Happy Birthday to me ...

... another year gone by ...

Bastelei

Bastelei - noun / basteln - verb

usually involves scissors, glue, paper, paint - can also involve thread, wool, beads, card board and the like ... I haven't found a good way to trasalte it. But it's what I did today vurtsey of my sister.

She made me a chain light with little round lamp shades from sort of thick transparent paper for my Birthday last summer. She then informed me 4 days before Christmas that that would be the perfect present for her - fat chance! I told her to wait for her birthday well and that iscoming up this week.

So she will get her own personal light chain with lamp shades - I went for yellow and red. They give a warm light. A few more minutes and I can take off the cloth pins and then wrap the whole thing up and post it.

Löni

birthday month

Well not this month but next month - and not my birthday but my mom's and one of my best friends'

My mom is her usual grumpy "I don't really need anything"-self. So I have to think of something. Maybe place mats ... and a few knitted or crocheted dish clothes ...But what sort of placemats? patchwork? but will the glasses wobble on the seams? what kind of batting? how densely quilted? whole cloth? ... they will have to survive a lot of washing ..

My friend on the other hand is absolutely shameless about asking me for presents. I can't remember a Christmas or a birthday where she didn't have an item on her list that apparently only I can do...

This year for November 16th it's going to be a triangle shawl - she even picked the pattern (thankfully one of the easier ones) of the possibilities I send her ... you have to love e-mail and picture attachments.

All in all I like the second kind of  birthday kid - gives me more time to actually work on the present as I don't have to spend that much on thinking about what kind of present to make...

Löni

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday was my big day - and what did I do? Hundreds of things except celebrate. Sunday was just a short run through in the morning and then the big concert in the evening in the "Rheingoldhalle" in Mainz singing/playing Haydn's Creation. After that it was say good bye to mom and run home - get a cake done. Can't have a birhtday without a cake.

My mom left me some presents - she drove in for the concert - and a friend send some. So with my cake I had a lovely cleberation at 7:00am unwrapping some of the presents. Does my age mean I'm too old to get all my presents wrapped? I have to say if that's the case then I don't want to get older.

Then I was off to start the last week of lectures - which the usualy Monday morning programm until 2 o'clock which left me with about an hour to catch up on some sleep, answer a few phonecalls and get ready to drive to Frankfurt for some more rehearsing and another concert. I sure can think of a nicer way to spend my birthday than standing through a two hour concert. Yeah I'm not so upbeat - someone forgot my birhtday - again.

 Leo

Newest Arrival

Today my August Doll Quilt arrived. My partner missed part of the street in my address when she send the first quilt. So it never arrived here and she generously offered to make another one.
Which arrived some time during the weekend - I jsut found the notice card to pick it up this afternoon (hence then "in the dark" pictures). Well I like it very much, freash summery colours for a dark time.

And hehe yes there are some nerds - I blame Dawn, she send some of them when the DQ-Swap started, and I sort of like them a great deal. They just taste like nothing I get here. Ehh I just need to figure out how to open the box.

Ohh and of course I had a wonderful time at home ... doing a photo shooting with the (can I still call it) birhtday kid in the garden - ehh yes before the serious work began, there is no earth on the quilt:

And now the reason why I constantly complain about the lack of mountains in the area I live in at the moment

Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

once in a while

... I'm fed up with what I have to do ...



to the left  are things still to include into the text - to the right keepers just in case I need to look again




Aye well I got really really fed up yesterday and got some sewing done. I added the outer blue border to my Walk the Line top - I really like it. I'm still waiting on my batting - not that I would know how to quilt it if I had the batting here and could actually baste it.

Somethign completely else - Claire, mentioned she thought I could use a purple or blue to go with my Beginner's QAL blocks. Well that's an idea of my purple. How about a simple: arghhh no you can do that!!! or a ohh my that's an absolutely lovely combination!! from you  ...

I also started on my October Mini Quilt - for the Doll Quilt Swap - mine is already halfway over the Ocean. I hope those colours qualify as autumnal. I didn't go for Halloween. Where I am Halloween does NOT exist. We have our own not so nice traditional holidays around those days.

And of course my current best friend. He came to me late this summer as a late birhtday present. Since then he spends most mornings beside the bed keeping my book company until he gets into action again after lunch and spends the rest of the day and night watching over my computer and making sure my vitally important USB-stick doesn't wander off. Aye yes he keeps my coffeein level on a constant high.

Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

nothing really new

I do love the autumn I really do - just not when I get drenched in the rain and then get a cold and the whole world seems miserable ...

On the bright side - I did a unhealthy sewing marathon Wednesday night and did the sashing for my Beginner's Quilt Along top (I'm hopefully off trac with the time). I decided on orange sashing with yellow cornerstones. Now I need to debate on the border with myself.

the picture quality is miserable - it's gray and cloudy and looks like rain outisde

And "home" finally thought of sending me some pictures from the summer ... I do love garden work ...just glad my mother pretty much let's me do as I please

and my sister thought of sending me some proof that we really did cut down the cherry tree ...

and I have been cathcing up on a lot of McGyver episodes -  it was my first series ever, Monday to Friday 2:15pm. I was 14 back then, we just got our first TV (and it's still in use). I guess it was an old rerun even then. I'm old but not that old.

and not to forget my Granny who celbrated her 83rd birthday on Friday - sadly I just got to speak to her on the phone. If she's not driving me nuts hinting her windows need a cleaning, or one really should paint the attic windows (which is actaullay not as bad as vacuuming the attic - it's a 2 floor attic, I'm simply refusing to sweep it I like my lungs) I do hold her dear. She just knows I can't say know when she asks for help.

Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

back home

Sadly my holidays are over - but there was a great compensation waiting for me when I got home. My July Doll Quilt from Miki.

And a lovely unexpected Birthday present from Leona from Leona's Quilting Adventure, some great fabric some needles for appliquée and a needle card (if that is an actual word).

Leo

The usual suspects that I link to

Happy Birthday to me

I passed the point where you impatiently wait to turn "older" some years ago - since then it's a steady decline .. uhh already a year older again?!? Grandma asking if it wouldn't be time now for some more great-grandchildren, Mom hinting she wouldn't mind becoming a grandma. My sister's unbelieving shockoed "ohhh sooooo old!" (I guess for a 12 year old I am).

from me to me (a measuring cup - I know not very extravagant)

But that's enough it's a day to celebrate - presents have been dripping in over the last days, some people make good use of "free delivery". I am away today - as I have been all weekend  (thank blogger for the scheduling of posts) for the yearly "Family meeting" that means all my cousins, aunts, uncles, great parents, various great cousins BBQing in one place.



Leo

progress

I worked on quite a few things but got nothing finished ...

a "fly-protection-crochet-thingy" for summer, so I can cover the fruit salad bowl, or any other bowl. Well I just liked the pattern and felt like using up my blue. I doubt I iwll ever use it. I just need to add the beads in the last round to make the thing hang down on the sides of the bowl, maybe I will not add them and have a thing to look at instead.

I worked on my castle blocks - and my did I cut the towers wrong .... I thought about adding a green (=grass) strip at the bottom to cover up my mistake.

A castle parade

as you see it's nice and sunny, so we will later take a cae outside and enjoy it

I did finish the birthday present scarf - and of course gave it away without taking "nice" pictures, I will have to ask for them. But I did take a picture of it drying on the heater over night...

linking up with Manic Monday

Leo