Schnibbles Cindy Lou Who, a win, post from Germany and another finish

Here is a picture of my finished Schnibbles quilt Cindy Lou Who. I don't often say this of my own work, but I think it turned our beautifully! I love the fabrics and the colors. It is too bad you can't see the binding well, but it is a different fabric again, pattern like the red one, but then purplish/pink. Laura was quite suprised that I actually finished this quilt with backing and binding. Guess she knows me, because she said: "You usually only finish the top ..."

A close-up.

A few weeks ago I won one of Dzintra's blogaversary prices. Happy Hearts, a gorgeous stitchery pattern by Hugs 'n kisses. Thank you my dear friend Dzintra for letting me win this wonderful stitchery!!! It is going to be a very pretty stitchery quilt or maybe a nice cushion (O: I will let you know!




And look what was waiting for me on Thursday when we came home late from our visit to Laura in Amsterdam. A wonderful package from Gaby with beautiful Christmas fabrics and ribbon, a sweet pincushion that I will put next to me on the sofa where I stitch almost every night, and a lovely pin (click on the photo and look at the top left corner). Also have a look at the lovely tag Gaby made for me and the card she added with a very dear message.
Thank you so very much, dear dear Gaby (O: You know how to make a tired girl happy (((O:







And this week I also finished my Christmas Wish Quilt. The picture does not do it right at all, but I was too late to make pictures by daylight. I guess I should do it on time next time, because the weather was perfect today for taking pictures outside.



Here is my seventh block for my second Christmas Wish Quilt, which I am making together with Melanie, Lyn and Karen. Only two more blocks to go!






This week I only managed to make one block for my Sampler Celebration Quilt. The other one arrived yesterday. Now I have four more to go.

"Experience will give you the power to share

and you need the strength to care.

Wherever you go,

grow and glow."

~Bhajan~

Post from the UK and our visit to Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen, Aken)

My sixth block of the Christmas Wish that I am doing together with Melanie, Lynn and Karen. Only three more to go.

This week I finished two more blocks for my Web Sampler Celebration 4 Quilt. Eight blocks finished, four more to go.

As I said before, the more I make the easier and more fun it gets (O:

Then this week a lovely parcel arrived from my dear and special friend Melanie from the UK. I had send her some felt and autumn items and she wanted to do something back. I was totally stunned, when this all arrived! My parents were having lunch with us, when it came and my mother was excited as I was and I think my father was too, but he didn't really show, as an 83 year old dad *LOL*

Many many lovely buttons. If you look closely (click on the picture) you can see that there is a little bag with buttons for each season. Melanie and I have decided to make a table runner for each season, both of us not having made one before. These buttons will definitely give me inspiration!

When my mother saw the Cotwolds towel, she couldn't stop telling us about her visit to it. She really wants to go back some day. Since this towel meant so much to her, I told Melanie that I gave to her. She has many good memories there, so I thought it should be with her. For Melanie Cotwolds is very special too (O:

Ger and my dad enjoyed the candy (so did I) and can you see the lovely Halloween pin on the bottom right.

Thank you so much dear Melanie! You know you didn't have to do this in return, but you really made several people happy here (((O:

Please go have a look on Melanie's blog who just made another wonderful post. She is the one who inspired me to show you pictures of Aix-la-Chapelle, as was Stephanie!

And here are my pictures of Aix-la-Chapelle. Ger and I go there quite often for some shopping. This time however, we decided to be tourists and took a walk according to a marked walking guide. On the picture below you can see the mark for something special to be seen nearby. To follow the path, there was only one mark.

This is a bank window Very special.

Aix-la-Chapelle has many different statues. This tour took us along quite a few. Here is one of a girl carrying an Aachener Print. Look at her toes ...

This is a very special statue. You can move the limbs of the figures. I can't tell you what the statues are called, since I gave the tour booklet to a friend of mine, who wants to take her family for this tour.

Aachener Dom

A door of the old Stadhaus.

Part of the Stadhaus today.

A picture from the top of the Stadhaus staircase.


This was my favorite statue. Look at the lovely birdies sitting everywhere.





Be like the fountain that overflows, not like the cistern that merely contains.

- Paolo Coelho -

Blocks, Schnibbles, Bracelet and Leanne's House pattern

I finished two more blocks for my Web Sampler Celebration 4 quilt. The more I make, the more fun it gets (O: I think I have 'only' six or seven more to go.

This is the block I made for Terry's quilt. The theme is 'love' and 'shabby'. I tried to make it look shabby in the borders. Can you figure it out? If you want to see more blocks other lovely quilters made, please go here.

A few weeks ago I joined 'A year of Schnibbles'. I was a bit late, but Sherri and Sinta were so kind to still let me join the fun. This is the 'Cindy Lou Who' Schnibble, by Rosie's Quilt. It is the second pattern. For this quilt I am using the range by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman, Clothline Club: Girlfriends and Girlfriends. The fabrics are so much fun to work with.

When I looked at the pattern, I thought it would be a quick one. No way. Lots of cutting and sewing corners. I hope to get the top finished tommorow. It is lots of fun to make!

Here is my next stitchery for the Christmas Wish stitchery quilt. Not a very sharp picture, but I guess most of you know what it looks like. It is lots of fun to make this together with Melanie, Karen and Lyn. Very motivating. I think I might have stopped, if I weren't doing this together with them.

And look what lovely Lyn at Bluebird Quilts send me!!! She told me she was having classes from Leanne Beasley, Rosalie Quinlan and Melly and I told her how I wished I could be there. If you look closely, you can see that Leanne signed it and on the inside Rosalie and Melly signed it! Isn't that just wonderful (O: I told Lyn that when she comes to the Netherlands next year, she will have to sign it too, since she is making and selling her own designs too! Please have a look here.

Thank you so much, Lyn! You are such a darling, to think of me like this.

Please go over to Lyn and send her a comment. She was in the hospital last week with health problems. Luckily she is back home again. More tests will be done next week.

And look what one of my students gave me last week. His mother makes and sells beautiful jewelry. I asked 'my student' to make me a pink bracelet. Now isn't this just gorgeous!!! And when the heart and label touch each other, it makes a wonderful sound.

Detail:

"Snowflakes are one of nature's most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together."

- Vesta M. Kelly

Sampler blocks, present and my first quilting bee

This week I finished two more blocks for my Web Sampler Celebration 4 quilt. I have difficulties with all these triangles and making blocks the same size. I guess the more I practice, the better it will get. So at the end of the 12 blocks I should be an expert...



Another Christmas Wish Stitchery finish. And as I said before it is fun to make it for the second time (O:


A few weeks ago I won this beautiful appliqué quilt at lovely Shari's Mumsyblossom's World. She got it at U-Chus and thought it was time to 'share the love'. I was so happy when I saw this, since it fits perfectly in my working room, where I work with lower school children. The colors are even more beautiful in real! This is a close up:

This is the whole quilt:

Thank you so much Shari, for letting me win this beautiful quilt!!!

Ah, and this week I went to my first Quilting Bee ever. It was organized by dear Marie-Jozé at Handmade by Mai, who did a wonderful preparation for the morning! Look at the gorgeous little pin cushion we got to make. And I was even able to start a second one in a different version. Marie-Jozé asked her son to drink lots and lots of milk over the past few weeks, so that we would have enough caps to make these gorgeous pin cushions. Thank you, Marie-Jozé for this wonderful morning and thank you too Mathilda, for 'lending' us the space. I look forward to next month!

It was also great to finally meet Marie-Jozé after 10 months of blogging and emailing. It was about time, since we do not live too far apart from each others and Marie-Jozé works only about 10 minutes away from where I live. Lucky I get to see her more frequently now!

And here are 18 fat quarters of the Santa Town range. I will be making a quilt for Laura. I will first have to work out the blocks according to this pattern and then I can finally start.

"Let life happen to you. Believe me: life is in the right, always."
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Leanne's House, a new friend for Laura and Web Sampler Block 1

Yesterday Ger and I visited Laura in Amsterdam. We had a wonderful time being with her. Here is a picture of the Museumplein. I don't really like pictures with so many people posing, but I guess this is a place everyone should have been to. It was great watching people look pretty for the picture. They were even willing to take off their coats in the rain, just to look nice.

I would have preferred the front to look this empty. So Laura advised me to take a picture of the back.



Many of you might have read about the terrible accident Terry's husband had this week.
Terry is a wonderful lady with whom I’ve had the pleasure to blog and email back and forth with.
Her husband has been in a terrible accident this week and has lost his lower right leg.
The blogging community is pulling together and supporting her family by making one or more quilts for her and her family. Can you help?!

Laurie from A Yankee Quilter has come up with this wonderful idea and is coordinating the collection of quilt blocks to make a quilt or quilts. Go over to see what you can do to help.
Please pass the word.

Then here is my finished sneak peek. It is a lovely little doll designed by Jodie from Ric Rac. The pattern is very well described. Even the dress with two sides was easy for me to make!

Here is the dolly still with me wearing the 'hug' dress ...
and here she is with her new friends in Amsterdam wearing the 'kisses' dress. Laura has given her the name Lieve. She has been a very good girl until now.

I finally finished the third block of Leanne's House. It was lots of fun to make. Not so much stitchery this time, which was a good thing. Jutta mailed her finished third block too today. So pretty!!!

Here is a close up of the appliqué. I really enjoyed making it.

This is my third Christmas Wish block I am making together with Melanie, Karen and Lyn.

And here is block 1 of my Web Sampler Celebration Quilt. Lots and lots went wrong while making it. I think I was distracted. But eventually it turned out OK. I already received block 3 and 4 too, so I hope to finish those next week.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Knowledge is limited.
Imagination encircles the world."

- Albert Einstein