Lookie lookie

Just look what I got for Christmas from my darling Sis



and my oh so sweet and über generous niece Mathilda



Both the jelly roll and the 6 FQs scream Wolfie and it's evident that they where choosen with the heart.

Love both of you!!!

NOTD No 1

Now my quilting friends will think that I have gone totally bonkers, not a word about sewing, just nails.....
Today I did manage to take one acceptable picture of my Christmasy painted nails - thank g-d for little favours - huh? The burple Viva la Diva coated with Mavalas Violet Diamonds simply refused to cooperate with the camera, no matter how many pics I took or which camera I used. Today I used Mavalas Satin Red and coated it with Mavalas Glitter Gold and it does look very Christmasy, but the friggin red thing takes forever to dry and of coerce it puckers. I do understand why I haven't read anything in the Swedish make-up blogs about Mavala - it is simply not good enough to spend time and money on, even though it is very cheap.

Well - it's Christmas Eve which is the main celebration day here in Sweden and in a while we will sit down to have Christmas lunch. At 3pm me and my sis who is in Västerås and probably a lot of people at our age, will sit down in front of the TV and watch "Donald Ducks Christmas Eve". Can't help but giggle a bit since our kids do not understand why I have to watch that show...you can watch it anytime you want on DVD!! But for me and sis, that show is the harbinger of Christmas and one of the few fond memories of our childhood.

So from us all, to all of you A Very Merry Christmas!!

Let it snow

The last week it has snowed here in Stockholm and even though I am not a winterysnowy kind of person, the whole world looks better with it than without. The weathermen sais it will fall some more during the night, so hopefully we will have a white Christmas and the kids can have a real wintery Christmas leave from school.

The Christmas ham is in the oven and me, I have still not managed to be able take any good pics of the burple glittering nails - buhuuu.

If anyone (yohoooo - The DH!!!) would feel inclinded to surprise the socks of me at Christmas (even though we stopped gifts among the grown up years and years ago) this is a fail proof hint;-) I simply swoon at the endless possibilities....

If anyone can/would be sweet to send me instructions on how to take great pics of polished nails that actualy look like the nails do IRL, I would be most grateful. No matter what I try, they still turn out wrong and purple polish is the worse. It's like trying to take great pics of dark blue and purple flowers - they only turn out wrong kind of blueish.

Meanwhile I'm going to sort through my fabrics stashes to find some fitting ones for a pair of owen mitts :-)

2/3 of the male part of the family has this strange affliction when it comes to their hair - they flat out refuse to go to a hairdresser to get their hair cut!! I try to make them realise that I'm truly not educated for this and when it comes to Sam I have managed to flat out refuse until now. He wanted the neck shortened - the hair on the neck sillies, not the actual neck LOL. Even though his hair has the same structure as a horses mane, I threw in the towel and did manage to shorten it the way he wanted and yes, it looks good:-) When it comes to The DH I do try (in vane) every now and then to force him to the hairdresser, but ends up with cutting his hair myself, rather than him doing it :-O After +15yrs I do have his doo down to pat and the quicker I work (and think less) the better it gets. But still, it ain't my idea of fun.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to meet my dearest sis downtown for some Christmas gift swapping and when I'm there (which don't happen very often, just hate crwods of people) I am going to treat myself to a new nailpolish or two:-) Is thinking in the lines of something Christmassy - like dark red and holographic golden glittery. Does such a thing exist? Will we have the stamina and strenght to survive forcing our way through the Christmas crowds?? Only time will tell ;-)

Bygones

You know what? Growing old sucks!! Well I'm not on the brink of death, but well into my middle age....counting on that I get well over 100yrs old that is LOL. But I used to be quite good looking, not astonishing model like beautiful, but still good looking. And I did love make-up…as I said in a former post, ever since I know how…. I been taking good care of my skin and have used moisterizers and anti-aging products since the age of 20 (the sheer horror of looking like my ma who was wrinkeled like a prune when she was 40+ kept me on the right track) so it's only the last couple of years that those horrid little hamster cheeks has occured under the jawline, the grows from nose pass the mouth getting deeper and and that certain parts of my anatomy has moved way south of the border:-( - no matter how good bras, face creams (Freeze 24/7 ice cream scoop is the best ever) or serums (Boot's No7 Protect and Perfect is fab) these little maladies still keep on coming= big total blaaaahhhhhh.

Since I recently found all these fab blogs (many of them Swedish) dedicated to beauty - make up, nail polish and such, it have become painfully clear that I am not prime material for fancy make-up any longer I mean - just try to get a good looking layered eye shadow where it's supposed to go and where there are these less than 100% smooth eyelids that resist being totally beautified. Well, the right one is still a Bells Pareses problem child and its sheer miracle that I can get the eye shadow brush and mascara want into that maze. Come of that will, I am not giving up and am currently using Isadoras Snow fair Holliday Makeup

Luckily for me at least the nails stay the same and I have rediscovered the absolute fun art of growing them and using different pains. Reading the above mentioned blogs make me wanna run out and buy a whole bunch of new polishes and some stamp paraphernalia that I have no clue on how you use, but the result in photographs are stunning. Luckily I have learned a thing or two about my urges;-P so I keep myself in a tight reign and will only buy two new bottles, but lordy me will I have fun trying to find the right ones. And a little fun in all this cold and snow is exactly what I need:-)

Big Love part 2

Those who know me know that I really truly love my kids like crazy and am so immensely proud of them. I now that it's not often parents get a "sign of approval", but we got one today that affirmed that all the hard work, all the struggle and all the TLC we have poured in have really and truly made a difference = YEAHHHHHH:-D I will carry that approval like a badge of love on my sleeve for a very, very long time.

Big Love part 1

Well dahlings - there are loves and then there are loves (material or not) that strike us in different phases in our lives and just have to confess that I have always loved make-up ever since I knew how. You could possibly blame this on my mom who never wore any except a smidge of lipstick and nothing else. And then there was my Granny who always was very well turned out, from her permed hair to her tight and squeaky corset LOL.
I'm one of these people who was born with a face like a canvas - it does extremely well with some make-up on, without its kind of bland LOL and I fortunately I seem to have a very good knack for applying it.

I’ve gone through phases, but always put my makeup on in the morning, in my youth spent much SEK on high end products – some of them I have even spent for 25yrs or so; a black lacquer YSL eye pencil, a Dior gorgeous striped blue case holding an eye shadow palette and an Estee L eye shadows or two. After I quit working in hospitals I even grew my nails nicely long and kept them well polished for years and years. These habits came to a halt with the arrival of The DH and the kids. A halt - not a full stop - more like getting back to basics (except for mascaras:-O) and occasional being more natural, like making my own creams and mineral make-up products. But a year or so ago, I went back to purchasing and occasional eye shadow duo or a lipgloss

It all took a turn when I found this Swedish blog a couple of months ago and later on several of it's sister blogs. I so enjoy reading the reviews everything from hairshampoo, via skincare, makeup and the fascinating world of nailcare.

Since I do not see the necessity anymore to buy overpriced couture make up, I keeping to the budget ones and my fav is Isadora, a Swedish company. I had short nails, that looked good in summer, split in in winters and even sometimes got bitten. Now they have kind of returned to their glam nail roots ;-) and I am totally enjoying myself. I haven’t gone berserk or anything, just a bought a few new bottles in very cool colours and an awesome glitter flake top coat that makes you eyes twinkle with joy. I love it so much, that I have to check out my nails several times each day in different lights LOL.

Why any polish stays on better then the other is something I can't fathom, I mean I do understand that one brand is better than the other, but why two different polishes from the same manufacturer behave differently??? Well if anyone has any idea why this is, just shout out loud:-)

Long time

Well it has been a while, but I'm back. On the 10th of October me and The DH went to Ericsson Globe Arena and watched Fleetwood Mac. WOW!!! What a very very special concert, greatly magical and one of the very best shows I have ever seen in my entire life and I do have been to a concert or two in my life. Second row front...and we was asked to get up and stand just beneath the stage and we ended up just next to Lindsey Buckingham who truly owned the stage that night. I have always thought that Fleetwood Mac was a girl thing, but oh my, they are a men thing with mostly men dancing, digging with happy-happy smiles on their faces in front of the stage - ordinary, straight middle aged men;-) Then I always thought that Stevie Nicks was the front figure, but she kept a rather low profile this evening, letting Lindsey rock away - now that man must be of the top five guitarists in the world today.....even though severe middle aged and suffering from Bells Palsy in that extent that I to listen to the concert with one ear plugged, I did dance my butt of that evening:-D Old loves never die LOL.

What a horror

Anyone care to guess what all these people queue for? Nope, not a rock consert or some free giveaway, but Lego. Yes you read me right – Lego as in kids’ pedagogical plastic building blocks. The local mall has undergone a huge transformation and the first phase is finished, so BR Leksaker (a toy chain) celebrates it’s re-opening today with selling all Lego sets at 50% of. I read the ad in yesterday’s local paper and I admit – its one heck of a bargain since Lego is a rather expensive toy. So I decided to take the kids and be there a bit before opening, imagining a couple of kids queuing up, holding their allowances in their sweaty little hands. At 9.30am this morning we arrived at the scene and what did we see? A whole lot of grown ups, some senior citizens and some kids, mostly babies in prams – all about 20 or so of the grown ups. As time snailed past, the queue grew and imagine our great surprise when 10 minutes before opening, the personal asked us to move over to the other door and in that way managed to change the whole thing so the people who came last all the sudden was first in line. Well at 10am the doors opened and now the real nightmare began… some of the kids managed to sneak under the rolling door, but as the space grew the grown ups started to fight for position and it turned really ugly when 3 women with prams pushed themselves forward in breadth like an medeical ramming rod, staring firmly right ahead not giving a rats patotie about who or what got in their way. And it was the parents etc that fought like crazy in the narrow isles to get over the boxes of choice. Well, if that’s was going to be the way to do thing, to get to the kind of sets my youngest like (the older managed to fight for himself, picking up several boxes of Star Wars Lego), I had to play a bit dirty too. Not too much since it isn’t in my nature, but enough to get most of the things I wanted.

After a while we managed to find each other, checking out that the finds where the right kind of finds and then the real “fun” began – to get it all paid for and get out of there. Easy peasy – right? Just find a casher and flash your plastic! HAHAHAH – that type of store only has two cashiers! And finding where the queue started and getting there was like fighting the trenches in WW1. OMG, people’s sense of right or wrong truly had gone on vacation today, because the queue came from three directions and merge into one, all in the chockfull aisles. I saw John starting to turn white, me I started to shake from the stress and one poor guy round 8-9 suddenly just throw up. Nearing the cashier we saw that the manager had shut the entrance door and outside was as many people queuing for a second wave of inhibited bashful Lego extravaganza. Needless to say we all drew a deep breath of relief when all finally was paid and done fore. And my sweet wise kids said never again and quickly decided that they only could open one small box each today and the rest will be hidden away for Christmas. This was my Christmas shopping will be down to almost nothing this year

To end it all on a sweet gorgeous note – can anynone say PLEASSSSSE?

From left to right: Fiona, Arwen and their BBF Lucas waiting for a meatball:-D

The ellusive curtain hooks

As with most RVs and caravans, ours came with fuggly curtains. I made new lacy under curtains and could use the hooks that came with the old curtains, but the front ones was of the panel kind that hung on thin aluminium rods and that model didn't speek to me at all. Found the right kind of hooks (the same that came with the car) at one of the local RV retailers, but not enough - far from it. They ordered a whole lot of more for me but they have still not arrived and it has gone more than 2 months.

So here I am, with all the curtains made and ready to go up but nothing to hang them with:-( I have been looking at Swedish camping webstores but if they carry curtain supplies, it is not the model I want/need.

Now I''m looking to you folks to help me out - do any of you have a clue on where on the www I can find just these kind of hooks and eyelets? When the hook is attatched to the glider in the first picture,, they are appr. 2.5cm long.





I certainly hope for luck, otherwise I have no clue on what to do;-)

Nya inköp

Tyger fyndade hos Quilt in a Day och för en gångs skulle köpte jag fler än en yard;-) Har inga direkta planer för dessa, mer bra-å-ha.







Ibland får man välja helt själv, så detta blev min födelsedagspresent - en hel packe med en full kollektion av FQ. Blir alldeles glad i kroppen när jag bläddrar bland dem ;-)






Vad det ska bli av dom är en hemlis än så länge:-D

The fabric I need more of

This is teh fabric I'm in dire need of: Color Symphonies by Virginia Robertsson for Paintbrush Studios #VR 281 8Golden Yellow)


This is a closeup of the same fabric.

If anyone might have 1.5-2yrds to spare, please send me an email.

Wolfie

I'm wating

and waiting and waiting and...... fell so frustrated cause I'm waiting.

I ordered a bunch of novels from Amazon.uk, but by some mysterious reasons they take forever to be shipped out and I have nothing but old novels to re-read and honestly, it is kind of boring:-(

I bought the book "Quick trip quilts" by Eleanor Burns I finaly was inspired to use up a Gypsy Rose (from Moda) jelly roll that have been laying about. Said and done, inspired it was since I only used these 2.5in strips, where the pattern call for different widths. Well they turned into a medallion type of design, my only one full flanked by two halfs in a different color. At first I thought, what the h-k, I build on from this, ordering some suiting fabrics online. Then I went with my gut feeling (teamed by good Pickle advice) and ordered two more jelly rolls of the same, to be able to finish up the green medallions as well. While I was at it, I also ordered some new threads - a cone of Surperior Threads top stich and 2 or 3 variegated King Tut.

I have been on the verge of ordering a set of Omnigrid Double Wedding Ring templates, but the companies that sell them don't ship outside of the USA. Why??? I have absolutely no clue, but with my shipping luck, they would turn up in time for Christmas LOL.

To keep my self occupied to not go stark raving mad, I finaly got down to do some work in the green house and at least the tomatoes have got nice new buckets with lot of yummy fertilizer to make them grow bountiful and strong. Next one out is the goldenberries, on demand from my youngest son.-9

Comfortable

The comfortquilt I made for Benji, using the last of the blue strips that I got from the Pickles and a couple of others. The pattern is Pandora's Box from the Lintotts Jelly Roll Quilts book and the backing is long haired fleece for tactile comfort and warmth

Gorgeous

I think my favorite flowers are roses (but they have to smell) and columbines. This gorgeous dark beauty is raised from seeds, but I have no idea about it's name. I find it so facinating that if you take the seeds from one plant and saw it, the new plant most certain will have another color. Mystery by nature LOL.

Welcome home

It's been ready for some days, but I could not post any pics until the recipient was in the air, winging her way over the Atlantic. My niece Mathilda will be lading shortly after 5pm local time after an exiting year in Flint, MI - mom and friends are going to meet up at the aiport. And at home guess what awaits her? The (second) patriotic quilt, this one made from all these gorgeous jelly strips that the marvelous fellow Pickles sent me. I delivered it on Sunday (possible thanks to my darling, who drove me over in the worst downpoor ever) and my sis and me placed it on Mathilda's bed and it looked gooooooood:-D


The top made with blocks inspired from the book Jelly Roll Quilts by the Lintots.


The back made from Mark Lipinski's Califon fabric









I think all the blocks are unique and here is a small collectionof them.

So whatdayathink??? Pretty great - huh??

How lucky am I??

I got tickets to Fleetwood Mac I got tickets to Fleetwood Mac I got...... OK I admit, this is one group I have loved forever and can listen to over and over again, you know like the principal in School of Rock LOL. So when I read a notice in yesterdays paper that it's now official, they are coming to Sweden on the 10th of October to play at Globen Arena I told the DH and batted my eyelashes like crazy;-P

Our experience with getting tickets online here from the official retailer is not the best, it's such a strange system - very unfair and stupid. So imagine my great GREAT surprise when I came downstairs this morning and the DH said he had something to cheer me up with - and showed me 2 tickets in 2nd front row!!!

Oh my oh my oh my......the only concert I ever had such great tickets too was Tina Turner way back in the 80th and that was an experience you never forgot:-D

I'm gonna see Fleetwood Mac, I'm gonna see Fleetwood Mac, I'm gonna see.......

,

You know there are scents and then there are Scents and above is the most fantastic tree peony that my DH managed to run over with the lawmover when it was just a baby, But and this year it bloomed like crazy and was so beautiful and smelled heavenly.

I still have the hardest of times standing commercial, synthetic laded stuff and have this craving for natural, handmade soaps. Lucky me to have a friend who makes the best soaps in the world as far as I am concerned. Hmm, ok, there is one more gal who makes them, but I haven’t tried hers soaps in a very long time.

I’m so lucky to have the owner Justine of the Scented Djinn as my friend and she is the most generous and sweet spirit, added with a witty penmanship and at times sharp tongue. Don’t to mention a soap maker extraordinaire and a natural perfumer heaven sent. Sum all that up and you end up with a woman of my taste entirely ;-)

If you ever is need for luscious all natural botanical soaps and other exiting stuff, this is the place to visit her Etsy shop
I ordered Pachai Ellai White Tea, since patchouli smelling soaps are my top fav ones and let me tell you, I was not disappointed – far from it. Just to submerge my nose into that sweet paisley fabric

made me almost swoon from sheer pleasure. Now soaps don’t come better than that, it’s the kind I would like to stuff my pillow to make my dreams exotic and

The soaps and other goodies wasn’t protected by the usual plastic chips, but with the wonderful pieces of fabrics. This piggy one made my youngest giggle so hard he almost fell down the stairs and a red and gold hibiscus print he claimed for a pillowcase in this room. That boy has a great taste, that’s for sure:-D
I also got a jar of Honey and Violet scrub – ack the scent is wonderful, that made me cheeks as smooth as baby bottoms, an amazing citrus and frankincense hydrosol blend – it smells so intriguing and fascinates me – I couldn’t really fathom what was in there, sniff and sniff again and still kind of ???

To brag a bit about my own achievements - at work today I managed to solve a discrepancy problem in some financial reports all by myself and yesterday I put the last stitches in latest bedspread quilt and my youngest declared “I’m proud of you Mom!” :-D I haven’t photographed it yet, but will be within the next week. Now I really need to get down to learn the basics of EQ6, since I want to design a lap sized comfort quilt as a gift for someone who is in much need of all comfort he can get. It’s going to be in blacks and blues and I do have a design in mind, but I want to be able to play around with the computer first.

Live long and prosperous ;-P

Hate, hate this computer

Coming early summer I have owned this HP Pavilion laptop and during that time it has died and gone stone cold dead into repairs THREE times during the warranty first and only year and several pieces of hardware was exchanged. Since the last time last summer it has behaved well, but during the last weekend it must have decided that it needed a bit TLC again and got fatally ill. Couldn’t access our LAN, to use any application or viewing documents was chewier than toffee and it just was impossible to do any work. Lucky me to have a husband who worked as a computer tech in his youth (loooong time ago so a thing or two has happened with computers since then) and still knows how to fix these things. So after spent in the vicinity of 10hrs with this machine and still not getting it to work, he had to relent to do a full recovery which means that all programs I have installed myself and all documents had to be re-installed. Thankfully I could make a backup before the DH started to dink with it, so I could burn all photos and documents on a CD (totally forgetting there are modern things as memory sticks to use – sigh) and I found all program CDs:-9 But as it happened all times before – all my bookmarks are gone – kaput and that sucks bigtime. I think….on the other hand there might be some hidden meaning in that happening?? Like Ylva – do something else than surf!! LOL

Next time this happens I think I'm gonna get hold of a sledgehammer or run over it with the big car ;-)

I've done it!!!

This is one heck of an achievement and lordy me, am I proud that I pulled it of! It started with the American patriotic inspired pillows showed in an earlier post that I made for a couple we know and ended in this humongous bedspread in the very same colors.

I confess – I had no clue of the amount of work it would take, nor the effort and stamina. In fact, I didn’t think it through at all. I just accepted the consignment and took it from there. My dear Pickle friends knows the various stages I have been through during this process and sewing it all on a “ordinary” sewing machine was on the verge if stupidity, but I don’t think I need to bore you with these details. I just tell you that this bedspread is 260X260cm which is round 2.84yrds, the red, blue and whites are from, Mountain Mist Cream Rose batting from and Henry Glass Cottage for backing. Sewing stuff for others isn’t easy, you might think it’s all fine and dandy, in fact you think you have created something very very unique and great but the recipient might view it differently. So I cross my fingers (toes and everything else) and hope’n pray with all the power of my feverish little hear that it’s new owners are going to love and appreciate it.

The pictures are taken in broad sunlight and the clothesline is pulled it to its full extension, hence the quality and looks of the pictures.

Weird stuff and other musings

There are times when you sit in front of the computer with fat, big ?? circling over your head. Like right now trying to log into my blogger account and getting an error message, therefore couldn't write or view any posts. After a couple of sign outs and ins, the bug let go and enabled me my rights over Wolfiestitchin again :-D

Last night in bed before turning out the lights while reading an old copy of Quilting Arts, I just pointed at an an for a longarm machine and told the DH - that is what I want!! I think he asked some half intelligent questions, but as things stand right now, there is not money or space enough to get such a wonder...buhuuuu.

Today is my youngest's 10th birthday...it's a big difference between being 9 and turning 10 LOL. Apart from his gifts (as usual we spoil them rotten LOL) he had asked for my homemade stirfried noodles with veggies, chicken and shrimps for dinner and asked me kindly if we could add a hefty dose of sweet chili sauce. Of couce we can - hot is GOOOOOODDDD.

I wait for a large package of batting so I can complete the US flag type of bedspread that was commisioned me and I realy need to get my act together to start on some curtains for another friend, not to mention the special project that will be finished in early June. But for class tomorrow night, I think I will start on something new - a Spring themed table runner for our dining table.

Oh, to have something truly great and good to look forward too, I think I'm going to start to save some money each month in a "Wolfie goes to Huston (or Paducah or Chicago or....)" account. Knowing me and how happy I am to buy new fabrics (not to mention the DHs urge to mod his motorcycle again and again), that will probably take some years to accomplish;-P But hey, retirement will allow me to go away for a looooooong time LOL.

Commission work

Not often do I write two posts in day, so this is an exception ;-) , but I am kind of pleased right now.

I do have a job, job - you know that kind where you sit in front of a computer most of the time, pulling this or that data out of the belly of the bank's mainframe or server systems, putting the facts together this way or the other and - getting paid a nice salary.

In most of my free time (that is when I don't do all that mom and housekeeping stuff) I sew. Like an obsessed ;-) To keep hands and mind occupied plus I love the way quilting make me put colors and shapes together, start out here and end there. Honestly - I am mostly pleased with the outcome of my creations (sometimes after having to rip out seam after seam), well even severely proud. And family and friends give praise and my pride sore a bit more LOL.

I know very well that here in Sweden it's almost impossible to earn a living from quilting, so I don't even consider trying. But lately some commissions has happened my way; one a birthday gift (the star pillows mentioned in an earlier post) that was – gifts, the two American patriotic inspired pillows (see below), a couple of plain drapes and three pair of curtains for my best friend and – a double bed (180X200cm) sized bedspread (260X260cm) for the couple with the patriotic pillows. I can’t say what went on in my head when I accepted the bedspread, but there is a first for everything huh? And – I get paid to do what I love to do:- D Ok, straight long seams isn’t very fun, but the end result is still rewarding and I look upon these drapes and curtains when I visit my darling friend and feel mighty pleased that I made them happen.

I have no inclination to drag one of them drape fabric to sewing class on Thursday and the red-blue and white bundled I ordered yesterday (heck I have never spent so much money on fabrics in one go ever) will take a week to get here, so tomorrow I’m going to put together a small kit to make a new wallet. The one I have now, kind of got a wee bit stretched so all the CCs tend to fall out, plus it need a bit of remodeling, putting the coin pocket on the outside instead of the inside.

Time to start dinner, soup Vichyssoise and garlic bread – yummy!

Force of Nature

You know I have two dogs and Fiona, the oldest (+7yrs) is very well obedience trained (for being a Rhodesian Ridgeback that is ;-)). As good in fact we could have competed many years ago. I trust her to never get into any mischief - if there aren’t cinnamon rolls and meatballs involved that is, because for these she can levitate. It’s true; I’ve seen it – from lying on the carpet to rise vertically and snatch that tempting cinnamon roll on the coach table and running for cover LOL..

Fiona don’t get into heat very often, ten or more moths goes by between and so far, they have been mostly fairly easy and never, not once in 7 years has she ever shown any tendencies to try to find a mate and have some moaning and groaning – grin.

This time the heat has gotten to her, she suddenly had an immense appetite, whining all the time like “ohhhh woe is me”. This morning she stood in the dog sofa looking out, whining, and trying to tell me with her eyes to let her out. Not in your life, when it’s the time when most dogs in our neighborhood walks by. But after breakfast I had to let them out, Arwen did her stuff and went back inside – it’s minus 6C for Pete’s sake and no ridgeback stays out for long voluntarily! But Fiona lingered, sniffed here, put her head through the fence looking up and down the street, sniffed some more rounds the ice covered lawn and then took her usual round behind the house. I went back inside and suddenly I saw through the window that the front gate was open, which it had not been just a few minutes earlier. Better safe than sorry so I went round all our property, but no Fiona to be found anywhere.

I realized that there was no idea whatsoever for to get dressed and try to find her, no human ever has outrun/walked a ridgeback and I had no idea what direction she has taken. After 15minutes she came trudging down the street, looking a bit sheepishly, knowing very well she had behaved extremely naughty. As I said – it’s minus 6C outside and no guy dogs in the neighborhood was out alone, so I think Fiona’s mission was incomplete. At least I hope and pray it’s so, because mongrel pups are not my idea of fun. Guess who will be heavily supervised for the rest of the week?? Hint – her name starts with a F ROFLMAO.

Out of the starting blocks

I've started on a special project, made possible by my amazingly generous friends in the Pickle group. These girls (and boys??) sent me 4.0kg (that's round 8lbs) of 2.5in fabric strips in red, blue and white that will last me this project and then some:-)

TAHAHAAAA, now that I have published the pictures I realise that I managed to turn the halv triangle blocks the wrong way in the block to the righ. H-l and damnation, out comes the grim ripper LOL.

Senaste tidens inköp

En liten packe tyger som tullen tog:-(



En trave med tyger köpt från olika webbutiker (på rea förståss) för mitt eget nöjes skull och som tullen inte tog:-D


Amerikansk patriotiskt för beställningsjobb.


Kunde inte moststå en jelly roll av en av de i mitt tycke snyggaste kollektionen som Moda har gjort - Gypsy Rose och att det var nedsatt pris gjorde ju inte glädjen mindre. Det lilla charm packet var också ett reafynd fynd.

Patriotic dreams

Newest design

Sorry for the poor picture quality, but the natural light isn't the best here today:-(

I got so fed up with what we had on the table in front of the couch, so I got creative and designed this runner made out of parts of a charm pack (Moda’s For a cause), some jelly rolls strips and pieces of two other fabrics. Quite “unme” when it comes to interior decoration color choices, but I think it turned out great and – the family agreed in full :-D

There are times

when you just have to laugh very very hard when websurfing - like finding an entire fabric line dedicated to farming and farmmachines of a specific brand. Scroll down and enjoy the John Dere fabrics ;-P

I don't dare

As i told in my former post, I got a Christmas package from my darling friend Candy too, but thanks to the mysterious ways of the Swedish Postal Services, they didn't deliver it on the 23rd of December, but delivered it to the postal "outlet". of course that lazy, afraid of dogs postman didn't even put a note in the mailbox...silly man!

But to look at it from the bright side - I got a nice surprise after the NY :-) and the package contained: some quilting novels, a large bag of candy (and yeahh, I did share it with my kids LOL) and - a Hoffman Bali Pop!

and it look just gorgeous.

I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to certain fabrics I have the hardest of times to put the rotary cutter to them. Heck, I even have a hard time opening up their package to thus destroy the beautiful effect, like with Jelly Rolls and now, Bali Pops. So this pop sits close to my cutting mat, I pick it up every now and then, turn it this way and that and silently whispers - prrrrressssssioussssss LOL.

Just one degree under freezing and some wind factor and it looks like the sun will shine today too - hurray and even though I do hate the cold, I am very happy i don't live in many parts of the USA right now, where it's frrreeeeeeeezing - BRRRRRRR!!

Live well and prosperous:-D

For almost two weeks now, I have tried to come up with the right words that say it all, but the only thing I have come up with is: I do have some pretty amazingly terrific friends in this world.
There I stood in the supermarket checkout line when the DH called telling me I had a package from the US waiting at home for me. I knew for sure that I hadn’t (at that time ) ordered anything from anywhere and that the only package I waited for was a Christmas gift from a dear quilting friend. Imagine my immense surprise when I got back home and found this humongous package laying on the hallway floor. Not only humongous in size but heavy as sin and even though I had seen the sender, I couldn’t for the life of me not even begin to guess what was in it……After patiently cutting up all that cardboard I found some beautiful dark stained wooden things and I knew at once what they all where…a handmade quilting frame!!!


I can be very thoughtful and generous to my faraway friends, but I doubt very much that I would even come up with the idea of sending such a thing to the other side of the world. But Justine http://ohtrueapothecary.blogspot.com did and who knows, it might be one part of her culling scheme?? Whether it was or not, this is the most fantastic gift I have received ever (along with that HUGE bag of patriotic fabric strips from the Pickles over at the Pickle road Studio Yahoo group and my darling friend Candy and her amazing “rescue” packages) and these 3 packages arrived within the timeframe of one week. You know, when I’m met with such generosity and friendship from people I have never met IRL, I’m thrown and stunned and……very very teary eyed and my heart just swells in gratitude towards these gals.

Well after the Christmassy stuff was took down and went back into storage, I could finally get out the sewing stuff again. Our nephew Martin has wished for new covers to two LARGE pillows he has on his bed for his birthday, but my SIL had a problem getting around measuring them up. On Tuesday evening I finally got the measurements 70X70cm and the color Martin wanted was “blue…with something else”. Just let me put it like this – I have never worked so hard at sewing to meet a deadline (yesterday evening), but at 4.30pm yesterday I put the last stitch into the binding and could ask John to hold them for me to take some photos.


Today I had time to finalize the cover of my calendar; very girly girl meet India LOL.

After that I started to work on a design for pillowcases I have got an assignment for along with a bed cover quilt.

It’s dank and grey outside and honestly, I would very much like to snuggle up with the dogs, but I don’t think there is space enough on the couch LOL


so all that is left for me to do is to work-work and wait for about 6 packages with fabrics and threads to arrive. Like my own private little Christmas :-D