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Friday 22 December 2017

Second half of 2017

It seems the second half of 2017 has just whizzed by and I've been very remiss in posting. I don't really know why and I have no excuses either. 

Well, let's see what I've been up to in the last few month. I went on my very first quilt retreat with a few friends from my former quilt group in Singapore. We went to Cullen, Scotland, you can read all about the location and venue here. We had a wonderful time and got spoiled with home cooked meals, had the use of a well appointed sewing room and the bed rooms were charming and very comfortable. I would go again at the drop of a hat, the problem is that they are usually booked out a year or more in advance. 

While I was there I worked on a quilt I started  almost 4 years ago in Singapore when I took a class with Kaffe Fassett (you can read about it here).  The original has a border made of  big half square triangles, but unfortunately I've run out of fabric - I had to recut a lot of the pieces. I don't think that introducing new fabrics at this stage would work. I do have enough scraps to make a border using the small half square triangles, but I'm not sure how that would look. Of course it doesn't have to be a pieced border or has to have a border at all. Must think about it a bit more.



I made made a start on another quilt I've been admiring on Pinterest. It's by Bonnie Sullivan which is called "Over and Down Under" and I tried to copy it. I used batiks I bought a few years ago in Bali and I quite like the result. Mine turned out slightly smaller than the original with 53 inches square. Perfect for a lap quilt.


These two tops will now join the big heap of other tops patiently waiting to be quilted. Well, I really have no more excuses not getting them done. I've always wanted one of those sit-down longarm quilting machines and done a lot of research, looked and tried different machines like the HQ Sweet 16, the Juki TL-2200 QVP as well as the Bernina Q20. In the end it was a matter of space.  However I tried it would have been a squeeze to put one of those machines in my sewing room.  In the end I decided to replace my Bernina 820 with a Bernina 750QE. As you might remember, I've been moaning about the 820 for a long time, especially when free motion quilting. I read all I could about the 770 QE online and talked to a couple of different Bernina agents and it seemed that I have the best of both worlds with this machine as it's a great for piecing as well as quilting. I decided to buy a cabinet which gives a flat and flush sewing area which will no doubt help with the FMQ.  I can also lower the machine completely into the table and close it, which is handy as sometimes my sewing room is used as a second guest room. So far I'm really happy with my new baby, although I haven't done a lot of free motion quilting yet. I'm still not sure what to do with my 820 as both Bernina agents weren't interested in a trade in, which goes to show how much they value these machines!!!



The second block for my Scandinavian Christmas is also finished. I'm now working on block three (out of four).  Maybe next Christmas the quilt will be finished or the Christmas after ;)!



I ordered the pattern and papers for a quilt called Ruby May by the talented Kellie Wulfsohn. I decided to have a little trial run and make a pillow first. I used fabrics from my stash and only had to buy the cotton yarn for the crocheted edge. I've not crocheted for years and was amazed how fast it came back - I guess it's like riding a bike, ha. 






































We did a bit of travelling during the summer (Lake Como in Italy and a week in London) and I also spent a few days in Trier, Germany, where I met up with two other quilting friends who came from the Netherlands. We rented a house and quilted, crafted and of course laughed a lot together. We hope to do it again next year.

A few weeks ago I took a workshop to learn how to make an Advent wreath as well as a Christmas door decoration. I like the wreath but I'm not so sure about the decoration; a bit too modern for my taste!


Now Christmas is almost here and I've written the cards, made or bought and wrapped the gifts, decorated the house, made the cookies and stocked the fridge. The only thing missing is snow but according to the weather forecast it doesn't look likely.



I wish you all a Wonderful, Cozy and Merry Christmas and for 2018 happiness and hopefully lots of time for stitching.

Vreni x

15 comments:

LintLady said...

Liebe Vreni,
ich habe dich vermisst.
Der "Over and Down Under"-Quilt gefällt mir sehr. Nun aber ran ans Quilten..
Ich wünsche dir ganz schöne Weihnachten und alles Gte für das neue Jahr.
Liebe Grüße, Doris :o)

Cattinka said...

Du hast ein schönes und ereignisreiches Halbjahr hinter Dir! Ich gratuliere Dir zur neuen Bernina, und ich bin mir sicher Du wirst viel Freude damit haben.
Das neue Kissen gefällt mir sehr gut, die Häkelborte passt hervorragend dazu, man sollte öfters Häkeln mit Patchwork verbinden!
Ich wünsche Dir schöne Weihnachten und freue mich schon über Deinen nächsten Blogbericht, in denen Du zeigst wie es mit Deinen schönen Projekten weiter geht!
LG
KATRIN W.

patchingmimi said...

Liebe Vreni
Toll Dein Kissen mit der Häkelborte. Die Applikation gefällt mir sehr :-)
Die Wahl Deiner Bernina ist top, nähe und quilte ich doch seit längerem auf dieser und ich bin sehr zufrieden.
Wünsche Dir schöne Festtage und viel Mut und Zeit Deine schönen Tops zu quilten.
GlG mimi

Marja Rijnsburger said...

I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy and creativ 2018.
Marja

Radka said...

Lovely post, Vreni :-)
I like your "Over and Under" quilt, very interesting. And what a sweet cushion! Love it!
And beautiful Christmas tree...
I hope you finished Scandinavian Christmas, but don't beat yourself up if you haven't, there is always a next year ;-)
All the best for 2018!
xx

Nyla said...

I love your Ruby Mae pillow! So pretty! I was looking at your past posts and wondered if you got your "The Aunts" quilt top quilted. Would love to see it when you do. Merry Christmas!

Lynda said...

You have been very busy. I love the Scandinavian Christmas block. And the pillow is so sweet. You do such beautiful handwork. I just don't have the patience to do a good job......or maybe the skills. Quilt retreats are the best. I haven't been away to one but our little group has a couple retreats each year that are so much fun. We can quilt and laugh and talk and eat all day and go home to our own beds at night. Best of both worlds! Your over and down under quilt is wonderful. I love the woven look. You are so lucky to have your new machine. I look forward to seeing what you can do with it.

Wishing you the best New Year too. Lynda

Sarah said...

Such lovely projects going on! And your new machine is fab, have fun with it!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Lots of cute projects. How did you get a machine all the way to Scotland? Enjoy the new machine and cabinet.

Sue said...

Happy New Year! Very interested in your new machine. I am thinking of upgrading in the next year, (husband hasn't been told that yet) ;) Mostly, I am looking for something big enough to free motion quilt. Im so tired of fighting the machine and quilt. I will have a good look at the 750QE.

Thimbleanna said...

Wow Vreni -- you've had a busy year! And a quilt retreat in Scotland -- Be Still My Heart! Your quilt tops are so pretty -- maybe they'll be just the ticket for you to learn to free motion quilt on your new machine. With such a productive fall, I can't wait to see what you get done this winter!

Angela said...

Hallo Vreni,
so nice to read from and about you again. I like that you gave yourself a lot of good treats last year. Continue and have great fun and satisfaction with the new kid in town. Enjoy and all the best for 2018. Angela from Melaka

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Radka said...

it is working for my comment box also, you need to tick "notify me" when commenting. I have no idea if you are getting this, I left a reply for you in my comment box :-)
xx