Wedding Bells - Holland

I realise that it has been a while since my last post and no, there hasn't been much time for quilting.

Last week I was in Holland for my niece's wedding. The weather was beautiful (24 degs) and it was lovely to be able to spend this special day with them.

It was a busy week catching up with family. A week is very short so I didn't get to catch up with everyone. My mother in law and I also went to see the bride and groom sit their final exam for ballroom dancing. It was a great evening although walking back to the car afterwards was a little chilly (5 degs brrr). I also got to give Henriek his NZ quilt as a reminder of his trip there.

It was lovely to have a week off from the usual day to day things (e.g cooking, cleaning, kids homework).Thanks mum! We are all looking forward to you coming out to Singapore in July. Im feeling a little jaded since returning home so I think it's going to be a quiet day today.

On another note, I always enjoy getting mail from home and also getting my copy of the NZ Quilter Magazine. Imagine my delight when I opened this months copy of the NZ Quilter and found a photo of my "Chinese King of Hearts" quilt.

I was even more delighted when my friend Norma decided to buy this quilt. She was also sweet enough to get me a book on chinese symbols and their meanings. My quilts are inspired by my environment and cultures that I encounter and it is always wise to do your homework and know that what you put on your quilt is not going to offend. Thank you Norma!

Till next time, Happy quilting!

My Etsy Store

www.MarianneBos.etsy.com

This week I discovered "Etsy". This is where artists/crafters can sell their wares over the internet. What a cool idea!

Anyway my "Etsy" shop is now up and running and I will be adding more quilts for sale in the next week.

As for quilting this week, I have been working on my second woven quilt. I want to do some additional embellishments on it but havent decided what yet. My tree quilt is still on the back burner as I am waiting for my fabric paints to arrive so I can add the shading. I have ordered some Jacquard fabric paints and I cant wait to give them a go.

I went to the Elna shop here with a friend and they showed us the latest elna.This machine has a really nice large sewing table as well as a built in walking foot. Very Nice.....but a little costly at $3000 (singapore). I think I will stick to my machine as it does everything that I want anyway. I did buy another bobbin case that I can adjust to try my hand at some machine embroidery. I have a book called" Beginners Guide to Machine Embroidered Landscapes" by Alison Holt. She does some stunning landscape pieces so I will give that a try some time.

I have also asked the elna shop to order a circle attachment for my machine that will enable me to quilt full circles. Anyone who's tried to do that "freehand" will know how hard that is!

The drawing class at the kids school is going well. We have been learning how to draw portraits. For a "non-drawer" like myself, its pretty difficult but I am learning heaps and am really enjoying the class. Sadly the teacher Ms Gorman, is leaving in June to take another teaching position in Argentina. We will really miss her!

Next week is my daughters birthday and then the week after I am off to Holland for my nieces wedding. I am really looking forward to it.

till next time.....