Hopfaldera

Two projects

Hey, I said I was not going to a start new project before I had some things crossed of the WIP list, but I did anyway, haha. In my defense I had finished two of the three projects on my list. I already showed you my Indian Blanket quilt. I also finished quilting and binding the Double Dutch random sampler. After I add the label that Lotje is making I'll make a blogpost about the finished project. 

Okay, so what did I make before I finished the Mini Lion quilt? Actually they are two free tutorials, maybe you haven't seen them.

First I started on Kviltstina's Modern Christmas Tree, here is the tutorial. I'm quilting this project right now, so it isn't finished, but this is my quilttop. I will turn this into a wallhanging.

Then I heard friends of ours are having a girl. The baby is due any day now, so I needed a quick pattern. I love Fatquartershop's shortcut quilt videos, so I picked one of them, the Fat Eighth Frenzy. Here is the video and instruction sheet. 

the quilt top

 

the backing

 

 This quilt was really fast and I have it all finished and waiting.

 

 

Some quilt blocks

Here are some quilt blocks I made recently from tutorials that can be found on the world wide web. I thought I'd show you my versions and give you links to the tutorials, so you can make them too.

Grandmother's Puzzle

I made the Grandmother's Puzzle for Gina in Bee Europa. I think she picked lovely fabrics for this one. Here is the tutorial on Quilter's Cache.

Ladies' Aid block 

These Ladies' Aid blocks were made for a do.Good Stitches charity quilt that Nicolette will finish. The tutorial for these blocks is on her blog here.

Anchor block

I made this Anchor block for the Boat and Beach quilt that Eva-Marie will finish for do.Good Stitches. Take a look at all the blocks that are being submitted in our Comfort circle Flickr group. The tutorial for the Anchor block is here.

Dutch windmill

And this is the Dutch windmill block that I made following a tutorial Eva-Marie made for our Double Dutch Random Sampler quiltalong. You can still quilt along if you want. You use blocks you already have and add blocks you like until you have a nice collection that could turn into a quilt. Details and inspiration are here.

Have fun with these tutorials!

Waiting for Spring

Finally, finally, I have finally finished my Waiting for Spring Blockapalooza quilt. It started with blocks I made following a quiltalong in the winter of 2011 (really...). The block tutorial links can be found here on Flickr but I'm not sure all the links still work. Try them though, they are great blocks!

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Actually I am glad I waited with quilting this quilt, because my confidence and skills in free motion quilting are so much better than they were even a year ago. If I had quilted it any sooner the quilting would have been a lot more boring. I'm not saying it's perfect, but at least it is varied. It is truly a sampler, with 16 different blocks and 16 different FMQ patterns.

 

The back of the quilt has a panel that I originally made for the front. It moved to the back because it was a bit too much, too specific. It has a story to it though: it is a representation of the cycling path that I had to take quite often in the period of the quiltalong. On the same days that the block patterns were published, twice a week. Each time I cycled to and from a medical appointment (nothing dramatic, but still not much fun) and after I arrived home a new pattern would be waiting for me. I like motivators and rewards like that!!

I'm really glad I finished this UFO, now I have a nice quilt to sit under while I'm waiting for spring! This was my goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes for January (entry #65 in the goalsetting party), so I'm linking to the finishes party. 

Thank you, quilt photo helpers!!

 

 

Giveaway Day

 

***Comments closed! Winner will be announced shortly*** 

Yes, it is Giveaway Day once again, or actually Giveaway Week, as this giveaway (and all the others over at Sew Mama Sew) will be open all week for you to enter and try your luck!

What will I be sending to my lucky winner this time?

These are the goodies:

A metric fat quarter of alphabet fabric, a good size scrap of fairy tale deer fabric, washi tape with happy bunting, and a card that says Smile! These last two are from the Dutch department store HEMA (the HEMA, as we say). Do these look good to you? Then you'll want to read on.

What do you need to do to win?

It's simple: please leave a comment on this post, telling me your favorite color. Everyone can enter only one time, international entries welcome! On Friday the 13th of December (will it be you lucky day?) at 9 pm (my time here in The Netherlands) I will close the comments and let a random number generator choose the winner. Make sure you leave your email address in the comment form or in the comment, so I can contact you if you win!

It is not a requirement for winning this giveaway, but it would be great if you would visit my blog again. Please consider following me on Bloglovin'!

Good luck and Happy Holidays!!

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:

 
 

Waiting for spring

 

Oh my, the winter is long! We had our real winter (with snow and ice, and having to stay inside because of slippery streets and cold weather) in December already, so now I'm just waiting for spring...

 

Every Monday and Thursday, spring takes a little step towards us, because on those days a new block pattern in the Block-a-palooza Quilt Along is being published! This quilt along is so much fun! The end result is still a mystery, but up to now the blocks have been a lot of fun to make. There have been 8 already, and we'll get 8 more!

 

I don't have the fabric that the quilt along originally uses (Sunkissed by Moda). I use fabric from my stash (I have enough!). When I select my fabric I use colors and prints that are similar to the fabric used in the tutorials. I have decided to use City Weekend by Oliver + S and Dream On (both from Moda). I have a layer cake (10" squares of fabric) of each of those lines. Plus I use some solids, that I bought at the market in town for this project, and some other prints from my stash. See my blocks up close here!

I can't wait to see the end result, but I also like that it is going slowly. We might actually have spring by the time I finish the quilt!

 

My rainbow

Your rainbow is shaded violet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is says about you: You are a creative person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

That was a bit of webfun!

 

Bee blocks in pairs

For October I made three pairs of blocks for the virtual quilting bees I am in.

 
A pair of string blocks for Sew Buzzy. There are many tutorials for this kind of block on the web, for example here.

 
These are stashbuster blocks for do. Good Stitches, the charity bee I'm in. The tutorials for these super cool blocks are by Little Miss Shabby.

 
And these are star fling blocks for Bee Europa. These blocks are only 9.5" square, and they give a really well balanced star. I mean if you turn the blocks or your head 45 degrees you see that the points are lined up that way too, cool (in a quilt nerd sort of way, I guess)! The tutorial can be found here.

 

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!!

Bee block round up

Every so often there needs to be a quilting bee block round up, a summary of the blocks I've made since the last round up so I can get on with the next blocks. So here it is:

For Isabel (Bee Europa July) I made these stash buster blocks, using the tutorial by Little Miss Shabby, and Isabel's own excellent explanation. I love the look of all those little squares!!

 

For Simone (Sew Buzzy August) I made this pink and yellow block. She asked for a block with right angles and some (or a lot) of the princess fabric she sent along with all the sweet pink and yellow prints. Making this block felt like making a page in a story book, fun!! The final quilt will be for Simone's 4 year old daughter. I hope she'll have sweet dreams under the quilt!

That was it for now. But there will be a new round up soon, because I'm working on 6 blocks for the 3rd quarter of the 3x6 Bee and we'll get a new assignment in Bee Europa soon!