A real Dutch day!

Today is the day called 'Pakjesavond' here in Holland. SinterKlaas is bringing good little boys and girls a burlap bag full of gifts this evening. I love this tradition as it gives me a chance to celebrate the feeling of Christmas twice in our two cultures. If you would like to read more about SinterKlaas, go to my other blog for today's entry.


This is a time of speculaas which is my favorite Dutch cookie as well as my passion for collecting Dutch speculaas cookie molds. The one above it St. Nicolaas from whom the story of SinterKlaas comes.


I have also finished my first patchwork ball. I want to make all of the balls in this book in Dutch chintz ('sitsen'). I have had a good number of these historical fabrics in my stash for a number of years and never had the time to get started on a quilt with them. 2009 will see that finally coming about too as well as these stuffed patchwork balls.

Santa's workshop...

The workshop is open and things are very busy here...

I have finished all three sets of coasters for the winners of my giveaway. You can click on the photos to enlarge them. I hope I interpreted their color choices well for them. First there is DonnaTN who asked for country reds and greens. I thought using four fabrics on the front gave a real country patchwork feeling.


Her backing fabric is a country barn red with little trees.


Margaret asked for traditional deep red and hunter green. Now I took the liberty to use a fabric with a good deal of cream in it also as I thought this combination of fabrics gave a true traditional Christmas feeling.


I choose two backing fabrics simply because I liked them both. Two coasters have snowflakes and two spots.


And last for Marie, I used a red print with berries on it combined with a green with branches. Just pure Christmas I think.


Her backs have a combination of both colors with a festive look. I hope they will all three enjoy their coasters. They are on the way ladies as I just received the last address this evening.


While sewing these coasters, I am also stitching my Santa banner. It is coming along nicely. I changed the colors just ever so slightly to match my new couches.


So many of you asked me to give more details about this book in order to look into ordering it. I really can recommend it with a warning. It is so adorable that you may want to stitch each and every design in it! *grins*


The book is from Germany and by Rico Design Book #108. It is called 'Winter Fairytale' by Annette Jungmann. They do have a website listed on the cover of the book but I checked and cannot find the book there. It is www.rico-design.de. The linen for the banners is also from this company.


I am including more photos of items contained within the book. You can also contact the shop where I purchased my book here. This shop is owned by a very friendly couple who are willing to help and do mail order for countries all over the world. Just send her an email with a request for this title and/or the linen for the banners.

Christmas coasters winners!

Yes, I said winners. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for the response to my blog. I love your comments and look forward each day to reading them. Because of that and in the giving spirit of the Dutch SinterKlaas, I have decided not to pull just one name but three.


I placed them all in a bowl and pulled out three pieces of paper...


And the winners are:
Marie (Proverbs31)
DonnaTN
Margaret (Solstitches)

I am going to go through the comments and look up your color choices. I am looking forward to making these coasters especially for each of you. Marie and Donna, will you please email me (see my profile) and let me have your address? I know yours, of course, Margaret.


Thank you again for participating and please stop in to say hello often as it makes me smile!

I am going to answer the questions about the designer and company of the book and banner linen in my next entry as many of you inquired about it. I want to share my progress on the Santa so please stop in then.

Edit ~ I am going to have a second round of names drawn again next Sunday. All those who did not win in the first round are getting a second chance. Please check back again on Sunday to see if your name was drawn as I will need your address to mail them to you. I have the first set all ready to go and will show you them tomorrow...

What did I do???

Well, it is official! I fell of the bandwagon! Remember that stash diet I was on for 2008? Remember how I was not allowed to buy anything but thread or linen if needed but nothing else?

OOPS!


I went to a needlework shop with a friend on Tuesday. We had a wonderful time which we always do when we go there. I think that must have been it because I lost my head. I had a full customer coupon card and was able to spend 31,40 euro. Now you would think that was enough. I started buying the DMC overdyed threads. Okay, I was up to 21+ euro and still had more to spend. I was looking around and saw a new banner linen from a German company and loved the red color the minute I saw it. Only problem was I loved the cocoa brown and cream color too. I decided to buy the red and then happened upon a pretty black metal hanger made just for the banner. Oh no! Without thinking I bought it! Then I was paying for my purchases which at this point I had not really thought more about and was over the 'free money' from the full card. My friend Sonja (who is very bad at tempting me) showed me some DMC scissors which are a huge weakness of mine. There they went on the counter. Only when I pulled out my money and got my change did I realize what I was doing. I WAS ON A STASH DIET! I am not allowed to buy all this stuff! Does it help that the man gave me the DMC Home Sweet Home book for free?


Did I stop there? No, the story gets worse! We left the shop and Sonja said she thought we needed to sit and have a cup of tea. Maybe I needed a good stiff drink but instead we ordered our tea and then later ordered a warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce and whipped cream. There must have been something in that whipped cream because after we finished we went BACK to the needlework shop. Yes, you read that right! We went back and I bought the cream and cocoa brown banner linen too. What was I doing???


I came home to relax and was not feeling well for two days after so I have made a pitiful start to my first project from this book. I hope to work on it over the weekend.


Sonja's sister made me these house socks. They are so much fun! They slip on over your socks to keep your feet warm. I just love them and have been wearing them since Sonja gave them to me this week. Irma ~ thank you so very much for your thoughtfulness! I really appreciate it and so do my feet.

Thanksgiving giveaway

Thanks for stopping in on this holiday. I want to wish everyone is the US a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Do you remember the coasters that SinterKlaas left for my friends on my last post? If you leave a comment on this entry and tell me what colors you love to use at Christmas time, I am going to sew a set of coasters for the winner. I will draw a name on Sunday evening since that is the first Sunday of Advent. I would love the winner to have them in time to use for Christmas. Good luck!

SinterKlaas has come!

Every Saturday, SinterKlaas comes to Dutch homes and leave a gift in the shoes of the boys and girls.


This past Saturday, I found these gifts left at the wrong house. They were for my friends who I make lace with but he left them here. I guess the Sint thought I could be a good 'help Piet' and deliver them. And of course, I will today!


They are each receiving a set of snowman mugs with handmade coasters to go with them. A fun gift to be used all winter and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. I hope you like them Sonja and Jannie!

The ABC's of busyness

It a busy workshop here in my house for us elves. I have finished three gifts and wrapped them. One gift is for my quilt group Christmas party. We use a theme each year and this year the theme is winter. I will share the gift later in December after my gift has been opened. It feels so good to have it finished and ready. I am still working on wrapping the 12 gifts that each member gets that night too.

I have also finished SinterKlaas gifts for my two lacemaking friends as we get together again next week. Sonja and I talked yesterday and she was trying to get me to slip and tell her what I was making. Here is a little peek Sonja! Guess you have to wait until next week. *grins*


I pulled Brigitta's name on my stash giveaway and put the package together today. I decided to put a few items for the holidays (holiday buttons for scrapbooking or sewing, a Lavender and Lace angel, and a Santa bottle stopper) and some thinking ahead to spring (Polstitches Jobelan cloth with a matching DMC thread and half meter matching quilt fabric) in the gift. It is on the way Brigitta and I so hope you enjoy it!


Now while it is busy right now, I am still doing some stitching. I worked on my Ohio ...

Edit - January 8, 2009 - I have deleted all entries pertaining to the MB circe 1810 sampler I was working on after receiving an email from the designer, who I do not know, sharing her opinion about my changing a color in the design. This was done not to offend but because the color was not visible on the linen. I am sorry that I am no longer able to share this with my readers.


What is it about alphabets and stitching? An alphabet makes any chart so wonderful. Even a simple chart with just A, B, C is charming. This sampler has three alphabets on it and I am really enjoying stitching them.

My heart is blue

In June, I had made some fabric hearts to hang on a rack that I had bought for my mother's bedroom. A friend of mine saw them as was so crazy about them that I asked her if she wanted me to make her a set.


I told her she could look through my fabric stash and choose some fabrics she liked. She wanted them to be blue as her bedroom is blue and white.


I used a mix of various ribbons and laces with a vintage button on each heart.


I am looking forward to giving them to her next week when I see her. Even though she knows I am making them for her, I am going to wrap them up in a gift bag with tissue paper. Now that this project is finished, I have to get back to my Secret Santa gift for an online friend and some SinterKlaas gifts for a couple of other friends.

A note from Dagi...

Hello my friends! My name is Dagi and I thought I would stop to say my mommy is very busy with redoing things in the house so very little stitching or quilting is taking place. She is working on a few gifts but cannot show those without spoiling the surprise. Later this week, she has one gift that she can reveal so I hope you will come back to see that.


In the meantime, here I am modeling the knitted patchwork afghan my grandmother (Nancy) made for me since a blogging friend was shown some photos of it. It is a nice, soft and warm place to nap when my mommy leaves it folded up on the bed. Hey wait, she is taking it away to be used downstairs.....

A finish and a win

My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

~ Forrest Gump


The name of my project I gave you a peek at is.....


....."A Box of Chocolates". When I picked the raspberries, cherries, carmel and chocolate fabrics from my stash, I knew right away what I would name this quilt. I love the lined up 3D stars looking like little chocolate bonbons. I even used a different red bead for each star.


My 'baby' brother was the closest with his guess of Whitman Sampler which is a box of assorted chocolates that we used to give my grandmother as a gift almost every year.


Since noone guessed the actual name, I placed the names of everyone who guessed in a bowl and the winner is.....


Please email me Brigitta so I can get your address and send you your gift.

I so enjoyed reading the names you guessed! I need to make lots of these quilts just so I can name them all the wonderful titles you gave me. Thanks for participating. It was fun! I do apologize if reading this post has made you rush to the cupboard to get out some chocolate. *grins*

Do you remember the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland?

Well, I am feeling a bit like him this week...'Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' I just seem to want to get so much accomplished lately and there are never enough hours in the day.


Lots of things to catch up with you on that I have been doing. We came back from Cranberry Cottage on Friday as we had to pick up a few things for our kitchen remodel to be started hopefully this week and Jos had to sign some paperwork for the sale of his car. Boy, we don't even want to think about that any longer as he really lost money on it. I hope his new job is so great that it compensates for that. Anyway, Jos sanded our nightstands all Saturday and then I repainted them which was the easy bit. I wanted that finished before Sunday as I went to visit Annemarie for a Sip 'N Stitch day at her house. I really enjoyed meeting her face to face for the first time along with Margaret, Barbara and Harmien. And look who else I ran into there! Some of the white rabbit's friends.


It was Annemarie's birthday on Sunday too so I made her this project basket (which is already coming in handy I see) and gave her some Carrie's Threads. I love giving gifts to people and took a little blue tractor with a trailer for her son Pelle. At one point, I suggested to Pelle that he could put his peppernoten (tiny Dutch ginger spice cookies) in the trailer. Mommy helped him out with loading his trailer. Well, what do you do when the cookies are gone? You go take some from the plate Mommy put out to load the trailer again. We laughed as he walked between us with the cookies which Mommy had put out for us to have with coffee and tea. *grins* Hope he is not stealing cookies still Annemarie? Thank you for an enjoyable day!


I still need to update you on my projects progress while I was away. I started out the week by stitching two more motifs on my Beatrix Potter Quaker sampler. That was my first goal before moving on to other things. My previous photo can be seen here.


Oh my! Why does this still look so unfinished? I counted the motifs left and was so happy that I am moving along but now seeing this photo makes me feel there is so much left to do.


I did not spend much time stitching my Ohio sampler but did get more letters and a motif finished. The last progress photo is here.

Edit - January 8, 2009 - I have deleted all entries pertaining to the MB circe 1810 sampler I was working on after receiving an email from the designer, who I do not know, sharing her opinion about my changing a color in the design. This was done not to offend but because the color was not visible on the linen. I am sorry that I am no longer able to share this with my readers.


I kind of broke my stash diet. I had not included books in my diet but this is a patchwork book so should be included. I just could not resist when I saw Marianne's blog entry about her patchwork balls. I decided I had to get this book so I can use the Dutch sitsen (chintz) fabrics for a set of these.


The majority of my time at Cranberry Cottage was spent working on this new quilted tabletopper. Here is a little peek... It is a new version of my Christmas Spice tabletopper. I need a quilted sampler to use to demonstrate creating the 3D stars tomorrow evening. Let's have some fun with this...can you guess what I am naming this quilt? Hint ~ Valentine's Day and chocolate. The first person to guess the actual title will win a little stash gift. Good luck!

Edit: If noone guesses the actual name, I will put all those who guessed into a hat and pick a name. So go ahead and give it a try.