Back again

Unbelievable, how fast time flies! It has been four weeks now, since I last made a post. So much has happened in the meantime.

First of all I want to thank everyone for their wonderful birthday wishes, cards and presents. It has been really overwhelming for me and has made my 50th birthday even more special (O:

In the posts to come, I will show you some great things wonderful people made. Everyone is so talented!


This is the wonderful giveaway I won at Micki's. So many beautiful things were in this giveaway. I am using the blue sheep bag daily and the cute little stuffed sheep with a shamrock on it is in Amsterdam now, looking over my daughter. I was very very lucky to have won Micki's great giveaway! Thank you so much, dear Micki!

I also won Evonne's giveaway of her Party Bags pattern . In this pattern you can find 4 different party bags. One with a butterfly, as shown, one with a cupcake, one with a flower and the last one with a heart. They are so cute and the pattern is so well described. Please go over to her blog Hilltop House to look at the wonderful and happy projects she makes. I feel very lucky, Evonne, to have one of your gorgeous patterns! Thank you so much my dear sweet friend!

Only one more stitchery block to go for the BOM Christmas Wishes by Gail Pan. It is such a lovely project and so much fun to make. I am actually thinking of making a second one. But first I will have to find fabric that goes to these stitcheries.

This is part of the third block of Leanne's House. I was a bit worried about the appliqué, but I think it turned our beautifully! It is the first time I made something like this and I feel very happy about it (O:



Then, I finished the stitcheries for the Once Upon A Time stitchery BOM provided by Bea at Capricorn Quilts. I had stopped after the fourth block, since the fairy tales Bea used by the brothers Grimm were unknown to me. However, when I showed them to one of my sisters, she knew each and every one of them! And she loved them. So, I decided to continue the BOM and finished them over the past few weeks. If you look closely at Cinderella's block, you will see the shoe I won at Bea's. I was very happy about that, since I was a bit worried where to get such a small shoe from.

As most of you will know, our daughter has moved to Amsterdam this week. Quite a change in our family life. She has been looking forward to it very much and has lived in her own place now since Monday. These are placemats I made for her. She says she doesn't want to use them, afraid they will get dirty ... The fabrics have been prewashed, so it shouldn't be a problem.

And this is the quilt I have been working on over the last week for Laura. It is so much fun to make! The blocks have to be sewn together now and after that I will order the fabric for the border, binding and back. Luckily, Quiltshops searches over 200 shops to see which shop still sells this fabric line. And, it is still for sale!

"Love life, engage in it, give it all you’ve got. Love it with a passion, because life truly does give back, many times over, what you put into it."

- Maya Angelou

Happy Birthday Sarah

Yesterday I celebrated my 50th birthday. We had a wonderful day! The weather was nice and the people I was with made me all very happy. Together with my family, my parents, my sisters and their families and two aunts, we had a wonderful time at Kasteel Elsloo.

In Holland, when a woman turns 50, we say, 'ze heeft Sarah gezien' (she saw Sarah - for men it is Abraham). Many people put a Sarah or an Abraham doll in front of their homes, so others see that they have become 50. I strictly forbade my family to do this. So look what Laura made for me:

a little Sarah of 10 cm. Isn't she sweet.

Then she made another one.

And look at the lovely stitchery card a sister of mine made. She is the one who already finished her 12 Days of Christmas stitchery!



These were the buttons I walked around with yesterday. All those who joined my party received the button on the right. Ger, Laura and Thijme had great fun preparing this!


Look at the lovely cushion I received from Micki! The colors are beautiful and I love 'vuurtorens'! Thank you so much, dear Micki, for this lovely cushion. It has a special place in our home!
And talking about Micki. When I opened my emails on my birthday, I read the news that I won Micki's wonderful gieaway. Please see the picture on the left side bar. I could hardly believe it.


And look at the loveliness I got from my dear friend Jutta, with whom I am making Leanne's House. I adored her stacked cups quilt, which she had as a giveaway. And look what she made me. Now Jutta also knows I love stitcheries by Ursula Schertz. She got me a lovely pattern with lovely thread I have never worked with before. She also made me a lovely needle keeper, which she designed herself. Inside there are needles, which she named, so I can see which one works best for me. Thank you so much, dear Jutta for these lovely presents!

I also want to thank all those lovely blogging friends for sending me the best wishes for my birthday from all over the world! It is wonderful knowing you all (((O: And it means a lot to me!

This will be my last post for three weeks or so. I hope you all have lovely, creative and happy weeks with lots of sunshine! I look forward to be back (O:

"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy."
- Leo Buscaglia

Cupcakes, a lovely Spring Fling Round Robin Quilt and something new

I needed something new to do. Somehow fabrics don't inspire me at the moment. So I went to the knitting shop and bought myself some wool, which I was planning to do for a long time. The woman was so kind to let me borrow the book, since it is no longer for sale. Next week I will buy some other colors to these two. I am going to keep it in the pink range. Maybe some purple.

Lyn told me she had send me a parcel. It arrived this week. Look at all the loveliness she send me. So many lovely cupcakes to admire and to work with (fabrics, buttons and a pincushion, shopping booklet). The mug is so pretty and so my color. I haven't dared using it yet, afraid something might happen to it.
Thank you my sweet dear Lyn, for these lovely presents. You spoil me way too much!

And I finally made the Card Wallet, designed by Lisa at A Spoon Full of Sugar. Lisa and her daughter Sarah make lovely projects and have wonderful ideas! Please go have a look at her blog. It will really inspire you!

The inside is a bit crooked. I once again learned to read the directions before starting. Not my strong side ...

And look at the lovely quilt that came back home this week. I made the middle block and three lovely quilters made the two borders and finished the quilt. I did the same with three other flimsies. Thank you Margaret, for organizing this! It was very challenging to work on this swap!

"The world is a great mirror. It reflects back to you what you are. If you are loving, if you are friendly, if you are helpful, the world will prove loving and friendly and helpful to you. The world is what you are."

-
Thomas Dreier

Have a lovely weekend and a creative and happy week!