Fabrics, handmade + Life lately.

Gazebo collection

Hello everyone!
I just realized another month has passed without an update on my blog. I guess this is my new posting rhythm, and frankly I feel more comfortable posting something worth showing, even if it is far and few between.

Back in January I mentioned I had a set back regarding my health. Since then I've had a bunch of doctor's appointments and been poked and prodded multiple times. They've put me on different meds (the side effects are horrendous) which I absolutely must take for at least three months for them to take effect. After a whole year of pain it is quite a challenge to keep the faith and I suffered a spot of depression back in February. Also, the cold and gloom didn't help.  But now, finally, spring has arrived and with those first warm rays of sunshine my spirits have lifted again. I'm ready to fight this!

Meanwhile, all the fabrics from Tanya Whelan's newest collection Gazebo (see pic at top) have arrived, except one (blue dots), which I will receive next week. These designer fabrics are superior quality and the designs in this collection are both elegant and nostalgic. I love the combination of navy, pink, mint and soft grey so much that I'll be making a full-size quilt from these :)

Hallo, ihr Lieben!

Ich habe gerade festgestellt, dass seit meinem letzten Beitrag schon wieder ein Monat vorübergegangen ist. Irgendwie scheint dies mein neuer Blogpost Rhythmus zu sein ;-) 

Regelmäßige Leser haben mitbekommen, dass ich im Januar wieder einen Rückfall hatte was meine Gesundheit betrifft. Seitdem habe ich etliche Arztbesuche und Untersuchungen hinter mir. Da geht ganz schön viel Zeit drauf. Unterdessen hat man mich auf ein neues Medikament eingestellt (die Nebenwirkungen sind fürchterlich), dennoch muss ich mindestens drei Monate durchhalten. Drückt mir die Daumen.

Stoffe! Bis auf einen (blaue Punkte, kommt nächste Woche) sind nun endlich alle Stoffe aus der neuen Kollektion Gazebo von Tanya Whelan eingetroffen (siehe Bild ganz oben). Die nostalgischen Motive und die Kombination von Navy, Rosa, Mint und Zartgrau  gefallen mir ausgesprochen gut. Ich möchte mir so gerne einen Quilt daraus nähen, aber die sind ja bekanntlich aufwändig. Naja, ich kann ja schon mal Quadrate schneiden.

Hearts are such a classic motif. New in from the Sophie porcelain range are these pretty and useful bowls with all over heart pattern and handpainted pink rim. More items in this range include paper napkins, tea towels, mugs and jugs. Also, I love the stylish packaging (see egg cups).

💗

Herzen sind ein klassisches Motiv. Neu in der Sophie Kollektion sind diese süßen Schalen mit all-over Herzchen in Zartgrau und einem handbemalten rosa Rand. Passend dazu gibt es Geschirrtücher, Tassen, Milchkännchen und Papierservietten. Die edle Verpackung (siehe Eierbecherschachtel) ist auch nicht zu verachten.

There's also some fun new stationery from Krima & Isa plus new button badges matching the Fairy Dawn range from April Rose England. I made some backpacks, sewed a little polar bear in a jumper (I named him Nils) and a patchwork spring bag. 

🌺

Es gibt schöne neue Hefte und Bleistifte aus dem Hause Krima & Isa sowie farbenfrohe Buttons mit Fairy Dawn Motiven von April Rose England. Außerdem habe ich ein paar Nähprojekte fertig bekommen.

Lastly, First Romance, a sweet fabric collection by Canadian designer Kristyne Czepuryk arrived last month. These are selling like hot cakes and the white fabric with small roses is almost sold out.

🌸

Und zum Schluß zeige ich euch noch die süße Kollektion First Romance von der kanadischen Designerin Kristyne Czepuryk welche letzten Monat geliefert wurde. Diese Stoffe gehen sehr schnell weg und leider ist nachbestellen nicht mehr möglich. Der weiße Stoff mit den Miniröschen ist fast weg.

Thank you for stopping by and reading along. Take care...till next month!

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Vielen Dank für's Vorbeischauen und Lesen. Ich sag dann mal...bis in einem Monat!

Easy diy Fabric Box

Sewing fabric boxes isn't an original idea, but they are fun to make, especially if you use pre-cut fabric squares from a 5 " Charm Pack, like I did! This makes a neat little box to store craft supplies. Filled with folded up fat quarters, thread and a sewing kit it also makes a cute gift for a sewing friend!

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Dies ist keine originelle Idee, aber Stoffkörbchen nähen macht einfach Spaß und geht schnell, vor allem wenn man vorgeschnittene Stoffquadrate verwendet, wie z.B. aus diesem hübschen Charm Pack. Das fertige Körbchen ist ca. 11 x 11 cm. Befüllt mit Fat Quarters und Kurzwaren ist es eine nette Geschenkidee für die nähende Freundin!

You will need

Charm Pack 5 x 5"

fusible interfacing, like Pellon to add stability

thread

bias tape

sewing machine

basic sewing utensils

Ihr braucht

Charm Pack 12,7 x 12x7 cm

Decovil I Light, für die Stabilität

Garn

Schrägband

Nähmaschine

Nähutensilien

How to:

1. Select 5 squares from your charm pack stack for outer box.
2. Cut 5 x 5" squares from Pellon and iron on wrong side of fabric squares.
3. Sew the four box panels together, right sides facing, using a 1/4" seam allowance. At the bottom of each seam stop sewing at 1/4". Press seams open.
4. Attach bottom panel right sides facing, making sure corner seams meet all four points. Pin all around.
5. Starting in the center of one side seam stitch all around, pivot at corners. Go slowly!
6. Select 5 squares from your charm pack for inside box.
7. Repeat steps 3 - 5.
8. Turn outer box right side out and push out corners. Slip in inside box, left sides facing, seams aligning. Pin all around and use a narrow 1/8" to stitch layers together.
9. Starting in the center of one side pin the bias tape all around. When you come to the starting point, fold under the opposite end and overlap. Pin and stitch through all layers, catching both sides of the tape.

So geht's:

1. 5 Quadrate für die Außenseite aussuchen.
2. 5 Stück Decovil auf die Größe der Quadrate zuschneiden und auf die linke Seite bügeln.
3. Vier Panele rechts auf rechts zusammennähen (1 cm Naht), dabei am unteren Ende ca. 1 cm aufhören zu nähen. Nähte auseinander bügeln.
4. Unteres Panel rechts auf rechts feststecken, dabei treffen die Nähte auf die 4 Ecken. 
5. An einer Seite mittig anfangen und langsam um das Quadrat nähen, in den Ecken Nadel stecken lassen, Fuß anheben, Quadrat drehen, Fuß senken und weiternähen.
6. 5 Quadrate für das Futter aussuchen.
7. Schritte 3 - 5 wiederholen.
8. Box vorsichtig auf Rechts drehen, Ecken rausdrücken. Futter links auf links in die Box schieben, Nähte treffen aufeinander. Obere Kante feststecken und knappkantig steppen.
9. Schrägband an einer Seite mittig befestigen. Um die obere Kante legen und feststecken. Das Ende einschlagen und etwas überlappend über den Anfang legen. Knappkantig durch alle Lagen steppen, dabei darauf achten, dass beide Seiten des Schrägbandes genäht werden.

Happy Sewing

We will never forget you, Sammy

Sammy was found abandoned in a plastic bag. The person that found him brought him to the local shelter where he was adopted by a family with small kids and a dog. Needless to say, traumatized cats don't do well with boisterous families. A couple of months later he ended up back at the shelter and remained there for about a year, until my husband and I found and brought him back to his forever home. The previous family had given him such a daft name, so we changed it to Sammy immediately.

The first two days in our home Sammy hid in one of the lower kitchen cupboards and no amount of cajoling or tuna made him come out. So we kept the cupboard doors open, set out some water and food and hoped he would eventually calm down and come out on his own. I guess it got boring in there, because on the third day he started exploring his new surroundings. Most shelter cats are skittish and it took about a year for Sammy to fully trust us. He bonded with my husband first and spent many happy hours in my husband's mancave thereafter. One day I was sitting on the couch and he jumped up and curled up on my lap. That's when I knew he finally felt safe. Over the years Sammy grew into a quite a large (and heavy) cat. The above photo was taken when he was in his prime. He was unusual in that he didn't display typical cat behavior. He didn't "hunt" flies or other small insects nor was he interested in bird watching. He basically preferred laying in a sun puddle all day watching me! 

He had a few annoying habits, like shredding our soft furnishings, but despite that we loved him to bits and spent many happy years getting to know each other. He was an expressive cat, meowing in agreement (or not) when we were having a conversation - it was too funny. When he slept he snored and the sound was somehow comforting. And most unusual in all the years he never once hissed.  Not once.

Last year we noticed that he was showing signs of old age. We had bought some plush covered little steps to make it easier for him to get up and down from the couch. We exchanged his big litter box for a flat tray as he seems to have difficulty getting in and out. We exchanged the food to an easily digestible one. We spread out blankets and cushions everywhere. 

Then last August we discovered a little lump on his left hip that turned out to be a tumor. He had it surgically removed and sadly it turned out to be malignant. He recovered surprisingly well, the scar had healed nicely and he was basically back to his normal self, when in January I discovered another lump. We were devastated. We went through all the options, then decided on a second surgery. Second time around it took longer for Sammy to recover, so we helped him all we could. Made sure water and food was close by. We took turns checking on him at night. Apart from being a bit wobbly on the legs he seemed to recover bit by bit and even played with his mousie. Then in the last week of January something changed. There was a noticeable decline in his overall health. I think Sammy felt it too, but still fought on like a brave little soldier.

Last week my husband and I had to make one of the most difficult decisions ever. It broke our hearts, but we needed to end the suffering and put our beloved Sammy to sleep. To make matters worse my pain symptoms that I had managed to get down to a tolerable level have come back with a vengeance. I'm up to my eyeballs in painkillers in order to write this blog post. But Sammy deserves a post. I featured him several times on this blog and through him I have met a bunch of wonderful blog friends with pets (you know who you are).

We had the vet come to our house to perform the euthanasia. We laid Sammy on his favorite pillow, gently stroking his furs and talking to him in a calm voice right until the end. It was beyond awful and I had to pull myself together not to break down. We had a proper burial and Sammy is now at peace in our garden beneath the oak tree. It's been almost a week without Sammy and it feels so strange. Apart from us crying in turns it's eerily quiet at our house. So much for a "happy" new year.