A New Year – New Moments for Everything

Another year is gone and it has been a busy, eventful and good year for me and my family. I’ve been travelling a lot, finished a lot of both quilting projects and work projects. I’ve met a lot of relatives for the first time and met a lot of nice people all over the world.

For 2012 I’ve not laid any plans. I‘ll enjoy life and see what comes in my way.  I’ll try not to be doing too many things at the same time, so I’ll be ready to start a new project or take a course when the course is really my thing.

I was a part of OPAM 2011 and that was a good thing for me. I managed to finish a lot of UFOS and WISP. If I enter this year maybe my boxes will be empty and hidden projects all will be finishes by 2012? J 

Happy New Year to you all - and may 2012 fulfill some of your dreams!

One finish, but where is the time to another one?

This summer I visited my relatives in USA, that I never known or met before. A very joyful and god experience. In Forest City where my grandmother’s sister lived with her American family, I found a small pattern in a quilting shop named “The Quilted Forest”. Here is the link

The pattern was from a series called Tiny Ones Here is their advertisement from their page;

“Tiny Ones

Tiny Ones are terrific! These pint-sized patterns make full sized table toppers and runners in a variety of sizes and shapes. They are great for showcasing all types of fabrics; batiks, novelty prints, floral, bright, and specific collections.

Each card is laminated on both sides for durability and priced right! There are currently 68 different Tiny Ones, with more to come. Try them all, and keep coming back to see what's new!

Each card measures 3 1/2" x 5 1/2".    EASY TO PIECE, EASY TO ENJOY! “

My son moved to a new flat this autumn and wanted a new design for his room. White, black and red was it to be. I made him this bed cover from the only pattern I bought this summer in USA. I only used fabrics from my cupboard except for the backing.  Anne quilted this for me, and my son was very happy when he brought it with him this weekend.

I have a lot of small projects going on, but I have too much else to do so I don’t feel like sewing or quilting at the moment.  But after this week there will be better sewing days I think.

Christmas is just around the corner, so I need to get my sewing and creating feeling back.

Have a nice week!

What is sunshine for you?

After a really rainy summer here in the eastern part of Norway you hear people say; Sunshine, what is that? I started to think a bit about it and around it and sunshine can be a lot of things.

When I was traveling in Scotland this summer with my mother, she had to stay at the hotel in Inverness one day, because she was a bit tired. I went on my own to Culloden Moor a place for a very sad part of Scottish history.  They had a very good museum at the place, and you could also have a walk at the moor with your own GPS-guide, or follow historical dressed guides on the moor. I went alone with the GPS guide and my umbrella and got quite an historical walk in the heavy rain. It made the history alive! When I got back to town, cold and wet, I saw a figure in a window and had to buy this. When I turned it upside down it was named Sunshine! (It’s a Willow Tree figure.) I warmed up at once!

Sunshine can also be a friendly smile, a hug, a cup of coffee ,  a sweet,  a wild –flower,  a phone call,  a sms , an e-mail, and finding a long forgotten fabric you saved up  to use on a special  project. Sunshine is all the small things that make us warm and life worth living!

Have a nice week!

Holiday, - a journey in inspiration

This summer I’ve been traveling a lot. First I followed my 80 years old mother down Memory Lane in Scotland. We visited her Scottish best friend who celebrated her 80^th birthday when we were there. They have been best friends for around 60 years and even all their grandchildren are now older than they were when they first met. Incredible!

We traveled a lot in the southern part of Scotland before we went north. We saw a lot of fantastic handicrafts in small and big shops, but what made the biggest impression on me were the heather gems. I wish I was the one who had this idea first!

Have a look at the pictures on this page and see how they make them, and have a look at thevideos. Look at all the different fantastic colors.

These colors we met in knitwear, in wool products and in the woven fabrics. I  was even  in danger to start spinning yarn   when I saw the wool-colors.

BACK ON TRACK IN BLOGLAND AND WORKLAND.

I’m alive although I haven’t been blogging for a couple of months. I’ve been enjoying my holiday trips, my meetings with friends and until now unknown family. I’ve had two months without any hard work, but now the normal life has reached me.

I’ve been a part-time student for two years with all expenses paid by my workplace so now I have to work full time counseling and teaching. I love it, but it takes some time to get back in routine.

I‘ve only finished some UFOs for my daughters this month (and nothing done in June) except for this book cover for my work list. I got this embroidery from my friend Lise some time ago and now was the perfect time to use it.

This was just a small writing, but next time I‘ll tell you a bit more about my summer in Scotland, in the States and in Norway.

Have a nice week!

Summertime - blues?

I’ve finished my studies, my exams, all  my WISP and   my work-year is over. I’m having my holidays and a lot of time to collect inspiration and deciding what to do when I’m back in work mode again.

The rain is pouring down, but I have a good house, god clothes to take a walk in, a lot of books, good music and a lot of nice people in and out where I am.   It’s time to share, to sow and to harvest and to enjoy life.

This month I’ve only made a small heart for a friend’s birthday, but I can’t show you the picture yet because then I destroy her surprise. Have a nice summer for those who have summertime and temperature, and for all you Australian freezing, we’ll send you warm thoughts!

I’m still looking at these sketching some ideas for the autumn.

9 years WIP finished!!!

Last Saturday mu DH got his wall hanging “At Home in the Woods” designed by    McKenna Ryan. I ordered it as a BOM in 2002 to finish it as a 50 years anniversary gift.  In the original pattern there were used an invisible tread and machine appliquéd. I didn’t  master this so I started to use buttonhole stitches. It has taken me 9 years. He was 57 Saturday. Anne Rønningen has  quilted it for me.

My DH was impressed and happy, and I´m satisfied when I see it on the wall.

Three days ago I got a gift in the post. It was the OPAM 2011 – draw for April. I was one of the lucky winners. Kris  Mears sent me the gift with nice words on the umberella card.  Maybe I´ll make a summer table cloth of the fabrics?  Joining Opam -11 has given me the real push to finish a lot of projects this year. Have a nice wee!

How much fabric is enough fabric?

Once upon a time a read about an American quilt-lady who didn’t have more Than one basket with fabric. She always started a new project with the fabrics she had in the basket and bought what she needed extra. I don’t remember her name or the name of the magazine. That time I thought – what a strange lady. How boring to start with the left overs from last project! I wonder if she still is on this way. Anyone know who she was or is like her?

Today I envy her a bit. I have collected fabrics for lots of years and I feel I have too much. This year I have been good and just used my old fabric. I have bought some new magazines and patterns, but I intend to use what I have.

My last project to use a lot of fabric is to sew three veranda blankets for my DD2. She had three fleece blankets and I used some flannels on two of them and some more colors on the last one. This is my favorite. I made some pillow cases to put them in and used some more fabrics from my stash.

             

 I have sorted through all my yellows, browns, beiges and greens and have just put back the ones I want to keep, the ones I know I mostly would use in projects. The rest – two big plastic boxes I’m going to cut up in 2 or 2 ½ inch strips and make log -cabin blocks. We have a small cabin in the woods, and we have to paint and freshen it up a bit. I should have made some blankets many years ago but now is a good time to start. If I first cut all the fabrics and then make 4 blocks a day then I’ll make it. Why I don’t want to make more than four blocks a day is because it’s soon summer here and it’s easier to make some stitching and hand piecing when you are outdoors or traveling.

VÅRSALG - SPRING SALE - A GOOD EXCUSE ?

Sitter her og skriver og lese. Har vært flink og tatt en tur i det fine været I dag.  Å skrive på pc har sine fordeler og ulemper. Det er så fristende og bare å surfe litt. Litt blogger , kjøpe ett mønster eller tre, ett sticheri abonnement og smykker! Datteren min, DD2, har en nettbutikk hvor hovedsalget er yoga-artikler og te, men også smykker fra bl.a. FiFi. Dere som var på årsmøte så en god del av dem da.     Hun ringte og sa at nå var det vårsalg med 40 % avslag. Jeg logget meg på Fløyelstre butikken, og det ble 1 smykke, 1 armbånd og 2 pakker te.

Jeg lurer på hva jeg skal handle neste fredag som en belønning  når den skriftlige eksamen er over. Hvis jeg blir ferdig og ikke er ut i Cyberspace? J

I’m sitting by my computer writing and reading. Today it has been a very nice day so I have been out for a nice walk. To do the writing on my computer has its advantages and disadvantages. It`s so tempting to do a bit of surfing. To watch some blogs, to buy a pattern or three, a stitchery and jewelry. My DD2 has an internet shop where the main sale is yoga articles and teas, but she also sells jewelry from Fifi amongst other. She called and she had spring sale with 40% on the jewelry. I logged on her shop  and bought 1 for my neck and one for my arm and 2 packages of tea.

I wonder what to buy next Friday to celebrate that my written exam is finished. If I finish instead of travelling around in Cyberspace instead. J

Need an award? Or a hug?

I got an award some time ago from Lise, and I should have given it to 5 bloggers with less than 100 followers.  Fighting with my exam writing, I haven’t the time to surch for you. I read a lot of blogs but you seem to have a lot of followers all of you!

So if YOU are in need of a hug or an award, feel free to take it but you have to answer five questions:

1.       Why did you start a blog? I started mine because it was easier to send comments to others who had. I also felt that when you make a promise on a blog you do a lot to keep it.

2.       Which blogs do you follow?I follow  lot of different blogs and their favorites too.

3.       Favorite colour? Bright colours. Blue and turquoise.

4.       Favorite films?  Old English costume movies with a happy ending, or films with “normal lives”. I don’t like too much violence or science fiction.

5.       Which country would you like to visit and why?  I would like to go to China and follow the old “Silk Road”, see the silk production and maybe buy a yard or two…….

I said I would try to make 4 charity blankets this year. I have made one and one toy this month. This month I think I have to keep to stitchery and do some serious writing and reading. Enjoy life and if you have a piece of advice for an exam writer, so post a comment. I’ll need them the next fortnight!

The ongoing Competition

My desk is full of exam papers, books, articles and more, and I’m trying to write an article about empowering young people at school. My sewing machine is packed down, my magazines are tucked away, my sewing room is clean and tidy, and I have no work in progress. What happens?

I write a bit. I read a bit. I need a pause. A magazine is opened, and then another one, and suddenly I have a work in progress. Three more weeks before I have to finish my exam article. Plenty of time.

Maybe I should write about the empowerment of an addicted quilter instead?

In Need of Inspiration? -1

I love to take courses, being with others to share and seek inspiration. I`ve just been to the annual meeting of The Norwegian Quilt Association and got a lot of inspiration and new ideas.

 Sometimes it is not possible to go away from home because of jobs, family matters, money, health and other reasons. But luckily there are a lot of possibilities for those who want that. I`d like to share a couple of mine outside magazines and books.

My favorite source at the moment is  Designmatters TV.  It`s net TV made by Linda and Laura Kemshall.  Go to their homepage and have a look at their free shows to see if this gives you a lust to see more and pay. I have paid and seen a lot of their shows and they have put me in play mood.  They are into Art-Quilting, but give a lot of tips for beginners and traditionalists like me.

Have you seen the pages for Quilt University? Her you can take a lot of different courses. They cost a bit but there is a great variety from traditional quilting to everything.

I’ve also bought some DVDs from Art Quilt Magazine, their TV shows. They have made a lot of tv-programmes and it’s ok to watch them when it suits you .They give a great variety of techniques and you meet a lot of exciting artist and quilters. Enjoy!

There are also thousands of blogs, net pages and so on, and everyone have their own favorites. 

Finally the most important thing is to dare try and to practice the techniques. Have fun!

PS! Don't be like these two!

Empty box!

My must box is empty! Hurray! I’ve finished a couple of project instead of doing some boring reading, so no the box is empty. The angel pattern and the Sancta girl pattern is made by Miak-design, and the table cloths are an old cross stitch material package I inherited to finish many years ago.

Need to, want to, or both?

This month I`ve been doing a lot of musts and need to. These last days I`ve finished a table runner and two square table cloths for my DH`s office.  We live on a farm and he has his office and employees in the side building. I think it`s ok to brighten up the office now and then.

 I saw in this blog from Lappemakeriet that Anne Kjersti had made a nice table runner and was inspired to sew my own.

                       Just before Christmas I moved into a new office at work, and yesterday I finally had the time to make three door signs for the school nurse and myself. We share the same entrance.

The signs are quite simple. I used my embroidery machine for the letters, and made a small fabric border around.  I hang them up with some Velcro that I glued to the doors. We got a lot of attention today from pupils and grownups walking by.

These were all “useful and needed “products, and it`s satisfying to finish, but now I just want to play a little. Just take an idea, make sketches and see what it leads to. I`ve done enough musts and cupboard products for a while.

I'VE MADE IT!

Hurray! I’ve put the last stitch on the BOM top- At Home in the Woods. Now it’s ready for quilting, but not by me. My DH will probably get this quilt for his birthday this year. 8 years later than planned.

What to start on now? I don’t know.

 Found two pictures in my camera that I fell in love with, so maybe……

Still staying on “the promised road”

After I’ve made promises for 2011 about buying fabrics and finishing UFOs and cupboard project, I‘ve been at that road. My friend Sol and I try to finish our challenge projects , the stoles (Sol) and “At home in the woods” (me) .We’re making good progress and my goal is to finish my challenge before the annual meeting in The Norwegian Quilt Association (NQF)  (18-20 March). If I manage this I can reward myself with some fabrics.

The last week I’ve had my winter holiday at home, and have finished 3 UFOs and a fabric stash project. The ufoes are; 1 potholder for Christmas, an embroidery table runner for Christmas (Idèna design-Germany) and a small makeup  purse.

The fabric stash project is a knitting bag for my DD2. It’s from  Anne-Pia Godske’s new book “Flowerpower patchwork”. I’m satisfied with this one. For handles I should have put some thick bamboo knitting sticks no 15 to show you at the picture, but I can’t find anyone. My DD2 has.

                                                            

Are there anymore UFOS or other cupboard projects in my house? Yes, but they get fewer.

Have a nice week!

Shortcuts can give unwanted results.

How many times do I have to experience this? A number of times, I ‘m afraid.  I hate manuals and instructions. When I made my Jenny Beyer  “Trip around the world” I  read the instructions to do it right ,but I confess that a couple of times I had to read it properly once more after making some mistakes .  I like every new machine, pattern or whatever comes into my house to come to use at once. Do they? Sometimes yes and sometimes not.  I know that sometimes life would be simpler if I just read the paper first, but how boring but time saving.

Here is my latest blunder. After finishing my big Jinny Beyer I was motivated for a small project from my cupboard. I found one named Christmas hearts that I bought on The Nordic Quilt meeting 2009. It was a package with drawings, fabric, carton and instructions on how to do trapunto, stippling, Italian Quilting and freeze paper appliqué.  There was a silk square for the center piece and 14 cotton squares and a rectangle for the rest of the piece. I started after just looking at the drawings and reading how to do the special things.

I did the centerpiece adjusted the size a bit and sew together the squares. When I put all together it didn’t fit together so I had a lot of trouble to get it all right. I finished the sewing and quilting and wasn’t very satisfied with the result, but it was Ok. When I put everything away the pattern, bags and. so on, a bell started to ring. And the big ones really made a noise when I opened the other bag with a material bag from the same producer.

Here there were  fabric and also, as in the first package - 14 cartoon squares, a big cartoon square, a rectangle cartoon and fabric pieces all bigger than the cartoons. I blushed. This was a paper piecing set. Why hadn’t I seen this when I started the first one?  Too much in a hurry, making a small piece very quickly¸ too much trust in myself knowing what to do  instead of looking at what the patternmaker had thought when he made the original piece.

When will I learn? I think I will remember this for a while, but I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again.

Here are the two small pieces. The patterns are made by;     Bøgelund  Patchwork in Denmark.    http://www.quilt-fyn.dk/

Feel free to leave a comment!

The diffrences in sizes

T

Christmas angel:

Christmas heart:

Recognize this paper suitcase?

I got this suitcase four years ago for an anniversary from my children. I loved the fabrics but thought it was a giant project to start on.  Last summer I challenged myself to start. I followed the very good instructions, but it was a challenge!!!!  I sometimes wanted to quit and throw it all away, but I finished.

I sent it to Anne Rønningen at Quiltekammeret who is an artist when it comes to custom quilting. You can see some of her quilting at the pictures, but it doesn’t give her full credit.

I’m so proud that I finished this project that will be a gift for my DD2 and my son in law. I still focus on  “At home in the woods” ,  but  I also have to do some studying  for my exams in May  so I have to take on some small projects  that I can finish.

Et lite, men ferdig januarprosjekt !

Har sett på alle de flotte ”krus – teppene ” – mug rugs på nettet, og måtte lage en til favoritt kruset mitt.  Jeg ble kjempefornøyd!  Den er  5 ½ x 9 inch

Another finish in January

I’ve been looking at all the nice mug rugs people have made, so I had to make one for my favorite tea mug. I like it!  It’s 5 ½ x 9 inch.

Gode syvenner er gull verdt ! Good sewing friends is worth gold!

For 8 år siden kjøpte jeg en BOM fra 2Sister Quilting Shoppe  - www.2sistersquilting.com i USA.       Det var ”At home in the Woods”  av McKenna Ryan. http://www.pineneedles.com . Teppet skulle bli ferdig til min manns 50 år dag 2 år etter.. For å gjøre en lang historie kort så er jeg ikke ferdig ennå. Det er en av mine UFO er. En av mine gode syvenner sa: Du syr ferdig teppet på våre sykvelder , og jeg syr ferdig de 4 stolaene til min svigerdatter som er prest. Vi satte i gang andre uka i januar og har fått gjort mye.  Vi spør hverandre til råds, spør hvordan det går når vi treffes, så vi blir ferdig e i 2011! Bare 4 år til gubben er 60!

8 years ago I bought a  BOM from  2Sister Quilting Shoppe  - www.2sistersquilting.com in USA. It  was  ”At home in the Woods” by  McKenna Ryan. http://www.pineneedles.com . I thought my DH was going to get it for his 50^th anniversary 2 years after, but I have not finished it yet. It’s one of my UFOs .One of my sewing friends said to me: You finish this BOM on our sewing nights, and I’ll  finish the four stoles for my daughter in law who is a minister. We started the second week in January, and have already done a lot. We ask each other for advice, ask about the progress when we meet, so we  will  both finish our projects in 2011! Only four years till my DH is 60!

This is how my finished product is going to look!

Nytt år og gode forsetter.

Tre uker inn i det nye året og synes jeg har fått gjort mye. Har fått laget et nytt bilde til kontoret mitt og hengt det opp.  Har brukt pessimisten Ludvig som tror alt er farlig¸ for litt humoristisk å stille spørsmålet om videregående skole er farlig. Har fortsatt litt veggplass igjen, og drodler litt om hva jeg skal henge opp der.

En ting er i hvert fall sikkert.  Det er at jeg har nok stoffer, tråd, +++ til å lage bilder og tepper til og hel dekke vegger og gulv både på mitt og andres kontor.

Så etter å ha ryddet for å få igjen skapdører og skuffer har jeg laget meg noen nyttårs forsetter.

*Ingen stoffkjøp på denne siden av sommerferien dersom det ikke er for å avslutte et prosjekt.

*Annen hvert prosjekt dette året skal være et skap-prosjekt dvs. en UFO eller en materialpakke som ligger og  modner i skapet

*Jeg skal sy minst et teppe i kvartalet til ”Tepper som varmer”-aksjonen til NQF.

Dette er forsetter som det går an å komme i mål med. Jeg har begynt godt. Følg med i neste post.

A new year and new promises!

Three weeks have passed, and I’m proud of myself. I have made a new picture for my office. I’ve made a picture of Ludvig, a Norwegian character who is always pessimistic and thinks everything is dangerous. I still have more wall space, and doodles about what to make next.

One thing is sure! I have enough fabrics, treads and  ++++ to cover my whole office and a lot of others too. So after I’ve tried to tidy up to close the doors to my cupboard and my drawers I’ve made some promises for this year:

*I’m not going to buy any more fabrics on this side of the summer, unless it is for finishing a project.

*Every second project is going to be a cupboard project either an UFO or a material package waiting

*I’m going to make at least four charity project this year.

I think these are promises I can manage and I’ve started well. Follow me!