polaroids

Next weekend the clock will switch from summertime to wintertime. And for we know autumn will go over in winter. Just eight weeks before it's christmas....wow time goes fast! Days will get shorter. And we are all spending more time in the house, making things cozier. What I like most about wintertime is that the evenings get longer, so there is more time to do crafts.


I was playing around on this site and made these polaroid photos.
"Oeps" the one below gives a glimps of my SSCS project.
Who likes green and pink?

sewing necessities box

A few years ago, I made this box at a workshop. It's made from cardboard and fabric. At that time everyone was making boxes for all kind of purposes. This one is a sewing necessities box.



See the inside It has a little holder for spools. And a wooden spool with a magnet attached on it for holding needles.



Do you see the little doll... she has a ribbon around her waist with on the other end a small pair of scissors. I can hang her around my neck when I'm sewing. The dolls dress can be used as a pincushion.



Here a photo of what's becoming a small sewing necessities bag. Is this the right word for it?? The little bag is for holding the spools etc.



I managed to do some shopping last week. One of my favorite things to do, as you now know from my previos post!
This is what I bought. Lovely Dutch folklore fabric and some ribbon!

tagged!

This halloween sweet treat was given to me by JJ from nature nut.
Thanks JJ.

Now it's my turn to give out a sweet treat to three random bloggers.
So the sweet treats go to these three wonderful bloggers....

Karol-Ann from: sew much fabric, sew little time, sew true
Belém from: de ponto em nó
Linda from: all stitched up

Feel free to pass it on!


Also this past week I've been tagged by Sue from the magpie's nest and a while ago by Leanne from the stitching room to do a meme about 7 true things.
So here it goes.....

1.) I'm a stay up late person, I usually never go to bed before 12 at night.
Of course I've to pay the prize in the morning!!

2.) I have a (new)bike but are still using the car for each time I go out. (Also for distances shorter than a 5 minutes drive) such a bad habit!

3.) Because of point 2.... I'm not getting any thiner!

4.) I've got an addiction or better I've got two.
"Sewing quilts" and the "computer", that is since I started blogging!

5.) I like sweets, all kind of...cakes, chocolat, candy, cookies, etc.

6.) I'm an aquarius and they say I've got all the characteristics that belong to
this astrological sign. Hope they meant good characteristics!

7.) I like shopping! Not groceries...but anything else will do!

Well now wasn't that interesting... Now I've to pass this along to 7 others to share in the fun!
Oke...I've changed the rules a bit....
So get ready....If you have 7 things to share... consider yourself as just been tagged!

Have a lovely weekend!

log cabin

Now that the nights are getting colder it's time to finish of this quilt.
It's a log cabin I sew on the machine, the fast and easy way! I quilt by hand and I'm half done, so far.



I quilt straight lines following the log cabin pattern.
In the borders I quilt a raster.




In the middle of each square I sew a little button.
These are old vintage ones!




This would be a nice warm quilt for winter times. And the combination of this quilt with white bedding is lovely. I do love clean, fresh white bedding! So I better hurry up and get quilting!

It's not my birthday....

It's not my birthday..... but it sure feels like it is!
Today the mailwoman delivered a nice brown envelope on my doormat. In it was this beautiful pattern. I won this wedding star pattern at a drawing held at Patti's blog. Isn't she lovely...I'm so happy, thanks!


The second gift I received today is one my mother made for me. She knitted this so colourful scarf. I love it! Thanks mom!



And for all the Quilt bloggers among us... see this post. She recently start blogging and it gave her so much inspiration, she just can't stop!
Have a very nice weekend everyone!

what's in the box.. (two)

Another week past by. This week was one of working nights and sleeping at daytime. When I work nights I never have much energie or time to do anything creative. It Feels a bit like being a mole! Almost no social life either!
I do like working nights though, it's quiet and I can follow my own routine.
And if there is time left, I do some knitting. Or my other favorite; glance through magazines and cut out 'clippings'.


I cut out clippings of pictures, patterns and other things I find interesting. I collect them in a box and when the box is full I sort the clippings out and put them in binders. This way I have my own books of inspiration!





Oh, and my knitted blanket is still growing!



ps; I've been terribly behind in answering my emails. So if you haven't received a reply from me.....I'm not ignoring you! I'll open my mailbox tomorrow and start answering, that's a promise!!

dollquilt

Yesterday I made the binding around this little dollquilt. It was fun and easy sewing the blocks for this one. Maybe I'll make a big quilt too, some time?


Isn't this sweet! I bought these fabrics last saterday. My sister and me bought the same package. We both gonna make something from this fabric and don't show it to the other until it's finished. I can hardly wait to see what she's gonna make!
I also have a new toy, this easy to make yoyo's thing. And easy it is! The photo is a bit blurred, but believe me, the hearts really look great.

what's in the box?

A few posts back I showed you a box with it's contents, a "work in progress". I don't know if I told you, but I have many, I mean many boxes stuffed with WIP's. So I thought to bring in a new item on this blog called; "what's in the box".
Today box 2.

In it are two little embroidery works on linen. I bought the patterns in a shop in Antwerp (Belgium). A very beautiful shop that we had discovered on one of our shopping days. Sadly, the shop was gone the next time we visited Antwerp!
Full enthusiasm I started stitching until one day this little project wasn't in my head anymore!
Knowing me, I probably started something new, leaving this project in the box, forgotten!


This is the reason why I started this adorable embroidery pattern; the clothesline with all the quilts hanging on it! Isn't it lovely? A nice little cottage, Amish people picking blueberries....



My mother-in-law started to work on this pattern in the same period. I gave it to her as a present. But when she finished it, she gave it back to me so that I could hang the two of them together.
I feel ashamed for the fact that it's ten years (or more?) later and they still are in the box!
So I made a promise to myself, to have this finished and framed in the next month.
Hope I can keep that promise!

Note: I found this link on the internet with the original photo of the blueberry homecoming pattern. I changed the words into an alphabet.

let's quilt!

Just a little update on my last post.
As you can see I'm busy quilting. I like quilting by hand, using a hoop. With a hoop I find it easier to rotate and handle the quilt. Another reason is; my stitches become more even. I quilt a heart pattern in each triangle, I like to keep it simple. Hopefully I can show you a finished result next time I post!



This is what I came home to on friday! My Moo cards... they were waiting for me on the doormat. So cute...don't you just love them!

For I forget.... I have two more new fabrics added to my Kaffe Fassett collection. I particularly like the purple border fabric!
I hope to make a quilt out of my "Fassett's" some time! That's after I've find a nice pattern and my collection is grow out of its box!

playing with scraps

Lately I see so many posts filled with pictures of lovely scrap quilts,
that it inspired me to start making one too! A little quilt.
I use the mile a minute technique. You find a great tutorial here. Only I made a small difference. After I sew all the blocks I cut them in half diagonal. Then I rearranged the triangles in to a nice pattern and sew them togheter. It's a fast and simple way of using scraps.


This is what was left on my cutting table! I'm off now, have to cook some dinner. Otherwise my DH thinks I'm on the computer all day!

new blogger on the block

I'm happy to introduce you to my sister Heleen. She recently started a blog and wrote her very first post today! Her blog is still under construction and she's learning her way around it. It will be a pretty one I'm sure! She always makes such beautiful things. So take a little peek here to check things out and I'm sure she love it when you say hello!

Sorry Heleen... I put you on my blog, now you realy have to work on it!

blog block

Last week was a non creative one. I didn't do any sewing, knitting, stitching, no... nothing at all.
Though I was busy allright! I had my work outside the house, son's birthday, school (which I started last monday) and some household duties. And now I'm stuck here suffering a bit from blogblock. Don't have anything new to share!

So time to take the lid of the box and show you an (very) old w.i.p



It's an embroidery pattern from germany called "der haustierbaum". I think the correct english translation is: the animals tree.





My embroidery work so far....



I use Schürer embroidery floss for this project. The shops don't sell that brand anymore so I use whatever there is left in the box, and that's enough to get my going for some time!



The only thing I have to do is find some time!!

single socks

I'm happy to tell you that my mail is working again!! Miraculous, after four days not getting in my mailbox he decided to open up again!



There are more things in life that are a mystery. For example; single socks!
They come in to your life as a pair. Doing there job by keeping your feet warm.
You are doing your job by washing the socks on time. And then suddenly without any warning... one is missing!
Sometimes they are gone missing for months, unfindable!
After a while when you realized that they are gone forever you finally got the nerve to throw the other ones (you hold on to) away!
And then like a jack-in-the-box the missing socks pop up again!
Leaving you with a familiar problem.... single socks!

From now on I put away all single socks in a special made bag. They stay in there untill the other one shows up and they can be a pair again! So.. no more lonely socks in the landry basket.



The bag is made on a clothes-hanger so I can hang him on the radiator next to my ironing board.
I used the ribbon I found in the triftstore.





some details

No mail today...

I'm writing this post to let you know that my email is not working.
The problems started friday, and after a trillion attempts to fix it, I still can't go in my mailbox!!
I think I have to ask help from a professional. And hopefully then the problem is solved soon.



I have to be patient till then.
So by this post I thank you for your lovely comments and I promise to write a note back to you soon as my email works again!

creative mom

Another week has past...time certainly goes fast!
First a thank you for all the lovely comments I recieved on my last post. For those how asked me to write down the knitted star pattern; I'll think it over. You see the problem is I'm dutch and writing knitting instructies in english???? I don't know all the right words. But when I have a try at it, I let you know and will post it for sure!
I’m still busy knitting, I think I got the knitting virus real bad this time. I'm reading all these wonderful inspirational blogs, it must be contagious!




I knit star points and sew them together. I want to make a blanket out of it, a sort of patchwork blanket from wool. I'm still using soedan wool. My mother has two banana-boxes filled in all kind of colours that I'm free to use. So there's enough to keep me going for a while.
My mother is real enthusiastic about my blogging experiences. When she's at my place she always want to check out my blog and the blogs from others. She herself is a very creative woman, to bad she doesn't know the first thing about computers! Because she sure has lots of creative blogging material! She and her house, that's packed with all kind of books and crafts material keeping me inspired all the time!

These old (1958) Italian patternbooks came from a secondhand bookstore. Mom bought these a few years back and recently gave them to me. I never knew she had them! They are full with great patterns to make dolls and stuffed animals. They are made from felt and fake leather. I'm sureyou can make them in fabric too. I didn't try one out yet but I did found a little handmade doggie that looks just like the one in the book.









The four books above have instructions written in Italian. I can't read italian but the pictures are very clear and understandable.
The book below is written in dutch so maybe its wise to start with a pattern from that book first!




At last....If I ever got tired from all the knitting and wanna do something completely different..... I can always make wine! Maybe not enough for a whole bottle, I'll be satisfied with one glass!