The Lost Month .. in between Stolen Hours

Chatting with a friend (a week or so ago) about a project we want to start in June
it became apparent that an entire month has gone missing. 

I started counting on my fingers, then she pointed out that April was
just two weeks away .. two weeks?!

In the meantime it has arrived. 

No! Um, yep. 

Geez, an entire month has gone by ... it's hard to explain how or where.

But there has been some of this going on ... in between ...

Oma Lena's Flower Garden is an English Paper Piecing BOM I designed years ago is beginning to see the light of day.

In the stolen hours of March I've been working on the pattern - available with it's paper pieces. If you'd like more information just let me know ... I'm working on all the Q & As now. 

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The Big Secret Project(s)

Well I can finally share more ... it's taken me awhile to get this far. First an unexpected surgery then weeks and weeks of bed rest. But I put all that time in hospital and at home to good use.

Remember those 1200 hexagons I planned to take to Seattle with me? Well, since we had to cancel our trip I never bothered with the bag I planned to make. Just as well because it would have been waaaay to small. Instead I tossed them in one of my Longaberger baskets, gave them a good shake to mix them up and propped it up on the back of the sofa.

Before you know it one was sewn to the other and another and another. Until I had "blocks" of 25 ... in fact I've made 20 blocks of 25 already!  So 500 of 1200 are sewn together and I'm not losing steam. I'm telling you these things are addictive.

It helps that I couldn't do anything else ... at least not flat on my back. Knitting and crochet were impossible. Applique and traditional piecing were pretty difficult too.

But hexagons? Oh yeh, bring them on!

A few weeks ago the doctor said I could get up and about more but that only lasted a week before he sent me back to the sofa again.

But ... Tuesday ... he gave me the all clear. So I really feel like I can share the progress on the biggest project of my life!

We're pregnant ... with twins ... due in June 

and we couldn't be any happier. 

We've spent a lot of time wandering and tiptoeing and cartwheeling through the clouds lately. Can it be? Is it true? Well yes! Those ultrasounds don't lie. Instead of blobs with heartbeats (which is as far as we've gotten in the past) we have two little beings bouncing around inside me! Each with a heart beating strongly, two waving arms and two kicking legs and more! It all seems so unreal.

So as you can imagine we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with big smiles this year! I've managed to do a little bit of baking and tomorrow we'll go have tea and cookies with my old quilting gang from Mülheim. Then we're spending Christmas Eve with Axel's parents, his aunt, cousins (two) and their children (four). The traditional meal is fondue - one pot of cheese and two pots of broth for meats with lots of condiments and great crusty bread. Everyone brings a salad ... this year we're contributing Carrot & Raisin salad .. my lastest love (or is it a craving?).

So I wish you all a wonderful wonderful Christmas and the very happiest of New Years! May the sewing, quilting and crafting elves visit you in their sleep and sprinkle you with magic dust.

xox Jovita

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Don't Miss Out

Some of you might not know that I blog Under the Willow Tree with a bunch of friends around the world.

It's been quiet over the summer but I just shared some fun and new things. You'll definitely want to stop by if you're looking for just the right take-along project as kids return to school and sports schedules resume .. or for your own lunchbreaks and waits and doctor's appointments. Or even, for just those few minutes you snatch for yourself each evening. Just be sure to stop by and check it out!

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Jekyll & Hyde

The two latest projects in my sewing basket. One started as a class sample, the other because a pile of fabric was screaming at me. Sometimes I wonder about my split personality .. do you have a "style" .. or do you wander out and about and every quilt has a unique look?



Both of these projects are likely to end up on a bed some day ... one for our bedroom, one for the guest room. Which one would you rather sleep under?



And both are sewn by hand. The smaller one uses the English Paper Piecing technique, the brights are traditionally hand pieced.

BOTH feed my addiction to hexagons. Off to the sofa for a quiet evening of stitching after *another* rough night of sleep. Geez, when will this end?

You can see more of my addiction to hexagons here. Pin It Now!

The best Medicine ...

... is a day with friends ... I guarantee they will chase away all the cobwebs and snarls.

And Wow - what a day I had!! Yesterday Axel and I jumped in the car for a quick (2-1/2 hour) drive to Germany. Before he went schlepping groceries for his parents, he dropped me off with a bunch of girlfriends who meet up every Tuesday.

I first met this crowd when we moved from England simultaneously into our storage-apartment in Geldern (about 45 mins from his parents) and back to the States. We knew we'd be flying over often enough that a regular place to stay would be important. It only took a little bit of research to realize this little apartment just a few minutes walk from one of Axel's best friends was cheaper than a storage unit in England. It meant I could sew and have a "normal" life when Axel was out touring and it gave me the opportunity to meet THE GIRLS.

They're all quite a hoot and keep each other in stitches. Somebody always has something new to share ... and more often than not there's 10+ things to show each week. They are a constant source of inspiration and ideas.

Gabi was working on her flower garden - isn't it gorgeous?  Every tiny little scrap of fabric is Kaffe Fasset.  The hexagons measure about 3/8" on each side.

I met Karin for the first time - a warm, friendly lady who can KNIT and I mean really knit.  Gabi knits too and was working on a gorgeous shawl, but she had already put her project away by the time I pulled out my camera.  Someday I'm going to get the two of them to teach me how to do this.  First I need to finish sock of my socks.  I have knit three, but still don't have a pair - the story of my life :)

And Angela dyes her own fabrics and makes the most outstanding quilts. She's been working on this one for a couple of years ... 9-patches made using the English Paper Piecing method.

It was a wonderful day ... packed with laughter, ideas, inspiration, friendship and best of all patchwork and creativity. I also showed the my GOT DOTS project and immediately "infected" three of them. I'll save those pics for tomorrow. I was exhausted at the end of the day mostly from trying not to mix up my German and Nederlands (which was pretty much a lost cause).

There was a semi (lorry) accident on our normal motorway so we came home via a different route.  Quite tired and too three four-legged critters that were happy to see us. Today I've come down with *another* cold, the shop is open, our village is getting ready for Kermis (the ferris wheel will be set up across the street - right in front of our bedroom window).

I want to do is stitch, stitch, stitch - I have a few more Got Dots blocks to show you, another snowflake and more.  But I need to take pictures of everything.

I hope you're happily stitching away!  xox Jovita Pin It Now!

Plugging Away ...

So it's still a bit of a construction / re-organization zone around here.  The furniture "lift" came Friday night to move our two sofas upstairs via outside and through the french doors (there's no way they'd go up the staircase.   But we still need to drill holes and pull the cable wire upstairs so for now we're watching TV evenings in my studio - courtesy our garden chairs.  It doesn't feel very elegant, but by the end of the day of sorting, shifting and piling up (see those tables that still need to get sorted out!!) we're quite happy to plunk down, put feet up and just watch a bit of something funny.  

The shop and classroom area are coming along nicely and I can hardly wait to re-open on Wednesday just to see everyone's reaction.  By the time we're finished with this re-fit we will have doubled our shelving space for bolts and added a comfortable classroom table for six with a view into our little courtyard where weather permitting we can gather to stitch on a regular basis.

Thankfully I'm still able to carry on with hand projects in spite of this disaster zone.  My Courtyard Quilt is coming along nicely - I ended up adding 3 more fabrics to give it a bit of a lift and have pretty much decided on the layout ... it would be nice to have it done before our open house starting on the 1st of September.  

Block three of Frosty Flakes was posted last Wednesday.  I was glad to have already prepped and appliqued the "flowers" so it was just a matter of  adding the embroidery and beads.  Voilà!  Here she is ...  Plus I've posted a pic of the first five flowers so you can see the color pallette I'm working with.  plus Dawn started a Flickr group where you can see what everyone else is doing.

Happy Sewing!!   xox  Jovita Pin It Now!

Snowflakes

Two posts in two days is probably not the goal I want to set for myself, but I was too excited to not share with you this sweet little project I'm working on.

As many of you know, I have a million projects and I should *really* think hard about starting another. But ... first they were snowflakes and there are only nine (9!) of them.  Then I started thinking about using silk for shimmer and well I think reason left me there.

But it's true, they're quick and easy and a delight to make.  And something I might will definitely finish - by this Christmas.  There I posted it here, so you can hold me too it.

The 10-week project is posted one block per week on Wednesdays by Dawn Hays of "As Sweet As Cinnamon".  It's a lovely project and easy to take anywhere or to work on while enjoying a movie/sofa night - last night I began block one and today finished two.   Think about joining us - just click on Dawn's button to the right.
Project details:  silk dupioni (in 5 shades of blue/aqua), white and blue hand-dyed variegated threads from Weeks Dye Works, pre-cut 1/2" hexagons and seed beads in opalescent white and turquoise.  the background is a fabulous white-on-white snowflake print.  All product (except beads) are available at Jovita's Patchwork Atelier.

Greetings from a summery Belgium!  

xox Jovita

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It's been too long ...

Yes, it's been ages since you heard from me ... at first I thought it might be just the summer ... then the summer turned into autumn, there was a winter to be endured, spring came and went and another summer arrived full of activity.  It's nearly 16 months since my last flight from the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I can honestly say I'm quite settled in Belgium.  And I'm loving it (ok ... I hate the wind & winters) but the rest is a all doable and more often than not very very enjoyable.

My Courtyard Flower Garden
Using 1-1/2" hex and a selection of
fabrics from Fasset, Mably and Jacobs.

Life here has been incredibly busy, last December we moved to a bigger house (smaller yard) which includes built-in shop space.  In February Jovita's Patchwork Atelier opened ... the new shop is even smaller than our little one in Mukilteo but it has been warmly welcomed by many.  I still carry the gorgeous ribbon from Germany and silk of course.  New additions have been the wonderful and colorful works of Philip Jacobs, Brandon Mably and of course,  Kaffe Fasset.

I am also doing a lot more hand-work which I've always enjoyed.  So English Paper Piecing, Needleturn Applique and Wool Applique keep me quite busy.  When I'm not "working" you'll find me puttering in the garden, cooking up a storm, playing with our animals or sitting with my knitting or crochet.

There's a lot to catch you up on including projects, anecdotes from life in Europe, design ideas, free patterns and tutorials.  So I hope you'll bookmark my blog and come back often to visit.

xox Jovita Pin It Now!

Sewing like a Fiend

Phewf - what a week!  I’ve been sewing like crazy.  Running on pure adrenaline I’m sure . . .

I skipped my Dutch classes for the first week back after the holidays and I’m sure that had something to do with it.

Ticked off this week includes . . .  

1. 
   
    worked farther on the Stars Galore houses pattern
2. 
   
   finished my Tumbling Blocks top - (purples and greens)  It’s a sample for a class on machine piecing Y-seams that I’ll be teaching in Germany this weekend - am contemplating on an on-line class too, so let me know if you’re interested.  The quilt will be one that rotates through the guest room.
3. 
   
   finished hand-piecing a Tumbling Blocks pillow front that matches the quilt above, but will go in our living room instead.
4. 
   
   fine-tuned the pressing plan for Tumbling Blocks with a started top of only solids.  I love how it’s turning out.  Really, really cheerful.
5. 
   
   oh yeh, I also trimmed and sewed some leftover triangles from the Bali Beach House quilt I made last year.  The triangles worked into a fun mini measuring only 6-1/2” x 9-1/4”.

I have to say, I just love those tick marks.  There’s something quite accomplished about it.

But I have to admit, there was a certain amount of un-sewing as well.  I have gone through miles and miles of thread.  On the bed-size Tumbling Blocks, there’s no seam longer than about 10 inches an constant stops and starts means that bit of thread between each one.  Plus all that I ripped out - where the six diamonds meet.  Oi Vey! - they were tough and some of them I stitched three or four times.  I know, let it go, but it would have bugged me each time I looked at it.  But then again it was pointed out to me, how often will I sleep on the guest bed? 

The diamonds at right are 3/4” wide >>>

For those of you who would rather avoid a rather strange but true drift off-topic, skip the following two Paragraphs . . .   

But now, another topic . . . Axel (my husband) reads and translates my blog entries into German (he's so happy I've figured out how to use the Google Translate Gadget ... I know the translations aren't perfect but it safes us both a lot of time), so I just read the last paragraph to him.  Remembering that he grew up in Germany and speaks British English you will understand that there is a certain amount of translating that goes on in our house everyday.  I made Chicken Mole tonight, wasn’t sure what he’d think but yeh, ok it went down ok.  He couldn’t figure out what was in it though, so . . . while I usually try to stick to American English after 12 years of exposure the odd and oh-so-very-occasional (here you’re supposed to chuckle) British pronunciation slips in.  When I said “a tin of to-mah-toes” he didn’t understand me.  I actually had to repeat “a can of to-may-toes.”  

Why onto this, well because he asked me what “oi vey” means . . . “I don’t know.”  I even wondered where it crept into my vocabulary.  I have to say it’s not something I usually say, but it does creep into my writing, so sometimes I have to figure out if it’s a Brown-ism (my strange family has invented some of it’s own dialect phrases).  Aha - my friend since high school, John!  That’s where I got it.  Ok, well what does it mean?  Ooops, off on a tangent answering the wrong question . . . so I did an on-line search and nearly fell off my chair (ok, I’ve had a glass of wine) the first and only real definition I came up was that it’s Yiddish for “rolls eyes.”  

Ok, so all this quilting has been making me a bit loopy . . . but how fun to finish some more projects.  I’m off to Germany this coming weekend to teach, teach and meet up with friends.  Spending the week over with friends should be a fun diversion  . . .

Get together with a friend this week and show her something you want to finish, she’ll help motivate you!   

(Thanks Liz!  for all the chiding the last couple months, I’m a slow start, but it’s paying off!)                                        

                                                              Jovita

Wow just remembered I had written this after a glass of wine, I hope I caught all the typos.  Some of them just “crepted” in.  Thank goodness I caught that one! 

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