Christmas 2012....time for reflection

Thumbs up! Two days after discharge from the hospital!

The year is almost gone...time for some reflection, and definitely time for an update on this blog, since so much has happened this year! Almost immediately after the beautiful wedding of Sanne and Wouter, we were shocked by the message that my Mom had a malignant tumor in her lung, causing severe anemia. Surgery was carried out on September 21st, and only three months later, we can say only one thing: she's back on track! She was discharged after only 1 week, and has shown remarkable strength and resilience.


In between hospital visits and preparing for the aftermath there was the marriage of a colleague and the 25th anniversary of my old schoolfriend, so some needlework had to be done. The good thing of patchwork and quilting is that on the one hand it helps me distract, while on the other it helps me to organize my thoughts and really brings peace of mind. After the Apple tree quilt (see blog: Wedding Quilt), I looked for other 'treeish' patterns, since I like the idea of a Tree of Life for this occasion. And I found this Heart Tree by Liz Jones (the pattern can be downloaded from the AQS website). It was quite a challenging pattern, but I love the result, don't you?

The start	All hearts in place
The result	Final result of the 2nd Heart Tree Quilt

Before I could think twice, Autumn was over and Winter arrived all of a sudden. Winter in the Netherlands usually means a chaotic day with traffic jam, trains no longer running, and the opportunity for a snowy picture. The next day everything is back to normal and Winter forgotten.

But staying inside, due to weather conditions, gave me the opportunity to get ready for Christmas and with a loads of seasonal fabric in stash I decided to make baskets and filled them with chocolate as a small token of appreciation for family, friends and colleagues.

Christmas treats for colleagues

Christmas baskets ready for 'shipment'

Today, on December 25th, the temperature is almost 10° Celsius, with showers. We are enjoying our time together at home after spending Christmas Eve with Leonore and Florian, visiting my parents in the afternoon and looking forward for Sanne and Wouter arriving tonight. Despite all the turmoil in the past months, I have the feeling that the New Year will bring lots of opportunities in work (finally finishing the dissertation!), family life and quilting. There is a new project on the go, and I will tell you more about it as soon as the first bits and pieces are ready. Happy Holidays and Best of Luck in 2013!

KadK project 121212, the challenge for 2013!

A Wedding Quilt, but different.

Fabrics from Australia and my stash

Less than a year ago, my daughter Sanne and her friend Wouter announced their wedding plans for June 23rd, 2012. You could say there was enough time for the design and making of a wedding quilt, but the final idea was born just before we left for our trip to Australia in April/May. It was decided that it should be a family project, not only joining the efforts, but also multiple techniques. Patchwork, applique, cross-stitch and quilting were combined in a contemporary wedding quilt. My mom and daughter Leonore were involved in the process of choosing the colors and during my trip 'down under' I  found the perfect fabrics.My brother in Canada and his daughter Julia were invited to make some stitches as well.

The idea was to make a tree filled with apples, each apple containing a little symbol or figure characteristic for the happy young couple. All apples were bordered with the fabric of the top and fit into the correct spot, as is shown on the apple tree map (left picture; A is for apple...).

All the fabric for the top was cut, but I could only start putting them together, after the apple-stitch project was finished!

The tree itself and the foliage were made by applique; the drawing was copied on fusible web, ironed on the top and anchored with little embroidery stitches.

This part was done in group sessions, which gave us also the opportunity to practice the songs we prepared for the wedding. Oh, the best fun is preparing for a party, with all the secrets and surprises!

Working together to get this project finished!
With Leonore.....

...... and my mom!

Five left-over apples were put together in a separate border that was attached with ribbons under the quilt. On the other side, the names of each person that had helped with this project was embroidered by my mom. After finishing the top, I quilted a chained heart border.

June 23rd, 2012 was a lovely sunny day. After weeks with too much rain, this really was special, but exactly what the bride and groom deserved.
After a beautiful ceremony in the Town Hall of Wageningen, where Sanne and Wouter live, we had a day filled with joy and happiness. Lots of friends came to congratulate the happy couple and in the evening, after a lovely dinner, it was party time!

That was only 3 days ago; it is amazing how time flies, I am sitting on my couch and wondering what my next project will be....

A Quilt for a Baby.

Although it is sometime ago since my last blog, it does not mean I have not been working on some projects! Currently I am preparing some patchwork bookmarks (using Ami Simms' double-diamond pattern) as give-away's for some upcoming trips, using fabric with Dutch flowers (tulips and daphodils).

Dutch design bookmarks and potholders

Bookmarks in Dutch flower design

Whenever the (future) arrival of a new is announced, I immediately feel the urge to start a new project: a baby quilt is always a nice project to work on, it has a clear deadline (the due date)and furthermore it is challenging to work with the colors that the soon-to-be-parents have chosen for their newborn. I remember one Summer during the time that I was working in the pediatric stem cell unit, 5 nurses were pregnant and I made them all a little quilt.

Carmen's quilt

Luna's quilt

But the last baby quilt I made was different, it was for one of my best friends, and the day the little girl announced it was time to be welcomed in the world, we were online, chatting for about an hour, since she does not not exactly live around the corner! It was very special, and I will never forget these moments, although she was thousands of miles away, it felt if we were in the same room.
The colors she had chosen for her nursery were green and orange, and although I guessed about the exact shades, in the end it seemed to fit pretty well. I choose for typical Dutch symbols in applique, like a mill and tulips combined with the facts of the newborn, composing a sampler.

A quilt for Tennyson