Applecores

Two projects: Spakenburger houses (14 finished) and Appelcores. For the applecores I borrowed a stamp from Dieuwke (you can buy it in Dorry's quiltshop). It's very easy, and saves you lots of times, no drawing with templates. On the other hand you loose that time because sewing applecores is much more complicated then I thought. I love the mix of muslin and scrap fabrics. You know I'm a muslin addict, so visiting Marne in september there will be muslin on my shopping list again. Because I want this to be a big quilt.

It seems that next week will be a little bit colder, some freezing temperatures. Well who cares, with all the narcisses we bring spring into our home.

This is just The Hague

No we are not on holiday in some tropical country. Although that sounds very tempting. Long time ago a few ring- neck parakeets escaped, and for some reason they survive very well here. In The Hague there are living about 5.000 parakeets. What about our great tit and blue mouses, well they're not impressed only a little bit harder to get on the photo.

Spakenburger houses choices to make

Decisions to make about my Spakenburger houses. Well not 365 that's for sure. I started with the originally pattern with sashings around, and cornerstones between. But it didn't make me really happy. So I'm going for option 2, making rows of houses, with only sashings up and under like blue skies. So there will be two Spakenburger Houses Quilts. A small one I will finish the orignally way but only with 9 houses. A gift for the museum in Spakenburg where I found my fabric treasures. And a big one just for me "the 100, 81, or 64 houses of Spakenburger. Depending the amount of fabric I have. The border will be just rectangles. It's really fun, maybe Jeanneke can do a counting on the first of januar 2013. How many houses have we made all over the world. The Guiness book of records?

A creative family

My father is a bookbinder, this is one of his examples. Very handy at the moment, I use it for my daily report. A few times a year you can find him on little markets selling his products. My sister likes all kind of handcrafts, together with her son Thomas she made this X-mas gift. It's hanging on our balcony, and with the temperatures falling down, our city birds will be very happy. My mum likes to makes clothes, my little niece Sophie got a whole collection for her dolls. Sorry no pictures. And what about me, well things are slowing down a little bit. But this weekend I made this little happy flower house of the Spakenburger costume fabrics. By the way I passed my first exam Management Science/Busness Administation with a very good result. My next course will start in april.

Pin cushions

Well what's so interesting about pincushions, except that you need them for your needles and pins. Well I was looking for my friend Marne for a special pincushion, something she could easily use after her surgery. In the hospital or when she's back home, the last thing you want is to find needles and pins in your bed. 

I love my little finger pincushion, it's very handy and I use it a lot at the moment. I bought one at an exposition in Seattle, but they're very easy to make yourself. Just use the cap of a bottle.

Here is a very good tutorial.

At the Etsy shop you can find hundreds of differents pin cushions, and all kind of home made products. For example I ordered a little pillbox with a black cocker spaniel on it. Real fun. Very handy are the pincushion you can wear around your wrist, so this one is flying to Seattle. So you see there is a lot to tell about pin cushions.

Maybe a little Spakenburger House as a pincushion?

Surfing around here a few give-aways you really shouldn't miss:
Marha, Supergoof and Simone

  

Under construction Spakenburger Houses

It's going slowy but steady. But really, it's fun. And I love peeking around on all the other blogs with the building activities. Some of them are really going speedy, they will manage the 365. For the moment my goal is to make100 Spakenburger houses. And then probably put a nice border around it with all the leftovers. Then I can call my quilt: "The 100 houses of Spakenburg". 

Looking at my progress, 6 done, 4 cut, 90 on more to go. I'm on schedule : ).

And yes another photo of my dog, he keeps me lots of company at the moment, and his favorite spot is next to me on the bed. Like a real "service" dog, full of attention, ready for action : ).

Spakenburger Houses

Yes, I'm also one the quilters who's joining the "Quiltvirus Building Houses from Scraps".

Till now I have made five houses. I don't think I will  keep catching up making one every day. The fabrics I have chosen are scraps/parts from traditional Spakenburger costumes. 

All the windows and doors will be red-white. The red-white represents the colour of the scarfs the Spakenburger women wear. And the blue? Well the blue skies of the Netherlands (in summer).

Of course like all the other quilters I have special box for it. Marne and Elaine send it as a X-mas present for Rob with salmon in it. The salmon will be used for lunch tomorrow. And poor husbands who are married to quilters, we can always use a nice wooden box for one of our projects.

Did you know that Seattle is the heart of the Pacific salmon fishery. The painting of the box is from one of the original North-West Tribes.

The Pacific Northwest Coast people believed that Salmon were actually humans with eternal life how lived in a large house far under the ocean. In the Spring, they put on their Salmon disguises and offered themselves to the villagers as food. The tribes believed that when entire fish skeletons were returned to the sea, the spirits would rise again and change into Salmon people. In this way, the cycle could begin again the following year. Since the villagers feared that the Salmon people would not be treated respectfully by White people who had no knowledge of the taboos and regulations, they did not want to sell Salmon to the first White men.

Weather report The Hague

 There is a storm that keeps us busy here in the Netherlands. Strong and gusty winds that's what we get today, windforce 7 to 8  (30-40 miles an hour).

The tree that I'm watching from my quiltroom window didn't make it. And what's my dear husband doing? He went out for a ride on his bike.

 

Reflections 2011

A new year, a new start,  a time for reflections. It seems that 2011 passed very quickly, but I remember it as an fantastic year.

• I finished several antique quilts and did my first show-and-tell at Bep.
• I made a trip to Marne and Elaine, which was really fantastic again.
• I wanted to start my big dog quilt, maybe this year.
• Granny had her 85th birthday party in march.
• In april we had fantastic weather the rest of the summer was lousy.
• Marne and Elaine stayed for 10 weeks in the Netherlands, Dieuwke and I embarrassed them with a "welcome quilt" on the airport.
• Rob cycled 146 kilometers for the Childrens Hospital in The Hague. Together they raised 19.000 euro.
• And then of course there was Grace's Quilt. I'm still busy writing the story, and I'm still in contact with Grace's daughter and granddaughter.
• September was all about holidays: Germany, Paris and St. Marie-aux-Mines.




Unfinished reindeer Quilt


• In october believe it or not: the dutch won the World Baseball Championship.
• November/december I spend most of my time at my study, I finished my first paper and still waiting for the result. I changed my house in X-mas, but the reindeer quilt, is going back in the X-mas box, unfortunetaley I didn't manage to finish it, so I will give a new chance for X-mas 2012.

And what about 2012, I don't know what will come, but I'm sure it will be full of new challenges and suprises.