A number of you were wondering if the border on my klosjes top was my own design. This pattern (which can be purchased from The Rabbit Factory) inspired me. My blocks are simplified and less crowded. This version (below) ... I like it a lot and am wondering if a fabric strip is needed to separate the body from the border. In the pattern above, the designer worked out that problem and I am thinking of following her/his lead.

I have been busy sewing my klosjes blocks into strips and thought everything was going quite well. That is .... until I double checked and noticed there are two blocks turned the wrong way (see the bright orange stickies). Darn, but a good thing they got caught in time.

There are only 21 border blocks to make. Wow? When did that happen? I just kept making border blocks and started pinning them on my design wall. Now that was a nice surprise for me! :o)

So, this top is coming along very nicely. I have been toying with the borders. Should ...

I had a bunch of hexie flowers that were leftovers from making this top and have been playing with them for well over a year now. They got laid out in 3 strips like this .....
.... and then I wondered what they would look like with 9 patch blocks. Now, yes ... the blocks are too big; but I just wondered what they would look like all together. Ummm .... this is a thought for a future project.

During my blog break, I have been busy assessing all my projects and doing some purging and sorting in my studio. Good golly, what a job this has been!

At the far end of my studio, there was a design wall that hung in front of these doors and has since been removed (it can quickly be put back up when needed). It was difficult to get into that storage area which has now been sorted through and reorganized. As you can see by the stuff on my cutting table, I still have a ways to go .... yikes .....

New shelves ...

I'm back for just a short visit to show you a quilt that was finished this week. I just love this setting in my sister's garden and thought that this would make a lovely photo. Can you see how the striped binding really finishes this quilt? I have become a big fan of stripes for binding my quilts and will use more of them for future quilts. I've been sorting fabrics in my studio and have started to make up 9 patch blocks. My studio is getting re-organized and I wish that photos were taken for a ...

I'm taking a break and will be back sometime in September .... but before I go, this is the border for my klosjes quilt. I will continue working on this quilt as well as my many other projects that are on the go. Hopefully, there will be some finishes to show you later.

Why the break? I think I'm suffering from blog fatigue, that is all.

So, until September, keep on sewing and have fun.

I'm joining Amy and all the other bloggers for the Blogger's Quilt Festival and this is my entry. It is an oldie, but a goodie and it has been shown before on my blog ..... but that was a long time ago. It was made for a grand-nephew a few years ago.

A while ago, Bren was having a giveaway and I won .... this beauty ...... and all I can say is 'wow' 'wow' 'wow'.

I took a number of photos, but this one captures the colours and the handquilting. Oh my, the handquilting is gorgeous. I will definitely have to do this double hatching in one of my quilts.

Thank you, Bren for this lovely hanging and for the needle keeper.

Have a great day!

It is time to discuss marking pens for my quilts. Over the years, I have tried different ones ..... and there are pros and cons to every one of them. Currently, Crayola Washable markers are my favourites and this is how my hexagon quilt is being marked. Just simple straight and diagonal lines. Many years ago, I attended a week long class for making whole cloth quilts. My teacher was using Crayola washable markers and I have been a devout fan since then.

My teacher warned us though to don't use red or blue markers and don't apply any ...

Here are a few more klosjes that were made this week. They still have to be sewn onto background fabrics. My klosjes are coming along quite nicely . Borders will be the next thing to think about ....oh, decisions, decisions. Will my borders have applique or should they be pieced or just plain?

I've been asked the meaning and how to prounouce 'klosjes'.

Valentina covers this nicely. Directly from her blog, she says:

From Holland with Love... KLOSJES!

(pronounce 'Kloss' ( like Boss) that is a big Spool, and then add Shu (like 'sure' without the 'r') and add an 's ...

Well ..... here is the lap quilt that I made for the birthday girl. I sure do love how it turned out, nice and summery and just perfect for a young lady.

Pattern information: EQ6 software program helped me with the layout, machine quilted.

Have a great day, eh!

Bonnie Hunter has a great idea for making a thread catcher out of jeans and I made two (you are only seeing one here).

I am trying very hard to finish up some of my tops that are ready for quilting and I have been hard at work on this one. As you can see, things were going very well until I noticed a bit of bulk under my hand. Good thing I stopped when I did as my machine nearly got wrecked big time (and I just got my machine back from the repair shop). See how close my stitches and the pin are? Whew ... now that was close! After a bit of unpicking, I continued on until the whole quilt got quilted ...

This is where I'm at with my klosjes. A section of batting was added to my design wall so that I could fit all the blocks width wise. My quilt will be 14 blocks wide x 14 blocks long (6" x 6" square) and will finish queen size with borders, so there is a ways to go still. Slowly, but surely, they are getting done and are so addictive. Those of you who are contemplating joining in the fun, beware ...
Have a great day, eh!

Here are my finished klosjes. This wall hanging measures approx. 24" x 24" and my spool blocks are 4" square. A close-up of the hand quilting in the borders.

My klosjes wall hanging is being hand quilted, but I first did a bit of machine stipple quilting in the white circle. The hand quilting is going a lot faster than I thought and this hanging should be done soon.

I've been rummaging through my UFO's and found this one. It got shelved a few years ago and has been there long enough. Time to finish it. It is now at this stage and will be quilted soon.

Late last week, DH went out and bought me a special gift. I got the subtle hint.

I have hemmed and hawed over this little hanging for well over a year and am hanging my head in shame. Why??

This is to go Robyn in Australia as a thank you for sourcing out more wool to match the scraf that she made for me as part of the SSCS swap (Dec. 2008). Yes, I am over a year late in sending this and that is something that I am not proud of. Robyn so graciously fulfilled her part of the bargain and after much procrastination and pure laziness on my part, the hanging is done and ready ...

As promised, today I'm going to show you how to make the templates for my style of klosjes (Dutch word for little spools) for those of you who don't have EQ and Block Base software computer programs. It really is very simple.

A - Since my klosjes finish at 6" square, draw a 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" square on a sheet of paper. Draw your 1/4" seam allowance all the way around just so that you can see what your finished size will look like. Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner as shown. B - Make a ...

I have put together my 4" klosjes ..... and gosh darn it, but it sure looks good (do you agree?). In the end, a few rows got knocked off and I went with this number of blocks instead. Now, I have gone ahead and am making 6" klosjes. Do you think I'm crazy ..... no, don't tell me that, please! :o) In the photo below, you can see the difference between the sizes. They are a lot easier to make and quicker to do.