couldn't resist the Sparkle

What is it about me and quilt-alongs this year?! I just couldn't resist starting this little Mini version of the Sparkle quilt-along. It just screamed to be made up with some of the Loulouthi prints I have. (Psst ... there's a giveaway going on over there.) I really had fun making this little top, the pattern really is perfect for showcasing pretty fabric. I had to use the seam ripper on the first block, though, because I thought I could get away with not squaring up the HST squares. Of course, I couldn't.



Just look at those little strips and you know that I was kidding myself, big time. Sometimes trying to cut corners just won't help, quite a paradox in this case ... Squaring up is really not my favourite thing to do, but one block at a time it wasn't so bad.



I finished the top today, it really was a fun little project and now I'm looking forward to putting the sandwich together and quilt it. This quilt size is perfect for me to practise my machine quilting!



Probably I'll bind it with the bold Clippings print seen in the bottom left corner. And probably it will become a wall hanging. Do you have good tips for hanging quilts?

One more thing: I can't resist to show you the Valentine's Card J. gave me:



Isn't it cute? :-) It's by one of my favourite Finnish artists, Virpi Pekkala. There's not much info about her on the net, but there's a little facebook fan group where you can see more of her work. Her drawings are always so pretty and full of humour and little details. This one is called "Yhdessä on hyvä olla", meaning "It feels good to be together". Did you see the dog and cat under the quilt top?! I think I'll frame this one and hang it next to my sewing machine.

I wish you all a great weekend! :-)

this and that

So, this last week I've been up to all kinds of stuff ... Over the weekend, we visited Stockholm with J.'s family. We went by ferry and had an afternoon to visit the city. I had grand plans of taking lots of pictures, but my camera didn't quite co-operate. It was so cold, it shut down all the time, so I only have this tiny mosaic to show you:



The weather was beautifully sunny and Stockholm really is a beautiful city. It was so cold, though, that we didn't spend much time exploring it. Especially since I had a cold already. We went inside one department store, because I wanted to see what's new in Swedish tableware and fabric design. There really are some pretty things. I especially loved this fabric, but didn't buy any, because I couldn't really think of what to do with it. But I think I'll definitely use the colour palette as inspiration in the future.

I also did some sewing, I finished my second Swoon block:



Again, I couldn't manage entirely without my seam ripper, but it was smoother sailing than with the last one. I really like the colours of this one. I'm a bit nervous about how it will all come together, though. I tried to group the fabrics in pairs that kind of clash and I like that idea, I just hope it will all look nice in the finished quilt!

I also made the February HST Block:



I really like this flying geese pattern! I'm again already looking forward to the next block! I will try to use some different fabric for that one. For this one I wanted fabrics that would blend well to make very homogenous flying geese blocks, but I've got some other prints I'd like to include in these sampler blocks.

I got this print in the mail:



It was a birthday present from J. and it's the Paris Map Print from Famille Summerbelle. I really love it and the colour is perfect. Now I just have to find a nice frame for it!

Today, I've got a day off and plan to spend some quality time with some good tea and a couple of magazines.



There's Mollie Makes issue 10 and February's Elle Interiör to pore over. There are so many inspiring things and colour palettes in both of them. Perfect for a post-flu lazy day in!



As is stitching away at my Daisychain ABC's! I'm at R now and as I make progress with this sampler my embroidery skills develop. I actually like making french knots now! Those little daisies are so pretty, I can't believe I stitched them!

I hope you'll have time to do some small things that bring you joy this week, too!