"Crazy Roosters"

Without further ado I give you “Crazy Roosters”, the project from Mrs Moen Spring Mystery 2010.
Being of an adventurous nature, I was just one step ahead of the rest of the group. Imagine my shock when I proudly showed the blocks to husband and he could not see any creatures at all. What if no one else saw them either? Well, I think he might be renamed from “incredible patient husband” to “husband of no imagination” because the Mystery ladies did recognize the feathered little guys although none of them had figured it out before the big reveal.

I hope to have a little show & tell of finished Mystery projects here later, I have seen a few and they are looking gorgeous!

If you did not participate in the Mystery and would like to make the roosters, you still can. I was going to write a pattern, but due to a little coughing bug that has been knocking out our family members one by one the last week, time is a problem. What I can do is that I’ll let you into the Mystery Blog for a few bucks and you can follow the instructions there. Just leave a comment including your email address, and we’ll take it form there.

I want to thank all of you for crossing your fingers for me on Wednesday. I made it to the guild meeting lugging amongst other stuff the heart quilt. There were 3 prizes to be drawn and when it was time for the last prize I told the lady to pick me. And she did. That was fun!

I had no idea that they would be so happy getting rid of me, but I got a standing ovation when I said my goodbyes. The badges looked great though, decorating their quilter’s bosoms as they were clapping…

Now I’ll add this to Amylouwho’s Sew and tell; pop over and get inspired.

"Square One"

In my search for new challenges, experiments and growth as a quilter, I am back to where I started –“Square One”.
I was very attached to my maternal grandmother. She passed away when I was pregnant and daughter is named after her. Among the things I brought home from her house were some flannel sheets which were so typical her and that I loved. Some of them were a bit worn in the middle, so I cut them apart and pieced them back together leaving the worn parts on the sides. They were dyed in the washing machine and used on daughter’s bed for many years.

These sheets were some of the recycled material used in my first quilts. I found some of the squares (there is nothing square-like about them other than that they have four sides) the other day, and have been working with some of them. They are so incredible soft and have a lovely texture.

I added tulle from one of daughter’s favourite dresses, batting, a piece of an old duvet cover as backing, and stitched with pearl cotton leftovers from previous projects. I did not want to clean up the imperfect edges, so I added a bias binding which I attached a few mms outside the edges, folded and stitched to the back.
Being a somewhat restless soul, I have felt very grounded working on this piece. It has been a lovely trip down memory lane, and I’d like to stay there for a while.

Have a Heart

My Finish It! project, the heart block swap quilt, “Have a Heart” is finished and ready for Show & Tell at the guild meeting today. If I’m lucky, I’ll win one of 3 prizes in the drawing, so keep your fingers crossed.This will be my last guild meeting as the leader and member of the board, and I though it might be a nice touch to make a few badges for myself and some of the new and so far badge-less members.

I had seen some amazing brooches over at hen’s teeth and a brooch tutorial over at CraftyPod, but I decided to make my badges super simple, machine quilted and hand lettered.
As I often do, I got a bit carried away. I might have to start another guild just to get rid of all the badges...

You’ll find a tutorial here.

Edvarda & Hildur, The Bold and The Bashful

The last sample for my Funky Fowl class and pattern is finally done. It is a wall hanging, ca 19” * 23”.
I’m not done with these birds though, as I have lots of fun colourful fabrics that would make any funky fowl proud.

Now I can get cracking at the pattern. I’ll post about it when it’s ready. This will not be a free pattern though.

Mending a Broken Heart

3 of my most shocking life experiences happened within a 3 months period of time last year, and while life goes on and we with it, I’m slowly mending my broken heart.
The third sample from my Make A Heart tutorial, "Mending a Broken Heart", has been my Let it go, let it grow project for 8 days. It has been stitched, and stitched and stitched some more. I have absolutely loved working on it! I still have more mending to do though, so there will be more stitching in my future.

I have taken pictures of the progress, but the white tulle always seemed to take front stage with the colours as a backdrop. I finally figured out why; it’s the way the light hits it when it lays in the window sill. When I hung it on the wall, the colours look perfect.
Now I’ll add this to Amylou’s Sew & Tell, pop over and get inspired.

Anna & Birte, Gals with an Attitude

is the 4th sample for the Funky Fowl class and pattern.
It is a table runner done in my variation of pastel. I’m trying to push my boundaries regarding fabric, styles and values all the time, so pastel was on my list. It’s really interesting to see how these experiments turn out. It’s very spring like, isn’t it?


I’m falling a bit behind on my free motion quilting. The new sewing machine was not a good match. It has a special mechanism for sewing silk and other thin fabric, but this thingie snags the stitches on the back while free motion quilting. The project gets stuck in the plate, and the stitches breaks. Not so great for a quilter, and quite annoying! I’ll have to return the machine and choose another one so I finally can get the old one to its much needed service.