Sewtogether bag and more Dr Seuss

I'm still busy with my Auntie Green's Quilt. But once in a while it's nice to do something different, preferably something that can be finished in a day or two. I'm sure you have seen lots of different versions of the "Sewtogether bag" on the Internet. I bought the pattern a while ago and this week I was able to twist a friend's arm to make it together with me. We had fun and are both pleased as punch with the result. We found a terrific sew along on the The Quilt Barn Blog with lots of photos, which were very helpful. 

I loved how my friend put hexagons on her bag and the copy cat that I am I had to do it too.  

When my daughter was here, she was looking for a basket for her classroom to put all her pen holders in (she has several for all the bits and pieces she needs on a daily base). Apparently her kid always make them fall over which results in a big mess. As we couldn't find exactly what she was looking for I suggested I would make her an open box. She chose a couple of  Dr Seuss fabrics which will go nicely with the quilt and bunting I already made for her classroom and this is the result: 

Cheers
Vreni x

We have a winner!

Thanks everybody who entered my Bali batik give away. I asked my son to chose a number between 1 and 140 and he said 29. It turns out that the 29th comment was left by one of my longtime and good quilting friend Hilde who said:

You know how to make a quilt friend happy! This Bali trip has been a good one!

Congratulations Hilde; the fabrics will be on their way as soon as the post office opens tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing what she is going to make with them. 

Cheers

Vreni x

Batik give away

As promised here's a little batik give away. And this is what's on offer:

2 jelly rolls (20 strips each)

3 yards of coordinated orange batik

1/2 yard of blue/yellow batik

This should be enough to make a decent sized lap quilt or even a single bed quilt. If you are interested, all you have to do is leave a comment and if you are a follower you get to leave a second one. All are welcome to play. The winner will be selected randomly and announced on Saturday (23 August). As always, make sure I have a way to contact you in case you are the winner. Good Luck!

Cheers

Vreni x

Bali

 We've been in Bali many times, but this was the first time we rented a villa instead of staying in a hotel. It was a wonderful experience and I'm afraid that we've been spoiled for ever.
This is the entrance to our villa

and this welcoming view you get once you are inside

and a closer look at the pool; it's hard to see where it ends and the ocean begins,

This is a picture from the web site advertising the villa. 

The staff  looked after us wonderfully and provided us with delicious meals. As you can imagine, we never wanted to leave.

Whenever we are in Bali, a trip up to Ubud is always a must. We remember it as a sleepy artist's village we visited the first time almost 30 years ago. Now it's a bustling city with loads of tourists. But when you look closer, it's still possible to find a few peaceful corners. 

Another place we visited again this time is Tenganan, an ancient village which dates back over 800 years. 

The place where festivals are held 

Tenganan is where the traditional Geringsing - a double ikat - is still produced. For the villagers Geringsing woven fabrics are sacred and they believe it protects them against diseases and evil spirits. The technique of making Geringsing is very complex where both warp and weft threads are carefully tie-dyed and cross-dyed. The pattern only emerges as the cloth is woven.

Our guide showing us ikats and double ikats  his mother and grandmother had woven

and explaining the pattern.

And talking about textiles; yes I did get some quilting batik, about 100 yards give or take ;)!!!

This is at the warehouse where bolts of fabric as well as jelly rolls and fat quarter packs are prepared to be shipped to the US.

It was slightly chaotic and very hot and sticky at the warehouse but definitely worth the visit!

And here's the loot I brought home: 

extra wide fabric for backings

and a few precuts!

And since I'm willing to share, how about a little give away? So do come back next week to check it out.

I hope I haven't bored you too much with all the photos. Thanks for sticking with me to the end ;).

Cheers

Vreni xx

Classroom Bunting

A few years ago, when my daughter started teaching, I made her a Dr. Seuss quilt for the reading corner and gave her some of the books for her own classroom library. I still had some fabric of that quilt in my stash and decided to make a bunting to hang up in her class room. I added a few other pieces from my scrap bin. 

It's actually one long sting of bunting, but I couldn't get it all into one picture. A friend of mine was kind enough to cut the letters on her AccuQuilt fabric cutter.

With the few flags I had left I made another shorter bunting. I think that would look nice in a baby or kid's room.

I also had to make a block for another of my quilting friends who is leaving Singapore. She requested Singapore Nature and I came up with this

It's supposed to be a lotus flower bud, in case you can't tell.

And I've been shopping! A local shop is carrying the whole of the Steel + Cotton range and at a very competitive price too. For now I bought mostly blender fabrics, but I might have to go back for more. I think they are such versatile and pretty colours/patterns and are great additions to my stash. 

We are off to Bali next week; let's see if I can find some lovely batiks for my stash as well. I'll keep you in the loop.

Cheers

Vreni x