Fun on the Floor + my Blogg Books + a finale .....

All blocks and 1 border of  BUTTERFLY GARDEN are bounded. 

 Leanne Beasley`s beautiful quilt are almost sewn together. It has 

been slowly on the go since 2009; feeling happy at the moment! 

Fun on the floor for sometime yet as the fabric for the outer boarder

is still not in place, but I wanted to show you anyway :-)
All through-out my 6 years of blogging, I have now and then been
telling you about my Butterfly Garden quilt :-)

When soon up on the wall, it will really remind me of my blogging time.

Below is a photo my blog books since the start on January 2010.

One of them contains 2 years.

The 2015 book will be ordered soon.  I think my years of blogging
have passed.  Please visit me on FaceBook if you can; my name:
Grethe Vinje Holmen. I write about this and that, but not so often.

 Unfortunatly I am not able to do both activities. Unless a miracle happens
like : ?? my blog will not be active. This post, I am sad to say,
is the last one to you from a Quilt Lady. Thank you all so much for
being my blog-friends, Norwegians and from other countries.
  I have loved your comments.
Especially BIG THANKS to
Chookyblue for SALs and SSCSs + Peg and Chris for OPAMs.
 You three made me work extra hard at times and good luck further on :))

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas 2015 and a Happy New Year 2016;
among things I`m off into an UFO-year.

Take Care and all the best to you dear blog friends,

 Grethe xxx 

Happy Happenings since last post...

1.   Meeting my blogfriend Oddbjørg was so nice.
She gave me some beautiful season flowers, such a good match
to the Autumn colours all around us these days. I love the Autumn!

We enjoyed eating lunch, visiting Kathrines Quilt Shop.
(unable to transfer pics from my mob to my blog)
 We both agreed we would have wait to starting the "Smitten" quilt,
untill we had finished more of our UFO`s .

2.   Another famous designer from Australia JEN KINGWELL
 has just visited Oslo for 5 days. Oh, lucky us getting inspired by her
fabrics with fresh colours and exciting blocks. Jen had brought 15 or was
it 20 beautiful quilts for the Show and Tell evening.  I was seated in row 4 of 15.
May Brit of Abyquilt was in first row. She has some great pictures on her blog!

Some quilters had already made quilts using Jen`s patterns.
Here is Elin with one of hers, My Small World:

I had a little chat with Jen at the enterence where she helped
out as Helle gave me advice on my turn-under on one of my
slow-working projects the ChinaShop quilt :-)

3.   A BABY SHOWER was held for Mona, my son`s partner.

 Above is my present, a little wall quilt, the pattern is by Chocolate Coated.
This one is my OPAM finish for September :-)))
The shower was a big surprise for Mona, as she thought is was just having a
cup of coffee at her friends house. There we were about 10 of us :-)

Erik and Mona, dad and mum to be, for a little boy, born on Oct.4?? 

We`ll just have to wait and see when he is ready to meet us all :-)
The pic below was taken just before when dear son Erik (38)
ran half-maraton in the Oslo Maraton.

We had a nice meal the 4 of us afterwards at the Egon place in Oslo.

4.   Happy 5th for Marius and Happy 14th of September for Siri,
both are now 40 years old!

My DD: 0 year and 40 years. S + M arranged a super 40th.
birthday party at a seaside hotel. Big celebrations for 3 day!

Last 3 blocks (27 mini blocks) of  BG are now cut, sewn and ready
 to be stitched and appliqued. So YES, moving slowly forward.

At last, I have done some sewing as well
 inbetween it all, plus exercise 3 times aweek :-) :-)

I`ll be joining " a couple" of others soon in the
ROYAL ALBERT HALL. Steinar and I will be there
on October 14th. celebrating Sir Cliff Richard`s 75th.birthday.
Oh yes, something to be looking forward to!
Bound to be a couple of  pictures to show you later one day :-)
Happy Sewing to you all, from Grethe xx

Nice memories of the Festival of Quilts 2015.

Lovely days at FoQ this year too :-)

Can`t show you pics of all the 800 shops as I did not make
to visit them all, but here are a few.

A few of the quilts from the big exhibition, hundreds
of beautiful small and big quilts :-)

Some good food every day!

"Hello"to some friends and celebrities :)))

Fewer buys than earlier years, but love what I bought, of course.

I came home after being in UK after 6 days.
I loved it there this year too! I did bring with me some stitching
for my Butterfly Garden, but my little sewing box was not opened!!
Back to normal now with sewing etc. AND celebrations for SIL
 on the 5th and my DD on the 14th in the lucky month of September,
both being 40 years old :-) Happy Sewing to you, from Grethe xx 

54 out of 81, so I`m moving forward ...

In my mind all the time ... 

... the butterflies, I mean. 

Really waiting for them to fly into our garden.

Meanwhile here is -Butterflies Mini Quilt- 14"x18 1/2" by Laundry Basket quilts.

All butterflies in 100% cotton Batik. Just finished this little quilt at the

nick of time for OPAM. Still waiting for a week of sunshine for the flowers

on the bush. The quilt is already on the wall inside actually :-)

Then the BIG thing: 54/81  :-)

 Have showed you blocks of  my BUTTERFLY GARDEN

by Leanne B. before, I know. Some development right now as three + three

blocks are linked. Way back, before I started blogging and after Leanne B. 

had been visiting us here in Norway, I bought the pattern

from a shop here, fabrics from my stash are still in the same two boxes.

Gave me such a pleasent feeling inside of me :-)  

I will start working on the rest of the blocks, think I must plan on every

day of one week. Will be a big quilt; Suitable for our bed, I am sure!)

When I first started sewing I only did stem stitching . 

 Thanks to Chookyblue`s SALs I now always do the back

 stitching :-)  Only 3 blocks left  (read 27 mini block to make), 

ready for preparing blocks 4, 5 and 6  in late August. 

Well yes, one finish for July: happy, happy!! AND

happy, happy: closer hope for a visit Festival of Quilts in UK next week.

Happy sewing to you and thanks for reading this time too :-) 

 Grethe xx 

Only 4 days left ....

.... till one month has passed since my last post!
I know, shame on me;sorry, hope to improve.

 Summer holidays for most people in Norway at the moment :-)

Here we are the closest of my family, from left;

Mona, DH, Siri, Marius,Erik, then Eline 10, me and Kasper 12.

Mona is growing, my son Erik is as happy as can be;

the baby boy is due in early October! 

 

Same proceeds as the previous years: down at our summer place :-)

For me this year only 4 days as I have problems with my knee.

but stronger tablets etc. makes things better and better. Being ever so

careful, so I can make the trip to Festival of Quilts in England later,
 I hope, I hope.....

Summer 2015 collage, windy and cold, but such a warm sun

when it happened to smile to us :-)

Some happy collage picturs to watch!

For the first time EVER on a holiday, I did not bring any sewing

with me. Will never happen again, that`s for sure. 

No finishes yet, but I have been working on Simply Blessed. 

Think  I told you that May Britt at Abyquilt and HanneQuilt
arrange a sew-together during the Tour of France called Tour de Fiber.
All happening on FB during the competition.

Glad to have finished these three blocks, pattern by Rosalie Quintain.

Things takes time! Probably a wall hanging to be!
Still waiting for the dream summer to come, warm sun and cold wind
as well as rainshowers seem to be mixed up almost every day.

Butterfly bush is really slow growing.

The two first pics here are from 2015 and the third from 2014!
Hopefully it will bloom and many butterflies will visit :-)

Meanwhile I must get a move-on with with this little quilt-to-be.

This one will be a little,sweet one, more later on one day ... lol ...

... and my knee and leg is getting better and better! Bigger hope for

the Festival of Quilts in UK, August 6-92015 :-)

Have the best of time, till later, Grethe xx

nice to know ....

Summertime is here in Norway, and tomorrow it is

 supposed to be the warmest day so far in the area where I live :-)

My two grandchildren, Kasper 12 and and Eline 10, visited

yesterday. Here they are enjoying the hose with ever so cold water.

So far, so good: stitchery all done for Gail Pan`s bag, moving

on soon as possible with the cutting and sewing; 

may be very delayed due the holiday coming up soon.

Beautiful colour of Easter :-)

and I was lucky to buy some fabrics at half price.

The range is from Sweetwater by Moda and called Sunkissed.

 From our best  Q-shop here in Oslo: Kathrines Quiltestue,

 by me called Kat.Q. ... lol ...

I think the fabric is a good match to our Easter china called

"Woodland"  by Wood and Sons , Burslem England

bought by my mother years ago and is discontinued. 

The fabrics are for a table topper at Easter time.

Anyway, as I said our summerholiday soon to be, same as every year.

BUT before that is the Tour de France. In quilting circles called

"TOUR de FIBER", started by MayBritt and Hanne some years ago.

Great fun as well as very serious;  I will be stitching on "Simply Blessed". 

as well as preparing on my very,very slow project "Butterfly Garden".

When reading your blogs, OH, how I admire those of you  finishing projects.

 Grethe xx

... June this and June that, but ...

... no complete finishes yet, soon, I do hope :-)

 I`m still here, oh boy, so slow working on my stitchery.

SIMPLY BLESSED by Rosalie Q. will be on my wall one day,

some of the blocks anyway, I promise ...  :-)

My monthly sewing group had such a nice, 

last day at Kathrines Quiltestue.

We were 12 in this stitching group, but as Summer holidays

have started, a few did not make the last meeting. 

Thanks a lot to HELLE, our instructor for help and enjoyable time. 

She shows the tray of fabrics from the new collection of

 Jen Kingwell, who is soon to visit Norway giving us inspiration

as well as 4 days of work classes.

On our green lawn to day:-)

I am working on my Kaffe Fassett CHINA SHOP 2015 too.

Could be the reason why Simply Blessed takes longer time :-)

End of term for my DD`s ballett instructers, and they 

needed some good tasting food, homemade bread,cakes,

 So what are mums for ... lol

 CU soon again, Grethe xx

Colourful pansies by the entrance and only 1 mail left!

The flower pot by our entrance, 

they have been blooming for weeks :-)

They were planted in the pot just as the snow melted.

Giveing them food every second day has helped.

50 mails! Most popular on Google or could there be another reason!

About an hour later:

Only one mail left now, -yes, you-  lol :-)

HAPPY SEWING all blog friends,  Hugs, Grethe xx

Perfect last Sunday in May ...

Enjoyable "birthday party" on a lovley last day of May month.

Slow stittching, great glass of wine as well as yummy, soft

and sweet cakes; especially bought for the occation ... lol

So far, so good on the largest stitchery!

One day soon my beautiful Gail Pan bag will be finished;

 look-alike as I have all the fabric, washed and ironed.

Close-up of the bag to be!

Thank you Chookyblue for inviting me to your 3 years shed party!

Without you this kit would still have been in the box.

Must admit I had thought I had finished it all in one weekend,

but June month is such a good month to work on UFOs :))

Hugs, Grethe xx 

..... stitching as fast as I can .....

Still an enjoyable birthday party :-)

Great picture for you, Chookyblue; hope the celebration

in your shed is the best of all this year too :-)

Saturday report: So far - so good - on my stitchery! 

One day this will be part of a beautiful bag, 

BUT  my "rock solid plan" has changed.

Happy Stitching for me tomorrow as well ... lol ...

Hugs, Grethe xx