Butterfly Garden - the beginning

Some have asked me to show my first blocks for my version of Leanne Beasley's new BOM: Butterfly Garden. This is what it looks like so far - four blocks, no butterflies yet:

Since I haven't received the patterns yet, I've begun on blocks Leanne gave us drawings of in the class she held in Trysil, and blocks I can draft from the picture on her blog. I really enjoy working on these little cuties :o)

Hope you all have a great Sunday!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

To my secret Santa

Dear Santa!
I want to savour the element of surprise for our family opening of gifties on Christmas Eve. Please don't spoil it for me by posting a picture of my pressie on your blog until after that!?

Thank you!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

A lot to share

I've got a lot to share tonight - all of it good!!! Firstly, any of you reading Rose's post today saying she will be having a friend for a visit in February? Guess who??? MEEEEE!!! I'll be flying to Australia, spending a couple of days in Melbourne with Rose and her family (hopefully we'll run into some other bloggers as well), a week in Tasmania with them, including a weekend class arranged by The country Quilter, attending a quilting class, with Rose teaching her beautiful new design! YEY!!!! And probably meeting some other very talented Australian designers as well. Doing the happy dance in the couch *lol*

Secondly I saw a post on May Kristin's blog today about this:

I'm very happy to be able to participate in this and I hope some of you want to play along - this is how it goes:
It’s the Pay It Forward Exchange. It’s based of the concept of the movie “Pay it Forward” where acts or deeds of kindness are done without expecting something in return, just passing it on, with hope that the recipients of the acts of kindness are passed on. You all know I’m already a PIF type of person. So here’s how it works. I will make and send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I do not know what that gift will be yet, and it won’t be sent this month, probably not next month, but it will be sent (within 6 months) and that’s a promise! What YOU have to do in return, then, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

On the quilting front I can report that I still am doing bits and pieces on my WIPs - as you might have noticed a few more progress lists have appeared in my side bar. I've decided to follow Hanne's example from quilting her Watermelons on quilting the blue and white SBS swap quilt, at least one strand of thread a day.

I've also made a head start on Leanne Beasley's new BOM - Butterfly Garden - the patterns won't be here until december, so I've started on the stitcheries of quilt blocks that I can draft myself. I will probably make a very personal version of this quilt, and swap some of the blocks she has used in hers for something that suits my tastes and skills better. Pics will come...

Hope you all have a wonderful evening/day/morning
Sincerely, Anne Ida

Tagged, SSCS, and 4SQS

The other day I got tagged by Anne Heidi for a meme on some crafty questions, so here it goes:

The rules are: Answer the following on your blog and then let five other bloggers know that you have tagged them to complete the meme.

1. When did you start to create and make craft?
No idea… I have all my life seen my Mom and her Aunts and cousins sewing, knitting and crocheting – one of my favourite toys as a child was a rag doll made by one of Mom’s cousins. I can not remember when I started myself… Remember weaving in kindergarten (wool yarn on a hand loom), and I do remember that my first quilt block was made in 3rd grade, a quarter log cabin sewn into a cushion :o)

2. Why did you start creating?
Just a natural part of the way my life has progressed, I guess…

3. Why do you create?
I can’t imagine not to.

4. What do you create?
Quilts, table toppers, cushions, bags of different types and sizes… anything I can do on a sewing machine (except clothes). When my arms and shoulders allow I also knit and crochet – I have knitted a few sweaters over the years, and I love to crochet small snowflake like table toppers – log time since I made one, though...

5. Has this changed since you began crafting?
Over the years, yes. As a teenager you weren’t supposed to do crafty stuff… I guess I really got hooked once I started making quilts that were a bit bigger than doll quilts.

Ok, so now I have to tag someone for this meme – and it will be: Rose, Valerie, Jeanette, Heather, and Yvonne – hope you’ll play along, girls :o)
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So what have I been doing lately? Well I’ve been quilting my blue and white SBS quilt – I’m hand quilting it and it will take time to get it done. Even though my fingers are getting sore, I'm loving every minute of it :o) While quilting that I’ve been thinking about what to do for the Secret Santa Christmas Swap, and this will be it:

Picture removed by author 19. Nov. and will be re-posted after Xmas (if I remember *lol*)

I finished stitching down the binding tonight, still have to make a label for the back. This is as close as you can get to an “Anne Ida original” *lol*– a very simple pattern made up as I went along, but inspired by things I’ve seen in magazines and in blogland. It is 3” squares with a border around it and some appliqué. The appliqué is a drawing of the front part of the Oseberg ship – a Viking ship from the 7th century. It was found and excavated in the early 1900ds, and it was part of a woman’s burial mound. It is probably one of our most popular tourist attractions, and the image is also engraved on one of our coins (20kr). So I figured it would be nice to feature it on a table runner for an international swap :o) Now I just hope the recepient will like it!
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Lastly: The Four Seasons Quilt swap has opened for registration for the winter swap. I’ve joined in, will you?

Wishing everyone in Blogland a great weekend!
Sincerely, Anne Ida

The Trysil Bag is Finished

The bag I started in Leanne Beasley's class in Trysil is now finished:

The pattern is called "The Waverley Bag" - to me it is "The Trysil Bag" :o) I'm really pleased with how it turned out (sorry, but colours in the pic are not the greatest). This was my first attempt at needle turn appliqué; the result is far from perfect, but I had fun learning the technique. It is definitely what I will do for appliqué in the future!

This was a fun pattern to do, and being able to attend Leanne's class made it even more fun!
Happy wishes from Anne Ida

I just love this:

I don't know how everyone feels about comics, but I'm a big comics reader (show me a drawn figure with a talking bubble above it's head, and I'll read it :o)), and the other night I happened upon this Snuffy Smith strip on KingFeatures web site:

Isn't it just perfect? *lol* I love the way John Rose have used "quilty" lingo to capture these women gossiping :o)

Wishing everyone a great weekend! Hopefully I'll be able to do some stitching (one project or another) during the weekend, and hope you do too!
Sincerely, Anne Ida