Merry Christmas

 

To everyone who reads this blog and all the ones they love.

 

The last dragonflies of Chatelaine's Fairy Garden are finished now. And also the green outer border.
Thank you very much for your inspiring comments!

December IHSW

 

During the last IHSWeekend of 2012 (how time flies!!) I stitched the big yellow flowers of Chatelaine's Fairy Garden.

Hortus V part 4

 

This is part 4 of Chatelaine's Hortus Viridarium, the pleasure garden. And it really is a pleasure to work on it! But the next part will be released on February 1st, so no gardening till then.
Now I'll have to decide what's next. A new start with Hydrangea Autumn Fog or True Mystery 2, stitch a part of the Fairy Garden or the Peacock Garden (Mystery XIII) or continue stitching Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow...
In spring the seventh of the Hawk Run Hollow series will be released!! It is called "Spring at HRH" with a lot of animals. Probably another 'must have' to add to my collection.
Just as the new Chatelaine design the Sparkling Peacock Mandala....

Thanks for your lovely comments!

Fire Lily part 5

 

This was a very quick and easy part to stitch: only some green sheaf stitches and scrolls of beads. The next part is the final border and will be released on February 1th.
Now I got Hortus Viridarium back on the frame to stitch some irisses.

Four blocks done

 

I added some ghosts and bats and a witch with a black cat to Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow.

 

My black (and ginger) cat Pilou doesn't seem to understand the idea of the cauldron....

 

Today the postman brought me the package with the kit for the Hydrangea Autumn Fog Mandala I ordered at ECC. It contains a lot of lovely coloured silks and beads!
But first I am going to stitch the next part of Chatelaine's Fire Lily Garden.

Thank you very much for your kind comments on the previous post!

Back from the framer

 

Today I got Spring Knotgarden back from the framer. It has the same colour and size of frame as Summer Knotgarden.

Here is a picture of my Knotgarden wall in the practice room.

 

Autumn Knotgarden still has to be finished and added to the collection. In January 2013 Isa and I are starting a SAL to stitch Autumn Knotgarden to a finish. I am really looking forward to this SAL.

 

Herbularius also came back frome the framer.

 

And I stitched a lot of Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow. My cold hasn't gone completely yet, so I'll have to stitch some more to cure it... It looks like I'm using any kind of excuse I can think of to have more stitching time ;o)  But I'm feeling much better already.

 

Thank you very much for your good wishes and lovely comments. They are much appreciated.

November IHSW

Last week I had a nasty cold which I tried to cure with lots of stitching. Till now this treatment didn't work out as I hoped so it will be necessary to continue.
I stitched the giant turkey during the IHSWeekend.

Fire Lily Garden part 4

 

Yesterday I finished part 4 of Chatelaine's Fire Lily Garden. Now I'll have to wait till December 1th when the next part will be released. Though I have plenty of other Chatelaines to stitch I felt it was time for a break. So I dug Autumn at Hawk Run Hollow out of a pile of stash. I thought I had already stitched a part of block 12. But this turned out to be only a part of the outlines...

 

Yesterday evening I stitched a horse with spaghetti-legs and a headless charioteer. And a part of a house.

Four Fire Lilies

All four Fire Lilies are finished now and also the outlines of the other leaf shape ornaments in the corners are done.  Now Herbularius is finished I have a set of empty scroll rods waiting for a new start. So I signed up for the Hydrangea Autumn Fog Garden and ordered the kit from ECC.
Yesterday I brought Herbularius and Spring Knotgarden to the framer. In about three weeks they will be ready.

Pilou is watching the birds in the back garden keeping her head as low as possible.

First ornate leaf shape

A quick update of Chatelaine's Fire Lily Garden Mandala. I finished the first of the four ornate leaf shapes in the corners. Now I am going to stitch the flower on the right side and another leaf shape.

Thank you for your lovely comments and welcome to my new followers.

October IHSW

 

During the October IHSWeekend I finally finished Chatelaine's Herbularius! It really is time for a trip to the framer again. Because it is vacation over here I'll try to go at the end of this week and take Herbularius and Spring Knotgarden with me.

 

I also stitched some leafs of the Fire Lilies. I'll continue with the lovely coloured flowers.

 

 

Last week Donald and Casper have been to the vet's again. Donald left three very bad molars with big holes and infected roots when I took him home. Poor cat! He must have had a terrible toothache! And Casper had an echo of his heart which showed the HCM got worse. He is on medication now and is breathing with less noise and shows more activity. We'll see what future will bring.

 

Thanks for your lovely coments on previous posts.

Hortus Viridarium part 3

Part 3 of Chatelaine's Hortus Viridarium is finished. I didn't attach the crystals yet, because they will probably catch threads while I stitch the next parts. Now I am doubting between stitching the next part of the Fire Lilies or finishing Herbularius.

@ Gio: a huge amonut of  rice stitches, 224 in total!

And especially for Joyce: a picture of all three cats. I had to persuade them a bit with some delicious tinned catfood ;o)

Thank you very much for your kind comments. They are much appreciated!

Watergarden again

 

Chatelaine's Watergarden is finished!

Watergarden and a huge quilt top

It has been quite a while since my last post. How time flies!!
I stitched a lot of Watergarden as you can see. Only the water on three sides, a row of bricks, some fan shaped things around the centre part and a lot of beads and crystals have to be done and another Chatelaine is finished.

I also finished the Civil War Chronicles top! It is HUGE!!  The finished size is 108 by 108 inch.

Casper thought the top was a cosy bed while I was attaching the borders.  

All the cats are doing fine and get settled and get used to each other.

These starlings are gathering on top of the neighbour's roof before starting their journey to warmer regions. They are so funny to watch, because they always argue about the best spot on the roof.

Thank you for all your lovely and inspiring comments!

September IHSW

 

Because I wanted to finish all the triangle shaped ponds of Chatelaine's Watergarden my IHSW update is a day late. I think I'll continue stitching this beauty till it is finished.

Thank you for your visits and lovely comments.

The first water lily

 

Today I finished the water lily in the first of the triangle shaped ponds of Chatelaine's Watergarden. This weekend is IHSW again and my plan is to stitch a lot more of Watergarden.
And perhaps make rows of the Civil War Chronicles blocks. All the 68 blocks are finished now!

As you can see Pilou is getting fur on her back again. It is still a bit thin and a lot more red than we expected.

Quilt Show Deventer

Yesterday Anne Marieke and I visited the Quilt Show in Deventer. The Dutch Quilt Guild organizes a show every year in different cities. I have visited several of these shows and always like to go to Deventer where the quilts are exhibited in a beautiful old church. There was an amazing number of inspiring quilts. Here are pictures of some of them.

 

This quilt is a combination of old lace and fabrics.

 

 

This stunning appliqué quilt is based on William Morris patterns.

 

And one of my favorites is made of many tiny scraps and Lady of the Lake blocks.

 

 

The cats are getting used to each other and to their new home. They are sniffing at each other's noses and only growl when they get startled by one of the others. Here is a picture of Donald playing hide and seek underneath a big plant.

Watergarden update

 

While Pilou and Donald get used to their new home and to their new 'friend' Casper I stitched another part of Chatelaine's Watergarden.
Donald met the vet already, because he had an eye infection. In the animal shelter are a lot of cats with a respiratory infection and we think he got this too in a mild way. Fortunately Donald allows me to do ointment in his eye without struggling.
Casper was scratching his ears and also got some kind of ointment. We think he has a flea allergy though I treated him before the new cats came into the house. And I treated the new cats as soon as possible. It looks as if he stopped scratching now.
Pilou and Donald are very friendly, playfull and chatty cats. We are glad we decided to give them a new home.
While I write this Pilou startles me by jumping on the back of my chair in my neck! And again... and again...

Thank you very much for your interest and your lovely comments.

May I introduce:

 

 Donald 

A five year old very shy boy.

 

Pilou

A three year old playful girl.

Because of an operation and maggots they had to shave half of her body.

We went to the animal shelter to look around because the house was so empty and quiet with only one cat left. And immediately fell in love with these two. We hope Casper will get used to the new cats soon. He is a bit upset at the moment, but not angry towards them. We all have to become acquainted with each other and this will take some time.

Civil War Chronicles quilt

Last weeks I made a lot of Civil War Chronicles month 12 blocks, because I couldn't keep my mind focussed on stitching the more complicated Chatelaines. There are 44 blocks in the piles: still 24 blocks to go. And the new 2013 Civil War quilt BOM by Marcus Brothers Fabrics and Judie Rothermel, the Civil War Melodies, is a real beauty too. So I'd better finish the top of this one as soon as possible ;o)

Thank you  for all your kind and comforting words after we lost Cleo. They mean so much for us. And also thanks for all the other lovely comments.

Cleo

Today Cleo joined her brother Julius in cat heaven. The arthritis probably reached her spinal colum and she was in pain and couldn't use her hindlegs as it should be. There was nothing more we could do for her.
We miss her very much, but we know she is no longer suffering.

Hortus Viridarium

This is the new project: Chatelaine's Hortus Viridarium.
It is a small mandala garden and this are the finished part 1 and part 2. Part 3 will be released on the first of October, so I'll have plenty of time to work on other projects. And finish Herbularius.

Today is my birthday. It will be a quiet one because most friends and relatives are away on holiday. DD gave me the Dutch translation of Diana Gabaldon's 'Lord John and the Scottish prisoner' as a present.
I have the complete Outlander series on my bookshelves and I am looking forward to the next part.

Herbularius part 11

Finally part 11 of Herbularius is finished! It seemed to take ages to stitch all these triangles. I should continue stitching all the flowers between them and go for a happy dance.
But I started another Chatelaine instead.

Some days ago DD met this beauty/creep in the garden. We've never seen a grashopper as big as this one in our garden before. His body is at least 7 centimetres long and his wings even longer. We observed him while he was eating flowers and noticed he squints!

 

And suddenly I got 200 followers! I am quite amazed about the fact so many of you are interested in my blog and have decided to become a follower. Thank you very much for your visits and lovely comments.

July IHSW

During the July IHSW I stitched some more of the triangles of Herbularius part 11. They are easy to stitch, but slowing down and a bit boring. I try to keep focused on the lovely plants between the triangles (part 12) as some kind of reward.
And my extra bonus is a new start: Hortus Viridarium.

My dragonfly socks are finished!

And I added some more blocks to the Civil War Chronicles quilt month 12 piles. Still 57 blocks to go.

Thank you for your kind comments and birthday wishes to Cleo. They are much appreciated.

Raffle 2012 finished

The beads arrived, so I could finish this lovely small Chatelaine mandala garden. Because I didn't have enough leftovers of the Dinky Dyes 'nashi' to stitch all the bricks in the wall I used DMC 733 for them.

Today is Cleo's birthday. She is 18 years old now!

Raffle 2012 update

All the stitching of Chatelaine's Raffle 2012 garden is done! Now I have to wait till the postman brings me the bead pack I ordered from ECC. This package also includes the fabric and beads for the Hortus Viridarium. The threads are already waiting in a box. I wonder how long I can resist another new start ;o)

Welcome to all my new followers!
Thank you all for your visits and lovely comments.

Raffle 2012

Although I have plenty of unfinished Chatelaine projects (and also loads of others) I just couldn't resist a new start.

This is the consolidation prize of Chatelaine's May 2012 Raffle, 'a lovely garden with flowering roses, a brick wall covered with moss and fern and a beautiful lacy scrolled iron ourside' as the description says.

Dragonfly socks

The dragonfly pattern is a bit hidden in the colours of the yarn. I never thought this yarn would show so many surprising changes of colours!
I really am enjoying the knit-along Dee organizes.

Thank you for your lovely comments.

Watergarden and socks update

Today I finished the part with the gates on the top right side of Chatelaine's Watergarden. One of my Summer 2012 goals is to finish this beauty.

Now I'll switch to Herbularius to complete part 10. The last part will be released this weekend and finishing Herbularius is another of the Summer 2012 goals.

And the first of the jaywalker socks is done. So I've got a set of needles to start the dragonfly socks of Dee's KAL. Is this the start of developing a 'single sock syndrome' I wonder?