time for refresh snow and ice ...

I can´t believe that just a few days ago there was sun and warmth and spring flowers! But since yesterday - wiinter is back again!!! I took my give away picture right there under the bushes!!! You can´t even see one single spot of the small snowdrops anymore .....

The biggest dissappointment this week was the cancelling of the big garden and lifestyle show in Balingen! The organistor called me and told me that they had planned the show too short-termed. The bigger gardening companies need more time for planning and so they can´t keep the level they intended...Next year ... (I - of course - have bought a LOT of fabrics for this event...) Well, as long as it isn´t my work they don´t want!!
So I´ll go to the Kreativ-Markt in Pfullingen in Juli instead! It´s smaller but less stressy!

Tomorrow morning I will announce the winner of my spring and winter give away. My hubby already helped me with folding the papers with the names ....

This week was kind of pffff - not much sewing! Birthdays, doctors, homework with the kids, doing some paperwork and CLEANING my windows (which is definitly not my favourite work).
But I managed to finish this pillow:

Yes, definitly the sun is shining today (but it´s awful cold and windy!) I started with another pillow (trying paper piecing):

And today I worked on my boys quilt a little bit: I joined together some blocks for a stripe for the back. There were some blocks which were a little smaller than the others (additonal blocks from the Euro Bee).

The smaller part in the front: I decided to make a scrappy basket as I saw it here.

Diese Woche gibts kein Frühlings-Give away mehr - es muss jetzt wohl eher heißen: der Winter ist zurück! An der Stelle unter den Büschen habe ich erst letzte Woche mein Etui vor den Schneeglöckchen fotografiert! Jetzt sieht man kein einziges Blütenblatt mehr. ...
Enttäuschend war vor allem diese Woche, dass die Garten- und Life style Messe von den Organisatoren abgesagt wurde! Sie haben für die großen Gartenbaufirmen zu kurzfristig geplant, so dass diese nicht teilnehmen können und das angestrebte Niveau nicht eingehalten werden kann - schade (ich habe nämlich schon jede Menge Stoff gekauft - na ich hatte ja ein tollles Argument dafür..)  So, nun habe ich mich für den Kreativmarkt in Pfullingen angemeldet - ein kleinerer, aber wohl feiner Kunstmarkt im Juli...
Morgen wird der Gewinner/die Gewinnerein gezogen!! Mein Mann hat schon mal beim Schreiben und Falten der Lose geholfen :)

Spring Give Away!!

Because spring is coming, the snow is melted, because it´s my birthday on the 8th of March, and because of all those lovely comments on my "send along" pouch for the doll quilt swap 8 I´ll give away a house pouch to someone who has written a comment here on my blog!!

 Tell me what you like about spring, close out is on my birthday at noon - 8th of March!

 Yesterday I have finished the "girls, girls, girls,..." pillow! Handpainted girls, surrounded by repurposed jeans, appliqued on a soft aqua linen, freestitched words .... a coloourful, happy accessoire on your sofa!

 

 

 Ich habe etwas zu verschenken!!! Es wird Frühling, Vögel zwitschern, der Schnee ist geschmolzen, Schneeglöckchen blühen! So viele tolle Kommentare zu meinem Mäppchen, das ich zum DQS8 gemacht habe: ich habe mir gedacht: mach noch eins und schicke es an jemanden, der hier einen Kommentar schreibt...
Also: um an das Mäppchen zu kommen, schreibe mir, was dir am Frühling gefällt! Schluss ist am 8.März, meinem Geburtstag und Weltfrauentag!

Time for combination 2 ....

 This week I was working on some WIPS ...

I finished the binding on the Wiggly-Giggly-Quilt for the dqs8! It somehow took some time .... but I must admit: I LOVE it ... and its not easy to give it away.... but as I know WHO will receive it - it´s not soo hard :)

It came over me to make something to send along...according to the quilt....same fbrics....same coloursheme... here it is: the "Watch Out" pouch (because of the little text passage on it and the HUGE bug on this flickr picture (I just couldn´t resist and lent my sons bug...I gave it back in the meantime...LOL) If my parnter doesn´t like the front, she/he just flip over and ...

I couldn´t resist and did a little landscape with (of course) a little house (the cutest fabric I ever bought...)...the fabric for the tree I did a little "treatment". It got a coffee treatment (thanks to PatchworkPotterys tutorial) - it was a little tooo bright. And I tried a tiiiiny "monaw" logo free motion stitched with my machine. I found out the more little the easier it´s for me ..
Tomorrow I´ll try to "pack the package" ...

I finished today another WIP.... it started with an idea - combining the paintings of my friend Buket and my sewing .. TRY 2:
It started with this:

 

Buket draw a little girle on white Kona Cotton (and some more lovely girls...). I took some reused jeans fabric and pinned the girl behind (kind of other way round applique). Sewed it on, took two more, took some linen in aqua, ... did some free motion writing ... picture tomorrow, it´s dark now ... but I must admit: it turned out the way I wanted it to ... SMILE...

Diese Woche habe ich a) endlich den DollQuilt für den Doll Quilt Swap 8 auf flickr fertig genäht (ich habe den Rand mit Hand festgenäht...das hat dieses Mal irgendwie warum auch immer ziemlich lange gedauert...) Da kam mir die Idee, noch etwas dazu zu machen, was die gleichen Stoffe verwendet.... tadaaa: das keline Etui, Mäppchen, Kosmetiktasche,... mit den gleichen Stoffen (ok - fast) wenn die Seite nicht gefällt - einfach umdrehen ... ich konnte nicht wiederstehen, noch ein Häuschen zu machen, dann einen Baum .... hmmm mein Logo muss auch noch irgendwie ... ich habe versucht, ein gaaanz kleines "monaw"Logo Freihand mit meiner Nähmaschine zu nähen ... und habe festgestellt, dass es für mich leichter ist, kleinere Sachen Freihand zu nähen, als größere ... tja - c´est la vie...

Außerdem habe ich noch eine Idee realiesieren können, die schon eine Weile im Kopf rumhuscht ... Bilder morgen :) Stoffmalerei von meiner Freundin Buket und meine Näherei ... endet in "girls, girls, girls ..." ... MORGEN

Time for new things ...

 May I introduce you - Miss Sophie and Miss Lia!

My friend Buket and I will go to a big show in May, so we need a lot of new things ... We tried these days to develop a possibility to share our abilities ... That´s what we did so far: 

Pouches, a little bigger than my other ones, with a stiffer batting, made of an very old linen and cute new designer fabrics. Sewn by monaw (me!) and the face handpainted by bukiby (that´s Buket)! I´m still improving my sewing but the first ones turned out pretty cute I think! But I´m not quite sure about the size of the pouches ... hm - I have to think about it ...  

Can you see the sweet tape with the houses made by Annax? I just adore her work :)

 

 

 I found some wonderful wool felt on dawanda. This would be lovely hair for those kids pouches ... it gives some kind of 3D impression ... And because there are not only girls, but boys too: 

Say hi to sweet little Anton:

 

And again I used some house tape made by Annax.

And I have finished two new brthday pillows for two newborn babys. That´s so much fun choosing fabrics for those patchwork pillows! And I have added a little handstitching to the names....

 

As always I tried to combine some reused fabrics  and new designer fabrics!

Time for .... frustration....

Well, long time no talk...I didn´t feel like ...

My friend (take a look here: Bukets flickr) and I wanted to take part at a wonderful garden and life style show in our home town ... but: NO. This week we got the negative reply: they have got too many applications ... What a shame!! We´re soo frustrated! Aaaaarrrrgh......
But if you´re near Reutlingen, Germany in the month of May: visit the "Garden Life" show, it´s wonderful!!

OK, we have an alternative!! But weren´t sure about this: It´s "Gartenzauber" in Balingen: a BIG new fair about garden, plants and lifestyle, new and maybe (hopefully) huge! The sent us an invitation and even called me and asked to come to Balingen!! Hmmm, we´ll take part though but it´s like "is it too big??" - "do I bite off more than I can chew?" I mean, I´ve been on some shows, but this one is a level higher, so I´m some kind of unsure ...

OK, let´s go and start!! We will try and do our best - yeahh!

So inbetween my depressive thinkings I tried to make some blocks for a swapbot swap: Quilt Block of the Month February... I tried to cut VERY precise (hahaa, I have an inch ruler!!), and drew the lines AND the seam allowances... this was not difficult, just sew the squares! But THEN. .. my corners just didn´t want to fit... once again and again ... it´s Aaaaaarrrggghhhh... Can you see it????? It seems that the more complexe blocks in the quilting world are just NOT my world!

 

And I tried to make a banner .... 

I LIKE THIS ONE - :)

Next time you´ll read more cheerful thoughts ...

Manchmal schreibe ich auf Deutsch, manchmal nicht ... ist nur eine Zeit- und Launefrage ... sorry!

Meine Freundin Buket ( Bukets Flickr-Photos - übrigens: bukiby gibts auch bei dawanda ...) und ich wollten im Mai an der Garden Life in unserer Stadt Reutlingen teilnehmen... eine wirklich schöne Garten- und Lifestylemesse! Wer also Mitte Mai in der Gegend ist: UNBEDINGT anschauen!! Aber, sie wollten UNS nicht, sie hätten zu viele Anfragen ... SCH.....wir sind also tierisch frustriert ....

OK, aber wir haben eine Alternative: die Messe Gartenzauber in Balingen, neu und groß (hoffentlich auch viele kauflustige Besucher....) Wir bekamen eine Einladung (!!!) und einer der Organisatoren hatte mich sogar angerufen!! Wir sind ein bißchen unsicher, da dies eine große Messe in einer Messehalle ist und wir so was noch niiiiiieeee gemacht haben! Weihnachtsmärkte, Kunstmärkte, aber nicht sowas!! Haben wir uns zu weit aus dem Fenster gelehnt???? Wir investieren einiges an Geld und natürlich Zeit und Aufwand ....

Aber: wir wagens und tun unser Bestes .... POSITIV denken!!!!!

In der Zwischenzeit haben ich erkannt, dass die aufwändigeren Quiltblöcke nichts für mich sind .... ich habe mich WIRKLICH super sehr angestrengt, aber diesemal wollten meine Eckpunkte einfach nicht stimmen..... auftrenen, bügeln, neu nähen, bügeln, SCH......eibenkleister, nochmal....

Aber mein neues Logo gefällt mir!! Wenigsten etwas was schön geworden ist! 

Aber ab morgen gibts hier wieder fröhliche Post - verspochen :)

Time for .... something new ...

I´m working at some pouches while working on my swaps (I´m waiting for my inch-ruler, to have less problems in cutting squares...) ... I wanted to try something new - I thought I´ve seen something like this - button flowers - somewhere in flickr, but couldn´t find again (to make sure not to copy) ... so these are my flowers: some machine-stitched hems, hand-embroidered leaves and mother-of-pearl-buttons on an 100-year old linen.
On the back I tried to "write" my logo. I didn´t want to use my tags all the time - something new:) So I used free-motion stitching ... hmmm - what do you think??

These are some already finished ones - patchwork plus little quilting! The button zipper pulls are still not finished on this picture ...

Time ... for swapping

It´s January and I have decided that´s it´s time to do some swapping again ... I´m in swap-bot swaps to improve my cutting and exact sewing :). Well, what to say: I´n not the queen of exact cutting (as I don´t have an inch ruler...) and this exact sewing, those corners... this little tool called seam rippener ( ?? ) is actually my best friend!
This red Amish Star was a problem in itself - it was so hard to follow an easy tute! I mean it was all MY problem to see what is left and right, up and down ... but at the end - tadaa - finished and ready to go!! It´s my first block made from several blocks!


This one was easier! I used for the first time some kona cotton (what a nice fabric). I had to make a little change in the pattern, from paper piecing to pieced... well, what to say - measuring and math ... but again - after some trial and error:

The picture down there is another swap. I saw once a picture in flickr.... and kept it in mind because I wanted to make one too. In sewmamasew (look for Tiny Ticker Tape Quilt) she has made a tute!! So: it was easy and fun, but all those threads ....

And today I got my partner in DQS8 - yipiee! I already have some ideas in my head ... but first I´ll have to do some "productive" sewing - some pouches for my shop!

And in between, I have to take care of all this snow outside ...