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

In time

I must say that I’m mighty pleased with my achievements this year and – that they all were finished in time. I came halfway with the Softie Slippers for my sis and then had to wait for the gripper fabric to arrive, hoping, begging, praying that it would arrive in time – which it did. When they was all done, I decided to add some “bling” to them.

The tote bag got ready too and then a decorative purse (also for sis and her American coins) and at last, the Christmas gift for my niece Mathilda, a real goodie bag
made from the Nest jelly roll I got together with the charm pack and filled it to the brim with Swedish candy.

At the last minute, I decided to make new placemats and even though I did opt for the very easy way (panels) I still had to add some borders, quilt them and do the binding and the very last stitch was put into them on the night before Christmas Eve.


Today I made one more bag made with the Nest jelly roll; I wanted something nicer than just gift paper to cover the bottle of wine we are taking with us to a dinner party this evening. For the first time in eons of time, me and the DH are invited to a party without kids (and dogs) – what a treat:-D

Caught in the middle

Have it ever happen to you that you started not one, but two projects only to find you are lacking material to continue either on them? This happened to me this week - first a tote bag made with a gorgeous moda charmpack "Nest" that a darling friend sent me. I decided to use it to make a sort of modern art tote bag and lined each square with black modal fabric. Oh it does look good, but to use that thick heavy fabric for the top, bottom and sides of the front and back panel simply would not work. So I needed something softer, like a nice black corderoy which I of course lacked of. So that project was set aside and I started on a gift (very usable) for my sis (Åsa - naninaninahaaaa ) and got it under way until I realised that I did not have enough of a very important part. Well the corderoy I can get here, but this speciality stuff have to be ordered from the USA and I have, so now I can hope for that the USPS and SPS will work in a jointly haste so I'll be able to finish it of before my sis leaves for Flint MI to spend the Christmas with her darling daughter.

Live well and sew easy;-)
Wolfie

Back to my fragrant roots

Before there was quilting, there was botanical natural perfumery. Well at least that was my main passion in the creative department until I got sick and once more couldn’t stand scents. But early this summer I got kick started by a group assignment and managed to create an Eau de Cologne that I named “Howl at the moon” and this is the first scent I have ever created that I actually could stand smelling day after day, so I might be on the mend – heh?

I have been into my studio quite frequently because the fragrant materials share the room with all my quilting stuff. I have picked up a vial here and a bottle there, but nothing has called my name. Until today; after having mused over vanilla in its various forms, I finally cleared the desk in my study enough to start a small trial blend. Vanilla me here and vanilla me there… a tad of aged patchouli, some home brewed tinctures: beeswax, Grasseouse (is there such a word??) lavender honey and green pepper corns start to make it interesting. Found no flowers to add, so a bit of lingonberry tincture steered the blend away from overly sweetness and there I stopped for today. If it’s one thing I learned over the years, it is not to go happy galloping, adding this or that until it all turned into some variety of eau de chat LOL.

I also found a maybe quilting project in a jelly roll book (the very same one where the stars in the tablecloth came from), but reading the instructions I realized I need to get another (I only have one) Omnigrid triangular ruler (in inches, not cm) before I can even get started. So online quilt shop owners – beware.