life's a beach...

While most of the Northern Hemisphere is enjoying wintery weather, we in Cyprus are having to wrap our heads around the fact that we are still walking around in short sleeves during the day and a light sweater at night. The funniest thing is how we are all insisting on wearing our winter fashions in 27 degree weather! It is not uncommon to see fashionistas wearing their boots and scarves in shorts. :)

So instead of sounding like a broken record, I decided to accept it: so we might as well hit the beach!

we took the kids to the coast for fresh fish meze

Psychologically, it is hard for Cypriots to dare go into the ocean at this time of year despite the unusually warm weather, but there were enough tourist 'polar bears' to compensate!

the four of us enjoying the ocean breezes on the boardwalk.
And yes, that is little Daisy on the right!

We had a lovely day as a family, and I came back really inspired to work on my little Clams.
I am having such fun, that I have decided to continue focusing on it for the next few days. I can see that the end is near and that I only need a few more rows to finish my Dolly Quilt.

 

The first tangerines of the season are here! They are so sweet, and the perfect snack while stitching. Want some?
;)

I have enjoyed the Clamshell club so much (Thanks again Jossie, for letting us join you!), and have learned heaps from my fellow Clammers. It has been so fabulous to share the camaraderie forged by the trials and tribulations these little ones have put us through!  LOL

However, it is amazing to me how the last few rows of clams look so much nicer and neater than the first ones, and yet, those imperfections remind me that I started this little project in Holland with my little niece in June, worked on it in Provence in August, and had my little ones fiddling with them the other day... It amazes me every time, how many memories get stitched into our projects...
Dairies written in thread...
:)

As November draws to an end, I wish you a wonderful and peaceful holidays season ahead!
Thinking of you all,
Valentina

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!

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.
:)

Clamshell Club Report August

The Clams made it to Provence and it was such a delight to be able to infuse those memories into the stitches (and considering I started it with my little niece in Holland, it makes this a little treasure already!) I didn't do much, but I am so happy with how it is progressing.
I have been having such fun with this little project. With each row it seems to be getting easier.

I am liking the colours more and more each time another clam joins the gang.
I have found sewing from right to left much easier, and Ria, Look who made it to Provence:
 Piep,  the mouse thumb-pincushion!

 I had 'foil-pressed' my clams before leaving and am happy to say that they kept their fold until I had the chance to work on them. This is great news for me, as now I know this can become another take-along project.

Here are a few more pictures from the open-air market in Arles. Arles is a fortified city on the river Rhone which had considerable importance in the Roman Empire. Vincent van Gogh lived and worked in Arles. (if you are interested you can read more here.)

the colourful enameled handmade platters and bowls

lovely Old Lace



Sorry, but I was experiencing a lot of difficulty since this morning posting. My internet has been down and Blogger has been doing funny things.
I decided to post at least this much, now that I have a small window of opportunity.
Please, don't forget to sign up for my little Souvenir giveaway in the previous post if you haven't done so already. And I hope I get a chance to visit my fellow Clammer-girls today, if not as soon as possible.
:)
Thinking of you!
Valentina


I spoke to Nadine this morning, she sends her love. They are leaving early in the morning driving back to Belgium tomorrow.
She misses all of you and can't wait to catch up.
Have a safe trip, dear friends!
:)

Clamshell Club Report July

Clamshell report! Hi everyone, this as far as I got. And I have to say that even though it hasn't been a very smooth learning curve, I am really enjoying myself. I followed Jossie's advice and used a strip of white to applique my first row.

My favourite part: choosing and cutting out shells... I am aiming at a little charm quilt, so no repeats.

My least favourite part: Basting the shells.

I knew from the beginning I did not want to use papers. But remembered Anna Maria Horner's Super Circle technique. And guess what! It works!

So I place my cardboard template and fabric shell in a piece of foil-paper. Gather the sides up, making sure my seam-allowance is even, iron and ta-dah! Nice crispy seam-lines! Be careful, the foil does get very hot! :)

... now I need to conquer the actual sewing of them... :)

But I know I will get great tips from you, my fellow Clammers, as I visit you later today!

The Clam Girls

Being Klosjes Saturday, I hope to work on some this afternoon. I hear them calling my name.

And I also want to finish my July BOM My Garden, By Lynette Anderson. ( I am facing a lot of fears this week... living dangerously outside my comfort zone: machine quilting, applique and my first stitchery... :) You guys make me brave! :)

Oh yes, and this is how I cut off the excess of the background strip behind my first set of clams. ( and my replacement thimble. So the question is now: do I need a replacement for the replacement?! hummm...)

I am on my way out for a drive with the family, but will be back soon and visit with all of you!

See you, and thanks for a wonderful week!

Happy Saturday!

xox

V.

Clams and Mermaids

I am so grateful that I have been able to spend these beautiful days with my sister and her family. We have been enjoying ourselves so much. My sister and her new baby came home a few hours after delivery and we have been recovering, re-discovering, resting, reminiscing and adjusting. Mom, Dad and baby are doing very very well, and are extremely touched by all your prayers and wishes. As of course, am I.

:)

I have enjoyed many more walks with my niece Ariel, so Mama, Papa and Baby-sister can sleep in a bit.

And I have also enjoyed plenty of cuddly/burpy time with baby Orianthi. It seems that Tia Valita has a special Burpy-touch! ('Ori~Anthi' means beautiful flowers or mountian flowers in greek, which makes her proud Greek uncle very happy!)

~~~~~~~~

Yesterday I received a beautiful gift:

Our wonderful Ria from Treasure Quilts came to see me and take me away!

It was a wonderful break and I got to see her quilts in person...

Ria's 1/2" Hexi-flower garden...

OMGoodness!

We were giggling like crazy girls, in her car, parked under some lovely trees: gasping, ooh-ing and aah-ing, talking and sharing like we have known one another all our lives!

Ria's Leeanne's House... unbelievably rich colours!

Ria's Dear Jane...

and yes we did get passerby's

to stop to admire her work!

Later we hit the high-way in a wonderful mad dash to reach to this wonderful quilt-shop called De Naaidoos, the sewing box, a transformed centuries-old farmhouse in the midst of vast Dutch Country-side.

...and yes, we did leave our hard-earned euro's behind in exchange for textile delights...

Een Dag met een Gouden Randje!

A Happy Day!

Today our first Clam-shell Club report day...

Thank you, Jossie, for the inspiration and for getting us organized.

I am so excited to be sharing this project with so many Blog-sisters.

Considering the month is has been, I did not expect to have much to report today, but with the help of my lovely assistant I was able to cut out, baste (a few), and admire my Niece Ariel's, lay-outs. I truly cherished the beautiful start to this little project and

know it will be a very special quilt :

"Clams and Mermaids"

I finger-press my clam-shell's seam-allowance over my template, and baste them. Then I mark the centres of the clams with a pin, match-up and applique. I will let you know how this works out. I really don't mind if it goes a bit wonky because I intend this one to be a dolly-quilt.

I am so happy to have had all of you come with me on this Dutch adventure. Tomorrow is my last day, and I am very excited to see my boys again on friday.

pssss....Next monday, my Beloved has planned a week-long family get-away.

I get a feeling we are up for an adventure! ...so keep those virtual suitcases packed, girls!

Love, Always,

Valentina