I made it ! One last finish for 2009 :-)
This Chimney Log Cabin has been very nice to work with, with different textures and my favourite Japanese fabrics with a couple CW repros thrown in.
Merete has done the machine quilting - feathers and swirls.
Tomorrow and the day after I will focus on the hexagon quilt.
I do not expect to finish the top, but I will definitively move it forward and it will be finished very soon :-)
Hanne
I don't know if you are like me, but I tend to take inventory of my sewing of the year during the days between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Did I meet all my goals for the year - not really
Did I add to the WISP pile more than I finished from it - no :-)
(WISP = Work In Slow Progress)
Did I finish something every month - One Project A Month - yes :-)
Can I focus on a couple of projects for the last days of the year and move them forward - yes :-)
Can I possibly finish one more quilt this year - yes :-)
The 2 quilts above are my focus projects until they are done - both of them!
Hexagon quilt - lacks 2 long joining seams and a little more than half of the edge fillers.
I will put the border fabric in the washing machine tomorrow.
I do not think I can finish this top in 2009, but it will only be a matter of days in 2010.
Chimney Log Cabin quilt - lacking only binding. The binding is in the dryer as we speak.
A bad shoulder has kept me away from the sewing machine for quite a while, but today is the day - I will add the binding so I can sew it down over the next couple of days. I think I can finish this binding in 2009 :-)
Hanne
Merry Christmas - God Jul - to all!
I hope you have had a lovely celebration!
In my area we have not had this much snow falling in so few days since 1973 - that is quite a while……
This is my veranda, filled to the brim with snow, and you can see it is hanging from the roof too.
Never wish for a white Christmas - you may get what you wish for!
It was not me sending that wish though - promise !! ;-))
I don't think I ever got this many quilty gifts for Christmas :-)
I am sitting here enjoying my morning tea, with a very soft scarf around my neck - life is Good !
Hanne
The last cakes are baked over the last 2 days
Julemanna - not looking the very best this year, but the taste is very good!
Risboller - Puffed rice and chocolate - DH's favourite.
Gingerbread cookies - they are soooo good, and nearly gone now, as we had a lot of visits here yesterday :-) We have to make more next year !!
The house is clean and tidy, with Christmas decorations all around.
The last Christmas gift is finished - today :-) 
The Christmas tree is decorated and the world outside is white. 
Mr. Nisse (Norwegian Santa) is willingly sharing his mandarins :-)
The pork rib is in the oven, ready to be served in 90 minutes, at 5 pm, as the tradition is.
I wish you and your family the very best for the Christmas.
May your Christmas be filled with love and peace, wherever you are!
Christmas hugs from
Hanne
All the Advent candles have been lit, and there are only a couple more days to go.
A small gift for my niece and her fiancé. I have made many of these small bags this year :-) Nice for cookies, sweets, nuts or to keep tea candles. 
This is the very last of my Christmas stash - and now it has moved out of here, to a friend who is great with making gifts for friends and co-workers.
I have now enjoyed these fabrics and am happy to pass the rest of them on :-)
I am really not a gold print and Christmas print person.
As I am cleaning and organizing for Christmas, I found that is was good to put all my hand quilting thread together. All fit in one nice box :-)
My sister in law and brother in law have wished for a Christmas tree mat for a while. I think this turned out very nice!
The squares finish 5". It can double as a table cloth too :-)
I have one more gift to go - not a big one, and I think I will enjoy making it, tomorrow.
We are still not done with all the preparations around here.
It would be nice to just chill out like the furball :-)
PS. The stitcheries from the earlier post are Kristin Langebråten designs and Northern Quilts designs - both Norwegian designers.
Hanne
The queen of the household has graciously accepted a new cuddle and control spot in the sewing corner.
One can not let the house quilter sew without occasional supervision :-))
The last 4 Advent Calendar packets are opened and the favourite part of Christmas, Advent, is coming to an end.
I got beautiful gifts in my calendar today:
A very beautiful makeup purse from Bente - the very first makeup purse I have ever got as a gift!
A very cute box from May Britt - maybe for my morning tea ? or buttons ? or ribbons ?
A fabric bowl for snacks for Christmas from Nancy,
and
a scissors fob from Stina.
Thank you all, for the beautiful gifts, for lightening my Advent time, for being my friends, for sharing my Advent joy :-)
I had to take a closeup of the fob - isn't it gorgeous ??
Mini strawberries in wool decorated with embroidery floss.
All wrapping paper and ribbons have to be thoroughly cat checked. The duties of a house cat can not be taken lightly :-)
Note from the furball: Can you see that I have moved in permanently ? A lot of duties to catch up on here! PS. I have lived here permanently a while now, but all these Christmas preparations are quite new to me. Purr purr. 
Krumkaker are done, as is the dough for gingerbread men and Julemanna. Christmas meat for the smorgasbord is simmering in the kitchen
Now it is time for some sewing!
Hanne
As said before, stitchery is the most relaxing work I can think of, and I enjoy at least 1 thread of stitchery as good as daily :-)
I had plans about making more gifts than I have done, or rather, other gifts than I have done, but the best laid plans and all that…..
I have not been as sewing machine compatible this autumn as I was planning and hoping for.
Anyway - these stitcheries are now going to my treasure box for other occasions.
Maybe this is a good start on next year's gifts - you never know :-)
Hanne
As you can see I am sewing under supervision :-)
The furball is acting strange these days.
I think she is bored since the world has frozen over, and there is nothing much to chase or catch outdoors. It is -16 degrees C outdoors. Brrrr
I have now cleared the drawers top and put a small quilt there, in case she wants to supervise more :-)
I have not sewn much on the machine lately, but you can see a glimpse of what I am working on, under the stitcheries.
7 by7 squares, squares finishing 5".
I will machine quilt it tomorrow and add some appliqué in the corners.
The recipients are someone I hold dear, and they wished for a Christmas tree mat last Christmas.
I have cut the squares from many different reds - it looks good :-)
My favourite relaxation work is stitcheries - and these 2 stitcheries I have enjoyed a lot. I will not finish them into anything this year - just add them to my box of finished stitcheries, so I can make something nice some other time :-)
This has been a lovely Friday!
I have got acupuncture today. It does me so good!
After I have been to my dentist, repairing a broken molar, and it could be done for a fraction of the price I anticipated (no root canal or crown - yet).
When I came home I got these lovely surprises in the mail - the next 2 blocks for my Svennebrevet BOM,
and a very heart warming card with some special treats from Satu. I love the vintage card, the beautiful ribbon and the variegated thread.
Thank you very very much Satu !! :-)
Now I am enjoying a glass of good red wine and will do another thread on my stitchery.
Life is good :-)
I hope you enjoy your Friday too!
Hanne
Early morning, candles on the fireplace and a large mug of hot tea - life is calm and good.
I treasure my morning candles and morning tea more than you can imagine :-)
The hexagon quilt is coming along nicely too :-)
2 long horizontal seams and a lot of edge filling pieces left to do.
My plan is to finish this quilt top in 2 halves and join the last horizontal seam just before adding the border.
Hanne
Today I had a trip to Lappemakeriet to enjoy the Quilt Café they host every Tuesday.
I had a plan for some Christmas shopping in one of the other shops nearby, which went well, thank you :-)
You know me - I love soft colours, soft green, soft pink, Japanese taupes, offwhite, CW repros - and I got it all today - and I have a plan :-)
The red and white block book has been on my wish list since I saw it at Bente's not very long ago :-)
The above mentioned fabrics and block books - I can get lost in plans and sewing for a long long time !
Hanne
Finally my Stitchers Angel gift arrived !
My angel has been Ruth Stark from NJ, USA.
I do not know if Ruth has a blog.
Thanks for the gift Ruth.
Hanne
I have been working on this quilt top through the whole year - it has been a nice journey :-)
Now I am done with all the flowers - even replaced the vacuum eaten ones - and all the rows are done.
What is left to do are 4 long horizontal seams and edge fillers.
I suspect the edge fillers will take longer than I think, but a daily quota should do the trick :-)
I want to finish this top in December so it can be machine quilted shortly.
I still have a couple of Christmas gifts to make too!
Hanne
What a great quilters sing-along :-))
Here are all the hexagon flowers for the second half of Tante Rosa BOM
- minus 2 that is, which was eaten by my vacuum cleaner in one of my eager make it nice at home moments ;-)
I have a strong vacuum, and it just ate along on the seam allowances - no careful nibbling………
I have drawn and cut new hexagons for the 2 new flowers, and if you look very closely on the wall 3 of the focus flower rows are joined with a background flower row.
I am getting there, one stitch at a time :-)
My beloved cat is taking her duties as desk keeper and lint brush seriously these days, watching all the goodies with her body :-)
Hanne
3 weeks ago we were a party of 31 going to Riga, Latvia for a weekend trip.
Latvia is one of the Baltic states and shows very well that it has been under Russian influence and on the other side of the iron curtain.
We lived in the old part of town, right behind the Riga Dome.
Riga is a strange town, where you can see how powerful this town has been, with its rich architecture, and how poor it is now, worn down and with few people in the streets.
Latvia is very bad off from the economical crisis, worse than Island, but we do not hear much about it in the papers, and it came as sort of a cultural chock to us. 
Food are cheap, but all other goods are not, and there were sales in all the shops. I have never seen empty malls right before Christmas either. I guess many will be out of work there soon. 
My husband and I walked around a lot, wearing good shoes, with camera in hand.
We had sugar cakes from a local bakery as a snack :-) 
New and old architecture mixed randomly. 
A great mural by the old town square. 
Russian eggs - lovely hand work, but nothing to bring home to this house. 
A lot of spectacular facades. 
We had a lovely lunch with local vegetable soup and a glass of wine for next to no money.
The restaurant was very simple, up very steep stairs, but the food was plenty and delicious.
Notice the lovely glass art window in the restaurant - the building was from 1700-something 
Even the most worn buildings could have beautiful doors
or statues…..
This is what I call a tall coffee :-) 
DH had hot chocolate - the real thing - oh is was rich indeed! 
Check those windows, a gazillion small pieces in each. 
There are churches on "every corner"
Riga was an experience, in many ways, and I even was very close to get robbed, but I do not keep my valuables in my rucksack, thank you.
The local market was spectacular though, but we did not take out the cameras - to many people.
Here is what I bought in Riga - linen tea towels, zippers (cheap!), embroidery floss (half price) and some silver goods. Some other goods will be found in someone's Christmas gifts too :-)
This owl needle keeper is soooo cool :-)
I lost one of my earrings on my way to Riga, so DH bought me a new pair. I like them very much :-)
Will we go there again ?……. well…….. it looks like many of the party of 31 want to go back next year, but I am not sure if I will join or not - time will tell.
Hanne
Nothing are like quiet Sunday mornings, with candles and tea :-)
Through Advent there are also the joy of opening Advent gifts.
I forgot to blog my gifts from last Sunday -
An angel stitchery with floss, 2 pieces of beautiful fabrics, ric rac and chocolate, buttons and embellishments.
Thanks to you all - Bente, Stina, Nancy and May Britt !
Today it is like all have thought down the same line - writings and letters :-)
I have always admired those wooden letters I have seen on different photos - now I have a set too, spelling out the most important word besides Friends - Quilts :-)
Squares of fabrics with sayings on them + 2 happy magnet men, a gorgeous fabric with writing and music notes on it, a spring green fabric (oh so beautiful) with matching squares of vintage images of children and a spring poem and a box of long matches with lovely flowers on it - reminding me that after the long, cold, dark winter there will be another light and bright spring :-)
Thanks again, Stina, Nancy, May Britt and Bente !
As we speak the morning light is slowly coming - it looks like it will be a beautiful day.
Hanne
Secrets are going on - this is just a small peek :-)
This little angel is winging her way across the big pond as we speak, to participate in a care quilt for a young woman needing a hug.
All the Christmas packets going over the big pond are posted today, and you can see the packets are cat counted and approved :-)
I have also added 1 block to my BOM today :-)
Hanne
Miss Kitty and Miss Hitty have been planning a trip - where the first flight is Oslo - Amsterdam - 4 months and 1 day from today. The second flight is a long one.
We will go by 2 planes, bus and car, and I guess several of you know where we are going :-)
The ticket was ordered yesterday and paid today, and we have time to enjoy the anticipation for many days now :-))
Hanne
Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be fat quarters or a pattern or lace?
Or a quilt kit, I said, with a smile on my face.
And that's when I heard him,
"Hi Santa," I said
"You know....good little girls should be in their beds ".
"I know I should Santa, and now I've got caught.
But I was just so excited to see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work."
He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough stuff, I'll see you next year!"
author unknown
ps I better clean my quilting room before he checks mine!
1 wrong - mirror imaged colour wise, to the right - and 1 with right colours, to the left.
The background fabric is so light the wrong flower would not have cut it. Maybe it is the start of a new quilt some day ?
After correcting the colour mishap from earlier this autumn I could join flower row # 6 and # 7.
Next starting focus row # 8 - 1 down, 4 to go.
As I guess you have figured out, I am working on 2 BOMs simultaneously right now :-)
I have 1 hexagon flower and 1 block from the other BOM prepped for tomorrow morning.
I have only done hand work today, with my feet up high -- very nice and very restful.
Hanne
Two more blocks for the BOM :-)
Everything is going half speed these days.
I thought I was brewing on a head cold. I am not, as inflammation meds makes my headache (and neck) much better.
Winter is not my season…..
Well - we all know that even a couple of threads a day makes a full quilt in the end, so I'll keep at it :-)
The last 2 Advent calendar gifts from last Sunday.
Yes, I have 4 calendars this year, and I am enjoying it very very very much :-)
Can you tell I am organizing my desk when I can not sew so much ?? ;-)
Hanne
I do like Advent better than Christmas - the decorating , preparing and all.
The daylight is very special this time of year, the 6 hours we get of it, on a good day. It gets dark at about 3 pm.
We have lights in many of our windows during December, and the furball takes all checking of boxes to heart ( and teeth).
I don't think she ever met a cardboard box she did not like the taste of.
If you have not noticed before I have a very soft spot for BOMs from Lappemakeriet :-)
Well - I am behind on a few of them, so I am dedicating December to catch up.
I do not expect to catch up on all 3 ongoing BOMs, but I can put in an effort anyway.
This one, Svennebrev, Antique fabric choice, I have received 6 packets, 12 blocks -
and today I have finished 6 of them :-)
The blocks finish 9".
Hanne
Let me share some inspiration from Bente's care quilt pile with you!
If you think about whether or not you should contribute to care quilts in your country, it it time to get your thinking cap off, find some fabrics and get to work !! :-)
There are so many children (or other causes of your choice) who will benefit from our effort, and in the big picture we all can afford to use some time and some materials to give a long distance unselfish hug to someone in need - a true act of Paying It Forward,
since we are so lucky to have this lovely rewarding lifestyle called quilting.
Myself I started making care quilts when my DD1 was seriously ill many years ago.
It felt good to make someone happy during that stressful hurtful time, and it still does, through all kinds of days.
Try it yourself and you will never regret it !! :-)
Hanne
After a lovely candle light breakfast we enjoyed our Advent Sunday Calendars this morning :-)
We are some friend that have made calendars for each other, to enjoy every Sunday through Advent. You can see Bente's calendar gifts on her kitchen wall.
I am an Advent lover and I enjoy my Advent calendars a lot too!
Advent tea and other goodies - fabrics, nose tissue papers in a lovely Log Cabin wrapper, beautiful embellishments and small heart clips :-)
After breakfast we went back to the sewing room to finish the last binding - my task - and to tidy the room.
Have you ever wondered how tall a pile of 40 care quilts looks like ??
Between the 3 of us we finished 6 quilts this weekend: 
Bente's Jelly Roll quilt, so soft and beautiful.
A boy will love Bente's quilt # 2
May Britt's quilt # 1, happy and cheerful.
May Britt's quilt # 2 - how many elephants can fit on 1 quilt ?
And again - my 2 quilts.
My shoulders are tired from sitting so long by the machine, but there are nothing more comforting than to think about the children and teenagers that will benefit from all quilters donating quilts to the cause - children with long term diseases who will get to choose and keep their quilt.
Bente's guild, Ringerike Quilteklubb, has given 80 quilts, including the pile of 40, in 12 months.
An example to take to heart !!
Both May Britt and I are proud and happy to contribute to your guild's donation Bente!
Thanks for a lovely, inspiring weekend at your house!
You always make us feel so welcome!
Hanne
When we came back to Bente's house the electricity was on again and we could get to work :-)
The plan for the day was to make care quilts.
You all know how hard it is to open a JellyRoll, right ? 
Bente did it !! The result is great too. Just wait until you see what she made from it! 
Here is the rest of the hearts I told you about in an earlier post - another PIF quilt in the making. 
May Britt is measuring another care quilt to start these bright blocks. Bente is collecting care quilts for her guild, to send on to the coordinator of the Norwegian care quilts. 
We are helping each other the best we can :-) 
Here is my blue heart quilt all done :-)
I did meters of binding by machine.
The red heart quilt all done :-)
In the evening we enjoyed a delicious traditional Christmas meal - ribs of pork cooked in the oven, ribs of sheep steamed and then roasted in the oven, good potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli, mashed cabbage root (a traditional Nordic vegetable), sauerkraut and good sauce.
Since this traditional dish is served only around Christmas we all ate to much - it was so good :-))
A very good time were had by all !!
Hanne
You now know how we spent a lovely Thursday night,
and here is how we spent hours on Friday :-)
The local electricity company had a repair job scheduled for several hours in the morning, so we had no light and no running sewing machines, so we decided to go for a shop trip.
What better place to go than to Lappemakeriet ??
The shop is now turned into a gorgeous Christmas shop, full of inspiration and goods :-)
A lovely Christmas calendar in redwork.
Several small Kristin Langebråten stitcheries joined into a beautiful wall quilt.
An Angel from Trine Bakke's book - cute as can be :-)
One can buy gifts in all price ranges - from the very affordable and up.
Lovely table runners and wall hangings for sale
All kinds of temptations :-)
Lappemakeriet display all their goods in a very pleasant way :-)
Red as hearts, white as snow :-) 
Here is a glimpse of the new BOM !!
Yes, I have already fallen in, on a blue and white option :-))
Join in if you like BOMs too- you will never regret having one from Anne-Kjersti and Trine!
And what temptations did I run in to ?
A lovely tin and some fabrics to play with :-)
I have found my favourite Christmas combination with a lighter green than what is traditional and usual !
I am looking forward to use these fabrics !!
We visited some other shops at Bærums Verk too and more goodies came home with us.
Another beautiful tin, 2 small tins, a pink stone heart and an angel jewellery pendant and an angel window decoration.
DH and I buy 1 special Christmas decoration every year - this is the one for 2009 :-)
Bærums Verk is open 7 days a week - check it out if you are in the area - you will not regret it, whether you just want to have a look or if you want to shop high quality good, quilty and others :-)
Hanne
May Britt and I have had a gorgeous long weekend at Bente's, starting on Thursday evening at her guild.
Lena Karen has made this beautiful needle turn quilt!
A feast for the eyes, in soft Japanese fabrics.
Tove's "small" Christmas calendar for her DD. :-))
It is giving *wrapping your kids in love* a new and deeper meaning!
I think little Miss O. has to go treasure hunting to find the packet of the day :-)) 
A 60 degree hexagon beauty !! 
Inger-Solveig's beautiful sampler quilt!!
We saw it in August, when she had just started to quilt it, and now it is done, and very heavily and beautifully quilted too! 
It is always a pleasure to visit Ringerike Quilteklubb, and I hope to visit you again before long!
Hanne
This was the class sample - a toothpick keeper - pocket /purse size
Kitty and I had everything ready to roll - glue stick, scissors, thread and needle + the kit we all could buy at the guild, containing thin cardboard, thin batting and fabrics.
We both enjoy having nice clean teeth, so we finished the project and stocked it with our favourite toothpicks, the plastic kind.
This is row 6 on my hexagon quilt, ready to be joined.
12 hexagons to go - I have to redo a couple of the background ones, due to an accident I can tell you about some other time.
Hanne
It has not been laid back, believe me :-)
Here is a sneak peak of a quilt that is now at the machine quilter's, since yesterday evening.
I have used 2,5" stripes, like you can find them in Jelly Rolls.
My strips are cut from my beautiful Japanese fabrics collection, amongst others, and I have also put in Japanese homespuns for a touch of masculinity.
I have to mention that DH commented on this quilt, unasked, and gave his approval :-)
I will show you the whole quilt when it is back from the machine quilter and preferably bound.
It has been raining cats and dogs for a few days, and nobody hates that as much as the furball.
She is in and out of the house all the time, dripping wet.
She usually do not like it to much on my sewing table, but what to do when it is raining this much ??
One can nibble on some wood buttons,
or nap test the mat and ruler - not that I can understand how that can be comfy…….. :-)
The Bunny Quilt is done and looking good - and I am looking forward to spring already !!
I am not much of a winter person at all.
I am surviving the winter on sewing, tea and candles - which is not a bad deal after all :-)
Hanne
Tilda kits for half price at my local hobby shop.
A cute elephant pin cushion I got from Elin last weekend
A brand new weekend suitcase. Red off course. I think I need a red bag to go with it :-)
I got a suitcase ripped at the airport last weekend. This is the replacement.
An extra hard disk for my computer. I have backed up all my files now and I have a plan to back up my files every week. Burnt child and all that……..
I lost a lot of photos and some documents in a double computer crash recently. First my laptop and next my desk computer.
Hand quilting on the Bunny quilt done. Now to wash it before I show it to you. 
A vintage silver needle keeper I found in a used and new jewellery shop a while back. It is approx. 2,5" long.
And a wonderful selection of Lynette's new line of Christmas fabrics, bought from Quiltegården, received today :-)
I have ordered them for my Christmas cushion - the pattern I bought when I met Lynette in Oslo recently.
Hanne
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