Cardboard Xmas trees and paper stars

Als je een tijdje in een ander land woont, ga je echt niet elke dag op stap

Er zijn genoeg dagen dat je de deur niet uitgaat

Vandaag is zo'n dag, want ik moet wachten op een monteur, grrrrrrr

Dus alle tijd om te laten zien wat er af en toe uit mijn handen komt

If you live in another country for some time, you don't go out for sightseeing every day

There are enough days you stay indoors

Today is such a day because I have to wait for a mechanic..... 

I have all the time to show you what I have been doing lately

Variatie op de kerstboom!

Omdat ze hier alleen maar nepperds verkopen, maak ik er liever zelf een van karton! ;)

My cardboard Xmas tree! ;)

Uit twee platen karton komt een heel bos tevoorschijn 

From two sheets of cardboard more than one tree appears

Met twee lange inkepingen, schuift een boom zo in elkaar

With two long notches one tree shuffles together

Het is wel een beetje erg simpel en de kadootjes moeten er nog onder

Maar toch komen we zo een beetje in de kerstsfeer

Maybe we need a bit more decorations and for sure some presents

but that special feeling is coming!

Dit kadootje ging mee naar een Kertslunch

I made this to bring to a Christmas luncheon

Van hetzelfde papier heb ik een paar origami sterretjes gevouwen

I made some origami stars out of the same paper

de instructies voor deze 5-puntige origami sterren vind je hier

find here the instructions for the 5-point stars

Ondertussen is de elektrische kookplaat gerepareerd, dus ik kan weer achter het fornuis! ;)

Meanwhile the electric cooking plate is fixed so I can go back to the kitchen! ;)

Groetjes, Hilde

Oh no!!

 Just when I went to the kitchen, the spool of Aurifil thread fell on the floor. This thread comes in handy to sew together another pincushion I am making for a dear friend. I did not pay much attention to it until I heard a funny noise near the sofa.
Oh no!! My dog thought it to be a fun toy and was carefully chewing it!
No way!! Go back into your basket, you naughty boy!

Uhhh, it wasn't me.....

Blending in

I found this set of Aurifil Mako 50 thread, a very fine and strong quilting thread in the quilting shop Quilterspalet. These are ideal to sew my pentagons together. The earth tone colours blend in beautifully with the bright fabrics of my latest project. The Liesels Funfecke book recommends to use quilting thread as it is stronger and does not fray and break that easily as the normal sewing thread. Just love the soft tones in the small box. Enough thread to blend in for many pentagons to come!

Cheers, Hilde

Pentagons and diamonds...

I would almost say: ... are a girl's best friend!

It is only that I have just started but I know I am hooked already! Before I can continue I have to study Portuguese, clean the bathroom, walk the dogs, get some groceries, appointment with the dentist, sort out the packing list for the movers in random order... ahhhh!!!
I so much more prefer to go through my stash, cut out pieces of fabrics and make a heap of pentagons to play with.  The colours of the Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler fabrics are just so appealing!
Sigh... ok,ok, I will do something from my to-do-list first and then I can go ahead and play for a while!

 Over the weekend I finished the applique to a top for a charity quilt.
All hexagon flowers and pentagon fishes and butterflies were made by a few ladies from the quilt bee at The Stitch Cottage. The top will be used for a so called Dream quilt. In total we made 2 tops for this special project.
More info regarding the dream quilts (in Dutch): http://www.regenboogboom.nl/droomdekentjes

Happy quilting! Hilde

Pincushionswap

Jeannet organized a pincushionswap and apparently already more than 100 people signed up! It is the first time I join a swap and it promises to be fun! If you want to join in as well, just click on the picture on the right side. Closure date is September 5!

A few weeks ago the postman brought me a book about pentagons: Liesels Fünfecke written by Hilde Klatt and Liesel Niesner; a wonderful variation on the hexagon principle with stunning effects. 

The book is in German but the instructions are clear. I bought it from Lohuis-Tijhuis quiltshop, but you can also order it from the writers themselves. Just click on the links and you will go their websites.

I am planning to make a few pincushion samples with these pentagons, just have to decide on the colors.. 

Cheers, Hilde