Saturdays are not normally one of my posting days, but since 100 of you all are now tagging along with me, I thought it is a pretty big deal!
Samstage sind ja normalerweise nicht meine "Posting Tage", aber da ich seit heute 100 regelmässige Leser habe, dachte ich, dass dies einen extra Post wert ist! Für mich ist es jedenfalls eine große Sache!
At least it is for me anyway. So, how about a little way to say "thanks"? Leave a comment either about what kind of things you would like me to continue posting about, or what you would like to see more of that maybe I don't talk about. Of course you know how the giveaway works... I'll draw the name of a lucky winner for a fat quarter four-pack OR two half meters of fabric from the new MoMo fabrics... and just in time for your spring projects!
So, wie wäre es mit einem kleine Dankeschön? Schreibe einfach einen kurzen Kommentar über die Dinge, über die ich weiterhin schreiben soll, oder wovon Du gerne mehr hören würdest. Ihr wisst natürlich schon, wie meine Gewinnspiele funktionieren... Ich ziehe den Namen des glücklichen Gewinners eines Fat Quarter-4er Packs bzw. zweier halbmeter Stücke Stoff, dieses Mal von der neuen MoMo Kollektion - genau passend für Deine Frühjahrsprojekte!
Wanna increase your chances of winning? Spread that word that I'm now 100 and tell your readers to mention that they read it with you and I will throw your name in the basket as many times as you are mentioned! I'll annouce the winner March 15th!Du möchtest Deine Gewinnchancen erhöhen? Erzähle einfach anderen von meinem hundertsten Leser und von dem Gewinnspiel und lasse sie bei mir erwähnen, dass sie die Info von Dir haben. Ich werde dann Deinen Namen so oft in die Lotterie geben, wie Du erwähnt wurdest! Die Gewinnerin wird am 15. März bekanntgegeben!P.S. did you know that I can understand German really well.... hint, hint!PS: Ist Dir bewusst, dass ich Deutsch richtig gut verstehe? (Zwinker, zwinker!)
Since it looks like I'll be on the topic of Easter for a little while (wow, and even early too!), I realized that I had never really done a proper introduction to a collection that I added recently to the shop. Why bring it up now?... because it would be the perfect fabric for Easter projects. Don't the fresh, juicy colors make your heart beat a little faster just thinking of spring?
"It's a Hoot" from MoMo, combines bright colors with whimsical motifs that give her fourth fabric collection for Moda Fabrics a distinctive style. From birds to owls, trees to flowers, even sweet little "eggs", this collection would be adorable not only for Easter projects, but for children's projects... and even grown up ones too.
So, one last question... are you ready for spring?
So either I had you stumped on the last "riddle me this" or perhaps my not-so-common item is more common than I thought. Several of you who guessed already knew because you have one yourself:
Eierschalensollbruchstellenverursacher
Huh?!? ... you might say if you don't understand German. (yup, that's all one word!... don't worry translation coming)
Since moving to Germany, there have been many traditions that I have come to learn, and one of them is breakfast. Since hardboiled eggs for breakfast are more common than scrambled or fried, not to mention the eggcups that one puts them in, I have had to learn the "art" of how one actually gets into the egg. If you grew up in Germany, you have probably been taught since a small child how one does this... but for the beginner who has never done it before, a big messy, lop-sided, eggshells everywhere breakfast is not the kind that I dream of, so... that's why I asked for an:
Eggshellbreakingandperforatingdevice for Christmas this last year. (aka Clack... the sound that it makes)
Just put the metal cup on top of the egg, lift the little ball to the top, let it drop and Clack! you have a nicely perforated cutting line to get into your egg. For the average German this might seem completely unnecessary, but for the average Ami, it's a must have.
I inwardly laughed when my husband's Omama admitted that she was a little embarrassed when she bought it because she felt like the other customers and sales clerk were thinking... "what, she doesn't know how to crack her egg open by herself?!?" Which just shows me... it's the common, everyday things that seem so natural that one never has to give it a second thought, that seem to stick out as so uncommon to that someone learning to call this new place and this new culture... home.
Want to read more about the differences between breakfast in Germany and America? Follow the link.
Sometimes I enjoy a little bit of random, how about you? It was fun for me with my last riddle that I posted and I thought it would be interesting to share one of the presents that I got this year for Christmas. It might look a little odd, but it's something that I actually asked for. If you happen to be on German soil, you might have seen it before.
How about if I throw a couple of hints your way:1. It's something that I use almost every day2. Even though I use it so often, it is not exactly common for the average, typical German household to have. (but it is made in Germany)3. The German name actually has more letters in it than the alphabet (but that doesn't necessarily narrow it down a whole lot)From the the statistics on my last "Riddle Me This", there where a lot more of you stopping by, than let me know that you did... that just means that I love your comments ; )
So every riddle must have an answer, right?... and I have to say that I really had to do a little digging to find very much on this once loved fabric collection from ca. 2005/2006. Who would have ever thought that now it would almost be considered vintage? I had some really good guesses, and even though the design and the colors are quite similar to one of Heather Bailey's earlier collections, Freshcut, it does NOT have her name on it.I guess I wanted to share about this fabric, because perhaps some of you that are new to the quilting/sewing scene may not be familiar with the earlier works of this famous fabric designer... Isn't it just "simply charming"?
Before there was Belle, before there was Lotus, Nigella, Midwest Modern, August Fields, Daisy Chain, Love, and Soul Blossoms, there was Charm... Amy Butler's fourth fabric collection for Free Spirit fabrics (she is now with Rowan/Westminster Fabrics). I found the collection in three colorways, and if you scour the internet long enough, there are still a few fabrics to be had, but are often rare.
Amy still offers stationary that includes a few patterns from the Charm collection and one of her free patterns used the collection for a very fun and vibrant quilt. So, just one last little "teaser"... my own Charm purse is in the works and almost done... I am now having to wait on the lining fabric shipment to come in, but doesn't patience make one all that more "charming"?
While blog surfing this past week, I stumbled onto a quilting blog and was totally inspired when the author shared her own personal fabric stash... it was not because she had miles and miles of fabrics to drool over and envy, following the golden rule of quilters that "she who has the most fabrics when she dies,... wins!" My inspiration came when she confessed that she keeps her stash relatively small, being quite frugal with buying fabrics, and putting every little scrap to good use before she invests in more.... hmmm.
Sometimes I have the tendency to use a fabric for a project and love it so much that I want to hold onto it for future projects... or just in case I need it down the road. In some cases, this has paid off finding that perfect matching fabric years later that looks like it was made to go together. But I guess this attitude got me thinking... what am I waiting for?!? I loved these fabrics when I first bought them, why not use them?
So even though I never make New Year's resolutions, I do set little goals for myself throughout the year... and my new goal is to pull these out my fabric stacks again and turn them into what I envisioned from the very beginning.
What goals have made for yourself that you are either working on or have already accomplished this year?
I've been working on a new purse pattern these last days, and have been really pleased with the results. It seems that every fabric that I even glance at for just a moment is telling me to make a purse out of it. I'm just itching to get a big production line going. Without having a physical store to "test" the purses, it is basically blind production without the immediate feedback until we have our big show this summer.
Unfortunately since I am waiting for a big shipment of zippers, I have to put them on hold for now, but I've been having fun with scraps these days. I used up the last of my zippers to whip up a few "scrappy" wallets from leftover fabrics from my "loop-de-do" scarves.
It feels so good to be sewing again... fall was the busy season for my husband (which basically meant extra, extra baby duty for me), we were gone in November - what you didn't know we were in the U.S.?!?, and December we all took turns being sick. January, was just figuring up from down. But, I guess you could say that I'm back in the saddle again... can you hear the buzz?
Each time I get a new fabric collection in, I spew out a flurry of love gushes, over the top adorations, and claims that THIS collection has now become my favorite collection of them all. Sometimes I feel like such a fair-weathered fan... so quickly bestowing my affections on the new "flavor of the month" and forsaking the one before that I had sworn all-time allegiance to. But this time instead of pouring out my claims of undying love (yes, we are still talking about fabric here), I thought I would just let the new fabrics from Amy Butler's "Soul Blossoms" line speak for themselves...
... and then you can sing your own mushy love songs.
Despite my efforts to restrain myself, I must admit that I am totally infatuated with the "Fuchsia Tree" fabrics... but with good reason. When I was in college, I had written a paper about Art Nouveau. Immediately I was in awe and completely captivated by the distinct design style. The nature inspired style, earthy lines, with flowing, climbing movements really spoke to me. These two fabrics in particular remind me of time period and make me think of one of my favorite artists from the period, Alphonse Mucha.So, it's not so difficult to see why Amy's fabrics have been the source of inspiration for several new things that I am working on... if you're lucky, they'll show up here very soon. Do you need a little more time to ohhh and ahhh?... check out the "Soul Blossoms" collection here.
It appears as though it is a good thing thing that I am not one to make New Year's resolutions... I would have already done quite poorly at my first attempt to post more regularly. (it's already the middle of January and this is the first!) But I have so many things that daily keep me so unusually busy, which to tell you all about it would be breaking the second of what I would have resolved NOT to do for 2011. (if I were a resolution making kinda girl)
Quality time things would make the top of my list like writing more beautifully decorated "snail mail" letters (thanks Kathrin!), actually keeping up with my e-mails, visiting more often with friends, and the list goes on. How is it that we have such a tendency to get so busy that really important things often get left on the back burner. Time is always so precious, but gone so quickly.
But despite the fact that I never make resolutions (maybe it is the realist in me that doesn't want to over-promise and under-deliver), I did decide to take on one that I plan to keep. A friend sent me this and I decided it would be fun to do:
Pay it Forward 2011: I promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here... They must in turn post this on their blog and send something they make to the first 5 people who comment on their status. The rules are that it must be handmade by you, and it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011.
Wow, a whole year to Pay it Forward... I think that is doable, how about you?
Our little man does not sit still often, or for very long for that matter... in fact, my father-in-law has nicknamed him "der Arbeitsdirektor" (the work director). He is always moving, always working, always exploring, and it is hard to get him to stop. I guess I never had a specific image in my head of what our first child would be like, and I guess it is best not to, to give children the freedom to become who they really are. But I never imagined that he would be such a busy, busy, ... busy little guy.... but there are times when he does stop for just one brief moment to communicate to us, without even saying a word ...
Absolute Trust... a sweet affection and such a tender stillness that is understood just by one touch.
Wanna increase your chances of winning? Spread that word that I'm now 100 and tell your readers to mention that they read it with you and I will throw your name in the basket as many times as you are mentioned! I'll annouce the winner March 15th!
