Where to begin?

A lot has been going on this week in my stitchery and quilting world. I am unable to show you everything, since some projects are secret swaps and others are just not ready to be shown.

But this one is definitely ready to be shown. It is my the Monochromatic Four Season Quilt I received last week from Kerry. The colors are just perfect for me! It is my very first pink quilt!


And look at this beautiful stitchery detail. Incredible tiny stitches. the quilt feels very soft. Maybe it has to do with the colors ... Thank you so much, Kerry, for this wonderful quilt! You did an amazing job, even though pink is not your color!

I finished my fourth Verandah Views block. Once again, Cheryl did a wonderful job. My stitchery block didn't turn our so bright, but I think it fits perfectly to the other three blocks.

The Verandah Views so far:

And look at the gorgeous Easter post I got from Jutta, together with a wonderful Siggie she specially made for me, which will be shown further down this post. The cute little bird houses are actually egg warmers, but they found a very nice spot on our window sill, so we get to look at them every day! Vielen Dank, liebe Jutta!


Then, at the beginning of this year I joined the Calendar Quilt Challenge 2009. I finished up until mid March as you can see here and here. Yet, somehow this quilt never really felt like me.

Then I saw this quilt on Annelies' blog and the one Leanne made, with The 365 Challenge Tutorial.

Here are the fabrics I bought for this new challenge :

and here is the process of cutting and organizing. A total of 365 blocks in four sizes and 11 different colors. I haven't started writing yet, somehow not knowing what to write on my first block.

Notice the glasses. They are also very important in this process! LOL

Here is Jutta's beautiful Siggy and one from Cuny, with a special message about time.

This week I also finished my first border for the Spring Fling Round Robin-3 organized by Margaret. I can only show you a corner, for if I would show more, the person who made the center square would recognize it, since I used her fabric all over the border. I must say, working on a quilt this way really makes you think and combine colors. A very special and fun process!

And last but not least, I want to end my post with a gorgeous stitchery package Dzintra send me together with a pretty bookmarker for my Friday Night Knitting Club book. I actually finished the stitchery by Anni Dawn the day I received it! And as if Dzintra knew, I still had a frame that goes to it perfectly! Thank you so much, dear Dzintra! You really warmed my heart!

So with this friendship stitchery I want to end my post.

Have a lovely weekend and a creative and peaceful week!

So much to share

On January 15, I won Lyn's Whirl into Winter giveaway. The parcel came in on Friday. How spoiled can one be, receiving two gorgeous parcels in one week? And look what Lyn sent me: a beautiful wooden bell which makes a very warm sound, a lovely note pad - one can never have enough, the pattern for the Star Light Star Bright bag by Jennifer Knol & Yolanda Tomlins, a lovely wall hanger and ...

the Quilt House table topper. A beautiful quilt, that fits exactly on our living room table (not on the picture). It is beautifully made and quilted. Thank you so much Lyn, for this wonderful giveaway (O:

On Friday I finally finished my table runner for the monochromatic 4 season swap. It's my first monochromatic quilt and my first table runner.

Each light block has a little stitchery from A Christmas Story by Anni Downs from Hatched and Patched.

And here are two of my little snow bells that grow in my garden and open when the sun is shining. They look so pretty!

Then please check out the swap Darci at Stiches & Siccors is organizing. You don't have to make anything and have until the 11th to join in.

Take a look at these three free BOMs:

1. 2009 Block of the Month Harmony Village at Harmony quilts.

2. They also have a Free BOM 2008.

3. Friendship Flower Quilt at Grandma's Stitches. If you look through this blog, you can find many beautiful free patterns. She also sells cute patterns with fabrics. I'm glad dear Jutta mentioned this blog to me!

I hope you all have a lovely week! Happy stitching and quilting (O:

Verandah view and other projects

I finished Cheryl's first block of her Verandah Views. I think this is a lovely BOM! The two birds in the nest are still missing, but I want them to be gray and still have to find some thread for that. And yes, Jutta, I know, I should have ironed my project before taking a picture ...


Here's another part of my 4 season quilt. One more row of stars to go and a few more stitcheries. Somehow swaps make me very uncertain of what I am doing. Luckily I have a daughter who makes me feel very good and encourages me to go on the way I had planned!

These colors are better!

Nine little bird

I finally put away my 6 reindeers and let these little birds take their place. They always remind me of spring that will soon be here, even though we still have some very cold days ahead of us.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and enjoy the things you are doing!

Take care (O:

Pink and green

I finished this apron for myself! Shawnee from the apron swap, told me the apron I originally made for the apron swap was perfectly alright. I was glad about it, because I had especially made it for that purpose. I added some small 'think pink' items to it, so it all did look very sassy in the end!


Some of the fabrics I used for the above apron are from Ikea, I bought 7 or so years ago. I made a quilt with them then, which my daughter sleeps underneath if it gets extra cold. So this winter it has been on her bed since December!

Apron detail

This is the beginning of the quilt for the Four season swap. Once again I had a hard time deciding on what I would make. Thanks to the Teeny tiny quare quilt swap I came across the book 'Mini quilts' by Els Feteris and Margo van Strien, of course after I finished the mini quilt. The size of on star square is 8 x 8 cm. I'll be making 15 of them, probably with a small stitchery in the middle.

And then my first 'snow bells' in the garden. They always give me a happy feeling, reminding me that spring is on its way! If you feel like stitching a 'Galanthus nivalis', look on Heikes Quilt. She started a BOM called Heike's Gartenjahr. It is very pretty!

Have a happy day!

Ready for my swaps, some vintage embroidery and two more free BOMs

This weekend I finally decided how to work out the table runner for the 4 season quilt. I started cutting the pieces, which is quite a lot of work. The pattern is from the Mini quilt book, which I rediscovered after I made my teeny tiny square quilt. There will be some stitchery in it too.
And as you see, there is a book next to all this, which I really want to read. In two weeks I've only read about 20 pages. I am a slow reader, but I don't think it's that ... My blogging friend Dzintra is encouraging me to start reading and my daughter already finished it.

Today I received the name of my secret swap partner for the Sassy/flirty apron swap. I am a bit nervous about this swap.

If you ever plan to make an apron, many, many patterns can be found here and here.

OK, and this is an embroidery I made for my parents in ... 1975! I was wondering if that is vintage. I used to do this quite a lot when I was a teenager, always being busy with all kinds of handcrafts, such as knitting, crochet and making cloths for my Barbie and myself. My oldest sister is a genius in embroidery. If you look at her work, you can hardly tell the back from the front.

And then I found two more BOMs:

1. One is a 10 month BOM called Verandah Views, a very cute stitchery by Willowberry designs. I will probably start this one after I finished the first block of Once upon a time ...

2. Season's of the heart by Sandi. It's a very nice BOM too!

Off to some swap work now! I hope you have a happy day!