Gabi's Quilt - Recreated

PART TWO of the quilt that was destroyed by the fire.

So armed with this one picture I set about creating and re-creating.

Patch by patch, block by block.

I scoured my stash. And put out a cry for help. Sooo many ladies jumped in to help. I received bundles of scraps from ladies in our guild here and Gent as well as a guild that Gabi belongs. Luckily Gabi had purchased some of the fabrics in my shop - that helped because I found them in my stash. I even washed and took apart some fabrics from those charred salvages. And since I had a few of her fabrics to wash after the fire ... well, I just snipped me a square here and there ~wink~ she didn't mind.

I was constantly referring to the picture I had printed out ... I even hung it on my design wall - twice! I usually had the picture open on my computer too, so I could zoom in and take a closer look.

First one corner and then some more ...

Somewhere along the way I stalled out ... I think it was the move.
Packing, loading and sorting two twenty-foot containers will do that two you.
I was worn out.

But that move ... the one to Belgium? ... totally worth it!

Gabi and I talked .. by now she knew it was coming.
Because we had surprised her with that bit I had salvaged.
I'll reveal that in PART THREE.

So we planned a weekend. A long one when she could come over and we could "retreat." Only rule was we worked on just one project - this quilt! But we were both sooo happy to do it. She cut and pressed while I sewed.  We laughed a lot.  There were a lot of yeses - nos - waits - maybes - some more yeses - and nos, followed by you're right! moments :)

Until we had this!

So here's a comparison ... almost uncanny. I am so proud of us!

 

Yes, it's not 100% ... some of it is decidedly different. When Gabi was here we also made some executive decisions to "improve" some corners. What is most obvious to me is that I was way off in the lower left corner. I just didn't have some of those rosey plummy rusty colors she had but all and all she was very happy.

And just for kicks I'll show you the back.

   

A good pressing plan always pays off! 

Although I still had a few hiccups that I had to fudge along the way.

Don't go away ... PART THREE is coming soon.

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Gabi's Quilt - Destroyed

Remember when I said we'd be stopping by my friend's house on the way home from our vacation. Well that reminded to check back and see if I ever told you about her quilt.

You know ... the one that was completely destroyed by the fire.

Yeh, I never told you ... what became of that quilt. Well I told you it had burnt. I showed the one and only picture to be had of it before the fire (see below). And yes, what you see above - that's what was left. Just as I picked it up from the floor of her apartment. Discarded but surely not forgotten.

You see this was a very special quilt. Gabi had used scraps of so many of her projects in it. She was in the process of hand-quilting in a sweet little peach-threaded meander (that she had drawn herself to work wander perfectly in one corner and out the opposite corner of each block.

Her husband had asked for the quilt. He hadn't done that before.

 Gabi was taken aback when I asked if I could take those charred remains with me but I did it. Brought them home. Cut off the worst of the black and threw it all in the wash.

I managed to save one corner and I'll tell you what became of that in part 3.

The first thing I needed to find out was if any of our gang had a picture of her quilt before the fire. Luckily, yes, just that one you saw above and this one of the back.

The story continues ... in part 2 ... coming soon.

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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!

Gabi's Quilt - Embellished

PART THREE of  the quilt that was destroyed by the fire

So remember that little bit that I managed to salvage?

I trimmed it up a bit and ended up with this.

Then came a thorough wash.

Somewhere along the line, I cut it at an angle.

Then basted in a border line.
And a spot for me to add my heart later.

Then it was passed in no particular order through our group in Mülheim.

- Angela - Elizabeth - Gila - Helga - Hildegard - Sigrid - Roswitha -

At last it was passed back to me and I added a few stitches here and there.

And we ended up with this!

Amazing - isn't it?

I love that you can still see some damage from the fire - upper left corner.

Gabi's beautiful hand quilting is there too.

And then all the embellishments.

Thick threads and thin.

Knots and flowers.

Weaving and stitching.

With love and care.

Until it was framed and gifted back to Gabi  for her and her husband to enjoy.

Something ruined. Destroyed by fire. Left as ashes.

Restored, embellished and made more beautiful.

By our hands with our hearts for them.

The End

No Wait ... there's to be an epilogue!

Gabi just told me she's nearly done quilting the {recreated} quilt.

Maybe I'll get to see it when I visit.

I promise to take more pictures.

That is ... unless you're ready for a different story ...

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Lost Quilt(s), Lost History

It’s August - summer holidays here in Europe.  And that mean everyone is on holiday.  I’m not kidding.  We recently needed new brake pads for our car, the mechanic told us we were just in time to order the part, before his supplier went on holiday.  I wanted to buy flowers for a friend (explanation later) and we have a wonderful choice of 5 flower shops in our little village - they were closed - all five shops - holidays!  Axel can get to work 10 minutes quicker on a daily basis because so many people either leave town or stay home that the roads feel literally empty.  In Paris - you don’t have to pay for parking for the whole month of August.  Firstly because all the parking attendants go on holiday, but secondly because so many shops are closed that it doesn’t warrant fighting over spaces.  And our leaking shower - yep - it will leak for the rest of the month . . .

We all love to go on vacation . . . and many of us secure our homes, arrange for a neighbor to pick up the mail, water the plants, either take our pets with us or leave them with friends, etc.  But how many of us think about a kenneling our quilts and heirlooms?  The story below will explain why all of a sudden this is on my mind . . .


A few weeks ago, I received an email from my friend Gabi.  I thought it was weird because I knew they had gone on holiday - two weeks in the mountains and by my calculation we were only 1/2-way through it.

The gist of the email was surprise!  She and her husband, Eberhard were back from vacation - early.  They had received a phone call from a friend who lives in the same “hof” as they do . . . there had been a fire in their apartment.

As I’m reading her email in my scrappy Germany, I’m thinking of all the beautiful quilts she has made, heirlooms from her mother and mother-in-law that she had shown me with so much pride, her expansive collection of wool - in finished sweaters, socks begun, and so many skeins waiting to be fondled.  My heart was in my throat and I could barely read it aloud to Axel.

I phoned Gabi to see if I could help as I was driving over for a couple of days.  I’d bring dirty close if she wanted help in the apartment or was willing to provide distraction if she needed some girlie time.

When I got there I could hardly believe my eyes.  The sofa where the fire broke out was gone!  The wall behind now looked like a huge fireplace like you’d see in old stately homes.  From the knees up, the apartment turned grey and then black as the smoke had accumulated at the ceiling.  There was substantial fire damage but that was limited to the living room - that sofa, behind which Gabi stored all of her knitting wool.  Next to the sofa used to be a small table, first draped with a 40” square whitework “Hessesche Stickerei” hand embroidered by her mother.  This was crowned with Gabi’s favorite Japanese quilting books - they were totally destroyed.  I asked about the cloth from her mother which she later showed me - an entire corner was missing, it was totally grey and covered in scorch marks.


This is all that I managed to salvage from her beautiful 9-patches. Pin It Now!

Good NEWS!

Well ... no news must be good news, right?  I was shocked to see that I haven't blogged since the end of September.  October flew by in a flurry here's a peak of what it looked like.

It was full of FIRE!!  Of a variety of kinds. The most important being the one someone lit under my butt!  My friend, Liz, and I started a mini swap and I whipped up hers in the first two days ... now it needs quilting so I can't show it until that's done, and she receives it in Arizona - I'll share as sooooon as I can.

The 2nd FIRE relates to this very old post.  The good news is that Gabi's replacement quilt is finished!!!  Done and dusted.  It truly deserves it's own post so I'm afraid you'll just have to wait a tad bit longer.  But I promise the waiting will be very worthwhile.

The BEST FIRES are the one that leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy!  We hosted our (fifth??) annual Harvest Fest on October 30th complete with our now (long-standing) traditional drop donuts and apple cider.  Home-made pizza and really cute leaf cookies that I forgot to take a picture of rounded off the menu.   For me the best part was that the husband count was up to FIVE ... fun was had by everyone.  You can also see more photos of the evening here.

November is nearly half over and yes, even I will begin the countdown to Christmas.  This year we are determined to enjoy the holidays to the fullest - decor, baking, visiting, gifting, hoping and celebrating.

Yesterday we painted another 1/3 of the living room so it will be ready for decorations.   Sadly there is another 1/3 and a bunch of curtains to go.  But it's a start.

So, you see, no news IS good news when it comes to me.  Things are very busy in the shop between new product arrivals and LOTS of classes.  Which of course means lots of prepping and sewing.  I have a million things to show and share and just as soon as I can I will.

Today I spent clearing more dead wood out of my office.  Anything that won't be needed, touched or wanted before Christmas is getting boxed up and put in the closet.  Biggest note to self: stop dropping everything on the sewing table so it's easier to sew!!!



By the way the Great GOT DOTS Quilt Along is going great - many ladies here in Belgium are participating and I hope to share pics of their blocks when they bring them in the shop.

Part 2 of the quilt-along will be released soon - stay tuned!


And PS ... if you've sent me an email or message but haven't heard from me, please bug me!!!  If you're waiting for more info about shipping costs for the owls - don't hesitate to bug me as well.  I've had so many appointments the last months that getting to the PO seems like an insane possibility.  Hmmm, but I *must* go to the bank to *finally* pick up my bankcard sooooo it's very likely that all of that could happen tomorrow ....

So I'll be back soon ... I haven't forgotten you and really miss your comments and thoughts ... so feel free to share any here ...

xox Jovita Pin It Now!

destination: Prague

Our last and only vacation was 7 years ago. It's crazy insane that although we've been together 17 years most (if not all) of our "free time" has been spent flying back and forth across the pond and spending much-needed quiet time visiting places where our families were. Early on, very early on. Like in the very first months we were together we took a weekend to Victoria (BC, Canada) to visit Axel's college friends for the weekend. It was fun, unexpected and a very nice break.

In 2005 we went to formerly "East" Germany. I was looking for one iconic picture from that trip to share with you but couldn't pick just one. So you'll have to go look at this little slide show I put together way back then (to show to my customers) here. It was an amazing trip that left so many impressions on me. But I can't say it was relaxing. I was stressed. For a lot of reasons.

Last year we *thought* about going away - that counts, right? But chose instead, and rather wisely, for a Staycation. We loved it. I loved it! You can read more about it here.

Now, we're ready 

for a 

GET . A . WAY. 

And not surprising we're headed east again. The highlight of the trip will be (three nights in) Prague but will include two other overnight destinations in Germany. A bit of Poland was on the cards for a while but we decided to wait for that one. Last, but not least, will spend our last night on the way home with my dear friend, Gabi and her husband, in Dortmund. 

The entire trip is about 2000km / 1245 miles. 

I can hardly wait.

Axel used to guide bicycle tours (ahem - 30+ years ago!) from Germany into the Czech Republic during the Cold War days. I am looking forward to his memories and rediscoveries. There will also be evidence of much change. I've been looking for a picture of him. I know there is one. It involves a bicycle, very long legs, some long-ish hair and a fair amount of giggling ... (oh, that's me ... while trying to hide behind my hand). I'm still looking ...

As for me, I really don't know what to expect. I'm trying to think of what I want to see. I'm trying not to build up expectations. Neither of us speak Czech. I am sure it will be an adventure.

I want to wonder.

I want to wander.

I want to get lost. 

Some things I have thought about:

• Prague is known for Art Nouveau
• Beads! I'd love to buy some unusual beads (in Jablonec)
• I want to wander through some countryside
• Rather than big city sights I'd love to browse through some typical neighbourhoods.

Do you have any suggestions?

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The Joy of Friends

Sorry about the two week pause. I was in Koblenz for the Tumbling Blocks class. We also opened up Sunday so anybody could bring any project and we made loads of progress! I’m just realizing that we took no pictures, but the list of all we accomplished was huge. 12 fantastic ladies and at least 20 different outstanding projects. What a day! After a fun weekend in Koblenz, I travelled North to spend a day sewing with my friends in Mülheim. Every year we do a challenge, the 2007 theme was “Spitze” which can translate as “lace” or “points.” Somehow I wasn’t in the mood for lace, so . . . my Tumbling Blocks fit the bill perfectly. There’s not a single 90˚ anywhere in there. See the last photo in the column >> I spent the remainder of the week with my friend, Elisabeth. She has a great sewing room that allowed me to set up across from her and sew like crazy! Elisabeth enlisted my help to learn how to measure for accurate borders and mitered corners. She was ready to finish a quilt top she had pieced in October from fabrics bought on her trip to the Northwest in April 2007. Today she emailed me a photo of her basted sandwich and plans to quilt by hand. It turned out gorgeous and is destined for her guest bed. I can hardly wait to sleep under it! The pattern is from Stack a New Deck by Karla Alexander. With this one off the sewing machine, while I was there she put me to work converting two patterns from inch measurements into metric. Elisabeth is now ready to cut and sew a quilt for her own bed finally using hand-dyed fabrics from one of our friends, Angela. Look for Angela’s challenge piece using her own hand-dyed fabrics. Not to be outdone, I "finished" something too! You might remember the Amish 9-Patch Exchange that I did with my students in Germany. Well, throughout the last crazy year I had finally finished piecing all my swapped 9-patches into double 9-patches.  Only I didn’t follow one of my very own rules . . . use the same machine throughout the whole project. We were just too much on the move and I thought I’d be able to work with it.  Boy, oh boy, was I wrong! So . . . spent a couple afternoons and evenings picking apart all 25 blocks. In a way I was glad that I did because I took some extra photos for my album to document the story of this quilt. I put all 125 patches up on my design wall! Too fun! I think I might have to do this as an entire quilt someday. I’m happy to report that the center of my quilt is pieced and I’m ready to start working on the first border . . . this will eventually be my first quilt for our bed. So what else? Well . . . more red tick marks this week! Yipppeee!! Made a super simple sample for foundation paper piecing. Houses and Trees. Made another quickie sample - silhouette tree with a swing, need to embroider rope. My last class before heading back to Belgium was Foundation Paper Piecing. I shared both methods - sewing through the paper as well as using Freezer Paper. We made a village! It was another fun group of eager ladies. After 8 nights and 9 days on the road and away from home, it was nice to be back. Have I sewn since. No! . . . figures, huh? I’m finishing up exams for my Nederlands class, came down sick and getting ready to fly back to Seattle on Sunday. Time flies . . . seems to be another recurring theme with me. But I have to say, again, what a joy friends are that spur you on, inspire you to do something challenging and encourage you to sew and be creative. Thanks to all my girlie friends, your the best! Sew I hope this finds you all well and sewing like beavers!

2007 Mülheim Challenge Theme:  “Spitze” Hildegard Braatz Helga Krawczyk Sigrid Bachhuber Gabi Dickmann Roswitha Kohns Angela Kastner Jovita Goldschmidt Our theme for 2008 has been decided . . . Crazy!  My mind is already whirling.  In addition, this year we will also be giving each other blocks for our birthdays.  Challenge 2009 is to make something out of them.

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What a Week - 8th June

I've been looking forward to Friday all week just so I could tell you what all I'd done. This week was a prime example of why such a list is important. Mind you, I don't think today's list will be as long as last week or as accomplished because I've been quite . a . bit . slower. I hope you don't mind.

The weekend was mine and I did a bit of fun guilt-less sewing.

Monday? 

Monday! 

I heard it coming. 

One huge lorry full of gravel poured the length of the drive we share with seven properties. Arranged by two neighbours, they told us about it but never asked for financial or physical help. They didn't ask it of the other five properties either. So while I sat at my desk and could here the pssssht of the gravel as it fell from the up-ended bed of the truck I realized I couldn't sit here with a clear conscience and not help. So ... out I go, into the pouring rain and helped three others spread an entire lorry of gravel. Did I mention it was raining? My underwear were dripping when I decided the 2nd shower of the day was needed - just to warm up. Have I also mentioned this is the *most* physical work I have done in two years. Yep bedrest and pregnancies kind of leave you in a bit of an out of conditioned mess. But I did it. Shoveled, raked, spread, shoveled and shoveled some more.

I am telling you this because this is exactly what I mean about your week not going as planned. I was sore. I still am sore. It has affected my entire week. But really, is spreading a lorry load of gravel blog-worthy. Not really. But here it is on my What a Week list. Yeh, I know I told you the story. It took a whole paragraph .. to make a point. I love What a Week lists.

 

So how does this work? 

Well you post your What a Week list on your blog - go on celebrate all the things that got in the way! We'd love to hear about it! Then leave a comment below with a link to your post. Be sure to check out everyone else's posts and link back to my blog somehow, but that's it! 

Of course you're always welcome to grab our What a Week button (below). 

So this is what I did ...

1. completely ODd on no bake cookies - so I'm passing the torch, the recipe is here
2. made a sweeeet little bag and loving my buttonhole - seriously something I never thought I'd say
3. dug over 2 (of 8) raised beds before the rains came
4. helped my neighbours spread an entire load of gravel in the pouring rain. oh, that guy standing under the arrow at the end of the drive? that's my 6'8" (203cm) husband .. just to give you an idea of just how loooooong it is.
5. finally got some seed in the ground - summer carrots and spinach
6. celebrated Christmas early and took delivery of a bunch of fun ebay wins .. yarn, yarn, yarn
7. swatched several of the yarns, I hate swatching but I did it and am very happy with the results, time to do a little pattern hunting - it's mostly sock weight
8. sewed a button and hook onto my favorite pair of summer pants - so much nicer than just tucking in the waist band to try and keep them up
9. vacuumed and scrubbed my kitchen floor - yep, still newsworthy. it's a nasty floor, our soil is sandy, we have two cats and a dog. every scrub is newsworthy, sorry, that's just how it is!
10. continuously made and ate homemade goat's milk yogurt for two weeks now - finally figured out the formula - yahooooo!
11. cast on a sweet little baby hat, then realized it was a premie pattern. hmmm, maybe not such a great idea for me right now so frogged it and started something else. 
12. visited with two wonderful friends while we took another look at Nesting. omgoodness, I didn't realize how close I am to being done. I really need to finish up the series running in my shop and then launch that pattern world-wide too! I might actually be on a roll with rolling out some of my own patterns. I can hardly stand it!
13. cut a whole bunch of 2-1/2" strips for my friend Gabi to make this quilt for her son.
14. AND then walked into the village to the post office and the pharmacy. this is major, considering I've pretty much only walked from my front door to the car and back for the last three months.
15. finished knitting the pair to that very tight little baby sock and it's still a tiny bit bigger but close enough.

In the end this week wasn't much about patchwork, although technically there is machine quilting AND binding on my purse. But I did what I needed to do. For me and mine. And that's what counts. So, spill it ... did you sew as much as you wanted or did you get a whole lot of more pressing things done?

p.s. the socks are ravelled here and here.

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