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Saturday 26 February 2011

Freestyle

Once in a while I like to make quilts that way. I just start somewhere and see where it takes me. I've made this quilt top for this cause. I've decided to have it machine quilted by a new local longarm quilter. I thought I would call it "Finding Order in Chaos" (as it does look a bit chaotic).


And this is what I made with the "leftovers"


If you remember, I took part in the Another Little Quilt Swap 5. This little quilt arrived this week and by chance it was made by my good (blog) friend Jess in Australia. I love the colour combination - blue and brown - gorgeous. From all the lovely quilts made for the exchange, this was my absolute favorite one. Aren't I lucky!


Jess also made this little needle envelope for me (I've admired it a while ago on her blog) and she put in an extra piece of fabric. Thanks so much Jess.


My offering has arrived at its destination as well, see here. By the way; I won first place with it at the Weekly Themed Quilt Contest.  Thanks for your votes!

Other than that; I went to see "The King's Speech" yesterday and loved it. Oh yes, we also had our 30th wedding anniversary this week (of course I was a child bride, I kid you not ;), and this February marks 25 years since we left Switzerland. Our daughter was just one year old when we moved to Australia and as you can imagine, the grandparents weren't best pleased. During our years in Australia our son was born (yes, he's the Aussie in our family) and from there we moved to Taiwan, then Indonesia, then back to Taiwan, to Singapore, to Shanghai in China and a year ago we moved back to Singapore. I often wonder how our lives would have turned out if we'd stayed at home. The kids wouldn't be speaking  Swiss German with an American accent but most probably English with a Swiss German accent ;). On the other hand they would also speak French and maybe Italian instead of  Chinese.  But non of us would want to change a thing and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in so many different cultures.

That's it for today.

Vreni

19 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the quilt top!! It is similar to a quilt that I made for my brother a few years ago. The method was very freeing and fun!! Happy Anniversary!!

Silvia said...

Vreni congratulations!!!!. I love this miny quilt fom Lusie!!. Lovely and perfect done!!!. I want you to congratulate for your firstb place weekly theme quilt contest. I am not surprised, so you make lovely projects!!.
Have a nice week-end!!!

Silvia said...

Sorry i write down Lusie, instead Jess...

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

Love the quilt top! I'm not very good a winging it!
Is sounds like you have had an eventful 30 years of marriage, congrats on your anniversary!
I am so pleased that you like my quilt too!

barcord said...

Congrats on your anniversary Vreni. Jess's quilt is beautiful. I had it on my list too. I do like the quilt top. It's fab. and a good idea to make a cushion with the leftovers. I need to tidy my little work room, but the sun is shining, and I think I will be off out with DH of almost 44 years to enjoy the good weather.

Geckoboxes said...

So many things to celebrate in life! It is good to stand still once in a while, and enjoy it all.
I like the black and white border you used for the quilt and cushion! It gives an extra touch to the lovely colours you used. have a good weekend! XXX Hilde

Calicojoan said...

Oh my gosh, that is sooooo great looking I bet you had a great time putting that together. I just might have to dig thru some of my scraps and give it a try. I love creating with leftover "stuff"!

Thimbleanna said...

I love your quilt Vreni -- especially the little touches of black and white with that stripe fabric.

What a fascinating life you've had! I would love living in all of those exotic locations. Have you guys started to think about where you might retire when the time comes? Will you pick a favorite place? And here's my last nosey question -- where does the "American accent" fit into the equation? It's shameful how little I know about the part of the world you're in!

Lynda said...

Amazing quilt, Vrenie. The title is perfect. Love the black and white fabric in it.

I think you have been quite blessed for living so many places and learning about other cultures and speaking other languages. The only traveling I do is with Rick Steves on TV!

meli B said...

Congrats on the first place. I love your improv quilt and am really curious as to how you made it. Did you make bits, cut them up and add strips in between? Need to know the secret because I really love the idea.

meli B said...

PS Happy Anniversary. We had ours too this week but only 24 years.

Martina said...

Alles Gute zum Hochzeitstag! Schon 30 Jahre! Manchmal hat man das gefuehl das ist soo lang und andererseits vergeht die Zeit soo schnell! Bestimmt habt ihr durch all die Wechsel in eurem Leben auch ein weites Herz gewonnen!Das find ich super!
Dein Quilt gefaellt mir super. Irgendwann moechte ich auch so was ausprobieren. Es scheint Spass zu machen und das Resultat ist so schoen!
Einen schoenen Sonntag, herzlich Martina

Janet said...

Happy anniversary Vreni! I love the quilt, it's a beauty and the cushion is wonderful too.

Rita said...

SAli Vreni¨
Alles Liebi und Gueti zum 30.! Hochzeitstag!!Ich sag immer, es kommt alles so, wie es muss und es kommt gut!!Aber gell, man macht sich doch immer seine Gedanken;))
Wünsch Dir einen ganz schönen Tag und Deine Quiltkreationen sind wieder mal einfach einmalig!
Ganz liebi Grüessli, Rita

Heather said...

Happy Anniversary, glad you enjoyed the movie. Love what you achieved with your quilt. The middle has come together really well. Great choice of fabrics. XX

donkey and the carrot said...

First of all my best wishes for your Anniversary!!!! May you live MANY MANY YEARS together and most of all HAPPY TOGETHER!!!

AND NOW... CONGRATULATIONS FOR THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! Your quilts rocks!!!! I LOOOOVE the pillow made of leftovers!!!! And i am so jealous of your life... i mean all these travels around the world... it must be (difficult yes but) SO EXCITING!!!!

Many hugs and kisses my dear Vreni!!!
i send you all my love and my best wishes!

Shirley said...

Well done on all accounts Vreni. Thirty years is no mean feat. Freeform quilting is very liberating and something we should all do occasionally to loosen up, plus it shows what you can do with the leftovers.
Shirley.x

Theodora quilts said...

Hi Vreni I love the pillow you made I believe I have seen maybe a quilt similar to it that you have made ,it is familiar ,and the one from leftover scraps also is lovely,the one you got from Jess is real pretty too, I wish you a Happy 30th, and I too think about how it would be if I stayed in the United States, oh well !! what will be will be as the song goes and I believe you are real luycky to have experienced so many culturs wouldn't trade it for enything else, xoxo theodora

Thanks for yous visit ,did you try to make the tortillas yet ?

Sujata Shah said...

I love your freestyle quilt. It is so nicely organized.. the outer borders do quite a trick on keeping it in order!
How lucky you are to have experienced so many cultures. I know it is not the easiest thing to do at times.. but it has it's pluses!