WAITING FOR CHRISTMAS...

So here we are, 1st Advent Sunday already...

Where did time fly ? This year seemed so short to me !

Here is the Advent calendar that I stitched and pieced

in the last few weeks.

It's very meaningful to me, as the making of it helped me

to overcome some bad moments,

and these stitcheries truly brought smiles and peace in my heart.

****

"Self expression heals the wounded heart"

****

Stay tuned, I'll be back !

In the meantime, enjoy your sewing, my friends...

;>)

A NICE GIVEAWAY !

Margaret of "Konstant Kaos" Blog, is having a nice giveaway

for a quilt magazine + 2010 quilter's diary

Please, go and check her blog,

You won't regret it !

;>)

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL...

Some quilts just draw your attention,

only by their name.

That's what happened to me,

after the difficult moments I recently lived...

When I discovered that gorgeous new pattern

from HELEN STUBBINGS,

it couldn't have come at a better moment in my life.

It's red and warm, like love.

It's full of cute stitcheries & quotes

about the beauty of life,

come rain or come shine...

Moreover, Helen is offering a complete

pattern set, as a giveaway.

Wouldn't it be GREAT being the lucky winner ?

She also asks for a favourite quote that

the beauty of life inspires to us.

So, here is mine :

Life is a gift we are given each and every day,

that is why it is called THE PRESENT...

***********

A HEARTFUL THANK YOU

Dear friends,

Your comments, emails, phone calls, and prayers

were a true blessing.

I wish hereby to tell you how deeply I appreciated

your friendship and care

One day after another,

One stitch at a time,

I'll soon be back with some quilty news

Take care,

ENJOY YOUR SEWING!

BLOG BREAK

This 28th October,

early in the morning,

my father passed away.

May he rest in peace...

15th EUROPEAN PATCHWORK MEETING - VAL D'ARGENT - FRANCE

Helloooooo, there !

Still alive.... and still playing the "globe trotter",

Aaaah, retirement is a real treat !

I was lucky enough to attend my first BIG quilt show.

Oh, it was such a wonderful week ! Pure delight in quilters world ...
Better than words, here's a slide show,with (some) of my favourite pictures,e.g. Dutch quilts, and also those from Hungary & New Zealand (special guests), not to forget a -Yoko Saito, 30 years of quilts -retrospective, and soooo many, many others...

I was also speechless and much moved, when seeing the Amish quilts(these were antique quilts from a private collection). The Amish works are so special to me...

Of course, I dived into the shopping mall, with 146 European quiltshop owners - Aaaaarghghgh !... but that's another story, for my next post.

(you can click on any picture, for a zzzzoooooom)

ENJOY !

;>)

Looks like I've got some problems to upload my slideshow on my blog

(still have to learn/practice, HeeHee..)

Please, click on "view all images", hereunder...

THANKS for your visit !

SUNSHINE & SHADOW - STEP ONE -

So I decided that Sunday would be the day for starting with this quilt, and carefully read JERI 's instructions sheets, starting with choosing the 13 colors I needed, among the 18 ones she had sent to me (this was not so easy, as they're all so beautiful).

Jeri cleverly divided the quilt in 9 sections, the first step being the 4 corners - each corner composed of a 10 x 10 squares...

The pictures below are showing the upper right corner.

I cut ten 2,5" strips, each of a different color, corresponding to my choice, and pieced them together.
Then I cut 2,5" strips accross them


and started to arrange them, unpicking at the top...

until I reached this arrangement (which was half the final big square I needed)...

Then I completed each row, using some of the unpicked squares...

Back to machine piecing, watching carefully to the matching seams, and...

T A D A A A A ! ;>)

Happy dance, here is my first upper right corner...

Now, on to the 3 other ones, before reaching Step 2.

If the mountain looks too high to climb,

divide your efforts into several achievable goals.

Sooner or later, you'll reach the top...

;>)