Bye-bye...

See you in two weeks...have a great time!

Fernande

Weaver fever

my workspace near the sewing machine.... the finished blocks, my design and calculations....
a finished block under a plexiglass plate so that I have the correct layout allways under my eyes and a layout for the next block to sew....

and here all the blocks I sewed yesterday pinned on the design wall...

I think it looks good.....!?

this will be the last post for the next two weeks, so have a good time and don't forget me! ;-)

Sunday....

Time to visit a museum. Finally one of my quilts can be seen in a museum...... :-)
Unbelievable?

Yes! It's a joke. Here you can try it with your pics.

On Tuesday we will start for a two week vacation to Spain, so no posts during the next two weeks....I will miss you all and hope you will visit my blog again after this two weeks.

On va partir en vacances, enfin, pour deux semaines en Espagne. Alors, pendant deux semaines pas de nouveaux messages sur mon blog. Vous allez tous me manquer beaucoup et j'espére de vous revoir sur mon blog après deux semaines.

Am Dienstag geht's in Urlaub, endlich. Die nächsten zwei Wochen ist dann leider hier am Blog tote Hose, ich werd keinen Internetzugang haben. Ihr werdet mir alle sehr fehlen und ich hoffe alle meine treuen Besucher hier in zwei Wochen wieder zu treffen.

Endlech geht et an d'Vakanz. An Spuenien hun ech leider keen Internet also bleiwt et die näxt zwou Wochen zimlech roueg hei um Blog.
Ech hoffen dir bleiwt mer all trei an kuckt an zwou Wochen erem ran. Dann wärt ech secherlech erem en etlech Fotoen hun fir iech ze weisen......bis dann!

Fernande

Crazy....

our crazy dog Jacky...sleeping.... isn't that a comfortable position?? ;-)

I got this little frame this week from a good friend...I had to take pics to show you ....:-)

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Weaver fever

A few days ago I posted a picture with a weaver fever quilt... today I cut the strips for my daughter Joëlle's weaver fever...

the first layout.....

The first block is done....34 more to do!
What do you think about the colours???

Have a nice day!! :-)

Blossom pincushion

you can find the pattern and directions for this lovely pincushion here.
So, no directions and pattern on my blog, I only took pictures during the sewing process
because I think it's easier to do it with some pics....

Ich hab vor einigen Tagen auf einem Blog gesehen dass eine Bloggerin Probleme mit diesem Nadelkissen hat, tut mir leid...ich weiss deinen Namen nicht mehr, ich war mir sicher dass ich deinen Blog auf meinem verlinkt habe, kann ich aber jetzt nicht finden, wenn du dies lesen solltest, bitte melde dich. :-) Auf jeden Fall hab ich das Nadelkissen sofort wiedererkannt, ich hatte mir diese Anleitung schon vor langer Zeit mal ausgedruckt aber nie genäht. Das hat mir aber jetzt keine Ruhe gelassen und ich musste es probieren.
Also, wenn man die Anleitung anschaut denkt man das Blümchen müsste oben zweifarbig werden, aber dafür muss man die 12 Petals in zwei Farben schneiden, also 6 und 6, und die Basis in einer anderen Farbe. Deshalb hab ich auch etwas rumgewerkelt ehe ich gemerkt habe wo der Denkfehler ist. Bei mir sind die Farben gelb und rot und ich hab auch immer versucht dass das Nadelkissen oben eben zweifarbig ist, aber das klappt nicht wenn du die 12 petals in einer Farbe schneidest. Deshalb ist meines auch einfarbig und die Basis, also die Seite wo das Nadelkissen aufsteht hat eine andere Farbe. Ich hoffe du kommst so klar, entschuldige bitte dass ich mir deinen Blog nicht gemerkt hab.....

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Pot holder and scissor bag

I need some new pot holders, so....

for one pot holder you need two pieces of batting (Thermolan).....

iron the two loops for two potholders like above...

sew the loops..

two layers of batting, two layers of fabric (right sides together), pin the four layers together, the loops in one corner.....

sew 1/4" seam all around....

don't forget a small opening for turning the pot-holder inside out....

close the opening by sewing all around a very narrow seam...

quilt a square in the middle of the pot-holder....that's all you're finished.....

for the little scissor bag I forgot to take pics, but I think this small design is enough to explain how to...
2 pieces of fabric 6 x 6" and 1 piece of batting 6 x 6",
sew the 3 pieces together (fabric right sides together), turn it inside out, close the opening by hand and fold the square like in the drawing, close this seam by hand....

embellish a little bit...

sew a pushbutton on the little bag, and your scissors are safe... :-)

Square pincushion

today I sewed two new pincushions......

all you need, 2 squares and 4 rectangles....

for ALL the seams don't forget to let 1/4 " at the beginning .....

and at the end of the seam....

iron the seams flat....

sew the 4 rectangles to one square....

now you have to sew on the second square.....

and..iron...

the second seam.....

it looks like a little box... :-)

now it becomes a little bit tricky....

before sewing this seam tear the blue squares out of the way to the left and to the right...

the finished seam....remember the 1/4" on the beginning and te end of each seam...

the last seams....

on one side you need an opening to turn the pincushion......

all the seams are closed....now you can turn....

the pincushion inside out.....

stuff it.....

close the opening by hand.....

your pincushion is ready to use, perhaps you will decorate it like this....

with a button in the middle or with a big thread.....

Isn't that cute? I got some pictures like that with an e-mail attachment, so I don't know the source of the pic.
I wish you all a sunny weekend! ;-)

Weaver Fever fabrics

a few days ago I told you about the weaver fever quilt for my daughter.

We looked together for fabrics and she found the colours she likes at

batiksplus. Today the fabrics arrived here in Luxembourg :-)

Light blue, medium blue (the dark blue we had to order somewhere else (Hancocks) because at batiks plus we didn't find the perfect dark blue, the contrasting colours are yellow, medium orange, dark orange and the background is black.

I was very pleased to find in the same package this 4 FQ as a thank you for the order from batikspkus.....a great and very fast service!! :-)

Hopefully the dark blue from Hancocks will arive soon so that I can start to cut the fabrics.

Senseo coffee bag

Here in Luxembourg you don't get plastic-bags in the shops so you have to bring your own bags... this bag is made of senseo coffee bags...

you need 19 coffee bags...

overlap the two bags for about 1/4 "...

sew the bags together with a wide zig-zag stitch...

I used a multicolored quilting thread....

for both sides of the bag sew two rows of three bags together.....

the front panel is ready....

for the sides of the bag sew two coffee bags togeher like that....

the bottom of the bag is made of three overlapping bags...

you need to mesure the length of the bottom to know how much they must overlap...

make a zig-zag seam on every end of the bags.....

sew the bottom to the front-panel...

sew the second panel to the other side ...

half of the bag is done :-) ......

now sew one small side to the bottom, let 1/4" on the beginning and the end "unsewed"

close the sides...

pay attention to have the rest of the bag out of the way when you are closing the sides..

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make a bias strip the length of the border ....

sew the bias in place all around the opening....

cut the length of your handles, longer ones for a shoulder bag....

burn the ends of the handles to secure from fringing

pin the handles in place...

sew the handles to the bag, this diogonal seam...I sewed it backwards, because the bag is difficult to turn :-)

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here it is, your new shopping bag :-) enjoy!

Summertime...

Hi everybody....I'm sorry for not posting a few days, but for the moment all my kids are at home and I don't have enough time for everything...and when I haven't enough time for sewing so I have nothing to post :-)
A few weeks ago when we renovated our PC-room I also reviewed all my cook-books and found a lot of hand written recipes. One of this recipes I got more than 10 years ago from a quilt-friend during a trip in New England, USA. In Boston I ate for the first time a Clam Showder, hmmmm, superb. Back to Luxembourg she sent me via email the recipe. I made it several times but than forgot it. But today I will try it again, it's really delicious. Here is the recipe:

New England clam showder:
Prep: 20 minutes, cook: 32 to 38 minutes,Serves: 6

3 dozen littleneck or cherrystone clams scrubbed
1 cup clam juice
1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1/4 " dice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups milk
1/2 cup light cream
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter

1. Place clams and clam juice in a large soup pot. Bring to boil over high heat. Cover and cook just until clams begin to open, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove clams as they just open to a large bowl. Discard any clams that do not open. Strain broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth and reserve.
2. Let clams cool. Pry open shells and remove clams to a small bowl; discard shells. Finely chop clams and return to bowl.
3. In soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a small bowl. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings in pan. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add popatoes, reserved clam broth, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until popatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove 1 cup potatoes to a small bowl and mash until smooth. Stir back into pot.
4. Stir in pepper and milk. In a small bowl, whisk light cream and flour. Stir into pot. Bring to a boil, stirring, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add clams and butter, cook to heat through, about 2 minutes. Serve garnished with bacon.

Hmmm. I love this clam-showder...... one of the best things I brought back from an Indian SUmmer trip in october in New England .

T-shirt quilt

I sewed this quilt 4 years ago when my son left the house for university.
I cut his old T-shirts....

My daughter Joëlle will left the house for university in october and here is the quilt she would like to have.
The pattern is called weaver fever . All I know is that the quilt is made in blocks and the cutting is bargello-like.
It would be easy to order the pattern online but that will take too much time, so for the moment I'm calculating, designing....
I will order the pattern anyway, but I will begin the quilt right now....Wait and see... :-)
Her colourway is blue and yellow with a black background.

Have a nice sunday and a sunny week!!

Back-pack...

Today I sewed this back-pack. You can find the pattern here....and here you can see a video on how to do this Chelsea-bag by Joan Hawley.
The first site is in french with a lot of other patterns For this backpack there are a lot of pics, so I think you don't need a translation.....

when the zipper is closed you can use it as a shoulder-bag.

Some impressions from Luxembourg

American cemetery in Hamm (Luxembourg)...

Grave of General Patton on the american cemetery in Hamm (Luxembourg)
General Patton and his soldiers liberated Luxembourg in WW2

General Patton monument in Ettelbruck

Luxembourg City..old city

Luxembourg City, old city

Luxembourg City, old fortress

Luxembourg-City, some of the old fortress walls...

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Ettelbruck, my home town ca 7500 inhabitants...

Ettelbruck

Danke Heidi!

Diesen Award hat mir heute Heidi verliehen....vielen Dank! :-)
Ich soll ihn jetzt an 5 Blogs weitergeben die ich besuche. Den Blog den ich mir am häufigsten anschaue ist Heidi's blog....wahrscheinlich weil ich so eine Naschkatze bin und mir dort immer die leckersten Ideen abhol! ;-) Aber zurücksenden geht wohl nicht, oder? Also dann hier die Blogs die ich mir auch fast jeden Tag anschaue:
Manuela, deren handgenähte Blöckchen mich momentan sehr faszinieren,
dann Birgit K..... mit ihrem leckeren Obst und Gemüse :-)

Mit ihren wunderschönen Blumenfotos zieht mich Anila
immer wieder auf ihren Blog.

Sandra aus Luxemburg...ich bin froh dass ich hier in Lux. nicht alleine auf weiter Flur bin :-)

Und zu guter Letzt noch Dane, hin und wieder sticke ich auch gerne, ihr Blog ist eine wahre Fundgrube.


Die Regeln dafür sehen so aus:
1. Der Gewinner darf das Logo auf seinen Blog stellen
2. Verlinke die Person, die dir den Award verliehen hat
3. Nominiere mindestens 5 Blogs
4. Stelle die Links zu diesen Blogs ein
5. Hinterlasse den Nominierten Nachrichten auf deren Blogs

Cathedral window ziploc bag

Cut apiece of lining fabric and a piece of batting (Thermolan) the same size than your cathedral window top.....

you need four zippers the witdth of your lining....

iron a 1/4 seam and with a zipper foot sew the first zipper in place....

the same for the other side of the zipper...the piece of fabric you need for the other zipper side, you cut it from the bottom of the lining fabric...

beetween the two zippers is a piece of fabric 3 3/4".......

secure the zippers at the end of the fabric...

cut the excess zipper....

when the four zippers are in place....(beetweeen the two middle zippers is a piece of fabric 11" SA included) place three ziploc bags in the place you like them and sew them down, cut the bags in the middle of the lining......

place the bags also on the other side....

sew them down (attention!! use a bigger stitch than usual, so that the plastic will not be perforated like a stamp :-) )
cut the excess plastic..

cut a 3" wide strip (the length of the strip is the width of the lining, iron on both sides 1/4 seam......

pin it over the end of the ziploc bags and sew it on both sides with a narrow seam...

cut a piece of lining fabric to form the bags under the zippers....

make the first seam over the first zipper....

the second seam over the second zipper....

the third seam....

the third seam in the middle of the lining, the same for the other side...your pockets are ready..

the other side..the same seams....

Cut a piece of fabric 6" X 5" and iron seams like this.....

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.......

close the seam and add a piece of velcro

now we need two handles
cut two strips of fabric 101/2 X 3 " and 2 pieces of batting 10 1/2 X 1"
wrap the batting with the fabric....

pin and sew....

pin the handles and the closure in place...

lay down the batting, lining and top, right sides together, pin the three layers and se with 1/4 " seam all around, but....

let an opening in the middle of one side big enough to turn the whole thing inside out, don't forget the ziploc bags inside, the opening must be bigger than usual.....

before turning cut the four edges....

close the opening by hand with invisible stitches...

stitch a seam right in the middle to secure the three layers...

I also stitched 1/4" seam all around....

stitch the counterpart of the velcro on the bag...

ouff...finished! :-)

please let me know when you give it a try and send me a photo....

Cathedral window block for ziploc bag

you need 8 5"X5" squares of the blue fabric
1 5"X5" square of the "window fabric
4 5 3/4"X5 3/4" squares of the black fabric

X 2 because you need two cathedral windows for the ziploc bag....

iron the 8 blue squares to the half diogonal...

lay two blue triangles over a black square to cover it like this... ..

.......

sew a few stitches on each side to secure......

........

sew the four units and lay them out like this.....

sew them together ...

open the seams and iron....

........

pin to make sure that the seams meet in the middle

iron.....

lay out the "window" fabric...

pin the outside of the triangle (bias) like this to the window fabric...

.......

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sew all around a narrow seam....

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now, pin the other side, the other triangle in the same manner....

sew it....

the two sides of the bag...

sew a strip a black strip all around the blocks 1 1/2 "...

sew the two cathedral windows together...
the outside of your ziploc bag is ready.....
tomorrow I will post the next pics...

Wheelchair bag

Yesterday my mother told me that she need a bag for the wheelchair.....

today I sewed this bag....

here is the interior with a zippered pocket....

like that it is a shoulder bag.

Agility sport...

Jacky, long-hair Weimaraner...

Buddy, bernese mountain dog

some photos of the training...

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Ziploc bag

In August we will be in Spain for 2 weeks. I will appliqué some blocks during this 2 weeks so I need a bag to store all the little things I need. Some years ago I saw a bag like this on the www, but don't remember where, so I decided to make my own design.
Outside are two machine-sewed great cathedral window blocks.
As usual I took a lot of pics during the sewing and that will be the project for the next week. :-)
I have so many pics and can't post them all at one time. The first pics, the confection of the cathedral window will be posted on monday, the next ones on Tuesday, and so on...

inside....

Cheese pincushion

with the little mouse-pincushion I showed you a few days ago...

All you need...

you need to add a seam allowance (1/4") , but the triangle only need SA on the right and left side but not on the top...