Hopfaldera

What I did

This week I prepared fabric for the 6 blocks I'll be making for my fellow hive members in the 3X6 bee this quarter. I picked and tested a block pattern (it's still a secret) and I needed to cut 10 5" squares for everyone. Here is a sneak peek at the pile of squares.

 

Also this week I put my Etsy shop into permanent vacation mode. It means I quit Etsy. I had been feeling bad about the shop for a long time (no sales, and no clear indication of what to do about it, and consequently feeling bad about my products). Then I read on Carina's blog that she quit her shop on Etsy and a bit about why. Then I clicked on to the info she suggested and read some more. What I found out is that what I thought being part of Etsy was good for (the online community, treasuries, showcases and category pages) actually only generate 4 or 5 % of the sales, and that most sales follow from people being directed from a blog or other place directly to a product they want. This is exactly how I bought the Denyse Schmidt fabric last week. I knew what I wanted and just clicked directly through to somebody´s listing. So I quit Etsy. I don't want to feel bad about what I make. Because generally I feel really good about what I make! Just from within myself and also from people around me and all the nice people on Flickr that comment on what I show there. Only Etsy made me feel bad! And that is just stupid, right!

 

And then finally (or wow, already!) I finished the top of my Block-a-palooza Quilt. Find all the links to the block patterns here.

 

I'm taking a break now, but for when I return I have lots of new plans and ideas:

* the 3X6 blocks, of course

* this Supernova Quilt Along looks great

* this Japanese + and X Quilt Along looks wonderful too

* and I want to make a skirt for the summer from this fabric

 

On my break this is what I am going to read:

 
 

Lists

I need to post a list of projects I need or want to finish before Christmas. And also a list of projects that are floating in my mind, in various stages of finished-ness and concrete-ness. So, just to clear my head a bit:

Before X-mas

* three more swap ornaments (for a swap organized by Arawa)

* star mug rug, pattern from Fat Quarterly Holiday edition

* 3x6Bee 4th quarter blocks (3 done, 3 to go)

* Bee Europa November block (fabric received)

* Sew Buzzy November block (fabric not yet received)

 
random photo: a plant that grows on the gravel underneath a wind turbine in France 

Next year

* finish my pickle dish quilt along mini quilt (if I have time it'll move to the list above)

* make the next border of my medallion quilt (will also move up if possible)

* finish my Bee Europa quilt

* finish my Sew Buzzy quilt

* finish my Friendship Star quilt

* finish my spiderweb mini quilt

* make a quilt I saw in Material Obsession 2

* use the Quilt As You Go method to prepare the blocks I received in the 3x6Bee before sewing them together

* Figure out what I want to do with my Etsy shop. I have such a hard time accessing the Etsy website, it's extremely frustrating! So I might end up getting a shop on a different kind of platform.

* Do something (...?) with a fabric jelly roll I got a while back

* Same as above with two fabric layer cakes

* Make some mug rugs, to practice some techniques and get with the mug rug trend (look here if you haven't heard of mug rugs yet)

* Order Anna Maria Horner Innocent Crush velveteen fabric for a skirt (I might move that one up; ordering is easy!!)

* Ever finish 2 UFO knitting projects

 

Fresh September

The new school year already started a couple of weeks ago with Damaris in the first year of secondary school (very exciting for her, and for us all) and Emil in 4th grade at the school we know inside out, with the same trusted teacher as last year. Today, on the first day of September, I am starting to feel the effect of the new routine. This means some fresh new activities!

* My yoga and ceramics classes will start in about a week.

 

* I'm excited to check out some new things that are planned for September in quilty blog land: Project Modern by the Modern Quilt Guild, a new round of the Quilt-As-You-Go Quilt-Along, a quilt-along with Fat Quarterly. Do you know of any other new projects, tell me!!

* I got myself lots of wonderful new fabric:

 
a charm pack cut out of vintage sheets, by JeniB on Etsy

 
Christmas half-yards, I got from Sew Mama Sew

 
a Christmas layer cake, I got from the Fat Quarter Shop

* I have some fresh new craft books:

and I'm even quoted in one of them, Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause. Pretty cool!

 

The others are by bloggers I've been following for a long time: Alicia's Embroidery Companion: Classic Designs for Modern Living, and Hillary's Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love.

* New months, and new assignments, in my virtual quilting bees: stars for Anita in Bee Europa, flying geese for Melinda in Sew Buzzy, square-in-square blocks suitable for a boy in do. Good Stitches (I already made those).

 

 

I'm glad the sun is coming out today, and will be in the next few days. I'm not ready for a new season yet! Let us enjoy just a little bit more of the summer season before it gets really fresh!!

Zippery

When I go on vacation I like to use little pouches to keep my luggage organized. I have a big one for all the daily things I use like my toothbrush, tooth paste, hair brush, lipbalm, face cream, etc. I have a separate bag for emergency stuff like band-aids, aspirin, tweezers, desinfectant. And I have a little one for some jewellery (it's always nice to have something to dress up your t-shirt when you go out to dinner).

If you like the idea of organizing your stuff in pretty zipper pouches, you could get one that I made. I have several lined and unlined pouches in my Etsy shop.

 

Valentine

Do you want to get something for your Valentine? Here are some suggestions...

A zipper pouch that can be used for gift wrapping but is also a gift in itself

 
 
A love bird

 

A bib for Baby Valentine

 

All (and more) available in my Etsy shop!

Help Haiti!

I think nobody missed that there was an earthquake with many victims, in one of the world's poorest countries, Haiti. As frustrating as it may seem, giving money to charities is the only sensible thing to do right now. Making a nice blanket for one of the victims would be great but there is just no way to get that blanket to someone over there, and the people in Haiti first need their lives saved before they can start adding color and comfort to their lives. Large charitable organizations have just the best opportunity to do good work at the moment. In the Netherlands you can donate to Giro555.

There is still a way to help by using your craft. Craft Hope is setting up an Etsy shop to earn money for Doctors without Borders so they can do their work in Haiti. I donated an item from my Etsy shop to the shop. You can help as well: by donating items to the shop or by actually buying something in there.

Go to the Craft Hope site. There is information on how to donate your work and there will be a link to the shop as soon as it is open. I will put up a link as soon as I can. edit: You can find the shop here!

This is the item I donated.

Window sill

Today I want to show you my window sill.

These are all treasures I've had since I was small. The rabbit is a pencil sharpener. I made the ceramic box myself.

Some great beads I found at a new shop in Leiden, Bijoux Le Nur. In a bowl by me.

Beads made from leather and kauri shells, and a turquoise bead. And birds and cups by me. More ceramic birds. 
 

2010

What are my plans for 2010?

I'm continuing my classes in ceramics, yoga, and fabric design

 
 

I will be participating in Bee Europa all year long

We will go to China in May, and are planning to visit the US in the summer

I will continue to get most of my books from the library instead of buying them

I want to make a quilt for Damaris and a quilt for Emil

First I want to finish the Friendship Star quilt (with an Ohio Star here and there) that I started

I should finish the knitting projects that I had planned: a sleeveless sweater for Frederik and a cardigan for Damaris (my note book on Ravelry)

I'll try to give even more handmade presents this year (I did a good job around Christmas)

 

I will keep on crafting, blogging, keeping shop on Etsy, having fun on Flickr

P.s. Did you see, the passport wallet I made last summer was in Sew Hip Magazine 13, in the Readers Gallery? I can't figure out why they didn't use the photo of the much nicer outside of the wallet???

 

Go Green (or green and pink)

When I go into town I always bring my own shopping bag (or at least I try). I am really trying to avoid using those plastic bags that you still get everywhere. I do it for the environment, but a fabric bag also looks much more stylish than a flimsy plastic one! And it doesn't cut into your hand either!

I have some fabric tote bags in my Etsy shop. Two with a green eco style and two that are more whimsical, but equally environment friendly when you use them. Go green!!

Go to my Etsy shop for Christmas gifts for the people you love, or treat yourself to something nice!