July wrap-up

Amylouwho has a show and tell every month - a virtual livingroom where we can see and enjoy each others projects. I really enjoy the inspiration that comes with Tour de Blog every month :)

So here's the July wrap up from freezing, cold and wet Denmark - we have the worst summer ever. Please pass the heatwave from the US.

To be honest I didn't finish that much in July actually because of being away for most of the month. But I did make some major progress on a few projects AND I got my Mum so interested in quilting that she bought a mat, cutter and lots of fabric for making the first quilt on her own. Not so bad after all. Next time I see her she will blame me for getting hooked :)

First I finished off my scarf - first time knitting since I was around 17. I dont have a picture of it though and DH dozed of in the sofa so you will have to pretend you can see it. But its lovely... Light grey Alpaca yarn, simple design and so comfy to wrap yourself in on a cold summer evening.

Secondly my Mom and I basted the hand quilted stars and I started the quilting. It feels amazing to be this far:

Finally I had another quilt project that I was struggeling with and I to be honest had a hard time feeling the love for. I think that it changed a bit thoday though. It's like it has all come together despite all. I still need to make the binding but with a little luck it will be done before midnight making this something I finished in July :

A different star quilt

I finished a new quilt top yesterday evening - sorry for the bad picture. Because it was made literaly spending 10 or 20 minutes here and there over the summer I didn't get to take any pictures as I was making it. 

The fabric is Riley Blake and I had cut it up for a different pattern first and then realised I didnt like it much - the fabric was all wrong for the pattern. So I ended up ripping it apart and started over with Kate Spains 'Charming Stars Quilt' from Moda Bakeshop.

Although the colors are a bit unusual for me (pink and green) I find the quilt quite sweet. I'm debating if I should save it as a gift or if I should keep it myself. Mybe it my chance to actually have a quilt since the boys are always using  my quilt. This one is most likely too pink and girly for them  ;)

Well, first I need to make the backing and then its decision time....

Quilting is next...

I am happy to finally report major progress on the star quilt. While my Mom was visiting (she was cat- and house sitting while we were on vacation) we managed to get the two parts pieced. We made the backing and sandwiched it yesterday. Now it is ready for quilting. Feels amazing.

I admit to being a bit bi-polar about hand quilting - was temted to make it a bit easier for us - but we both realise this will be one-of-a-kind quilt and we decided to go all the way. I went and got quilting needles and thread today so now I just need to get started :)

My Mum never quilted before making this star quilt, but she has become somewhat hooked on more quilting, so we went and got her a ruler, mat and cutter as well as some fabric yesterday. She is now on her way home to Sweden but I have a feeling it wont be long before she will call me and tell me that she finished her quilt.

Ups and downs in France...

Online for the first time in 1,5 week. And trying to catch up on all the lovely and fun projects I can see on the blogs I read. Feels like I have been away for a long time. My fingers are itching to get started quilting again...

While travelling  I tried knitting a scarf  (or rather a stole wrap kind of shawl). So far so good.It measures a little over 1 meter so I need to make a bit more to get the desired effect. I think it will be done before were going home on Saturday.

First week in France was just lovely. Beyond lovely actually. The second week so far has not been quite as good unfortunately. We started off in Southern Ardeche and were lucky to stay in the most charming house with a view beyond anything I have ever tried before. Our kitchen area/living room opened out to a huge terrace that overlooked the mountains. An extra plus was that the house we rented was owned by an old charming Monsiur and all houses near was owned by other parts of his family. All had family visitors while we were there so there was tons of children all ages, aunts, grand mothers, and uncles. While we could have risked being the odd ones, the tourists, the intruders, everybody was so nice to us and made us feel part of it all. Here is a funny picture I took of myself on the terrace reflecting the amazing view in the windows.

The second week we went a bit north and it has not been as good for many reasons. First of all the weather in Bourgone has been less than great. Today it was 12 degrees and raining all day. On our second day my kids defied the cold and insisted to go swimming in the pool. My oldest hit his foot hard against the metal gate and we ended up in the emergency room with a broken toe. Now he is on crotches  Poor him. The house is not well suited as there are steep stairs all over.. And it is not exactly easy to explore cities on crouches either so we are pretty much house bound. We're trying to make the best of it watching vidios and drinking good wine but I think I really have just hit the point where I am ready to return home to my sewing machine and warm, comfy house. We'll see how it goes in the next few days...

I made some good progress on a new quilt before we left and look forward to post some update pictures when I am back.

Wrapping up June

Amylouwho show & tell: 

June came to an end – and so did my ’instant satisfaction quilt’… literally finished it half an hour before July 1st. I needed something fast and easy in between my hand quilted stars. And with 4 charms squares from Freebird Moda and some extra for backing and borders it was easy. I went for Camille’s ‘Coming home’ pattern. It her version it's subtle and calm. My version ended up being a bit on the wild side, but I love it nonetheless.

This is the front

And this is the back

And the best part is that it was tested and approved already this morning.

Next quilt project is a Charming stars quilt from Moda Bakeshop with some Riley Blake fabric. But before then another crafty project... Knitting. I have not knitted since I was a teenager, but we’re going to drive down to France soon and I can’t imagine not doing anything crafty for 2 weeks. So knitting it must be.

Lacking so much experience though I do not dare to rush into a complicated pattern – it’s a vacation after all – so I made my own pattern but are aiming for something like this – really simple: