FLEAMARKET

Last week I visited a fleamarket and did find some great things for CQ!
I especially love the 2 ladies
on a black background, with some little pearls around them
they will look great on a Victorian CQ block.

TAKE-A-STITCH-TUESDAY
Week 4

The challenge this week is the Cretan Stitch, Kretasteek in Dutch. I did some combinations of stitches and threads this time. On the first one I did use normal hot pink DMC for the Cretan stitch, then added the green stitches in rayon DMC and at last the light pink in Edmar Iris thread. On the second picture I did a double row of Cretan stitches, green in normal DMC and blue in metallic DMC, then added the purple cross-stitches in lilac rayon DMC. The third picture shows a Cretan stitch in normal DMC, worked through with a Heringbone stitch in variegated WeekDye thread, it goes from purple to yellow but it doesn't show on the picture. I still don't know what to think of this combination....

SWAPPING OUR HEARTS (SOH)

I am participating in 2 birthday swaps of Crazy Hearts on CQForNewbies. I picked february and june as birthday months
because March, when I have birthday, was already taken.
Today I received two beautiful hearts from Janet in Colorado, the pictures don't do them justice, Janet thanks so much for your lovely hearts!

UGLY DUCKLING.......


















Judyth on CQForNewbies found 12 of these blocks, made a long time ago. She didn't know what to do with them until several ladies on the list voluntered to embellish a block.
Yesterday my "Ugly" block arrived and well, I wouldn't have picked that fabrics and colors together, but do find the block touching.... Think the fabrics are about 50 years old and just imagine that your mother or grandmother could have been sewing them to comfort you! I'll do my best and will find a way to make it a bit prettier, I am sure, this is really a challenge. I'll keep you updated, the block must be sent back before March 15th.

TAKE-A-STITCH-TUESDAY
Week 3


Detached chain stitch, or Kettingsteek in Dutch, is the challenge of this week. I made the lavender yesterdayevening, the look and smell always reminds me of France, where I spent so many lovely holidays.... Also I got an idea on what to do to the blue plaid fabric, the colors in the picture are not that good, but it are 4 lazy daisies with a purple bead in the middle. The last picture with the orange embroidery I did already some weeks ago. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

I told you about the bad weather we had this week. Here in Holland 7 people died, mostly because they got hit by falling trees when driving home.
I have a garden without a fence now, I am living on a corner so everyone can look straight into my livingroom now, not a comfortable situation! In my neighbourhood a lot of trees have fallen down and a lot of roofs are (partly) without tiles.

BIRTHDAY SWAP JANUARI

I just finished two hearts for the birthday swap on CQForNewbies.
They are for Rhonda and Peggy in the USA. I only have to make a backing on them so they are ready for applique, so they will be sent out with tomorrows mail.

Ati, I have already put a piece of the fabric in your baggie!

Here in Holland we have very bad weather today, it is raining the whole day and very stormy with a strong wind blowing, not my kind of weather.......

CQForNewbies Challenge nr. 3

Challenge nr. 3 is to cut up a piece of fabric that you have been patting, drooling over, admiring for a long time, a difficult one this time.....LOL
I dicided that I have to cut up this piece with Japanese geisha's, that I bought in Canada last year. Fortunately Lesa didn't say how big the piece has to be, so I think I will cut only a little piece for a Crazy Heart I am going to make, will show you the results later!

CQForNewbies Challenge nr. 2

I totally forgot to put up a picture from this challenge. This time Lesa asked us to show something out of the cupboard that had been hidden away for some time. I remembered I made this little Christmasquilt from
Debbie Mumm fabric in 1995, so this one was shown in my hall last Christmas.

TAKE-A-STITCH-TUESDAY
WEEK 2






This week Sharon has chosen the
buttonholestitch, festonsteek in Dutch, as challenge. Since I
worked a lot and had much appointments this week I couldn't do much sewing, so I show you one of my Crazy Staphorst blocks on which I highlighted the pansy with variegated DMC thread in buttonholestitch and did a row with half buttonhole wheels and beads.

TAKE-A-STITCH-TUESDAY WEEK 1












Here I tried the Herringbone stitch in the round on one of my Staphorst blocks,I used perle Edmar thread. Found it a bit empty until I visited Susan's blog and saw the idea of putting a button in the middle!

TAKE-A-STITCH-TUESDAY WEEK 1, results


This is the result of the "doorstrengelde flanelsteek" I told you about on Wednesday. It was fun to do, but I find the result a bit messy, don't know if I will use this one often!

TAKE-A-STITCH TUESDAY, WEEK 1

The first stitch that Sharon has chosen for this challenge is the Herringbone stitch, or Flanelsteek as we say in Dutch.
Looking at the Crazy Quiltblocks I made until now I realised that on everyone of them I made this stitch. Here you see some examples:













I love the combination with the Chevron Stitch Sharon showed us, I am gonna try this one out this week.
I found in an old Dutch book another strange combination: the "doorstrengelde Flanelsteek", I am sorry but I have no idea how to translate that in English.
You have to make the Herringbone stitch, then turn it upside down and wave through another thread. Here is a picture of the stitch, I will try to do this one and show you a picture later this week!

THANK YOU!!!

all for your sweet New Year's wishes and compliments!
Elizabeth, I will mail you privatly, Susan have a save trip to Texas and Lita, have fun moving to your new home, hope you get the chance to do some quilting agian soon!
Nina, I have just been to the postoffice, so the heart is coming your way.