New Year ~ New Possibilities!

Happy New Year!

We went to see the public firework at midnight downtown at New Years Eve. It was amazing!

Such a long time since I made my previous blog post! I have been sewing a little bit again, so finally have something to share. I've been making a few things for Christmas, and I can finally share them over here. I made two pairs of pot holders for a couple of future-in-laws for two of the boys. Used my favorite Art To Heart book with these cute snowmen "Easy does it for Christmas". I've also used some of the fabrics from the lines by Nancy Halvorsen. 

Since I've been working on my "Have yourself a quilty little Christmas" quilt (a sew along on Instagram), I also made a scrappy table runner using up some scraps. Love these happy colors! 

Haven't got a nice photo of the Christmas quilt yet, since it's on the floor with the borders floating around the main part of the top. Layout time... but will share a photo of it when I get it pieced together. That must happen soon, before the quilt inspectors start using it as a place to sleep :o)

I've been playing catch up on some of the blocks I started long ago. These Churn Dash blocks are so fun and happy! The pattern is from Lori Holt's "Farm Girl Vintage" book, and my plan is to make a happy table runner when the pile of blocks is large enough.

Wish you all a great new and creative week!
Happy sewing,
Laila

Bloom quilt and Plus quilt

I have been sick with a nasty cold bug for more than a week, so there's been slow progress on my quilty projects. 

Tonight I finished piecing the sashing around the Block #1 for the Bloom quilt designed by Lori Holt. 

The Sew Along for the bloom quilt started yesterday, and you can read about it over at Lori's blog Bee In My Bonnet. 

This weekend I made a small table runner. Still not sure if I will enlarge it with a few more blocks. These blocks are the Mama blocks from one of the patterns in Lori Holt's book "Great Granny Squared" and I got to use up a lots of precut squares. I really LOVE the scrappy look :o) Been wanting to make these blocks for a while, and they were so fast and fun to make :-)

 I have also finished the layout for my Low volume Plus Quilt.  

The Low volume Plus Quilt Sew Along have been so inspiring and fun, and below is a list of links to the other lovely quilts the other ladies are making. Some of them are also finished!!!

LekaQuilt

Lappetausa

Tamarack Shack

Hanne's Quilt Corner

Englating

Sølvi sin bloggverden

Jacobs Quilt

Abyquilt

Winter came back to Trondheim, and it has been snowing really bad since last night. I don't mind the snow, I actually like it since it looks more clean and lighter. I don't like to drive my car when it's this much snow though... But the roads are shoveled now, and I hope it will stop snowing now.

Happy Sewing,

Laila

Sorting scraps

I have been searching on Etsy to find older fabric lines by Lori Holt, and a lovely bundle of fabrics came in the mail yesterday, just a week after I ordered it!

 These are fabrics I bought from Donna's Lavender Nest. These are treasures I look forward to use in my next projects. Donna  have a blog too which is also called Donna's Lavender Nest, where she shares photos of her quilts and longarm quilting. Love her vintage style :o)

Today has been "one of those days" with not much sleep during the night, and the cold bug is still stuck, so not much is happening. 
But I got to do some fabric sorting and a little bit of cutting. 
I am using plastic trays to spread my pieces as I cut them, and today I did some reorganizing and cut some colors that were missing. Earlier I just left them all in one big pile, but that didn't work since I couldn't see all the variations of the fabrics. 

This is my 2" squares. I can easily see I must cut more green, orange and yellow fabrics ;o)
Having them piled up like this makes it easy to see the different fabrics and colors.

My 2,5" squares. Looks like candy to me :-)

I also have a tray with my 1,5" squares, but they will be laying in one big pile for now ;o)

 It hasn't been much snow this Winter, and the last week has been cold and windy. It looks more like Spring outside than Winter, except from the cold. I hope it will soon be less wind so I can go for a walk more often again. I'm already longing for Spring and look forward to see the sun again soon. It's not long before the sun rays will shine through the windows again... Soon :o)

Wish you all a great Wednesday and Happy Sewing!
Hugs,
Laila

New Year ~ New possibilities :O)

Happy New Year to all of you! I hope the new year will bring lots of creativity and joy!

I slept in today, and I am so glad it's Friday and still Holidays over here in Norway. That means we have the whole weekend to get back to a normal routine before Hubby and the kids are back to getting up early. 

I got a few stitches done today, and I am adding some blocks to my pile of mini Leaves blocks. I plan to make a small table runner of them.  

Also added a few more blocks to one of my Leader & Ender projects, and soon I will make a few blocks to see how they turn out. 

I'm still struggling with fatigue and have trouble sleeping normal, so I need a power nap or two during the day. I guess patience is still needed to get back to normal and get well. I am still doing the blood tests, and will go back to Hospital to adjust the medicine I am on as soon as the Holidays are over. Fingers crossed I will be back to normal, so I have the energy to do what I want to. I miss visiting friends and hiking with Hubby and my family. Look forward to take my camera for a walk outdoors and take some photos again too.

Wish you a Happy Weekend!
Hugs,
Laila

Been sewing again

I had so many projects I planned to make for Christmas, but only two handmade presents where finished. One of them is a table runner I made using the Haystack blocks I have been making as a leader & ender project for a while. The pattern for this block are from the Farm Girl Vintage book by Lori Holt. I quilted it with white Aurifil thread, just some simple cross hatching. My mom got this as a Christmas present, and I'm so glad she liked it :-) 

I have seen a lot of cute pin cushions both on Instagram and Pinterest, and yesterday I made one using my Modern minis scraps. The 1,5" scrappy squares makes the cutest little pieces to use for a small project like this :o)

The past days I have been playing with some new fabrics I couldn't resist buying... The new line by Lori Holt "Calico Days". There is a free pattern for a quilt designed by Lori using these fabrics called "Bloom Quilt", and I have been busy cutting the pieces and started to make some of the blocks. Just love how it looks so far, and since I'm out of background fabric, I will continue to cut the rest of the pieces and have them ready till it arrives. 
I am using the white with print from the "Modern Minis" line, since I like it a lot! 
I didn't have the pellon Lori uses for these flowers, so I am using my favorite technique needleturn appliquè. The templates designed by Lori Holt, Sew Simple Shapes, that is needed for making this quilt is perfect for needleturn too :o) 

Lori Holt will have a Sew Along for the "Bloom Quilt" in January, so if you are curious about it and plan to join just pop over to her blog and read about it :o)

Only two more days are left before we welcome a New Year. It's been a busy year, and also a few tough times for me. I hope the new year will be a great year with lots of creativity, less health issues and lots of positive happenings. I also hope to be able to be playing with my longarm quilting machine again soon. 

Wish you all a Happy New Year!

Hugs,
Laila

Playing with happy colors

I've spent a lot of time in my sewing room this weekend. Feeling a bit better every day now, except the lack of sleep isn't doing me any good. Since I try to be quiet so the rest of my family can sleep, I have been in my sewing room sewing with the Modern minis/30's fabrics a lot. 

Have you seen the gorgeous table runner Lori Holt made? It's called Great Granny Circled, and I just fell in love it! I had to make the blocks using the freezer paper technique, since I haven't got the pellon yet, and I also cut the 9patch blocks a little smaller to fit the backgrounds I have already cut. Using freezer paper requires a little bit of clean cutting when the blocks are sewn. 

I love how the blocks turned out, an hope to finish up a few more to make a table runner I will have on my dining room table :o) 

 I have figured out that ironing 4 layers of fabrics cutting them into most used strip sizes and cutting some squares in piles, makes the block building a lot faster. I also have leader & ender  pieces cut so I can build a few smaller blocks using these. I got this idea by both Bonnie Hunter and Lori Holt, and it's amazing how fast you can grow a pile of blocks ready to use for a project! Earlier I had the Haystack blocks as a leader & ender project, but these days I piece 1,5" squares together with 3 or 6 pieces for future projects. Pretty cute, right?

Iplan to be writing more blog posts from now on, since I like the blog better than Facebook and Instagram. I am also commenting and visiting the blogs I follow more often, and will continue to do so even if I can see what my quilty friends are up to on the other channels. I know several of my quilting friends feel the same, and I bet the new year might be a "better year for blogging" :o)

I wish you all a nice and creative Sunday, and a Happy New Week!

Hugs,
Laila

Miniature blocks

Piecing a few more scrappy leaf blocks this morning, and of course one of my quilt inspectors supervised the progress. Poor Suzu tried to fit into my small scrap bin...  

The miniature leaf blocks are just so cute! And so fun to make! Perfect for bonus hst's and scrappy squares leftovers :o)

Only 7 blocks are finished so far, but I hope to make a few more to make a miniature wall hanging.

I'll need to finish more of the original 6" blocks to have more bonus blocks for the miniature blocks. 

Happy sewing,
Laila

Playing with fabrics this weekend

I have been playing with fabrics this weekend, and it feels so good to finally back in my sewing room again! My neck has been hurting a lot lately, but I've felt a bit better the last couple of days, so I ignored the pain and pieced on :o) Nothing is better than some fabric therapy, right?

I finished 24 Haystack blocks and will use them for a couple of new table runners like the one I made earlier this summer. You can see it here.

 Since I started ironing the seams open (which is a technique I use for smaller blocks)  I've used a little glue to make the blocks lay flat by adding it at every point they meet.

This is how my block looks like before adding the glue:

This is how it looks after adding a little dot of glue:

Earlier this summer I started on the "Button up" quilt designed by Cluck Cluck Sew. I finished piecing these blocks, but I never got to iron the last two seams on them.... Well, I ironed the seams and added a dot of glue to make them lay flat :o) 14 more blocks to add to the other pile I finished!

I have a few more pieces cut for these blocks too, so I will try to finish up a few more next week.

I'm going to use the same fabrics for my Farmers Wife 1930s quilt when the Sew Along starts. Can't wait to get started, I know it will be so much fun! Are you joining us? 

Wish you all a great new and creative week!

Hugs,

Laila

Still progress in my sewing room

It's been nice to spend some time in my sewing room the last week. 

I have been cutting a lot of fabrics and have enjoyed working with the repro's. 

I have a few more pieces for the new table runner I am working on, and I will need three large blocs to make it. One block is finished, and number two is in progress. Hope to finish it today. 

These are some of my precut pieces, and they are all so cute😊

Yesterday I had a lot of Happy mail. I got my fatquarter bundle of Lori Holt's new line, and also a nice parcel from Australia arrived!
I ordered some stuff from Helen Stubbings, and I have been excited to start this cute project:

New stitchery needles and the threads to make this also arrived with the pattern, so of corse I had to start one right away! Super fast when I didn't need to trace the pattern on to the fabric, since it comes with iron on transfers 😊

I have to admit I needen some "me time"these days, without explaining too much about that... Life happends, and sometimes everyone needs a little "time-out" to get the batteries charged.
We are having our Summer Holidays back here, and while Hubby is working on the house with stuff I can't help with and the kids are doing their stuff, I am sewing as much as I can when the weather is rainy and cold. 
We've been working a little in the garden too, but no fun when it rains...

I'm off to clean up a bit in my sewing room before dinner, so I can continue where I left 

Happy sewing!
Laila

Farmgirl vintage fun

I purchased two of Lori Holt's books last week, and I have been making some blocks from one of them, the "Farmgirl vintage".

I have been making the 6" blocks, and even if some of the pieces are tiny I had fun making them. The book have patterns for both 6" and 12" blocks.

Here are a few of the blocks I started making first:

I bought some new fabrics and added them to the ones I bought years ago. I haven't been making much out of the repro fabrics before, but I just love the colors in Lori's projects, and they are also perfect together with a lot of the fabrics from Bonnie & Camille. I have a soft spot for the aqua fabrics, and they look so great together with the rest. 

You can read more about Lori Holt and her lovely projects on her blog Bee In My Bonnet.

If you are on Instagram you will find lots of great stuff people around the world are making too. Look up #farmgirlvintage and #beeinmybonnet and you will be amazed about the gorgeous stuff people are making!

I love the cherry blokcs, so I figured I should make a small table runner. I haven't made anything smaller in such a long time. Feels really great to make a project that I am able to finish in a few days! And I don't have so many projects around in my home, so this was a perfect project for making something for myself. 

I just did some simple crosshatching on it, and even if it's not perfect I love my new table runner!

Yesterday I picked up my brand new sewing machine at the Post office. A Bernina 710.
I used it to do the quilting on my table runner, and it was so much fun! 

I ordered the sewing machine from a Norwegian web site called symaskiner.no. And it arrived the day after I ordered it! I had contact with the owner via mail a few times to decide which machine I would purchase, and I am so thrilled about the great service! Since I was offered a great prize for this machine, I chose to buy it even if I was supposed to buy a smaller one.

So far I am so satisfied with the new Bernina 710, but I know I have lots to learn using it and customize the settings to fit my sewing style. I hate to read to learn stuff, so I am learning by doing as  I go. And making a few notes to remember. Lots of great tutorials on YouTube too :oD

Wish you all a great weekend!
Hugs,
Laila

Finished my "Comfort quilt" #5

I finished one of my UFO's the other day, and I admit I really love how it turned out. This is the 5th "Comfort quilt" I've made, and I don't get tired of the pattern. Each quilt looks so different, and this time I made it in my very favorite scraps and it's FOR ME :o)

I finished quilting it on my longarm last weekend, but worked on the binding for several days. Had to take it slow because my neck hasn't been too kind lately.... But I managed to finish it :o)
I used wool batting, and King tut variengated thread from Superior threads. The panto is from Urban Elementz and is called "Flower child".

The photos isn't too good, but at least it's already approved by my quilt inspector Nano :-)

I'm happy to have one less UFO on my shoulders, and hope to finish a few more during the Summer Holidays. 
We've had some nice sunny days this weekend, and I have spent a lot of time outdoors with my knitting and just licking some sun. It feels so good to have some warmer and sunny weather again! It's midsummer, and till now we've only had rain, rain, wind and rain.... The weather report promises some more rain in the next days, so there will be nice sewing weather pretty soon again.... Oh well! Guess we can't do anything about the weather, so I will fill the days with some crafty stuff!

Wish you all a great and creative new week!
Hugs,
Laila

A little May report

I must admit I welcome Spring with open arms. The winter has been too long! It's so great to spend time outside in the garden, and to go hiking in our lovely woods. Love to see the green is covering more and more of the beautiful landscape :o)

This photo is from a hike on 16.th of May. So nice to see the flowers are blooming at this season! 

I have been sewing a little bit, but mostly I have been knitting. I just finished a new Marius sweater in greygreen, white and charcoal. Love how it ended up :) The photos are taken with my phone, so they are not super clear.

I have been working on an old UFO too, and most of the blocks are coming together nicely. Just a few more hours work on this, and I can load it up on my longarm machine and finish the quilt. I will find a pantograph for this, and use a light variengated thread that will blend in. The fabrics are some of my very favorite scrap pieces, and looks great together.

I have also been finishing up some more blocks for the "Blooming Springtime" quilt. I have to admit I just love it already! And it's so fun to be doing some needleturn appliqè again. I will be prepping several of the blocks to make it easier to take with me when I am on the go.

Hope you all will have a great June, with lots of stitching and knitting :o)
Hugs,
Laila

Some new stuff

Spring finally came around, and I have been doing some gardening again. Cutting back some of the blackcurrant bushes and getting rid of old leafs and grass. The two furballs, Nano and Suzu, have been following my every move and they are super happy to be playing outside in the warmer weather. Funny how some sun and warmer weather can make both animals and people happier :o) 

Big changes happened lately, and long story short; I had to leave my job because of my health issues, so now I will have to stay on a sick leave until I can join a job training program to see if there is a job out there for me. It's so sad to leave your colleagues through 25 years, but I try to do the best out of the days I'm staying home. I'm so happy I have my hobbies, and that I'm able to keep my focus on something positive. Quilting, knitting and sewing is therapy, right? At least I feel better when I can do something creative.

Earlier this month the Norwegian designer Bente Tufte came to our quilt guild meeting and talked about her quilting life and the patterns she has made. She uses a lot of stitcheries in her projects, and I bought a pattern called "Løper med broderi"/"Table runner with stitcheries". I just fell in love with the lovely table runner she made, so I have started mine. Almost finished the stitcheries, and I am soon ready to quilt some simple quilting on it before I finish the binding. 

If you want to see more of Bente Tufte's work, you can visit my local quilt guild's blog.

It's no secret I love Gail Pan's work. I ordered the book she released a while ago, and started a stitchery for a gorgeous pillow from the book. I'm using a variegated thread, so I don't need to worry about thread changing :o) Love it!

I've been knitting almost every night when watching TV with Hubby. I just finished attaching the threads on three pairs of Blueberry waffle socks. The white pair is already delivered to it's new owner, my dear Mum :-) The others will be kept in a bin, so I have some presents ready for upcoming birthdays/Christmas.

When our local quilt guild are having meetings, my local quilt shop Quiltegården has a nice selection of stuff from the shop for us to buy. I bought this book by Lori Holt after seeing shopowner Siw's gorgeous table runner made from one of the patterns in the book.

One of the blocks I finished looks like this:

I love these fabrics, and I hope to make a table runner for my dining room table using them.

I have also tried out the twister ruler. I haven't tried this before, so I had to make a test block:

My plan is to make several blocks for a table runner using these. Love how it came out!

No UFO's in this post, but I will be making progress on them when I'm finished quilting the quilt on my longarm:

I had to get more thread, since the cone I had was way to small to cover the blue areas.... It's great to have longarm quilting friends to ask when that happens. I'm super happy my friend (you know who you are :o)...) is sending me a cone of the same color, so I can finish it up. Almost half way there.....

Wish you all a great and creative weekend that is just around the corner ;o)

Hugs,

Laila

Lovely Sunday

I've had the darn migraine for almost two weeks in a row, but late last night it finally felt better. Woke up today without much of a headache, and I could finally spend some time in my sewing room. I was not alone, since the two furballs kept me company as always. Looks like the cats are more happy about spending time in the sewing room than me :oD

I have been practising some longarm machine quilting today, and I am soooo out of practise. Have a lot of catching up to do!!! But slowly I will get back on track again... I hope! 

                                             

While Nano, the furball, had a nap on the practise piece (I would NEVER let her do that on a real quilt!!!!) I started cutting some fabrics for a quilt I've wanted to make for a while. I bought the book by Buggy Barn early in 2014, and the Star Band is the favorite in this book. I don't have any BB fabrics for this quilt, so I am using a lot of japanese fabrics from my stash. I guess I'll be stashbusting a lot while making this one!

I'm determined to not buy any fabrics unless I really need to this year. I guess the only ones I will need is backings for the finished quilts. I have too much fabrics, and I almost feel bad about having this much and not using it.... Anyone else feels the same?

I have at least three quilts I have planned to make, but will finish some of the ones I've already started between working on new projects. I still have some knitting projects to finish too, so I will do whatever works for me :o)

Wish you all a great new and creative week!

Hugs,

Laila