More about the weekend class

All of us had such a great time during the weekend. I met a lot of ladies from classes we attended together a while ago, but I also met several of the ladies I know only from Blogland. So nice to meet them in person!

This is some photos of the "busy bees" :o)

Quiltegården had lots of yummy fabrics, notions, patterns and thread we cold buy. I felt like a hoarder after this weekend, but I've got a lot of plans for the yummy stuff that came home with me :o)




Gail wanted to get a photo outside while it was snowing. I think both Gail and Helen liked the snow :o) And I can understand that, it looked pretty nostalgic when the snow was falling outside. Even if us locals wanted less off it ;o)

Unni got to finish her scissor holder, and it looked so pretty! She's such a talented lady, and her hand quilting skills is to die for!

Both me and Unni fell for the project Helen brought, which wasn't on the agenda for this weekend, but she helped us prep the gorgous block with birds and leaves, and did show us how she made it. A couple of the other ladies also wanted to try this, and we loved it! Something different, and most of all so fun!

This is Unni and me, very focused on playing whit the coloring pencils. We laughed a lot about it, since we felt like a couple of kids :o) But we had so much fun! And the result was so pretty!

Somebody joked about making angels in the snow, and when Borghild jumped into the snow and made a snow angel Gail was suddenly jumping in too, and made her snow angel :o)

Of course Helen had to make hers too:-)

Thank you so much Gail and Helen, this was such a nice weekend! Thank you so much for the inspiration you left me! I really hope to see you again :o)

This is how one of my projects look after I finished the stitching around the colored leaves and birds. So pretty!

I'll post more about the progress on the other projects I started this weekend  in my next post :o)

Weekend class with Gail Pan and Helen Stubbings

The weekend class with Gail Pan and Helen Stubbings was such a nice event. I'm so happy that Siw at my local quilt shop, Quiltegården, made this happen! I was so excited to see Gail again, and to meet Helen. They are both lovely ladies, and great teachers.

The weekend started with a trunk show on Friday. Gail and Helen told us about their work and where they find inspiration to make the lovely quilts and project. They brought so many gorgeous projects, and this is some of them:

We also had a "Show and tell" but I didn't take any photos of the lovely projects, but I'll try to come back here and link to the blogs that show some of them :o) I haven't seen any blog with photos of the "Show and tell" yet, but I guess I'm not the only one having a lot of photos to organize after this weekend :o)

We where having two projects from each of our lovely teachers to work on this weekend:

"Sewing Chatelaine" by Helen Stubbings

"Hana's basket" and "Stitch me Happy" by Gail Pan

"My Journal" by Helen Stubbings

I've started on "Sewing Chatelaine", "Hana's basket" and one more project Helen did tell us about. I'll tell more in my next post, I have to edit some more of my photos first :-)

A new project and some yummy stuff

This weekend I got to finish a little wallhanging I've been working on for a while. It's a Christmas pattern from Gail Pan. I made it for my local quilt shop, Quiltegården. Ain't it cute? I love it!

This weekend I have been baking cakes and cinnamon buns, and one of the cakes looks sooo delicious! It's a cheese cake with blueberry jelly. I've always used lemon jelly in my cheese cake, but this will be a new favorite ;o) Just had to show you the gorgeous color on top of it :o)

We are getting ready have a family birthday party for the twins today. They turned 15 this week. Cakes and coffee... it will be a nice Sunday :o)


Happy Sunday to you too,
Laila

February OPAM report and AYOS

I finally finished my "Winter Blooms". The binding is added and hand pieced by hand. I'm so glad my friend Sølvi had the fabric I needed for the binding! I'm very pleased about how it looks :o) This is my second finish for February OPAM. The other one is the "Ruffles" quilt.

The last days haven't included much sewing because of some darn migraine, so I didn't get to finish my project for AYOS. I've got only two of the blocks finished still, but will try to finish the quilt during March. I guess life happens sometimes, that's the way it goes.
Looking forward to see how the finishes the other ladies that joined the AYOS made this month. I bet there will be a lot of gorgeous tops, and some finished quilts :o)

A nice weekend in my sewing room :o)

I've spent a lot of time in my sewing room this weekend. Been both sewing and quilting :o)
I've made progress on the AYOS quilt, and this is my two blocks for the "I.S.T.H." quilt plus the pieces for the remaining 7 blocks. 
Since "I.S.T.H." means "Insert Snappy Title Here" I thought I should call mine "Starstruck". Fancy name I think :-) 

This is a large wallhanging my mother pieced a while ago. I got to load it on to the longarm frame yesterday, and spent some hours yesterday night, and this morning to finish quilting it. I'm not so good at this custom quilting (yet...) but I try to figure out how I should do things. I really need to figure out how to make the corners with feathers, I'm not so happy about how they turned out. But it looks ok.
I also need to figure out how much I should quilt to "lock the blocks", I think I maybe overdo that...
I want to get a couple of rulers to make those bows more even, since I really want them to be "perfect". But I guess these things looks better as I get more skills, right?

Mom was pretty happy about it, and I know she look forward to add the binding and get it up on the wall.

I got rid of the word verification on my blog, but keep getting these anonymous comments which must be deleted manually in my blog settings, since they end up there in a "trash list". Do you get lots of those? 
I will try to keep the word verification off for a while and see what happens. I must admit I'm having some difficulties with these myself... 


Tomorrow it's our two youngest Hearties' birthday. Our twins are having their 15th birthday tomorrow, and I can't help thinking the time flies sooo fast! 
We'll have a birthday party for them next weekend, but I guess I'll have to make them some yummy chocolate cake or brownies tomorrow :o)


Wish  you all a creative new week!

Slow progress

I've been having a week off work (Winter Holidays), and I've got to spend some time in my sewing room these days. Been making progress on the hourglass blocks for my Mill Girls quilt, but I also started a new project. It's been on my mind for so long, so I figured I should use the Ruby fabrics since they where already out of the bins after making the "Ruffles" quilt.
I've used this pattern before, and I wanted to make the quilt in "happy" fabrics.
The pattern is called "Smokey Mountain Stars", and it's a design by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville. I just love it!

These are the rows I've working on now, and there will be rows between every one, to make the stars "pop out". I'm almost finished cutting the last blocs for those to be in between, so I'm about half way to a finished top :-)
I haven't finished the top from the first time I used this pattern. But only the borders are left on that one... You can see how that one looks here. It's totally different than the one I'm doing now :o)


When I woke up this morning, I remembered that I need to get my I.S.T.H. finished  in a few days. I joined the "Another year of Schnibbles" sew-along, and I've already figured out the fabrics I wanted to use in this quilt. They are mostly reproduction fabrics, and I got to finish one block today.

I hope to finish a few more blocks later today. I have to slow down a bit, since the darn migraine decided to pay me a visit... 
I'm off for a little nap, and hope to get to show you some more blocks later :o)

My first finish this year :o)

Had a day off work today, and I've been stitching down the last two yards of binding on my "Ruffle" quilt. 
When I was finished piecing the top I thought the wide white border looked a bit too wide, but after I was finished with the quilting I ended up thinking it looks nice. The flowers really decorate the border.

A few details:

These fabrics really reminds me of Summer... :o)

Me and the kids are having a whole week off work and school (Winter Holidays) so I hope to get some sewing done during this weekend and next week :o)

Got some things I 'have to' do, and some I 'want to' do ;o)

I've planned to finish my "Winter Blooms", and I guess adding the binding will be done this weekend.

Wish you all a great weekend!

Happy sewing ♥

Laila

A cozy day :o)

A good friend of mine, Anne Lise, came over to my place today so we could enjoy some sewing together. 
She has been working on a gorgeous quilt, "Winter Wonderland", and needed a little help to get started with the star blocks that will be added to the large piece she finished a while ago. She made all the stitcheries by hand. Anne Lise has been sewing for many years, and she has made LOTS of beautiful patchwork projects, but this is her first large quilt.

She needed a little "kick in da' butt" to get started with the star blocks, and the first star block was carefully cut and pieced, and turned out so nice :o) 

It was so nice to enjoy a day with a good friend, and I hope we'll be able to have a day like this again pretty soon ;o)


Yesterday I got to finish quilting the "Ruffles" quilt. And while I was working on the last row, I discovered something really weird... A quilted flower did "hit" every white block perfectly. What are the odds for that, when I didn't at all try to make that happen???  

I added the binding on the quilt before I went to bed last night, and I've been stitching it down by hand today. Half way to a finish now :-) I think the Lime binding will look good, and I'm looking forward to finish it up. Then I can start with adding the binding on my "Winter Blooms". Guess that will be my weekend project ;o)

Happy sewing ♥

Laila

Happy Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day here in Norway today, and I wish all my Norwegian friends a 


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!


I got these beautiful flowers, and cake of course ;o)

Not much sewing going on over here this weekend, but I've made a nice pile of Granny Squares. I've been crocheting and watched some TV. Usually I sew and only listen to the TV... :o)

I'm heading to my sewing room to make some progress on the "Ruffles" quilt now, and I hope you all are having a nice Sunday too :o)

Happy sewing ♥

Laila

Granny Squares

Do you crochet? I did... years ago... Made a lot of table runners and laces. When I stared sewing, the yarn and crochet pins ended up in a bin. I've seen a lot of gorgeous afghans/blankets around here in Blogland, but never got to make any...until now :o) 
On Wednesday me and a good friend of mine, Anne Lise, went downtown to our local quilt shop, Quiltegården, to do some shopping there. Sølvi E. (one of the ladies who works there) worked on her latest project, and I fell in love with her gorgeous blanket made of Granny squares. Siw (the shop owner) showed us the blocks that she had been working on too, and I fell in love with hers too :o) 
I ended up ordering enough yarn to start on a blanket, and I went to Quiltegården Heimdal today to pick it up.
Since I forgot to take some photos on Wednesday, I asked Sølvi E. if I could take a photo of her blanket today. Isn't it gorgeous?

(click on the photos to enlarge)

A close up photo:

Since we have a little furball leaving LOTS of white hairs all over our house, I did choose the white one to be my background color. The other colors are pretty much the same ones Siw is working with in her squares. 
I will add some more colors later, but this is what I started with:

Yummy colors, and I love the dusty ones. Reminds me a little of the colors in the japanese fabrics. It is a cotton/wool yarn from Rowan, and I'm using a crochet pin size 4. 


I have already made some blocks and trying to figure out which colors to use together. These blocks are pretty addictive, but sooo much fun to make. And superfast!!!

I got to deliver two quilts when I went to visit Sølvi A. today, and I was super happy when I found out that she had the fabric I've been looking for, to use in the binding on my "Winter Blooms" quilt. She is really an angel! I will clean cut the quilt, and add the binding later this weekend :o)
Tonight I will be stuck in front of the TV in my favorite chair, with a glass of red wine and making some more Granny squares :o)


Wish you all a great and creative weekend ♥

Laila

Charity quilt

It's been a while since I quilted any charity quilts, but since I'm going to pay my friend Sølvi a visit tomorrow to deliver the one I quilted early in January, I thought I should finish the quilting on one more:-)
This is a string quilt made by a lady in my local quilt guild. I used a pantograph pattern, and I like the result. It's a busy quilt, so the quilting is a bit hard to see on the photos.

The charity quilts that are donated to our local Hospital, can be seen  at the blog Tepper til St.Olav. LOTS of gorgeous quilts, so pop over to have a look :-)


I'm looking forward to the weekend, and hope I will be able to make some more progress on my sewing projects. I also hope to take my camera and take a trip outside for a long walk. Been spending too much time indoors, and I can feel I could really need a walk... Maybe it will charge some batteries too :-)


Wish you all a great weekend!

Happy sewing ♥

Laila

Sewing and quilting

I figured I could use my "Full House" pillow as a practice piece, so I loaded it up on the longarm frame and tried to practice on some quilting with rulers, and also on the background filler called McTavishing. Haven't finished the pillow yet, but hope to be able to figure out how to finish this piece soon. 

When I started cutting into the fatquartes of Ruby, the fabric line I used for the "Full House" quilt, I also cut several strips 2,5" wide.  I have a pattern of a quilt I really like called "Ruffles", and making this quilt has been on my mind a while. Since the strips where already precut, it was easy peasy to cut alle the pieces I needed to make the blocks for this quilt. 
I've been piecing the blocks together in rows now, and I like it a lot!
It's not colors that I usually use, but they are so fresh, and they give me Summer feelings :o)
Hard to get clear and bright photos inside when it's dark, but you can see how the blocks looks like:

I will be using a pantograph pattern for this quilt, so it will not take so much time to finish it...I hope...

I just want to practice more on my longarm machine, and the custom quilting is really time consuming. This is a quilt that doesn't need all the details of custom quilting since the fabrics are pretty "busy", I think.

I'm feeling a lot better, it seems like the stomach bugs went to bother someone else... Finally!!!

Wish you all a great and creative new week,

Happy sewing ♥

Laila

Winter Blooms

Finished quilting my "Winter Blooms" quilt yesterday. Only a few stitches that needed to be done, so can't tell you why I waited so long... 

Need to find the fabric for the binding now. Hope I'll be able to find the same one like in the smallest border. 
Here are some detail photos:

So happy I was able to take some photos in daylight today. When I don't use the flash on the camera, the quilting shows off better. I made a few mistakes here and there, but it's after all my second custom quilted quilt. Finished is better than perfect, right? 


Wondering what will be next project... Think I'll try to quilt the "Full House" pillow I finished the other day, then work on some of my UFO's. 
Need to chase the stomach bugs away first, so I'll get some energy to make some progress in my sewing room. 


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

OPAM report and AYOS

I have been working on my "Winter Blooms", and it's still on the frame waiting to be finished quilted. I am almost done, only a few hours of quilting left. 

I signed up for AYOS (Anothe year of Schnibbles), hosted by Sinta and Sherri. The quilt for January was the "Full House". I decided to make the pillow with these cute little houses, but since I didn't read the pattern well enough I ended up with making 12 big houses, the ones in the original "Full House" pattern.... so... I finally got to cut and start piecing the small ones that is meant to be used for the pillow this weekend, and finished most of them. We where celebrating Hubby's birthday on Sunday, so I had to make some cakes and stuff instead of sewing ;o) 
Today a stomach bug came and interrupted my sewing plans, so I have only the top finished, not a finished quilt :-(

I've used the fabrics in the Moda line "Ruby". Pretty happy colors :o)

So... No finishes for me this month, but I guess I will have a couple for next month then :o)

I decided to join the new BOM Civil War Journals. I got the first parcel from Fat Quarter Shop a couple of days ago, and looking forward to get time to start cutting and sewing. This quilt is really beautiful, and even if the Japanese fabrics are my favorite, I really love the reproduction fabrics. 

I got this blog button from Fat Quarter Shop, and if you are joining the BOM too, please use it on your blog if you like :o)

I'll be stuck in my favorite chair with some hand sewing in front of the TV tonight. Not feeling good at all, but there will be another day tomorrow :o)

Happy sewing,

Laila

Out of practice...

Yesterday I finished the little secret I've been working on this month. I'm pretty satisfied with the result. 
It's my second "Winter Blooms", designed by Gail Pan. This is my favorite pattern made by her.


I made this quilt for Quiltegården a while back, and that one is still hanging in the shop so people who wants to buy the pattern can see what it looks like.


This is how "Winter Blooms" #2 turned out:

This one will be hanging on my wall, in our living room, and I can't wait to finish quilting it and do the binding!
I used some of the same fabrics like in the first one, and added some others with them.


Now...I do have a little problem... I've used all the dark brown fabric I had, in the quilt, and I also wanted to make the binding with the same one ( the one in the small border), so if anyone knows where to get it PLEASE let me know!!!
I bought the last piece Quiltegården had of it... so they're out too...


Late last night I loaded the quilt on to the longarm machine, and tried a few seams...but gave up. Too tired, so I thought I should give it a try tonight. But nah... didn't work, and I ended up unripping the seams over and over... I REALLY need to practice a lot more to get it like I want it to be. I'm a very impatient person, and hate to practice too much, and it's a downside about that, I KNOW!


These seams are not ripped out yet, but I will do that tomorrow, but it will give you an idea of how I am planning to do this.  It will look good when I just get some more practice :o) Not giving up yet!

I signed up for the "Another year of Schnibble", and I hope to finish the "Full House" quilt before the end of the month. Lots of cutting and sewing left, but hopefully I'll make it before the end of the month!!! It's a cute quilt that will look great as a wallhanging. That one will also get to decorate my living room, since there are no quilts to be seen in that area of my house :o)


I'm attending OPAM this year, too. I like the little "kick in da' butt" it gives me, to at least try to finish one project a month. 
Thanks so much to Peg and Kris for hosting it this year too!!!
And BTW!!! I won OPAM 2011's December drawing! Yay!
Got some lovely fabrics and a cute embroidery in a parcel from Kris. Thank you Kris!


Happy sewing,
Laila

No UFO's done yet...

...but I have been sewing these days... on a new secret quilt... for ME :o) 
I've enjoyed A LOT of needleturn applique (my favorite method), so now it's machine piecing all the way 'till it's finished! I can't wait to show you!!
Cannot show you yet (it wouldn't be a secret then, would it?)... but between the cutting the rest of the pieces for the secret quilt, I've got two house blocks done and a few more pieces for a few others. 
These blocks will be joined into rows for the "Full House" quilt, which is the first quilt in the "Another year of Schnibbles" sew-along. I'm using my japanese fabrics, and I hope this will be a nice quilt. I will make it a wallhanging and decorate my living room with it.

Are you joining the "Another year of Schnibbles" sew-along?


I hope to show some more progress soon :o)


Wish everyone a great new and creative week!


Hugs,
Laila