Spiderweb Quilt the rainbowy way

Do you remember how I made those spiderweb blocks for Monikas month in the "Bee Germany"?
By the way she just wrote a great tutorial for the fourth issue of Fat Quarterly. Check it out, I loved it! You also don't want to miss out on Tacha's Mister Fox. Too cute!

Anyway, the spiderweb blocks!
I loved them so much (and I thought that it would be such a great way to get ridd of my scraps) that I decided to make one quilt for myself using the pattern.

For the background fabric I used a very light grey cotton fabric that wouldn't steal too much attention from the colours in the spiderwebs.
I was first considering grouping them by colors but decided against it (I had already done that with my first String Quilt and thought that it was time to go with something else).
Almost all of my scraps were used to make it. It took a long time to get all those blocks done but it is the perfect project if you only have some minutes of uninterrupted sewing time. I found that paperpiecing wasn't necessary but I did have a template that I used to make sure that all blocks were the same size.I didn't really quilt it but sewed around each spiderweb in order to make them stand out more. The backing fabric is a bright red with big white polka dots.It is perfect for a dull grey day when you need some cheering up :)
I am linking this to the Love Nest Quilt Contest at Gen X Quilters.
Have a great day,
Johanna

PS: Really sorry for the weird spacing but nothing helps here! If someone of you knows why blogger keeps messing up my entries I would love it if you share. Thanks!

Sherbet Pips Top

So I found the perfect grey to go with those Sherbet Pips blocks. I put a border around each block and decided that some small white line between the blocks would look lovely.
Now that it is finished I am not quite so sure anymore but since the top is even smaller then what I would have expected I will just leave it as it is and not keep the finished quilt. *Sigh* quite hard though, I really love those little guys.


Now, I just have to decide if I should put another grey border around this or leave it as it is. Seems like I am really into grey lately :)

Any opinions?

Have a great sunday everyone!


Am Freitag habe ich das perfekte Grau für die Sherbet Pips gefunden. Nicht zu hell und nicht zu dunkel, gerade richtig halt :) Jeder Block hat eine kleine Umrahmung bekommen und dann habe ich mir eingebildet, dass doch eine weiße Linie zwischen diesem ganzen grau ganz nett wäre.
Jetzt, wo es fertig ist, weiß ich nicht mehr so recht. Jedenfalls ist das Quilttop viel kleiner als ich sowieso schon befürchtet habe, deswegen werde ich die fertige Decke nicht behalten und so dürfen die weißen Streifen bleiben, wo sie sind.
Das wird allerdings nicht so einfach werden, den Quilt weg zu geben, ich habe mich wirklich in diese kleinen Minileute auf den Blocks verliebt.


Und jetzt muss ich mich nur noch entscheiden, ob ich noch eine weitere graue Umrahmung um den Quilt mache oder ob er einfach so bleiben darf.

Irgendwelche Meinungen hier?

Einen schönen Sonntag!

Johanna

Sunshine, rain, Sherbet Pips, and some Sugar and Spice!

Apparently I am not good at keeping up with my own goals. I know I said I wanted to blog more only to disappear for the next ten days. And I know that's not a good thing! And I can't really blame it on anything :) I guess that's life!

And just because they arrived about a month ago and I haven't shown them yet: some FQ from Spoonflower. I can see a pretty little quilt with some sunshine and rain (but look, it's a happy cloud!)


Möp! Und wieder einmal fast zwei Wochen seit meinem letzten Eintrag. Obwohl ich mich doch vorher noch extra öffentlich zu einem neuen Blogger-Style bekannt habe. Vermutlich ist das so wie mit allen guten Vorsätzen und rein gar nichts ändert sich :)


Jedenfalls hier noch ein paar Bilder von ein paar Stückchen Stoff, die vor Wochen angekommen sind und noch nicht auf den Blog durften. Vermutlich wird es ein kleiner Quilt mit "Sonnenschein und Regen" (aber fröhlicher Regen!)

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On another note, you guys should go check out Julie's giveaway. She is giving away two charm packs of Sherbet Pips! And I really want to win them because my Sherbet Pips are all cut up and sewn into blocks and there are not enough of them to make them into a big quilt.
First I thought I would be fine with some grey sashing to make it into a baby quilt. But now I really want to keep it (so it has to be a normal quilt, a baby quilt would be just big enough to cover my toes) and there is just not enough fabric in a charm pack!

So Julie, if you read this, your Sherbet Pips are very welcome here and if I would be so completely lucky to actually win, I am sure your Pips would have a great party with my Pips :)


Ganz kurz nur, bitte hier das kleine Gewinnspielchen von Julie besuchen. Julie hat für einen von uns (ich habe mich ganz frech auch in die Reihe der Schaulustigen gedrängelt) zwei Charm Packs mit Sherbet Pips.

Und wer ein bißchen hier mitgelesen hat, der weiß, dass ich davon eines in Australien erstanden habe. Das liegt jetzt hier auseinander geschnipselt und wieder zu Blöcken zusammen gesetzt rum und wartet darauf, dass mir einfällt, was ich damit anstelle.
Ein Babydeckchen mit grauem Sashing zwischen den Blocks war ja mein erster Gedanke, aber eigentlich will ich die Pips behalten und so ein Miniding reicht gerade einmal für warme Zehen.

Irgendwelche Vorschläge? Kissen? Wandbehänge? Für Topflappen sind sie ja viel zu schade!


And last but not least, I have visited Amanda's blog today and she already decorated it with some sugar and spice :)
Love the new layout! (And the new line. I want a piece of everything! Especially the argyle designs, how fun is that?! Did I mention that my living room is made of red and all shades of aqua/turquoise? Wouldn't it be perfect?)
And yes, that is a screenshot of her blog. Go visit, it's really pretty over there!


Uund natürlich war ich heute mal wieder auf Amandas Blog unterwegs und habe gesehen, dass sie schon in ihrer neuen Linie, Sugar and Spice, dekoriert hat.
*Seufz* ich liebe diese Farben. Habe ich schon mal gesagt, dass mein Wohnzimmer in rot und türkis/aqua/wie auch immer man dazu sagen will dekoriert ist? Wobei es momentan eher mit Papierblättern für die Uni dekoriert ist *tsts* :)

Eine schöne Restwoche!

I hope to talk to soon!

Johanna

Not so secret anymore...

My big secret, the one that had me jump up and down, and almost made me not be able to sleep:
I am on the creative team of Amanda Herring from The Quilted Fish!!!!! I told you it had something to do with fish :)

Amanda is the designer of Sweet Divinity, a line that I haven't bought yet but that is mainly due to the fact that I am way behind. Just last month I bought Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley, that's how late I am :)


When Amanda sent me an email telling me that I was selected to be on the team, I was so happy I had to hug everything: my man, my family, my friends, the lamp in the living room :)
I was so happy first and then fear came up to me, sat on my shoulder and whispered in my ear: "There will be so many other creative people on the team, you will not be able to keep up. English isn't even your first language. When someone asks you for dims, you can't answer because you don't know that dims is short for dimensions. "

But let me tell you once I got to know all those other amazing and talented people the fear just vanished! When I talk (or write :) ) I might sound a bit funny, but everyone on the team is so inspiring that I will definitely not run out of ideas. And they are so nice! I only met them through email but they are so nice that I want to visit them right now and have some fun sewing days with them.
And Ladies, if you read this, of course you are all invited! This would make a party that I would remember for the rest of my life! Now, because I have absolutely nothing to show yet, I thought I would share who I will be working with.

You can go here to see what everybody looks like (and yes, that is the first picture of me online ever! And I look a bit skeptical but really, I am trying hard to fight the big fat smile that I wore since the morning of that day!)

All the pictures should link back to the blogpost/etsy shop/ flickr account where I found them so that you can go look around a bit :) Actually only a few of the pictures are linking (the rest didn't work...) so for the rest I included an extra link in the description above each photo. And of course those pictures don't belong to me, they belong to the fabulous women who I linked to!

There is Karrie Lynne who I have been secretely following and admiring for a long time and who just had a tutorial for Moda Bake Shop:


And Julie, who used to live two hours away from me (which I of course didn't know. Else I might just have visited her!) She just made this adorable block which I wish she had made for me (taken from her photostream):

Jana, who has the cutest kids ever and still has time to create; if I had kids I would probably not touch my sewing machine at all, so yes - I admire her:

Sally, who not only makes beautiful things but also has a band! I mean how much more creative does it get?! Taken from here:


And then there is Stephanie whose blog you guys all know and who is a professor in real life. As a student myself I felt pretty intimidated by her (well, until we "met" because she is really such a nice person. Hi, Stephanie!). Here is a picture of soap she made (and because I have been wanting to try that, too, for about half a year:) )


And not to forget Brooke whose blogname I love! Her creations are just the cutest!



Candice who makes handbags just like me and look at them, bright and fun:


And last but not least Jackie who should call herself not just a quilter but an artist. I mean look at that quilt! It's not only a pretty thing that holds you warm at night, it has a realistic 3d flower on it. Who else can come up with that?!

This post is unfortunately only in English because I just can't seem to find the right words in my own language :P And no, all those exclamation marks - that magically found their way into this post even though I was trying to avoid them - are just a clue to how excited I am to start working. Can't wait!

Secretly...

I have a secret! One that I am so excited about that I want to end all my sentences with exclamation marks! And that I want to tell the world about! If you come back tomorrow I will probably be able to tell you.
One clue? It has something to do with fish :)
Yay!

Ich habe ein dunkles, dunkles Geheimnis! Okay, eher nicht dunkel, sondern sehr hell. Und ich bin total aufgeregt deswegen. So sehr, dass ich alle meine Sätze mit Ausrufezeichen beenden möchte! Morgen kann ich dann vermutlich mehr erzählen :) Also, am besten einfach zurück kommen!
Einen Hinweis kann ich aber geben. Es hat was mit Fish zu tun. Und das war jetzt kein Verschreiber! Aber pst!

100 Bücher, die man gelesen haben sollte...

Da es gerade im Forum von Dawanda ein Gewinnspiel für Leseratten gibt, oute ich mich hier auch einmal als Bücherwurm :) Die Liste mit den hundert Büchern, die seit Jahren durch Blogs geistern und die man angeblich alle gelesen haben muss, führe ich an dieser Stelle jetzt auch einmal auf. 23 von 100 nicht gelesen, ist eigentlich nicht so schlecht, allerdings habe ich nicht vor, diese jetzt noch zu lesen ;) Bis auf die von Thomas Mann, den scheine ich ja wirklich sträflich vernachlässigt zu haben!

Meine Lieblingsautoren dieser Liste: Michael Ende, Marianne Fredriksson, Astrid Lindgren, Patrick Süskind, Hermann Hesse, J.D. Salinger und Douglas Adams.
Und da mich der Hype um ihn so nervt, ist Harry Potter sozusagen mein persönliches Schlusslicht in Sachen Gefallen.
Was liest Ihr grad so? Ich ärger mich mit Don Juan herum, könnte also ablenkende Tips gut gebrauchen :)


1. Der Herr der Ringe, JRR Tolkien
2. Die Bibel
3. Die Säulen der Erde, Ken Follett
4. Das Parfum, Patrick Süskind
5. Der kleine Prinz, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
6. Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann
7. Der Medicus, Noah Gordon
8. Der Alchimist, Paulo Coelho
9. Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen, JK Rowling
10. Die Päpstin, Donna W. Cross
11. Tintenherz, Cornelia Funke
12. Feuer und Stein, Diana Gabaldon
13. Das Geisterhaus, Isabel Allende
14. Der Vorleser, Bernhard Schlink
15. Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
16. Der Schatten des Windes, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
17. Stolz und Vorurteil, Jane Austen
18. Der Name der Rose, Umberto Eco
19. Illuminati, Dan Brown
20. Effi Briest, Theodor Fontane
21. Harry Potter und der Orden des Phönix, JK Rowling
22. Der Zauberberg, Thomas Mann
23. Vom Winde verweht, Margaret Mitchell
24. Siddharta, Hermann Hesse
25. Die Entdeckung des Himmels, Harry Mulisch
26. Die unendliche Geschichte, Michael Ende
27. Das verborgene Wort, Ulla Hahn
28. Die Asche meiner Mutter, Frank McCourt
29. Narziss und Goldmund, Hermann Hesse
30. Die Nebel von Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
31. Deutschstunde, Siegfried Lenz
32. Die Glut, Sándor Márai
33. Homo faber, Max Frisch
34. Die Entdeckung der Langsamkeit, Sten Nadolny
35. Die unerträgliche Leichtigkeit des Seins, Milan Kundera
36. Hundert Jahre Einsamkeit, Gabriel Garcia Márquez
37. Owen Meany, John Irving
38. Sofies Welt, Jostein Gaarder
39. Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis, Douglas Adams
40. Die Wand, Marlen Haushofer
41. Gottes Werk und Teufels Beitrag, John Irving
42. Die Liebe in den Zeiten der Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Márquez
43. Der Stechlin, Theodor Fontane
44. Der Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse
45. Wer die Nachtigall stört, Harper Lee
46. Joseph und seine Brüder, Thomas Mann
47. Der Laden, Erwin Strittmatter
48. Die Blechtrommel, Günter Grass
49. Im Westen nichts Neues, Erich Maria Remarque
50. Der Schwarm, Frank Schätzing
51. Wie ein einziger Tag, Nicholas Sparks
52. Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban, JK Rowling
53. Momo, Michael Ende
54. Jahrestage, Uwe Johnson
55. Traumfänger, Marlo Morgan
56. Der Fänger im Roggen, Jerome David Salinger
57. Sakrileg, Dan Brown
58. Krabat, Otfried Preußler
59. Pippi Langstrumpf, Astrid Lindgren
60. Wüstenblume, Waris Dirie
61. Geh, wohin dein Herz dich trägt, Susanna Tamaro
62. Hannas Töchter, Marianne Fredriksson
63. Mittsommermord, Henning Mankell
64. Die Rückkehr des Tanzlehrers, Henning Mankell
65. Das Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving
66. Krieg und Frieden, Leo N. Tolstoi
67. Das Glasperlenspiel, Hermann Hesse
68. Die Muschelsucher, Rosamunde Pilcher
69. Harry Potter und der Feuerkelch, JK Rowling
70. Tagebuch, Anne Frank
71. Salz auf unserer Haut, Benoite Groult
72. Jauche und Levkojen , Christine Brückner
73. Die Korrekturen, Jonathan Franzen
74. Die weiße Massai, Corinne Hofmann
75. Was ich liebte, Siri Hustvedt
76. Die dreizehn Leben des Käpt’n Blaubär, Walter Moers
77. Das Lächeln der Fortuna, Rebecca Gablé
78. Monsieur Ibrahim und die Blumen des Koran, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
79. Winnetou, Karl May
80. Désirée, Annemarie Selinko
81. Nirgendwo in Afrika, Stefanie Zweig
82. Garp und wie er die Welt sah, John Irving
83. Die Sturmhöhe, Emily Brontë
84. P.S. Ich liebe Dich, Cecilia Ahern
85. 1984, George Orwell
86. Mondscheintarif, Ildiko von Kürthy
87. Paula, Isabel Allende
88. Solange du da bist, Marc Levy
89. Es muss nicht immer Kaviar sein, Johanns Mario Simmel
90. Veronika beschließt zu sterben, Paulo Coelho
91. Der Chronist der Winde, Henning Mankell
92. Der Meister und Margarita, Michail Bulgakow
93. Schachnovelle, Stefan Zweig
94. Tadellöser & Wolff, Walter Kempowski
95. Anna Karenina, Leo N. Tolstoi
96. Schuld und Sühne, Fjodor Dostojewski
97. Der Graf von Monte Christo, Alexandre Dumas
98. Der Puppenspieler, Tanja Kinkel
99. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
100. Rote Sonne, schwarzes Land, Barbara Wood

Happy New Year and some advice needed...

Happy new year 2011 everyone!
What do you expect of the new year?
I have high expectations :) Of course, there should be more quilts but I also thought that I should share more of my work in progress with you and - more importantly - my handbags.


This blog was originally intended to show the things that I sew for my shop but it somehow turned into a quilting blog. Which isn't bad because as of February last year I love quilting. But selling my handbags allows me to buy more fabric for other handbags and for more quilts :)


That reminds me - October and November last year I was supposed to be on a fabric diet which I apparently totally forgot because I bought more fabric then ever before.
So, this year, no more fabric diets for me! Instead I will try to use my stash but if I absolutely want to buy some new fabric then this shouldn't stand in my way.

And, I am now making quilts for other people. Until right now, I only made baby quilts for others (or for my shop). Other (bigger) quilts stayed with me or my parents. But now that my apartment cannot handle any more quilts, I simply cannot keep them anymore. So, from now on, all of my quilts can be purchased (that is, if they are not meant to be a gift for someone else!).
I am also thinking of opening an etsy store. This might not be a great idea because shipping charges are ridiculously high from Germany but I would love to have a greater audience for them. Right now, it is mostly Germany and we are mostly going for handbags that are constructed in a very clear and simple way which is not as much fun to make :) and most people here do not even know what a quilt is! Crazy, I know!

Now, I need you all to give me some advice. You may remember the star quilt that was supposed to be for a little boy? One side looks like this:


And the other one looks like this (with a lot of pins in it):


I am very uncertain how to quilt it. Most of the time I am just doing some straight line stitching which is fast and looks nice. But this quilt is a bit more special to me, so I want it to be something else.
Now, I already quilted together the star side and the batting thinking that I could just bind the sunny side and the rest together. But that would mean that the threads would show on either side.
Should I unpick the quilting on the star side and just do some normal quilting that shows on both sides? And which pattern should I use? The stars would look a bit weird on the other side, don't you think?
Should I just tie the quilt like I intended to?
And which thread color should I use?

Please share your opinions with me, I am a bit lost here.

Thank you, Johanna