Hooked...

I was going to tell you how I have been busy talking to builders, electricians, placing final orders for kitchen and bathrooms... You know, all that exciting and terrifying stuff; decisions that need to be made and that you hope you will not regret.
I was going to tell you how I have missed you, missed visiting your blogs and knowing what you have been up to.
I was going to tell you it snowed in Nicosia 2 days ago: thick fluffy cotton-balls dancing outside our windows. I was hoping to put into words the excitement we all felt: from grandparents all the way down to the 5 year olds...
:)

I wanted to confess to you that I have fallen into temptation,  and have not been able to put down my crochet hook... (once again: Thanks Nadine!)

So in the past few weeks those 'in between/otherwise lost moments' have turned from this...

into this...

Now I am on a forced break waiting for some silvery grey to tie is all together...
:)

and just in case you feel like getting hooked yourself, this is the fabulous Tutorial I have been following, Thanks Sols(tr)ikke !

I wanted to tell you how happy I have been to be back working on my little Farmer's Wife blocks---

Oh, how I have missed these little cuties... and how I have added 4 more to my growing stack...












Alas---
I was left utterly speechless this morning...
Arriving home after yet another whirlwind morning running, errands to find this on my front step-






and everything stopped.

Thanks Tineke of Quilt & Zo for the lovely article.

I had no idea she would be a Cover girl!
oh my...

:)

I hope to translate some of the article for my non dutch speaking friends, but give me a little time to settle down a bit, okay? I am still in a state of disbelief! :)

"Mama, did you win, that's why your quilt is in the front?"
:)

Look! It's Mama! Hurray for Mama!
:)

Happy Valentine's!

Sweet friends, how are you!

yesterday I found something that gave the me intense urge of sharing it with you: a tulip! I have missed you, and to my horror I realized it had been way too long...

it took me by surprise to find this little tulip, in my 'soon to be cottage' garden, and it let me know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that hibernation is over! 

:)

It has been a long cold and wet winter for Cyprus standards, and our favourite past-time has been to go for long drives and discover all the little streams and enjoy the lush greens. It feels like the earth is refreshed, and helping us all get ready for the hot summer ahead.

Making the best out of the cooler temperatures, also means that we have enjoyed cosy home time: sitting by the fire offering me the opportunity to hand-quilt to my heart's content. It has been years that I have been so focused on Handquilting and I had really missed it. Not that my stack of Quilts waiting to be quilted has noticed much of a difference, but hopefully I can keep at it for a while longer and make a bit of a dent.

I will soon be able to show you the results of this year's efforts, as my little Camelot is to be featured in the Dutch Quilting Mag QUILT&ZO coming in march.

(i'm so excited!)

:)

The other big news for our family, is that despite all the daily bleakness of these uncertain times, we are building. 

And what a difference 6 weeks makes. So I have been 'measuring twice' and applying all my quilting skills in a much larger scale than usual. And I have been loving it. And I hope so will you, as we share some tea, and a stitch or two, in the years to come :)

The boys have already been enjoying exploring the woods, and I have been dreaming about the garden. But all in due time, and I have been practicing being patient.

So, happy Valentine's, 

May you know how much you are loved today and always,

:)

your Valentina

:)

I received some very special flowers from a friend, and I wanted to pass the joy of these lovelies on to you. Enjoy! I bet you cannot just play it once... :)

sixty-four teeny pieces

and 4 days later... I hope you agree it was worth it  :)

The basket, on the other hand, only took yesterday afternoon- but oh, how I like it!
So, yes, my little pile of hand-stitched Farmer's Wife blocks is growing and I am so loving the colours.

36 blocks, that makes it a third of the grand total!
:)

I finally managed a picture of my Basics quilt. I hope to have in the mail for New York City on monday

It really has an autumn feel to it, and the machine-quilting wasn't too bad with the walking foot. I liked it so much I would like to make one for myself. (and I believe I still have a Dahlia lying around somewhere... You'd be surprised what I have lying around! LOL)

I really like the texture and colour of this aubergine.

This week had some quilter's therapy. Yep. I needed a pep-talk and a kick in the pants and some blog-friends gave me just that. Kathinca said to me: what applique phobia?! And Danielle told me: just do it! and Tineke said 'get cracking' and Terry said 'Don't be precious about it...' and Shirley reminded me how every little helps, Una told me she loved me and Nadine showered me in XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX's
Thanks Friends, and it goes without saying: thanks to all of you that always leave me the loveliest, most encouraging comments-

So out came the 1 1/2" half-square triangles for Camelot

And today I took the time to get over my... well, what ever was stopping me for enjoying this!

:)
Life is too short!

sending you my love,
Valentina
:)

Stitching Camelot

Hoping that uploading this post will not be thwarted by the rolling blackouts we are still experiencing all over Cyprus, so I will make this a quick one.
I have been home for a week, and apart from the drawback of experiencing a painful allergic reaction to one of the medications I was sent home with, I am recovering and feeling more like myself every day.
Thanks for all your well wishes and gorgeous e-cards, I am so grateful to have friends like you. :)
Even though I still feel wobbly, I have been stitching to my heart's content. This has not been the summer I was expecting, but all things considered I have rested and I am stitching;  so I am not complaining, :)
Ok, ready for a "ta-daaaa" ?  Here's Camelot!

Not the best of pictures, but you get the gist! All 16 Camelot blocks and connector squares have been carefully hand-stitched into place, and I love the result.
I have been cutting tiny triangles from my left over scraps, and have been stitching these little cuties:

These Half-square triangles that will be 1 1/2" squares when finally stitched together.

Thank you for visiting my little stitching corner, and looking out for me, :)
as always, I send you my love,
Valentina

Maybe a better picture, and the colours more true, flapping in the sea-breeze... LOL
:)

The Jacarandas of Nicosia

Nicosia boasts of many flowering trees gracing its streets and avenues, but in my humble opinion no tree does more to bring a smile on one's face as the periwinkle blue of the majestic Jacaranda. And this year they are more breathtaking than usual, maybe because of a cooler May.

  

I decided to take my camera along this afternoon on my way to pick up the kids from school, and I am so glad I did, as I really wanted to share their beauty with you, :)

 

And on the stitching front I am sad to say that I have finished piecing my Camelot blocks.

Seriously, I have been savouring each stitch- and have a strong suspicion I might just have to start another one in the future!
The piecing to the backgrounds is going well and I hope to have a few more done before I show you, :)
Hoping you are having a great week,
Valentina
:)

ps a special 'xox' for someone in South Africa

Teddy is sick, Mama...

...and he needs a quilt.
What to say to such a request. Afterall that's what Mama does.
..and teddy he deserves a quilt. what quilt can you make for someone who brings such comfort and companionship! Teddy takes the night-watch so mama can sleep. And mama needs her sleep. Besides who else understands what the last 5 years have been... he started looking like this, and after being taken all over the place,

which does have some perks...

 ...he now looks like this... 

I can relate.

Okay, this means Bunny needs a quilt too. We can't have that!

So I Gotta get to work, people!

:)

So this morning, this has become my priority. Taking a distance from decisions that have been consuming me this week... what background for Camelot?!
I had chosen the first, but then allowed doubt to creep in, and so after weeks of indecision and almost too much inspiration, it came down to these three:

After much internal debate and resorting to seek advice from dear friends, I can argue the case for all three, but at the end it came down to this: I don't have enough of 2 or 3, and would always be left wondering how it would be with the grey. I was dreaming of the grey when I was making my blocks... I needed to follow my first instinct... however the dilemma did teach me a lot. Which actually has a lot to do with 'playing'. I had such fun playing on my little quilts, and realized I have been doing too much 'serious' quilting of late... Need more play, and being at the sewing machine again was such fun:
You think?
:)

And look what I found as backing!

And Bunny-boy was so happy with his! He has been carting Bunny and Quilt all afternoon- Bunny finally got a bit of a break while boy was watching some Scooby-doo, :)

Being a nice day, I was also able to do a bit of a wash:

our lattice quilt

and snowball (really, one of our winter-quilts that likes to hang around longer than our flannel ones!)

I really enjoyed my stitching day today, as you can probably tell ---

 

Music provided by Sade: my fav's today; great use of colour in the video's if you are into that sort of thing, by the way... :)
By your side, King of Sorrow, and Babyfather--

Enjoy, what ever you need to do today... Maybe Teddy being sick was what we all needed! :)

Sending smiles your way, as always!
Valentina
:)

a week in May...

...that included cupcakes and Birthday cake: Our eldest turned 5!

 ...severe dust storms that had me catching up on my indoor gardening: what else is there to do when you are not allowed out?! :)

It was slow, due to the flaring up of my spring allergies, but who cares, really?

:)

Two more Camelots, with a very special patch received from a fellow island-girl...

Sandra, it's the beach scene in pinks and yellows, and the patch is bottom centre towards the right! :)

Thank you soooo much, dear friend!

Also great to know is that Liz and a friend set up a Flickr group for Camelot. This will be a great place to discuss fabric selection and be inspired ( and encouraged as some of the block will take you to the limits of your sanity... breathe in- breathe out... I'm ok--- besides I only have 2 more to go... and I will resist the urge to start a new one until this one is done... Breathe...)

 And today, the skies were clear again and we headed off to a family wedding...

It was beautiful, the boys were handsome and Mama was happy in her new summer dress...

:)

What else would a girl want? ...perhaps some more time to squeeze in as many visits to the Bloggers' Quilt Festival as I can? There is just so much inspiration, and I still have quite a few to cover: 631 entries this Spring!

Hoping you are all having a great weekend, 

Valentina