Not Working

I try not to work on the weekends.

Easier said than done .. especially when your job is also your hobby 

and what you love to do.

I'm working ... but it's not "working."

It's the weekend and my general rule is that on the weekends I don't work. 
But, family time permitting, I am allowed to PLAY ... try out new ideas, 

make a mess and so on ...

So remember this project I started in a moment of madness one crazy weekend not so long ago? Well because it was one of those "I really shouldn't be doing this" projects I've not allowed myself to "work" on it during the week. My weeks are full enough of work and the weeks are never long enough to get all my work done ...

But this weekend since Axel was actually working (he's picked up some extra jobs doing translation) so I pulled it out and went to town. I'd love to have it done for my open house this Friday but ... well, I'm going to do my best ... evenings only though because this week really is full of tons of work-related stuff!

So here are some fun pics of this project progressing ... I hope you enjoy!

The initial string was sewn while Axel was in the shower one Saturday morning ... 

I turned the blades watching TV that night. 

On Sunday he took a nap so I sewed like a demon and constructed the plates.

And went to my neighbour's because he has the most loveliest green grass ever. Piecing the background is a blur ... but the applique happened anywhere I had five minutes. The doctor's waiting room, a few minutes in the evening, waiting for Axel's train to come in.

I finally got around to basting and machine quilting around the dresdens yesterday. Then knotted and pulled in all the pesky tails before I tackled the little pink dots - 12 of them ... some got cut in half or quarters (in the corners).

And since Axel was working today I got to sit in the garden and play! 

Stitching around the dresdens and dots with 3 strands of hand-dyed floss.

So it's clearly a work in progress .. although I'm doing my best to get as much done 

before Friday's open house.

Kits are in the works.

So I'm "not working" ... haha, which explains the brain fart ... 

when I cut that binding MUCH too narrow. URGH!

You see ... I've been "working" on another secret project that involves a few bias stems ... cut ... yep ... 1" wide. Guess how wide I cut that lovely green goodness up there. Geesh - I guess I see some funky green stems in my future cuz I sure can't let it go to waste!

So tomorrow I'm off ... on a long drive ... to work with Heidi on our collaboration that I haven't really told you about. Soon, I promise. It's a busy week of work ahead!

And stitching! So much to show. So much to share. I hope you can stop by during the OPEN HOUSE!

Yeh, I know ... some of you just can't ... at least not physically 

so I'll share as much as possible virtually. 

Stay tuned!

xox Jovita

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Jane in Rainbow effect ..

Jane in Rainbow effect .., a photo by Jovita's Patchwork Atelier on Flickr.

Sorry about the tease ... to appease, here's a peak at all my finished blocks .. another six are at various stages of incompletion. Pin It Now!

Friday the First

Really, it's the first of July already ... I'm having a hard time with that one ... but maybe I'll get over it.

This week has been busy, Patchwork Bee was Tuesday; then the shop was open, I was teaching class and was generally very busy on Wednesday, Thursday was quieter and I can't remember what I did .. yes, it was yesterday.

But Friday, today, is my day "off." I had so many things I wanted to do, but first, just one Jane. Ha! Ya, right! Six later I've finally had enough (never mind that the last one took 2 hours - completely my fault). So I thought I'd show and share what I have so far minus those that are in various stages of hand completion.

In case any of you are wondering the solid Kona that I am using as my "background" is Bayou.  A couple of you have asked so I'll do my best to include that in future posts.

I am sooo loving it. But now I'm really considering / reconsidering what I will do with my sashings ... because I'm definitely thinking I'll go away from what Jane did. I've been pinning a few ideas on our Contemporary Jane pinterest board.

So on that note, I'm off and running onto the next Friday task.  The shop is open tomorrow so have a few things to get done around the house.

I hope you have a great First, a wonderful Friday and Fun this weekend!  Piecefully xx

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One Sunday, Two Janes

It was a fabulous day here .. the sun was shining, we got the grass / dust mowed and Axel took a nap (after a 5 hour drive back and forth, plus errands with his parents yesterday *and* babysitting with me for friends until 1am, he deserved it).

And while he napped, I played! 

Cut and sewed these two blocks - the math I did yesterday, but yes, today there were corrections. Both blocks are rotary cut and machine pieced, they are A-1 "Pinwheel Gone Awry" and A-2 "One Two, Buckle My Shoe" from page 17 of the Dear Jane® book by Brenda Papadakis.

I am loving how they turned out! You too? 

Well then you should surely think about joining our Contemporary Jane quilt along featured Under the Willow Tree. A bunch of girlfriends from my previous shop are all doing it together and would welcome anyone who wants to join - the more the merrier. The construction method I used for these blocks will be blogged too .. including lots of tips and hints!

We are making "our" Janes ... we're not using reproductions but sticking to fabrics that reflect us now and allowing the freedom to add, change or leave out blocks that don't fancy us. To get an idea of what we mean, check out our "Contemporary Jane" board on Pinterest. For more useful Jane links, please see this post

My Jane? I'm using primarily Kaffe fabrics, but anything that plays nice goes too! The 2nd block is made using "Peacock" by Amy Butler ... how couldn't I?? Here are just some of the fabrics I'll be adding to my quilt .. and the basket I'll be keeping this project in, of course!

Yes, HOT ... and that is what we are expecting ... 
for 3 days, weather to exceed 90F / 32C.

Axel is already dreading it and drew up the beginning of his defense plan today. I was supposed to sew black out curtains for the living room and he install our air conditioner and a ceiling fan in our bedroom. Um, nothing happened. But tomorrow I will cut the board we need to have the air conditioner ready for tomorrow night. Sorry love, the curtains are just not going to happen until we finish painting that corner and hang the rod. Love you, x

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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!

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!