Some progress on the double 4patch :o)

Had a day off work today (I usually do at Wednesdays), and I finally pulled myself together and I did dig out the double 4 patch quilt I've been working on. Got to finish the quilting on the main part of the quilt, and now only the outer borders are left to be quilted. I couldn't figure out how to do them... but I found some "Borders made easy" roll, and started to attach them. They are a perfect tool, to get perfect seems...IF YOU'VE GOT ENOUGH!!! wich I don't :o(
But I'm halfway, and since hubby is going downtown for some work on a shop nearby Quiltegården, he'll drop by Siw (the shop owner), and buy a roll for me :o) Since we are having a Holiday on Monday, I think I'll be able to get the quilting done during the loooong weekend :o) The smallest border will be quilted too, with some freemotion pattern I think. I'll make up my mind after doing the outer border.


This is how the back of the quilt looks like. I'm not so satisfied with the quilting, but to be my first project this big, I guess I'll have to live with the short-long-short stitched kind of curved quilting :o)
I really love this backing fabric. I bet it is a great fabric to practice some freemotion quilting on, just quilt following the pattern in the fabric. I will do that with the piece I have left of it, I think.


I used the "Quilters Dream" poly wadding, but I will not use it again for a quilt at this size. Too heavy to handle, and the fibers from the batting was all over the quilt. It almost looked like our cat had been using it for ages. Just white fibers everywhere, even in the seems... But now I can say been there, done that... leassoned learned. But there is one thing I want to say is very positive about it; it gives the quilt a soft and puffy look, and I like that. I guess it would be easier to use it when quilting with a long arm, because the quilt doesn't get to be squeesed around with that one.

It's getting late, and off to bed now.
Good night :o)
and Happy sewing,
Laila

Block #6

Finished my block #6 tonight. This block is called "Sunset Canoes". This was a tricky one... but still I'm having fun :o)
I've received all the twelve blocks now, and look forward to get them all done.
Now I'll have to check on those bed bugs... good night :o)

Jippi! A finish :o)

I finished these knittet socks today. I guess they fit the feet of a 5 year old, but I haven't had anyone particular in mind when I knittet them. I just love to knit socks in this size :o) They don't stay unfinished for so long, since it doesn't take a lot of time to finish them.
I like to do some easy work between all the long term projects. Got enough of them...lying around in my sewing room...


I have been knitting some mittens now and then too, and doing more and more progress on them. The only thing is, i always forget to turn the pattern, so I have two left hand of two of these ones... I got it right only on the pair in light blue and cream. Well, so I'll have to knit two more rights, for the red and dark blue ones... So in the end I will have two pairs of each of them... But they will be great for Christmas presents or something like that:o)

Well, I'm back to sewing again. I'm on with block #6 on the Patchwork Party blocks now. Finished the cutting, and now some sewing. OMG this has really become an addiction...

One more block

Just before I went to bed last night, I got to finish my block #5 of the Patchwork Party 2009.
Since it was already precut, it was piece of cake putting the pieces together:o)
This one is called "Chance Encounter".


Hope to do some more sewing later this evening, and maybe finishing one more block. But I also have to try to get some of the finishes for the OPAM 2009, too. So we'll see:o)
I'm almost done with the block #1 of Leanne's house. Just a couple of stitches, and I'm there:o)

Trondheim Rock Festival

Last night we went to see Europe and Whitesnake live here in Trondheim. It was two really great concerts, and since me and hubby have always liked these two since we were about 14 yrs old, it was a special event for us :o) Lots of memories with many of the songs they played :o)

Europe was the first band on stage. I was only 14 yrs old when they had their first concert in Trondheim.

Then Whitesnake entered the stage and gave us all a perfect end of a perfect night! It was so special to see the band live, and David Coverdale's vocals are just sooo great. They gave us a trip through some really great guitar solos and drum solos too :o)
Since there might will be a rock festival next year too, I already begin to look forward to that :o)

Not much sewing this weekend, but plenty of time for that next week:o)
Did I say plenty? Hmmm.... I wish I had some more time to play with fabrics, than I do... but if I had, would I spend the time sewing and sewing then? Would I have the same urge? I like to think it wouldn't ;o)
As it's said: Time is precious, use it well:o)

Happy sewing,
Laila

And some more blocks :o)

Got up early this sunny morning, and between spending some time out in the sun, I got to finish two more blocks for the Patchwork Party :o) The first one is called "Friendship Card", and the other one is called "Engagement Party".


They are so easy to piece together when cutting the pieces with the templates. Everything just fits right :o)
Now I'm taking a break to get ready for the concert this evening.
Happy sewing to you:o)
Laila

Having so much fun :o)

Got to finish block #2 tonight, too :o) This one is called "Champagne Toast".
This block is available at Quilter's Quarters.
Now I'm taking a little break, till tomorrow:o)
Good night everyone:o)
Laila

Patchwork Party in my sewing room :o)

I got mail today :o) The templates for the Patchwork Party 2009 arrived today! I just picked one of the blocks, and got on with the cutting right away. One block is finished :o)Ta-Dah! is the name of this block. You can get this block from Grandma's Attic.
There is a template for every single different piece, so it's not necessary with a bunch of rulers doing these block :o) So easy, and so quick! Along with every block, there is a little charm, and they are sooo adorable! I'll post a picture of them later;o)

I hope to do some more sewing tonight, and wonder which one of the blocks I'll start with...
Tomorrow there will be less time spent sewing. Hubby and me are going to a outdoor concert downtown early tomorrow night. Europe and Whitesnake are in town :o) Already got the tickets, and we hope for good weather and a great happening :o)

Hope you all will have a great weekend too :o)
Happy sewing,
Laila

Some progress on Leanne's House :o)

The last days I've been doing some more stitching on the Leanne's House block #1. I'm almost done stitching, and what's left is to do the appliqued heart in of the corners on top. I really enjoy doing this, and hope I'll get to work on block #2 this weekend :o)
You should see my sewing room at this point... Fabrics all over the place :o) But I just leave all of them in a bundle, till I've sorted out which of them I'm going to use for the next blocks.

Today I got three more of the Patchwork Party-blocks i the mail. I've received 9 now, and I hope the three that is left, will arrive this week :o) I forgot to order the templates to make the blocks when I ordered them, but got to do that a couple of days ago. Hope they'll arrive soon! I cannot wait to make some of these! The fabrics are just so beautiful!
Are anyone of you joining the Patchwork Party 2009? I'd like to know, and it would be so fun follow the progress others are making :o)

Happy birthday, Norway :o)

Today we did celebrate Norway's National Day (Norwegian Constitution Day). We went downtown early today, and we where all enjoying the day, sunny and beautiful:o)
We watched the children's parade, with all the bands and flags. There where so many using their national costumes, so many beautiful ones! I don't have one on my own, but I've been thinking about sewing one. It is a lot of work, but that's not frightening to me:o)

We where so tired after all the walking today, and it was soooo good to take off those shoes when we got home... ;o)


Don't know if anyone else does things like sewing on a day like this, but I did:o) I'm not able to sit still with my hands in my lap, so I got to finish preparing block #1 of the "Leanne's House" quilt.
I haven't been able to sew for so many days, but enjoyed the evening with some handstitching on the block.I have so many beautiful fabrics I want to use for this project, but it's so difficult to choose... But I really love the floral ones, with the roses, so I guess I'll just use several of them in these blocks.
I started with block#5 last summer, and that one is almost finished, just needs a couple of french knots:o)

Hope you all have had a great Sunday,

I've got some things going on...

Earlier this month, I signed up for the "Patchwork Party 2009". I just love the fabrics, and the blocks are really great! It started with collecting the blocks, just for fun, at Facebook. I liked the colors and the design, so... I ended up in joining "for real" ;o)
To get started, you'll have to collect the twelve blocks, a different block at each shop, and purchase the finishing kit you like the best. Each of the quilt shops have a different finishing kit, so it's hard to make up your mind! I haven't done that yet... but I better hurry, don't want to miss it, it's sold out fast...
Got the three of the twelve blocks in the mail today, and I look forward to get them all! Aren't the fabrics just gorgeous? These are just some of the fabrics :o)
This fabric line is "Sachet Potpourri" by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics. I just loooove it!
Hope to get to order the finishing kit and the templates later this week, and just can't wait to do this quilt!

But there's no time for sewing much this week. Got a lot of other things to do first, but hope to enjoy some hours of sewing later, maybe this weekend :o)
Wish you all a great and creative week :o)

Laila

Award

I did get this award from Mona, thanks Mona:o)

I'm supposed to give this back to six others, but I want to give it to each one of you, who visit my blog. You all are special, and so many of you share the same passion :o)

Have a great day :o)

Laila

What do my stars say about me?

What do my stars say about me?



Laila

Some quilting progress :o)

The batting I ordered from Hancoc's arrived today. Jippi!!! After dinner I started basting the double 4 patch quilt, and marking it. What a job! Don't know how many hours I did spend on that, but this quilt is not just a small one, so... I ordered one batting in cotton, and one poly. Just had to try the poly, since it's a bit more "puffy".
Finally I got to start quilting it. It's three hours since midnight, so I better jump to bed, and continue tomorrow. I'm so happy to finally get to this point. This is actually the first big quilt I've got so far with. I've finished a lot of quilt tops, but haven't got to the basting and quilting part with any of them. But it's time consuming with a domestic sewing machine, so I get to test my patience :o) LOL...Hubby bought me some more yarn today, since I'm also busy knitting some more mittens. I really love to do these, because they don't take days to finish. It's a bit fun to do stuff that is done in a day or two also, between the quilting stuff, wich sometimes takes weeks.As you can tell from the photo, I've already started on some red ;o)

I'm off to bed, so good night:o)
Laila

OPAM challenge, goals for May

Since I didn't get any projects finished in April, I hope to get some for this month. I have three finishes I want to report as my goals, and that is to finish the blue and white mittens I started today, the star quilt (baby quilt) I have been working on the last months, and the blue and brown double 4 patch quilt. I have ordered some more batting for the quilt, so I hope it arrives in a week or two, so I can get on with it!


I have already a finish for May, whoohoo! The baby mittens are finished :o)

These where so fun to do, so i will make several of them :o) Fast, and fun ;o)
I've got so much yarn to knit with, and I should get some of it used, instead of let it stay in a bunch of boxes, and let it go to waste. But when I wanna do something else than sewing, it's great to have some boxes with different yarn in lovely colors to play with. It's also easy to take with me in my purse or bag when I go somewhere :o)

Hubby and our oldest have been working on the bike this weekend, and it's now quite changed!
It went from yellow to charcoal metallic :O) Sooo cool!

Roses, I just love them :o)

I have a soft spot when it comes to roses. I've always loved them. When I painted on porcelain, I painted roses. Now when I'm into sewing, I just love the fabrics with roses. Soft roses, big roses, small roses. They are just so beautiful... Where we used to live, I had roses outside our house. I miss that, and I assure you I'll plant some outside here, where we're living today :o)
I painted this coffee cup back in 2001. It's standing in my sewing room, for the inspiration maybe?


Last night I did one more block for one of the quilts I'm doing. I also got to cut some pieces for three more, and I hope to get to sew them later today. I didn't get to sew more, because i just couldn't leave my knitting :O) I'm almost done with one more mitten now :O)
It's a beautiful Spring day today, with some sunshine, so I guess I'll be spending some time outside :o)

No finishes for me this month

No finishes for me for the OPAM 2009 this month. I had several projects going on, but I didn't get the time to finish them... I guess that's the way it goes sometimes. Life just happens ;o) and you don't get to do the things you want to all the time. But I won't let it bother me, and just do the things I can, when I can :o)
On Thursday, I did some yarn shopping. Just wanted to do some more knitting. I just think these baby mittens are so adorable, and just had to try knitting them. I finished the left mitten yesterday, and tied up all the threads today. Ain't it cute?
I've not figured out who is going to get them, but I guess it's a perfect gift to have for later on. I'm not having a baby, just to make that clear ;o)

Our oldest son is turning 16 next week, and he is going to get his driving license real soon after his 16th birthday. We helped him to find a bike he liked, and this is what we ended up with. It's a second hand bike, but since his dad is a handyman, they will make some changes on it, and get it in tip top shape :o) I think it looks so cool. Should have been sweet sixteen... :o)

Well I better get back to my sewing room a bit, since I have some time to do some sewing tonight. It's Saturday, and since Hubby and my oldest is working on the bike, and my twins are outside playing with friends, I decided to play around with some needle and thread.
Yesterday I was going to quilt one of the twins' quilt, but the batting was 5" to short!!!! So, it just has to wait, AGAIN.... But, I'm not short of plans, and have enough projects going on to work on. LOL...