January quilt meeting

Thursday was the first meeting this year in my quilt guild

This evening we had Moia visiting us. She gave a little inspiration talk to us

and she had brought a lot of samples to show us.

and we could buy from her selection of patterns.

Then there was time for show and tell
Just enjoy the photos:

Before Christmas we gave our members a challenge making mug rugs,
and these are what the ladies had to show:

Saying for today:

No road is long with good company

The new quilt inspector

This evening I finished quilting the outher border of my Leannes House quilt. I am so happy :)
While pulling the basting threads out of the quilt, my new quilt inspector came to help me.

"Do we pull the threads from this side????"

"Ok...I understand, we pull the threads from this side"

"You've forgot to quilt some spots here!!!"

"This quilt is sooooooooooooo nice to lay on"

"Can I sleep on it now?? You can quilt those missing parts later.
I really deserves a prize now after being so clever doing my job as a quilt inspector"

Saying for today:

Cats seem to go on the principle
that it never does any harm
to ask for what you want.
~Joseph Wood Krutch

Just relaxing

Today I have had a relaxing day in front of the tv and enjoying some hand piecing. I have made the next two blocks for the challenge in our quilt guild. Every meeting they are getting patterns for two mini blocks.
I have made eight blocks so far. Behind on two blocks, but I will make them soon.

I have also made the two first blocks on the BOM package I got some days ago. Really fun to make them and I look forward to the next package. My friend Laila has the other colour choice for this BOM and we have swapped the scraps from our two first blocks. My plan is to make blocks from those scraps, perhaps adding some of my own fabrics where it is not enough from the scraps.

But for the rest of the evening I will be quilting on my Leannes House. Hope to have all the quilting done this week.

Saying for today:

There aren't enough days in the weekend.

Choosing ...........

I could not resist starting to sew on the BOM I received yesterday.

But what way do I want to do the sewing. It is supposed to be done as english paper piecing. All the paper pieces was in the package and I do have the glue pen. Or do I sew it by hand on the line (hand piecing).

The choice was quite easy. Hand piecing has always been my favorite way, so I traced the needed templates and drew the lines.

And now my two first blocks for this quilt is ready to be hand pieced.
CSI on tv and handpiecing, what more can a quilter ask for :)

Saying for today:

A good film is when the price of the dinner,
the theatre admission
and the babysitter were worth it.
~Alfred Hitchcock

Sidetracked

First day of the week and I have already got sidetracked from my focus list. Why.....

Because this arrived in the mailbox today. First package of the new BOM from Lappemakeriet.
It is so delicious wrapped. Fabrics that will be interesting to work with. Perhaps not the fabrics I would have chosen, but I love them. And I know the BOM's from Lappemakeriet always looks wonderful. Look forward to start sewing on this BOM.

And it looks like Frida cat have approved this BOM. She have had a close look at it :)

Saying for today:

People that hate cats
will come back as mice
in their next life.
~Faith Resnick

On a table runner roll

Think I am doing good on my weekly focusing projects :)

Today I finished another table runner. It has been on my focus list , so I am really happy that I can cross this out off the list now :)

I really love the hearts on this table runner. I anyone wonders it is a pattern from Northern Quilts design.
I've handquiltet three sides of my Leannes House quilt. One side left, and then the binding, so it will still be on my focus list. Looking forward to have this one finished. It has really been a WISP for a looooong time now.

When one project out of the focus list perhaps it is time to choose another one. I have several to choose from in my WISP drawer.


Maybe this stitchery (also one of Leanne Beasley design). Stitched a long time ago. Have to think about it. I also found a new project on Litamora's blog. I got the book too and perhaps it is time to start a new project :) I also have a crazy idea that I will make one Christmasgift each month. And I got a new pattern in the mail yesterday. But I really need some more hours each day/week to get it all done.

Focus this week will be:

*1: Quilting on my Leannes House quilt.
One side left to quilt, and then the binding.

*2. Placemats for two.
Christmasgift from my friend Bjørg. Nothing done so far on this.

*3: Angel among us BOM.
Block one done, stitchery for block two done, still stitching on block 3

*4: Life is Beautiful BOM
Three blocks finished by now.

5: Have no idea yet,
but is has to be something done by machine since
all the other focus projects are mostly done by hand.

Saying for today:

Find a job you like
and you add five days to every week.
~H. Jackson Browne


(is that the way to get the extra hours we all are asking for????)

First finish in 2011

It feels like I have a pile of projects to finish right now. I have seen a lot of UFO lists on several blogs. I have no idea how many I have. And I like to call my projects WISP's (Work In Slow Progress). I have thrown several away during these years, because I know I never are going to finish them. Or I have sold them on flee market at our quilt guild. Or just given them away to somebody else that perhaps want to finish them. And I do not feel bad about it at all.

My tast for colours, fabrics and patterns have changed during the progress. What I started one or two (or more) years ago is perhaps not what I want to make today. But one thing I have learned is that when I buy new fabrics, I try to make use of them right now. I do not store them to wait for the perfect project to come. I start cutting in them as soon as I can. Because it is now they are pretty. I have a lot of fabrics that have been stored in boxes several years, but now when I look at them, they are not as pretty as they was at the time they were bought.

So one goal for 2011 is that whenever a new fabric is in the house I will use it.

First finish this year !!! A new table runner.

I made three table runners before Christmas. Two was going to be Christmas gifts and got the binding on right away. This one was for me and today I sewed down the binding on it. Now I can remove the Christmas table cloth that was on my kitchen table and put this on. I have used some of my favorite fabrics in this table runner and that was an inspiration to get it finished. I think it looks beautiful on my table.

Saying for today:

Cats do care. For example they know instinctively
what time we have to be at work in the morning
and they wake us up twenty minutes
before the alarm goes off.
~Michael Nelson

A sleeping weekend or not.

After a very exhausting week at work I felt so tired and just wanted to sleep all day long. And I almost did yesterday. So not in the mood for entering my sewingroom. I just relaxed in my chair with a quilt and a cat on my lap, just watching tv and stitching.........and NOT sleeping. Have you ever been so tired that you cannot sleep. I wish I could just do like the cats, curl up in the sofa and just sleeeeeeeeeeeep.

But after a long good sleep tonight I was so in mood for being in my sewing room.
I installed myself with projects, my computer watching old movies and some pepsi max. And of course Frida cat and Rusken joined me in there. We spendt several hours there today and it was so fun being back on sewing again.

I have made 3 rug mugs today, but can't show them to you yet. I am entering them in Madame Samm's mug rug contest. I will sew down the binding this evening and then post the photos to Madame Samm who will put them on her flicker album. Hope you later will go there and vote for the one you fancy the most. The entering ends at feb 4th and the judging can begin.

Rusken was asking me why I make so small mug rugs........they are tooooooooo small to sleep well on. So I have to make him his special quilt.

This week I have done some stitchery. To tired to do anything else, stitchery in front of the tv was a good thing. I have finished two LIB blocks, stitching on the third, and I have prepared 8 more blocks. I like to have blocks ready to just grab "on the go".

A little bit more stitched on my Angel among us quilt, but I did not manage to finish the blocks as I had planned on my focus list.

Nothing done on my Rustic Christmas heart table runner.

But I did some quilting on my Leannes House. One side done, three to go. This is nice work to do watching tv. And I am eager to finish this. I have told myself this quilt is going up on my wall instead of the christmas quilt that is hanging there, so I better hurry up getting it finished.

I did finish quilting and applique on this table runner. Just sewing down the binding left. Seems like I have a lot of bindings to sew down now. Boooooooooring :)

I will have the same focus on projects this week as the previous one. And I hope I will not be so tired after work the coming week. It takes time coming back to daily routines after a long Christmas vacation.

Saying for today:

In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods;
they have not forgotten this.
~Terry Pratchett