and now the shopping

I was lucky enough to go to Amsterdam a few years ago with girlfriends, and found the most amazing market street with about a dozen fabric shops.  So when we planned our weekend in Holland, I knew I wanted to go back.  Slavka and Niki weren't interested, and chose to stay in the centre and shop, but Lisa and I wanted to go, and Brian came with us (sigh).  We walked (and walked and walked) and found the market street.

I was fairly restrained (having a bored man outside the shop does that I find) but did manage:
This firm postage stamp fabric suitable for bags

and in the same thickness this coffee sack print

And this newspaper print (I bought this last time in the firm, bag fabric, and in a sort of laminated tablecloth fabric, but this time it's 100% cotton)

I did look at the obviously dutch fabrics: windmills and clogs etc, but they were all done in a sort of tile design and I couldn't see any use for them.  we say a shop with hundreds of Russian dolls, so I decided to get this: lovely for an I-Spy quilt, or fussy cutting some of the dolls if nothing else

and then finally I got these two very dutch ribbons

shopping and sewing

So what shall I show you first?  Shopping? Or sewing?

Alphabetically, sewing comes first, so let's start with that. It's quite a time on the ferry over to Holland: about 7 hours, so I took plenty of hand sewing

This is beaded lace stitched onto a plain backing as another block for the textured quilt

 

This block was created a while ago, using fusible bias binding (the sort that is often used in black for stained glass windows) but hadn't been stitched, and now it has

Mother-in-law has a little table in the hall where she puts her milk (she still gets milk delivered daily from a milkman, so do we) as she closes the front door.  She puts it onto a cardboard beer mat that she brought home from a pub about 100 years ago, and it's fading.  She did ask me to bring over some crayons or colouring pencils to brighten up the colours a bit, but I thought maybe she needed a Milk Mat:

and finally I made six blocks for the June Block Lotto, I hope they are OK being hand stitched

A romantic story...

This post has nothing to do with craft or patchwork, but lots to do with romance...

15 years ago we had an au pair, Slavka, to look after the girls when Brian and I were both working. (she wasn't planned, but she and her best friend came over together, best friend worked for friends of ours while Slavka was put with a horrible family, so she came to us temporarily, but we fell in love and wanted to keep her) after 18 months she went home but we kept in touch, we've jokingly called her our oldest daughter!

About 4 years ago she got married, but soon after her husband cheated on her, and they split up. About the same time, nephew #1's wife cheated on him. Two years ago, first born daughter, Lisa, had an 18th, and invited *everyone* she knew, and Slavka was able to come. With a little bit of matchmaking from nephew #2, she and nephew #1 met, and fell in love, and she is now moving from Holland to Reading.

All say together, ahhhhhhhhhhh!

So on Friday we took the girls and the car to Holland. We shopped in Amsterdam, in the rain, on Saturday (I did get fabric, photos to follow) and this morning we packed every spare inch of space in the car (even leaving the girls behind, they'll fly home with nephew on Wednesday) with Slavka's stuff, and she'll follow in three weeks time.

I'm blogging this on the ferry, thanks to the Stena Line WiFi, and we have decided that ferry (one day upgrading to cruise line) is the way to travel! I have caught up on blog reading, hand stitched: two texture blocks, a milk bottle mat for mother-in-law, another two mini log cabin blocks for a 36 block wall hanging (3 to go, yippee), read some of my book, and had a lovely three course meal . . . Bliss!

Five A Day

The Five A Day quilt has been delivered, and Katie is delighted with it, I hope her Mum-in-Law likes it too when she gets it

Blogging on an ipad

Ah, I think I have discovered a problem with creating blog posts on the iPad, I hope you like the BIG photos! I will change them when I get onto the pc ;-)

This is a block for the texture block I am making. The four squares have been embroidered on my embroidery machine, and each has a very different feel to it.

This next one was also done on the embroidery machine, it hopefully looks, and will feel, like Dixie the guide dog when she was a puppy

And Dixie as an adult dog

and some pretty textured buttons

and some rikrak

Temporary Blog (I hope)

I am starting this blog as a (hopefully) temporary measure while SLIKstitches is being sorted.  Thanks for coming to visit me here, and not letting me feel left out of all the blogging and crafty fun!

I went to Sandown for the National Quilt exhibition last weekend.  I forgot the camera so no inspirational photos, but i did remember the wallet . . . so did manage some shopping!

I thought this panel would be great for teaching foundation piecing (it is sold with the idea of making a wall hanging, but I reckon it can be chopped up and used by lots of people)

This is some scrummy fabrics from the Pure range from Moda (by Sweetwater I think) which I HAD to have, and some super French linen fabrics, which not so much called my name as shouted it!

and then a few jelly rolls fell into my bag (I've seen a few 1600" quilts on blogs and I'd like to make one), together with some night sky and stained glass bias binding for the Museum and Library classes, and a few odd bits that will be used one day