A finish :-)

This is Lynette Anderson's Magical Christmas Stitching BOM in a different colour combination - I love it! Looks kind of French inspired - just what I wanted :-)
The finished size is 20" x 23".

Hanne

A time to treasure :-)

What is better than spending time in the sewing room ?
Spending time in a friend's sewing room!
This is May Britt's sewing room, on Sunday, and we had a great time there :-)

May Britt is working on her sample blocks and I am working on a pouch with stitchery for DD2.

I managed to finish the Christmas table cloth! Even bindings are easier to do in good company :-)

This is the stitchery for DD2's pouch finished. The text is very appropriate for her, shoes, shoes and more shoes :-)
She is going to New York soon for a year of language study + Fashion & Design study.

A friend is like a flower,
a rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes
strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have a friend. - By Adrianne S

Hanne

Small finishes have great charm :-)

The little coin purse from Lynette Anderson's Project Club is done :-)

The back side of the coin purse.

I so hope this is the last waiting room preemie hat I am knitting in a long long time!
Started on Monday when waiting at the hospital for my foot check up.

I just Needed a new start today :-)

I have just found a good fabric for the Christmas table cloth, for doing binding tomorrow. It has been washed and is drying as we speak.

Hanne

Monday progress

Today I have had a hard time sticking to my focus project - felt like working on something else, but I did persevere.
Maybe a focus list is like a jinxed list from time to time?

This Lynette Anderson sign up bonus project from the Project Club is so cute, only 2,5" tall.
Now I need to sew a zipper in.

I saw the orthopaedic surgeon today.
The bones in my right foot are now healed, so now I can focus on doing exercise without being afraid of doing something wrong.
The foot will still be swollen for 6-12 months yet.
Patience, patience........... :-)

The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes to do,
but in liking what one has to do.
- James Barrie

Hanne

Sunday stitches

When I was at May Britt's a couple of weeks back, I shopped for backings and battings, and now I am putting them to good use.
My DH helped me with the spray basting and I have worked hard on the quilting since then.

Now the quilting is done :-)
I am not sure, but I think I will use the binding that came with the BOM kit, if I only can remember where I put it.....................
This table cloth is huge - to big for my coffee table - mystery BOMs are not for me in the future!
I might do the centre of this table cloth again though, without the last borders.
I will find use for this table cloth too! Dining room table maybe?

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.
Mark Twain

Hanne

This & That

It has been a very busy week, if not in the sewing corner.
The foot gets a lot of exercise too, and I can again walk in the house with less support :-)

I am done with all the stars for Lappemakeriet's BOM though, before arrival of the sashing fabric, and all the 20 stars are now waiting in a box.

Since doing a real focus on the stars, with fast success, I am now eager and ready to do an effort on this other BOM, Alle Fugler (All Birds) from Northern Quilts.
I guess I am spoiled by Lappemakeriet's BOMs, with plentiful kits, but Alle Fugler also will be a nice quilt when it is done. I have done a lot of stitchery and several blocks already.

This little one will also be in my focus pile - a bonus pattern from Lynette Anderson's new online pattern club :-)

And third, the Christmas table cloth BOM from last year. I have shopped for backing and batting, and this project deserves to be done in good time before Christmas :-)

The first rule of focus is this: "Wherever you are, be there."  - author unknown

Hanne

Sunday stitches

First 2 stars, and then 2 more :-)

It has been raining heavily all day, and Rusket, aka Miss Cat and the furball, is taking resting to the max :-)

Just 3 more stars to go - prepped and ready to be pieced :-)

I have had some questions about how I piece the stars.
I prefer traditional hand piecing for these stars.
Most people do them English piecing around here.
Isn't it a good thing - the many choices of patchwork and quilting ? :-)

What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret
than our willingness to choose life. Leo Buscaglia

Hanne

For my kitchen

I am doing a lot of exercise with my foot these days, so I am not using the sewing machine much, but I had to give it a try today, playing with the yellow flowers.
I needed some new potholders for my kitchen, and they are already up on the wall.
Making these flowers are fun, so I plan to make more, in different colours.

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather,
always bring your own sunshine.

Hanne

When I grow up

When I grow up:
I will be doing one project at a time, A to Z.
I will not go wild with a new idea.
I will be tidy at all times.

....................I better not grow up........................ :-))

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today?
Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present.
~Babatunde Olatunji

Hanne

Stars again

I am enjoying doing the stars!
I am trying to finish a couple of blocks every day, so I can be done with all the blocks very soon.
The sashing and cornerstones will arrive in about 10 days.

These 2 blocks were finished yesterday, and is in the 11 blocks photo above too.

This morning I was lacking 9 blocks altogether - 7 stars already done, 2 stars in pieces.

2 more block down this afternoon - 7 to go :-)

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

Hanne

I have a plan :-)

Really old blocks, with some lovely new fabrics - I have a plan :-)

2 more finished star blocks to put in the box :-)

I am now the lucky owner of a hand-me-down IPod - handed down from DH, loaded with my favourite book files.
If you wonder, he has bought himself a bigger, better IPod for his files and photos.
I do not think it can put the kettle on, but it can do a lot of things, according to the happy owner :-)

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing.
Brian Tracy

Hanne

More stars

I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Hanne

On my design floor :-)

These hexagon stars really change when they get the final round on them - I like it!
These blocks will be my focus project for the week, aiming at finishing all 20 through the weekend, in good time before the sashing and corner stones packet arrives :-)

People rarely succeed
unless they have fun in what they are doing.
Dale Carnegie

Hanne

Slowly, slowly

Life is slowly taking form again, after what happened here in Norway 22. July.
Like a rainbow, love is shining in my country, after the big massacre.
I am so happy the bombing and massacre did not let hate grow.

All the dead are now identified - also DD2's friend Åsta.
If feels so meaningless that you and all the other bomb and shooting massacre victims are gone, Åsta, and we are thinking and talking about you daily.
Your friends from school will travel this week, across the country, to attend your memorial service and funeral on Thursday. My thoughts goes to your family and friends!

The furball does not care much about anything but food, resting and bird hunting these days, and a hero, both at night and during day time, needs her rest :-)

We have had some lovely hot summer days, and we had the pleasure of taking DMIL to visit her sister. It was good to have a hat to cover the neck in the sun - DMIL's hat that is - I am not much of a hat head :-)

DH's aunt lives by the sea, on Jeløy, and the view is great. From the upstairs veranda we can see across the Oslo fjord. This day we sat downstairs by the grass.

I tasted the cherries - they were sour,

and smelled the roses - they smelled sweet,

and the strawberries were the very best :-)

I have been spending quite a lot of time reading a thick novel this past week,
but the sewing needle have not rested either.
At first I did not like the middle block on the row 2, the one with yellow and a lot of white, but it has grown on me and I can see it adds to the quilt, even if it looks very pale.
First I decided to redo it later, but I now know I will not.

Only 2 more stars to go - and all the triangular pieces around the hexagons to make them square, or rather a tad rectangular.

Tomorrow is fresh, with no mistakes in it. ~L.M. Montgomery

Hanne