Stitching finished!

Last night, I finished stitching this little Bent Creek design. I am waiting for glue to dry to put this together as a pinkeep. I hope to have more photos of it totally finished to share either later today or tomorrow.

Some things remain special in life

This is a beautiful letter I received from a friend on one of my Yahoo lists. We had been talking about how computers are wonderful for making friends across the globe and staying in instant contact, but I really miss getting a letter that drops through my mailbox onto my doormat.

One of my friends on this list created this wonderful handwritten letter for me. She illustrates them with stamped pictures which she then colors in. The letter is like a piece of art.

That friend's name is Terri (http://homeatlastfarm.blogspot.com/) and I want her to know I still have the letter from April 2005 and just love it. It is a very special gift to me! Thanks Terri!

My WIPs for this week

It has been a while since I have showed you my current WIPs. This is what I am working on this week. The first is the Mrs. Jefferson sampler by The Sampler Girl and I am stitching this in a SAL. I am very behind on my assignments but hope to do some catching up in this month of January.

Secondly, I am working on the Bent Creek freebie ~ Ground Hog Day. I will be turning this into a pinkeep. I would love to have this finished this weekend.

Quilt shop 'De Lander'

Back in December, I went to Brugge, Belgium for a couple of days. This is my favorite city in Europe and I try to go a few times a year. The city is amazing and like walking in an open air museum.

There is a quilt shop there that I just had to share with you all. It is run by a wonderful lady who really has an eye for making this shop a very magical place! Isn't the quilt in the window just adorable! Katie is not only warm and welcoming but she has a wonderful collection of items for quilting and decorating. Even for those who do not quilt, this is a great shop.

One of Katie's special talents is her bears. She makes the most beautiful kits which she sells in her shop. The mouse I used to display my pinkeep a while ago on the blog was made by her.

I think this quilt shop is a must for anyone going to Brugge! Check out her website at http://www.delander.be/ .

Another quilt UFO

This is once again a UFO that has been sitting for years waiting to be quilted for years now. I did this up as a sample when I showed the quilt group the 'pioneer braid'. It can be used as a border in a quilt but I wanted to show them that the braid itself creates a cute quilt. I did this in red, green and cream homespuns. After I finish hand quilting it, I will sew the binding and add a label at which time it can be added to my 2007 finishes. This will be the 2nd UFO I can take off my quilt rack. Yeah!

Starting off the New Year right.....

I just commented on the blog of a friend ( http://www.granniesblog-barbara.blogspot.com/ )from one of my lists. She is a wonderful lady and has shared some great finishes in 2006 on one of my Yahoo lists. We are starting our WIP SAL for 2007 and everyone has to create a list of the things they hope to accomplish in the coming year. I know we all relate to her feeling of intimidation at actually seeing the list written out. It is frustrating to want to do it all and then thinking you can't accomplish it. We all create wish lists in life that are larger than we can realistically do in all walks of life. We then seem to concentrate only on the things that we did not finish, forgetting to look at the things we did. If we never set goals that are high, we will never challenge ourselves to become better. This does not mean we have to accomplish each and every thing we set out to do as long as we enjoy the ride getting there.

I will repeat what I just told Barbara on her blog: Remember when you feel overwhelmed with those UFOs/WIPs that you did accomplish so much last year. But most importantly, remember to enjoy the moment. Take pleasure in each stitch you make and the finishes will take care of themselves!

I am starting a new little freebie today. It too was shared on our list and is from Bent Creek. Rarely do you see any designs for Ground Hog Day. I plan to make this into a pinkeep. I want to find a nice basket to put a whole series of holiday/season themed pinkeeps in.

Bringing in the New Year.....

As 2007 is beginning all around the world, I wish you a very happy New Year! May your resolutions for this year include finding your creative muse and inviting her to come in and stay for a while.....


May this coming year bring you many happy and homemade moments!

Christmas tree themes

Using a theme for a Christmas tree is lots of fun. This is a photo of my mother's tree. Originally it started with her stuffing all her snowmen, of which she has hundreds, into the tree. Later, it developed to the snowmen ornaments, snowflakes and small snowmen that you see here. I made her the snowman tree skirt using wool felt and some red quilt farbic. I even used make-up to give them rosey cheeks. (Don't forget to click on the photo to enlarge. You can really see the snowman on the tree skirt when enlarged.)

UFO finished!

I have an unbelievable amount of quilt UFOs sitting in my quilt studio waiting for attention. Some are samples for classes that I never finished while others are samples for the quilt group's projects. I have to move on quickly to the next idea for the group so many get left in their unfinished stage. There are also many quilts I start for myself but get so busy with ideas for the quilt group that they also become left behind and forgotten.

I decided I really have to do something about finishing many of these UFOs. I went through my quilt rack where they are all hanging and pulled out two. Both are quilts I made for myself (not part of the quilt group's projects). One is being handquilted now and I will share photos of it very soon. This little blue and white quilt has been hanging all quilted on the rack waiting for the binding and quilt label for longer than I care to admit. I sewed the binding on and drew a quilt label so now it is added to the finished quilts. I call this quilt 'Delft Blue (Dutch tiles)' and the tulip I drew on the label is from a photo of an antique delft blue tile I found online.

Quilt labels are so important. I really think we need to always place the information about the quilt on it for future generations. To me, I think they add that little personal touch also.

A Christmas stitch

This was an adorable freebie from a French site that a friend (hello Francoise) shared on one of my lists. I wanted something easy to stitch during the long Christmas weekend and this seem the perfect thing. I used DMC 321 and unbleached linen for a simple, festive look.

A Christmas Greeting.....

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

~~ Agnes M. Pharo ~~

A new candle centerpiece

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away. ~~Eva Logue

Yesterday, I had to run to the garden center to buy a couple of gifts to take along with my to Brugge on Tuesday. I wanted a little something to give the owner of the B&B. While there, I found some beautiful ornaments and tinsel for myself that I could not resist and inspired me to come home and create this candle arrangement. I had the candles and plate already. I am really pleased with how this looks. It gives the prettiest glow in the evenings.

My Christmas gift

These are the beautiful ornaments that Nancy stitched for me. She says she picked these patterns because I quilt and the Ohio Star as that is the state I am originally from.

I love them Nancy! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.

A secret gift revealed

I had a fun thing happen tonight! I had received a gift in the mail from an online friend, Nancy, and had made her one also. We arranged to wait until we both had them in the mail and open them together. We got on IM together and opened the gifts at the same time. It was such fun! I will show you her beautiful gifts she made me tomorrow.

Here you can see the quilt I made for her. I was inspired by the photo of her pinkeep during our SAL. The glass bowl she used to display her pinkeep resulted in this quilt.

This photo shows the metallic gold quilting thread that I used for this quilt which has been quilted by hand. I had this thread for a while now and this is the first quilt I used it on. It works very easily which I was concerned about and I loved the results. I will be using it more often in the future.

My lace Christmas corner

This is my lace corner for the holidays. I love making bobbin lace ornaments. There are also a few ornaments made by my mother on her embroidery machine and a crochet ornament given to me as a gift by my niece.

This tree is the same tree used for the autumn if you read my blog regularly. It is fun to use it for the various themes and seasons.

The angel is 'Angel of Hope' from Lavender and Lace. I seem to like her earlier angels the best. I think it is because I still remember the excitement of visiting my parents in the States and discovering these designs for the first time.

The lace tree lit up in the evening gives a really romantic look. The lace catches the light beautifully.

Some detail photos of the lace for those who like bobbin lace.

Some ornaments take days of work while others can be made up in just an afternoon.

I used an ivory linen thread combined with various thicknesses of metallic gold thread for my ornaments.

This is actually to wrap around a candle but I loved using it in the tree. It was made with thick metallic thread.

Christmas tablerunner

This tablerunner is a the first mystery project I did for my quilt group. It is a pattern called 'Friendship Star' and is a very simple one to sew. Made in a large block as this really shows off fabric with a larger motif.

Christmas angels

This was my bargain find of this year. I got these in August while in Brugge (Bruges), Belgium at a Christmas shop. I just fell in love with them and they were really affordable. The lady told me they made a mistake when ordering them. Someone added an extra '0' to the amount ordered and they had them marked down low as they had too many. I was thrilled and bought them to give as a 'Christmas card' for my group. I just printed out a little tag and tied it to the angel with a raffia bow.

I am so happy to say I am going to Brugge again on Tuesday for a one night stay to see it lit for Christmas. I can't wait and it will be a nice break after this busy time.

Christmas gift exchange

I have been working on this gift for our quilt group's gift exchange this year. I am so pleased with how it turned out! I was out with a friend at IKEA and saw this magazine rack. This idea popped into my head as soon as I saw it and we both bought them to make for the ladies names we drew. Since the 'holder' is canvas attached with velcro, we simply sewed patchwork together and then hand appliqued it onto the canvas on both sides. It will make a perfect project basket. We will give them their presents at the same time. They are the same except for the colors of the fabrics we choose which fit the favorite colors of the ladies themselves. I can't wait to give my gift away!

Tonight is the Christmas party and I am working on all the last arrangements. It is very busy so I am neglecting all my lists at the moment. I hope to share many fun photos with you in the coming days.

I must have been a good girl this year!

...or I have really good friends...or both! Look what the postman dropped off at my house. I feel so very spoiled with all this wonderful stash as a Christmas gift. It was so fun to go through it all. Thanks so very much to my friend Joni! I am so glad we 'met' on our stitching list and proud to call you a friend.

Santa mirror

I stitched this series of Santas over the first 10 years of DH and I being together. Normally I have them sitting in a disply with a miniature tree and sleigh but this year wanted to do something different with them. I have created a Santa mirror by our front door. They are hung in a garland and wreather over the mirror. The tall painted Santa is one my mother made for me. He looks so cute standing by this tall mirror.


I believe in Santa.....do you?

My Christmas basket ornaments

The last few months, I was very busy putting these Christmas basket ornaments together. They are from a magazine called 'For the Love of Quilting' by Fons and Porter. I do a 'Christmas in July' project each year for my quilt group. This was the project we did this July and I decided they would be fun to use for the ornament exchange I did with one of my Yahoo lists. All the ornaments have been sent out and since I just got mine, I know it is okay to share the ones I made with you.

These pentagon shapes are covered with fabric and then hand sewn together. I added small glass beads to the top edge along with a wired gold ribbon to hang them on the tree. The baskets are filled with a single red rose.

1853 needlework sampler

"In the glad morn of blooming youth
These various threads I drew,
And now behold this finished piece
Lies glorious to the view.

So when bright youth shall charm no more
And age shall chill my blood,
May I review my life and say
Behold my works were good."

This weekend, we drove the 'DrentsRondje' while at our cottage up north. It is a route you can follow stopping at various beautiful farms and old houses. Some of the homes are lived in by artists which open them to the public each Christmas to view their works. There is a wine tasting at one farm, a B&B open house, homemade ice cream, etc..

We visited two places, one being a historic farm that has been turned into a museum. There were a number of beautiful pieces of needlework hanging there. They are part of the museum's collection. They also had an exhibition with various examples of clothing, lace and needlework. There were four ladies doing their crafts.

I wanted to share one of the needlework samplers hanging in the museum. This is from 1853 and depicts a hunter holding his bounty, swans, various angels, flowers and birds. There is no verse on the sampler but it contains a number of intials.

Crazy quilt tablerunner

Here is a photo of my crazy quilt Christmas tablerunner. I created this by sewing 4 diamond shaped crazy quilted pieces together and adding a border. I used metallic quilt fabrics only on this project.

The crazy quilting is finished by adding various ribbons and trims found at Christmas time (these are not expensive trims but those used for wrapping gifts) and a few from a French style habedashery. I wanted to create a more modern version of crazy quilting by using only the ribbons and trims instead of any fancy stitches. This piece is one I created for a workshop I gave to stimulate interest in the craft of crazy quilting by looking at it in a little different way.

The first photo shows this quilt on show for the workshop while the second photo is the arrangement I have on my dining room table this year.

Vintage ornament

I found this wonderful reproduction ornament in Germany last year. It is from on old Clark's thread add. She is just adorable sitting on the spool of thread. I hope your Christmas will be full of homemade items that give warmth to your heart!

From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.

~~ Emily Matthews ~~

Christmas card tree quilt

I designed this quilt for a workshop quite a number of years ago. It was fun to make and gives a whimsical place to hang all my Christmas cards.

"Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others is good you do yourself."

~Norman W. Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas"

Celebrate Christmas with a good book

Each year I have a tradition to reread 'The Christmas Mystery' by Jostein Gaarder. This is a story about a little boy in Oslo, Norway who goes with his father to buy a magical Advent calendar. He finds a story unfolding as he opens a window each morning. Each chapter in the book is one of the days on the calendar. I use this book as an Advent calendar for myself reading a chapter each day. I won't reveal too much as I would really recommend looking for this book. It is wonderful story that you too may want to read over and over each December.

I am also sharing a photo of a Victorian style Christmas sign I stitched about 4 years ago. Each year we hang this in the living room.

New stash

My husband has a day off today so we went to the city of Utrecht for a while. We have not been there in 3 or 4 years. I was disappointed to see a number of the shops I loved going to were no longer there. Fortunately, there are two great shops that still exist. I first went to a shop where they sell only trimmings and tassles. I found some great glass head pins and trims for future pinkeeps. I then went to a very old needlework shop where I bought two small cuts of Jobelan fabric and charms (stock scissors, 3 snowflakes and 3 stars). We did not really want to go in any of the many clothes and shoe stores so we had an Italian sandwich by the canal and then coffee and a pastry in a shop before heading back home.

Christmas Stars

This 'Christmas Stars' quilt hangs on my quilt wall in the living room each year. Along side it, is a present made for me by my niece, Kristy. The wooden stockings say 'the stockings were hung'. They look so adorable alongside the quilt.

December is here!

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

'We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,'

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

~~ Oliver Herford ~~