Sunday, November 7, 2010

Little joys

I'm back! I never intended to be gone so long, but such is Life! (mine, at least...)
:)

I have many things to share with you. And I am so sad I have not been able to keep up with what you have been up to, either. But I am hoping things will be more settled in the next few weeks. (fingers crossed!)

Here are my October Clams, good thing these don't spoil... :) Jossie, I really need to thank you for this project, as I am really having such fun with these Clams. And the more time I spend on them, the more I enjoy working on them.
Halfway there!
Can't wait to see what the other Clam-girls have been up to...

Shruti has been patiently waiting for 2 baby-quilts I promised for her 'SPREAD THE CHEER' initiative. Now they are finally en route to India!
Once I had tidied up my sewing room, it was a delight to work on these little ones (32" by 35").



I even went as far as trying out the things I had learned from Leah last year. I kept hearing her encouraging voice in my head, and took out the Supreme-slider. Do I need to say more?! I kept breathing- relaxing my shoulders- listening to my machines' motor- foot completely on the pedal- breathing... And kept repeating to myself what I heard Leah say that learning came from doing...
:)
My loopy loops just kept getting more fluid and by the time I got to the second quilt I even had mustered enough courage to try some McTarvishing...

Thank YOU, Leah!
:)

And the back wasn't too shabby, in my humble Beginner's opinion.
:)

Oh wow: fun, indeed!  I wish I had more time to spend practicing free-motion quilting. Maybe I should make it a point...

In the meantime, I have kept up the Klosjes production in the evenings, over the past weeks. I am happy to say that another 44 Klosjes have been added, making my total 445 out of 600+. I was so encouraged by your lovely comments and amazing support on my last Klosjes update: THANK YOU! Van Harte Bedankt!




I also had the joy of meeting Kristine this week. It was so very nice to share our quilting stories.


We had a great time together, and I even had a chance to ask her to coach me on my hand-quilting.
Kristine showing me how she handquilts

As a self-taught quilter, it was a real dream come true to have someone with so much experience looking over my shoulder and giving me tips. She told me to cut the tail off from my thread once I made my quilter's knot. Also she showed me my quilt had to be tighter on the hoop. She encouraged me to graduate to a much much smaller needle. ( Just like Ria had done, and so I had 12's at home and was able to start practicing right away). And Kristine also showed me how to position my thumb closer to the needle, and as promised I couldn't believe how teeny tiny my stitches turned out!
Thanks Kristine, it really was so nice to meet you!

Yesterday we added a new member to our little family.


This is Daisy. The boys chose her name, and I was really happy with it, as I think it suits her perfectly!  I am sure we will have lots of fun together. She is one of the smallest sized dog I have ever owned, but she holds her own and is perfect with the boys. Rehoming has been going amazingly smoothly, and we couldn't be more thrilled: Welcome to our pack, Sweetheart!


I have one more thing to share with you today. Look what we picked up this morning at the newsstand:

And inside we found this:


My dear friend Elena was invited to be the stylist for this article in this month's Madame Figaro Maison.
And whose quilt is that stylishly draped on the hammock...
It's the same quilt that keeps us warm at night! :)
This is really exciting, especially when you see that I don't even get a last name in the credits... LOL
in greek: Handmade Quilt created by Valentina...
Remember I told you about this quilt here ...
:)

These are the little joys of my busy life.
And since everyone is still happily napping, I will go and see what you have been up to!
See you when I see you!
:)

ps If you like listening to uplifting things while stitching I recommend you listen to this. Thanks for the tip Nadine, who by the way has a new blog!
Found here

Brene has such an amazing blog Ordinary Courage.

Enjoy!

28 comments:

  1. Wat mooi je clamshells.En het quiltwerk,prachtig.Leuk je klosjes nog eens te zien.

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  2. Hi lovey, You've been published!!! WooHoo! Your clams are gorgeous, and so is Daisy. I hope she is the joy to your family, as our pack is to us.
    I just returned from the Houston Quilt Festival, an utterly thrilling and totally exhausting experience every single time. Pictures on blog to follow (God willing). I got to spend time with Jossie!!!! Wish you'd been there. Be well, Michele

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  3. All the top people are known by just one name. Stardom beckons. Lovely clamshells and klosjes and two neat little quilts and well done on both machine and hand quilting. You have been a busy bee.
    Love Shirley.x

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  4. Congratulations on the publishing :) Great! My you have been a busy bee. Love those clamshells - AND you quilting is really fantastic!! well done ...all th PPP pays off :)
    Nice to see you back!

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  5. WOW, just W O W ! Incredible work of yours, sweetie! LOVE everything ;>)...
    And that machine quilting is just gorgeous (got some quilt tops I'm gonna bring on my next visit. LOL LOL)
    XOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOXXOXO
    NADINE

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  6. Wat een inspirerende nieuwsjes allemaal! Je prachtige clamshells, 2 babyquilts, nog een boel klosjes erbij ... en Oooooh je quiltwerk is subliem!
    En dan nog jouw quilt in een tijdschrift? Wat een eer zeg!
    Daisy ziet er een dotje uit, geniet er van!

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  7. So much news! Your clams look wonderful, I'm glad you were able to post to Shruti, your quilting is just gorgeous, the dog is adorable and you're a star to boot! My goodness, what a full life!

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  8. That were quite a lot of events!!! ;))
    So great to see your quilt published! You deserve it!
    And Daisy looks just lovely and so cheerful; I imagine she just loves you all!
    Love your clamshells! And your quilting will be tiny in notime! 8))
    Love to you! xxxxxxx, Ria.

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  9. Hallo Valentina,
    ik had je al gemist en ben blij dat alles in orde is bij jullie. Je hebt heel wat te vertellen en veel moois om te laten zien. Wat heb je mooi machinaal gequilt. WOW zeg. En je mag best heel erg trots zijn dat jouw quilt in zo'n leuk blad staat.
    Wat een schattig hondje hebben jullie? Is het een zwervertje geweest? Ik heb zelf twee zwervers, eentje uit Spanje en eentje van Rhodos.
    Het zijn ook zo'n schatjes.
    Fijne dag nog verder en hopelijk tot gauw,
    Pauline

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  10. What fun to read through and see what you have been up to!Love all your projects - you are making great progress on your clamshells and Klosjes. And imagine being 'published' too! Hope everything continues to go well with Daisy, I hope you and the boys have lots of neat times with her.

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  11. Welcome back! I love the free hand quilting and kept the link to you tube for another time! I am really impressed.

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  12. Beautiful clams.You free motion quilting looks fabulous!Keep up the practice.

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  13. All this amazing news!! I just LOVE that wee dog, but then you knew I would!

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  14. Great publishing
    Great quilting x2
    Great clams
    Great klosjes
    Great charity quilts

    Well just great! Have another Great week. Huggs

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  15. I was wondering where you were. So many things to share. The quilts are gorgeous you must be so proud. Daisy looks like a sweet dog. Charmaine

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  16. Thank you for the most delightful post! So much packed into it...and all wonderful! I especially adore your machine quilting...something I hope to muster enough courage to try this winter! I'd be happy if my final efforts looked half as good as your "beginning" ones! Happy stitching and welcome back! Big hugs to you too!!!

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  17. Good to hear from you again!!, and give Daisy a big knuffel from me ;-)
    Great news and I love the quilt in the magazine, well done!
    I will let you know when the 'appeltaart' is ready LOL
    Knuffels

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  18. So much goodness I don't know where to start!!
    How wonderful to have your quilt in the magazine even if you are only named by your first name. You know it's yours!!

    So sweet to add a member of the family. She's a sugar!

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  19. Hello V!! :-)
    I'm so happy to see you posting... I have missed you immensely!
    I too am very head down presently...and will be for a bit.
    Congrats on the quilt being in the mag...huge congrats... it's beautiful :-)
    ..and thanks for the authenticity 'verse' link...
    It brought tears to me eyes.
    Love ya V xx

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  20. Daisy is so sweet!!!

    Congratulation on making the newsstand, how great is that! Your clamshells are looking good and so many klosjes. Excellent free motion quilting and how nice of Kristine to guide you with your hand quilting.

    Wonderful post Valentina!

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  21. Hi Valentina, it's good to have you back. I have been missing you. I noticed you weren't in the Blogger's quilt festival this year. Lovely post with lot of things to share. How nice to meet up with Kristine and had a hand quilting lesson with her. Have a lovely week - Hugs Nat

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  22. Nice to have you back Valentina! Daisy is so cute! She looks so excited to be part of your pack. Congrats on the publishing!!

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  23. So glad to have you back. So many beautiful things to show and how lovely to have little Daisy.

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  24. Wow, thanks for sharing all your news. Your free motion quilting looks fantastic, as does the the magazine page with your quilt! Congratulations. I'm wondering if the Kristin in the photo is the same lady I sent a baby quilt to for her charity? Beautiful Clams and Klosjes. And what can I say to Daisy? She looks perfect too and will be loved by all, I'm sure.

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  25. Daisy is adorable -- what fun for your family! Your clamshells look just lovely.

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  26. Lots of JOYS...:O))
    Congratulations to being published.. enjoy your fame and more... enjoy your wonderful quilt..:O)) Welcome to Daisy too!!!

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  27. Wat geweldig in een blad staan, fantastisch gewoon en wat een klosjes heb je al gemaakt. Je clambshells worden ook al zo mooi je bent erg druk als ik het zo lees.

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  28. Love your little Daisy -- hope she blesses your family the way Gracie has blessed ours! Enjoy your blog so much -- thanks for cheering us on!

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Thanks for your comment! Please, feel free to write in Español, Nederlands or Papiamento if that is easier for you . And I will try to answer any questions as soon as possible, as long as I have access to your e-mail.

My Patchwork Family Through Adoption

A Bit of Africa and China
Came knocking on our door
And in a home where there was longing
Now empty rooms no more

Like a Quilt of Many Colours
Our Family stitched together into One
God's Love and Grace for us Abundant
In the Miracle of our Sons

Written by Valentina
2006