AND HERE WE ARE... GETTING TO CHRISTMAS !

Dear friends,

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas time,

and a very happy New Year,

in love, joy, peace and health !

Thanks for your visits this year,

Thanks for your encouragements,

Thanks for the inspiration,

Thanks for your friendly care,
And above all...

Thanks for being you !

;>)

(My "Wish Quilt" made in 2012 - design by Bronwyn Hayes)

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WINTER, CHRISTMAS PREP', SANTA LUCIA ... AND SOME CANDLES TO BLOW

Winter is here, and we had snow, already !

Today, 13rh December,  is also Santa Lucia Day

and, traditionally in our Italian family,

we celebrate the return of the light

(1 more minute of day light, and way to go),

starting the baking for Christmas,

as my mother-in-law taught me years ago

I can't tell you that heavenly smell in the house !

***

Yesterday was devoted to Christmas décorations

and I managed to complete this wall-hanging,

started last year...

***

Tomorrow will be a little special,

as I'll be turning 66 (I just can't believe it)

YAY !

Yes, I'm a winter girl, and I LOVE it  

:))

("Winter Dance")

ENJOY THE SEASON MY FRIENDS !

YESSSSS...

It's almost midnight, and I just finished the handpiecing of my

Pyramids quilt top...

So, tomorrow I'll machine piece the (brown) borders,

and maybe even sandwich it, so that I can start with

the hand quilting on Monday.

***

This week, I couldn't help having a try on

the "Hartjes" 

(Little Hearts)

and I enjoyed making two of them,

this future side projects is going to be FUN !

***

I also want to tell JUUD

how grateful I am for the wonderful surprise envelope

she sent to me, with 1930' repro. fabrics.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Juud !

***

Enjoy your stitches, my friends !

STRONG COLORS ... GOOD PROGRESS

With winter at our doors,
I'm beginning to see the green light

with my Pyramids quilt

I could only picture it from Inside, on my working table,

as the weather here is quite grey and rainy

but you get the idea...

7 rows, out of 12, are now sewn together,

and the 5 remaining ones are on the way...

Crossing my fngers this quilt will be

ready for handquilting by end of next week,

so that I can give it to my daughter for Xmas !

With this quilt, I think I'm "cured" from

strong colors for quite a long time, 

and I can't wait getting back to the Stonefields,

as well as starting the sweet baby quilt...

Yet, all in all, I'm pleased with the result.

(DH says it looks like glittering, multicolored Xmas trees)

I'm also finishing a cute crochet baby blanket,

but I can't show it now, as it's a surprise.

ENJOY YOUR SEWING, MY FRIENDS !

***

PS

I found my portable side-project

for the year(s) to come ,

with Supergoof "Hartjes" Template (so cute !)

(I would so much LOVE using 1930's repro fabrics to make it...

sadly I can't find those in my little corner,

and ordering these through the Web would cost me the double with shipping...

Well, no problem, I'll make do  :D  )

A START, A CHRISTMAS GIFT, AND AN EASTER BUNNY...

So I had a quiet start on The Stonefields quilt,

and I must say it was real bliss and FUN

:D

This last block is a personnal one,
with a special meaning to me...

***
Our youngest daughter, Laura (29)  recently told me
how she loved the "Panama Pyramids" quilt pattern,
and how she'd like to get one, "some day"...

What does every quilter do, in such a case ?
She drops everything she was doing (eg. the "Glitters" quilt),
and gladly starts working on her daughter's dream,
thinking that this would make a lovely Christmas gift.
:D
Laura and Nicolas love jewel tones, in plain fabrics,
Something with an "Amish look"
they also like chocolate VERY much,
So I opted for a deep chocolate Brown
for the connecting triangles.
The jewel tones were not a problem,
as I had some gorgeous K.Fasset shot cottons
in my stash.
As for the contrasting, common fabric,
I went for a colorful Batik, and ...
I started the tracing + cutting, and tracing, and cutting,
OMG I thought I'd never see the end of this
big prep'ing job !
But is was worh it, as now I can devote myself
to the handpiecing. YAY !

I need 16 rows of 16 pieced blocks,
and I'm planning on completing these by mid October.
This way, I'll still have 2 months ahead of me
for the handquilting...

***
And what about that "Easter Bunny" ??
Well, Laura & Nicolas also told us
that she's pregnant with their first child,
for next April 2018
This will be our third grandchild,
with Andrea (13) and Lily (7)
Such a blessing !

Would you guess that I've got some plans for
a baby quilt, as well ??
Of course, I do !
:D
But I'll tell you more in next post.

ENJOY YOUR SEWING

Nadine

GLITTERS + A NEW PROJECT... AND A VERY PRECIOUS GIFT

Jen Kingwell and her wonderful GLITTERS quilt

has made me pondering for quite some time...

Would I ?  Should I ?

and, most of all, COULD I ??

The pattern didn't look so easy,

and yet it was so much apppealing to me !

OK, let's have a try ...

I made one... hmmm not bad

then a second one...

then a third one,

Happy dance !

It's definitely part of my working projects.

(164 more blocks to go)

I just LOVE those jewel tones

:D

The new slow project in view is

"THE STONEFIELDS"

quilt, designed by Susan Smith

I've just got the pattern 2 days ago,

and have now started sorting out my fabrics

I'd like to give it a very soft and vintage feel,

Time will tell ...

:D

Last but not least, I've been treated

with a very precious gift !

I've been part of a small quilting Bee

for more than 20 years now, and Simone

is the eldest member.

She's 81 now, and she told me everything

about quilting and handpiecing

She's very dear to me.

Unfortunately Simone is getting big eyesight issues,

and she's not able to handquilt anylonger.

So she decided to give me...

this gorgeous hexagons quilt top !

I was very moved with such a special treat,

and I promised her that I would handquilt it

this coming winter and that I would always treasure it.

THANK YOU my sweet Simone !

BACK HOME WITH SOMETHING NEW ... :D

We had a lovely time in Spain,

enjoying the people and the weather

(although with a nasty heat wave , by beg. June)...

However we're now very happy, being back home,

catching up with the kids & grand kids,

and taking back our good old routines...

You can't deny your roots,

and our little Belgian nest is just so comfy...

On the quilting front, I was able to complete

my Emma Mary quilt top  YAY !

which I'm simply naming : "Summertime"

Hereunder are some pictures.

These were not so easy to take, due to the weather :

although sunny, there was a constant breeze,

but you'll get an idea, hopefully

:D

It's quite a huge quilt, finally,

measuring 95" by 95"

and, as you can see, I skipped the center medallion,

but added borders,

so it's really my own version...

I've also got another lovely (smaller) finish,

yet I'm keeping it for next post (soon)

THANKS for your visit,

Enjoy your sewing !

SOME PROGRESS AND SOME TRAVELLING ...

Hello, dear friends  😊

As promised, I'm back with some news...

I made a good progress on my "Emma Mary quilt",

with 36 new "Donuts" (as I'm calling them)

Also, some 6 new "Dutch Treat" blocks have been completed

Not too bad, I'd say...

I hope being able to keep doing so !

Some travelling is on the agenda. as well.

As you might know, since retirement, we use to

spend some months/year in Spain, particularly when

we need some light and sun, compared to our Belgian bad weather...

So we'll be heading to our sunny spot by next week,

coming back to Belgium to celebrate Easter with our kids...

I'll be taking my PC with me, so you'll get some

Spanish quilty news...

ENJOY whatever you create !

In stitches,

Nadine

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Beginning a new year is always a time of introspection,

a time of projects, of hopes and décisions...

Well I've been thinking, dreaming, pondering,

rumaging through my stash, including my Ufo's,

and decided to list some reasonable goals,

hoping I'll be perseverant,

and will achieve them heartfully...

DUTCH TREAT

***

This quilt, started in 2013, in loving memory of my mother,

who was of Dutch origin,

has been left aside long enough.

I've reached 62 blocks, up to now,

and I'm planning to make 2 blocks a week.

HAND QUILTING

***

I'm planning to put "Les Sœurs" into the hoop,

and handquilt 3 threads a day.

Not much, but one stitch at a time, I'll get there.

EMMA MARY QUILT

***

A new handpiecing project (pattern by Judy Newman)

All pièces are traced and cut

(272 blocks in total + an applique center medallion)

I'm more than ready to start that beauty,

and I'm planning 5 blocks a day.

GLITTERS

***

Another new,  handpiecing, scrappy project (pattern by Jen Kingwell),

yet I'm ONLY cutting some pièces for the moment,

stacking them into a nice tin box, for the future,

in case I've been a good girl and meet my goals  :))
But this will be a 2018 project.

CROCHET

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THE MOORLAND BLANKET CAL

(starting today, until end of February)

Our dear Lucy ( "Attic24 " Blog -clic-) had done it again,

with a gorgeous blanket, bringing you into the Yorkshire summer Moorland

atmosphere, with those heathers and heavenly colors.

Moreover, as usual, Lucy is guiding us step-by-step in her

weekly tutorials.  How could I resist ??

EMBROIDERY

***

"La Route des Epices"

("Spices Road")

A very old Ufo (traditional embroidery),

that I really, really want to finish this year.
It makes me dream of those times,
when the ships sailed to far away countries,
and brought back such strange and tasty spices...
Spices are cooking's treasures,
and I'm planning to hang this in my kitchen.

I'm half-way through it.   I'm aiming one item a month.

(6 more to go)

***

Well, it looks like my basket is full of blessings, doesn't it ?

One stitch at a time, with love and perseverance ...

Last but not least, I've also promised myself to be a better blogger,

and to post on a more regular schedule.

I'm taking so much pleasure and inspiration in reading you all,

it would be nice from me to send you a smile,

and give you some news from my little corner...

Wish me luck !

In stitches,

Nadine