It was about time...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think it was about time I made myself a thread catcher :o) It's very simple - no embelishments - but I'm happy with it :o) and anything is better than the plastic bag! ...now I just need to get a new cover on my ironing board...

Hope you have a great quilting week!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

An Angel's Story weekend

This has been a fabulous weekend of good quilting friends and lots of stitching :o) Hanne, May Britt and I went down to visit Inger Lise for the weekend to work on our An Angel's Story quilts. And we got quite a bit done. I thought I'd share some of our lovely memories.

When we arrived Inger Lise met us with fresh strawberries and home made buns on the veranda, they were so yummy! and we enjoyed them, and the sun and some stitching:

Look at her fabulous plates:

Of course we had to inspect her studio - it's fabulous, and I'm so jealous ;o)

When the rain and thunder came over us, we moved into the living room, where we stitched some more and enjoyed some snacks - here we have May Britt and Hanne in intense consentration:

In the evening we enjoyed some lovely chicken before going back to stitching and chatting

Of course we had to layer out our blocks to se how far each of us have gotten :o) May Britt, who has been working on this quilt for quite a while was first - here she is in full action:

Her blocks are so lovely - very warm and welcoming colours - here is just the blocks:

Inger Lise has chosen to use japanese fabrics, which are so pretty, but gives a bit cooler impression:

Hanne's choice is not very far from May Britt's but she is a tiny bit lighter in colours:

Last my two and a half blocks, which are very different - I have chosen to do all the stitching in one colour, and to keep my fabrics mostly green (with a little touch of blue and some pinks)

Thank you ladies for a wonderful weekend!

Hope you enjoyed my little show and tell!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Elm Creek Samplers

For a long time I have wanted to make "Sarah's Sampler" from Jennifer Chiaverini's first pattern book Elm Creek Quilts - this is the quilt as it appears in the book (picture borrowed from http://www.elmcreek.net/):

(Ok, there are lots more quilts from these books I want to make!! *lol*). If you have read The Quilter's Apprentice you know this is the sampler Sarah makes when she first learn to quilt - and the storyline of the book is connected to each of the blocks in the quilt. But I have held back a bit on starting this one, partly because of the work of the setting but perhaps more because of the size. Then the other night I thought, why not make it as a mini? Ok, so I haven't eliminated the amount of work, but a wall quilt I can find room for :o) So I have drafted the blocks to 4" instead of the 12" in the pattern, and I think it will fit nicely over my desk! Tonight I sewed my first two blocks:

Yet again it's blue and white *lol* Maybe I'll mix in some other colours... I still have lots of small blue scraps, and the white is the cut offs from the baby basket... we'll see how long it lasts.

My heading says samplers, and the reason is that this morning FedEx rang the door bell, and they delivered my SBS! This was a lot sooner than I had expected, but I'm so happy my "baby" safely home again!

This weekend I'll be going to visit Inger Lise along with Hanne and May Britt - we are going to work on our Angel's Story quilts - I guess we are going to have lots of fun, and I hope to have some fun pictures to show when I get back :o)

Happy Quilting!!!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Non-quilty sewing

A couple of friends are expecting a daughter in about two and a half weeks. Tradition in the family is that the baby is to sleep in a basket. But Mum wasn’t too pleased with the cover on it – a faded purple and pink strawberry print. So she asked me if I could make something else… preferably white. This is what I came up with:

I think it turned out really pretty – and I had fun making it! I did get a confirmation that I’m a quilter, not a seamstress, though ;o)

Happy sewing!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Then there were three

Remember my feathered star? I have found that I really enjoy making the block, and now the total tally is three:

Hopefully I'll have 12 of these blocks for a quilt someday (I have a plan, but not a sewing schedule *lol*). They are time consuming, one block takes me aproximately two efficient evenings to make. But they are ohhhh so fun, and I think they are really pretty!

I also want to say thank you to everyone who sent your best wishes on my previous post! I have tried to respond to all the comments, but there still are a few registered with noreply-comment...

Happy quilting!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

The BIG news I promised...

Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment on my sick quilt! Sorry I haven't gotten around to replying to all your sweet messages yet! And I'm happy to report that I am feeling better :o)

At the end of yesterday's post I said I have some news to share... and to me this is huge news!!! If you have been reading Jennifer Chiaverini's Sylvia's Bridal Sampler website, you have probably seen that next spring this book will be published:

A little while back Jennifer asked for pictures of completed quilts and quilt tops made from her SBS pattern - and I sent her a picture of my quilt. Last week I got an e-mail asking me to send the quilt to C&T Publishing to be photographed!!!! Packing it up last Thursday to send it to California was a nerve wrecking experience (thank you Hanne and Rose for your support!), and I'll probably feel the nerves twitch every now and then until it is safely back home ;o) Fingers crossed all will go well!

I love this quilt so much! I fell for it the moment I entered the website the first time! The world of Elm Creek, and the SBS community has brought me so much pleasure since I first discovered it in the summer 2006. And now, to have a chance to be part of this book!!! I'm thrilled, I'm nervous, and I'm honored beyond words!

Sincerely, Anne Ida

Uppdate: I received a message today letting me know the quilt have arrived the publisher - puh!!

"Sick Quilt"

"At the top of a fresh page, Sylvia started to write 'Sick Quilt' before she caught herself and wrote 'Ocean Waves.' Better to call it by its traditional title, since no one else would be able to identify her mother's blue-and-white quilt with the nickname Sylvia and Claudia had given it. Sylvia was not sure how the family custom had developed, but whenever children in the family fell ill, Mother would take out the Ocean Waves quilt from the cedar chest and allow them to use it on their beds until they felt better. In hindsight, Sylvia assumed the privilege of using the special quilt was supposed to boost the sick child’s spirits and thereby hasten recovery, but she recalled that when she was particularly queasy, the arrangement of blue and white triangles resembled and ocean’s undulating surface enough to make her feel worse rather than better."

(Jennifer Chiaverini, 2003: The Quilter's Legacy)

How appropriate!!! On Sunday I quilted my Ocean Waves quilt – made from Jennifer’s pattern “Eleanor’s Ocean Waves” (UPDATE: The quilting is done by machine). I felt a bit queasy and shakey all day, but thought it was a caffeine over-dose (I had a bit more coffee than usual for breakfast) so I kept on pushing myself to finish the quilting. But as I was quilting the border I noticed I had a fever, and a head-ache that had been steadily progressing… Not saying the quilt was what made me feel worse *lol*

Over the last couple of days I have managed to move myself between the bed and the sofa – drinking heaps of tea and the odd dose of Lemsip - dragging the Ocean Waves with me – snuggling under it when I needed to rest, stitching a tiny bit of the binding down when I felt well enough to keep my hands occupied. And a little goes a long way – the quilt is now finished!!! This is how it turned out:

Exept for the backing (see first pic) everything is from my scrap box and stash – including the batting, which is pieced from larger leftover pieces. And I’m so happy with it! I think it will be a favourite, not only to be used when sick ;o) Now I just need to shake of this flu (or whatever it is...)!!!

I have some more news to share, but that will have to wait for now…
Happy quilting!

Sincerely, Anne Ida

Feathered star

I have wanted to try making a Feathered star block for a really long time, but I have been a bit scared by all the little pieces and matches. But last night I mustered up some courage and cut the pieces for a block, started piecing it, and after some time with Bernie tonight this is what we ended up with:

It's a 12" block, consisting of 129 pieces, and the HST units finish at 3/4" :o) It's not perfect, but I'm happy with my first attempt! I have an idea for what I want to do with it, but I'm afraid it will take time...

Hope you have a great quilting week!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Small things

Wish I could have shown some progress on my Ocean Waves quilt, but I'm still waiting for the backing fabric... Anyway, the summer and the heat in the city has sort of scared me away from the sewing machine (and especially the iron!) - not complaining that summer is finally here, but it's just so warm... over the last week I have only managed some small things:

Finishing a stitchery for one of the Butterfly Garden blocks, and a DJ block (not many pieces in this one *lol*). Tally is now DJ - 18 and BG - 17; slow progress is better than no progress, right?

I have also managed to get the binding on a couple of the mini quilts :o) This is how they turned out - pretty cute:

Hope everyone is having a great week!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

PS! Claire over at Quiltygal has a giveaway - Sunday is last chance to enter :o)