the eleventh hour clams

'Better late than never' seems to be my motto these days. Not one I like. And one I will continue fighting against. But I am not giving up. And I nearly did, this afternoon, when one of my four year olds slammed into my quilting lamp, bringing it to the floor in a huge crash, smashing its base...
I am happy to report no one got hurt--- and later spotted hubby checking out OTTlights online... hummm, maybe not such a bad thing after all! :)

And so at 11 o'clock tonight I am posting, squeezing in my Clam-shell report for September: showing my 2 added rows of clams! Yeay!
( he thinks I am crazy, but he loves me...  and took this picture!)
:)

and here they are: and I must say: I really like how it's coming along!
:)

...and maybe it will not be put away this month until I panic and need to report at a quarter to midnight on Oct. 31st! That would just be creepy! LOL

kisses,
your fellow clammer,
V.
also known as Cinderella.
:)

Wednesday's Flowers

 

Detail of My African woman Charm Hexi

This week went by so fast. We had a lovely time with our friends from Canada and I am happy to report that our Maple Syrup supplies are no longer at critical levels...

:)

Thanks Gin!

We also celebrated our youngest's 4th birthday. We had loads of fun with the festivities and a bonus for me is that once the dining-room table was freed up I was able to put my  Charm hexies down... wow!

As you can see, I have been adding rings around the diamonds. I have not stitched it all together yet, and plan to leave it in sections for a while longer, as it is proving much easier to handle.

Here's a better view of the sections: On the left you can see me auditioning a multi-coloured mini-diamond section. I like the effect: considering this is a charm quilt and the idea is not to repeat hexies, I like the impressionistic effect it is creating.

I still have not counted how many hexies I have used, and still have a whole lot of hexies left to prepare. Final size at this point is anyone's guess. I have been enjoying the process so much, am not concerned about the logistics.

My idea is to keep making hexi-flowers on wednesdays so these can be added to a more random background. And I do not believe I will be adding anymore diamonds beyond this point. But as always, I am open to your suggestions and value your impressions!

Looking forward to visiting my fellow Hexi-flower gardeners this week,
Hoping you are all well and enjoying your stitching,
Valentina

Hard to believe...

That it only has been a month, 

since we were by the Rhone... 

Walking the quaint streets of Arles

Being soothed by the scent of lavender in the breeze

and the rustling leaves

Les Arlesiennes

Enjoying the shade, the beauty and history

finding a quilt shop tucked away in the heart of old Arles

spending time admiring quilting fabrics with friends, old and new,

 having a unique opportunity of visiting a provencal fabrics factory

Les Olivades

and be able to share all this with you.

I wish that I could have brought each and every one of you with me,

or at least that I could have brought each and every one of you a little something.

Maybe next time!

:)

For now, we have to let the random generator pick just one:

from 179

# 64

Lori from Humble Quilts!

Congratulations!

:)

Some Tea?

Would you like to share some tea with me?

Imagine my delight when we got a special gift from Natima in Australia this week.
My boys exclaimed: "WOW! It's a teapot sweater, Mama!" While I was in tears, trying to figure out if I could wear this tea-cosy as a hat this winter! Thank you, Nat, from the bottom of my heart!
:)

I missed Saturday Klosjes Report, because my Love arrived from South Africa after being away for work. This will be the first of many more such trips in the coming months and I am thrilled for him, and for us as a family, for the real possibility of being able to go along with him on one of his trips. Having our eldest son be of African descent, you can only imagine our excitement.

Here are 7 new Klosjes for this week. These are very special ones, made from the Delft Blue fabric given to me by Tineke. Bedankt, Tien! Aren't they cute? :)




One of my dearest friends from Canada in coming next week, just to hang out with me. Yeay!
So, I will excuse myself in advance, as I really don't forsee getting much stitching done while she is here.

For those of you who share my passion in Psychology and the marvels of the Human Brain, I recommend this series. I am enjoying stitching to them, more than I can truly express. ( I would love love love to discuss these with you later on, while stitching of course!)

So, will you sit awhile and enjoy some tea with me?
:)

with much love,
Valentina

Hexies under the weather...

And the heat continues... And I am still under the weather.
But, I have heard rumours that our coming winter will be a cold one, which has me giddy with expectation! I have visions of long dark nights of uninterrupted idyllic quilting...
 :)

In the midst of it all, I am pleasantly surprised I managed a few Charm hexi-flowers for this week. These will be the supporting cast to my Charm diamonds.

...am I the only one feeling that September is just rushing past?

I hope you have a lovely day, and that it includes some sewing!

Thinking of you, missing you, looking for a few stolen moments so I can sneak in a visit to your blogs...
Valentina
:)

Klosjes again!

What a week it has been!
The boys had a wonderful first week at school. But, like many of you kindly warned me, I did have a dip, all of a sudden finding myself in an empty house...
I was sorry sight, wandering aimlessly from room to room monday morning!
:)

Day two went easier on all fronts. I even had a chance to spend the morning with Tineke. We had a lovely time and she helped me to brainstorm about my charm hexi-diamonds.
But tuesday afternoon, wednesday and thursday are a blurr: instead of the quilt-bug having its way with me, I picked up a nasty stomach bug. I saw a worried look in my husband not because I couldn't hold any food down, but because I couldn't/wouldn't stitch!!! And my brain was so fuzzy I couldn't even read words on the computer screen...

:)

But all is well now. Things got done somehow, and yesterday I even had another 'sit + stitch' with Tineke. We laughed so hard when we noticed our miserable harvest of Klosjes for the morning's effort.
But it was fun!

So, all in all another 12 Klosjes got made.
:)

I hope you have a lovely weekend with your loved ones. I will be reflecting on the day and all that has happened since. And in so doing offering a prayer to those who lost their lives, and all of us left behind who have witnessed our world so radically changed.
V.

and we'll have a draw for our giveaway next week, ok?
:)

Klosjes Saturday once more!

It has been a few months since a Klosje got made around here. At times it was so hot this summer (even inside with the AC on) that I couldn't even hold the tiny pieces and the tiny needles and pins. I have an embarrassing problem with sweaty palms which... well.

Anyway, I took my Klosjes to Provence after being super inspired by Tineke and Marieke's work.

Nadine wanted some help with hers, and seeing her beauties coming together into sections.... THAT WAS IT! :)  Klosjes got made on our last day there, on the plane, and ever since! So after 30-plus new ones, I have reached 351 Klosjes from the intended 500.

I think I will continue making these strips for now,
until I am sure my colour distribution is somewhat even...
but they are looking nice, right?
 Tineke and Nadine can you spot your Klosjes?
:)

And the best news for me is that I started putting some rows together and it was delightful! I was pleasantly surprised how fairly easy it goes.
So Bring On Klosjes-Saturdays again!
:)

And being Saturday morning I can imagine The Arles Fresh Market will be looking something like this.... Shall we go get some fresh produce together?

Enjoy!

Lovely Herbs...

And Spices

A variety of Garlics and Onions

Any Olive your heart desires

Some cheese, perhaps?

:)
And have a lovely Weekend wherever you are!
Valentina

Then we stroll back home

Enjoying a lovely juicy peach
 as we plan a simple lunch and what we will stitching later on...

Hexies on the go!

View from the bridge of Fontvieille.
Can you spot the hexies?

Nadine and I had some stitching fun while in Provence. Mostly in the late afternoons and evenings or while our husbands took their naps. 

"Shall we have a snack while we stitch?"
Never in my life did I know there was such a thing as a Raspberry Grape,
or a Pineapple heirloom tomato!
and the taste? HEAVENLY!

But Oh-- how I loved the melons!

Delicious, fragrant, sweet Melon de Cavaillon

So...

It might not be surprising that these fresh slices inspired a Charm Hexi-diamond.

 Nadine had found this lady who was willing to sell us her provence fabric scraps, 

and I was so happy to be able to include some here:

Can you spot the olives on the far left and the little crickets
 "Les Cigales de Provence" third down from the Right?

By the way, I will be sharing these scraps with you in our little souvenir giveaway! I thought you might enjoy that... :)

And, in case you are wondering what inspired this diamond...

I don't think you'd be surprised it was these: agh, I am so predictable!

don't they make a lovely pair?

I have to admit that I am counting the days for the boys to be back in school. I can tell that the level of crankiness is reaching critical levels. But we had a wonderful summer. And at the end of it all,  as I look back and see that despite of it all, it was indeed pretty Fantastic!

a moment of bliss over the eastern Mediterranean
July 2010

and  somehow, I did manage to squeeze in a hexi-flower this afternoon...

so please excuse me as I go and collapse for a bit...
:)

Looking forward to replying to your lovely comments and catching up with you and your blogs!

Thinking of you, as always,
Valentina