Happy New Year

I WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY AND CREATIVE 2009!

Thank you to all those lovely people who have visited my blog

and to all those fantastic bloggers

whose blogs have inspired me enormously the past few months!
I don't think I would have been as creative as I am now without you all.

GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR

There are some giveaways

Helena has a giveaway. She made a beautiful LOVE quilt with LOVE in different languages. In this giveaway you can win the quilt she made. All you have to do is leave behind a comment. And while you're there, do take a look at the beautiful quilt she made for her son!

There's also a giveaway on Christine's blog for her blogoversary. Overseas bloggers are welcome too!

A quilt for a teenage boy

I frequently read on blogs that quilters don't know what to make for a boy, especially a teenager. Well, I had the same problem with my son when he turned thirteen. I wanted to make him something special. So that is how I came up with the Roda JC quilt. Roda JC is a Dutch soccer team (doing pretty lousy this season and just now losing with 3-1 once again). But Thijme is still a fan even though he is quite disappointed.

Pay it forward

In November I made a promise to make something handmade for three people. Until now, two people signed up. So please join in and make three other people happy (O:

These are the rules...It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based on the concept of the movie Pay it Forward where acts and deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, in the hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on.

So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people (I already have one, so to the first two) who leave a comment to this post on the blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what the gift will be yet. It will be sent to you within 6 months.

What YOU have to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Merry Christmas to you all

To all you wonderful people! I wish you a peaceful Christmas

filled with warmth and happiness!

May your days be filled with joy and good spirits!

Magical Christmas

Finally, my Magical Christmas stitchery by Lynette Anderson is finished. I love it! It was so much fun to make. And the result is amazing. I think this will be my last Christmas project for this year.

This is what I made for my swap partner Marie-Joze. I'm glad she liked it. The stitcheries are by Natalie from Cinderberry Stitches. The springberries needlecase is a free pattern and Ethel is one of the three sisters. I copied the pink 'met liefde' heart from my daughter.

Ethel

This and that

Daisy Quilts is having a wonderful giveaway until 31st December.

*picture taken from Saffron Craig*

Saffron Craig sells beautiful handprinted fabrics. If you sign up for their newsletter, you will get a fat quarter. The fabrics are very inspiring! (Just read that this has expired. But you should have a look anyway!)

Furthermore, Aldas Gepatchtes und Gesticktes has several giveaways, until the 20th. One of the many things I like about her shop is that she sells stitchery patterns by the German designer Ursula Schertz.



And if you still want to make a present for Christmas, maybe a Nordic House ornament is something for you to make. Look at how Robyn made them.

Christmas Spirit Swap Gifts

This week the postman brought me a big parcel and I knew my Christmas Spirit Swap had arrived. My first Dutch swap! I had already told my swap partner that I didn't want to wait until Christmas to open it. I wanted it to be special and not get lost in the pile.
I had decided to put the presents under the Christmas tree, as soon as my daughter had finished decorating it that evening, look at them a bit more and then open them.
But what can you do if your children (17 and 15) keep asking you when you are going to open the parcel every two minutes.
Ok, so I decided to take them out of the parcel after a while. I could see from their eyes that they thought I was crazy: are you really just going to put the gifts there and look at them ??? My daughter started to pick up the presents, turn them, feel them, squeeze them etc. And my son kept looking strangely at me.
Eventually this was making me nervous AND even more curious. I gave up and started unwrapping the pressies ...

And this is what I got ...

I was overwhelmed by all the beautiful gifts! Look at the wonderful bag at the right. Marie-Joze does a great job in machine quilting and making bags. I already used it today. And see the stitchery on the Little Sewing bag. Inside the little house is a centimeter roller (is that what they're called) and in the needle case, rose pins were hidden.
For my daughter Marie-Joze had added a key-bag (on the left). She was really happy with it. She asked me if she could have the bag too... I don't think so ...

Thank you so much, Marie-Joze for the wonderful gifts!

Thank goodness, there is more than just Christmas

This Saturday we celebrated Sinterklaas among the four of us, a week late. This is what Laura made and bought me. The heart made of felt has a tag attached: met liefde (with love). Isn't this a very sweet gift (O: The little angel is holding stars to lighten up each day. Laura really knows what I love! It's wonderful to have a daughter like her ((O:

Then while I was blogging, I found this Charms for Charity Contest. Go have a look there. Deadline is December 31.

Here is my completely finished Christmas pattern by Gail Pan. It's a quick project and very much fun to do (as I might have said already earlier)!

A while ago I joined the Teeny Tiny Squares Quilt Swap and yesterday I received the name of my secret swap partner. I'm really looking forward to make a quilt with squares between 1-1.5". It's something I've always wanted to do and a swap somehow gets me to do it. I think I might make two at the same time, so I'll have one for myself too.




And last but not least, I received my Gail Pan giveaway. Gentle dreams - Let summer whisper her gentle dreams. Doesn't this just make you go to another world with your thoughts and feelings. Once again, Gail, thank you so much (O:

Hope you all have a very nice and creative week!

Christmas Spirit Swap

My Christmas Spirit Swap parcel is ready to be send away tomorrow! As soon as I know that my swap partner has opened the gifts, I will show what I made for her on my blog.

I find swaps so inspirational! I have made things I have never made before, always looking for new ideas and trying to work them out. Great fun!

The postman brought me these (O:

A few weeks ago I was the winner of the Felix the cat button, by Lynette Anderson. Lynette also sent me a very cute wood decoration with it. I think that will be hanging in our Christmas tree this year!


I think the special part of this button is, that Lynette actually has a cat called Felix, who is a very good friend of her dog Hugo. You should really have to take a look on her blog to see how these two pets get along so nicely!

Some more Christmas and getting organized

While I was going through some boxes today, I found these snowmen and the cute little x-mas lights. The background is batting I was going to throw away, but this is a good purpose for it!



This cute little bird I got with Sinterklaas this year. It is made of glass. I don't know yet where I am going to hang it. But just looking at it is very nice too.

And here I finished Gail Pan's free pattern. I'm not sure how I'll finish it yet. Maybe I'll keep it simple and just make a boarder around it. To be continued ...

And today I did some cleaning up and organizing. My gosh, did I collect a lot in the past few months! It is so nice to look at all the wonderful fabrics, threads, needles, ribbons, buttons etc., but if I don't get it organized after a while, I get lost and start doing 10 things at once, not knowing what I've started, finished, been in the middle of etc. I've already taken some boxes upstairs and have to get two more big boxes to get it all fixed.

Then I've found two free Christmas patterns. One is a stitchery by Sue Dailey and the other one is an ornament of a bird by Sandi Henderson from Portabellopixie.

Christmas definitely is coming

It is snowing outside again, but unfortunately it won't stick to the ground. Too warm I think, but it is freezing cold with the wind! Guess not as cold as where Stina lives.

I was going to put my snowman quilt on my blog today which I made a few years ago, but I couldn't find it. I think I gave it to someone, which I often do, without really thinking about it. My children (especially my son) don't like me doing this, but I guess that's just me.

So then I came across this wonderful Santa Claus which I finished last year. It's an advent calendar, however, I can't find the little ornaments that go to it. Well, it looks nice like this too, with Sarah's beautiful baubles (I think that's what they're called). I think I should do something about the way it hangs ...

And here is my sweet Christmas angel, my son gave me two years ago.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy Christmas, is that I come across things I tend to forget. And once I see them again, it makes me all happy, often with nice memories to them (O:

Hope you have a great time preparing your home and family for Christmas! We'll be getting our Christmas tree next weekend and hope to decorate it then too. Actually that is quite early for me.

One other thing I like about Christmas, is to look at how people decorate their homes. My dd, dh, doggy and I go out each night for a walk and sometimes have a laugh about the way some people can really get into the theme of Christmas and presents and reindeer and Santa Claus and Christmas trees and and and. But if everyone was as boring as us, not much would be seen.

A bit of everything

This week the postman came and brought me this wonderful present from Sarah. Sarah was afraid I wouldn't like them, because she had read that I didn't like blue. But this combination is just gorgeous! Sarah made me really happy with her baubles (O: Thank you so much Sarah!

Let it snow I made this sweet little snowman for a blogger whom I thought needed something especially made for her, since she makes so much for others. I later read, she didn't like snow, since they get so much snow where she lives. But I guess this is different.

Gail Pan Design for ChristmasGail Pan makes wonderful designs. She has made a Christmas stitchery wall hanging for us all to make. She says it is a truly quick project to make, so maybe one more nice project for Christmas. Thank you Gail!

And then here I have two sneak peaks for my Christmas swap partner Marie-Joze. The swap was organized by dear Janet. She now has 12 tips for Christmas. Go over there and read the first two. They are so much fun ^^)

I hope you all have a very nice weekend. We will be celebrating Sinterklaas, a wonderful Dutch feast for young and old. And after that, when Sinterklaas has left the Netherlands to go back to Spain, we will start with the Christmas decorations.

Another giveaway at Giggle Buttons!

Sonya has another wonderful giveaway with a set of buttons and a pattern included. Go there fast, so that you can leave behind a message, telling her your sweetest thing about Christmas.

Advent

I am finally getting a bit into the Christmas spirit. In the Netherlands we first celebrate Sinterklaas with poems, suprises, presents, sweet treats and much more. It starts in the middle of November and ends on December 6. During this period, children who still believe in Sinterklaas are very excited.

But of course advent also starts during this period. My mother made an Advent calendar for every grandchild (12!) on their first Christmas. My daughter is now 17 and still enjoys it a lot. I was two days late this year (my mother and sister-in-law buy and wrap all the small presents), but my daughter is very good at reminding me when she gets up, so here it finally is:

Isn't this something very special (O:

Then I also made my Advent tray. I'm not quite satisfied yet, but it is too cold and rainy to go shopping for something to add. So I'll stick to this for the moment.

It used to be a family tradition to get a Christmas angel on the first day of Christmas at breakfast. That is when I got these. And it really took four years to get them all toghether. That was always something to look forward to. Isn't this a wonderful tradition!

And here is a picture of my Christmas quilt I made last year. Actually I made two, since it was so easy to make. So one of my sisters was lucky. I didn't quilt it, but made knots. I'm not quite sure how that is called. It is an easy and fast way to get a quilt finished and it looks very good on this one.