Mystery part 6 AND 7!

Yes. I did that. Again. Not such a big leap this time, though. Part 6 and 7 comprised of much the same things! So, I finished them both. Loads of time left now...... The new part will not arrive until the beginning of June!

 This was the part that took the most time. Time to think I mean..... Or to procrastinate.... I was so sure it would not work, I could not get started.

But I did.

It was a "crown" for the outer borders! Appropriately I started the appliqué on April 30th. The day we got our new King!

I am incredibly proud of myself for pulling this one off! I was not able to appliqué anything round (or roundish) at all. And now this! I made 8 of these.

Four appliquéd hearts, these are beginning to feel routine!

And four more appliquéd hearts

 I did do a lot of counting during these assignments. I had to do 8 crowns. Each had 9 pieces (that had to be drawn, cut, basted, ironed, placed and appliquéd). That makes 71 pieces. Then there were 8 hearts to appliqué. (That is really easy for me now..... since the Sweethearts challenge is still alive and kicking!) That makes 79 pieces in total (since the background was already cut). And 104 triangles to cut.  So that makes a total of 183 pieces to do......

I wonder if I am the only one that does this? Really shameful is that I keep on counting throughout ..... (I did ___ so now I only need ___ more). Is that weird? Well, moving on.....




 I also did a lot of other things (of course). But I will save them for another post!

Lots of love,
Heleen

Sweethearts

An update. I am still on track. One heart every day....well, not every day.. but definitely seven hearts each week. That means that (as of today) there are 104 hearts in the quilt-to-be.......

It is really growing fast!

Something is starting to happen with these hearts. They create conversations and swaps (ooooooh that is a nice fabric..... you know what happens) all around. In my direct environment (sister, mum, friends, neighbour, etc.) seven people have now hopped on the hearts train! I have no idea how many people are participating, but it would be fun to find out......It is becoming more and more fun. Should you wish to hop on board too, the pattern is available (for free) here.

I mentioned in my last post that I did a lot of stitchery. This one is - appropriately - named Sisters. I made it for my sister, it will probably become a pillow for her garden...... But I am not sure yet. The pattern was another freeby from Red Brolly. I love, love, LOVE that site....

Another completed stitchery. Another freeby! This one is part of a series. A quilt along, hosted by Shelly Pagliai. The blog focusses on the diary of Hazel Ilene. It is a brilliant read and some really amazing blocks. This is block 4 of the Summer Wildflowers. Find out more here

Lots of love,
Heleen

Mystery part 5 and other things

So, I'm back! I lagged behind for a while with the blogging thing. Then I made a bunch of pictures of the stuff I had been making and blogger wouldn't let me post (and brag) about it!

But some really clever people have been working on the problem and it is all better now! YAY!
So - finally - I can show of some of the things I made

This bag was super simple to make and is so much fun to use. The pattern was graciously provided by Bronwyn Hayes at Red Brolly. Please go check out her site. It is full of great patterns and ideas. You will thank me.

The next pictures are from the mystery. And yes, I am completely on track. I have already received part 6 and need to get started on that.

Four of these flowers.

These are the borders that will make this quilt 2.50 x 2.50 meters. -->
<--This picture shows the part I had to do this time (four times). I shouldn't have had to do all of that appliqué..... I however, made a mistake in part four and had to go for a do-over.......

There was also a lot of stitching (when you are checking out Red Brolly, look for the Easter sampler). I will get around to showing you all of it soon. I promise.

Lots of love,
Heleen

More sweet hearts!

Another challenge this year. Francoise was the inventor of this year-long thing. Following the houses that swept the quilting world last year, she came up with the Sweet Hearts. Check the link for all the information and even the pattern!

Much like anything else, I fell behind! Catching up seems to be my theme for 2013 and I do not like it! But - just like the mystery - I am now completely caught up and have made all my hearts! I even put them together!







I will be sharing the hearts each day via Instagram and Twitter.

Lots of love,
Heleen

Mystery catching up!

I do know that the mystery starts in November..... It is just that for me, this mystery started half way through January! By the time I realised I was getting very behind, I had four (yes FOUR) parts waiting for me. That just meant one thing. Playing catch up.....in a BIG way! I am happy to report that I have now caught up and all four parts are done. They are resting in the pink box of mystery. Their home until November!



This year's mystery is titled Sweet Hearts. Who could resist that name? As I have proven, it is not to late to start the mystery. Check at Françoise's site for all the information.

So what did I do? In part 1 it was mostly prep. Cutting a lot of things and generally preparing for the appliqué that came in part two. In part three there were lots of little blocks to make and some more appliqué to do. Part four brought more appliqué and four borders to sew. It does not sound like much, but it took me a long time to get it all done. Some pictures of the results below.

Part three all 16 of them!

Part 1 - 4 Cutting, prepping and appliqué

Part four

I will try to keep on track and keep you informed on the progress of this mystery. And by the way, the other mystery is almost finished. All put together, well, it still needs two border put on.....I will get there!

Lots of love,
Heleen

I've been busy!

Yes, I have been. I've been working on part 11 of the Caroussel quilt.....not finished yet! But, if you can't wait for me, check out what it should look like at Françoise. She designed the whole thing. And yes....she finished part 12 already! No pictures here, still just a pile of blocks! Gorgeous blocks, but still.....

I've also been working on the Wish quilt. Just the stitchery for now......I'm almost ready to start putting the blocks together. No pictures yet......but the link will also show you the whole quilt. You can still join in! Just hop on over to Bronwyn


Also quilt related....I've been following a blog hop over at Cherry Blossoms. She is the official cheerleader of this hop. And an amazing hop it is! Not surprisingly, it lead me to a lot of new blogs to explore and loads of fun projects I will just have to try! Lots of great poems and saying about fall, giveaways and - of course - amazing quilting! The link will take you directly to the master schedule, so you can see what I am talking about. However. Be careful.....I've been experiencing some side effects due to bloghopping. You will find yourself cheering on all those quilters, so much so that you can't stop leaving cheery, supporting comments on any blogs, Facebook, Twitter and even in real life! I also experienced an awe for the season I normally detest! So, be careful out there!



In other news. The Antwerp to Banjul Challenge has started again. You can follow "our" teams over at Team Kalidoe. No less then four cars and one motor are driving all the way from Antwerp (Belgium) to Banjul (The Gambia). The vehicles will be auctioned off on arrival. All the teams have been working round the clock, to get as much sponsoring for the drive as possible. All that money means that the Second Home Foundation will be one step closer to its goal! Amazing.

This is Tonnie, in his other life also a board member of Second Home. Now he is a rally driver!

So, we just had to go say goodbye to them all...... in Antwerp! Great fun. 

On the same day my godchick - who is 15 already....- left for Bordeaux to spend a week with a French family in a school exchange programme.....She will do great (I've heard from her, the family is very nice and there is a two mile long shopping street)!

So that is what I have been doing lately..... I will be back soon with some quilt related pictures!

Lots of love,

Heleen

Mystery part 10!

I am still on schedule! I finished part 10. It was supposed to be some "light assembly work". Well....I did not have to cut a lot of fabric, but still it took me some time to get it all done. Results:

  

Attaching two triangles to an existing block. It now forms a new triangle..... Not so much hard work involved, since the pieces were all ready.

The whole stack of them.....32 in total! It took some time......

This one just had one triangle attached to it. 8 times.

 Same as the last one. 8 triangles added.

I also had to cut a further 8 triangles. The good thing about all this is that my pink-box-of-mystery is almost filled up....which in turn means that I will soon find out how to fit all the pieces together! In part 12 we get to piece the whole top together and finally see what the mystery looks like!

Lots of love,
Heleen