The Great Summer Holiday Mystery 2

I have made some progress with my Great Summer Holiday Quilt. I have sewed all blocks to the rows and I will sew the rows together tonight. I built up the rows on the floor for a snap - I had doubts if the quilt will be too steady coloured and I believe now it will be nice.

I decided to use a fabric with lady's-delights even if I had not it enough. I thought that I will find some kind of way to loose this problem.

The Great Summer Holiday Mystery 1

I have been working with The Great Summer Holiday Mystery. Choosing of fabrics has been difficult for me because I didn't want to buy new ones for this project. And such fabrics which I would like most to use, were too little left.

My Great Summer Holiday Mystery (GSHM) is blue (surprise!). First I thought that blue is not colour of summer. In Australia (where Helen, the designer of GSHM, lives) it is summer now but here in Finland we are in the middle of winter - and wintry light turns here a little bit blue. So I planed out to call my quilt as The Great Winter Holiday Mystery - blue agrees with the finnish winter, I explained to myself. :) After that I noticed that there are many bluecolored things in finnish summer too e.g. sky in sunny days, lakes, many flowers - and thunderclouds.

This Mystery has been so far fun and easy to do. What delights me the most now is that I have caught up with the others GSHM-makers:) I'll wait more instructions with excitement.



I have made some stitcheries today. I don't know yet what I'll do with them. My purpose was to test if the marks of copying paper will disappear when the fabrics are washed up. That's why I hadn't stitched one S yet. Here are my little stitcheries - the pattern is from Helen too.

A tisket a tasket and some others

I have made my first applique with needle turn technique. It was very fun - I'm afraid I fell in love in applique ;) The tutorial in Carrie's blog helped me a lot - many thanks to Carrie! I decided join in 'A tisket a tasket' BOM and here is my first block. I haven't sewn the buttons yet. What do you say - have I done a decent job as a beginner?

I have also tried to learn hand quilting. I have made two quilt tops. I wanted to use quilting desings in them so I thought handquilting might be easier. Sometimes learning is painful: my fingers are now full of injuries. There are little wounds in my mind too - it's hard to accept that I can't make so even and tiny and beautiful stitches yet as I want (some day I can, I'm sure of that!). These works advance very slowly but stoutly.

This is the bigger top. It has thirty blocks. I'll outline all bear tracks and stitch plaits in sashings and borders. I have stitched only the first row. There are still lot of work to do.

This quilt is full of sweet memories. Pink fabrics call to my mind those times when my first DD and second DD were small girls. I sewed dresses from these pink fabrics for them. My second DD was two years old and she clipped a hole in her brand new dress in the first day by mishap. I was a little chagrined because the dress was only a few hours on her before this event. Well, I managed to patch the dress and she used it many times after that :)

Pay it forward

I have joined 'Pay it forward' (PIF) Challenge. I'm very exciting to see what Joy will conceive for me ;) I'm very lucky one when I had an opportunity to join Joy's PIF.

The rules are that the first three people to join the challenge on my blog will receive a gift handmade by me. I will have 365 days to make and send your gift. You won't know when it will arrive, but it will, indeed, arrive. Be sure to include your contact info (an email or link to your blog or website where I can find you) so I can send you your gift. You must then do a post on your blog inviting 3 more people to join in and receive a handmade gift from you - hereby you pay it forward.

Tilda figures

I have still a few holidays and I have enjoyed these silent days at home with the catboys. It's -18C cold out but the sun is shining and trees are full of glimmering little snowflakes - it's so beautiful!

Today I want to introduce you a few animals who 'have lived' with us some time. They all belong in 'Tilda-family'. First these two kitty girls came up to us; it was October.

Then a dog and a rabbit moved in. The poor dog has missed one of his paws (the paw has sunk without a trace during doll making - I should make a new one).

Our rabbit had first a sibling which loved children and moved in a new daycare centre when it started near us. Well, our rabbit decided to stay at us even if he/she hasn't got any clothes yet. It's another project which I should finish.

The newest member of our Tilda-family is an angel. She hasn't got wings yet. She has also a sister who is still unfinished (all the parts are sewed, now they should been put together). Maybe the angels will get their wings at the same time.

And finally a portrait of the whole happy family. I think that in the short run we'll get a few mouses (with wings) in the house - I hope that cats and mouses will get along.

Goodbye Christmas tree

Today we said goodbye to our Christmas tree. I took a shot from our Christmas tree skirt. I have made it one year ago. As you see - I love blue colour! I have many decorations of Christmas in blue though it isn't a typical colour of Christmas. But in my mind blue fits fine in Finnish Christmas and winter time.

Our younger cat Utu (his official name is Blue Bandit - utu means something like a mist) will miss the mat most because he loved to sleep under the Christmas tree on it. It's a good thing that Christmas will come every year ;)

Cats in the bag(s)

I have sewed these two days and look at what I have worked out: a feline bag! I have bought these lovely fabrics a couple months ago - I just could'nt resist a temptation... I am a real cat lover ;)

The dimensions of the bag are about 14 x 10½ x 4½ inch (36 x 27 x 12 cm). The bag has one outer and six inner pockets which are very practical for e.g. a telephone, papers and keys among other things.

This one was the third bag which I have sewed with this same pattern. I have got the pattern from Virpi who is a sister of my workmate. Two other bags are here. Maybe I'll give one to my DD1 for her birthday present.

Giveaway

Elin 'Lappetausa' is celebrating her 300th post in her blog and has a giveaway. Congratulations Elin! Elin's blog gives me a lot of gladness, joy and inspiration - it is worthwhile for you to take a look at her blog too!

Christmas tradition

Oh no - it happened again! Our older cat Albert has climbed up the Christmas tree every year. And he knows very well that it isn't allowed. Doesn't it look like if he was a little quilty?