did not dare tell him my intentions with my scoop;]...

Now I have to get myself a ruler to cut them with. I am really looking forward to starting this project. It has been on my mind too long - practically ever since the book came out.

Still thinking

Here's another long term project. I think I have found the sashing fabric I want to use. But I am wondering if it "kills" the blocks. I really like the fabric, but is it too much - too busy and dark?

 

The decisions in quilting are both exciting and a bit of a burden... and still a blessing - they inevitably make you grow! I have blogged about this WISP before... It is an adaptation of a quilt shown in the 1995 version of Austen's Sense and Sensibility.

Still thinking. It is a project I enjoy sewing by hand. ^^Smiles^^

Charm

              

Some charm hexagons in slow progress.

We are heading for a family get together – we spend a day at my uncle and aunt’s twice a year working in their garden. Lovely.  Now some children need to be helped out of their bath… Take care.

September mornings

Trying out a new way of blogging. I think I like it.

August in retrospect

We had some small carrots in the garden. Sown by father and daughter in early spring. Delicious but few... Much like the days of this summer... This week though is a reminder - an Indian Summer indeed. And a child's quilt is in the making. Can't wait to start quilting it on my small machine. Learning by doing, as they say. Cheerio.

Flea market fancy

We had a nice outing to a local school's flea market today.

The rooms were a little dreary, but there were some - at least to me - treasures. Some stoneware and glass from Finland, France and Norway.

And a lovely hand embroidered tabletopper and some damask napkins and tablecloth.

Bowls made in China. They seemed a little old, to my untrained eye.
The lady (I'm guessing) who owned these now rare Norwegian glass container had obviously been busy making jam...

One of this year's last summery days...

Crazy

... for making these pouches. - Sewing them, quilting them, cutting them to size, then assembling (putting in a zipper - yoohoo I'm over the fear!), and giving (this one) away to a dear one. All from my box of scraps (ok, not the zipper, but the wool batting(!)). Utterly satisfying. Cheers.

Almost done

Now I don't know if I should chop off the *excess* triangles or fill in with half hexagons... What to do with the sides I really do not know. The hexagon stars are made pretty randomly from left oves from another project. Symptomatically this seems to get finished before the *original* top. It feels good to have put (almost) all patches to use:)

Here's some lovely music. A Norwegian jazz singer, Solveig Slettahjell, on one of Friday night's must sees up here.

Today we are taking care of sore throats. TC

Oh - I just did

Starting to cut some triangles, that is. And sewing them together. I just had to:)!

And I started this little project as well. I can feel August coming along soon - the most craft intensive month in this household...

If no one stops me...

... this is what I'll be starting in a little while

From the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting magazine

And this: Better Homes and Gardens - Grandma's Best Full-Size Quilt Blocks

In progress

To the Virgins, to make much of Time
by Robert Herrick

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may, Old time is still a-flying : And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying. The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, The higher he's a-getting, The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he's to setting. That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer ; But being spent, the worse, and worst Times still succeed the former. Then be not coy, but use your time, And while ye may go marry : For having lost but once your prime You may for ever tarry.

Summer

At the beach

In the mountains

At home

Stars

Here is a quilt I managed to finish in 2000. The pattern is an adaptation from one of Marsha McCloskey's. It is machine pieced - except for one block, that I pieced by hand. Can you guess which one? I thoroughly enjoyed hand quilting it. The quilt is in almost daily use - when it is a little bit colder than these days - we have temperatures in their 30's (celsius) I don't know the exact size (I am too lazy tonight to measure it...) but it covers a 200x180 cm bed - well almost...

Let's see if I can get blogger to cooperate and show some detail shots. Tudelu.

Åsa Wettre

Nordic Quilters had a meeting in Gothenburg this week end. I took the opportunity to visit relatives in said city - and to experience a little of quilting life as well.

When I read that Åsa Wettre would be showing some of her collection of vintage quilts, I had to go and see her exhibition. She is a renowned quilt historian and the founder of the Gothenburg quilt guild - Lapphexorna (since 1987). Twenty years ago she gathered old Swedish quilts from the collections of museums, her friends and acquaintances - many enough for an exhibition. It was supposed to be a single event, but has been on the road almost continually since then. Last time it was shown was in the Tokyo Dome in January 2008 (Do you remember, Lea...) I have seen it twice, in Mölndal (Sweden) and at Blaafarveverket (Norway).

Today I had the honor of saying hello as I bought her book. She was truly a sweet lady! And she told us (I think she talked to practically everyone stopping by!) that she is writing a new book about more old Swedish quilts. I can't wait for it to be published!

Here are my impressions:








I also had time for a lovely walk in Trädgårdsföreningen - a botanical garden right in the middle of town. A beautiful oasis. On the train back home I was able to sew a little.