The box versus the basket

My cat is a joyful event in herself. When she arrived my mother and my sister immediately went out to buy the much needed cat supplies. She needed toys, food, a litter box, a brush, flee treatment and of course a basket.

This is madam's basket, with all sorts of toys

 The basket was not a favourite....she much preferred the bed, the window sill, the rocking chair or just me. I still had some hope though. She might just find the basket and the toys a good choice. No! Her favourite toys include pins, screws, pieces of patchwork, spools of thread and of course my hands. She does play with the Hawaiian flowers, but that is just because it is fun when you chew through the thread and all the flowers fly all around.... In the meantime she has found a good replacement for the basket as well.

Yes. It is a cardboard box. She is loving it.

After all winter is coming and you need a warm place to rest your bones! I don't pretend to understand her, but I do enjoy her antics immensely.

More tomorrow!
Heleen

Quilting

I finished the fourth step of the mystery top I've been working on all year! Only one border to go and the quilting may commence. I've already selected the thread I am going to use for this project. A very light shade of pink. I have not decided on the pattern to use though. Still time enough for that when I am stitching the last border. Since I do this by hand and the border will take the total quilt to 2.40 x 2.40 mtr it will take me a while to get there. No picture yet. I'll wait till the top is complete.

Luckily next Friday I will receive the first pattern for the new mystery! I can't wait to get started on that one too....

The very best cure for those autumn blues. A mad fiesta cat!

More tomorrow (well, to be honoust maybe the day after....)
Heleen

Autumn

Summer is really over now. Looking outside the weather seems to know that too. In the last few days it went from hail (really, hail!) to rain to sunshine to windy to cloudy......Make up your mind! The tree outside my window is starting to lose it's lush green look. Truly a sign of summer fading.

Tree in the rain

The cat doesn't agree to the weather either. Loedertje has decided that all hunting - well if she is not sleeping that is - should be moved to the indoors. Much better than getting your feet wet. The fish are not to bothered about this. They even swim up to the surface as if to taunt the cat.

The central heating has been working hard to keep us warm and snug. Quilt projects are lying around, just waiting to be finished or started. Christmas is approaching. Snow may be falling soon. Baking, decorating, christmas cards, lots of nice gatherings..... A wonderful time, sure sure......but me I just have a severe case of the autumn blues. And to be fair, I am quit enjoying it really.....

Remember The Second Home Foundation, well the project is moving to a new (and better) house at the end of November. Two of our board members are flying out for three weeks! No need to get jealous though, they will have a lot of work to do! In the meantime a new child has joined the project. Her name is Binta Conteh, she is only seven. Her mother (who also had special needs) has died in an accident. Her aunt has been looking after her since. Her aunt has decided she cannot take care of the little girl anymore. Luckily we can and want to. She has settled in well en according to our manager Marie she is a very special, fun kid. Well, just looking at her all of us agree!

Isn't she beautiful!

More tomorrow,
Heleen

Preparing for the next mystery

It is almost November. The start of Francoise's new mystery. I've already chosen my fabrics. They have been standing in their box for a while now. Every once and a while I open the box and just sit and watch them. It is very exciting.

My fabric choice.The background fabric is white.  Mmmmmmmmmm

 My sister Marieke has also decided to take part this year. Although she is very busy with the build of their new house the addiction to fabric won! Almost no pushing by me was necessary to make her join. Just a little nudge..... It will be fun to compare our progress. We also use each others talents shamelessly. Both quilts will be made by the both of us. Our own little bee!

My sister's fabric. Also wonderful.

I love the fact that in a little while I will have a big project to quilt and one to sandwich. Lovely.
If you want to take part, check out De Quilterij for more information.

More tomorrow,
Heleen

Swap and other things

Today I received an email from my swap partner Peg. She has been blogging for a long time. Check her out on http://happyinquilting.blogspot.com/. She has some truly stunning items showcased. I can't wait to start sewing on the pillow case!

Peg's blog!

I haven't made much progress on the mystery. I have been busy with the computer. The bad thing about reading blogs is that you find new blogs all the time. Curious as I am, I need to read them too.....it is starting to take a lot of time!

Also, a new initiative to make it easier for aid organizations to present themselves to the world is making huge progress. I am almost running to keep up with inventor Petra. It is going to be great. Make sure to check out the site and register any and all charities that need to be presented to the world.

For today, I am going to start getting fabrics together and find inspiration for the pillow case I have to send to Peg.

More tomorrow,
Heleen

And now, something completely different

You might be led to believe that I do nothing but look at the animals in my house and quilt. That is not the case. I am also very involved with The Second Home Foundation. The foundation has founded a living accommodation for children with special needs in The Gambia in 2008. The living accommodation takes in the children during the week, in order for them to be able to go to school. The weekends are spent with their families. This way they get the best of both worlds. During the pick-up and drop-off time is taken to inform the families about the child's progress and to educate them in dealing with the disability of their child. Most families have already seen a significant change in their children.

While we were doing that, we found out that actually nothing is known about mental disabilities at all in The Gambia at all. Resulting in poor living conditions, abandonment and even death. Luckily people are waking up to the fact that these children are in fact precious. We are working with partners in The Gambia to increase knowledge, we send volunteers and interns to do the same. Most of all we are showing people what these kids need and how much better they feel when they get it.

I will be showcasing the children one by one on this blog. Can't wait?  Check the site  Second Home or simply leave a message on this blog to ask for information.

This is Buba. He is 12. He is one of my favourites due to his sweet nature.

Buba also suffers from epilepsy. He and his brother and sisters live with his grandmother in Tangi. His mother has died and his father is nowhere to be found. During the week Buba now lives at the Second Home lodge in Kololi. He enjoys music and loves to look through catalogues. Since Buba is staying at the lodge, his behaviour has improved immensely. He is happier too.

More tomorrow!
Heleen

Unravelling the mysterie

In the last picture I posted yesterday I showed you a small piece of the Home Sweet Home quilt. In 2009-2010 I also took part in Françoise's Mystery. This one is called Fabric Wonderland. The final pattern arrived by post on October 7th and I have only just started to piece together the quilt.

This is what it looks like so far!

It is big, but it should not be heavy.....

Of course Loedertje offered her help. It is nice and warm wrapped in a quilt. Even if it is just the top!

This is how big it is already. I am not even halfway!

It really feels like unravelling a mystery. Will the colours work or will the quilt be bland, will all the pieces fit (a problem I encountered last time due to my sloppy needlework) and most of all: How am I going to quilt this one? It will take me a while yet to finish the top. I do all the piecing by hand. I will show you the end result though, just be patient.

More tomorrow!
Heleen

It's not as easy as it seems

I had this idea. I was going to post all sorts of pictures today. Just to show you the cat, the quilt and all that ensues.... Unfortunately posting pictures is not as simple as it may seem. Now I have decided, after a long and very loud session with my computer, to try to simply copy and past.
Here we go, well that did not seem to work at all... Wait, wait. There is a button here that looks suspiciously like it could be....Yes result! It was not that hard after all. I just have to check out the buttons.....

Here are four pictures of my life:

This is my cat, Loedertje. I am trying to assemble a quilttop here. Unfortunately she is trying to sleep... Guess who won?

 Second one: This is Sjors. He has yet to accept a real life cat living in his house. This picture was made after him chasing the cat out of the room. He seems to be saying: "Don't worry, I think that got her!".

Loedertje again. This one caught her in the act of assaulting the fish. Do not be alarmed. The fish escaped without any effort and have since received a nice lid on the fish tank to protect them. Much to the dismay of the cat in question....

This is Saartje. Hard to tell from this one, but she is in fact a dog. This is basically her favourite position. Lying on my bed...The quilt you partly see on the bed is one I made. It was the Quilterij's Mystery for 2008-2009 designed by Francoise Maarse.It is called Home sweet Home.

More tomorrow!
Heleen

I caved

I know. I did not want to start blogging. I did not think I should just publish my ramblings for everyone to see. Then again. I do enjoy reading other peoples ramblings..... Anyway I will be polishing my computer skills with this site, so please bear with me. Let me know what you think!