just photos

Nov10

Yesterday evening I have arrived back home from Prague. The weather there was warm for this time of year, Thursday and Friday the thermometer climbed even up to 17ºC (62F). Last year there was snow in the streets. We had some short showers, but I had to get out the umbrella only once. Here in Spain we have a stable weather condition since many weeks with clear skies and sunshine. The other day I read in the newspaper that we have had the warmest October since about 120 years. Nevermind the weather : there is no bad weather – it all depends on what you are wearing.

Here a few impressions from Prague 2 – Namesti Miru (Peace Square) with the neo gothic church of St. Ludmila and Vinohrady Theatre:

Nearby the square you can find the old market hall (and before a factory) – today wonderfully restored and converted into a shop with designer furniture. Name : Vinohradska Trznice, found on the web under Pavilon.

Before going on my trip I was happy to make some photos of starlings on the move. I haven´t seen before so may birds in the air, very impressive.

All photos taken with my iPhone 4. Hope I shall have some time for sewing and that my next post shall be about a new quilt (who knows), anyway thanks for stopping,

Barbora

a new stash and this time from organic cotton

Oct31

Over the weekend I did some online “window” shopping for new stash. I was looking for fabric shops, preferably in Europe, that also stock organic cotton. I don’t know how, but I finally found Eclectic Maker in the UK. They have a range of fabrics from Birch Organic Fabrics and Cloud9 Fabrics. Plus many others. Anyway, I got a pack from Cloud9 – In the Forrest by Steffie Brocoli. Ordered on Saturday and received today per mail, perfectly packed and the fat quarters were nicely folded into neat squares. Very professional. So maybe you, my readers, have a spare minute to check the Eclectic Maker !

And not only they have a nice website, but they also stock Kaffe Fassett fabrics – my favorite designer at the moment. So I couldn’t resist and got these two pieces in red and rust.

In 2 days time I am on my way to Mum. Hopefully the weather is not too cold in Prague. We had some rain and thunderstorms here on Tuesday, the temperature dropped significantly and I had to get out some sweaters with long sleeves.

Thanks for stopping, happy Halloween

Barbora

butterfly, thread and fmq

Oct27

There was no spectacular sunrise this morning to take photos, but instead I found a butterfly on the street. He looked like that he is having a rest. But he wasn’t – what I found was just a colorful dead body of a butterfly.

As I am going to Prague this Saturday I was finishing my last pieces that I want to take with me. I made more Christmas Tree Blocks – original design by Christen from Love By Hand. Each block is on its own and makes a nice table decoration or a wall hanging. I have used (as before) Kaffe Fassett fabric designs. Once I had made the quilt sandwich I realized that I do not have any of my “neutral” thicker quilting thread. But I had the exact hue in Aurifil Mako 50/2 as I have pieced the blocks with this thread. I just wasn’t sure if I can take it also for quilting. After some research on the web ( a nicer expression for google ) about threads I decided to stick with this lighter weight thread also for free-motion quilting. According to the motto : learning by doing. Over the years I found out that there are no strict rules in quilting. Each quilter can find its own way, own technique that they prefer, threads that they love. I have also done some experimenting with threads and I always go back to Aurifil Mako 50/2 for piecing and Sulky from Gutermann for quilting.

Here a close up of my meander design free-motion quilting:

And the 2 Christmas Tree Blocks:

Happy sewing, I am over to have a look on Bloggers’ Quilt festival at Amy’s Creative Side. Next time hopefully with one of my quilts!

Barbora

morning walks are my favorite

Oct22

On the calendar we have nearly end of October and I just can’t believe the wonderful weather we still have. My favorite time of the day is early morning when go out with the dog. Sometimes I am on the road exactly when the sun comes up, sometimes still in the dark and sometimes just to late to enjoy the walk. The air is clear, no traffic on the streets, other dogs and their owners still in bed or at the breakfast table. Sometimes the fog covers the sun and all the surroundings and I have to look well for my doggy. And than I find him totally wet from dew on the grass and shrubs that we pass on our morning walk.

But lets look on the darker side of life. The world crisis has left also some traces in our region. Infrastructure once ready for building more houses has been overtaken by nature. I have found a tree growing out of the water distribution box or a new pine tree fighting for life on wasteland.

Let me finish this post with another quote I found on the web. This one is by Buddha :

THE MIND IS EVERYTHING. WHAT YOU THINK, YOU BECOME

So this time, happy thinking …… Barbora

short quilting vacation

Oct17

It has been some time since my last post. I have set aside the cutter, needle, thread and sewing machine and made a short quilting vacation. We have such wonderful weather here in Spain, warm but not too hot, sunny everyday and clear skies. I just want to enjoy the warm sunbeams before autumn takes over. So why stay inside and work? Why not enjoy my free time outside with the doggy or reading a nice book on the terrace?

Swallows are long-distance migrants. They are now preparing for a long journey to Africa where they spend the winter and come back to Europe in the spring. New moon in the background.

Anyway, I did sew a bit. As I am visiting my Mom in 2 weeks time and I was preparing some quilting presents. Now a very big thank to Teje from Nero’s Post and Patch – her Bird on my Pillow was a great inspiration to make presents for 3 little girls in Prague, daughters of my cousins.

And not to forget the two boys. For them I have made airplane pillows. I made them without paper piecing, but used some fabrics before everything matched. The yellow airplane was my first attempt, the second one has better proportions (from my point of view).

I would like to round-up this post with a quote I found on a coffee sugar and freely translated from Spanish :

There are only 2 days when you cannot do anything – one is yesterday and the other is tomorrow. Today is the day to live and enjoy!

So happy sewing, quilting, living, …………. Barbora

Don’t forget the link up with Thursday Threads by Julie 627handworks which is hosted this week by Susan from The Bored Zombie !

skalabara quilts

modern handmade quilts and patterns

just photos

a new stash and this time from organic cotton

butterfly, thread and fmq

morning walks are my favorite

short quilting vacation

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