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I am bringing this button to the surface.

Susan usually tells me to renew this post. This time I wanted to be upfront (should have done it several times since last time), but times flies and my mind is occupied with "everything else".

Package form Keepsake quilting
I picked up my parcel at the post office, and left this world into my own little quilting world. ;o)

Books, I love books. They give me a lot of pleasure. I enjoy the text and pictures. I imagine my own fabric used in the projects, and dream of new stash. It is funny how I “sew” a lot of nice quilts in my mind.

And I got the next two kits, in the series of 4, from McKenny Ryan. I love her style. These are meant to be on the kitchen wall in our new cabin. I have open the first two kit and cut out the pieces. No rush. Kitchen is not ready yet.

… … and I do have other obligations to see to first!

Baggie from Carmela

I got it. And I got confirmed my story of the content. It contained gorgeous fabric. Look at the delicious colours.
Take a closer look at the green one. It is already embellished!
There were also a beautiful selection of lace, I believe some of them are crochet by Carmela her self, and a handful of selected sequins chosen especially for me. I love them. I love the whole content. Now I just need more time to sew!

Look out! Baggie is on its way!

Yesterday I called the customs. I do not know how many times my call were transferred, but I am not far out saying at least 5 times. Grrr….
Anyway, I told my story of what I could imagine were inside the package. Crazy quilting is not a common hobby in Norway.
The last lady I talked to, the one actually holding my baggie, she understood when I said: imagine you tidying up your grandmas sewing box, and this is all the stuff you would say is rubbish, is for me is a treasure.
She could imagine, and now the baggie is on its way again, in my direction. ;o)

... … on the same time there were a note in the mail telling me there is a parcel at the post office for me to pick up… … from Keepsake Quilting... ... I have to wait until today to pick it up.

I know what’s inside and I am so excited. Almost like Christmas!

Yes, I can never get enough. And now the US dollar is soooo “cheap” it is an excuse for shopping… …

Bright Fantasy Flowers
… … …On black fabric - swap.

These are some of the flowers I’ve made and sent to my swap partners. These were fun to do. I have appliqué them in the car on our way to the cabin this summer (not on the way back home, cause my hands were always dirty).
I love them. I have even made more then needed. Gonna keep them as company for the other flowers who will enter my mailbox in the upcoming weeks.
Hoping this will turn out as a nice quilt. Not knowing how, yet … …

Baggie form Carmela
The baggie of goodies from Carmela is stopped by the customs. :o(
Today I got a letter from the Norwegian customs saying they need to see a receipt for the ordered goods. The label tells them it contains fabric and sewing supplies.
I assume it is samples, cut of pieces, odds and ends, just small treasures we crazy quilter use, like all the other baggies I have swapped during 2007. This is a gift!
I need to call them tomorrow, trying to persuade them to understand.

Sorry to say, I am not to optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted.

Baggie from Maire
Look what I got. And it only took 5 days to get to me!
And now I have found the time to open and enjoy it.

A big Thank You to Maire!
It contained a big piece of lace-fabric and a beautiful silk print,that is soooo adorable.
Look at al the yummy thread and ribbon. Maire told me it is from 'hand-dyed fibres'. Lucky me!
Have you spotted the flower beaded lace? I need to add such for my Christmas wish list :o)
And the fancy beads! Oh I look forward to use them.
Last, but not least: the stationary and postcards. Glenn just had to become owner of half the amount of pencils and stickers.

Thanks a lot!

Precious Petals postcards

I have received 3 out of 4 so far. They are just so delicious!
They are from:
Aynsley, Elizabeth and Lorri

I saw this swap at the “Surface Design Group” on the internet. I is a great Yahoo group that do a lot of experimenting on fabric. And of course I have to participate in some of them.

Mine were made by using stiff interfacing, like the one we use when making bowls. (glue on both sides) Then I added light fabric, then fusible web. Now the fun part: arranging the flowers. The flowers are pressed/dried in a book with kitchen tissue. (Old fashioned, and time consuming. I know).
To keep the flowers in right position I used organza ribbon. Ironed and stitched the ribbon to make sure the flowers stayed in place. Then I ironed the fabric on the back side and used a waterproof pen to make it look and function as a postcard.
I have not asked if they were OK when they arrived in the mailbox to the recipients. My cards were sent open, not in envelopes. I think this is half of the fun.

Precious Petals

My set of postcard left Norway some while ago. I thought I would not show them to all of you before the participants of this swap had an opportunity to receive them first.
This swap was fun to do, even though I ruined a lot of flowers and postcards before I was satisfied with the result. It is “real” flowers in these cards.

Helina’s DYB

My first thought: This one is going to be easy. I love the purple colour, and the theme she choose, would not cause to much difficulties.
My second thought: How do I solve this without ruin the block.
All of her blocks contained a butterfly or two. I just had to continue that style.
And flowers, lots of flowers, I love them as well. Therefore I added some in different styles.
I hope she like my stitching. I serially love her set of DYB’s.
I am looking forward to see her result.

½ on ½
I 2006 I participated in a ½ on ½ swap. It was my fist crazy quilt swap. Actually it was my fist international swap. And there has been several after this one.

This swap I did not know what I signed up to, but I loved the challenge.
I made one block of each color combination aloud (4).

Black - White
Pink – Purple
Yellow – Green and
Red – Blue

Then I received 4 blocks to embellish. Wow. How fun. I loved it!

After a lot of waiting I received 4 blocks back home. 3 of them were original mine, but the Red-Blue one were swapped in this pink-purple.

We were not told we would get “our own” blocks back, but if the lady who made this lovely block (Renea Aldrich, WA) got my Red and Blue, I would suggest a swap?

If there is anybody out there with any information on this, please give me some feedback. I will not assembly my blocks into a quilt this year….

Baby Boy (no 2)

My DH’s DD gave birth to our GS. :o)
This makes me a “grandmother”. Not for real, it is not my daughter, but I love them all.
Glenn has become an Uncle. He is so proud. He is even making a quilt to Adrian (Baby Boy’s name).

This is the quilt I made for the little boy. I knew it up front it was to be a boy; therefore I made this one too in the shades of blue.
Hope he will treasure it, and use it.

Cobi’s DYB
Next round of the DYB is completed. Cobi had chosen purple and beige color combination with a touch of olive? Anyway I loved the colors but where terrified about the theme: Jugendstil (Art nouveau). Oh, my god. How do I handle this?
I jumped the internet, searching for pictures to help me sort this challenge. The information I gathered were impossible to transfer into stitches.
After a week or two I dared to start stitching.

If Cobi agree with my outcome of this challenge, I do not know yet, but I hope she will give me some feedback on this. I loved to stitch in these tones of color and was pretty satisfied with the result.
I do look forward to see the outcome of this project. The story tells me it’s going to be “something” nice.

Wilma’s DYB
It is better late than never.
I finally came around to do Wilma’s block. She had chosen the theme Jeanne d’Arc. I found it very difficult. I looked through several books and internet sites for inspiration.

I found out a lot about that lady. How interesting. Question is: how should I solve this one?
I love Wilma’s choice of color, so tender and delight. Think about it: Opposite of Jeanne or not?
Anyway….

The 30.may is the memorial day of Jeanne d’Arc. I stitched it on the block, together with a ribbon and some beads. I also decorated the block with some “ordinary” stitches, buttons, sequins and beads. I even made a “flower” of organza ribbon and decorated it.

Color of Joy!
It is done! (a couple of weeks ago..)
Finally I’ve come around to show you all my result of the swap: Color of joy.

I think it turned out pretty nice. I have decided to give it away to Inger. She is the lovely person, who has helped me, to get my son safe to school for 3 years.

I hope she will appreciate abd use it (keep her warm).

Baby Boy (no 1)

Our neighbors got a baby boy. I don’t know when. But it has arrived!
Well, we heard the rumor sometime this winter. I have been looking for some signs ever after. Approximately 2 months ago I saw the belly. Yes! I was so happy for the next door couple. They have been married for …at least ten years… and finally they were blessed with a baby. It came into this world, one day early in May. I have made a blanket for the most wanted baby in the neighborhood.

This is how far we’ve got.
This weekend we have been “working in the garden”. We have been digging a ditch for the main electric cable. It’s been hard work, even though we used a machine. The soil is stuffed with stones, sometimes very big stones. But now it is done. ;o)
These are pictures of the cabin so far.
Outside

Kitchen

Livingroom.

We hope it will be “usable” this summer.

I’ll never forgive you
if my son turns out to be a quilter!
This is what my DH said to me late yesterday evening, after our son had gone to bed.
For those of you who do not know Glenn Andre, he is 9 years old and loves to create with his hands (and he is good at it!).
Why did my DH say things like that. I believe the picture speaks for itself. ;o)

Glenn is going to be an uncle to a boy late this month, and decided he wanted to make a quilt on his own, for the little baby boy.
The quilt is designed by Glenn, all the pieces are cut out by him. Here you can see he is stitching all the pieces. He’s got 5 days to go…..
I’ll post a picture of the quilt when it is accomplished.

Round Robin
A couple of weeks ago I received back home my RR. It has been on a trip “around the country”, 4 stops including home ;o)

As you all can see it is my “blog-face” who was my center block. And the result is amazing. The way it turned out is just beautiful. It is more than I ever hoped for.
Thanks to all the lovely ladies who are so talented.

I am so lucky to be a part of the Yahoo-group “Stoffbytte- klubben” (swapping of fabric group).
This internet group has given me a lot. New friends, new experience and knowledge. Plus a lot of fabric, projects and piles of swapped blocs. I love it.
I’ll post more later on…..so stop by…..

I am so sorry

for having been absent for over a month.
First I want to thank you all for popping by my blog, even though I did not post anything new for you to enjoy. The last month has been very busy, and I do apologize to you all for not shearing the small stitches I’ve made. ;o)
(I have done a few…)

Now I am going to try justifying a little bit….

This is a picture of our cabin one month ago. It has been hard work, but we love it. My hands have been dirty into late evenings for weeks now. I’ll try to post a new nice picture of the cabin next week. We have come far in one month ;o)

2. baggies

left my house a week ago. It is for my two swap-sisters outside Norway. One goes to US and the other one to Israel. (Maire in US e-mailed me yesterday saying she received it already and that she loved it)

I love swapping. And I wish I had more time to sew. There is so much I want to do!

Susies DYB

This is how it turned out. I knew I had a broche with angels somewhere. And I found it, and used it!
Along with some nice silk thread and silk ribbons, I added some pearls. I h6*e Susie like my contribute.

Butterflies!

Another butterfly came around. Isn’t it gorgeous!
I have participated in a postcard swap, and this is one of the two I will receive. I love it. It makes me longing towards summer. Thank you, Janne.

Round Robin last lap
Mushrooms

Why mushrooms? Well, why not. Either you love them, or you hate them. I love their color, shape and taste. But this one seemed a little bit difficult. And then again I love a challenge.
This Round Robin had given me a lot of new concerns. None of them has been symmetric. (Mine neither) I wonder why? My idea about this issue is, I think I have entered a group of quilters who don’t look at themselves as ordinary quilters. (Meaning no harm). We are all individuals and we are all special. The work that arrived in my mailbox, who is from this group, is nice, tidy and of high quality. Each and every one has given me a feeling of being incompetent. Or in another way of saying: What can I do to keep up the nice work and beautiful choice of colors? And that is the words I hear from others in the group as well. Or any group as the fact. Why can’t we be proud of our work? And say it out loud!
I am proud of my contribute to this nice piece of work!
Now I have sent it to its owner, Berit, and I do look forward to see what she makes of it. I feel I am a part of it.

Butterflies!
My butterflies will be home soon. I know they are on their way.

Susie’s DYB arrived.

Last Saturday Susie’s DYB arrived at my place. Usually I say arrived safely, but this time they did not. The fist thing I saw was the plastic envelope they use in the postal service when something is damaged. (I know after 15 years of serving in the postal system.)
Inside were the damaged envelope and the plastic bag Susie used to protect her blocks. It looked like it’s been tewed by a dinosaur and spitted out again. Then I grabbed the blocks, counted them, and was relived all 6 of them had made it. Next step was to see if there were any damages to the blocks. Luckily it seemed they made it thru the terrifying experience of postal service. I was relived, but not for long.

Oh no! Then I realized there were no paperwork or any instruction. No journal along with the blocks. The guidelines told us to make one, and therefore I expected one.
Well it was missing. I’ve been on the e-mail to Susie and told her what has happened. I hope she will mail me a new one.

I love her blocks. They are delicious. Nice and calm. Her choices of color are warm and comforting. And her idea of theme is angles. I love the romantic shade of color and theme.
But before I get started I need to do some other stuff that I got on my “need to do” list.

This is the block I choose.

My weekend at Hell.
Yes, that right, I’ve been at Hell.
Hell is the name of the community outside the Norwegian town Trondheim. It was at the Rica Hell Hotel the yearly meeting/happening of the Norwegian quilt association were held.
Is has been a wonderful weekend. Exhibitions, shops, food, wine, old friends, new friewns, , classes, show and tell. Not rated in that particular line of order, but it sure was busy and fun. I loved it.

It is also nice to get a face to go with the names I know from the internet quilting lists.

I attended 2 classes of sewing. Both classes were a 3 hours class of sewing by hand (didn’t want to carry my sewing machine). Not much time to make a big quilt, but the intention was to learn something new and t6 be social…And I achieved my intentions.

First calss i attende where a stichery class. I finaly menaged to do some french knots :-)

Second class was “Sewing over paper”. It is a lovely way of sewing by hand. You can bring it everywhere. Well it is not a new technique for me. I do have some WISP’s in this technique. (I have told you about one of them......)

Do you remember another one of my posts published about a block lottery? I entered the lottery with 5 Honey Bee blocks, and became a lucky winner of 20 blocks to make a whole blanket! Yeah! And the funny is: all of my 5 blocks came home again.

Pic on its way....

Is there anybody who knows of a nice way of assembly all these blocks into a nice quilt? The colors are interesting, and just sewing the blocks together will be boring and not do all of these nice blocks any justice. I will appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

I promised my self no shopping and I managed to keep my promise!

Amazing!
During a job of cleaning, rearranging and sorting some of my old stuff, .....and starting a new project, I came across a piece of fabric that caught my attention.
I have never before seen anything like this. I know you might use fabric the wrong side out. (Depending on the fabric). But this is different. There are actually two different prints on this little piece of fabric. It is reversible!
Is there anybody out there who could tell me some more about this phenomenon?

What have I been up to lately?

Well, I got my self a new job, part-time, and that takes time. Then I got myself a second “job”, which means even more time out of my sewing room. (Luckily this job is in a quilt shop. If you are curious have a peek at: www.kaktusquilts.no )

And then we have the “cabin”. This is how far we got…..Now we are waiting ........

I have not done mutch sewing lately, but I do pick up the needle now and then…..
I’ll give you some hunches…….

Santa’s…..

Stars and stripes……

These are both WISP’s I have picked up lately...

Warm and cosy….(I just had to…)

....and brum-brum.....


And then I am preparing for my trip to Trondheim. Oh! I look forward to a weekend doing stitchery classes, shopping, exhibitions, meeting friends, new and old. Quilt, Quilt, Quilt!
Just 2 weeks of waiting.

Oh, and I almost forgot.

I have recieve a postcard from Torbjørg and 3 nice ATC's from Jeannina. Thanks to both of you.

I almost forgot

to show you my result of the Colour of Joy quilt. The top is ready and sent of for quilting on a long arm machine. I am “sorry” to say it is too big for me to do on my own. And it became bigger than the original pattern.

And last week I made approximately 100 of these…..

and we have started to build our new cabin. Therefore I do not stitch as much as I want to. Later when the cabin is done.....

1x1” Charm Swap done
I promised you yesterday to show you the red/gold set I made for my self. This promise I can keep.

And before I wrapped them all up and sent them to Sara, I took the time and spread them out and took a picture of them all together. It is not a good picture but you all get the idea. No wonder I wanted to keep them all for my self.
Now I just have to wait for the mailman to bring me my 54 red/gold charms in return. When he does I’ll post picture of all of them.

Today I got a “brilliant” idea of what to do with all the charms I’ll receive in the nearest future. (Hope it is brilliant).
If you are curios, stay tune and pop by…...

Set no. 6 done.

It is the last set to leave the house.
My own set is almost done as well, but I need to get these 6 sets mailed. I'll get back to my own set later in another post. I promise.

To day I am going to send to another "swap sister" one of my "Unfinished Quilting Project". It is a brilliant idea of dieting. I just lost 10 kilos. Funny! LOL. For those of you who know AnnaKa it is her "Gobelinløper" I've sent to America. Well, I’ll receive another project in return.
Looking forward to receive it.

And I bought my self a new digital camera this weekend. I had one, but battery was loosing its power to fast. Grrr.
My new camera, witch is much better than the old one technologically, but, is just 1/10 (!) of the price of the old (5 years) one. I was told that’s what happens.
OK...If I wait for another while I'll get the very best laptop for free???

Set no. 4 and 5.
My green set for Kathy and my purple set for Jamie, are now packed and ready to go. Just one set to go and that’s Carol’s gold ones.

Pictures are getting better.....

ATC

(Artist Trading Card)
My first set of such. These are 2 ½” x 3 ½ “. These tiny pieces of art, are made from fabric and by different techniques. These are also fun to do. Later this month I’ll send them to somebody. Why do I love doing things that are totally useless?

Another two sets

of my 1x1” charms ready.
Now it is the turquoise sets for Cathy and Judy.
(Sorry, still bad photos)

Later today I got purple and green ready. Just going to try something new in shooting better pictures.

1x1” Charm Swap
I was asked by Sara (who is the hostess of this blog/list/swap) to post pictured of our progress.
She said: “we are very curious ladies and this boost the imagination for all the participants! “ Well, I do not know where to find the other participants blogs. But it doesn’t matter. It will be like being pregnant and know if it is going to be a girl or a boy. I would NOT know.
Anyway I will post pictures for those of you who would like to see.

These are my 9 pink for Susan. 6 sets to go….

(I'm such a bad fotogrefer on close-up's. Sorry)