Quilt it

friday finish

2012-02-10T15:25:00.001+01:00

A quick post to show a couple of fun quilts using "the jelly roll race technique".
I had some 2.5" strings that had been stashed for a while.

This first one ended up 31" * 37", using a remnant piece of Quilters Dream Request.

This second one ended up 31" * 41", using leftover Hobbs Thermore batting. It's backed with a flannel piece, soft and cosy. I think you can google "jelly roll race" to find instructions on how to. Quite fun and easy piecing. Great idea for leftover 2.5" strings!

Still is quite cold and wintery for being the south west coast of Norway.
Happy to have turned stash into some quilt for kids. A few more simple checked tops are waiting for suitable pieces of batting. So it's time to tackle some bigger tops...

Wish you a great weekend. Stay warm!

bundles of joy ...

2012-02-09T20:39:00.000+01:00

I have been hard at work

shopping,

cutting and mixing

prizes for my quilt guild lottery.

Now, it's time to enjoy the colorful bundles! Hopefully they will spread some joy. Shopping for others is quite a different thing...

a puzzle

2012-02-07T13:55:00.000+01:00

... in 4 pieces

My biggest quilt (so far) from my pre blog days turned out to be too big to be used in my house.

An irish chain design with red Aunt Grace around the word 30's prints.

A square 92" bed size quilt. Pretty, but too big.

So I cut it in 4 "puzzle" pieces, thinking of my brother's 4 daughters. The first one was gifted this weekend for a birthday present. It was received with a smile. I haven't told her it is part of a puzzle, but really look forward to part with no 2 and 3 in may...

Luckily this one wasn't washed before the "surgery". So it was an easy operation. Now it's washed and crinkly. Hopefully ready to spend less time in a closet, and more time being used!

Do you have a lot of quilts just stored away? I might not feel so bad about storing a pile of quilts if only my house was bigger...

wednesday wip

2012-02-01T15:39:00.000+01:00

Reconnecting with a wip. I started making Elisabeth's popular Tokyo Map design back in 2010. My squares are bigger than hers, finishing at 2".

The original design has 25 "tiles" of 8 by 8 squares. I am now up to 12.

And I am wondering if I should call it good and turn this 48" by 64" top into a lap quilt...

If I keep going it will be a big, bright wall quilt. Oh, the possibilities...

...

january finish

2012-01-31T14:01:00.000+01:00

It is the last day of january and I had a chance to take some pictures of my finished sweet and swell.

Quilted by me with Quilters Dream Request (thin cotton) batting it measures 41" * 56".

I felt so lucky finding this lovely back from the same lines by designers Urban Chick on etsy.

Started more than two years ago, from two charm packs, these lines are not new any more.

It is very girly, and I really like it!

Thank you for good ideas naming the hexagon quilt top in my previous post. Now you have me thinking of caramel, butterscotch toffee, honey, cafe au lait, hot chocolate and more...

Really cold weather can do that to you, don't you think?

; )

Wish you a lovely last day of january!

baby, it's cold outside...

2012-01-30T11:28:00.000+01:00

but it's time for a quick frosty january photoshoot:

the finished top is 52" * 74"

all the 2" paper hexagons are out,

time to think about a back...

and a good name, too. If you can think of something suitable, please share it with me.

Happy to stay inside, today. Wish all of you a great week!

a few more

2012-01-25T10:41:00.001+01:00

Colors looks so much better in daylight!

I keep making a few more of these simple tops,

purple butterflies ...

chicks and chickens...

Wish you a wonderful wednesday!

sunday snapshots

2012-01-22T14:20:00.001+01:00

simple checkerboard design

different colorschemes

all 8" finished size

january seems like the right time of the year to start downsizing my stash
I've started by cutting a lot of squares for these quilt for kids
there might even be backings to match...

lots of very tempting scrap quilts and quilt-a-longs are being posted on several blogs

at least I'm making scraps from cutting these, building a scrap stash to play with later!

Wish you all a nice sunday

; )

monday maybe

2012-01-16T11:22:00.000+01:00

maybe my colorful tina givens stash

would make a pretty string quilt?

... maybe someday?

saturday snapshots

2012-01-14T15:03:00.000+01:00

quilted,

not

bound ...

slowly

2012-01-10T12:51:00.000+01:00

but surely

these 2" hexagons are pieced together

started a little over a year ago

no rush...

at the end of 2011

2011-12-31T11:17:00.002+01:00

on a grey

and windy morning

with the help of mr quilt it

I'd like to share my "cool cherrywood coins" with you. With baptist fans on wool batting it's both soft and warm. The last finish it of 2011...

I want to thank all of my blog friends for visits and kind comments in 2011. And I wish you all a happy and creative 2012! May there be many new opportunities for dancing with quilts...

... see you in a little while!

... and bee blocks

2011-12-30T09:38:00.001+01:00

2011 my Ringo Pie bee blocks, originally uploaded by quilt it.

The bee was started in 2010, but most of these are made in 2011. Next year will be another round, with a few changes of bee members.

I'll do my best to bee creative ; )

2011 flimsies

2011-12-28T14:41:00.003+01:00

2011 my flimsies, originally uploaded by quilt it.

At the end of 2011 there's 6 quilt tops made this year waiting to be quilted. Looking at last years batch of flimsies this is an increase of one... ( I am happy to say that 5 of the flimsies from 2010 are made into quilts.)

"Finish it up" is still on for 2012. I may not be the only one in this situation?

; )

2011 quilts for kids

2011-12-28T14:35:00.002+01:00

2011 quilts for kids, originally uploaded by quilt it.

I have made more smaller size quilts this year than earlier years:

two of these were started before 2011, the others have been made in one go, from start to finish...

Hope to keep making more quilts for kids and babies next year

; )

2011 lap quilts

2011-12-28T14:30:00.002+01:00

2011 lap quilts, originally uploaded by quilt it.

I have finished 14 lap size quilts in 2011, only 4 of these were also started this year. "Finish it up" has been a good motto that I'll keep for 2012 as well...

i wish ...

2011-12-23T09:02:00.005+01:00

... for happy and peaceful days, full of joy and good company ...

Sometimes the scraps are the best part, don't you think? My two christmas stockings finished just in time. They are made with the scraps left over from this quilt top:

Started in december 2011, it will hopefully be ready for use by christmas eve 2012...

Ready or not ...

My little elf and me would like to ...

wish all of you:

GOD JUL,

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

a little red and green...

2011-12-17T10:37:00.008+01:00

... to get into the spirit of the season. You may recognize the pattern from Denyse Schmidt's book, it's called Any Way You Slice It. I searched my stash for seasonal colors, some solids and some of Denyse's prints from Greenfield Hill.

The blocks are made loosely based on her templates and in a slightly smaller scale. They end up at 7.5" and are put together into two smaller pieces for the table.

The inspiration was found at LeeAnn and Jolene's .... Now, all I have to do is completing the quilting. Slowly quilting these by hand. Trying to pace myself and rest the arms a bit. No hurry, except the fact that I would love to put these on the table in a weeks time...

; )

Have a nice weekend!

december finish

2011-12-16T15:44:00.004+01:00

Up here north we are having shorter and shorter days. I am trying to catch the fading daylight outside to present my finished Recess Pinwheels. This lap quilt finished at 48" by 60" with Hobbs cotton batting.

I ended up doing quite a bit of quilting by hand.

This quilt is made from a layer cake (Recess 10" squares from American Jane) In my own bake shop I cooked up this easy recipe:

combine the 10" squares in pairs with a good contrast in color (I had 2o pairs)

sew around the 4 edges with the usual 1/4" seam allowance

slice each pair diagonally in both directions, press the seams and make into pinwheels

arrange them in a pleasing order and sew them into rows, then sew the rows together

I arranged them on my design wall before sewing them together. And then I couldn't help but make a twist...

... can you spot it?

Time to concentrate on christmas preparations!

Wish you all a good weekend.

; )

quilting it

2011-12-08T12:00:00.004+01:00

We all need a splash of color on a grey december day. I am quilting some simple pinwheels made from a layer cake - Recess from American Jane.

Looks inviting on the white deck...

I started out machine quilting it both horizontally/vertically and diagonally along the seams. These blocks are 12" big, so I am adding a bit of hand-quilting as well. (Can be spotted in the top picture...)

The wind is piping in, time to wrap it up!

; )

friday finish

2011-12-02T09:49:00.008+01:00

With a sprinkling of snow, on a grey morning: a chance to take some quick pictures of my finished O.W.L.S. quilt. It's 48" by 63" with Hobbs Thermore batting, and quilted with a twisted, irregular grid. The quilting is up to 6" apart which is less than my previous choices. This makes the quilt very soft and it drapes really well.

The warm brown solid is left over Chocolate by Free Spirit Designers Solids, from Eva's Garden. Really love that soft and pretty brown! The owls are another favorite Amy Schimler print. For the quilting I used my Hera marker to mark the lines for quilting. This is a nice way to mark straight lines, and they disappear completely after a bit of time, or a wash. It has come to be my favorite way of marking quilt tops, lately.

Wish you all a great december weekend!

november finish

2011-11-30T09:23:00.008+01:00

I recently received Scrap Republic by Emily Cier, a lovely book that shares ideas of using your smaller pieces. Also very inspired by the colorful creations of Jolene over at Blue Elephant Stitches, I just had to give it a try.

Starting with a sunny yellow center, I added one or two logs of each color.

My scrappy rainbow log cabin is 38" by 39". I quilted diagonal lines 1" apart on Hobbs Thermore polyester batting. The back is a colorful print from Nancy Wolff. A lot of times I struggle to find a good backing. Looking through my stash of children's prints this one was a perfect match!

I have saved a lot of colorful small pieces. The book has great ideas and patterns on how to use them all. I hope to dive into those scraps again soon...

There's been stormy, wet weather lately. I have a few finishes waiting for photo opportunities. Wish you all some time to create!

; )

wordless wip wednesday

2011-11-23T12:16:00.003+01:00

finished top

2011-11-17T11:00:00.004+01:00

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my star blocks! It is time for a little update on my last post. The stars are put together on a dark blue (Kona Nightfall), that changes color when photographed in different angle and light.

The blocks were cut down askew from 6.5" to 5.5". Ending up 5" in the finished top. This way they are twinkling a bit more. Some of the star points were cut off in the process, too.

I added three more rows, aiming for a 50" by 75" size lap:

Now to ponder quilting it myself or sending it out. So many options, such hard choices to be made...

; )

I will probably have to sleep on it!

Hope november is treating you all ok. It's getting cold around here. I am glad I have a pile of quilts to keep me warm!

november stars

2011-11-11T17:05:00.004+01:00

Some late flowers from the garden celebrating 11.11.11

It's beautiful weather, and dark blue, starry nights this november. I am celebrating by making maverick stars, creating my own constellations as I go...

Wish you a beautiful friday, and may the stars wink at you, too...

lions and tigers, oh my...

2011-11-02T09:57:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post to show the finished quilt from 2 weeks ago. Lions and tigers... is 36" * 52" with a solid green back and Quilters Dream Select batting. It was fun playing with the different widths of the bars, using precut squares and more from stash.

The more I worked on it, the more I came to love that lion print by Amy Schimler. Too cute! I like this recipe (not pattern) and plan to use it again on a later opportunity.

Wish you all a lovely week!

Diagon Alley

2011-10-29T12:27:00.007+02:00

It's fun time when Amy invites us all to take part in the Bloggers Quilt Festival. Welcome to all of you!

I want to share my recently finished "Diagon Alley". You may recognize this from one of Kaffe Fassets book ... I was lucky to see the original quilt at one of his lectures before the pattern was published. And I fell completely in love!

This is the biggest quilt I have attempted hand-quilting. With help from Anne Rønningen, I got it basted on thin cotton (Quilters Dream Request). Then I spent hours stitching with perle cotton. The quilt is soft and not too heavy. I am so pleased to have finished it. The size makes it a challenge to take a decent picture. Even my husbands long arms was struggling to hold this one!

Showing a pre-quilted picture.

And a picture of the finished top before quilting. Not sure if I will ever try hand-quilting another one this size. It finished at 80" * 85". So it's big enough to share with a friend...

Thank you for stopping by! Please enjoy more quilts from the Blogger Quilt Festival, and let yourself be inspired...

; )

wordless wip wednesday

2011-10-26T11:57:00.001+02:00

friday finish

2011-10-21T09:00:00.006+02:00

Half a year ago, we had a challenge at my quilt guild. We brought a fat quarter of a challenge / ugly fabric, and then swapped. This week we brought the results for show and tell.

I was lucky to get this fun halloween print with witch hats and pumpkins. It was a nice big piece, so I ended up using it for the bars in this coin table runner. The rest of fabric are scraps from my Ghastly spiderweb and a halloween themed charm pack.

The runner ended up 22" * 46".

This chinese coins / bars variation is a fun and versatile pattern, and I have been using it a lot lately. I love to add a bit of asymmetry to the layout.

Wish you all a lovely weekend!

wordless wip wednesday

2011-10-19T11:45:00.004+02:00

the misfits

2011-10-18T08:26:00.006+02:00

these are the ones

that didn't get to go

trick or treating

with the rest of the bunch from last years Halloween quilt.

october finish

2011-10-14T10:52:00.009+02:00

After a year in the making, my Ghastly spiderweb quilt is ready to be used. And today I'm happy to share some pictures:

A blue sky and sun has been rare around here lately. The sun bleaches out the colors a bit on the pictures...

For a while I was planning to do hand-quilting with big stitches and perle cotton. I ended up quilting this by machine, following the edges of the webs and extending the lines across the border.

This last picture shows the quilting from the back. A "photo - strip" is incorporated with two Hope Valley prints. I was a bit short on this backing fabric, and had to be very frugal making the back big enough. Basting a quilt with a small back is no fun, so I'll try to avoid that next time. The quilt measures 58" * 74". I used Quilters Dream cotton batting, again...

Outside, the trees are looking more and more like the mix of green and orange in this quilt. There's no doubt about it fall is here! Hopefully this weekend we'll see some more of the blue sky.

Thank you all for leaving me such nice comments on my last post! The 30's stash buster tumbler top has inspired me to think of 2012 as the year of using from stash, daring to dive into the collected designer fabrics. At least that's an ambition!

Wish you all a lovely weekend, with or without fabric and thread!

; )

stash buster

2011-10-08T10:48:00.006+02:00

Just finished putting together a quilt top (47" * 65") from 30's fabric. This is a "classic" tumbler quilt pattern. Trying to get the random look. Limiting my colors to yellows, greens, blue, purple and black. Using charm pack squares and 1/2 yrds from my stash. Adding a few finds from this summer. Churning them all through the BabyGo! cutter. And then some hours of hassle free sewing, piece after piece. By the end I needed the seam ripper to replace a few patches that wouldn't blend well with the next row.

I like how the black patches add a bit of punch to the mix.

There's still a bit of 30's left in the stash. But then, there's a few other bundles I need to take a look at. Maybe reducing my stash will be my focus in 2012? Strangely it keeps growing... even if there's no more room to do so.

Wish you all a lovely weekend!

... a love that lasts

2011-10-04T12:55:00.004+02:00

for Heather Ross' cute and whimsy designs.

They made my summer holiday pictures idea for Amy's block of Ringo Pie come to life.

And they put a smile on my face every time I get to use my new bag:

I had a workshop with the talented designer Andre Wallenborg. When he is not sewing fantastic leather bags for the norwegian royalty, he gives classes to ladies who love to sew. Great teacher, patient and with step by step instructions he made sure all 15 of us finished a bag in a weekend. A nice person, generous in his sharing of sewing expertise, he has gained a big following among Norwegian quilting ladies. We all love you, Andre!

wip wednesday

2011-09-21T09:11:00.007+02:00

outside,

the leaves

have started

to change color

... and so, it's time ...

to get started quilting my halloween spiderweb

september finish

2011-09-16T13:41:00.003+02:00

Eva's garden is finished and gifted. It measures 60" by 75", quilted with baptist fans on Hobbs Thermore batting by the talented Merete.

It was fun making these 15" blocks, balancing variations and repetitions, playing with size and proportions...

And the best part is, it was well received!

; )

Wish you all a sunny weekend!

a special quilt and a giveaway winner

2011-09-14T11:10:00.009+02:00

Sarah and Katy have planned a special quilt for Amy. With these two blocks I am able to join in on a quilt that I hope it will warm and comfort her.

On a completely different note, it's time to announce the winner of the GO! Baby giveaway:

the name behind the lucky number 94 is Quie in Denmark . I'll send you an e-mail to arrange everything.

Wish you all a good wednesday!

and trying to catch up...

2011-09-10T12:16:00.000+02:00

with another Ringo Pie bee block. Two in one week! Corey asked for "quilts on the line".

This time I pieced the block, no paper involved (apart from the sketch of the design).

The bargello variation quilt is air drying in the mild summer breeze next to some wash (a skirt? a pillowcase?).

I used some of the same fabrics in both 12" (finished size) blocks.

Next up is christmas for Amber and doors for Lisa.

See you later...

... falling a bit behind

2011-09-09T09:28:00.001+02:00

on my bee blocks...

When Lynne wanted a british design classic for her month of july, I had a hard time finding a good motif. I do love my morning cup of Twinings Earl Grey, and then it just clicked. Wouldn't you say the tea bag is a british design classic?

One down, I have august, september and ahem january blocks to concentrate on...

Wish you a lovely weekend! Think I'm going to bee busy...

; )

... so now it's MY time

2011-09-06T10:20:00.011+02:00

to host a Go! Baby giveaway!!!

You might remember that I was fortunate to be able to try out this nifty tool, and tell you about it in this post. Now you have a chance to win one of these fabric cutters, 3 dies of your choice and the cutting boards to go with them. Please leave a comment on this post before september 14th and tell me what die and pattern you would like to give a go. It will be shipped to you for free by the lovely team from AqquQuilt, worldwide. So you are ALL invited to play along.

The picture above shows the Go! Baby tumbler die paired up with my 30's stash of mostly green, blue, purple, yellow and blacks.

Last night I washed this summers fabric finds to complement my tumbler wip. After putting these through the Go! Baby they are ready to be mixed in on the design wall. There's also quite a few charm squares already cut and waiting to join the party...

I look forward to mix in more of these blacks and greens...

So, what do you think? Would you like a chance to play? The dies comes in many shapes: including tumblers, half square triangles, hourglass dies, squares and more. Here's a link to free patterns to give you more ideas:

I'll draw a lucky winner on sept 14th! Please make sure I'll be able to e-mail you and get your address and choice of 3 dies. If not, I'll have to make a second drawing.

Best of luck!

it's been a while...

2011-09-05T13:49:00.005+02:00

suitcases have been packed and unpacked...

summer holidays and visits with friends and family have been enjoyed...

physical therapy and chiropractor visits have been had...

... and the schedule hopefully starts to fall back into a more normal state.

Just sharing a little sneak peek of something I have spent the weekend making. Some finishing touches still needs to be done...

Look forward to tell you more about the fun, and share more pictures, later.

; )

july finish

2011-07-17T11:20:00.010+02:00

Long time ago, there was a quilt-along hosted by Old Red Barn. Rail block from 2.5" strips.

I put them together into a top. And then put it away. For a long time...

The quilt top was quite busy, and I never got quite comfortable with it. Loving the colors and fabrics, this spring the top was rescued from the cupboard by adding 2" strips of Kona Snow.

Sommer i Bokn finished at 57" * 70", quilted with Quilters Dream Select cotton batting.

front

and back...

This quilt takes me back to summers with my grandmother at her little house on the small island of Bokn. Homebaked bread, selfmade jam, fresh vegetables from the garden along with grandfathers fresh fish. Running around in the garden, swimming in the sea, playing with my brother and cousins. Not a parent to be seen or heard. Closes there is to paradise, in a little girls world...

; )

garden of eva

2011-07-17T10:42:00.010+02:00

We have the best neighbors. And I found a way to say thank you. It does include a quilt...

Eva has a lovely front garden full of flowers. Her requested colors were green and brown.

Looking through my stash I found some flowers from Anna Maria Horner's Garden party and Loulouthi lines.

Adding solids.

Fuzzy cutting and building some square in a square blocks of different sizes.

Filling up the 4 by 5 grid on the flimsy design wall (piece of cotton batting hanging in curtain clips).

Framing the blocks in Chocolate by Free Spirit Designers Solids.

And then, just waiting for the Apple Hugs and Kisses backing fabric that's been ordered...

It's like a box of chocolate, don't you think?

it's time ...

2011-07-10T08:52:00.015+02:00

Although not in this seasons color, it was time to make some hourglass blocks!

A nice stack of perfectly cut 4" finished hourglass patches waiting to be pieced...

... all because of this nifty little tool. I was generously invited to try out the GO! Baby cutter by AccuQuilt. Friday afternoon it landed on my doorstep, and I just had to start playing with my new toy.

I chose the quarter square dies, aiming for the lovely old hourglass block. And then I just dived into my stash, looking for the right fabrics.

The process of using the cutter is quite simple. First I cut some fabrics into strips to fit the width of the dye. I ironed them, placed them on the dye with the cutting mat ontop and rolled them through the GO! Baby. Then I folded up some others, achieving up to six layers of fabric. I continued to iron the fabric before cutting it.

This quarter square dies has very little waste. The corners are nicely cut, so the block comes together without any dog ears. Easy peasy and instant joy!

The plan was to make a few patches, just testing the tool. But watching these perfectly cut shapes, I have to admit I got a bit carried away. Using my small (24" * 24") flannel design board, I put them into little stacks until my initial fabric selection was all cut up. Then I started looking for additional colors, bringing out the stash...

Could not resist sewing together a few blocks, and putting them up on the design wall...

This is what I have got so far. Limiting myself to only two colors, I am focusing on the contrast of light and dark. Starting out with a kit for a mini quilt in Jo Morton's beautiful reproductions, I have widened the selection to include other reproductions, woven fabric, some Thimbleberries and even cut up a few thrifted men's shirts. (Those cottons shirts cut like butter... ; ) would love to try that again.)

So now, I have the work cut out for me....

; )

friday finish

2011-07-08T08:57:00.004+02:00

... what a difference two days make ... (a finished quilt top, that is...)

In a 10 by 14 layout this will be 40" * 56". I used most of the charms from the Sweet (Urban Chicks) and Hello Betty (Cloe's Closet)fabric lines, so I think I'll call "her" Sweet Betty.

This design just happened on the design wall, it was my first layout of the hst from my reclaimed box. Very heavily influenced by Katie. But still, like magic, there was exactly enough hst's to fill in this layout. I think it was meant to be ...

; )

On to more closet searching / ufo's and treasure hunting - what else will I find?

What do you think? Do you have a quilt or two waiting to happen as soon as you bring it out of hiding? A couple of years can be a big difference in what potential you see in a wip or ufo's.

So if you're up for it, go on and have some fun!

wip wednesday

2011-07-06T12:14:00.004+02:00

... reclaiming some hst from a box in the closet

... pastels for summer

... easy sewing

; )

a taste of summer ...

2011-07-03T10:54:00.007+02:00

... a bit of sunshine in the front garden...

... pretty peonies, inside and out ...

... time for some romance novels ...

... or climbing some trees ...

... smelling the wild roses ...

wish you all a taste of summer!

ambitions ...

2011-06-22T11:08:00.008+02:00

As I blogged earlier, june is my month of the Ringo Pie Bee. My theme is in the summertime ... and I have been working on a few ideas for designing my block.

One of my favorite things to do is spending a few hours reading ...

in the hammock in our tiny front garden...

smelling the flowers (lavender bush) and watching the occasional butterfly...

fluttering by ...

I might be in trouble now. Aiming high (refering to skills in paperpiecing design & execution). But there's wonderful blocks being created in the bee, and I would like to show that I'm into the task myself...

This sketch is what I'm working from: reading - barefoot - butterflies

Drawing the hammock proved difficult. The feet, too. I am quite worried about actually piecing them. Might end up with no feet and a few butterflies?

Summer is more of a concept than reality, right now. Cold with a sprinkling of rain. Good weather for sewing ...

; )

Do you ever show your plans for sewing, or do you think that is asking for trouble? My excuse is temporary insanity due to the creative wibe in the bee!

( it will take me some time to accomplish this block, since I think I'll have to make two - one for my friend who also suggested reading in a hammock ... ambitions, ambitions...)

another june finish

2011-06-21T09:32:00.009+02:00

So today is summer solstice, the longest and lightest evening of the year. I have finished my sunny vintage bars quilt, and can enjoy it as a decoration for our dining room on our 6th wedding anniversary. This is a very romantic quilt to me, soft, pretty, delicate water color flower prints in sunny yellows and pale pink. Very simple layout, just letting these bigger pieces of fabric speak for them selves...

These fabrics were gifted to me from a generous friend. It is a gift that I appreciate very much.

This one finished at 60" * 74", beautiful quilted by a longarm on a soft Quilters dream batting. The back is shades of yellow. Very simple and classic. For the binding I used my last stripes from the Dream On line, combining pink and yellow to make do.

A few close ups...

These vintage sheets are soft and worn, not always 100% cotton. I was relieved to see how well they took the longarm quilting.

Wish you all some sunshine today!

june finish ...

2011-06-14T14:17:00.005+02:00

First of all I want to say a big THANK YOU for sharing your ideas for "In the summertime" in my previous post!

I have an idea slowly brewing for the block. Slowly being the key word...

But I have been busy with a couple of other projects. Inspired by Carla and Jenny, I set out to finish my cross quilt.

Adding a row and a column to increase the size to 54" * 66".

Piecing a backing. Selecting a solid pink to go with the added cross blocks.

Pin basting and organic lines quilting on Quilters Dream Select cotton batting.

And finally, with help from the man with long arms, taking some outdoor pictures between the rain showers...

Very happy to have a finish!

These cross blocks were so fun to make, I think there will be another cross quilt in the future. The only thing to remember is to allow at least an extra 1.5 " or 2" on the starter squares, to make the process a bit easier.

Crossing this one of the list...

; )

you got mail ...

2011-06-02T10:55:00.010+02:00

... soon, Ayumi. Just a bit of flying ahead of me ...

Ok, maybe I sound silly, but it is my first original paper pieced block design. So a bit of twittering is ok, I think.

The Ringo Pie {a Patchwork Bee} girls are good at making challenging themes for their month's blocks. May theme was "delivering letters and packages". It took a few attempts and a bit hair-pulling to come up with a good idea.

Inspired by Harry Potter and Sarah, I decided to make a carrier pigeon... started sketching, numbering the pieces, trying to incorporate the beak and the letter. Not easy!

Being a bit late, I started making the block, designing as I pieced. The beak and the letter was solved by using a bit of 3D and adding a separate unit.

June is my month of this bee. My theme is

"in the summertime... things you look forward to, and things you enjoy doing"

I have a few ideas, maybe another paper pieced design is called for? It has to be simple, though!

Summer is still not here, and it's june already. I guess dreaming of summer is as good as it gets these days. Please share with me, what is your favorite activity "in the summertime...". If I use your idea in my bee block, I promise, I will make one for you, too...

; )

... pretty please ...

; ) ; ) ; )

stars, stars, stars ...

2011-05-29T10:21:00.007+02:00

Very inspired by the lovely and talented Kerry i have been diving into my small scraps for some scrappy stars. Wiping out the supply of the smallest pieces... These stars end up as a 6" block, the circle of stars at 22".

In may I also got to send out my pif to 9 lovely ladies:

The mug rugs are 6" * 9". And more stars are still on my to do list...

; )

Ya'll have a lovely sunday!

may finish

2011-05-23T09:12:00.008+02:00

This week I finished a quilt that was started some years ago. My fantasy forrest ended up 38" by 52" after a trip trough the washer and dryer. The batting is Warm & White. I quilted it with diagonal lines 2" apart, and then adding some quilting around the stars and the trees. The quilt now lives with my sweet 7 year old niece, who is celebrating her birthday today ; )

I am happy, she is happy, so it's like a fairy tale, right?

The process of making this quilt has not been so straight forward. Inspired by Gwen and Freddy's Collaborate Quilts, I decided to try their process of making blocks and then gather them into quilt tops.

I started making some trees and then some stars. The design wall was very helpful. The process quite painful. Bits and pieces came together. Frequent breaks. Looking for ways to progress. The top then got to spend more than a year in storage. It kept sending me accusing glances whenever I looked through the pile of finished tops. An upcoming birthday and a pretty red fabric purchase was the inspiration needed to finish it up. (Sorry for the blurry picture.)

Framing the top in red and adding the last star brought it all together. The yellow binding lifted the mood a bit. It is backed in green. The quilt makes me think of little red riding hood, lost in the forrest....

Nifty pointed me in the direction of Sherri Lynn's interesting posts about improv quilting. I like to use different ways of improv techniques in my quilts. It can be fun, and it can be painful...

; )

bee friends

2011-05-14T09:42:00.012+02:00

Hi! It's my birthday. We're gonna party...

And what better way to celebrate than joining the fun of Blogger Quilt Festival :: Spring 2011?

Tonight is also the grand finale of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. All of Europe gather in front of their TVs to cheer on their favorite songs, enjoying the show and the pretty dresses...

So here is the quilt i want to share with you:

In 2010 I participated in the Eurovision Quilters bee. August was my month, and I received blocks from Belgium, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, UK, Sweden, The Netherlands, France and Norway!

They are all so pretty in their best dresses!

It was both fun and challenging being part of the bee. Trying different techniques to meet each months challenge. Finding a theme and setting up guidelines for my month. I decided to plan on different block sizes and sash them to make them all come together in the end. And then I put up a tutorial on my blog on how to construct the girls. All the fabric was sent out for the bee members. The dresses are both Katie Jump Rope from Denyse Schmidt and Wee play by Sandy Klop.

My bee friends measures 48" * 65" and is quilted partly by machine and by hand. It has a soft and cosy flannell backing and uses Hobbs Heirloom batting ( 80% cotton / 20% polyester).

Can you see how they are all dressed up for a party?

I hope you enjoyed your visit. Please check out the bee friends tutorial in the sidebar of my blog if you like. And have fun visiting the rest of Bloggers Quilt Festival, too!

sweet M

2011-05-03T09:24:00.004+02:00

This weekend, we got to spend a special day with the sweet M, and her family. M has just turned 15, and is as fair and smiley as saturday was sunny and warm. A celebration calls for gifts. This young girl has taken an interest in quilting (I might have a little part in that ; ) ), so I wanted to make her a quilt of her own.

I have collected these honey, peach, pink modern prints - just waiting for the right opportunity. Wanting to show off the big prints, I started making disappearing 9 patch blocks. Sashing them in Kona Snow, and adding cornerstones in a grid. The design is a variation of a quilt I have made earlier. I like how big a difference the choice of fabric makes...

Making a gift for someone else, there's always a bit of a gamble involved. Will she like it?

Her big smile was very reassuring, and I know the quilt has found a good home...

Sweet M is 48" * 65" with Quilters Dream select batting and baptist fans made by the talented Merete. I washed it before gifting it, to achieve the slightly crinkled texture.

Lately, this is my "label", just initials and the year the quilt is finished. I am using perle cotton and embroider through the backing and batting. Making sure nothing shows on the front.

We had a very lovely day with sweet M and her family. Seeing her joy was reassuring. I will keep making quilts as gifts. Wrapping the world in them, one person at a time...

; )

Big plans, small stitches...

on a rainy day II

2011-04-25T10:29:00.005+02:00

Thank you all for kind words! I want you to know it is much appreciated. I know I am still very quiet, and may be so for a while...

Even so, I want to share with you a small quilt i finished yesterday: my "on a rainy day II" is 36" * 52" quilted with organic vertical lines on hobbs 100% cotton batting. Here it is photographed outside in the morning light. We are having beautiful spring weather, sunny and warm. Everything is turning greener by the day. Somehow this feels both sad and wonderful...

Even on a rainy day there is beauty to be seen ... thinking in metaphors a lot, lately.

Hope you have all enjoyed some relaxing days...

april finish

2011-04-20T18:20:00.008+02:00

My "Roses are red..." was started back in sept 2009 in a workshop with the two brilliant designers Kaffe and Brandon.

Learning a lot, including the importance of having a design wall. Even if it is just in the form of a cotton batting...

The quilt top was finished not so long after the workshop. And the hunt for the perfect backing started. This is my most challenging quilt to find a backing for - so far. Let me just say it took several attempts and more than a year to find it.

The rich warm colors are photographed outside,

and inside...
Finished size is 70" * 84". I used Hobbs 100 % cotton batting. The backing (not shown ; ) ) is Suzani by Kaffe Fasset in red.

On a very personal note, Roses are red will also be my homage to my dad. Much too young, he lost the long and hard battle against cancer, earlier this month. And there was some beautiful red roses in the chapel. He was a guy that loved red...

Lately, I have been sewing a bit, and preparing a few more tops and backings to send off. I wish all of you a Happy Easter, with or without the company of some fabric temptations...

march finish

2011-03-30T13:16:00.007+02:00

I keep up my quest of turning quilt tops into quilts, this year. This one is quilted by the lovely Merete. My "Peonies" finished at 45" * 60". The batting is a favorite: Quilters Dream Select.

This one looks quite simple and innocent, don't you think?

The truth be told, it wasn't a straight forward process, at all. The romantic, big prints from Amy Butler tempted me into making big simple blocks, some 3 years ago? And I put them all together, side by side. (No picture) A bit busy, and overwhelming, the top was put aside for more than 2 years. Next attempt was to make those blocks into rows with some Kona Snow to let them breath. It worked a lot better, but the shape was clumsy (4 bars made an almost square size). The break-through in the design came when I moved one of the bars onto the back...

a pink cotton/ linen blend. I'm glad I didn't give up on this one.

Thank you all for leaving me your lovely and friendly comments. Please know that I appreciate this. For the time being I am a bit more quiet than usual, and this will probably last for a while longer. My family needs more attention than normal, and I need to spend more time with them. And I need to keep sewing, too. Because it is very calming...

So take care, and hopefully you have some sewing to keep you busy, too...

friday finish

2011-03-25T17:25:00.005+01:00

Here's my ffff: friday finished flimsy fanfare...

Indoor pictures above versus outdoor pictures below.

So happy to have some sun today.

Wish you a sunny weekend!

wip wednesday

2011-03-23T10:22:00.005+01:00

This newest quilt I am working on is the 3rd in my series of string quilts for nieces and nephews. I blogged about the first two earlier. They were both sewn on thin muslin foundation. This time I am sewing on paper from an old telephone book.

It all started out with a big mess, just emptying all the blue, green and yellow strings from my scrap bin onto the sewing table. I am heading for a 60" by 75" lap quilt witch means 20 * 15" finished blocks, and 80 * 7.5" (finished size) x-string blocks on paper.

During the process, I have been adding some blue strings. And then I had to cut some contrasting green and yellows. This resulted in a bin only slightly emptier than what I started with. Not sure if this is a good thing?

The real fun starts after all the trimmings are done, and the corner solids are added. My blue came from stash. The only big enough piece. Think it is Ocean by Robert Kaufman.

The solids made everything else "come alive"....

All 80 squares done! Last night I was able to rip and remove the paper on half of them. A bit tedious work. And it helps using a tweezer. I have read it is useful to lower your stitch length. This time I didn't, and it worked quite well. So, I'll save the rest of the telephone book, for a red version of this pattern... (That will be no 4 out of 9.)

Hope I have tempted some of you to try this fun pattern. I have seen many pretty versions of it. The wonderful Bonnie K Hunter has a free tutorial.

Wish you all a pieceful wednesday.

blue - wordless wip wednesday

2011-03-16T09:40:00.002+01:00

waiting for spring

2011-03-08T11:22:00.005+01:00

Wishing for spring to arrive, I have finished two quilts to decorate the house. Both are made using quilt-as-you-go technique.

The blue linen tabletop is 20" * 21", using Quilters Dream Select (cotton) batting. It is quilted on one piece of batting, starting with the 4 center pieces at the same time, and building the courthouse step blocks in parallel. The last three logs are folded over to finish it up (white cross in the picture above).

The spring forward into spring wall quilt / lap quilt is 57" * 82" and quilted on Quilters Dream Poly (polyester) batting.
They really bring some expectations of greener days into the living room!

I am happy with both of them. The bigger one is a bit of challenge to keep squared up as you work on it. It is not completely flat, but has a relaxed, worn look already...

Wishing all of you ladies a great day on the 8th of march!

narrow it down...

2011-03-01T12:53:00.008+01:00

Thank you for your input on the layout dilemma! So many options, so many paths to follow...

Here's a little update on the progress. First I started testing out and rejecting several solids. Deciding they were a bit dull for the scale of this courthouse steps block.

Then I decided to go for a light, "blonde" palette, using the white design elements to bind it all together. After more digging through stash, I settled for these two stripes. With the limitation of my usual 1/2 yrd cuts, I needed something more and another vintage linen piece was added.

(For some reason, it hurts to use my 1/2 yrd cuts of the stripes all in one go. How silly is that? I guess it means a good stripe is hard to find? I must start buying them in whole yrds?)

So this is how my design wall looks today. I think I'll leave it for now and see if I am still happy about this layout tomorrow.

I find that time can be an important ingredient in the process. One that often is scarce... Do you have the patience to leave your wip for some time, to see if you still like it? Or do you just make a quick decision and move on?

too many options...

2011-02-28T10:53:00.012+01:00

Most of my vintage sheets are 6" squares. I am also lucky to have a few bigger pieces.

I wanted to use them to their maximum - and decided to try a quilt-as-you-go wall size!

After doing this fun technique earlier in blocks, it was time for expanding the possibilities. For the base I choose a Quilters Dream Poly batting, thinking it would be sturdy enough for this technique.

The first picture shows the vintage linens I wanted to include in the quilt. I started placing the center piece and quilt it. Second round came together quickly. Third row followed. By now, I had used 4 of my 6 vintage pieces. And the decisions on how to proceed got harder.

This is where I am now, testing out the final round of prints and solids. It will be framed in white and end at about 60" by 85".

Here are some of my options:

layout one

layout two
layout three
layout four
layout five
layout six
layout seven
layout eight
layout nine

Sorry if I made you fall asleep...

; )

I like several of them. The quilt is going to be a celebration of spring, decorating the dining room. What do you think - do you see any favorites that stand out?

wip wednesday

2011-02-23T11:40:00.002+01:00

friday finish

2011-02-18T08:04:00.005+01:00

These cute tumblers from Heather Ross prints made a small panel. My first idea was to make it into a pillow. When I looked through my stash I found to different yard cuts that complemented the color palette nicely. Both of these pieces happened to be a full yard. Most of my stash are in 1/2 yrd pieces.

This unexpected find tempted me to frame the panel and make it into a little quilt. There's a lot to be said about diving into ones stash. It might surprise you what you find, there! Of course, it's taken some years to build it up. And It will take serious effort to use it all...

Sometimes when I look through or rearrange my stash I come across fabric that refuses to blend with the others, a different tone of color, a special design... My first thought is to remove these "loners". A few times now, these fabrics who refuses to blend with the rest, have been the PERFECT fabrics for a work in progress. This have taught me to hold on to them. When I am looking for a bit of contrast, they might be just the one I need...

These two yard cuts both came in this "loner" category. (the fabrics are Lizzy Dish (honey) and Lecien (purple)). I love how they complement the colors of the tumbler panel! Cheers for the oddballs, loners ... need a better word to describe them.

My HR tumbler finished at 35" * 40". I used Hobbs cotton batting for this one. Conveniently, a bit of snow was provided yesterday. Perfect backdrop!

Have a lovely weekend. It might be time for a stash treasure hunt?

; )

february finish

2011-02-12T10:22:00.010+01:00

Mmmm finished at 57" * 72", long arm quilted in baptist fans by the lovely Anne. The batting is Quilters Dream Select, wonderful and soft.

This quilt is a total Homage a Gwen Marston. You may recognize it from her book "Liberated String Quilts". Her quilt is called Amish Rectangular String.

The quilt top was made in 2008 and blogged earlier.

It's quite vibrant. Not so easy to photograph inside on a very cold february morning.

It feels so good to shrink my stack of finished tops. Slowly, and one by one - that's my plan...

Right now I have a dozen quilt tops waiting in line. How tall is your stack?

(I won't hold it against you if you don't want to reveal it - we all need to keep some secrets...)

; )

Wish you all a lovely weekend!

quick or slow cutting ...

2011-02-06T09:54:00.007+01:00

Thank you for all the tumbler love. There was a big vote for the traditional (checkerboard) layout, and that's what I ended up using. I will keep the idea of the other layout, and hopefully play with it some more later on.

These new tumblers are a slightly different shape from the ones I have made previous with my plastic template. I think the Go cutter makes it easier to cut a number of tumblers quicker, and that the plastic template is better for fuzzy cutting.

I had a few (precious) fuzzy cut by hand Heather Ross tumblers in my drawers. They were sewn together in a 7 by 7 panel:

The plastic template makes fuzzy cutting a lot easier than the Go cutter. So for a small project I might still want to do that.

Just love how the corners so easily comes together on these tumbler shapes. The trick is to alternate ironing the seam allowance in and out.

As you can see, it's easy to get carried away with these fun shape. Once you have cut the patches, the rest is a lot of fun...

Wish you all a lovely Sunday. I might have some quilting to do...

; )

one or the other ...

2011-02-03T14:52:00.006+01:00

this one ?
or this one?

traditional
or fun ... Options, options!

Just a little warning. I was going to try out my new toy the baby Go cutter. With one of my favorites, the tumbler dye. Just a few patches, just giving it a test run. Have to say it's hard to stop!

Once you have cut your patches, they are easy to sew together. I have ironed mine for the traditional layout. Now I have second thoughts.

I might have to make both?

; )

why not ...

2011-02-02T09:02:00.007+01:00

clean out the drawers

put some old orphan blocks together

be inspired to try some new way to quilt it

why not just play a bit?

a very quiet

2011-01-27T10:57:00.008+01:00

celebration of this blog. It's been 3 years, today, since my first post.

The celebration is quiet, due to a shoulder that still needs rest. Also quite knocked out by a throat infection - bubbles and antibiotics is never a good match...

Still, three years is a reason to celebrate. My blog has been the source of so much fun for me:

sharing process and results, learning by doing tutorials and swaps, being inspired by others and getting lovely feedback...

The blog as a journal of my creations and connections is also important to me. I tried printing my blog about a year into this adventure. It's different from the blog. More like reading a diary. Since then I order a copy every 6 month - spring and fall issues...

Here they are - my quilting chronicles:

Thank you all for your nice contributions. They are cherished a lot!

; )

january finish

2011-01-19T13:24:00.011+01:00

prewash and pre binding...

washed and crincled...
I started this quilt two years ago. The quilt top has been waiting in line for quilting. For a while I was considering hand quilting it. Funny how a stiff neck and sore shoulder can help in the decision making on how to finish a quilt?

Anyway, it is quilted on a long arm, using Quilters Dream Select (cotton) batting. My Bonnie's Stars is 64" * 80", and my shoulder is still hurting from sewing the binding down by hand. (Couldn't help myself, too tempting.)

Sorry about the complaining, ladies. I am very happy with the final quilt, love the weight and feel of it.
Ready to be used...

The last picture compares the color palette of my three "winter quilts". The top one was started first. The other two has wool batting.

Is the similarity of colors by chance or is it some kind of subconscious choice? I am happy about how well they play together...

Still bleak winter days with poor light. Still cold. No sewing before my neck and shoulder improves. What is a girl to do????

(taking a break from sewing makes one appreciate it even more...)

Be well and have fun with it!

make a boob ...

2011-01-16T11:04:00.005+01:00

This week I have made a few "boobs" for Nina Lise aka Mrs Moen. Maybe you have heard about her breast cancer project? This is a short introduction from her Make a Boob blog:

Make a Boob is a project about breast cancer.

The project has two mail goals:

offering people with breast cancer to participate in workshops where we decorate boobs. These workshops are set up in co-operation with the local chapter of the Cancer Association. Participants can decide to keep their work or to donate them to Make a Boob Art.
.

to create awareness and involvement through
- making circles for workshops
- participating in workshops and decorating boobs
- exhibition of Make a Boob Art

She invites us all to participate. Stop by her blog for more information.

I used some colorful old ufo's, hoping they will have a future as part of a bigger picture.

Wish you all a lovely week!

bee friends flimsy

2011-01-10T10:18:00.010+01:00

First letters of 2011...

This weekend I pulled out my bee blocks from the Eurovision Quilters. Sketching a bit brought out an idea of organizing the blocks into columns.

Putting all the blocks up on the design wall, my first step was to put their bare feet in some grass, connecting them and emphasize the columns. I chose white to bind it all together, contrasting the sky blue background in the blocks.

Then there was room for more. I had an 10" by 11" free space to fill... and I wanted to add some letters. A bit more planning on paper first:

The dresses are partly from Denyse's Katie Jump Rope line, and as a play on words this phrase just stuck on my mind.

Here they are, all playing nicely together...

The top is 50" * 67" and I have started thinking about batting and backing. One step at a time...

; )

Wish you all a lovely week!

a small gift

2011-01-04T07:42:00.008+01:00

This is the first finish of 2011. A 4.5" coaster, heading for the Tokyo Quilt Festival.

I have joined with Ayumi's group to make a set of coasters for the fabric artist and quilter Suzuko Koseki. I was assigned the letter "u".

My first encounter with Suzuko was through Penny's quilt-as-you-go quilt-along. I enjoyed this qayg technique so much, and purchased her lovely book.

My coaster doesn't use any of Suzuki Koseki's lovely fabric (haven't got a stash - yet). Inspired by her qayg technique I adapted it into building the letter u.

The back is a sweet print for a coaster, I think.

It's a small gift on it's own, but I think it will be lovely as a part of the whole set. Looking forward to hear from Ayumi's about meeting with Suzuko and presenting her the gift.

... and that's it!

2010-12-31T13:09:00.012+01:00

Time to sum it up. I think 2010 have been a very good quilt year for me.

Keeping in touch with good friends, and making some new ones. Being constantly inspired by others wonderful blogs. Participating in swaps, quilt-alongs, virtual quilt festivals and playing with fabulous ladies in 2 virtual bee's. Learning a lot, and making quilts:

for the table:

for the wall:

lap quilts:
and flimsies...

There is a few wips, ufo's and older tops too. So we'll just have to see what 2011 will bring, won't we?

Thank you all for playing along!

Be safe, be merry. And hugs to all...

one last flimsy...

2010-12-30T10:52:00.010+01:00

"There's always room for one more" - I think this goes both for christmas cookies and new quilt projects...

After sewing together my warm palette cherrywood top in improvised strings, I found the cool palette scraps kept popping into mind.

I find myself often doing quilts in odd pairs, twisting the palette or the pattern a bit(theme for another post - next year).

I mentioned in my last post how much I look forward to Denyse Schmidts new fabric line. She has a picture of a lovely quilt made up. So the two ideas brewed in my mind for a while. And I decided there was time to whip up another quick and easy recipe:

ingredients: 3 or 4 packs of cherrywood scrap bag + 2 yrd of indigo

preparing: divide the scraps into 2 groups by length 9" and 6"

then cut or rip each group of scraps into strings of random width

mix: working with the two groups separately, randomly pick strings and sew together

distribute light and dark colors, and group strings in pleasing neighborhoods

arrange: using your design wall, pair them up in columns of one or two

cut, distribute and rearrange until they have reached the same length

cut: take your yardage piece and rip or cut into strips, including a top/ bottom one

final step:sew the bars together, using random widths

Mine ended up at 60" by 72". I think I'll use wool batting. Just leave it to cool off a bit...

Wishing upon a star...

Someone special is still sick - poor thing.

It's time for me to wish you all a happy, peaceful, safe and creative New Year!

And may 2011 be a fun one!

; )

god jul ...

2010-12-22T11:19:00.010+01:00

... it is time, now...

... the 6 jolly snowmen quilt is finished

... and they are ready to be merry ...

Christmas decorations in this house includes a couple of quilts. My christmas calendar from last year is turned with the back facing forward, the perfect backdrop for the jolly 6...

18" by 27" sitting on top of 27" by 72", my christmas quilt in the narrow series

Now the house is ready for the holidays.

And this happens to be my post # 200!

It's time for me to wish you all Happy Holidays ( God Jul is the norwegian phrase).

Please enjoy time with loved ones, relax and be merry...

; )

hommage a Denyse

2010-12-18T11:39:00.008+01:00

It's cold and dark this time of year. Time for a taste of colors. So I cooked me up some colorful cookies. An easy recipe:

one small piece of pattern per block, add solids strings from the scrap bin

Courthouse blocks, inspired by and infused with Denyse Schmidts lovely products.

No sugar, no calories, no regrets...

test pilot...

quilts are softer and warmer than snow...

My little Hommage a Denyse measures 26" by 28", uses the leftover piece of Kyoto bamboo batting and is quilted with perle 16 in my favorite baptist fan pattern.

Grey, dark, cold days...

is enough to make us all dream of new adventures....

It's a busy time of the year. Hope there's still time for you to do some sewing, or if not, to dream up some new quilting adventures!

(I'm dreaming of Denyse's latest fabric line, still not available from the stores yet)

; )

wip wednesday

2010-12-01T09:13:00.006+01:00

Some smaller quilts to share on a wintery wednesday. The first is a scrappy chinese coins table-topper, being basted for quilting. I used my box of leftover scraps from my Cats in my garden quilt (on the wall behind the table) and paired them with some black 100% linen. It's about 32" squarish.

This is my third chinese coin pattern in a row. I started small, and they keep getting bigger. Does that qualify as as having a crush on chinese coins?

; )

The second quilt just needs a binding. This table-runner uses some yummy japanese fabrics with texture. It's about 22" by 34". The solid brown is the back of the thin striped brown next to it. Two fabrics in one...

Having fun with the quilting, I'll name it Norwegian Wood. Not just a title from Beatles, but also a book title from the japanese writer Haruki Nurakami. So, it's just a play with words...

All these brown and earthy colors calls for a cup of hot chocolate, trying to stay warm. They say we've had the coldest november in more than 20 years...

Stay warm ... and keep quilting!

; )

friday finish

2010-11-19T14:19:00.006+01:00

A block for Anna of the Ringo Pie Patchwork Bee. Her theme is desserts. My choice is some brownies with a big cup of coffee...

; )

... or just a few pieces of chocolate. The block is 10" square.

I like my big cup of coffee after dinner. The size of the cup is perfect for warming cold fingers. It is still cold, outside. A fine day to sit by the fire...

Wish you all a great weekend!

wednesday wip

2010-11-17T10:13:00.006+01:00

Thank you for all the encouragement about wool batting! Encouraged by you, I decided to use wool in this one, and the experience has been very pleasant, so far!

The process of making a sandwich went well. I just pinned the sandwich (taped the back down) using all my safety pins.

The quilting have been easy and pleasant. I decided to do both machine and hand-quilting. Saving a sore shoulder machine quilted about 1/2 of the strings. Using a lot of different thread: different weight, different brands - but matching thread color to the fabric. Just removing the safety pins as I go.

Once I couldn't match up my thread to more strings, I proceeded to hand-quilting. Again, I used a lot of different thread qualities, even used some variegated Valdani embroidery... I have had a thread fest!

I think the wool is a bit more forgiving than thinner cotton when it comes to stretching out the fabric and avoid wrinkles. Maybe this random quilting helped too.

Tonight I'll try to store up more of the lovely colorful Finca no16 (similar to perle cotton) from my supplier "Bitteliten" a one woman shop. This is my favorite choice when I want to emphasize the hand-quilting.

Like some of you said, it's quite nice quilting through wool. I also enjoy how wool doesn't beard on your clothes, it's a lot less messy... and my cat adores it! She's found a new favorite - again.

Happy sewing!

it's getting cold

2010-11-10T09:55:00.007+01:00

Temperatures are falling. For the first time this season I have burned some firewood this week.

The warm palette of my Cherrywood fabric was looking very tempting. My stash consisted of 6" by 9" pieces from a few scrap bags purchased some years ago. I took a leap of faith and started cutting / ripping them into strings. Playing with contrast and sewing them together. Not thinking to much, just cutting and sewing. Until I used it all. Very inspired by Gwen Marston.

"That looks a lot like Gee's Bend" was my DH's comment. Clever man! You can't live in this house and stay ignorant about quilts and quilting...

; )

I ended up with 6 strata. Arranged them on my design wall, adjusting the length of them. Cutting two of them up to become narrower rows. And just viewing them side by side. A fun process.

The size is about 45" by 60". I want to try wool batting, making it nice and warm.

Not sure about the quilting. Hand-quilting is tempting, but not so good for my shoulder ; (

Any ideas of how to quilt this on machine / by hand is welcome! A bit worried about quilting with wool batting. There's so many skills to learn!

Wish you all stay warm on a winterly wednesday!

friday finish

2010-11-05T10:20:00.004+01:00

This week I made another string bag, again using Ayumi's free pattern. It's a bit bigger (12" by 12") and still missing the string...

And there were left over, small scraps to be played with! So I made another small and scrappy improvised chinese coins.

These are fun to make! This is 15" by 15", hand quilted and sits on my coffee table. The lovely, dark chocolate sashing is a few 2.5" strips of thimbleberries found in my LQS. This fabric was dyed through, and I used the solid backside of it.

Funny how a few scraps can be so much fun! Do you save yours, or do you just bin them?

Wish everybody a nice weekend!

small treats for halloween

2010-11-01T14:42:00.007+01:00

Yesterday evening we had a great variation of small and big witches and ghosts stopping by for trick or treats. They take pride in having fancy costumes and make-up. And I enjoy seeing them all...

This year I made a few Halloween treats for me:

a little mug mat (above)

a table topper, 26" by 12"

and a little string bag, 10" by 12". This sweet little "treat" was a free pattern designed by the talented and generous Ayumi. Adore her creations! Maybe I need to make a few more. For christmas (instead of a stocking?) or for a dear friends birthday coming up? Or just because its nice to make small treats...

Hope you all had a happy Halloween. And that you all find a safe way to dispose of the left - over candy. That's the tricky part...

(Left over candy is filling out the bag...)

; )

quilt festival - fall 2010

2010-10-29T09:36:00.018+02:00

It's time for the very popular Bloggers Quilt Festival. Thank you so much Amy for hosting this event for the 4th time!

I want to share a quilt that I recently finished. It is a wall quilt, and it started out with some "blueberry fool blocks" that I received in a swap with my friend Clare. Lovely palette of blues...

I started playing with them, forming them into a medallion. Adding some solids and a star.

By then the top reminded me of a norwegian winter landscape: snow and crisp, blue shadows...

So, I added a phrase from a favorite norwegian singer, Anne Grete Preus (in my translation it will say something like: the sun sits low on the horizon, under the tall sky).

The letters are inspired by Tonya.

The quilt is long and narrow, 30" by 60", fitting for a wall hanging.

I had a lot of fun quilting by hand, creating different textures.

Sometimes its fun to start playing with some fabric and see where it takes you. Trusting yourself to create as you go... Trying not to put on a lot of pressure.

Thank you for your visit! And please, enjoy more beautiful and special quilts at the festival here.

friday flimsy

2010-10-22T09:39:00.007+02:00

The maple tree outside our house is gradually turning from green to orange -

inspiring the color palette and shift of colors in my spiderweb flimsy...

Thank you for all your encouraging comments about this wip! I have spent some time sewing, and some time with my trusted seam ripper.

I started out using several halloween themed fabrics. The blocks got quite busy, so I changed the mix a bit, removing most of the halloween prints and keeping the cats and some bats...

The halloween spiderweb quilt-top is now finished at 45" by 60". I am considering framing it with a white border. What do you think, does it need a frame or not?

Fall is being challenged by a (hopefully) short visit of winter. These last pictures were taken yesterday. The crows are regular passers by. Snow in october is too early, catching everybody off guard...

Wish you all a great weekend!

wip wednesday

2010-10-13T09:20:00.005+02:00

I have wanted to make a halloween spiderweb for a long time. Pairing up Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley and Alexander Henry's The Ghastlies, I decided to give it a try...

I have modified my recipe / tutorial for this one:

Using bigger blocks: starting with a 17" square.

Making the stars more narrow.

The spiderweb blocks are still fun to sew. Playing with different ways of combining the fabric, aiming for good contrast between the strips...

Picture is taken on a grey, overcast october morning. The trees outside are starting to turn orange. Fall is here...

october finish

2010-10-05T11:08:00.008+02:00

This month's finish is a halloween quilt. My spooky halloween is 50" by 60" after quilting. The batting is Kyoto Bamboo Blend, very nice and soft. I used spray to sandwich it, the most scary part of the quilt, I think...

Blogger is tricking me, so I can't write where I want, now? A bit early for trick or treat?

Ok, inspired by Alissa and two cute prints from Sherri Berry (ghosts) and (pumpkins) Debbie Taylor-Kerman (again), I started the top this summer. Adding Sandy Klop's lovely geometric prints from my stash. Playing with new halloween theme fabric. Auditioning and rejecting, ending up with only orange, green and black colors. And a very "cute" look.

The back was more difficult than the front. I auditioned a lot of different fabrics before deciding on Sandy Klop's pretty orange fabric with tiny dots from her latest line: Recess.

Orange is one of my very favorites - can you tell?

The back is one width of fabric with the added 9" strip - ending in a 50" wide quilt. Almost like magic?

I'll share the secret. Some of my quilting friends insisted that spray adhesive was a good way to sandwich a quilt, and even demonstrated doing so. I had the spray, but had never used it for anything big. With the help of my dh's long and sturdy hands and the spray, the sandwich came together in 15 minutes. It felt like magic ; )

The quilting is a bit rough, wavy (straight) lines. I wanted the texture. Maybe it stretches the square blocks out of shape to much? Still have a lot to learn about quilting. Quite happy with quilting on the spray baste, though. Think I will try that again.

This time the label is integrated in the strip on the back. Simple...

So, this is my first halloween lap quilt. Love the back the most! This recipe works well if you like matchy - matchy and cute. (If that makes any sense to anyone).

Now, I want to start the next one, a halloween spiderweb...

How about you? Do you have any halloween quilts planned? Or any favorites that you pull out of storage in time for the season?

I know, there's still time. Just wanted to share...

friday finish

2010-10-01T12:20:00.004+02:00

A small quilt has been quilted more densely. Sometime that's all it takes to improve. A second look, some added love...

Have a nice weekend!

wip wednesday

2010-09-29T11:45:00.007+02:00

Progress on the Tokyo Subway Map. Nice and slow... 5 out of 10 or 5 out of 25?

And dusting off my oldest wip / ufo:

inspired by Aneela's quilt- a-long I pulled these out of their storage. I need 5 more blocks before starting to put them together. This was my first project using 30's fabric. I purchased several charm packs, and had a great selection to play with. Before I ran out of steam and put them aside. (The red squares are just temporary, they will not be used)

Thank you, Aneela, for the inspiration to dig them out!

sunny september sunday

2010-09-27T10:59:00.008+02:00

Two new quilted pillows, using the quilt-as-you-go technique from Penny's quilt-along. Inspired by the season and the new to me term Wabi-Sabi from Rossie's lecture on modern quilting. They are both 20" square.

Hope you'll enjoy some sun, today!

september finish

2010-09-23T11:44:00.005+02:00

My Pippi Langstrømpe finished at 40" by 54". I used Hobbs Heirloom 80 % cotton 20 % polyester batting and some straight line quilting. The label is stitched to the side of the quilt with the binding. That's a first for me, and I'll see how I like it over time.

madness ...

2010-09-16T13:33:00.015+02:00

Madness in a good way - I hope...

Some friends from my guild is planning a trip to Tokyo for the 2011 Quilt show. They were lucky enough to have a workshop with Yoko Saito in Norway this spring, and now they are preparing for their next big adventure.

I would love to come along.

But, since that is not likely to happen, I though I like to help them out with their planning. A map of the Tokyo subway would be handy - don't you think?

; )

How very convenient that Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson! is sharing her wonderful creation:

Tokyo Subway Map.

25 blocks of 64 pieces equals 1 600 little (2") squares to be lined up.

That's the madness part of it. Or the perfect opportunity to work on improving my 1/4" seam allowance. I made one adjustment, using 2.5" squares, aiming for a 64" by 80" top, with a back-up plan of 32" by 80" wall quilt.

Somebody once asked me if all my corners match. The answer is a definite NO. I can assure you there's no chance they ever will. Not all of them, anyway. Is that a reason not to make this great quilt?

In my opinion, it's not.

So far, so good...

Inspired by this very quilt, I made my first block for Kerry in the Ringo Pie patchwork bee:

Kerry is the first host and her theme is collecting / hoarding. So how can I relate to that, what am I collecting? You guessed right - fabric! I managed to put a few favorites into the mix of 36 2" squares.

I am so much looking forward to play with all of the creative ladies and their choice of themes!

Back to the madness part. Is it about collecting fabric?

Or is it about starting something new? When you have lots of wip's and ufo's.

Not sure. Maybe a bit of both?

Have fun with your fabric...

; )

wordless wednesday

2010-09-08T11:17:00.003+02:00

wip

2010-09-05T10:41:00.006+02:00

Still working on my hex love...

Building a back from stash: one big courthouse steps block. Four 1/2 yrd pieces of Kaffe Fassets shot cotton compliments the various Heather Ross prints.

A sleepy kitty...

And a bedtime story. Written with my Pigma pens. Taking advice from Cathy, and soaking away the blue guide lines...

Basting with those long, zig zag stitches that I have learned to like...

And quilting by hand - slow pace, enjoying the pretty prints...

Considering adding the second diagonal direction of quilting these hexagons...

Have fun!

on the other side...

2010-08-23T14:32:00.007+02:00

After some friendly requests, I wanted to share some pictures of my hex love wip.

I just finished sewing the top together from two halves. In the process of doing so, I removed the paper on the back, leaving two rows for stability.

Before I removed the paper, I cut away the extra corners that made extra bulk. The top picture shows the two rows along the edge that hasn't had the paper templates removed, yet.

It is a bit of work, snipping of the extra corners, but I'm sure I will be happy about making that effort, as soon as I get to quilting it. So, on the other side...

The top looks so much cleaner without the red stitches holding the paper template!

This small quilt have a total of 574 1" hexagons in 28 rows of 21. I used Kona Snow, and a selection of Heather Ross yardage, some FFA and some Munki Munki pajamas parts.

Stitching these hexagons together, I tried three different kinds of thread. My lovely friend Rita, showed me the one I like the most, Coats Extra strong Hand Quilting (both strong and slim).

No I need to find a backing...

Can I tempt anyone to try hexagons?

; )

wordless wednesday?

2010-08-18T10:10:00.004+02:00

Almost (wordless). My scrap buster quilt top finished at 48" by 70".

scrap buster

2010-08-13T11:36:00.015+02:00

I have to confess: I love colors, and save up all my colorful scraps. Even the small ones. Ever since I saw this lovely, it has been on my list of "have to try".

First: I started up using all the bits that's really saturated with color. Adding all my scraps of Kona Snow.

Second: what if I use scraps with a lot of white?

And third: what if I make some pairs?

And what if i try the medallion layout ... binding it all together?

I am liking it! My scrap buster is wiping out my scrap bin....