Monday, December 30, 2013

A little bit of this and a little bit of that


 I hope you all had a lovely time during the Christmas Holidays. I enjoyed time with my family, and I count my blessings. I'm lucky to have my loved ones close, and I am so thankful for being able to celebrate Christmas with all of us together.

This year is about to end, and I welcome a new and exciting one. 2013 has been the most busy year for us ever, and I feel like I've finally been able to let my shoulders down and enjoy some sewing and quilting again. 

I have tried to get my sewing room organized, and I have a lot of UFO's and WISP's and also some finished tops here and there. Some of them still in moving boxes... I plan to finish up some of them before starting any new larger projects. 

I got to load a top on the longarm frame the other day, and finished the quilting yesterday. It's a top I finished piecing this summer, before we started moving to our new place. I planned to do some freemotion quilting on it, but ended up using a pantograph called "Fantasia". 

These are photos from the beginning of the quilting:  

The photos are taken in the evening, so the light is not too good. Will take a photo of the whole thing when I get it off the longarm frame.

Since the backing and wadding for the quilt I finished quilting on the longarm is big enough for a large table runner on the end there, I figured I should hurry make a table runner to quilt at the same time. I have a lot of scraps left from making the "Dilly Dally" quilt. They are perfect for hourglass blocks, and I think they are way too cute to just throw away even if they are so tiny. I've made one star block, and will make a few more to join to make a nice table runner for my dining table.




I've been knitting when I haven't had the sewing mojo with me, and a few pair of mittens and socks have been made, and several are in progress...



I've got way too many projects going on at the same time, and it is a bit overwhelming to be honest. I usually think I will start a "small" project to get the feel of 'finishing something' between the larger ones... But sad to say so many ends up as UFO's... I hope to get better control of this from now on, because it takes my mojo away working this way. Self discipline is not my strongest side... 

When I've cleaned up the rest of my mess in my sewing room, and finished up some more of my unfinished business, I plan to play with these gorgeous fabrics:

This is some of the fabrics from Bonnie & Camille's line called "Scrumptious". Nice "carrot" to have waiting for me when I've finished the projects I have waiting.
Can't wait to get all the moving boxes emptied, and things in place! 

I haven't made any list for what to work on in 2014, I just want to enjoy sewing, quilting and knitting, and I guess my only goal when it comes to my hobbies, is to finish what I started. 

I wish all of you a Happy and Creative New Year!
Thanks for your nice comments on my posts! Your comments makes me happy :-)

Laila

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Stashbusting

It's been a while since we moved now, but still there are lots of stuff that needs to be done. 
But I feel HOME, and  I really like living here even if it's an old house with many things that need to be fixed, reorganized, rebuilt and so on. 

Between organizing our home, I've been taking the time to sort fabrics and stuff in my sewing room. I just need the "quiet times" in there just to take a time out now and then. I've also got my longarm machine up and running, and can't wait till I get the time and energy to be quilting again!

I have been knitting a lot these too, and this is one pair of socks from a Norwegian book called "Sokker. Strikking hele året" by Bitta Mikkelborg. The yarn is called Arwetta, and I bought it at Speedyneedle.dk



Months ago I signed up for a class at my local quilt shop Quiltegården. I have to admit after this weekend class I got a lot of inspiration, and the best of all... I got my sewing mojo back. Now the urge for sewing is there again, and I have almost finished the rows in the quilt. 

The quilt is called "Leavez" by Jan Mullen. Helle Løvenskjold was our teacher. I haven't tried this technique before, so I had a lot of fun making this. As you can see it's pretty different colors on the fabrics than I usually play with, but it's my aunt that asked me to make her this one, and she wanted these colors which is pretty much the same as in the original quilt by Jan Mullen.



While sorting my fabrics and scraps, I figured out I should make a quilt instead of letting these gorgeous fabrics stay in a scrap bin. Many of the fabrics where already cut in right sizes, so a couple of blocks didn't take long.

Yummy, right? All of the scraps are left overs from the same designers, Bonnie and Camille. I love how these fabrics looks with white background fabrics. Sad to say there are so little fabrics left from these now. These colors makes me happy, and I hope to finish up a couple more blocks this weekend.

I am pressing my seams like this: 
My little tip is to glue some of the places where the seams meet. Doing that you will have a nice flat seam, and the seams will not be distorted when you join the blocks to a top and start quilting it.

Wish you all a great Sunday, and happy sewing :-)
Laila

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Long time, no see!

Been such a long time since my previous blog post! Been super busy with moving and redecorating our new home. 
A couple of days before we got the keys to our new home, I had the pleasure of meeting Helen Stubbings. It was so nice to meet her again! She had her lovely daughter Molly to keep her company during her stay in Norway. I was so happy to have them both over, but there was no time for sewing this time since she was only able to spend one day in Trondheim. She was here to do a trunk show for my local quilt guild about her designs and quilts. So many gorgeous projects!!!








I have several of Helen's project in the making, and I can't wait to finish one special quilt. It's the quilt in the previous photo, with white background and japanese scrap fabrics. It's made with a special paper Helen made, and it makes the needleturn applique so easy and fun! It was supposed to be finished and quilted before she came over, but since my youngest have had their turns in hospital this spring and summer and I on top of that bought a house, I just couldn't... A border with more applique is to be made, then I will quilt it and send it back to Helen in Australia. This pattern is a design by Helen, and you can soon order the pattern and the paper templates from her :-)


The morning Helen and Molly where leaving Trondheim we had a nice visit at Quiltegården (my local quilt shop). Time flies when you're having a good time, and I really wish they both could stay longer! Maybe next time ;o)


I haven't been able to do any sewing or quilting for weeks, but lots of painting is done! The living room, kitchen and the kid's rooms are finished. Thanks to lots of help from my dear family! Yesterday I finished my sewing room!!! So excited to get my stuff in, and to put up my longarm machine!!! I've really missed sewing, and I'm ready to have some quality time with needle and thread very soon! Maybe this weekend? Who knows ;o)
I love my new home, and I think I will like it here :o) 

It's Autumn over here, and that means lots of sewing time when the weather is nasty ;o)

Hope to share some sewing stuff with you soon, and I look forward to get time to comment on your blog posts as well!
Happy sewing,
Laila

Monday, September 2, 2013

Moving!

I've been busy lately, so no sewing or quilting at all for such a long time. We've been house hunting for a while, and a while ago we finally found one. We get the keys to our new home today, and I am so excited! 



It's an old house, so there will be lots of stuff to do. My Hubby is also looking forward to have his own garage, and the kids will have lots of space for creative stuff too :-) Now I'm not the only one anymore, having a place 'to play' and be creative :-) 

I look forward to unpacking my longarm machine, all my fabrics and get to sew again. But first we'll do some painting and getting settled. I will share some photos along the way, so see you soon :-) 

Wish you all a great day :-) 
Laila 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Forgotten blog post

I started this blog post a long time ago, and totally forgot about it. I finished quilting several quilts a while ago, so here are some photos :

Love the look of the pattern "Baptist fans". It's a favorite of mine. This quilt is made by Trude.

I also quilted another house quilt made by Astrid. The second one was just as fun to quilt as the first one. I love custom quilting:-)  

This is a quilt made by Hanne, and was quilted using a pantograph. The stars look great on this quilt. 

I haven't been able to sew or quilt much lately, but have been knitting some kitchen cloths. I'll post some pics later, when I get time to. 

It's the Summer Holidays over here, but since one of my hearties is in the hospital, we're not doing much, even if the weather is beautiful. He will hopefully get out of the hospital next week, so that is all that matters now. 

See you soon :-) 
Laila 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Another house quilt on the longarm frame

A nasty cold has kept me company the last week, and not much quilty stuff going on. I have several projects I want to finish and work with, and can't wait to get rid of these bugs. 

Got to load up Astrid's house quilt #2 yesterday, and I have finished quilting some of the blocks. I took the photo with my phone, so it might not be the best one. Had to try writing a blog post using my phone and figured if it works good, I might be writing blog posts a bit more often ;-) 
I really love doing this custom quilting, even if it is time consuming working with rulers. 
I'm using a wool batting that will make the quilting pop up. Using the So Fine thread. 
I haven't quilted the borders yet, but will do so before I move down to row #2.

Wish you all a great new week! 
Happy quilting, 
Laila 

Saturday, June 1, 2013

I've missed Blogland!

I've really missed Blogland! Haven't written a blog post for such a long time!

I'm so happy Spring finally came, and with the nice weather the last days it looks like  Summer is coming now :-)

Captured this photo in my brother's back yard a week ago. Looks like there will be lots of  blueberries this year :-)

I've been doing some sewing and quilting since my last blog post. This is a new Belle Wave quilt using Moda fabrics. Scraps from my scrap bin. Quilted a freemotion pattern on it, and since I used wool batting it really shows up. My friend Kathy did show me how to do this gorgeous pattern :-)

I have been quilting some client quilts too. This one is Astrid's beautiful batic quilt with gorgeous colors. She chose the panto pattern that looks like fire flowers. Perfect for this quilt.

The next quilt is a top I quilted for our charity group. I didn't know Astrid made this, so when I did ask her to add the binding, she told me she had made this and would love to finish it :-) Freemotion pattern on this one.

This is a Buggy Barn quilt also made by Astrid. She wanted me to quilt what I felt was right for this quilt, and I figured this would look great custom quilted. I'm so glad she liked it!
 This is the back of the quilt. Love to see the texture on the back of quilts!

This is a lovely quilt made by Sølvi, and I quilted this using freemotion quilting. I know this quilt has a special story, and I'm so glad she liked it.

I got to finish another quilt today, but have to wait till tomorrow to take some photos. It's a large quilt, so I need help from Hubby to hold it up for a photo shoot :-)

Happy sewing,
Laila


Sunday, April 14, 2013

Weekend sewing

Friday night I found a link to a gorgeous pattern on Quilteville's facebook profile. It was the perfect quilt to spend the weekend working on. It's called "Belle Wave" quilt and is designed by Fresh Lemon Quilts.
 I used some fatquarters from the gorgeous "Saltwater" line by Tula Pink. I must admit I love Tula Pink's fabrics. I bought these some months ago, and happy to find a project to use them in :-)

I finished piecing the quilt early this morning, and got to load it on to the longarm frame. I've never finished a quilt this fast, and it feels so good! Now I will enjoy some binding the next days :-)

 Some close up's to show the fabrics better. It's late over here, so no daylight to show the true colors, but this is pretty close.

I just had to have some "me-time" this weekend, and I have totally neglected everything else than sewing. No laundry or housework for me this weekend :-)
Guess I have to catch up on the dust bunnies tomorrow  ;-)

Wish you all a great new week,
Laila

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Long time no see... but I'm still here

It's been so long since I wrote my last blog post. I've been sewing a little bit, and also got to do some longarm quilting. I've quilted three different client quilts in March, and here is a close up on each of them:
 The first one is a quilt made by Rønnaug, a lady in my local quilt guild. She made a smaller version of the last mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter. Love her fabrics. Quilted using a pantograph pattern.

 The second is a quilt made by Sofie, she had used a lot of yummy fabrics in her quilt. This one is also quilted using a pantograph pattern.

The third one is made by Kirsti, and it's made with gorgeous fabrics. Also quilted using a pantograph pattern.

Lot of my Blogland friends are also friends of mine on facebook. One of them is Nicola, and she had a PIF over at facebook a while ago, which I signed up to. She sent me a lovely book, and a handmade toiletry purse. I just love the gorgeous fabrics she used! I didn't have anyone signing up on my PIF at facebook, so I guess the right thing to do is to make a nice parcel to ship over to Nicola :-)

I have an Instagram profile, and lots of yummy stuff to look at over there, and lots of ideas and inspiration. I found the profile of a talented lady, Steffani, and just fell in love with her version of the Tula Pink quilt called "Dreamweaver". I bought the book by Tula pink and some of the fabrics a while ago, but since Steffani is a quilt shop owner of  Country fabrics and quilting, and made kits for this special quilt with fabrics from several of the Tula Pink lines, I just had to ask her to ship a couple of them over to Norway.
She also sent me a photo of her version of the quilt. Yummy or what???
Since I have made some of the pieces for the quilt with the fabrics I bought a while ago, it will not take long before I've got enough blocks to finish this quilt. 
Steffani has a blog too and you should check it out :-) She is a talented longarm quilter too :-)

I haven't been sewing as much as I used to for a while. I've had a few things to deal with that kept me busy. Sometimes life happens, and sewing is not on top of the priority list. 
I have been making a few blocks for the "Winter Bloom" quilts I'm going to make. I'm working on two of each block, so the plan is to make two quilts. We'll see if I'll be able finish them both at the same time, or one now and one later :-)
Happy sewing,
Laila

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Client quilt and a finish

Finished a beautiful client quilt today. Been working on it for a long time, but had a lot of fun quilting this!
The owner liked it, and I'm allowed to share some photos on my blog. 
It's a beautiful dresden plate quilt, with lots of beautiful fabrics. 

The pattern on the border has become my favorite, and you can find a tutorial over at Kathy's blog. She did teach me how to do this.
I hope to make a quilt like this one day. Love these dresden plate blocks. Perfect for those favorite fabrics :o)

I finished the binding on my "Pie in the sky" quilt a while ago and here's a photo of the finished quilt: 
The fabrics and colors are not easy to show on this photo, since it's a large quilt and I had to stand back to manage to take a photo of the whole thing. But you can see some close up's on my previous post :-)

I've started a new project, and will show you when I make some progress on it. It's a lot of cutting and piecing on it, but I think it will be one of the most beautiful quilts I've made. It's a quilt I look forward to quilt on my longarm. Lots of ideas, and hope my skills will not let me down. I need a lot of practice before I will dare to quilt it. Will have to make a practice piece to try out my ideas, I think. 

Hope you all are having a nice and creative weekend,
Laila

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Finished my "Pie in the sky" quilt

Yay! I just finished quilting my "Pie in the sky" quilt. I used a pantograph pattern called Effervescence
It's a large quilt, but with help from my son I managed to take a photo of the whole quilt. I'm really pleased with how the quilting looks, and even if I should have used a bit darker thread, I think it looks good. I used a Superior thread called King Tut, a cotton thread I like to use when quilting pantograph patterns. 

Some close up's of the quilt:



Now I will make some yards of binding and add to the quilt, and I will enjoy some hours with sewing down the binding by hand in the days ahead :o) I love hand sewing the binding, it's sort of relaxing work to do.

I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday. It's Mother's Day here in Norway, so there will be coffee and cake over here ;o) Happy Mother's Day to my Norwegian friends :o)

Laila

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin