KNITTING A COWL

Hi everyone! New week again – I hope great one! At least no storm or thunder and even sunshine … to wash laundry. I am knitting a cowl and I think I shall name it Cloudy Cowl because it’s bluffy and soft like beautiful clouds. But the colour is exactly the turquoise from the sea …

When visiting Finland in spring, I still found lots of yarn – from me, my sister and my mom. Only few came with me but more came with friends at the end of the summer. I had in my mind to make a crochet cowl because Avis is making a beautiful stripe blanket. But I wasn’t happy with my yarns and colours (those which were suitable for crochet). Then I saw these yarn balls and knew that they will be my new cowl. I was hoping to get two cowls, one turquoise and one light pink.

There was only one ball in both colours. I couldn’t know how far they will take me, so I just began and thought we’ll see … of course one wasn’t enough. Usually I like to match and mix colours but this time I took brave dicision and just continued with the second colour. This was also the easiest and quickest way to make the cowl. If I had started to make a plan how to mix the colours, it would have taken much time. Now in few late evenings I have knitted more than half. I am planning to write a simple tutorial at the end of the week. This is easy and quick way to make a lovely cowl and there is still time to knit it for a Christmas present!

I have been so delighted to hear that you liked my tea cosy tutorial! Thank you for your sweet words! If you subscribed to the newsletter after it was published, you can see all Cindy’s newsletters in her blog ‘Fluffy Sheep Quilting’. My tutorial is under the ‘November 2012′. And to find beautiful fabrics to make your tea cosy, go for shopping to ‘Fluffy Sheep Quilting’ fabric shop!

One day after the storm the scene over Chania was this! Like a spaceship was going to land! It looked really amazing, so strong light through the dark clouds!

Lots of rain and still warm temperature helped my poor rosies and now they are flowering.

It’s orange time! Who could believe that in one month we have Christmas and the magic Christmas Eve has already passed! Clups – I should be with my sewing machine …

Jennifer from ‘Ellison Lane Quilts’ is hosting a great event ‘Deck The Halls’- every day one blog is showing one tutorial and has a give away! Ideas and inspiration for your Christmas sewings!  You find the button also from my sidelist so you can easily visit every blog-stop!

So hop hop - you and me - to make presents and cards!!! I just wish that these were fabrics … paper napkins from my Marimekko collection!

Thank you for your visit and for your always sweet comments! I enjoy so much changing thoughts and ideas with you! See you soon with the ‘Cloudy Cowl’!

TEJE

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BIG GAB … BAG …

Hi and welcome! Great to see you! I have made a new bag. This is bigger and has lots of pockets …

The fabrics I have used here are canvas from Ikea. Great for bags because you can make very steady bag. Still I have used fleece and normal weight cotton which I have quilted.  Lining is with normal cotton fabric.

With this bag you can have all your things well organized … there are 2 + 2 pockets … two on each side and 2 more inside …

First I had planned to leave this bag without zipper but at the end I changed my mind and thought let this bag has almost everything …

One outside pocket has clapper which close with elastic loop and big wooden button. The clapper can be hidden also in the pocket.

I mixed the fabrics so that they are the opposite on the other side. There is only very few quilting lines because I didn’t want to ‘brake’ the print picture or those wide stripes.

Measurements for this bag are: hight 12″, width 18″ and the bottom width 3,5″. Two shoulder stripes are about 25″. I covered the edges with the same black fabric that I used for the binding.

This scene with full sunshine is few days ago … today we have finally cool air and … I wear socks and long jeans! Jippii – you may think what’s the jippii in that – but I haven’t been able to wear soft socks for 5 months and my feet are sooooo tired with the flip flops! They are not at all good for walking but most of the time only reasonable choise for my works. Now I have even my soft sheep-fleece slippers. It’s not so cold that I would need them but I want to wear something really soft today. From tomorrow we are expecting rain and storm … wel’ll see if it’s going to reach us here in Crete.

A while ago (again) I received these amazing little blocks from Debbie at ‘A Quilter’s Table’! They are all so adorable! Funny thing is that I don’t know who has made them?! Debbie had organized and was hosting a swap – a Big Swap! It was with ‘Polaroid’ blocks and it bacame so popular that there were finally hundreds and hundreds (I think thousands) of these small blocks going around to other people! It was just amazing swap. I didn’t have any change to join in the middle of the busy summer. After mixing and fixing and sending the blocks to their new owners, Debbie made a give away for some of the blocks and I was one of the lucky girls! I have many ideas what I could make with these small beauties … we’ll see … Thank you so much Debbie! I’m so happy for these! Couldn’t help myself to pick one favourite – it’s with those colourful houses in the middle!

I have finished this small quilt and it’s in my shop. It’s a little one for a baby, for a chair, for a wall … perhaps for sweet kitten or puppy! It’s made with the same fish block that I used for ‘My Dream Quilt’. This one I quilted following the seams and somehow it’s better that the other where I quilted the fishes around. Here the quilting shows better.

Here are some of the many many great links that I have picked:

www.sewsweetness.com/2012/10/zippers-4-ways.html – 4 ways to add zipper!

www.mollyflanders.blogspot.com/2012/10/steps.html – fantastic patchwork pillow!

My give away is open HERE!

I think that’s for today … we have been working in the garden, collecting things inside and prepering ourselves for the rain and winter. Now I’m ready to close myself to my sewing attic and start to bee busy busy! I have re-organaized my space and there is already chaos – so many projecst around … I’ll go to see what I could do!

I’m so happy to be back ‘in the train’ again and linking with my blog friends at Megan’s link party {Sew} Modern Monday and ‘Manic Monday’ and Heather’s & Megan’s “Fabric Tuesday” and Connie’s ‘Linky Party Tuesday’  and ‘Made by Me’ !

Thank you for joining me and thank you for your sweet comments! I hope you havea a perfect autumn week (not stormy)!

PS. Could someone tell me, please, what means limited Blogger profile? Should I choose that?

TEJE

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Featured at ‘QUILT STORY’!

Hello my Dear Friends! Time for the exiting news … Heather and Megan at ‘Quilt Story’ are featuring my ‘Baby Stars’ quilt!!!

Thank you so much Heather and Megan!!! You are so sweet and I love you blog, quilts and other sewings (can’t forget the cute pincushion with peas) and your quilt stories!

‘Quilt Story’ is so wonderful blog! It’s full of inspiration, tutorials, patterns, ideas and every Tuesday we meet there at the link party: ‘Fabric Tuesday’! Please pay a visit and say hello from me!

I have said too many times that this is busy time for me … if you just knew how many things I have now in my mind (and not only quilt blocks) … I’ll tell you later …

But you can guess how much I wait to get to my cutting board and sewing machine if you see what my dear sister sent to me …

I hope I can cut these and not just to save and adore them!

Yesterday with my friend we had a lovely visit to a big monastery of ‘Agia Triada’ which is very near to us. That place is so beautiful with nice gardens and they make their own, very good oil, and wine.  We went to buy good wine!

Thank you for your visit – I hope you are having a wonderful time and beautiful weather!

With Nero we send you hugs and kisses!

TEJE

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Baby Squares and cat-hair ball?!

Hello! I have missed you my friends but my days are really busy now … still some weeks and then it starts to turn to autumn. I have so many ideas in my mind. I have found some time to visit your blogs and have seen so many beautiful quilts and other lovely ideas! I would like to tell and show many things! But today I changed my plans and after thinking better I’ll show you the small quilt ‘Baby Squares’!

This quilt is going to be a present from my friend to a baby girl. I made this a little bit more simple that ‘Baby Stars’ to be able to finish it befaure autumn. Colours are this time more read and orange with some light pastels and the binding bright orange.

I thought that you have seen so often my quilts with the same backround at home garden, so one day I took this quilt with me to ‘Maherida’.

It is so beautiful place among the olive trees and the sea view. There must have been lots of wine-growing, too, because they still grow from every where.

You see the bright green on the left side?

I like so much these old wooden gates! Unfortunately we had to take them away and make a new gate. It wasn’t possible to fix them to work. But the new wooden green gate looks also very good and goes well with the garden. I managed to save these old ones for decoration!

Today except this baby quilt, I have Nelli with me! All our friends have been loosing their fur and I brush and brush and brush … every evening!

One day I thought I need to brush Nelli, too. Our vet told once that it’s good to brush cats, too. Other wise they get too much hairs and hair balls to their stomach and may have problems. For my surprise, Nelli really enjoyes brushing!

Very quickly I had all this hair in my hand and thought to show it to Nelli …

… she thought to taste it … then I made felted ball with her hairs …

It’s very easy to make, because at least Nelli’s hairs felt so easily in a warm hand.

… and again she tasted … I guess it could be an instinct when she smells her hairs, she feels they need to be ‘cleaned’. But maybe she couldn’t understand why that ball smells her because she started to clean her leg …

If you like to see where I have used few felted balls made from Nelli’s hairs, click HERE!

Now I would like to give you few great links to visit:

Ayumi from ‘Pink Penquin’ has made my favourite patchwork block – super beautiful – just amazing! I want to make a wall quilt like that!

Svetlana from ‘s.o.t.a.k handmade’ has made beautiful name tags and has written so funny post about them!

Carol from ‘Naturally Carol’ makes beautiful pillows and aprons, but now she has made a cake that looks so delicious! I’m just waiting to be one day at home to make it!

Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet and always wonderful comments! I’m so happy to welcome also many new friends and followers to my blog! I hope you enjoy your visits!

TEJE

PS. Still I want to tell you that we had today some clouds! How beautiful they are after 3-4 months bright blue sky! And what a relax for eyes! Also wonderful wind is blowing and it’s the most lovely weather!

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NERO’S POST: pink pouch piruet

Vof vof vof!! What’s up friends?! Hope you are fine – I am! The weather is great – at night! In the day time it’s still really hot but in the evening I relax outside listening the sounds of my garden … birds on the trees, hedgehog walking around, cats in the neighbourhood and so on. Because here in my blog we like to show always even one craft, I’ll show you this …

In the evenings when I search my garden, Teje is making lavender pouches. There are now quite many, but still we need to fill them. I show you more later.

This summer my vegetable garden is not full of tomatoes, cucambers, paprikas, watermelons, strawberries etc. This year we didn’t put there anything because we (they) knew that it’s going to be very busy summer. But I found something …

Yeeeee, grapes! Heh – heh, this was few weeks ago, see I was still wearing my toeless sock! I love grapes but then we learnt that they are not good for dogs, so I don’t eat them anymor (only if I find them on my own from the garden).

I don’t believe – she bought pink wine! is there really pink wine? I don’t think greek language has pink word for wine. There is red = κοκκινο, ερυθρο  (kokkino, erithro) and white = ασπρο, λευκο (aspro, lefko), but no pink!

Βθτ νεωερ … oups, sorry forgot to change the letters … ment to say, but never mind, if she likes pink. She went to ‘Jumbo’ for pillow firms and we got new toys – pink and blue!

Oh ssshhh, why this happens – again most fun part of my post is missing … I try again …

So here we have just got our new, clean toys …

We had so much fun and Hanna made some great piruets!

Look, she has been knitting! No, not she, but she …

We didn’t disturb her project and she has knitted a huge net during the last months!

We are not very good with not showing what we have done , but we’ll try, because there is something happy next week and it’s sort of related with ‘this’. So we save ‘this’ for then and I show you only a sneaky peaky!

Thank you so much for joining me today and writing so sweet and special messages! Now it’s again evening and I’m on my way to lie down outside and leave my writer to do some ironing.

Hugs and Kisses!!!!!!!!

PS. Of course linking at ‘Fabric Tuesday’, ‘Link Party Tuesday’, ‘Made By Me’

NERO

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Jewellery & Could this be a dress?

Hello and welcome! I hope you enjoy your summer! Today I’m hiding at home with the dogs – inside because for us it’s really too hot to even sit outside. I know when you come for holidays you love this, but having this hot for a long time and working every day is an other thing. Today I like to thank Emma her for amazing present that I won from her give away!

Thank you Emma so much for this beautiful and unique art jewellery! Emma’s blog is ‘SILVER PEBBLE’ and you leave always with a smile and happy feeling! Adorable and extra ordinary jewelleries which you find also in her etsy shop ‘SILVER PEBBLE’! Beautiful photos from nature, garden and her creations! Emma and her lovely work has just been featured in the ‘Country Living’ magazine!

I am so in love with this sweet jewellery – absolutely my one and only favourite for this and next summers! Ecxept if I can purchase something else from Emma’s shop! I tried to choose other favourite to show you, but couldn’t – so you just have to see on your own!

I have to admit that it was difficult to get a decent photo from a small shiny jewellery. Now I value even more people who make small items and get beautiful photos of them! One more try …

So …  I really have been lucky girl lately! I have received so many beautiful, unique and unforgetable presents! I hope this luckyness continues with other things, because there has been unluckyness, too. I had an accident and my car was one week being repaired. Fortunately no one injured in the accident when motorbike hit my car (it came behind the curve on my side – auch!). Also I have now new iron, coffee machine and hair blower – all stopped to work last month! Both of our cars have now new wheeles … so shouldn’t that be enough for a while!

I relax when watching my puppies in the garden, sniffing around, taking care what the other one has found, looking after birds or smelling something delicious from neighbour’s barbeque. Foxy had a bath and now she feels wonderful, soft and smells so good.

This time of the summer I love evenings … sun gets down … long shadows … busy day gets quiet … moment to sit and leave your mind travel …

This ‘furry pubble’ is artichoke’s dry flower!

But before that there are so many things to do … like a cool summer dress! Tell me please why I didn’t make a dress in April? I know, then I was too busy with sewing something else.

Here is my desperate try to make a dress in a minute to wear something cool at home. I don’t have any pattern for this. Just saw one dress like this and try something. If you won’t see any dress later, this may have become butterflies …

… something like this … or …

At least the fabric is perfect! I love white and turquoise and I think I shall use here some solid white, too.  But to wear this means that I need to hurry. Tomorrow is again full program, so hop hop!

My dear friend Mia, from Finland gave me ‘Sunshine Award’ a while ago! Thank you so much Mia! I do hope I can share some sunshine! But even there is not so much sunshine in Finland as there is in Greece, still Mia’s posts are always sunny and happy! I think most of you know her and the adorable, unique felted bags and purses she makes! Birds, cats, lady bugs, flowers … If you haven’t visited Mia’s lovely blog ‘HANDMADEBY MIA’ or her etsy shop ‘HANDMADEBY MIA’, it’s time! Also from Mia you find always smile and happy mind!

Thank you so much for stopping by and writing so sweet comments! I do appreciate that you tell your thoughts and what you have been doing! Enjoy and have fun! Hope to see you soon!

TEJE 

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MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Vof Vof Vof! It’s me Nero here and I am really happy to see you just before the Christmas!

I have been around in the garden to show you how it looks here in the winter time!

Behind me it looks like this …

… I can see snow up on the ‘White Mountains’ …

… beach is empty …

… in my garden it’s very green …

… yesterday it was raining …

… olive trees …

… rosemary full of tiny flowers …

 … with Nelli we like to sit front of the door …

 … and with Hanna we run to our hill to see if Santa is coming …

I have heard that tomorrow is the big day when Santa Claus begins his trip from Finland. If you look from the window in the evening, you just may see him going from home to home with his big sack full of presents … I wonder if he can be here tomorrow …

Would you like to join me for a Christmas coffee? I made special Christmas cake for you with red whortleberries, brown sugar, youghurt, cinnamon … !

WE WISH YOU MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

LOTS OF HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL OF YOU OUR DEAR, SPECIAL FRIENDS!!!

TEJE, NERO, HANNA, FOXY & NELLI 

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NERO’S POST: SEWING CHRISTMAS WISHES

… what amazing blue sky, exiting smells from north – great day with full sunshine! Ah – sorry I didn’t hear your coming!

Welcome everyone and with Hanna we hope you have had as great Sunday as we did! Okey, a little bit boring because my assistant is sewing – again – but I have been out with Hanna! This is the best season - sunshine but not too hot to enjoy it! Funny how it is snowing from the blue sky?!

I was really happy because you liked my white Christmas tree so much! There was so many lovely comments and more good ideas. Kirsten from Gemini Stitches said that you can use those soft foam conals for the base of the tree! They are so perfect because you can pin the fleece very easily. Also Linda from 2 Brown dawgs remembered how they made Angles with those paper trees! That would be so wonderful Angel! I hope I have time to try that! From the Angel I remembered my handkerchief Angel, I made last year. If you like to see how you can make a beautiful hanging Angel with an old lace handkerchief, LOOK HERE!

You see that I have been photo modelling! Wow I enjoy that - it’s so fun to look here – look there – smile … I think I’m quite a personality!  But I am always late with my posts because all the time there is new things I want to tell you. Already two posts ago I wanted to give you C-vitamin for this dark and cold season … so here it is finally … enjoy fresh, local mandarins and lemons!

News from my garden: can you imagine that there is now one Yucca palm flowering! I think he is a little bit late but who cares – I like to see still one huge white flower!

And now I guess I need to show some sewing, too … in fact I was supposed to finish cards, small presents, pack and send them tomorrow … but as usually I’m late because I wanted to sew few ‘cards’.

I shouldn’t show these … but just can’t keep myself …

I hope my friends are also busy with they Christmas sewings and don’t have time to read this post …

… anyway no one can guess who gets these … there is only two …

… first I didn’t know if these are coming anything at all – but this time the project ended up quite nicely! At least in the beautiful light of the afternoon sun, they are really sweet!

And now I would like very much you to pay a visit to the wonderful blog ‘Quilt Inspiration’! I’m so happy I found it because you can see there so much beautiful quilts, find inspiration and information! And guess how I found it? I had many visitors from that blog and what I saw there … my small Christmas mug rug with the horse! Oh, I was so happily surprised! Thank you so much Marina and Daryl! They have everyday one lovely Christmas tutorial on they sidelist and today there is a wonderful Star Christmas sock!

Thank you for keeping me company this Sunday afternoon! I enjoy so much reading your posts and seeing your Christmas sewings and preparations! Have a wonderful week and I send you warm hugs and kisses!

NERO (and his typing assistant Teje)

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“MONDAY IN TOWN” QUILTED TOTE BAG

Hello and welcome! Good week for everyone! I had again yesterday sewing Sunday and I made a shoulder bag. Today when taking photos I tried to find a name for it. It has a modern feeling – it has a town – it is modern monday at Megan’s today – I think my new bag looks ‘Monday in Town’!

Sometimes it’s nice and relaxing to work with less colours. Perhaps for your surprise, grey has always been my favourite colour! And white … of course! You may think if there is any colour I don’t like …  hmmm … there are some colours I don’t like at all.

As you have seen so often, I have always company – inside and outside – so I asked Hanna to show herself so you can imagine the size of the bag.

This fabric is from Ikea and it is a little bit firm. I have used soft wadding and thin cotton for the quilting.

 I sew the circle quilting by my ‘free motion way’ = I don’t measure on count the distances = I just start from the center and go around and around and around …

The linen is cotton fabric with pastell coloured polka dots and there is a zipper pocket.

I made this good size and very practical bag with the same design like my ‘Favourite bag’ and this bag.

Ouside we met one strange guy! Or perhaps she was a girl because there were so loooooong legs!

You see it down on the wall – she is quite big!

I like to join Megan’s {Sew} Modern Monday party every Monday! It’s always so great to see what lovely modern sewings my friends has been doing!

Last Monday I had finished the Christmas Surprise wall quilt but then the internet was on/off/on/off couple of days and I couldn’t join anywhere. If you like to see how I made without noticing a small wall quilt with a pocket, visit this post. 

I shall join also my other favourite party on Tuesday: Quilt Story’s ‘Fabric Tuesday’ !

Morning was a little bit cloudy but then we had a wonderful, warm sunshine! I was brushing my friends and then sat in the sun and knitted those orange socks.

Thank you for stopping by! I enjoy always your lovely company and your kind comments!

Kisses from TEJE, NERO, HANNA & FOXY

PS. Should we sweep a little bit before sewing more …

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NERO’S POST & FOXY’S SWEATER

Vof vof vof!!!  It’s me Nero here! Great to see you! You can’t imagine how nice weather we have today – like summer but not too hot! ‘Calm before the storm’ like they say because for the weekend we are waiting cold, rain and storm. I hope that it won’t come to my island and I can still enjoy my days in the sunny garden!

Even the days are still warm (when it’s sunny), nights are colder and my darling Foxy needed a new pullover. The other one with the crochet flowers is too big. It is made with baby yarn and didn’t like all that streching and somersaults that Foxy is doing!

We took some yarn from our ‘Rainbow Jacket’ project which is still without sleeves?! Now Foxy is sleeping like a baby and not feeling cold with her new, warm sweater. She is just so sweet – she would make a great model on a fashion sunway … I mean runway! I want to tell you how much Foxy has energy – she is now 15 years and especially in the afternoon and the evening she is running around,  jumping around and over us, asking goodies – sometimes she drives us a little bit grazy being so much in our feets! But we are so happy to see how she enjoys her life!

Yesterday we had a photo session. We took photos from our tiny, Christmas quilts and then went down to the garden to photograph Foxy wearing her sweater. But on my way I saw something … there in my B.B.Q. place was a not-invited guest  -  a strange cat! I had to run so quickly that I ran over Foxy and she screamed to me and Hanna was following me …

… but the cat was quick enough to pass the fence. Lucky her because I would have said few strong words to her! Strange cats come to my garden and then they like to fight with Nelli and that’s not fare! Everyone needs to feel safety on their own home.

Look Hanna, here is the place where she passed … Yes Nero, but how I get down from here? These rocks are not good … I may brake my nail here …

Hanna was right, that wasn’t the best place to run around. It’s the last corner in our garden … not even garden because it’s left wild. There are rocks and bushes with thorns … and one bad thorn went to my toe! Auchssss! I couldn’t step at all with my left back feet. There was like a small piece of wood and it had stucked so much that I needed pincers to take it out and then there was a big hole in my toe! We put some medicine and after a while it was fine and no hole any more!

After all that action we needed to have a relaxing moment. We made some coffee and took few spinach pies and enjoyed our sunny picnik!

You can guess that all this huzzeling, running and hurting my toe, made me tired and in the afternoon I was so ready for a good sleep …

This is great … I think someone needs new bed! Not me – I’m fine here!

I’m so happy you came for a visit and I hope you enjoyed my garden news! Thank you for writing so lovely and happy messages to me! I send you lots of furry hugs and sunny kisses! I hope you have as great and comfortable bed as we do with Hanna!

PS. Girls … they need white sheets for their princess dreams!

I’m linking at ‘Wisdom begins in wonder’, ‘Creative Friday’ , ‘Fibers on Friday’ and Annemarie’s Crochet blog!

NERO

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