Fabric garden

I love my garden, which still needs a lot of work to be done, but it is so hot and humid out there, that I prefer to sit in my basement and sew garden blocks. Some patchwork, some appliqued, embroidery, you name it. My goal, at a certain moment, who knows when,is to have a beautiful big arty garden quilt. 

These are just some blocks that I stuk on the design wall. I started years ago and stopped. I think, though, that I will continue, I must be able to make an addition every now and then!!!

 

The bird is coming along, I nearly finished the quilting. It is going to be a cushion. The chicken is ready and can be used as placemat, wall hanging or e.g. cover for the laundry basket.

 I am sure my grandkids like this hen, but at this moment they will get these aprons. The dwarfs picking apples, washing their doggy, fishing. All outdoor activities. 

With some of the members from the Quilting Bee Sparta we are making summer bags to sell at  the bazaar at A & B Creating. Also there we use flowers, hexagon EPP flowers!!

 

The bags are ready. I just don't have any pictures yet. Next time!!

Birds and chicks and butterflies

As A & B Creating is going to celebrate the end of the season, with an evening event we are getting ready to make some more summer bags, placemats, wall hangings, cushions and other little things. 
Summer means, countryside, seaside, lovely little towns and villages in the mountains. Wouldn't it be nice, for instance, to have a little bird cushion on your balcony!

 

 The patchwork bird is ready. It isn't a cushion yet, because it needs some borders, but I am working on that! There will follow other different birds. They are in my head, not yet anywhere else!!!

 The chicken is going to be a placemat. So nice to have breakfast in your garden with a soft boiled egg, freshly squeezed orange juice (I have a summer orange tree in the garden!) and some toast. I think I need a range of chickens!!

As I was looking at my animal blocks I also came along this butterfly. I made it years ago. I was, and am, planning to make a garden quilt with all different techniques, patchwork, applique, embroidered pieces and more. I did some work on that but it became quickly a UFO. There will come a day, when I'll continue. Don't know when, don't know where!

You will ask:"what happened to the Farmer's Wife Sample Quilt?" You started, and now?? Well, I managed to sew some more blocks. Pinned them on the wall and am thinking which block to make next.

So many projects to choose from! Difficult, what to do first. I really need more time in a day!!

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book is standing in my bookcase for a few years now. First I was planning to make the whole quilt in bright modern colors, I made, I think 4 or 5 blocks, 6" blocks!! Very tiny!!!! So then other, easier things took over. I even lost the blocks, must be somewhere, but I can't find them.I made pictures of the blocks, but they are in a cloud and I can't reach them. Will take me some time to figure out how this cloud works!! I prefer to sew.

I decided to start a new project. The blocks are now 12" square, quite a difference! I plan to start a quilt along QAL at A & B Creating in autumn, so the colors are according to the season. I might make a whole quilt, or maybe just a tablecloth. Time will tell! I have a few more blocks, but no pictures. But I will keep you updated. 

Last October I wanted to make a winter backpack for myself. By January I managed to choose the fabrics from the stash I have. Well, it is finished!!!! The temperature outside was 35 degrees Celsius yesterday. Too hot for a woolen backpack. But..... I am ready for autumn!!

I love the elephant. I just had this tiny piece of fabric somewhere. Elephants seem to be such nice and intelligent animals. 

This is Tineke. Her bag is made from batik fabric. She used to live in Asian countries and still has clothes from when she was living there. The backpack is from recycled material. It used to be a skirt! A lovely second life for this beautiful fabric!!

As we are talking bags now, we are going to make more at A & B Creating for the bazaar we are planning. This is the first one! Patchwork shopping bag.

And I will still be using my elephant backpack till autumn!! It has been in the washing machine regularly, but now it has seen it's best days!! I have to make a few more backpacks, they are so handy!!

Catching up!!

One of my projects was to make things with pieces of embroidery. Some of the pieces I bought in the second hand stores I visit regularly and some I bought at the annual fair in Mystras. There used to be a stand with beautiful embroidery from Russia. The vendor had new and used pieces. 

 She also sold pieces with holes or stains, very cheap. As you know, it takes a lot of time to embroider, so new work is very expensive.  Second hand though is very cheap. The above piece came from a border with holes in it. As a small wall hanging it gets a new life! More Russian embroidery below.

 In the second hand shop I found this piece. It had been framed because I could see the rusty dots from the nails. I had it for quite some time, thought that it was a bit too much, but finally I managed to use it and I am very pleased with the result! I think that I found the perfect border and even appliqued some flowers which I cut from an old duvet cover!!

The next cushion was made for a friend. She embroidered this piece as a sampler when she was elementary school age. That was about 50 years ago!!

For the children's room this wall hanging. One of the quilters got it in de second hand shop. It had the name of the baby and the date of birth embroidered on it too. I removed that, put a border around it and it has a new life. How I love recycling!!!

On Wednesday I am teaching a class on how to choose the fabrics to recycle your old embroidery pieces, the ones you made, your mother or grandmother made. This will be fun and the result will have an emotional value too, when it is a heirloom!!

Hello, hello!! Let's start blogging again!!!!

Wow, I wrote my last post before Christmas!! I went to the States to see my family over there and when I came back, I was busy, busy, busy! I am still busy, but I am going to blog again. 

Let's start with the Quilting Bee Sparta. We, 10 women, are working on several quilt tops. We really enjoy the work and the company.

 

One of our scrap quilts

 

The top is finished now, but I don't have a picture yet. The Dresden Plate cushion was sold. I am going to make some more, I think. I love Dresden Plates. This one has all vintage fabrics. 

The cupcake is being quilted and is part of a quilt we started ages ago!! The fuchsia fabric is not very good, as a matter of fact, a bit stretchy, so it was a real challenge to get it right!!

 Another project is the orange peel quilt. We also started the quilting on this one.

 

Something completely different, just solids!

 

I love this pattern. Now, to make this into a quilt for a single bed was quite a challenge. I only realized that after we started. I got all different size triangles to square the quilt! Well, we did it my way!!!! Next time the picture!

Christmas bazaar

A & B Creating's Christmas bazaar will be held next Sunday the 2nd of December. After 10.30 in the morning everyone is welcome to join us for coffee, tea, sweets and enjoy the place with all its beautiful handmade items.

The quilt above is made for my daughter, who lives in the States. We are personally going to bring it to her next month!! Looking really forward to that!

The pattern is from Sew Fresh Quilts and is called Have A Jolly Little Christmas. It was a Quilt Along that started in 2017. 

 

Here we have the more classical  Christmas presents. Cushions, runners, mug rugs and ornaments in green en red. Last year people loved the fabric below, so we made also some cushions and runners in these colours.

 

At the bazaar it is not only patchwork that we are selling, but we will have a lot of ceramic ornaments and hangers. The pottery group is still working on them. This week they will do the glazing, so everything will be ready for Sunday!

 

Barbara getting the oven ready. 

 

Me, thinking what I am going to make next!! 

 

Raw edge appliqued Christmas balls. 

I still want to make charms for the new year. I found a nice owl pattern and I am thinking of using that. I have a lot of scraps for a lot of different owls. I even knitted two owls, but that will take me too much time, so I will go for the sewn ones!! 

 

 

 

A & B Creating and knitting

Besides patchwork/quilting, sewing, and ceramics we now started a knitting group! Once a week, each Tuesday morning we will gather and knit small things to sell at our bazaars. At the moment we are working, of course, for the Christmas bazaar, which will be held on the morning of the 2nd of December. 

 

Petie, Barbara and me are working very concentrated while Ina made the pictures. 

 

Petie finished this baby cardigan at home and just put the lovely wooden buttons on, which I purchased at the crafts fair Xeirotexnika.

 

It is the same pattern as this one I made. It is knitted in one piece, starting at the sleeve. 

 

When you start knitting, you also think of crocheting. I have no idea how to do that, but Barbara has a little experience and is showing Demi how to make a Christmas star. The person who really knows how to crochet is our quilster Stefi. She made a lot of stars at home, which we will show another time.

Among the other members of the Quilting Bee are also some fervent knitters and women who know how to crochet very well. They are making stuff for the bazaar at their homes. I haven't made pictures yet of the lovely things they bring! I made this fox shawl this summer. 

I love Pinterest and make boards to get ideas. It is unbelievable how many lovely things you can make in whatever craft you imagine!! I found some very cute knitted small owls and downloaded the pattern. As it is a very rainy day I feel very enthusiastic to start making a owl family!! With me luck because you knit with 5 needles!!

  If you know how to knit or crochet and want to join our group, we would love to meet you.