Surprise/Überraschung!

I got the sweetest surprise in the mail today... and it was totally and completely unexpected. Stephie from Siebeneinunddreisig, winner of the March giveaway/gewinnspiel, sent me the most adorable little note cards as a thank you. (designed by Lisa DeJohn)

Attached to the precious cards, which feature four different birds, was a yellow Easter chick that she made... perfect for this season. Just this morning I was thinking how much I have been enjoying the birds that have been coming to visit us each morning at breakfast.. and then these these little guys flew in. Wunderschön!...

... Und jetzt ein richtiges, riesiges, ganz herzliches Dankeschön an meine "Österreichische Freundin", die richtig ausgesucht hat, was genau zu meinem Geschmack passt. Die süsse Stephie lässt regelmässig englische Kommentare auf meinem blog, obwohl es für sie eine Fremdsprache ist. Tausend, tausend Dank!

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Girls, Goldfish, and Strawberries

As part of my birthday present from my husband, we went to an art exhibition featuring the work of Henri Matisse on Saturday. We took the morning slow and eventually wandered downtown, despite the cold rain. During the exhibition my husband decided that we should play a little game... which painting would I pick if I could purchase one? We made our second round after careful observation of each piece and much to my surprise, after sharing and comparing, we both had this painting on our list. This painting is of Matisse's daughter, who was often the subject of his work.

I can remember back to my college days, (when no one could afford real art) I had this poster from Matisse's 1911 painting, titled Goldfish. Of course it would have been nice to see it live, but even though it was absent, I was more disappointed that the well-known paper cutout pieces from the later part of Matisse's career were not included in the exhibition.

Someone once told us that "rule" in Hamburg is that if you don't like the weather... just wait 30 minutes. Unfortunatley, this did not prove to be true because the rain never let up. Instead of eating sushi out, the gray, damp weather influenced us to make our way back home for dinner and spend the rest of our evening snuggled up together on the sofa. And what better way to end the day than with chocolate covered strawberries.

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Art Comes in Many Forms...

Wishing a very vibrant, color filled, and awe-inspiring weekend. Ours starts now with a day in downtown Hamburg, art exhibition by Henri Matisse, and maybe sushi for dinner. Enjoy!

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Verden Show/Ausstellung

Just thought I would share a few photos from our show. As you can tell, the colors are brighter and more spring and summer like. It's so hard to me to resist color... from one look at my Dad's website, I think one could easily assume that my taste for color was inherited.

On another note, before I went to bed last night I logged onto Dawanda to look at something in my shop, and what do you know... there was my bracelet on front page!

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Seven Great Things About Getting Older...

1. Getting plants for the front yard...

2. Inheriting vintage 1920's linens that were your husband's great grandmother's...

3. Reading diaries about British life in the countryside in 1906 (before there were blogs)...

4. Working with new tools that make sewing even more fun...

5. Completing your favorite tea service with the matching platter...

6. Viewing art exhibitions from world-renown artists...

7. Receiving a bouquet of tulips from a friend...

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Just Another Day

Last year I went with my husband's grandmother to a very well known artist town/community not far from my husband's hometown called Worpswede. Around the turn of the century several well known artists lived in the area and many painters works were inspired by everyday life in the region. To remember our trip I picked up this post card from Heinrich Vogeler (1903) I couldn't resist this sweet little calendar flower girl from my favorite month, certainly receiving compliments from the gentleman wishing to have her affections.

On another note, this is the perfect picture to celebrate this special day for me... I can't help hoping that I will hear this song today, but it will have to remain my little secret just how many years I have been 29.

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Art Show/Ausstellung

Our first spring show starts today... it will be lots of German practice for me, but I love meeting new people and interacting with customers. Lucky for me most people find my American accent, wrong sentence structure, and terrible grammar to be quite charming.

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Spring Green!

It seems these days that I really have "spring" on the brain, and what better way to celebrate it than to say it with green! I wanted to share a few of my favorite artists on Dawanda and what fantastic things they have created. Enjoy...

Sieben Morgen, based in Stuttgart, creates fabulous prints, gift tags, buttons, and journals. Everything in this shop is fantantic and this sweet bunny is just absolutely adorable.

Another talented Dawanda artist, Lieselchen, makes makeup bags, coin purses, digital camera straps, cards, buttons, and funny little wallets shaped like panties. What I love about Simone's shop is that she is not afraid of color and that she uses unusual fabrics like this one from Jay McCarroll.

London based artist, Abigail Brown, makes the sweetest little Creatures in Boxes. Each handcrafted friend is made with both new and recycled items and comes with it's own box perfect for gift giving.

Denzzil's Shop makes these amusing little birdhouses from right here in Hamburg. His designs are unusual and are always a conversation piece that would make the perfect home for feathered friends.

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Favorite Seasons

My brother has a theory about birthdays and favorite seasons... he says that usually when you ask most people what is their favorite season that they name the season in which they were born. I do think that his theory could hold some truth and found his observation interesting when I answered his question with "spring" as my favorite season. In fact, I celebrate my birthday this month. He has not come up with a "favorite color" theory, but it may be no coincidence that mine is green.

... Just a few photos from my walk at my in-laws this week.

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And The Winners Are...

Thanks to everyone who participated and all your great comments. Please stop by often and feel free to comment in German or in Engligh. Stay tuned for next month's giveaway! Congratulations Lotta's Kleider and Polka Dots!

Allison

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Countdown... 5 Days

If you just got here, don't miss the previous Giveaway/Gewinnspiel post featuring the new "Prairie Gothic " fabrics from Jane Sassaman. One of the items that I am giving away is a "fat quarter" pack of fabrics. For those "newbie's" to sewing, or those wanting to start, I wanted to share just what a fat quarter is and show a few examples of what you can do with a "fat quarter".

Basically a fat quarter is a half a meter of fabric that is opened up on the fold line and cut again on the fold. This gives two ca. 50 x 55 cm "squares" known as a "fat quarter". These are great for quilting and small projects like wallets, keychains, pincushions, and even pillows. Here is a fun little project that I found on Sew Mama Sew, featuring the "Mr. Blue Bird" free pattern from Spool Sewing.

I imagine these would look great perched in an Easter tree or even turned into a baby mobile. The sewing possibilities are endless.... happy sewing! Don't forget the Giveaway/Gewinnspiel winners will be announced Wednesday March 18th!

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Giveaway/Gewinnspiel!

My first blog giveaway featuring the fabrics from Jane Sassaman's new fabric line "Prairie Gothic". Two winners will be randomly drawn on March 18th and will have the choice of one of the following items:

Mein erstes BLOG GEWINNSPIEL dreht sich um Jane Sassaman's neue Stoffkollektion "Prairie Gothic". Zwei Gewinner werden am 18. März ausgelost werden und haben dann die Wahl zwischen einem der nachfolgenden Preise.

• A "Fat Quater" pack from Jane Sassaman with four coordinating fabrics (ca. 50 x 55 cm) from either the bright "Strawberry" blues and candy pinks color line" OR the "Dusky" subdued aquas and olives color line.
• OR a wallet made with "Jane Sassaman" fabrics in either color line. These are so practical and can be used for just about anything... makeup, feminine products, and a passport fits perfectly.
  
• OR a keychain made with "Jane Sassaman" fabrics in either color line.

• Ein "Fat Quarter"* Päckchen mit vier farblich abgestimmten Jane Sassaman Stoffen (ca. 50 x 55), entweder aus der leuchtenden "Strawberry" Farblinie (Blau- u. Pinktöne), ODER aus der gedeckteren "Dusky" Farblinie (Aqua- und Olivtöne).
• ODER ein Etui aus Jane Sassaman Stoffen aus einer der beiden genannten Farblinien. Diese Etuis sind so praktisch und können für alles mögliche benutzt werden... Makeup, Frauensachen - und auch ein Reisepass passt perfekt hinein.
• ODER ein Schlüsselanhänger mit Jane Sassaman Stoffen aus einer der beiden genannten Farblinien.
  

How to win...

Simply tell me in English OR German (I can understand both, writing is a whole other issue) .... "What do you like about American patchwork fabrics"?

Wie kann man gewinnen?

Schreiben Sie mir einfach einen Kommentar (in Englisch ODER Deutsch; ich kann beides verstehen, Schreiben ist jedoch ein ganz anderes Thema...) zu der folgenden Frage: "Was mögen Sie an amerikanischen Patchwork Stoffen?"

How to increase your chances...

Pass the word along about my giveaway. If someone you know mentions that they heard about the giveaway from YOU... your name will be entered twice!

Wie kann ich meine Chancen erhöhen?

Erzählen Sie Ihren Freunden und Bekannten von dem Gewinnspiel. Wenn dann jemand in seinem Kommentar IHREN Namen erwähnt, kommen Sie doppelt in die Lostrommel!

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Hey... I Know That!

My first feature! It was really exciting for me to go "blog surfing" today and stumble upon some of my products featured on a blog post entitled "schöne sachen" or "beautiful things".

Smila's World, whose focus is on design, crafting, and photos features creative ideas about quilting and sewing projects, cute kids clothing, and has an online shop with sweet embroidery designs and ribbons. I'm very excited to see what she can create with the the big stack of fabrics that she found here.

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Friendly Reminder

I thought I would pass on a little "yellow explosion" as a reminder that it is not much longer before spring is finally here.... just a couple photos I took last week when the sun was out.

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Midwest Inspiration

I've been having fun making my "thank you" cards again... especailly with the second half of the new Jane Sassaman fabrcis collection.

Inspired by her native midwest landscape, incorporating plants, wildflowers, and insects that can be found in the region, now in subdued and deeper tones in the "Dusky" colorway from the "Gothic Prairie" line. Found here.

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