Meet Ralph!

Meet Ralph...Rudolph's little brother. You mean you never heard that Rudolph the Reindeer had a little brother??? He is too little to work hauling Santa's sleigh so he hangs around the Elves Workshop instead. 

This UFO almost got thrown out. I started him and was not happy at all with it. I did not like my fabric used and felt it was not well sewn. But a number of quilt friends and family convinced me to finish him off. I am glad I did because now I love him because he is so different. *grins*

Since I have been good and working on some UFOs, I decided I was going to start on a quilt which has been on my wish list for some years now. I have been wanting to make a Baltimore Album quilt but with a twist. What is that twist? I am using a taupe background fabric instead of white and using all taupe inspired fabrics for the appliqué instead of primary colors. My first block is all but finished...just doing some french knots above the tulips. 

I have to make some decisions about the setting for the quilt and if I want borders. I have had fun looking at lots of pictures of antique Baltimore Album quilts. I will share more as I progress.

And finally...since you met Ralph...I have to show you something that happened to Miss Pickles the Elf (who masquerades as Heidi ... lol). Last Friday was a really hot day here in Holland. Actually it was tropical at 34C on the terrace of Cranberry Cottage. On the way up north, Miss Pickles spied this truck in front of her. WOW! What a great way to have cool thoughts for an elf in hot weather.....CHRISTMAS TREES!!! 

Heidi

Dolls quilts and tea time for bears.....

In my quest to finish 15 UFOs this year, I added one more finish to my list. This quilt was started back in 2013 for one of Lori at Humble Quilts QALs. Who knows why it sat awaiting only the last strip of sawtooth border and quilting? I will edit my post later and let you know the size. I am at Cranberry Cottage for a quilter's weekend and forgot to measure it. 

This QAL was all about using on orphan block and creating a quilt around it. This block was left over sample block from my basic patchwork course I taught years ago. You forget over the years that those simple blocks you use to teach quilting are just beautiful blocks. I just love how this little doll quilt turned out! Thanks Lori for encouraging us to grab those orphans and give them a home. 

It prompted even the name for my quilt. 

Wednesday was busy day for Yona. He had a visit from his brother now named Muis (Mouse) who is seated on the right and his teacher Beer (Bear) seated in the middle. 

When Wilma and I finished our bearmaking classes, I invited our teacher Annemieke and Wilma to my home for a Teddy Bear High Tea. Of course, those three bears could not be left out! Yona had fun helping met set the table before our guests arrived and left a naughty mess on the table. He put bear paws (in the form of chocolate brownies) and bear poop (chocolate covered peanuts) all over the table. Silly bear!

I wanted to send Wilma and Annemieke home with a special reminder of our afternoon so I made them each a bear mug rug as a gift. 

That same evening, Beer was back home again with Annemieke and crawled into his bed with his mug rug to use as his very own quilt. Thanks Annemieke once again for sharing your talent for bears with us and for allowing me to share this photo of your own sweet bear. 

Heidi

American Tiles - a rag quilt

Being busy with UFOs means less online time for me. My blog has been neglected while my quilting is having a big boost of progress. I finished two UFOs in February. One was the 50 Hearts Jubilee quilt which I already shared and the second is this rag tile quilt. I used this as a sample project last year with our group group's theme of rag applique but did not get the quilt done. Since I set a goal of finishing 15 projects in 2015, this was at the top of the list. A simple and fun quilt to make...

All you need is one charm pack and a piece of background fabric. I pulled out the squares that I wanted to keep whole and then started cutting some of the charms in half for two rectangles and some in 4 small squares. Start placing them on the quilt background to test your placement starting at the top left corner working across and then down. In the end, I had one rectangle and three small squares left over which I used for the quilt label. Pin each piece in place on a quilt sandwich (background fabric placed on top of a piece of batting and backing fabric) as you will be quilting this by sewing each piece in place. Machine sew each piece in place 1/4 inch from the raw edge of each fabric. 

I have not thrown this in the washing machine and am not sure I will. I might simple keep picking threads here and there to ravel the edges. It would make a great playtime quilt for children using fun fabrics. The biggest job was tucking in all my threads when I was done sewing. 

Heidi

A year older and a quilt richer.....

A year ago on this very day I turned 50 and started my jubilee quilt. Today a year has passed and I have a lot to be grateful for in life and much to look forward to. My jubilee quilt is finished and hanging in my living room as of yesterday. 

I spread out the work on this quilt, appliquéing my hearts throughout the year and in various and fun places. From sewing while in traffic jams to being on vacation these heart blocks hold memories. The last heart was appliquéd with a different fabric than the others and placed in the bottom left hand corner since I am left handed. 

The quilt was actually done a month earlier but I waited until the last day of my 50th year to sew on the quilt label which is when a quilt is really finished to me. I love The Bronte Sisters but especially Emily so choose a quote from Wuthering Heights to calligraphy on my label. 

So today, I am enjoying a relaxing day. Friends came by for coffee and pastries this morning. She even came in the house singing Happy Birthday to me in English. *grins* My husband and I are taking a walk in a local castle grounds and then having dinner out at a favorite restaurant this evening. 

This year, I have a goal of finishing 15 UFOs and this counts as the first on my list. 

Heidi

A fast paced start to 2015.....

Yikes! I have neglected this blog and see this is the first post of the new year while January is already 3 weeks past. But I have not been sitting around....well once in a while with a good book....as I have many goals set for 2015. 

First I decided to set two goals for this year with one being in our home and another with my hobbies. I am striving to finish 15 UFOs this year. I need to make a dent in the quilt tops I have laying around! There is an entire closet with them (I kid you not!) hanging there crying out for some love and attention. This month I want to finish a doll quilt (right photo) from Humble Quilts quiltalong called Faithful. I had to sew on the already made up last two sawtooth borders and then add a last border. It took no time at all and I could sandwich it ready to start quilting this weekend. Why did I put it aside??? I love how it came out! 

I am also putting the border on my 50 Hearts Jubilee quilt. I want to be ready to sew a quilt label on it on the last day of my 50th year. I am sewing the quilt binding on by hand and then need to make the tunnel before I start to design a label. 

Our quilt group theme starts each year in January. This year we are making crazy quilts. I bought each person a cute Dutch gabled house (from Action) and they used them to practice drawing out their crazy quilt design on muslin and then sewing the block with ribbons or laces of their choice. Here is the sample block. Next month we practice stitches and then they can get started on their quilts. 

Jannie (no blog) and I have started a new project for our monthly lacemaking afternoons. We are working on Kantje Per Maand (Lace per month) which is a 40 month project to celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of the LOKK which is the Dutch lace organization. We are on the second lace piece now. When completed, we are sewing the laces onto a piece of linen and then to a wooden bobbin as a lace sampler. 

I am using my roll lace pillow for this project which is very dear to me. I bought this pillow at a lace market second hand. It was unique in that it had the roll pillow and a small square to use for most kinds of lace. However, it was looking very much the worse for wear. But I recovered the tatty fabric and then put a pretty old Dutch band around the edges. It looks like new again and is pretty just sitting in the living room.

Last but not least, my friend Mieke (no blog) and I are still working on the Scheepjes CAL 2014. We decided to give it our own twist. We are making two of each of the blocks posted then adding various other blocks to give us a sampler afghan when it is done. We get together once a week to work in it and enjoy a long lunch together. 

Heidi

Potholder quilt finish...

 

Thrilled to bits, I can now show you my finished potholder quilt. I finished it last month the day before we went on vacation. This was my quilt group's theme project last year. I tea dyed muslin which is great fun to do. All my choice of drawings for the stitchery hexies are sewing related. 

The back also turned out nice and could be used as well as the front of the quilt. Enlarge the photo or search under potholder quilt to see more details. 

Ik heb mijn potholder quilt in mei voordat we weg ging op vakantie afgemaakt. De potholder quilt was de 2013 thema van mijn quiltgroep. Ik heb ongeblekte katoen eerst in de thee geverfd. Wat een geweldige manier om stof heel uniek te maken! De tekeningen voor de stitchery blokken hebben met naald en draad te maken.

Achter is ook mooi geworden en kan ook gebruikt worden net als de voorkant. Vergroot de fotos om beter de details te zien of zoek onder potholder quilt. 

I made this to use in my studio on the table there but for now it is on the coffee table in the living room. It works well in there too. I am really pleased with how it turned out! I love doing the stitchery as well as making many tiny patchwork blocks to sew into the hexie shapes. 

Bedoeld voor de tafel in mijn quiltstudio mijn quilt past ook goed in de woonkamer. Ik ben erg tevreden hoe het geworden is! De stitchery was leuk om te maken maar de smalle patchwork blokken waren nog leuker om te naaien en dan hexies van te maken.

Heidi

An early Country Christmas.....

Spring is definately in the air here but still it an early Country Christmas as I finished my quilt at the beginning of February. Another UFO can be crossed off my list...woohoo!

Lente is in de lucht maar bij ons is het nog een klein beetje kerst. Begin februari heb ik mijn laatste steekje in mijn quilt gezet. Een affo voor mijn lijst!

This quilt was fun to do. I loved doing the quilting freehand to give it a country feeling. I did use a hera marker to be sure I got my lines in the outer borders from point to point. If you have never used one, I can highly recommend it. I even use them for tracing quilt stencils onto my quilts. 

Wat een leuke quilt project was dit! Ik heb het met de vrije hand gequilt. Echter heb ik een hera marker gebruikt om te zorgen dat ik goed in de hoek uitkwam voor de buitenste border maar verder alles gewoon gequilt zonder lijnen om een "landelijke sfeer" te houden in het quilten. 

I sometimes think I would like to quilt with only homespun fabrics. They give such a pretty country feel. 

Geweven stoffen zijn geweldig om te gebruiken...meteen een landelijk gevoel in de quilt. 

*** Dreaming of a Country Christmas *** 

Heidi

It's hip to be square.....

Okay...okay...I am dating myself but I have this Huey Lewis and the News song going through my head as I write this blog post. Do you remember Hip to be Square? Way back in 1986?

"You might think I'm crazy, but I don't even care
Because I can tell what's going on

It's hip to be square,
It's hip to be square......"

But then what better music to share my latest update on my printer's tray? *grins*

I love home so I filled these squares with a heart, home sweet home, my sweet kitty Dagi and flowers for my garden.

Now I have a start on the nest four squares with a thimble. I have to decide on the next designs to use. Yep...it IS hip to be square.

Heidi

March's giving.....

My two RAKs for March have been received and I can now share them with you. These are both projects that were also in my UFO challenge list for this year.

I found Matruska beads at a German Christmas market almost two years ago. This keychain was made for Susan who I thought it would have a special meaning for. She has two adopted boys (well they are actually becoming young men now) who are Russian born. I have enjoyed watching them grow up under her love and care.

Patricia shares my love of old fabrics, trims, laces, etc.. I made these lapkins from remnants I bought in Rebeauvillé, France at the Beauvillé factory. They made beautiful table linens which are very pricey. I bought some factory samples to sew some napkins. Each of the samples has been cut into various shapes. I decided to share some with friends and Patricia's are being called lapkins because of the oblong size fitting just right over your lap. I felt I wanted to do something more with them so I got out some yarn that matched and created simple crocheted napkin rings that are closed with vintage brass buttons.

I am busy making my April RAK gifts right now. It is so much fun to match a blogging friend to a gift each month. I am so happy people are enjoying being surprised with a gift but my tell you that the greatest gift is in the giving!

Heidi

Oh this is so much fun!

This year is my year to give things to others ... handmade things. I am having so much fun being able to surprise people who up to now have had no idea that I was doing anything for them.

This is a WIP roll. It is a mini quilt that is used to roll up your stitching either while you are working on things or for finished pieces waiting for their final finishes. I had this laying in half done for Barbara for ages. My RAK year seemed the perfect time to dig it out and get it finished to send to her. She shares my love for autumn so I knew what I wanted to do with it from the start.

I just got an email from Maine saying it arrived so I can now share it with you. I need to get my March RAKs out now. Wonder where those will show up??? *wink*

Heidi

Of flowers and fairies and sewing needfuls.....

My February RAK gifts are a little late arriving but the first has reached its new home. I made a set of flower coasters for Catherine and sent them on their way. The mail was a little slow but they arrived safe and sound. Catherine and I have fun contact back and forth so I wanted to do something for her to say I enjoy our friendship. Too bad I cannot stop by and share a cup of tea in real life...

I am working on my UFO challenge each month. This little finish was one I forgot to show you last month. I had bought these charms to make a bracelet and never did it. They sat around for about 3 years I think. Yikes! So I had to get out my beads and charms (you will see why in a moment) and decided to finally make my bracelet of sewing needfuls.

 I have included a snail to remind me to slow down and enjoy each stitch, a quilt block, tape measure (to remember to measure twice and cut once), a sewing machine (for my own beautiful Singer called Florence), wooden shoes (as I live in Holland), a cat (as Dagi is my best stitching/quilting/crocheting/lacemaking friend ever!), a spool of thread, heart and hand (handmade with love), embroidery scissors (a love of collecting), thimble, spider (the symbol of good luck), button and iron (oh yes...I love to iron...is that strange?).

I am so pleased with my charm bracelet and love wearing it. I used to have one as a little girl but have no idea what happened to it. Why did it take me so long to get this one made?

Here is the reason why I had to get out my beads...

This fob is made for these adorable little scissors. A quilting friend of mine bought these for her granddaughter at the handwork fair in Zwolle. I offered to make a fob for them before she gives them to her. I hope they will both like it.

Heidi

Extra, extra...read all about it...revisitied!

..."Does this bring visions of young boys in knickerbockers out on the street corner selling newspapers? Actually my father was one of those boys in a time far, far away. But this is news about my new big project. I am going to use the entire year to work on this one. No pressure or press deadlines for me."...

This was part of the text from a blog entry I posted back in March of 2010 (click here to read the original entry). It is about time that this UFO came back to life and got some serious work done. I think I took that "no pressure and no press deadline for me" just a bit too seriously. *grins*

I love this printer's tray and it was hung immediately when we moved into our new house two years ago but it has not been worked on for ages. I want to get a couple of larger projects finished by the end of this year. The printer's tray is one of them.

I used elements of three samplers in the book ABC Miniatures by Francoise Prax to create this sampler. It was fun putting them together to work well for this space. It was also great fun to work on something so small again. This sampler measures a little less than 3-1/2 inches square. 

I am going through my patterns now for the next spaces. I will be filling the four tiny squares next to the row of scissors. I am hoping to keep the momentum going and get them done by the end of March. Wish me luck.....

Heidi

Finishes 2012.....

I wanted to review my finishes for 2012. I was a little disappointed with myself on my UFO Challenge list. I stayed at 12 finishes from that list. Now I did keep adding projects as I dug them out but I ran out of steam with them. They are all going back on a new UFO Challenge list for 2013.

One of the things that stands out is how many afghans I crocheted this year which is one of the reasons I think I got less UFOs done. *grins* There are my last two finishes for 2012 at the bottom of this list so I will talk to you more when you get to the bottom.....

I did not forget May. I had no finishes as in April and May I was having major problems with my hand. The pain got so bad that I had to simply rest. Thankfully, the medication I am using is keeping the problem under control.

On December 26th, my friend Sonja and her husband came over for dinner. She brought her yarn and crochet hook and wanted to make some Christmas trees. I also made some stars and created a garland from them.....

I also finished my snowflake afghan yesterday. Yeah! It was quite a job as I wanted to make it larger than the pattern. I ended up adding 3 extra rows. I cannot wait to snuggle under it during the winter season...

Wishing you and your family a happy and safe New Year's eve! May 2013 be a year of creative inspiration!

Heidi