Swap items from Tracey well received

YES! I received my first ever swap-gift today :)

Oh my, Tracey!
You really DO have sent me a ton of scraps - around 50 different kinds of lovely fabric have come my way, and I am very happy about them. So many I would never have dared to buy myself.
And thank you for the cute card you send along too :))

I immediately started putting them together in different variations - what do you think about this spotty combination - huh???
or what about reds - I love reds?!!
It will NOT be my last swap, that I can promise you all! Yay!
(sorry - the photos do not justify the real colours of the fabric - lousy natural light here today..)

Swap items have been received!

As I was silly enough not to take a picture of the contents of my parcels to Tracey, I have stolen the pictures from her blog.
This is what I sent for the scrap swap:

15 pieces of scraps and additional scraps


a cute little box from the Danish designers House Doctor,
in colours I hope Tracey likes.


a bit of traditional Danish sweets


and finally some good Danish grind coffee - I have been told
that it may have a fuller taste than most American coffee :)


So - just a warning for other future swappers:
I might send something really stupid!
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Swap items to be sent *teaser* (9 February 2009)
Now it is time to give you all a hint of what I have been sending off to the States today!
I need to hide it a bit from you, for the obvious reason that I want Tracey to be the first to see the contents fully ;)
This means that my first swap has almost ended! It has been funny but also a lot of work, as I have been forced to sort out my stash...gosh!

Now I eagerly await receiving my swap gift from Tracey. She is the organizer of the entire swap, and I will use this opportunity to thank her for work!

Rocket Ship pillows finished!

I wanted to make something nice and try something new to me, so I decided to try a free pillow pattern that I had found at Don't Look Now!
Kellie creates the most amazing patterns for appliqués that I have ever seen, and her choice of fabrics are just that juicy and perfect!

So I decided to try the pattern that looked least intimidating to a newbie like me, and I went for the Rocket Ship tutorial for my friend's two boys (she and they have NO idea that I have been cooking this up for them).

Pictures, you say? Oh well, here then!


And a little detail on the quilting - I used a small swirly one on the green version of the pillow and stippling on the purple pillow. I like the stippling better, possibly because I am not comfortable with real quilting patterns yet *giggle*!

Join me in one more quilting bee!! (I am crazy)

YIPPEEEE! *updated 21st February*
Sarah has initiated another wonderful virtual quilting bee. It is called 'Another Quilting Bee'.

Read the rest of this post here...

I participate in a Virtual Quilting Bee!!

Yay!

Yesterday I had the luck of being drawn to participate in my first-ever Virtual Quilting Bee.
It is called 'Bee Inspired' - brilliant name :)

Rachel from p.s. i quilt is organizing it all and we are 18 quilters - a mixed American and international group.

read the rest fo this entry here...

My stack

Ever since I took my first insecure step into patchwork and quilting, I have had the habit of cutting a 10 x 10 cm (4 x 4'') piece out of every patchwork fabric I have ever owned.

In the beginning I was not even sure what it was for!

But now I have a huge pile of these single pieces, and I know that one day one or more quilts will emerge from that stack. It currently measures 16,5 cm in height (7.2 '').

But not now. I think It deserves to grow a little higher... :)

BushFire Quilt Project *update*

Just wanted to show you my truly wonky blocks.
After I took these pictures, I read Tia's recommendation of signing them, so I did!

They will be off to Australia tomorrow!
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11 February:
As I sit on my couch, cup of latte in my hand, and start reading all my favorite blogs out there, I came across this amazing initiative, that Tia has taken.

I am possibly one of the people farthest away from the fires in Australia, still it aches in my heart to learn about so much loss and devastation down there.

Therefore: Please consider joining me to pass on hope and whatever little help we can bring the families, who have lost everything.

2 blocks in an envelope can and will make a difference for somebody!

My scrappy blues *updated*

Update:
My scrappy blues have now been quilted AND photographed, so I can show it (partly) to you all.

I have stippled it intensely - remember those blue coins are just 4'' x 2'', as I decided to use my last bits of batting, some of them quite small :) So scrappy blues it is:

I like how the coins seem to pop up from the quilt!Quilting around the blue coins resulted in a brilliant effect on the back too:
Now I need to finish the binding and sew it on - that will take some time, be warned!
But overall, I am pretty happy with this one! Yay :o)

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25 January 2009:
I finished this Coin Quilt patchwork top yesterday evening. I decided to name it "My scrappy blues".
Naturally, I wanted to tell the wold (= you) about it immediately but I had to wait for daylight to take some photos...
Facts:
* Blue scraps of all kinds, 45 varieties/2 blocks of each
(some of the fabrics are from my very first attempts, back in 1997!)
* Connected with semi-bleached cotton, that I have recently gotten a huge pile of, for FREE *dancing around with joy*. It is slightly heavier than the rest of my stash, but I think it will work out nicely.
* The blocks are 4,5 x 2,5'', including seam allowances.
* The strips are 2,5'' wide.
* Final size, without binding, is 64 x 42'' (162 x 107 cm)
Gosh, I did not realize I had so much blue - and there are still some blues I have not used!

Also, I tried to use up some of my thread rolls, filling up the limited space I have available - 3 small rolls used :) Consider that a tip free to use!

I have dyed some of the cotton into a dusty blue, perhaps that would do for the backing... hmmmm...

Stash and workspace

Pfew and hurrah!

I have finally succeeded in arranging my stash and scraps!
Thanks to my participation in my first swap ever :)

This is both good and bad:
Good because I have now seen every bit of fabric I own.
Bad because it led to my stash depression.

The end result is, however, overall positive: I have found that I have way too much fabric. And I badly need to use some of it!! Some of it has given me ideas for new quilts, some will be part of my first ever give away. Weeee! More info will be given on this subject later.

Here it is:

And as I was already fumbling around with my boyfriends precious camera, I decided to take a few photos of my workspace, all set up and still neat and nice *giggle*. This is NOT the most common scenario!
The machine is my brand new Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0. I cannot tell you how much it has meant for my inspiration and wish to express my creativity! *kisses to my wonderful boyfriend*

I do not have a special sewing room yet, as we live in a relatively small apartment, so I set it up in the living room and have to remove it, when we have guests over for dinner. But that is not a problem at all - I love having friends and family over too!

Stash depression...

What can i say?... I am stash depressed.

"Why?", you might ask.
Well, I have become very inspired by all you ladies out there, showing off your yummy stash, all neatly arranged in color and perhaps evens size. And I wanted to re-arrange mine too! This weekend!

So that is what I have used a bit of my weekend for.
Nice in the beginning, as my fabrics normally are stored in boxes at the attic and I do not get to see them all together very often. And very nice to get it all under control. But....

I have realised that I do not really like most of my stash, as much of it is heritages from my mom's friends, who are not of the same age nor taste as I. But who declines fabric given to you all free?

I must admit that I can see the beauty in much of it, and I can see the givers general idea and taste, but it is just not much ME... hope you get my genereal idea here...?

So what can I do??
Any advise or suggestions? Should I arrange a swap and/or a give-away?

I need your help here!