It has been some time since my last blog post. Nevertheless it was a busy time :

• My good friend Milena came to visit us for a week in September. At this occasion we went to Valencia for a long weekend. The city is incredible – you can see there more than a 1000 year history. Very old and modern buildings, a vast of galleries and museums, shops, restaurants and a beautiful seaside.

• I have been to see my parents in Prague. We made a few trips, had super time together and perfect weather. Photos are from a castle complex north of Prague called Minichovo Hradiste.

• I was training our dog Strubble as we went to an exhibition. This was held last weekend in the town of Torre Pacheco near Murcia.
  First time for both of us!! Everything went well. He did not win, but we were there. In a month’s time we are taking part in the next one in Alicante.

• GP Valencia Mondioring 2011 took place at the club I go to. The organizers asked me to take photos. So this was work for the entire last weekend of October. Participants came from all over Spain, including the Canary Islands + a lady from MOSCOW!! She and her husband came by caravan, i.e. 4.500 km (2.800 miles) and 4 days to drive just one way straight through Europe.

• Patchwork got also some time and I finished the promised table mats for my sister-in-law Doris

• And finally a baby quilt “Pink Summer Garden”

Listed on Dawanda and Etsy

My intention is to prepare a tutorial for the Pink Summer Quilt. The photos documentation is saved on the computer and now I need to  write an easy and understandable text. My goal is to finish with it latest end of November!!

A new experience for me, till then, Barbora

Instead of writing a long article about my last projects, I think a few photos can tell you more : Mice For Dog finished

Not only the dog enjoys laying on his quilt, but also the cat. It even enters the dog’s crate to take a little nap !! This can get a bit critical when both animals are inside – Strubble just ignores the cat and sits on it.

I had 2 reasons for working on the next project : 1)  We are having a friend coming next week to stay with us and the 2) reason is that I wanted to try something new : applications. So I decided to go on with a small window decoration project for the spare bedroom. The idea was a design matching the new curtains I bought lately at IKEA in Murcia. Just loved the white fabric with black prints of birds and trees :

And finally finished : all applications are sewn with a zigzag stitch and the rest is free-motion quilted with a meander design. This time the binding follows the quilt colour combination and is divided in white and black sections.

I’ll be out with my friend for a few days visiting Valencia and afterwards I am going to see my parents in Prague. Be back mid October when fall has already taken over!!

Barbora

First : I have finally found new jam jars .  The last lot I made was once more a mixture of nectarines, orange plums and figs. Spices added are star anise, cinnamon and cardamom. And some sugar. Very delicious, so I decided to make a photo and post it. The very left glass is for direct consumption and I am looking forward to my next breakfast !!

Second : Little Folks Maxi Baby Quilt now finished. I just love the bright colours and the easy pattern.

I have added it to my shops on Etsy and Dawanda.

Third : I have registered my dog Strubble (a catalan sheepdog – Gos d’Atura)  to take part in a dog exhibition near Murcia this November. He has a new crate and needs (desperately) a new quilt to fit in. I looked through my stash and found some fabrics with an animal pattern :

Well, not exactly a dog motif, but I hope dogs can’t see so good. I have also an easy pattern on my mind and as soon as I finish this post, I shall start working on it here :

On the right you can see a part of my design layout sheet that is just hanging on the wall.  As the room is round, I must buy a wooden board and attach it to it.  This will make it all more stable.  At this stage  the blocks tend to fall off the sheet. There is never enough working and storage space for a busy “patchworker” !!

Till next time, happy sewing, Barbora

The preserving season is now nearly over, but I have been busy over the last few weeks and made a nice stock for the long winter. I love to make jams, it is not complicated and I use less sugar. This time I did some more experiments with combining different fruits and spices. When I came back from my trip to Prague, our fig tree was full of ripe fruit. Not only do I love to eat these dark delicious figs, but also the birds. They did get their fair share as the quantity hanging on the tree was enormous. So it was once more time to get out my tools, ingredients, glasses and start to cook. Fig jam is very tasty when adding ginger, cinnamon, star anise or cardamom. All 4 spices at once or combinations of any 2 or 3 gives the jam a distinguish taste. And of course adding lemon, lime or even orange juice is a welcome option and a small undertone for the tongue. I always leave some fruit flesh in the finished jam.

Here is the true connection between patchwork and jams : colour imagination in quilting or taste options in preserving have no limits! Use the colours, use the spices – the world is open to all new things.

On the local market we get a lot of different fruits. Nearly all of them are grown not far from here in the Murcia region. I have already worked with apricots and peaches. Vanilla pod goes really well with both. A touch of star anise gives the jam an exotic taste. This year I had a premier and tried working with nectarines – this is for me “the” perfect taste, the jam has a wonderful orange color and a smooth texture. My favorites are also a mixture with figs and peaches or figs and red plums. Now I have time to think about new spices and herbs to try out next year.

Patchwork was not completely on hold, this is what I have finished :

Please find the listings for this Baby Quilt Bazaar Style Mini on Etsy and Dawanda

Half Rainbow Pillow Covers #1 and #2

See  Dawanda  and Etsy listings

Happy sewing with no sweet fingers, till next time Barbora