The last day of 2007!!

Received this wonderful box of goodies from
Lillie, this is really a big big surprise for me. See all these goodies and the yummy donut..i am so happy to have one of your creations Lillie. Always admired it at your blog when you started making them. Thank you so much!!

And here's a picture of the christmas stitched gift exchange of Jayne's Attic. I just LOVE it!! Thank you so much, i don't know yet who had made this beautiful ornament. Still have to catch up on groups...




A picture of the stitched cards i received for my birthday. This is from a birthday stitched card exchange on one of the yahoo groups i am in.





And this is my last finish for this year, also the sampler i had posted on my last post but i haven't taken a picture yet, i thought i did but i can't find it on the disk so will take it other times.






I have try and note a kind of goals for 2008, i haven't done it before. Lets see how far i can get..!
1. 5 PIF that i offered on my blog earlier this month.
2. scissor fob for January exchange
3. x'mas ornamnets & cards(atleast one each month)
4. 3 Joan Elliott's charts for the kitchen
5. start on Sarah Spence 1806 Ackworth Sampler
6. birthday cards
7. a couple of LHN charts
8. atleast 5 prairie schooler for pinkeeps
9. work on Quilt sampler (quilting)
10. a few quilt blocks for ILCS
11. work on a few UFO's Hardanger
12. ...and for a few exchanges as i am sure will join some too.

So far for the year 2007 i've completed:
= birthday + x'mas cards== 46
= blocks== 6
= pincushions== 6
= pinkeeps== 5
= scissor fobs== 9
= x'mas ornaments== 25
= others(small to bigger pieces)== 16
...in all 113!! WOW! can't believe it myself too.


As this is my last post for this year, i would like to thank everyone who come visit my blog and also for leaving comments. I wish you all a Happy New Year.
Here's hoping that everyone has a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008!

We're home!

First of all, thank you all so much for all the best wishes for our trip and my birthday, also for all the nice comments with the completed ornaments.
Here are a few pictures taken during our stay in Tossens, Germany.
Not much though, as we didn't really explored the place, except when we went to Bremershaven on my birthday and thought to go to a museum and a bit of shopping but the museum we wanted to visit was closed on mondays and since it is just a day before x'mas the shops were opened until 2PM and we arrived at 1pm.
The first picture was the scenery when we just arrived, so white on the background, a pity it didn't last long. The next day was gone! Temperature went up unfortunately. The picture next to it, was the house we stayed in for the week.













Before booking this trip and we know it is winter time and most children's park are closed we had really looked for a place where they have a good swimming place.
And yes they have, we spent almost everyday here. So the children had really enjoyed. That's father and son climbing the stairs for the slide...one of the few slides they have...









Here's a couple of picture of our day in Bremershaven during my birthday. One where we are standing at the museum we wanted to visit and the other one at the Ice Coffee shop. Hmmmm, that was delicious...diet forgotten!!!
Oh, before we leave the house, Dh and kids handed there gifts: Channel parfum, a gift cheque for beauty salon for more than an hour and special cup with some fun sayings on it. I forgot to take pictures of them.


By the way, we don't give gifts during christmas as we've done that during the 5th of december, Sinterklaas.

In all, this was a lovely and quiet christmas for us, no stress in preparing or going for a visit or going to work!
We've been out to dinner everyday! Mostly at the park self where they have buffet every night, except the 24th, 25th and 26th where we had booked weeks before our leave, to one of the restaurant which is in the park too.



With stitching?? I did took some charts with fabrics but i forgot to take the needed threads, only this sampler but the thread wasn't enough to finish it off either.

Also forgot to take books and magazines that i had planned to take especially the last serie on Harry Potter. DH took his laptop but there was no connection on that area which was really a pity..but oh well we had enjoyed our quiet evenings..!

Away for a week!!

We are leaving tomorrow at midday later than we had actually planned. It's because Grace can't get off for school, while they have only morning school and sports day too. They are really very strict!
Anyway, we are going to Germany, the noordern part. Staying at Center Parcs Butjadinger Küste. Here's a link of the park, just hope it works: Butjadinger Küste

Here's a picture of most of the ornaments i've made till the end of November when i had to part with most of them either for exchanges or for gifts. Still there are a few that was sent out the beginning of November and the beginning of this month that were not on the picture.
I do hope i can be productive next year too!

Here's another picture of the cards, mostly crafted that i've received for my birthday, i've opened them up as we are not home then. Aren't they all beautiful!!
There should be more and stitched cards then from one of the yahoo groups here in Holland as part of the b-day exchange. I just hope it wasn't forgotten as i am the last on the list, the last one before me was in october.

May you all have a wonderful Christmas wherever you are and whatever you are doing!!

The packages!!

I will start with the package from Barbara J. for the Stitching Bloggers Birthday/X'mas Club The first picture is for my b-day and she stitched this lovely heart and finished it into a bag. It's very pretty and neatly done as well as the card, oh yes i LOVE blue colours! Enclosed are a couple of charts, fabric and threads too.

The next picture is the x'mas package and WOW more great things. The cute ornament and the beautiful tatted bookmark. You are very creative Barbara! and you really have consider my favorite colour. Also enclosed were a couple of charts, red and green hardanger fabrics and also inculded gifts for Grace & Chris, the pencils and DH a butterfly on a leaf magnet.
I do love all of it. Thank you so much, Barbara.


The next picture is from Dawn for the birthday exchange on Robin's Nest group. As you can see on the picture it's another great package, see the lovely fabric and ohh the Cat's Whiskers chart, my first ever of their designs. It's on my wishlist for a long time and so happy to have one now, sure will start it early next year.

Dawn stitched and finished this lovely pinkeep.
You and Barbara are very generous with your gifts and all are very much appreciated. Many many thanks!!






This package is from Jayne's Attic group for the x'mas stitched card exchange, but i received an ornament instead. There was a mix up with the signed up as there was a x'mas ornament exchange on going too that time, so my partner got confused, but i feel so LUCKY to received this gorgeous ornament. Thanks so much, Dusty.


Lastly is the christmas exchange on one of the Dutch yahoo group. Ingrid from Belgium stitched these beautiful bow and card. I really feel spoiled with all these great things and i am running out of words how to voice out how or what i feel.

There's still another package unopened but will wait for that for another day...





Once again, Thanks so much for visiting and all the nice comments about my first flatfolds finishes. Will surely make more of it next year.

Flatfolds!!

I know you are wondering where are the pictures of the packages instead but honestly since it is more for my birthday i am trying to wait till nearer my b-day though i think i have to open them up very soon...
For a while now i really want to try flatfold as there are a couple from the x'mas msal that was completed earlier this year and i want to finish it into a flatfold instead of framing them. These msal pieces were quite big and i'd rather try it on a small piece first.
In between stitching x'mas designs lately i am stitching this 'welcome' chart of Prairie schooler and it's a perfect size(for me atleast) to try flatfold.
Whew! I can say it is not so difficult but it takes quite a lot of time or maybe because it is my first time. BUT i do love how it turn out.



Now, here is one of the x'mas msal, i think from ILCS yahoo group and yeah finish it quicker than the first one but noticed the back of this one compare to the first one. .
Many many thanks for visiting and all comments are very much appreciated.
Off to catch up on groups and then have to hung up the x'mas cards and b-day cards that are aleady piled up here...
Have a nice week to everyone.

Quilt spannen?? & cards

You might be wondering what that means but i am not sure how can i translate that in english, quilt stretching?? I tried to find a quilting term for it and i am not sure if it is the Batting word...
Anyway, a week ago i heard that my group( for the sampler we had taken before) were coming together last thursday evening for stretching their sampler. I haven't seen the others since summer, just too busy to join them in other course they had taken after the sampler. Actually the evening(tuesdays) they meet up were my work day so it is not really appropriate for me.
When i heard about the meet up i said to join and take my sampler with me as it has done quite a while back but didn't make any appointments for stretching and now is my chance to join them as it needed more people to assemble the pieces.
The stretching, were the bottom fabric, the fiber fill in middle and the on top the finished sampler and then we had used a tacking gun to inserts a plastic piece into the quilt to hold all three layers together.
Enclosed were the pictures of the three samplers that were done that evening, mine is the blue one. We are six in all in the group, two were already done with the stretching and one wasn't done yet with her sampler, i don't even know if she's finish with all the blocks she needed.
These three are now ready for quilting but we need to get back probably later next month to ask advice on how or where to start.

These cards were done last month and most were already received so i can show a pic.



More pictures will be coming soon as there are quite some packages came in yesterday and today. Dawn, i think yours came in today as well as one from Jayne's attic and one from Belgium. Haven't had the time to open them yet.
Yesterday afternoon, we've been to watch the show of her Grace with her 'street dance', was actually unexpected as we thought it will be next week. And this morning all in a hurry for Chris football as we had to drive early than usual, leaving here after eight AM and arriving at the place, the building wasn't even opened for the kids to change so they had to do it outside and it's about 2 degrees celcius. For us parents watching them is too cold and it was about an hour. Well, back home midday after a detour to get some groceries i had a splitting headache. After lunch i went to bed and slept for an hour and had to get up as I had promised to take Grace to go shopping for shoes in this afternoon. Glad when i woke up i felt better, i think it was from staying outside with this cold weather.

Christmas tree & Max

A picture of our x'mas tree, still need to add a few more deco's here and there. And that's me and Grace with Max last night before the owner came to pick him up. We didn't expected it as when we had called at his work last monday & we were told that he came home last weekend but left last monday to Egypt and be back today(thursday), but after dinner last night he called that he's home and come to pick Max. I think he do miss him too. And now we miss him......