Rumspringa

Way back in June, I made six sets of duplicate L-O-V-E letters. Each set looked something like this, with a bit of a difference here or there. I wasn't measuring, just making them approximately the same.

I kept a set, I mailed a set to a mystery someone who may or may not choose to ever play with them, and the others went to: Quiltville Bonnie, SewPrimitive Karen, Knit One Quilt Too Kristin and Threadlines KathieB. I wanted to see what different quilts we'd all come up with, starting with this same set of letters. The goal was to have the top pieced by the end of the year.

For the first time ever, I managed to complete a challenge. I'm usually too slow or can't figure out what I want to do... But this time I not only met the goal, but surpassed it, because my quilt is completely done. Woohoo. And I'm thrilled with it - really happy with how this turned out.

It's not a great pic (streak of sunlight and a Lily intrusion) but I present to you, Rumspringa:

I made a lot more L-O-V-E. Some actually looked like letters, in others the color placement was crazy. I added additional fabric where needed to make all the letter blocks the same size and sewed them into 4-Patches like this:

I wasn't smart enough to take measurements before I packed the quilt in a suitcase. But it is fairly large. Quilted with regular quilting thread in freehand fans spiral-style.

Bonnie, Karen, Kristin, and KathieB: how did you do with the L-O-V-E Letter challenge?

Holiday Desserts

We’ve had cold weather and glorious sunshine for several days and I love it. My sweetie and I walked down on Christmas Day to see the holiday windows at the big department stores. Other people had the same idea but this is deserted compared to the usual mob. Before Christmas this entire sidewalk would have been packed and you’d have had to walk out in the street.

This year we tried the French seasonal treat of a Bûche de Noël. Interesting to have tried it, but I won’t need to have another ever.

More holiday treats – these photos were taken on my trip to Leeuwarden in the Netherlands.

My husband is enjoying his time off. Yesterday we went to our favorite Italian restaurant for lunch and then watched the Alfred Hitchcock film Notorious starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. A fabulous movie finally out on DVD again – woohoo!

Santas Visit

The Santa Invasion of Paris:

Lookout, here they all come:

I was Santa's helper while visiting the Netherlands and found myself some wonderful gifts. I love this insect kitchen towel - I gave one to Bonnie too. The label indicates it's from the Textile Museum in Tilburg, Netherlands.

Some great woven fabric. I probably spent too much but I wanted this lime green plaid. And the cheddar stripes and that gorgeous royal blue stripe...

These are reproduction Dutch plaids from the shop Den Haan & Wagenmakers

I bought these from a vendor at the Albert Cuyp Market. (If you check out the link, look at the chocolates of mens' privates. I didn't take a photo myself, but definitely got a giggle. Only in Amsterdam). The four batiks here have a very different texture from the kind we get in the states - they're softer.

More traditional dutch fabric:

I've kind of got a Halloween/Christmas decorating theme going here. Not by design, I just never got myself organized this year. The gorgeous Lily and my Christmas goodies:

I also bought an herbal tea blend called Spicy. It's fantastic and I wish I could figure out what's in it. Definitely big chunks of dried ginger. Some coriander seeds, cinnamon bark and licorice flavoring - maybe anise? Possibly fennel seeds.... No actual tea though so perhaps it should be called an infusion. I'll have to keep on the lookout for something similar in the States because I love it.

So Christmas went well here. My husband got a bunch of boring books that he's thrilled with. We got the DVD of Raiders of the Lost Ark which is finally sold separately - I so did not want the other two movies. We watched that yesterday and I can't stop humming the theme music. I alternate between that and Who songs from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

I forgot to mention, I finished up the hand quilting on Rumspringa. Woohoo!!! No pics yet though.

I'm finishing up some projects here - getting borders put on and backings sewn together - to take with me to Florida. Will.Not.Stress.About.Move. Aiyeeeee.

Joyeux Noël

Mmm Parisian desserts. These snowmen are adorable, from the shop Dallyou, which has been in business since 1802:


Although I'm sure these desserts aren't that old ;-)


The snowmen are cute, but I wouldn't want to eat one. This Autumn Leaves chocolatey treat is much more my style. Can you see the price though? Gulp 32 euros.


Photos from my walk on the Champs d'Elysees on 8 December:

I showed you the black christmas trees before. These are much more my style:

For those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas. All of you stay safe and warm.

Leeuwarden

On Friday evening I had a wonderful time with a fantastic bunch of Dutch quilters. I was so busy talking and quilting that I completely forgot about my camera. D’oh! Luckily Isabeau and Ellen were also visited by Quiltmania and their homes should appear in the September and December editions of the magazine.

The next morning we all headed up to Leeuwarden to see an exhibition of quilts at the Fries Museum. That’s Fries as in Friesland (a region of the Netherlands) not fries as in the potato treats.

The exhibition was okay. There weren’t as many antique quilts as I’d like to have seen and many were hung  high so you couldn’t see the details. No flash photography was allowed and my photos were terrible.

 An Moonen, an antique textile historian, was at the museum to give a lecture and to celebrate the publication of her latest book on antique Dutch quilts. By the way, if there is enough interest the book will be published in English. You can go here to let them know you’d be interested in buying one.

I skipped the lecture and instead walked around town. Here are some of my pics. An old pharmacy building with incredible details:

A close up of the sign:

I love this old building  and the way it leans into its neighbor:

The building has a date of 1697. I wonder if this cat was an original feature?

More “felines” decorating town:

And I couldn’t resist this little face:

I have a few links to share with you and then I have to go get cracking.

Dianne made this fabulous 10 Wishes top – such a sweet baby quilt and a great way to incorporate a personal touch into a quilt.

I love Joyce’s Winter Words quilt. I can’t believe how much snow I’ve seen in blogland – brrrrr.

Belinda has a great antidote to the winter cold: bright busy stars.

I love these household cleaning recipes that Bumble Beans featured – I’m going to have to try these out. I love that they’re great for people with allergies and chemical sensitivities.

Gotta run, things to do. Take care and stay safe.