Quilting with the Past

Baby hats for Nepal

2012-02-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

Mirjam from the blog Hand, Have a nice Day wrote about the need of warm baby hats in Nepal. Well I thought if can knit Christmas balls I can knit baby hats too :-)

I had some left over yarn from this project (actually, I bought too much because I'm not an experienced knitter/crocheter and I have no idea how much yarn I need for a project)

I found this pattern on the Drops site. I love this site, they have very nice patterns!

and voila!...

Three baby hats.

It is so nice to discover at the age of 46 that beside knitting christmas balls, crocheting ducks, cycling very fast and competing men and winning , I can knit baby hats too :-)

If you want to donate to this project you have to be fast. It is closing at the end of february.

Lucy

A coat and a bag

2012-01-31T11:08:00.001-08:00

You have an old woolen coat (which is now way too big since you lost weight ;-)
But the fabric is so beautiful, what to do..

Yes, some cut,cut, snip,snip, measure, sew and...

Ta daaahhh, there it is! A bag which you take with you to work, groceries, fabric shopping, yarn shopping. Or you can carry your knitting-, crochet- or quilt projects with you. In other words you can use it for everything :-)

Lucy

Done

2012-01-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

The binding is on and this doll quilt is done :-)

Lucy

Crochet

2012-01-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Ai, I have a quilt blog and now I'm into crocheting :-)

I taught my daughter how to crochet....

I made these key ring ducks in different colors since everyone likes it and would love to have one by me..

I bought some lovely yarn. (believe me being in a yarn shop is the same as being in a quilt shop I'm drooling over the yarn, at the colors and the feel of it. I want to buy everything *sigh* I wish I wasn't that crafty and want to do it all!)

Well I choose a 100% alpaca wool from drops in a natural color. It feels so soft.
I want to make a small lap size blanket of it.
I will use this pattern. (click) For my english readers click here.

Though.. I'm not experienced with crocheting and there is a difference in the pattern and how it is crochet at the picture. The description of how to crochet the grannies together is minimal and I think it is for someone more experienced
I found out that I made a mistake and I have to crochet the last row of the pile (left hand at the picture) of grannies over....

But I'm still enthusiastic about it. It is so easy to pick up.

I will keep you up posted about my progress...

Lucy

2011-12-22T02:00:00.000-08:00

Inspired by an antique doll quilt

2011-12-08T04:59:00.000-08:00

After weeks of recovering Ihave a bit of my spirit back to make a little quilt.
One of my favourite quilt books is Childhood Treasures by Merikay Waldvogel.

You can find lot of very cute doll quilts in it. Actually every quilt in
this book is an inspiration. Kathie has already reproduced a few of the
doll quilts. Take a peek at her blog and you will be amazed!

I made this block maybe a year ago inspired by an antique quilt I found on the web. ( don't remember exactly where). I wanted to use it for this center. It is not my intention to reproduce this quilt exactly. I just want to achieve the same feel.

It’s is so good to play with my fabrics again, searching for the right piece, to feel them, and cut them into the right size is just fun!

Love the sound of my purring baby..

This looks nice..

and then OOPS.. wrong size. Why was I thinking that 6 x 7 = 45 ??????

Ok, I could cut them smaller with the correct math. Only then it doesn't have the look what I want.

I’m sidetracked: Who made this little heart on my pincushion for me :-) ?

Back to my doll quilt. I hear Gwen saying if it is to short add a piece, if it is too long cut it off. I love this quote, it makes everything so much easier. So this time I add a little. Thanks Gwen :-). Top is finished. Now the backing.

Every time when I clean up my stash in my closet I have the intention to keep it that way. Seriously I do!!!! But somehow it doesn't happen. I have too much fabric and little space to store it. How do I find a nice backing in this closet?

Ahh found.

Ahhh too short..

I offer this beautiful red piece for the backing. To me it is hard to use a nice red for the backing. I want to use them for the front. I love red. I need to find one more piece .

Back to my closet. It’s really hard to dig through the fabrics.. Need to clean up this soon.

I putt my hand in a pile and this came out. HUH bears.

Hé you cutie..Yep, nothing for me but I'm going to fill the last space with this fabric.

Nice cup of tea..
I’m sidetracked by this quilt on the other page of the book. Beautiful border!

Backing is finished. Ready to baste top, batting and backing together.

Basting pieces of an old fabric on the border so the quilt fits in the hoop.

I’m going to quilt the center with a clamshell pattern. Easy to draw and easy to quilt.

What’s left is a nice color of quilting thread.

Let's go quilting!

Lucy

Advent Calendar

2011-11-29T01:30:00.000-08:00

Laura from Pine Ridge Quilter is doing a very interesting kind of advent calendar. Each day she will be showing a stunning antique quilt.

Lucy

Addicted

2011-11-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Totally addicted....

Arne and Carlos

2011-11-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at the studio. Unfortunately we are not going to be on tv. The show has many issues and I think there wasn't much time left for the knitted christmas balls of us :-(
That's tv.
We had a great day anyway.. The meeting with Carlos and Arno was a highlight! They are so cute!

Thank you Wieke for taking me with you. It was fun to meet so many knitters.

Lucy

Christmas balls and Paul de Leeuw

2011-11-04T02:40:00.000-07:00

I never thought that I could knit with 5 needles.
I never thought that I could knit with two colors. (now I think it is no problem to knit with even more than two colors)..
and I never thought that I would ever knit Christmas balls on Dutch television during the show of Paul the Leeuw!!!

Wieke invited me to go with her to the show.

Arne and Carlos, the authors of the book '55 Christmas Balls to knit' are coming to talk about their book. Yeah..I'm going to meet them. The show is on Saturday 5 November at 20.25 hour. I will let you know how much fun this was!

Lucy

My first knitted Christmas ball

Christmas balls.

2011-11-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

OOh my.. why did I start this?? :-) :-)

(I have never knitted with 5 needles before)

Lucy

a surprise.

2011-10-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

I’m thrilled by this wonderful gift from Kathie! She is incredible in sewing mini quilts inspired by antique doll quilts. Thank you so much for this surprise Kathie!

Lucy

Finished top

2011-10-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished my nine patch quilt top.
The quilt has a spring feeling to it. I didn't have to buy any fabrics for this top. It is made from fabrics I had in my fabric closet.
I loved to dig through my stash for the soft and light colors. The border is begging for a feather quilt pattern don't you think?

I am looking forward to hand quilting this quilt.

Lucy

Lucy's 365 days

Cowl

2011-10-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today I finished my cowl, thanks to Lalalizie’s instructions. The wool isn’t as thick as Lizzie recommended but I think it works.
It was a very fast project. It will be nice to wear in autumn when the days are getting colder and stormy like today.

Lucy

Lucy's 365 days

Quiltmania Special Autumn 2011

2011-09-28T00:56:00.000-07:00

Look at the cover, lefthand side on the chair! I'm so happy that my Jakob's ladder quilt is published in Quiltmania's Autumn special issue.

Lucy

Lucy's 365 days

The new cover of my chair asked for a new mini...

2011-09-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

My pink chair got a hole in the fabric, so I had to fix it. I bought 2 old Dutch postal mail bags and covered my chair with it. One bag is dated 1982.
Next to my chair is an old cupboard with aside a place to hang up towels (used to be in the early days) and I use it to display a mini quilt. Well the new cover of my chair is asking for a new mini....

I choose a brickstone pattern. I saw a few antique doll quilts with this pattern and I like it.

I loved digging in my closet searching for the 'perfect' fabrics for this quilt

When I was satisfied I sewed them together.

Ironing the rows.. and look what's under.

It is my favorite seamripper. Believe me it is a pleasure undoing the stitches with this seamripper from clover.

Top is finished, it is basting time.

The backing!

Next part: the quilting. I choose a simple pattern. It didn't need a special quilting design. This quilting fit the little quilt I made.

Finished!

Time to enjoy it.

Lucy

Lucy 365 days

365 Days

2011-09-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Fun!

Lucy 365 Days

Lucy

Dishcloth

2011-08-28T02:13:00.000-07:00

Through the years I found out that knitting dishclothes is a perfect vacation project. Every vacation I bring with me a lot of different hand craft projects but once I start knitting a dishcloth I keep going on making them.

I love the progress of it. It's fast, I can watch tv, join in every conversation, answer questions from my kids and it is easy to take it with me.

I Love to see it grow.

Through the years I always come back to this pattern. It's a basket weave.

I also found out that I like cotton from Sugar'n Cream worsted weight best.

Only I'm not a very neat knitter. No problem, once you washed and dried the dischloth in the dryer it shrinks a bit, the stitches comes together and ta dah... it looks so much better. Isn't that great!

My children ask me what I'm going to do with all the dishcloths??

Well as soon as they are flying out of our nest they get a pile to take with them ;-) You can't have enough of homemade dishcloths from m0m don't you agree?

On our trips to the US I'm always searching for a color which I don't have.

It is nice to have every day a clean dishcloth on my sink.

Lucy

Tulips

2011-04-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Applique is my favorite technique! I love machine piecing, I love to sew pieces together by hand, love handquilting, knitting, cross- stitching (and I think rug hooking, if I knew how to do it)….. but when I pick up an appliqué project it feels like I’m ‘coming home'.

I also love tulips. Maybe it’s because I’m Dutch. I don’t know… Yesterday I was digging in my unfinished projects, especially my appliqué projects and I didn’t realize that I started so many tulip quilts/ blocks.

I just finished my tulip tile block.

This is a part of a big four block appliqué I hope to finish one day...

A block I made inspired by an antique quilt I found on the internet.

Another block. Inspired by an antique quilt on ebay. I also made it with printed fabrics to see what I like..

A tulip block on point.

Another four block I'm making....

and pfew, I also have finished quilts with tulips!

I want to end this post with my favorite quilt I made till so far!

Lucy

(Who didn't show you all tulip quilts ideas I want to make in my lifetime, otherwise this post would be way toooo long)

Blooming flower

2011-04-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

I made this mini awhile ago. I'm happy that Quiltmania published it in their Spring 2011 Issue. I Love the red fabric which I used for the flower and binding. It is a fabric from an older line, very hard to find. Thank you Patti for sending me a big piece. I’m so happy with it.

This mini would be also nice in more folk-art fabrics because the size of the stem and the shape of the flower buds are a bit bold, don’t you think?

Lucy

size: 45 cm x 53 cm (18 x 21 inch)

batting: 100% cotton tuscany

hand pieced

hand quilted

Cross- stitch

2011-04-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to do a little cross-stitch project. This time I made a little present for a friend. Years ago I found a book from I think late 60's about the history of cross stitch samplers and it is included with some patterns. Merklappen by G.E. Boone-Stolp It's a really nice book.

I choose to make a nice flower basket.

I wanted to make a pincushion but it became bigger then I thought. (I'm not an experienced cross- stitcher ;-). After finishingit I aged it with coffee dye I left it open and send it to my friend Kathie and let her choose to fill it with lavender or to make a pincushion of it.

Lucy

New

2011-02-09T02:21:00.000-08:00

Just the start of a simple quilt using my new and some of my older fabrics.

Lucy

Fabrics and a cross stitch

2011-02-07T01:50:00.000-08:00

I want to make a blue and white quilt, so of course, I had to order some blues!... and a few other fabrics I couldn't resist. I love how they look together. Maybe nice for a mini??

This weekend I started a small cross stitch project. It is a Stacy Nash pattern. Her style is gorgeous.

Lucy

Tile quilt

2011-01-21T07:44:00.000-08:00

I made some more tile blocks. I'm very inspired by these kind of quilts. There is not much written about the technique, history and the quilts. Barbara Brackman made a great post with some interesting links. In the first chapter of the book Tile revival you can find more about the history. American History wrote also an article. And look at this block. What an inspiration. I made my heart block inspired by it. I would love to see the whole quilt. Need to find out where I can find it. If you know can you tell me where I can see this quilt. Thanks!

Each block is a quilt in itself don't you think.

The blocks together looks a bit busy to me. I still don't know if I'm going to make a bed size quilt with them. In the meantime they are very addicting to make, let's see how it grows. I have ideas for more blocks. More personal, so I can make a story telling quilt of it.

Lucy

2011-01-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

Lucy

Pincushion

2010-12-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Almost a year ago I made this little cross stitch. I put it away and forgot about. While I was searching for a piece of fabric I came along this cross stitch project again,
finallyI finished it. I made a pincushion from it. I aged it with instant coffee for an antique feel. I'm happy with the result.

Lucy

Jakob

2010-12-11T10:13:00.001-08:00

Ta dahh, finally I can show you my finished quilt.

"Jakob"

Yes Jakob with a K. I named this quilt after Jakob Dylan. While I was making this quilt I listened a lot to his music. He is great!

Lucy

blocksize: 24 x 24 cm. (about 9,5 x 9.5 inch)
size: 192cm x 144cm (about 76 x 57 inch)
batting: 100% cotton

Rag Balls

2010-11-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

Yes! Finally I've finished the quilting on my Jakob's Ladder. When I finish sewing the binding I will share my quilt.

I made Rag balls from the batting and fabric I cut off from the sides of the quilt and some left over fabric when I cut too much for the binding. I like these balls for decorating. My kids love to juggling with them..

Lucy

Doll quilt.

2010-11-10T04:15:00.000-08:00

I made this doll quilt recently. It was inspired by an antique quilt in the book Childhood Treasures by Merikay Waldvogel. It's a great book with lovely antique doll quilts. It is high on my list of favourite books.

The quilt is nothing 'special', just simple. Something I like very much.

Lucy

Backing

Original

Amish

2010-10-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

Just delicious...

Lucy

Flying geese

2010-09-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

Vacation is over. Today my kids are all back at school. Everything is back to normal. The calendar is filled with appointments again. I have to get used to it after 8 weeks of 'freedom' :-) This is my latest finish, just a mini, a flying geese.

Lucy

Strawberry shopping bag

2010-06-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist this strawberry fabric at the shop. It has such a great summer feel. (click at the picture to see the fabric close)

Yesterday I made this simply shoppingbag with the fabric.

Today I used it.

I always use these kind of simply fabric shopping bags. It saves plastic and they are very good-looking don't you think?

Yes!! Off course I had to buy strawberries :-)

Lucy

Tile quilt

2010-06-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago this book came in at the shop. Tile Quilt Revival by Carol Jones and Bobbi Finley I was immediately inspired by the antique quilts in the book.

Love this version. It is a kind of story-tell quilt and great way to use novelty fabrics.

I had to try one block to see if I like it. It is something out of my comfort zone to make.

I love it that it is so easy to use scraps in this block. It was really fun to make, but it is very busy looking ... it is very crowded on the piece of cotton :-) Think I have to make a few more blocks to see if I like it and if I want to make a whole tile quilt. In the meantime I keep looking at these quilts, I am really intrigued with these quilts.

Lucy

Huswif

2010-05-31T02:53:00.000-07:00

I am inspired for years by a little picture in the book: The Amish Quilt by Eve Wheatcroft Granick. (If you like Amish quilts I highly recommend this book!) At that picture are a few Huswif's, an antique sewing case. While searching for inspiration I came along the picture and thought it was time to make one myself. You can also find huswif's in this book: Pockets and Rollups for my red cape by Edith C.O'Neill. They are made by left over fabrics and so useful.

This huswif is a class I'm going to teach at the shop.

Lucy

Texas

2010-05-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago My DH and I were so lucky to go on vacation to Texas just the two of us! My DH loves music especially The blues and Austin is the place to be. So I booked a flight, rented a car and for a week we drove on the roads of Texas around Austin. In the mornings we didn't know where we sleep that night.. For us it is the perfect way to travel. I would like to show you a little peek of Texas through my eyes. Skyline of Austin Everywhere is live music. And I loved to see all the oldtimers. We have seen so many of them. Can you imagine?? Bonnie was also in Austin the same time. We didn't plan this. Isn't it amazing. We spend an evening together. It was so good te see her.

Everywhere there were flowers along the road. So beautiful. We visited very nice little towns. On mainstreet the old buildings where just incredible.. Some places are just like in movies.

and look who's there ;-)

We went to a few little State Parcs. Beautiful!! We saw a lot in one week! We had a great time.

Lucy

Texas

2010-05-20T02:18:00.000-07:00

I think I'm addicted to antique malls. We visited a lot of them. We also found very nice little antique stores in the little towns. Do you see the blue vase with roses in the picture? That one traveled home with me. I was also able to bring an old picnic basket home. The one with a lid. I had an eye on those baskets since the first time I saw them in the US.
I hope I will fid the next time an antique Yellow Bowl. We don't have them here and I love them.

Lucy

Flower Applique

2010-05-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you my appliqué wall hanging. I am so excited that it is published in Quiltmania.
They took very lovely pictures of it. You can find my Flower Applique Quilt in their Spring Special issue.

Lucy

Jakob's ladder

2010-04-05T03:06:00.000-07:00

Just a nice picture of the progress I'm making on my Jakob's ladder quilt.

Lucy

Tulip Quilt

2010-04-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy to tell you that my tulip quilt is published in Quiltmania issue 67. I made this quilt after I was inspired by the original antique version in Gwen Marston’s book: Liberated String Quilts. This quilt is owned by Nancy Ray.
Nancy Ray and Gwen Marston gave me permission to publish it in Quiltmania.
I am so lucky that I was able to meet Nancy Ray in Michigan last year at Gwen’s retreat. She brought the antique Tulip quilt to the retreat so we could photograph both quilts together. The original quilt made by an unknown woman about 100 years ago and my quilt which flew over the ocean for this meeting. It was very special to me. Thank you to Nancy and Gwen for allowing me to share my quilt with Quiltmania.

Michigan, oct.5 2009

Both quilts together

Nancy Ray and me.

At this moment is my quilt displayed at the shop where I work "De Sampler" in Haarlem.

Detail

The last picture is of me with my idol Gwen Marston !! It was such a thrill to spent 4 days with her in Michigan oct.'09

Lucy

A finish and a very nice gift

2010-03-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

Today I received a very nice gift from Carol, a reader of my blog. She gave me a box with a lot of fabrics . The fabrics are from the 1900’s till today. I'm looking forward to playing with these fabrics. I want to make a few mini's with them. Thank you so much Carol.

I also want to share my Jacob's ladder top! Next step is to baste it and then I can start quilting.

Lucy

Antique blocks

2010-02-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

Last October when I met Bonnie she surprised me with these lovely antique blocks. I want to make a mini quilt with a few of these blocks. I can't decide if I will use the blues with shirting's to make a two color quilt or use these blocks and add a few more and make it scrappy. I already found a nice backing and binding fabric. I'm washing these fabrics a few times to give it the right antique feel which goes with these blocks.

Lucy

ps.

Some pictures I took this week of the small corner of the world where I live.

Snow

2010-01-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

The little part of the world where I live is covered with snow. Just to give you a little impression of how it looks like at Beeckestijn where I walked with my DH and Joseph our dog a few days ago. Here are a few pictures I took.

I made progress on my Jacob's ladder quilt. I love working with a two color combination block. Each block is becoming such a beauty! Each one I make I think is better than the last one and I loved the last one. All together they are making a beautiful quilt. My goal is to finish this top in a few weeks.

This little cross stitch project is becoming a little pinchushion. It is so cute to work on it.

Lucy

2009-12-30T22:41:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.

By Har Borland

My goal for 2010 is to post more on my blog about my quilting projects.
I’m currently working on a Jacobs Ladder quilt, here look at a few of the blocks I have made so far.

Lucy

Elk Rapids Gwen Marston part 2

2009-10-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

A highlight for me this trip was to meet Nancy Ray. Nancy is the owner of the antique tulip quilt I was inspired by to make my own version. It is published in Gwen's book Liberated String Quilts. Nancy went to Gwen's retreat the week before I came. She stayed a few days longer just to meet me, how lucky was I? She wanted to meet me and showed me the original quilt. It was so special to see them together. Unfortunately I can show you a little peek of them together becuase some of the pictures will be hopefully published in Quiltmania march issue. My quilt will be published with a pattern. Isn't that amazing!

I also met Biz Storms and mary Elizabeth Kinch, authors of the book Small Blocks Stunning Quilts. A lovely book! I can highly reccomend this book if you are a lover from reproduction fabrics and quilts.
We took pictures of everything but I don't have a picture of us together. I know there were taken pictures. Hopefully the girls have them and will send them to me and I will post them later.

I am impressed by how small the world is. Carol from Quilt as Desired blog showed her quilt made by Dutch fabrics. Her mom and aunt bought these dutch fabrics in the shop where I work! Actually I helped her aunt choose fabrics. Isn't it amazing that Carol from Canada and me from The Netherlands now met each other in the USA and that I was able to see what Carol did with her Dutch fabrics :-)

And here she is, my idol, Gwen Marston with a pile of her beautiful quilts next to her...

to be continued....

Lucy

Elk Rapids Gwen Marston part 1

2009-10-14T02:02:00.000-07:00

Some of you already knew where I was last week. I was at the GWEN MARSTON'S QUIlT RETREAT!!!! Yeahh, what a thrill. I'm dealing with a jetlag right now and my mind is so full with all my experiences. I went with Isabeau, Joes and Bonnie.

It was beautiful up there in Michigan. The trees are turning in so many colors this week. I will share you pictures from the area I took

This is the view from the condo we rented.

and this was outside of the studio

Some pictures on the road to Charlevoix. It was raining that day.

We saw a few lovely old one room schoolhouses just like in the little house on the prairie.

and look at these big pumpkins,beautiful!!

to be continued

Lucy

What’s left to do is wash...

2009-09-07T00:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finished my doll quilt. Everytime when I quilt a top to me it starts coming alive! Especially when a quilt isn't very scrappy like this one or an Amish quilt.

For quilting I used a flower template I had in my closet. I like using templates for my quilting. They are easy to use. I love the way the darker binding gives the quilt a bolder look. It was a good choice for my quilt.

Now I need to wash the quilt to get that feel and look of an old well loved doll quilt.

Lucy

Windmills

2009-08-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

Look what I made in one evening, a doll quilt! I love to sew small quilts. They go together quickly and helps you learn what fabrics work together. I wanted to make a quilt that was not so scrappy and busy. Now that the top is finished I think it is too neat, too controlled, not so my style! I think it will look better after it is hand quilted and washed and dried in the dryer. I'm hoping that the handquilting and the dryer will give the antique look I love.

Lucy

Jacob's Ladder

2009-08-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted.

Gré Koopman, the shopowner of De Sampler(where I work and teach), my boss passed away. She had been fighting for cancer for a short year. Till the last moment she was so positive and tried to go to the shop everyday she could. I will miss her.

Our summerbreak is over. The kids are going back to school next week. I had no luck this summer. I'm dealing for three weeks with a terrible infection which even brought me to hospital for a few days. I'm feeling better now so time for me to sew again :-)

I started a Jacob's ladder. Love the antique feel of it. And funny thing is that I have been listening a lot to Jakob Dylan lately. I love his music. His band is called The Wallflowers and yes he is the son of Bob Dylan. (the Wallflowers One Headlight)

I'm also very happy to tell you that one of my quilts is published in the summer special of Quiltmania. I love the picture of my quilt. The photographer of Quiltmania did a great job!

Lucy

Finished top

2009-07-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

.... And then I had 8 star points. Which background should I use?
I wanted to use fabric from my stash.

A dark pink? .. hmm nope.

Mustard?... nice but it doesn't have that WOW!

A dark grey?.. Also nice. But what is under the dark grey fabric. Yes BLUE!

The blue is calling me. I can't help it.

A light blue? ...no.
Yes this is the fabric I like, a darker petrol blue! Yes.

The star is coming together...

Only the tricking thing from a lone star is the center. It's the last sewing part. I'm always a bit nervous for it. Afraid that I sewed a bra!

Pinning carefully.
And there it goes..
pfeww! I'm satisfied. The center is nice and flat!

I also used in this quilt solids from Kaffe fasset. I love to mix them up with Kona solids. It gives such a nice Amish feel! The center is from a Fasset solid. So are the background and the green points.

I didn't have enough of the blue/petrol fabric. I used two different fabrics.

And ta dahh.. finished. My fingers are itching to quilt it. I love to quilt on solids. It brings the quilt alive! Unfortunately it has to wait. Some other projects need to be finished first.

Lucy

(who had to use blue in this quilt :-)

Hi

2009-06-17T01:11:00.000-07:00

Hi, life’s busy here,

I have started running again.. I run three times a week approx. 4.9 miles. I enjoy it so much. I guess running is as addicting as quilting :-) I’m thinking of a splendid goal…I want to run the marathon of New York when I’m 50!! ( well keep dreaming Lucy ;-) Right now I’m 43 so I have loads of time to train for it .

Finally I’m working on my small Amish Lone star. I’m teaching the Lone star as a workshop and I think an Amish quilt is a good example to show.

This was my first choice of fabrics.

But somehow I have always blue and red in my quilts. So I decided to change the blue and then also it ended up that I changed some other colors too. But now I miss the blue..

Well it is time to choose the background.
I will keep you up posted

Lucy

Solids

2009-05-05T07:48:00.000-07:00

Spring fever has hit here and I am enjoying spending lots of time outside, running and of course taking pictures.

Today I took some solids from my stash. I want to make a small lonestar. Think solids are perfect for this.
I hope to show you my progress coming week!

Lucy

Elburg

2009-04-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

There is not so much sewing going on here. I'm still working on projects I can't show at this moment.

Maybe you like to see some pictures I took when we visited Elburg about a month ago. It's a nice old place here in the Netherlands.

Some beautiful old houses on a street.

The saddle from an old delivery bicycle.

This is a typical Dutch fishermans boat. It could be 100 years odl and maybe even more. I love the color of the wood and all the browns.

Since I bought my DSRL camera 1.5 years ago, I'm more and more into photography. It looks like that it is going to be my second hobby! I have to learn a lot but I enjoy it so much.

Lucy

Houses

2009-03-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

" Dit huis is proper genoeg om gezond te zijn, en stoffig genoeg om gelukkig te zijn."

It started with one little house made inspired by The Little Quilts houses. It's a very fun block to make from scraps.

With four houses I could make a mini quilt..

But sometimes an idea doesn't work.. I couldn't choose how to set them.

Nothing worked i.m.o.

I decided to go for simplicity, four houses together framed by a nice red fabric.

Quilted and almost the binding is done, BUT there is something. I still don't like it. The chimneys are blending in the doors.

So four new houses were easily made..

Yes this is better, just with sashings and cornerstones simple.

8 houses and two mini's further and I finally like it :-)

Lucy

2009-03-12T03:00:00.000-07:00

I thought about the post where I promised to explain how I make my writing space wider.

I found these two websites, since the sites are much better at explaining then I am, I decided to post the two links for you. ;-)

The blogger guide

Tricks for new bloggers

Lucy

Flour sacks

2009-03-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your congratulations! It means a lot to me :-)

Lucy

Flour sacks

A little time ago LaDonna, from Gracious Hospitality, saw flour sacks in her favourite antique shop. She thought of me because we are going to do a Sun Bonnet Sue quilt together. Thanks to her help I could buy these beauties.
Look how bright the colours of the labels are. I don’t know which year these flour sacks are dated. I don't think they are that old. Does anyone know more about them?
I don't dare cut the flour sacks. I will keep these in my collection of feed sacks.
Thank you LaDonna. The sacks are shining on my rack in my living room.

Lucy

Quiltmania

2009-03-05T23:51:00.000-08:00

I am so excited… look what I am holding in my hands!!!!! .
The newest issue of Quiltmania.

And the biggest surprise is that I’m in the magazine!
Quiltmania came to visit in December when Bonnie was here.They took pictures in our home of a few of my quilts. I’m so happy.

Who else is in the same issue? My dear friend Bonnie! Quiltmania wrote a very nice article about her new book!

Lucy

Ps. Quiltmania choose 7 quilts of mine that they will publish with a pattern in future issues.

I bet some of you were wondering why I haven’t been posting about my quilts in progress, this is why!
When they are published in the magazine I will let you know . Once they are published I will post about them with pictures of the quilt..
This is so exciting for me.

Lucy

*update*

Many of you have asked which issue I am in.
Its Issue no. 70.

The magazine comes out in the USA weeks later so you will have to look out for it.
You can find Quiltmania in Barnes and Noble, Borders, quilt shops and I am sure there are shops that carry it on line.
As soon as I hear it is available in the USA I will let you know.

Larger pictures

2009-03-03T23:49:00.000-08:00

Some of you asked me how I enlarge some of my pictures. Larger as the 'large' size which is available in blogger.
I hope that the following information is helpful.

Upload your picture as usual. In medium size.
Like this...

When you read the Html of the picture you will see this:

WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bbCRFiRAtDA/Sa45DnLQ4dI/AAAAAAAACvc/54oeymMIkgw/s320/eieren+027.JPG" border="0"

Here it comes..

Change:

- WIDTH: 320px into 640px
- HEIGHT: 214px into 428px

and read a bit further change

- s320 in s640

That's all and ta daaaahh here it is; the picture a bigger size.

Another question was how did I make my writing space wider. I have template 'Scribe' and a long time ago I customized it. My son taught me a lot. Bonnie showed me how to make a nice background and I read a lot of information sites about blogging. Since that was a long time ago I have to go back and take a look to see what I did. I will find which site was very helpful for me and I will post the link to thsi site.

I hope to give you more information about this in a few days. Please just give me some time :-)

Lucy

Toy sewing machine

2009-02-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

Look at my lastest find!
What a lovely addition to my little sewing machine collection.
I am just so happy with my new little machine.

Lucy

Needlecase

2009-02-11T02:40:00.000-08:00

As a Dutch woman I collect Dutch fabrics of different kinds. They are very different as what I'm used to working with. I love the bright look of them. Yesterday I made this needlecase. Look at the lace I used. (Think you have to enlarge the picture).It has such tiny windmills with little farms on it. I love it!

I used a pattern from the book American Doll quilts by Kathleen Tracey

Lucy

Sampler II

2009-02-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

Today I finished my feathered star. It's a complicated but oh such a lovely block. I'm making a sampler with different size blocks which I can use for a few of my classes. The feathered star is a workshop I teach and the other blocks are a part of a sampler class. I can use the appliqué blocks for my appliqué class as well. This is a start; I will make more blocks and complete it with fillers like, flying geese, windmills, squares and others.

Lucy

Sampler

2009-02-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have been designing a sampler quilt for a class I am teaching. This will be one of the blocks, a feathered star. I’ve cut all the pieces, now the fun begins, sewing it together!

Lucy

2009-01-29T08:16:00.000-08:00

Look who is knitting too!! It's her first time.

Lucy

Wow

2009-01-28T11:37:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I saw on Holly's blog 'And sew it is' that Holly had made a very beautiful dishcloth.
I'm a big fan of discloths since I knitted them on my vacation in the US! I spoke with Holly about yarn, patterns and dishcloths. I used Lion Cotton which I like very much. She offered to send me some balls of Sugar 'n Cream yarn so that I can try that too! What a very nice offer!

Look what Holly sent me, not one ball of yarn but a whole shoe box full with yarn. She sent me awesome colours. Look at that pink. I had to grab my knitting needles immediately!

Big surprise is that Holly gave me also two nice booklets with dishcloth patterns! Thank you so much Holly. Now I'm able to make the same cute dishcloths as she did. As you can see my first dishcloth is growing. It feels very absorbent already!

Lucy

2009-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

...Little girl, dreaming big...

His name is Rainier!

2009-01-13T04:57:00.000-08:00

I received so many name suggestions for my little bear. It was hard to choose! The name 'Hans' made me smile. That was a good idea because the bear makes everybody smile. Thread E bear is also a nice suggestion.
When La Tea Dah suggested the name Rainier I thought: 'That's it!' That's the name where I was looking for!

Look at his face. He is Rainier don't you think?

Let me explain why I like this name so much.
Since I was a little girl my dream was to see snow on the top of the mountain in the summer. Here in the Netherlands there aren't any mountains. I travelled very rarely; I stayed mostly in the Netherlands for vacations. Once we went to Germany. I saw mountains but not with snow on top...
Years went by and I still had my girls dream.
Three years ago, the first time we went to the USA I finally saw snow on a top of the mountains, The Grand Tetons. Wow, I was happy!!
Last year we went to Washington and Oregon. I knew there was snow on the top of MT Rainier. I was so exciting because Inot only saw the snow... no I was able to be in the snow! Yes, in summer, dressed in a tanktop and skirt! My girls dream was a lifetime experience.

My family in the snow!

Look how high the snow was! On Mt Rainier!

Lucy

Book:

This is the book I used for knitting Rainier.

Teddyberen breien
Sandra Polley

the ISBN number is:90-231-3509-3

I think this must be almost the same book in English.

The knitted Teddy bear by Sandra Polley

If I look inside there are different pictures in this book as mine. But it's almost the same.

The bear on the front cover from this book is 'Rainier'. It's the same picture as in my book.

Little Bear

2009-01-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

Sinterklaas (read: myself) gave me a very cute book. I couldnt't resist these bears. I just had to make one.

I thought I would try and knit a small (not too small) bear. Now I am really a beginner knitter, hope this isn’t too hard.
oh my, look at these small ears!! I didn't realize that the bear would be this small.

I just continued knitting, even when I had my doubts that these parts would ever be a bear!!!

After pressing it looked much better. At least I could recognize 'bear parts' :-) very small, much smaller then I thought before I started this.

The book said that you can make a bear in a few evenings... I needed more evenings then a few!Finally a bear was born, the cutest bear I ever have seen ;-) Wow did I really make that!!

Now he needs a name (I think it’s a he, what do you think?) .. Maybe you can help me name my new little friend?

Lucy

From my scraps

2009-01-05T03:50:00.000-08:00

Finished!

- Machine pieced
- Handquilted
- Batting: 100% Hobbs bleached cotton.(I love it, it's thin)
- Finished size: 22.5 cm. x 19 cm. (about 7.5 x 9.75 inch.)
- Finished triangles size: 3cm. (about 1.1/8 inch)

Lucy

Happy new Year!

2009-01-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

Yeahh, it's January first and what have I done today? First I've been to the woods for a walk with Joseph and when I came home I saw a box with scraps in my closet, it caught my attention.

I thought it would be nice to start cutting triangles and sew them together.

Just simple and nice for a first day of the year.

just add a border and...

ta daaahh... My first finished mini top in 2009!

Happy New Year!

Lucy

Between Christmas and New Year

2008-12-30T02:23:00.000-08:00

It’s early in the morning. My husband is at work, my kids are still asleep (they are on vacation from school) and I’m sitting in a quiet house. I’m making my favorite cup of coffee. (Old fashion made with beaten milk)

Bonnie is back home. We had a great time together. We met so many friends. Quiltmania’s visit was a highlight, Bonnie’s classes at the shop was wonderful but most of all it was just good being together. I loved the moments that we sat on the couch quilting and chatting.
I received awesome presents from Bonnie. Look at this book! As you all know I like vintage goodies and Bonnie knows that I need to use an apron during my cooking and housekeeping ;-)

With the book she gave me this beautiful apron.

It’s so beautiful that I don’t dare to use it! I am afraid that I may stain it. I am going to search for the same kind of fabric so I can reproduce this lovely apron. Bonnie, thank you for your visit and all the beautiful gifts.

Christmas was very nice. I celebrated it with our families.

Right now we are in between Christmas and New Years Eve. This time of the year I always feel a bit strange. Don’t know why, Maybe because that the shops are overloaded with stuff and food. It’s just too much…
Maybe I’m just like my daughter who is always happy that everything is back to normal in January...

I also want to show you what I did with these fabrics!

I made a pincushion.

And it fits perfect on the top in my little tin with my rags. (which I use to fill a new Little Faithy)

I used a pattern from this magazine which I bought last summer in the US.

Lucy

2008-12-24T05:05:00.000-08:00

Wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Hello From Haarlem!

2008-12-21T02:26:00.000-08:00

It has been a whirlwind week with the two of us running around non-stop!

My flight arrived at 5:10am Netherlands time on Tuesday. Of course, I was still feeling like it was monday.....my body clock in complete rebellion due to a plane load of screaming babies. :c( I felt so bad for those mothers. I remember what it was like to travel with small children, and if MY body clock was screaming, I can just imagine how the babies felt!

Just about the time things would get quiet, and we would setttle in and start to drift off, the flight attendant would come by with drinks, or coffee, or a meal, or a snack, or the announcement to buckle your seat belt and stay in your seat due to turbulence....you get the idea?

The flight actually got is in almost an hour early! So I was able to go through customs and pick up my luggage quicker than expected, and I came through into the waiting area just after Lucy arrived.

It was very foggy, and felt like another world as we drove from Schipol airport back to Lucy's house. Everyone was still asleep, but soon to wake up and I found myself in the hustle and bustle of a busy family morning. Kids needed breakfast, and off to school they went in their own directions.

A quick shower and pretty soon a knock on the door......the editor and photographer from Quiltmania arrived, along with our quilting friend Joes from Amsterdam for a fun day of interviewing, quilt showing, lunch, and photoshooting!

Wednesday Joes came back to Lucys, bringing with her Tonya and Isabeau, and we enjoyed seeing all of Lucy's projects. Her buffet cabinet reminded me of Mary Poppin's carpet bag.....more quilts came out of there than we possibly could imagine fitting in there!

Thursday, we visited a lovely working windmill, built in 1779! It is still used to this day for grinding grain into flour, and the flour is supplied to many local bakeries who proudly display the fact that their flour comes from this mill. inside the mill you could see how everything is as it always was...no digital or electric ANYTHING! The wind powers the windmill blades, which turn the grinding stones, and the flour comes out where it is bagged.

The workshops were too wonderful to imagine. I am truly humbled beyond words at the kindness of quilters. There were people from everywhere! One lady heard about the workshops, and decided this would be her birthday trip....she came from England. One lady also flew over from SWEDEN....because of the workshop here, she combined the workshop with an excuse to get her husband out of town, so they both came down to spend the weekend in Amsterdam. He walked around and visited the museum while she took the workshop with me. What a nice guy, eh?

Two ladies drove from Belgium.....the class was full, and she had to work, but she finished her work at 1:30pm, and drove over 200km and made it late in the afternoon for the book signing. I was just amazed they would come so far. After the second workshop we had a little gettogether, the quilt shop staff and I, some treats and drinks and visiting. I will post some photos on my blog when I have a chance.

Yesterday we drove to Spakenburg, a lovely old fishing village. The ladies there still where the traditional dutch costume to this day. OH!! Lovely fabrics...plaids and florals! We shopped a bit, ate lunch at the fish market, went to the museum where we had a sweet older lady as a tour guide...(she wore the traditional garb and told us all about it) Last evening we finally got a chance to SIT and put our feet up! Lucy and me....bliss.....both of us on the couch with hand quilting in our laps!

So..that catches me up to TODAY! the last day. What's up for
today? We might do some sewing here. {Piecing a mini for both of us is on our minds, but if we don't...we could each sew up an apron, because we bought fabric for that at IKEA....but I also think that today will be a good day to take a hike in the woods nearby, walking Lucy's dog. Just something simple.

The big send off tonight....Lucy's hubby plays guitar and sings in a blues band, and he has a gig tonight at a local pub. Lucy's brother will join us, and it will be a wonderful fun way to end my week here.

Any regrets? NO! Only there was not enough time to take a lot of good pictures outside. The weather also got in the way. When we went to Amsterdam it was dark, and hard to take pictures...but I have had a terrific time and hope to come back!

Having Fun in Haarlem....

Bonnie & Lucy

Dreaming

2008-12-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful dreaming girl...

Lucy

Bonnie

2008-12-14T11:45:00.000-08:00

I can hardly wait till Tuesday 6 am.. At that time my friend Bonnie arrives. I can't wait to chatter with her in person and laugh like silly girls. We will have a great week. Two nights sleep Bonnie!

Lucy

Plaids

2008-12-07T23:08:00.000-08:00

A few days before Sinterklaas I received another gift. Kathie knew that I would love to work with plaids. She sent me a kit from a quilt she made and I loved so much. She also sent me yards of ecology cloth. My readers know how much I like to work with this fabric. To me it has the antique feel I love so much
What a surprise that Kathie also sent me a big plastic bag with scraps. I recognize so many fabrics from projects Kathie worked on. These fabrics are very special to me.

Look how inviting the kit was. Kathie already cut the pieces into the right size. I only had to sew them together.

A few minutes later...

half an hour later...

almost two hours later, Ta daahh...

Thank you so much Kathie. I love this quilt. I hope to baste it this week and finish it soon!

Look what else I grab out of Kathie’s scrapbag. Wait and see what I’m going to do with this.

Lucy

Sinterklaas was so good for me this year.

2008-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Sinterklaas was so good for me this year!

Dawn sent me the most beautiful goodies. The box arrived a few days before Sinterklaas. I promised Dawn I would open it Sinterklaas evening. What a surprise!!! She made amazing note cards with pictures from my blog! Look at the doll. She is so cute with her little quilt. The tiny little sewing machine is a perfect addition to my sewing machine collection! I love the pink fabric. Thank you Dawn. You made my Sinterklaas evening :-)

Lucy

Walk

2008-12-04T02:49:00.000-08:00

I took this picture yesterday on my morning walk with our dog Joseph.
You can see the dark clouds coming over. In a minute it hailed and thundered. The weather was cold, freezing. I love it when it feels as if the cold is biting my cheeks. I wonder if its because I was born in the winter.

Lucy

Update

2008-12-01T01:34:00.000-08:00

After a lot of questions about the size of the squares, I realize that I forgot to write the details about my latest Doll quilt.

- Machine pieced.
- Hand quilted.
- Batting: 100 % Hobbs bleached cotton. (I used this batting because I had the right size leftover! I find this batting is perfect for my minis. It’s a thin batting which makes it easy to quilt.)
- Finished size: 74 cm. x 62 cm. (29 x 24 inch)
- The finished size of the tiny square is: 1.5 cm. That’s almost 5/8 inch.

Lucy

Tin

2008-11-30T03:32:00.000-08:00

Ta daahh.. here it is, my finished doll quilt.

I love the backing fabric. It reminds me to my trip to Paducah last year.

I've made these little quilts with the tiniest little squares I cut from my scraps. It has been a lot of fun playing with these squares.

Lucy

Hi..

2008-11-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

Me between my quilts.

This picture of me was taken by one of my students today,
while I taught the “Sterrenslag” class at the shop.

Thank you Mar! You took a funny picture!

Lucy

A rainy day

2008-11-10T05:51:00.000-08:00

I save my smallest leftovers in a tin. Squares from 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm. I sew them together randomly into four patches (or nine patches), as a leader and ender project. When my tin is full with little blocks I sew them into a mini quilt or this time into bigger blocks.

I sewed these blocks together a year ago. Yesterday was a rainy day, a perfect sewing day. I just had to hear my featherweight humming, a very happy sound. I thought I would sew these blocks into a quilt.

Today I basted it. I kept this quilt simple. It will come alive with quilting. I will bind it with a nice brown. It's just a nice doll quilt.

Lucy

Just a little mini

2008-10-31T00:26:00.000-07:00

Look what I made yesterday while my quiltgroup was here. It's not perfectly sewn it's a bit crooked, but I had so much fun. Isn't that what counts right?

Lucy

Scraps and Shirttails

2008-10-26T11:17:00.000-07:00

I'm holding in my hands, my copy of the book Scraps and Shirttails written by my dear friend Bonnie! She did a great job with her book. I LOVE IT. My favourite is Bargain basement. I also love to see the backings of Bonnie's quilts. They are a quilt themselves! Wonderful!

(The big surprise is I have a project in the book too! Lucy's shopping bag :-)

ps. Bonnie's book is available at Irma's Sampler soon. (Haarlem the Netherlands)

Questions

2008-10-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for all your nice comments on my finished quilt for Pim. A few of you have some questions which I would love to answer in this post.

1) How long did it take me to finish the quilting on Pim's quilt?

- I really can't say. It's hard for me to focus on one quilt. I work on a several projects at the same time. Unfortunately during this project I hurt my arm. I had to stop quilting for a while. So it took me longer to finish it. I borrowed a hoop on a stand from a friend to try if it works better for my arm.

2) Leena asked me if I used any lines or tapes when I quilted the center of the quilt.

-No, on this quilt I didn't. I trusted my eye. It isn't a problem to me if a line isn't perfectly straight. Actually if you take a closer look the lines aren't very straight at all :-). I don't like masking tape. When the needle slides along the tape a residue will leave behind then the needle won't slide easily anymore.

When I want to quilt longer straight lines,I love to use a Hera marker.

If the lines won't show up with a Hera Marker, I use these pencils.

3) The batting ...

- Most of the time I use Hobbs 80/20. It's easy for me to get because we sell it at the shop on the bolt. I used it for these quilts.

-I tried some cotton samples I received from Bonnie. One is so nice for minis, Very soft and thin. I don't know the name of it. Hopefully Bonnie will remember.

- I do have a note on the 100% organic Hobbs. It was very hard to quilt but I love the result! After washing and drying the quilt it's looking very very antique, with more structure as the other cotton battings.

- I have a few 100 % cottons in my stash which I haven't used yet. Like Dream cotton Request and another 100% cotton from Hobbs. I will let you know about my experience with these battings

- I love 100 % wool. The needle is sliding through the batting almost by it self.. It has a lot of texture.

-I don't like polyester batting. I will never use it again. To me it doesn’t feel nice. I like natural materials better. It gives the antique feel which I’m looking for.

4) Last question: Which quilt do I have in my hoop right now :-) ?

Lucy

Windmill

2008-10-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oo, what a beautiful day :-)

Windmill The Zandhaas

A finished quilt

2008-09-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

Maybe some readers do remember this post. Finally I can tell you that I completed this quilt!

I quilted the borders with a feather. (When you enlarge the picture you can see the feathers on the border) I used the method from this book: 'Quilting with Style' by Gwen Marston and Joe Cunningham. I LOVE this book. It has a lot of good information for hand quilters.

Pim is very happy that he finally has a quilt of his own. Even though it has pink fabrics and flowers :-) I'm happy that he is so happy.

Lucy

-Machine pieced
-Hand quilted
-Batting: 100% organic Hobbs. (I will never use this again. It is terrible for hand quilting. The needle won't slide nicely through the batting.)

BIG BLOCK

2008-09-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

This Log cabin quilt from the show inspired me so much. It represented the wonderful feeling I had about the weekend in Friesland.

Enthusiastic I started cutting and sewing. After a few blocks I thought that the blocks became big, very BIG :-/

I looked up to the original in the book and then I realise that I made a mistake in the calculation. Well what could I do? I had already sewn 5 blocks! So I kept going on and after a few days...

I could let the wind play with this finished top :-)

My BIG BLOCK log cabin. It has the feeling were I was looking for.

The feeling I feel when I see the farms in Friesland!
So nice to capture in a quilt the wonderful feeling I had at the small quilt show in the little church.

Drawing made by Rien Poortvliet

finished block size: 22.50 inch !!!!!

Lucy

Passing on the comfort

2008-09-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

A few weeks after our vacation I read that there was a little quilt show in Friesland. The quilts which were shown are from the book: 'Passing on the comfort'. I've read the book a few years ago. I knew that the quilts were travelling through the US. What I didn't knew that they were back in the Netherlands. As soon as I read it I told my DH that we are going for a weekend to Friesland.

The book is very impressive and so was the little show in Friesland. It's the story behind the quilts what makes them so outstanding!

We love Friesland. It's our favorite part of The Netherlands. The countryside is so beautiful. I love seeing the beautiful churches in the small villages.

Behind the dike at the left hand is the Waddenzee. Look how peaceful. If you enlarge the picture you can see a typical old Dutch style boat.

I had to capture our wonderful weekend in a quilt. I was inspired the most by the beautiful log cabin quilt I saw. So I grabbed my ruler, fabrics, nice music on en started cutting, sewing and singing....

To be continue :-)

Lucy

Redwork

2008-09-02T23:55:00.000-07:00

Redwork is also a very nice hand project to take along. It doesn't need much space and is very relaxing to do. I made this “Red work Splasher” on our trip in the US. I found this nice vintage pattern in the book "Four block quilts" by Terry Clothier Thompson.

I used ecology cloth as background and DMC 304 thread. Which gives a very vintage feel.

Lucy

Dishcloths

2008-08-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Just before we left for our vacation I saw on some blogs knitted dishcloths. Lynn gave me one as a present and I do like it very much. Especially the very nice vintage look :-) Knitting dishclothes would be perfect to do on our vacation.

I read that they are made from very absorbing cotton, and I decided to buy the cotton in the US. Before leaving I printed out two patterns and lucky me on our first grocery shopping I found the Lion Cotton, worsted weight which is highly recommended for dishcloths.

My knitting experience was from almost 20 years ago. I knitted a scarf for my brother (which I never finished.....). Never mind, I started knitting the first dishcloth and it was just like riding a bike you never forget how to do it.

I never thought that knitting these dishcloths could become so addictive!! I love this pattern very much. I found it on Deb's beautiful blog: Homespun Living. Thank you Deb!

Only I made them with a smaller red strip as on the pattern.... by mistake. I lost the pattern somewhere during our trip. I thought to remember the pattern was with one strip :-)

How do I like the result!

And what to think about a blue strip?

Look, as you see I was in a knitting mood. This version has a red, natural, and blue strip. :-)

Knitting along I thought a red and blue could be also very nice ;-)

See, I got the dishcloth knitting fever and I tried a different pattern.

This is the traditional pattern: on the diagonal...

I have to admit that they are not only fun to make; they are also very great to use!!

Lucy

I'm back in blogging world

2008-08-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

After a break from more than 7 weeks I'm back in blogging world. Where do I have to start! I ended my last post with this covered wagon...

...and this was 'our' covered wagon for three weeks. We went for a vacation to Washington and Oregon! We have seen so much, we have done so much! Riding in an RV through the country, and not knowing where we sleep in the evening is to me the ultimate feel of freedom! Let me give you a little impression of our vacation.

We have been to Jimmy Hendrix's grave. --Very important for the men in my family-- It was impressive to be there. Still today Jimmy Hendrix is giving inspiration to so many guitar players. He was unique. It's so sad that he died so young!

We celebrated July 4 in Fort Vancouver. A festival visited by 65.000 people! With at the end a big firework!

Mount Rainier is amazing beautiful! There was still snow. We have been in the snow in summer! Wow, that was fantastic!

The Oregon coast with his beauty! We drove from Lincoln City to Bandon. We saw different landscapes from the rocks till sandy beaches and dunes.

From the first time that I have been to the US I love TRUCKS! Especially when they carry these big logs! How tough!

From the coast we went inlands, into the woods with their beautiful creeks!

And not only creeks. What do you think of waterfalls!

I have never seen such a beautiful color blue as Crater Lake. It's difficult to picture the right blue. I can tell you it was very impressive!

Some of you spotted me on other blogs during my break, LOL. Yes I have been in Sisters!! I met Bonnie and her friends. We had a few amazing days!

Well, we have been in the snow on the mountain, along the coast, waterfalls, creeks, woods and what about this cove! I love this kind of nature.. It's so beautiful, to me so America.

The endless roads...
We drove along the Columbia River! Can you imagine, about 100 years ago families travelled here in covered wagons searching for a new home!

After three weeks we arrrived in Seattle. From this place we flew home, full with new experiences!

This was amazing. From the airplane I saw the top of the mountain through the clouds....

This is a short impression of our vacation. I can tell you much more. We took hundreds of pictures...

Next post I will show you what I have made during my blogbreak, after all this is a craft blog hè :-)

Lucy

Blog break

2008-06-23T02:27:00.001-07:00

This is the last week of school for my children, they are looking forward to their summer break.
I have been blogging since 2005 and I think it's time for a (summer blog) break for mom too. I promise to come back in August, fresh and new. I hope to show you some finished quilts, some new projects, home made soap,knitting and wonderful stories.

Have a nice summer.

Love,

Lucy

Clothespin bag and a mini.

2008-06-11T02:08:00.000-07:00

On a few blogs and websites I saw clothespin bags. I just had to make one for myself.
I grabbed my scissors, fabrics, and with some cutting, thinking and sewing this is the result.
Now I know how it works I have ideas how to make it better.

I completed a mini, OOH, I love minis!
I quilted it with the clamshell pattern. I used the method in the book “Quilting with Style”, its a great book! If you like hand quilting I highly recommend this book by Gwen marston and Joe Cunningham

Lucy

Picture

2008-06-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a nice idea to take a picture of my two oldest kids.
You know THE picture you want to show proudly to everyone, you keep in your purse and show everywhere you HAVE to show it.
My two eldest are 1 year apart and it's been a long time since I took a picture of them both together!! Besides, it's good practice to take pictures of people with my new camera. I know how to photograph a quilt, photographing people is something totally different!!!

At some point you just give up. I definitely NEED more practice (any tips for the photographer?).
And my two eldest??? Well, I guess I have to bribe them before I photograph them again.

Lucy

“The Journey of August King” and ecology cloth

2008-05-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

Several women came with the same title for the film I am looking for.

“The Journey of August King”

In reviews of the film I recognize the man and the story. So this must be the movie! I saw the movie is an adaptation of a book. I ordered the book and I’m looking if I can borrow the movie from the videoshop.

I will let you know if the book and movie were good! Thank you so much for your help.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A lot of you asked me what ecology cloth is and where I use it for.

Well, it’s nothing more than a higher quality muslin. I heard of it for the first time from Kathie.

Bonnie and I saw it in Paducah at the booth from Bellwether Dry Goods. We saw quilts made with ecology cloth. We first thought they were antique quilts. I was impressed. I bought a couple of yards to try and I LOVE it .

I used it in this mini quilt.

These blocks...

And as the background for an appliqué.

Lucy

In need of some help :-) Who knows..

2008-05-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

A month ago I saw part of a movie. My daughter was very upset by that part so we switched to another channel. I thought it was a very interesting movie. I don’t know what the title of the movie was or who made it. The part I saw was about a covered wagon that went across a river. A white young man hid a black woman in the wagon. It was her escape. While crossing the river they lost a pig in the river flow. Does anyone know which film I’m talking about? I would love to see that movie.

Lucy

Sinterklaas in Spring

2008-05-20T04:02:00.000-07:00

The doorbell rang. Through a little window in my door I saw the mailman.. Wow, a package!!

It's from my friend Dawn. She went to Paducah and asked me if I needed anything.
Well, offcourse I needed something. ---quilters always do hè ;-)---
I would love to have ecology cloth from Bellwether Dry Goods. I bought it last year and I love it. If they had a booth again this year I would love her to buy me 9 yards of the ecology cloth.
I couldn't find my redwork needles from Jeanna Kimball so if she find them, maybe she could buy me a tube... and maybe also Jeanna's new needlecase ??

After her trip to Paducah she emailed me that it was easy to find the stuff I wanted.

Now back to the mailman he handed me the parcel from Dawn. What a surprise :-)

WHAT A SURPRISE!! Boy, it looked like it was Sinterklaas in Spring...

This is what I asked for....

and this is what Dawn gave me! She didn't only buy me the things I asked for. She gave me also these presents, and she made me this adorable mini quilt and a lovely needle case!

Ohh Dawn , thank you so much. You made my day!

Lucy

Pim's Quilt

2008-05-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

Once a week or so I pick up Pim's quilt and do some handquilting.
I have to quilt 2 more blocks and the border. I'm thinking of practicing freehand feathers on the border.

Lucy

Lady of the Lake

2008-05-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

The kids are back at school after a two-week vacation. The weather was awesome and we had a great time.

Today the house is mine again. I should do some cleaning, laundry, etc. Should ... but I did not... I started a new quilt.

This is my inspiration: an antique quilt, dated 1910/1920. It's offered on eBay.

A happy Lucy sewing

Spring....Summer

2008-05-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

I live in a country where we can feel the seasons. This past weekend was so nice, sunny and warm! In a few days it felt as if we went from the cold weather of winter to the warm sunny days of summer! What happened to spring? It was a perfect weekend to spend on our boat.

My daughters picked the first flowers of spring. The flowers made me so happy.

It's always fun to play with a little boat behind ours....

Everywhere there were “pulletjes”..that's what we call little ducks...we could not stop looking at them!

For me, a special sign of summer are the freckles on my daughters faces, soooo cute!

Lucy

Another mini

2008-04-23T12:09:00.001-07:00

As you know I love to make minis. It is a present for someone who reads my blog. I am sure the person is going to be so surprised to find this mini in her mailbox soon :-)
I like the simplicity of this quilt. It has the Little House of the Prairie feel I love so much.

Lucy

Machine pieced

Handquilted

Batting: 100% cotton

Size: 11.5 " x 10"