Have a great summer!

Tulip Table Cloth

I am very happy with this table cloth! My quilting mojo is low, but beautiful tulips in my garden inspired me! The paper-pieced block pattern made by A Quiling Jewel was a part of the Garden Party Blog Hop at Sew Hooked. Love it, thank you for sharing the pattern!

I spent the weekend at Norefjell Spa & Resort, a lovely stay. I love the interior design on this norwegian mountain resort! You can find more pictures from my previous stay here.

Peonies and a little romance

Finally, my Peonies (Bowl of Beauty I think) are blossoming. I got the plant for at least five years ago, but moved if last spring when it did not seem to blossom. I moved it to a place closer to the house with loose soil and more regular watering. And today the first flower opened up!

I will also show you a preview of the quilt project I am working on, I feel a new pattern will take shape here!

It is a Moda Jelly Roll called "A Little Romance" purchased from Kathrines Quilte Stue for half price.

A long Weekend in London

My sister and I had a long weekend in London. Had a great time. Hope you all have a wonderful easter time!

Flowers again!

Here are some more flower pictures, I can not stop taking their picture. They are my main source of inspiration.

What flower is this?

I will use this flower as an inspiration to my next quilt, it is so facinating. The flower I photographed in Egypt around christmas time. Does anybody knows what flower it is?

Added later:

Thank you Anonymous, this is a Moss Rose. It comes in many colors, which gives me additional possibilities for my quilt. Thank you again!

Christmas in Egypt

Egypt is one of those places you have to visit in your lifetime, and I had a wonderful time at the iberotel Aquamarine in Hurganda (Star Tour). The sights were fantastic, the accomodation and temperature as well.

We visited Luxor; Karnak, Valley of the Kings , the temple of Hatshepsut and the Memnon stone statues. A part of my group also went to Cairo to see the pyramids and the Sphinx. We also crossed the Nile in a river boat.

One day we spent on a trip with Colona Divers snorkling in the Red Sea. It's like beeing in an aquarium! A must do activity, even for people like me that have never been snorkling before. The guides are very helpful and teach you what you need to do.

My hubbie also went into the desert with an ATV, and they visited the Bedouins.Shopping was NOT great, they were way to pushy for my taste, but this is acceptable in Egypt.

My best traveling tips are:
Winter is the best time to visit, if you are like me and do not enjoy extreme high temperatures.
Put some ekstra toilet paper in your purse, frequently the public toilets were out.
Also be very careful with what you eat, tummy problems are frequent. The food at our hotel was very good, we did not get sick.
Be mentally prepared for the shopping experience.
Be patient.
The egyptians are very friendly and helpful if you treat them respectfully.

November

I am so prowd of my blossoming christmas cactus.We call them November Cactuses, that is when they usually blossom here in Norway.

Currently I am working on my secret design project, got the main section planned and measurements are ready.Unsure about the frame yet, but it will come to me....
I am also knitting more hats for christmas presents.Three of the hats will be for sale at the christmas market, wonder if they sell?






The snow is here, and so are my birds and deers, looking for some extra feed. I love to watch them from my kitchen window.

It's snowing today!

Where did fall go? The first snowfall came very early this year!

I also have another finish to show off, it is another table cloth with christmas baskets (more details in earlier post). It is sent off to my mother, she will use it as a price for a charity lottery. I have now 7 christmas basket blocks left, but no red fabric. I am unsure, but I think I will use them to make pot holders.

Moose hunting in my garden!

With fall comes hunting season.
This morning I woke up by elk hound barking in my garden. This is what I saw out of my bedroom window, two mooses and a dog by their feet! I tried to call for the dog, but he ignored me of course. I have not heard any gun-shots yet, so lets hope they survive the day.

My husband suggested that I let my cats out to distract the dog... Very funny. As appreciation for not being used as dog bait, Harry, one of my cats, joined me for breakfast instead.

Last weekend we had the last moose steak in the freezer from last year for dinner. I assume there will be possibilties for freezer refills soon.

The Fall Feeling

Fall is a wonderful time of year, here are some picture I took from my back yard today!

Enjoy your weekend and the season wherever you are!

Lovely Heart Block

This lovely heart block is from the
book Log Cabin Quilt Book. The project is called. "Loveland Log Cabin". Author is Judy Martin, one of my favourite designers.
The heart I will mail to my sister, who is having a though year. The card that goes with it reads "When I count my friends, I always count you twice!"

What do you think of this sample quilt? I am very interested in your honest opinion, since I am planning to make a bigger project with this heart block. Please leave a comment!

Picasa3 Free Picture Editor

I used a program to modify my pictures, but was not always pleased with the result.
Gudveig N. H. has very good pictures on her blog, and uses Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo , but it costs a bit of money.

Grethe's Flittige Hender posted a comment on my blog where she recommended Picasa from Google, a free program.

I have now tried it out, and are very happy with the results! Thank you for your help!

Flowers again!

I can not stop taking pictures of flowers, they are so beautiful!

These are from my garden, early August.

Fall feeling with Minestrone Soup

The last couple of days I have had a feeling that fall is early this year. It has been cold at night, yesterday had heavy rain and today very windy.


Today I have given all my potted plants an xtreme makeover. Feels good to get that done!


I also made some comfort food for dinner, a home-made minestrone soup served with bread, cheese and pesto. I love this quick and easy soup:


Minestrone Soup:
Fry 300 grams of minced meat in a large kettle. Add approx. 1 liter of meat broth and a can of chopped tomatoes. Add 4 sliced poatatoes, 2 sliced carrots, 1 sliced leek, 1 chopped onion and a cup of uncooked pasta. Let the soup simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add 1 can of red or white beans, 1 small can of sweet corn and half a chopped squash or cucumber. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!


I also want to show you a flower that I got in a bouquet from the man himself, amazing and long lasting cut flower.

Lavender in a tree stump

We cut down a big pine in the garden some years ago. My hobbie used an old blade on his engine saw to cut out the inside of the stump.I then filled it with water to check that it drained out good. And planted a lavender and added a hummingbird solar light. Pritty cool?

Vacation 2009, Part 1 Wisconsin

The first part of my summer vacation I spent with my in-law family in Wisconsin, and also visited Illinois and Minnesota (where I spent my student years a looong time ago).












I also spent some time on the freeways to visit many quilt shops. I have purchased fabrics for several projects, and have inspiration for my own design of the year. I also purchased quilt books an novels to last a while. I am all set for those long fall and winter nights.




I always have to take picture of beautiful flowers that comes in my way.

Summer is here!

The quilt top for the Violetta Garden quilt is now done. The colors are a little off in this picture. But the picture is unique, since I got both , of my cats to pose. The cats are not the best of friends, and they try the best to ignore each other. No heavy fighting(no blood) so far. The white one is my old cat, and the black one I "rescued" on the way to be put to sleep, since the previous owners could not keep him anymore.

I will take the quilt with me to the US this summer, maybe I can get access to a long-arm machine, like to try to do that.

Below is some pictures from my garden. The garden is a mess since we had to redo the plumbing last fall, but still some flower left to enjoy.

Snowing again!

This weekend I have visited Lappemakeriet, a very nice quilt store. Got supplies for my upcomming Dear Jane class. Will use white background and reds from old rose to deep red/purple. I do not plan to make the whole quilt, wants to make a towel bar hanging for my kitchen.

My valentine brought me tulips, very pretty! Thank you! Today it is snowing a lot, I went skiing anyway, a great trip and good excercise.

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas time!

The picture shows my favourite christmas flower, the poinsettia.

I have now finished my Pineapple Dream Quilt. It is renamed, and ready to be sent off to a competition. Do not now what to expect, but it can not hurt trying! Will post a picture when the competition is done in March.

A while ago I finished my first pair of Felted Slippers. They do not fit me. Better luck next time. Anybody that can see where I went wrong?