enough dots...for now...

The next seven dots blocks are prepped and ready to be stitched down.  This set is so diverse, I'm wondering if they won't be too chaotic in the quilt?  I guess I'll let daughter be the final judge on that - after all, the quilt is for her....

It's so much fun jumping into the bin and pulling out not just bits of scraps, but lots of memories as well!

How is it that I remember when and where I bought that bit of fabric and the friends I was with, even the weather is was, but I can't remember where I put my favorite Moroccan scarf?

Anyhow, here are some pics:

This is really one of the coolest projects I've worked on and am enjoying every moment!

But now that these fellows are prepped, I think I'm going to continue prepping blocks for the Beyond the Cherry Trees quilt.  It's waited way to long..

Now to go and enjoy some sunshine with Darwin..

Have a great weekend!

seeing spots....

I've made a good start on the "Got Dots" quilt.
After preparing a stack to take with me to St.Marie-aux-Mines, and working on them in the evenings,
I've finally got 10 done out of the 20 I'm making of this block.

Yes, I know, they are wonky, but that's how daughter wants them.  She liked the organic/imperfect look of the original quilt, so even though I'm using paper pieces to shape the dots, I'm not getting too exact when stitching them down.

The preparation and stitching of the first two blocks was a bit fiddly and took a bit getting used to with those 3/4' circles, ( making me wonder what I had gotten myself into!) but it picked up pretty quickly, and now they've become addictive to make!
Another fun side effect of this project is that I'm now building a collection of applique threads.  It's great to see all the different colors in my basket, and soon they will have to have their own home...
Any good ideas about storing threads?

Here's a quick picture of the blocks so far:

Out of the scrap bin:

 Well behaved dots!.......

Now for a bit of a change, and work on sorting and prepping the heart blocks for this quilt today.
It would be nice if I could get some done and put aside for evening stitching, and pick up my other projects that have been neglected this summer....

impressions...

What an amazing time that was in St.Marie-aux-Mines.

Some impressions and inspirations:

Perhaps this weekend will offer some inspirations?
Have a good one!

Day Three

Oh my! I can't feel my feet, my back, well, is barely able to hold me up, but what another good day it was!
Found some more fabrics for projects, and a few for the stash.
We decided to complete the exhibits in St.Marie-aux-Mines, traversing the village, and stopping at an antiques quilt shop where we did became proud owners of adorable quilt blocks. I'll show those when I get home....

Anyhow, I'm wiped, and have few sensible words left, so here are some pictures:



























Tomorrow we're on our way back home, richer in fabrics, inspiration, memories and friendship.
For those of you who are there too, I hope you had a great time, and I wish you a safe trip home.

Day Two...

Slept in and took our time with breakfast and getting ready for the day. Why? It's what's needed when you spend until late in the night eating, stitching and laughing until your tummy hurts!

We had to pop into the shops to pick up a "few" things, namely, fabrics. Wil and I were looking for fabrics mostly for current projects, Diana to build stash, and Janine was also looking to add to her project stash.
She's also started making dots after she fell in love with my prepped blocks.

Books are an important part of a quilter's reperatoire, so we spent some time at the book shop:




If you keep nosing around long enough, you'll find a book you love and for me it was the 1776 Quilt. Lots of inspiration and great ideas!
After the books and fabrics, and lunch on the little green, we went off to check out some expos:





My favorite of which was the Wagga-Wagga quilts that showed in the same building as Edyta Sitar's beautiful creations.
Annette Gero was there as well, and it was wonderful to meet her!
I already have her book, and the very last three she had were for Janine, Diana and Wil. Signed, of course! Tomorrow we will go to her lecture. Even though she's giving a tour of the quilts this evening, tomorrow's lecture will be more in-depth, she said.

The quilts hanging here are also to be seen in the book:












I'm wiped out, but oh, the fun!
It'll be nice to sit down with a cup of tea and let the day settle in my memory tonight with stitch work in hand...

The connection is really weak here, so I hope I can post....

Heidi
iPad Reports

Day one...

A beautiful sunny day, and the Quilters are coming from all directions!
Wasn't planning on doing it all in one day, but I completed most of the shopping list, most importantly, my shiny new silver Roxanne's thimble. I found it a bit odd to walk around with my iPad taking pictures, so forgive me for the simple shots.

Tomorrow, if we can avoid popping into the shops, we'll begin visiting the exhibits. The one I'm most looking forward to is the Anette Gero lecture! I have the book she wrote on Australian quilts, and am excited to see her in person and the Wagga-Wagga quilts as well.

Short report, I know, but my poor feet and rest of my body is begging for bed.

I'll try to make more sense next time....
Cheers,
Heidi

- iPad Reports

Safely arrived from Holland

Bonjour!
It's a beautiful morning here in Liepvre, the sun is shining and it's the day before the Carrefour starts. My friends and I are settled in our little chalet and getting ready to start the day.

Thought you might like to see our little house:





And here' the room I'm sharing with Diana:





No, we didn't plan it, but while making up the beds, we realized we brought the same quilts! Ha!
It's so lovely and quiet, the air fresh and cool, and I hear Wil is back with fresh croissants and baguettes. So thats my cue to take my leave. Is Wifi behaves, you'll hear from me later....


-Posted from my iPad

A quick round up...

Oh my, Blogger has changed things around here - something else to play with when I get back from my trip, (but more about that later....)

I'm back.  Actually, I've been back, but for the first time since I've taken a trip, I've needed to take a rest from it!  New York was fun, hot and hectic.  It's always good to come back, but this time I did realize that Holland is my home now, the place I want to be.  The moment DD and I landed at Schiphol, we hit the ground running, she going straight to "Introduction Week" at the University of Leiden, and me off to my LQS, eager to see my quilting buddies at the monthly Bee.  I wasn't sure if I was going to pop by at first, wondering if it was a good way to keep me awake a few hours, but when Diana called me and said "hey I'm in the car and on my way, want to join me?" the decision was then easy to make.

Fast Forward to the class presentations for the Fall Semester at Atelier Quiltgebeuren.  It was really cool being with some amazingly talented teachers with whom I have studied under.   Good fun, and exciting times to be able to share and learn about the art I'm so passionate about with others.

Press the Fast Forward button again, to the part where I tell you that I'm packing today, and getting my sewing basket together to head off to the 17th European Patchwork Meeting in St.Marie-aux-Mines in the Alsace of France.  Seven days of quilting and good friends.  What more could a girl ask for?  This will be the second time for me.  Wil, Janine, Diana and I sharing a log cabin house...I can't wait!

There.  You're basically up to date, with the exception of what's been going on in my sewing room...
I'm working on the last three Mariner's Compass blocks, and....started a new quilt.  Pffft!  I fell...
Ok, can I just say it's my daughter's fault? Her eyes fell on the web page I was looking at and she just went "Awww....it's so cute, I love it!...I'd love a quilt like that...."
So now I'm making her graduation quilt.  Gives me plenty of time...lol!!

Here's the first block stitched down:

It's from the Got Dots quilt-a-long from Jovita's Patchwork.  Based on a museum quilt, that you can read about on her blog, she's adapted the pattern to create a new quilt from all these little dots.  I in turn, have chosen to use two of the main blocks from the quilt, but then branch out on my own to make this quilt unique for my daughter.
I've prepared nine of these little blocks, and am taking them to St. Marie-aux-Mines to work on them in them in the evenings.  I've prepared all the blocks and used the smallest drops of glue to hold them down.  It just seemed a bit treacherous to have so many little pins in one small block!

That and the first block of the Camelot quilt is coming along too...you think I'll get that much stitching done?  Ha!  We'll see, it's the thought that counts, right?

Now I've got to run.  Time to get dinner going, pack and have a moment's rest before leaving early in the morning...
If the stars allow, I may try to post while I'm there.  Haven't tried my iPad's camera yet, so this may be a good opportunity to do so!

Have a great week,