I just found out that I forgot to show my July block for the CQJP2012. I made it to remember the visit to Mardi Gras at Universal Studios in Orlando together with DH and son Wesley in 2009. We had much fun listening to all the great music that day, eating turkey legs and seeing the Mardi Gras parade. Since my son is very tall he caught a lot of Mardi Gras necklaces for me!

 What a week!
First our son's half year old bycicle was stolen, the next day our dear doggie Daisy had a brainhaemorrhage (fortunately she survived but it sure weakened our almost 11 years old lab) and the next day our car was damaged, some fools had fun breaking off the mirror which costs around € 250 to replace........
Some good news also: 

I finished another altered Altoids tin and found this addition to my aqua blue depression glass collection at a collectors fair in Apeldoorn last Thursday!

         My first altered tin.........

In several Yahoogroups I read about altering Altoids tins and thought to give it a try myself, luckely I bought Altoids last year in the USA, the shells I found in France!

Bought myself a nice bouquet of sunflowers, it is raining all day over here...........

More pictures from France June 2012

     Champlitte

 

My CQJP June page

This is the June page I made for the CrazyQuiltJournalProject 2012. It is made of fabrics, trim and lace I bought during the Quilt Expo in Innsbruck in 1998! Except for the middle part, it are all pieces of traditional fabrics from Austria. I still have great memories of this trip although it is already a long time ago. It was my first bustrip with quilters of the Dutch Quiltersguild. 

Back home....

We had a wonderful vacation from almost a month in France! 


We travelled around with our campingcar and have seen so much of this lovely and colorful country. 

A few pictures to start with, I will show you some more later this week!

                           Montigny-le-Roi

Marseillan

My Halloween block is back home!

All ladies did a wonderful job!
Donna started first on the upper left corner. I love the button with the witch flying across the moon, one witch hasn't left the ground yet, her hat and broom are ready!

Sandra was the next to work on it. She added the spooky silver tree, the golden full moon, purple fence and the beaded witch with the red and white stockings!




Renée made the tombstone in SRE with the spiders. She also made the wavy fence in buttonhole stitch with French knots and the beautiful orange beaded seam.
Also she did the cats face and the "Beware, black cats" message.




And last but not least, my dear friend Beth made

a beautiful 3D spider and web and made the center pumpkin into an embroidered applique. She also embroidered the little ants and added the flower garden under the gosts.


Ladies, thank you all for your lovely work, you can't imagine how happy you made me! 
I have already started to make the border in different black fabrics, will of course show you a picture when it is finished!

CQJP 2012 - May

This is my May journal page for the CQJP2012. It is made to commemorate our 3 wonderful yellow labradors. Angel was our first labrador,she only lived 5 years. Angie was our second one, she died at age 11. Our Daisy is now also 11 years old and still doing fine. She is becoming an old lady and sleeps much.
All three were and are great sweet dogs and loved by everyone who got to know them. 



For the first time in 4 years we have visitors in the birdhouse in our garden. These blue tits started a new family and are flying on and off to feed their babies. 

CQJP2012 April

For the Crazy Quilt Journal Project 2012 I made this journal page for the month of April. The picture was taken in 1959, on the picture you see my Grandmother Wilhelmina and me on a bench at the Lauwersgracht in Arnhem. I am named after her, she was the mother of my father. My grandmother loved flowers, shiny jewelery and pearls that is why I used them in this 6" block.On the CQJP website you can see webpages of the blocks made by the participants in the first 3 months -including me-, just click on Inspiration Photos and you see a lot of eye candy!

Some pictures of what I have done this week!

Finished another needlebook.........

Did some couching to a CQJP page.........

and found these lovely buttons at the "Verzamelaar", a huge collectors fair in Utrecht this weekend, also found these lovely turquoise lights for my turquoise glass collection. They are Finnish, the brand is "iittala".

And I went in and out of hospital for several tests on Rheuma and Arthritis. On May 2th I get the results from the rheumatologist, got some medicine but they don't help much, pain is in the fingers of my left hand now also.......

A Happy Easter to all of you!

This week I have been working on a Crazy Quilt block from Donna in the USA. It is from the Fabulous First Timers#20 on CQI. This is what it looked when I received it last week:and this is how it looks now. I was the last person working on it. It will be the frontflap of a bag. Tuesday I will send the block back to Donna.

I have finished another part of the bandsampler I am making from the TAST stitches... Have been stitching in the garden, the weather is lovely over here today, around the 20 o C. Since my walking is very bad these last weeks, it was great being outside the whole day although I can't work in the garden. Tuesday I have an appointment for a bone scan in hospital, hope they will find out what is wrong........
Yesterday I received these two hearts from a swap on CQForNewbies, the hearts are made by Doris and Lori, lovely work ladies!

These whipped wheels, the stitch for TAST 2012 week 11, I mostly did this morning while watching the Grand Prix Formula I in Melbourne, Australia (which by the way my favorite Jenson Button won!).
These last weeks were very busy, my MIL was brought to hospital again and yesterday we finally moved her into a room in the nursery home she was waiting so long for. Although suffering from Alzheimer I hope she'll have some quality time over there.
Inbetween I managed to finish this sampler of running stitches and this needlebook. The last few weeks my knees are very bad, tomorrow I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon, it seems my hips aren't OK also, I am certainly not looking forward to that..........

I just finished this oil painting. It is life-size, the poor calffinch found his death against a window....

I've got mail! Today two lovely surpirses came in the mail, my friend Beth from NYC has send me a package with pieces of fabric and lovely NYC buttons to help me out with the CQJP project. Aren't they great?

Also this beautiful button with the handpainted gold finch arrived today, a gift from dear Gerry. You can find her wonderful buttons on: www.etsy.com/shop/olderrose

Thank you so much ladies, you both made my day, just what I needed!

Today I have finished the painting of this brown pelican, that I saw on Fort Myers Beach last April. It is done in acrylics.This week I have also been working on a CQ block from Sandra for First Timers 20 swap in CQI. Renee and Beth did already work on it before me. I have added the lace with the Lazy Daisies, the brown feather stitch on the right with the yellow beads and the red Herringbone stitch on the right corner, now it is on it's way to Donna in the USA.