A quick post

Here is a update. Last Thursday we had another quilt class.

Marja's feathered star quilt top is finished. At least that is what we thought. Her sister noticed a mistakes. Can you see it?

She has decided to undo a small part of the center block. This is such a difficult pattern! 'This is why I've decided not to make 9 blocks but 6. This is how it will hopefully turn out. I like this design / pattern.

Using these blocks. The fourth is nearly done.

Concentration!! Some of the quilters are busy with their Christmas project.

The rest of the group, doing their thing.

More show and tell: the black & white feathered star quilt top. Mirjam has nearly finished the top. If I remember correctly another border will be added. Then it can be finally sandwiched.

Tonny's Christmas top.

Frequency will be less next couple of weeks!!

Most have noticed that I haven't been blogging much. Why? Because I haven't been quilting much. Why? Because I'm doing an NLP training. I must say this training is giving me some new insights. I'm loving it. Some are maybe thinking now, what is NLP? Well go and Google and find out. I dare you!

NLP is giving me a whole new perspective. It is a toolkit for personal and organizational change. This course is also helping me focus on what I find important. I've decided to use my time for other things the next couple of weeks.

I want to read certain books, but I'm letting myself be distracted by things like blogging, playing FarmVille, noise, housekeeping and many other things.

Yes, I've decided not to blog as frequently the next couple of weeks. If you miss me, you will know I'll be sitting in this chair. I've created my own little quiet space. I'll be reading those books I've wanted to read for some time. I'll try to keep up with all your blogs and will post something when I make a little more progress on my quilting. But don't expect too much from me. I'll be quiet till after Christmas break. 

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." (Albert Einstein)

Sad

Just found out that Mark Lipinski is no longer connected with Quilter's Home magazine. Read more here. I loved this magazine. Couldn't wait to receive the next issue. I loved his style.

Another good thing has come to an end.  I'll have to read his blog from now on.

Christmas wreath or Winter wreath

A busy day today. First I played a game of golf. That took up most of my morning. In the afternoon I started on my Christmas wreath. Still, I think that 'winter wreath' is a more appropriate name. Tonny, a quilt friend wanted to make one too. So here is an impression of our afternoon.

 

A messy and a not so messy pile.  With our coffee break, we had  some taai taai.

 

Taai taai is traditionally baked for St Nicholas' Eve in the Netherlands (which is the 5th of December). Like with everything else, you can usually buy it a couple of months before the event. What always surprises me, only a couple of days after the 5th of December it is al gone. You won't find it in any store till the end of October the next year. Spices used in this delicatessen are cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom and white pepper. Other necessities are white flour, brown sugar, and butter. If you want a recipe you will have to google. But if you are ever in the Netherlands around November do try this, or maybe try some speculaas or peppernoten.

 

here is me sitting behind the sewing machine, and sewing. 

In the photo above are the fabrics that Tonny is using for her winter wreath. In the photo below are the fabrics that I have chosen to use.

 

Stuffing the little pockets and then sewing them shut. 

 

In total I will have to complete 50 little cushions. According to another quilter, I will need more than the 32 instructed. Once I've sewn them all together, and have tied them onto a wreath, it will hopefully look like this.

I hope your afternoon was just as enjoyable as mine.

Delicious!!

The postman delivered a parcel yesterday. Words can't describe how I feel, when arriving home late and finding a parcel on the table. Every time, again and again, it is a special moment, opening the parcel carefully and seeing these mags pop out.

I might not be doing much quilting, but dreaming about it is just as good, believe me!

Six American Patchwork & Quilting magazines. If you want some quiet time for yourself, you can order them from eQuilter.

I'll be drooling.

Men at work

No quilting in this post. Yesterday, the men prepared the garden for winter. The forsythia scrub sadly had to be removed. If we pruned it into shape we would have no scrub left. In a couple of weeks it will be replaced by a platanus.

Sorry I had forgotten tot take a before and after picture. In the picture on the right Hubby is showing us where the forsythia was standing.

The magnolia has been pruned into shape as has the laurel.

This strange seed was found in the magnolia tree. Never have seen this before.

If anyone know the name of this tree, please e-mail me.

The after picture. I'm always a little sad to see the garden like this. Although I like autumn, I don't like its effect on the garden. Give me spring or summer anytime. The countdown has started.

What did I buy in Amsterdam?

This is what I bought.

A bag, a VIP, a large quilt ring, and a sign.

Don't you just love this sign? I had to buy it. Found also the online store, if any one else wants to buy one. It is a small company located in rural Wisconsin, called Cousin Farm. But you can also buy them, where I bought mine, at Bird Blocks.

The quilt ring is huge, as you can see in the picture underneath. The quilt ring in the centre is a normal size quilt ring. I also bought the book, shown in the picture.

I had to buy the book for a course that will be starting coming January. In this course, I'm going to learn how to make a sampler with my sewing machine. I'll be making this sampler.

The fabrics I'll use will however be different. More about this quilt in the future.