Saturday night Klosjes

Spending some lovely quiet time with my Klosjes, tonight. I have 20 finished and a bowl full of 'partials', which I will get through by tomorrow night.
I am feeling like my old self again, and have been celebrating that by having a deliciously busy week, which included a 'play-date' with Tineke and a visit to the indoor park with the boys. Klosjes continue to be my constant companions and they really are moving along nicely. Tineke and I even managed to make some together amidst the catching up, planning and giggling.
I have also had some sleepless nights dreaming of new projects... :) Isn't it fun how we start dreaming of our next project just as we are finishing what we are working on? :)
I am missing my charm-hexies, but know I will be more inclined to work on them when the summer heat arrives. In the meantime, I had the joy of meeting Liz, and order a beautiful pattern from her achingly beautiful blog.
ooooh, life is good!
thinking of you, and trying to sneak in some visits a day, looking forward to catching up soon!
V.
:)

Sunday night update: yeay! after finishing the 'partials' in the bowl I now have added an extra 25, making my week's total 45. This added to the 585 I had makes it... 630! Happy dance!!!
Oh oh, even better: I only have 90 more to go!
wish me luck!
:)

Klosjes update

Not much going on around here apart from Klosjes being marked, cut, stitched--- at breakfast, in the morning, in the afternoon while the boys play, evenings... Ok you get the picture!
It's hard sometimes, as I am getting a bit bored and miss my sewing machine, intensely. And yet, I am convinced that I am making them faster than before. And seeing them piling up is kinda fun, :).
So for the last week I have added 61 new ones, a new record for sure. :)
Anyway, I suspect I will not be stitching much tonight. Today 19 years ago, on the 22 of the 2 of '92, when I was 22 and my love 24, we went out on our first date... and the rest has been a beautiful history. I hope he feels better from the stomach bug that has been pestering him and we can go out.
Keeping my fingers crossed.
...ok maybe I can squeeze in stitching another Klosje before he gets home...
:)

and sending my love and prayers to our blogging sisters in New Zealand.

silver lining

Despite the misery of a lingering cough, I have been really enjoying the unexpected silver lining: Klosjes!

I don't know if this happens to you, but when I am sick, my horizon shrinks and my focus tends to shift inward. The blessing of this is that I have been very aware where I am choosing my limited energy to go: into getting better, into keeping my kids nurtured and happy and into stitching a bit.
Well, bit by bit I ended up with 52 new Klosjes, a flower border, and a clear idea as to how my Klosjes Quilt will look at the end.

These were the only two that were stitched in Aruba,
 but became the first of the new 52 that have been added since.

I had been struggling for months with many lay-out ideas for my Klosjes and finally decided to go with simple. I like simple. And I like that it will show the Klosjes in all their glory without distraction. It just means that I need a lot more Klosjes: 198 more... and that will bring my grand total to 720.

The first of the completed corners! :)
120 Klosjes per corner = 480 plus the 240 already in the centre makes 720! What?!

Had I known this last February, when I first started this love affair with my Klosjes, I might have had some trepidation. :)

Now, I do not regret it, and feel extremely happy that now I know where we are going. However, I know that my time with Klosjes is coming to an end and have decided to put all other projects on hold until I bring this quilt to fruition.

For me this was always a quilt worth making, and seeing it coming together now,  is really exciting...

So don't you agree this is a nice silver lining? 

:)

taken from the plane on our way back home to Cyprus

Missing you, and hoping you are well, enjoying your stitching, and finding your own silver linings,
Valentina

And yes, Happy Valentine's Tomorrow!
:)

  

view of the Mediterranean yesterday morning,
just for you!

I have been battling the worst flu I can remember. It started with the boys and Hubby, and then I succumbed. Don't know how much jet-lag played into it.  Don't know where January has gone.
I am worried for the people of Egypt, I pray for the Queenlanders. I carry my friend and her imminent adoption in my heart.
I stitch and read and try to get better.

This scrap quilt was made with so much love for a little girl in Aruba, that has had to survive more ugliness than I can even comprehend. In her young life the climb ahead is still so hard and almost disheartening.
She couldn't believe someone would have made something specifically for her: she kept asking me: you did this for me? did you work on it everyday, for a long time? For me? ...
and she was fascinated by the tiniest scraps... You don't throw out even those small ones?...

and then my 8 year old niece said:
"God uses everything, even the smallest things, and the pieces no one thinks of as important, to make something beautiful..."