pillow swap four seasons - 2016

Hi Everyone! Thanks for dropping by! If you don't already know, I am co-founder and co-swap-mama to Pillow Swap Four Seasons. (Sandra, the hohenbrunnerquilter, the other half, keeps me in line and on top of things! She is so damned organized!) We had so much fun organizing our seasonal pillow swap, we decided to keep the fun going into 2016!

What kind of group are we and what do we do? 

Well, we are an international group of quilters/patchworkers/sewers who love to celebrate the seasons by designing pillows for others within our group. It takes place four times a year. When you sign up, you are required to design a mosaic of inspiration as well as stating your interests on the registration form. This will help your new partner to "get to know you." After the registration period is over, you will receive a new, secret partner and aren't allowed to tell anyone who it is. Then we post pictures of our fabric and/or design choices. It gets really exciting when we start this phase; sometimes you can guess who your partner is and sometimes not. It really is loads of fun. We are open to new participants - novice to expert. You will be grouped together with your years of experience in the hobby/field.

Let me share with you some of the awesome pillows I have received this year (2015).

I received this beautiful pillow and big package from Tammy just this last week! Isn't it beautiful? I totally love cardinals, red and black. She incorporated all of that into the pillow. And she made me the cutest sewing kit, filled to the brim with sewing notions!

Received from Tammy - Winter PS4S

Yes, I have been wanting to make one of these beauties, but I was more secretly wishing for one! Tammy read my mind too! She also send additional fabrics, her favorite tea, a card game from the Penn. Dutch and so many little goodies like the key chain and Clover clips hidden in the sewing kit.

I totally loved the package I received from Carolin for our autumn swap too. I love a bit of whimsy in my pillows and Carolin made this cute Halloween pillow with a spider and a web. Look carefully, because Ms. Spider is made from a large black button. She also made that cute pumpkin pin cushion and mug rugs with foxes!! Soo cute! And of course, a Charlie Brown coffee mug!

Received from Carolin @faedchenspiel - Autumn PS4S

Right before summer I received this adorable pillow from Karin with the sun just peeking over the horizon! Just adorable and whimsical as well! She also sent along a few extra gifts of the cute bunny and heart. I have no idea how anyone can make such beauties?! And the postcard, just perfect!

Received from Karin @karinpaosater - Summer PS4S

My very first secret swap partner was Karri. She made me this wonky star pillow using fresh, jelly bean fabric colors! Just beautiful! She also sent a lot of little extras (which are not pictured here.)

Received from Karri @karriofberries - Spring PS4S

I have to say, all of my partners (the women sewing for me) were so incredibly awesome! They are so unbelievably talented, creative, and wonderful gift givers, too. Thank you ladies, Tammy, Karin, Carolin and Karri! You are fabulous!

Are you interested in becoming a part of a real group?  If you are, maybe you would like to join us? Everyone is welcome as long as you really want to participate and give it your all! : )
Click on the page above for more information.

Click here if you would like to register. Please have a mosaic of interests ready before you sign up.

Sign-ups close on Friday, Dec. 11, 2015. Partners will be assigned on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. We look forward to seeing you there.

Have a wonderful day!

tula pink and the german qal

Greetings to everyone. Today, I am your guest blogger for the Tula Pink's, City Sampler - German QAL. I was asked by the very charming, Sandra from the Hohenbrunner Quilterin, to take over this Monday to host a couple of blocks. So, here I am, giving you some tips and advice, and my quirky opinion. We will look into the chapter called Haiku, blocks 88 and 89.

Hallo an alle! Heute bin ich Euer Gast-Bloggerin für Tula Pink's City Sampler QAL. Ich wurde von der sehr lieben Sandra von den Hohenbrunner Quliterin gebeten, diesen Montag ein paar Blocks zu übernehmen. So, hier bin ich nun um Euch ein paar Tips, Tricks und meine Erfahrung weiterzugeben. Wir werden uns das Kapitel "Haiku" mit den Blocks 88 und 89 ansehen.

First of all, I want to explain my relationship to Tula Pink and her book. When I first saw the book, I was intrigued. Then I ordered it and quickly thumbed through it when it arrived. Honestly, I thought the blocks were just too simple! I know my philosophy is "simple, easy, practical," but I wanted to "learn" something new, especially from a book I spent money on! I read the Introduction from Tula and started to understand where she was coming from and where she was headed. I liked it! She wanted to make a sampler...or rather present blocks that we could put together as randomly as we wanted without the hassle of learning new techniques or sewing complicated blocks. Let's face it, when we make a sampler, it is usually a collection of blocks with different and complex sewing layers to challenge our skills. I have made a couple of samplers...and I don't want to sew another one! Why? They are just too hard and too time consuming!! BUT, Tula presented simple and easy blocks that everyone could sew without the hassle of "perfecting" the technique or learning something new. It is sewing for peace, relaxation and tranquility! Sewing for FUN!

Als erstes würde ich gerne meine Verbindung zu Tula Pink und ihrem Buch erklären. Als ich das Buch das erste mal sah, war ich fasziniert. Dann habe ich es bestellt und nachdem es angekommen war sofort durchgeblättert. Ehrlich, zuerst dachte ich mir, dass die Blocks zu einfach waren! Meine Philosophie ist ja selbst "einfach, leicht, praktikabel", aber ich wollte ja selbst was neues lernen, erst recht, wenn ich schon dafür Geld ausgebe! Dann habe ich nochmal vorne angefangen und die Einleitung von Tula gelesen, verstanden, was sie sagen wollte. Und ich muss sagen: "Ich liebe es!" Sie wollte einen Sammlung machen, aus denen wir nach Lust und Laune aussuchen können ohne neue Nähtechniken zu lernen oder komplizierte Blöcke nähen zu müssen.Wenn wir ehrlich sind, dann bestehen Sampler, die wir machen, aus komplizierten Blöcken, die uns auf der einen Seite herausfordern aber auch gleichzeitig ewig dauern und bei Zeiten auf die Nerven gehen. Damit sind Sampler etwas, was man nicht allzu oft machen möchte. ABER hier kommt Tula mit ihrem Buch! Sie hat eine Zusammenstellung von leichten und einfachen Blöcken, die jeder meistern kann - und das in Ruhe, Entspannung und Frieden. Sewing for Fun!

What I really love about Tula's blocks and especially her fabric lines, is her sense of humor! As an experienced quilter, I like to make use of fussy cutting to bring more to a block. Tula not only designs this special type of fabric quilters love but makes use of it, in her self-designed sampler blocks! This is the challenge I see - make use of your fabric to create a second design or story. Okay, we usually use shades, tones, and contrast to tell the story in our blocks, but Tula promotes the use of fussy cutting to allow us think a bit more

Was ich wirklich an Tula's Blöcken und ihren Stoffen liebe, ist der Sinn für Humor! Als eine erfahrene Quilterin, nutze ich gerne "fussy cutting", um mehr aus einem Block zu machen. Und Tula entwirft diese speziellen Stoffmuster, die hierfür wie gemacht sind. Wir Quilter(innen) nutzen gerne Farbtöne und Kontraste um unseren Quilts eine Geschichte zu geben und Tula ermuntert uns geradezu mit ihren Stoffen mehr "fussy cutting" einzubauen.

On to the blocks - Block #88 and #89 are from the chapter called "Haiku." With that, I tried to incorporate this idea of "composition" into my design using images from a panel I wanted to use. First I looked for images that would not be caught within the seam allowance. I taped off the required size using some washi tape on my 6.5" ruler to make my "window."

Auf zu den Blöcken -  die Blöcke #88 und #89 sind aus dem Kapitel "Haiku". Hierbei versuchte ich die Idee der "Zusammenstellung" in mein Design zu übertragen und hierbei Bilder aus einem Stoffpaneel zu nutzen. Als Erstes habe ich nach Bilderausschnitten gesucht, die nicht in die Stoffzugabe reichen. Als Hilfe habe ich mit Klebeband das Fenster auf meinen 6,5'' Lineal markiert um den späteren Stoffausschnitt besser beurteilen zu können.

Then I looked for coordinating and contrasting fabric to see in which direction I wanted to go. I really liked the grays and the greens and thought this a strong possibility. I thought the purple, however, was a little too contrasty for me. The turquoise didn't seem to fit at all...at least not a fabric from my color stash. Gray and green it is!
Danach habe ich nach dazu passenden Stoffen mit schönen Kontrasten gesucht. Die Zusammenstellung von grau und grün hat mir von Beginn an gut gefallen. Das Lila war mir zu stark im Kontrast (zumindest was ich an Stoffen da hatte - haben wir nicht alle zu wenig Stoffe zuhause?) und das Türkis hat irgendwie gar nicht gepasst. Grün und Grau das war es also!

So the hardest part is over -  my color preference. After that, it was quick and easy to sew the block together - no hassles, no matching up seams! Here it is! Pure sewing enjoyment!
Das Schwerste war also geschafft - meine Farbzusammenstellung. Danach war es einfach die Blöcke zu nähen - kein Ärger, keine zusammenstoßenden Nähte. Hier sind sie! Pures Nähvergnügen.

On to block 89. This is a really fantastic block making use of a blazing tree and inverting one part of the same fabric in another part of the block. The block presented is also very tone-in-tone. I love it, but didn't want to recreate it...this is my block, not Tula's. She is allowing me to stray from the path as stated in the introduction. ;-) I wanted to use the same panel and found these cute little bunnies.
Auf zu Block #89. Dies ist ein wirklich toller Block, der einen leuchtenden Baum nutzt und einen Teil hieraus in einem anderen Teil des Blocks wieder auf nimmt. Die Abstimmung ist sehr Ton-in-Ton, was ich sehr mag, aber so nicht umsetzen wollte. Es soll ja auch mein Block werden und nicht Tula's. Sie erlaubt ja auch ausdrücklich in der Einleitung vom vorgeschlagenen Weg abzuweichen. Ich wollte bei meinem Paneel bleiben und habe diese zuckersüßen Häschen gefunden. 

I also wondered what I would use the blocks for later since I am not participating in the entire QAL. Do I want the two blocks to match or coordinate in any way? What can I do with them later? I didn't think the additional yellow was going to help the block in any way. I liked the green I used in the previous block and thought it could tie the two together...if you are going for this.

Ich habe dann weiter überlegt, was ich mit den beiden Blöcken später anfangen möchte, da ich nicht den ganzen QAL mitmache. Sollen die beiden Blöcke zusammenpassen, d.h. nebeneinander stehen? Ich dachte nicht, dass das zweite Gelb dem Ganzen wirklich hilft. Mir hat das Grün aus dem ersten Block gut gefallen und hilft die beiden Blöcke zu verbinden... und so habe ich es dann auch gemacht.

I had a little bit left over from the fussy cut rabbits section and tried it to make it fit for the corner segments. I tried out several scraps, but just wasn't coming up with something that appealed to me. I ended up using something completely different in the end.

Ich hatte noch ein paar Reste von den "fussy cut" Häschen und habe versucht hier etwas passendes für die like obere Ecke zu finden. Aber nichts wollte so recht passen. Zum Schluss habe ich mich dann doch für etwas ganz anderes entschieden.

My block looks completely different than Tula's block as far as the effect and colors, but all of the pieces are the same. I used two of the same fabrics from the previous block and added a matching fabric with yellow and gray.

Mein Block sieht im Vergleich zu Tula's Block komplett anders aus, im Bezug auf Ausstrahlung und Farben. Die Stoffzuschnitte sind allerdings die gleichen. Ich habe zwei Stoffe aus dem vorherigen Block wieder verwendet mit einem zusätzlichen Stoff mit dazu passendem Grau und Gelb.

And here are the two blocks together...my sister blocks #88 & #89. So my advice is to look for interesting fabrics that have fussy cut pictures...mix and match from panels or unusual fabrics. Try out matching and contrasting fabrics. Think about if the blocks will be next to each other or not. And most importantly, HAVE FUN WITH IT!

Und hier sind die beiden Blöcke zusammen ... meine Geschwisterblöcke #88 und #89. Meine Empfehlung hieraus ist es interessante Stoffe mit "fussy cut" Bildern zu nehmen und sie mit anderen Paneelen und ungewöhnlichen Stoffen abzustimmen. Versucht Euch ruhig mal mit der Zusammenstellung von Stoffen, die nicht augenscheinlich zusammen passen! Überlegt Euch ob die Blöcke später nebeneinander oder sonst farblich oder von Design her in Bezug stehen. Und am wichtigsten von Allem, HABT SPASS DABEI!

I am very curious to see how you interpret this chapter, especially these two blocks and would love to see your progress so far. Please leave a comment in the section below, so we all can see your blocks!


Please leave a comment below stating your favorite color scheme for the blocks. In one weeks time I will draw one of the commenters (meeting the above requirement) that will receive the matching mug rugs from the two blocks I made as a giveaway. A reply address is mandatory.

Ich bin sehr neugierig, wie ihr das Kapitel in euren Arbeiten interpretiert, speziell für diese beiden Blöcke. Ich würde gerne sehen, wie ihr hierbei voran kommt. Bitte hinterlasst unten einen Kommentar mit einem Link, damit wir alle ein Bild Eures Blocks bewundern können.

Hinterlass doch bitte einen Kommentar mit Deiner Lieblingsfarbzusammenstellung für diese beiden Blöcke. In einer Woche werde ich aus allen Kommentaren (mit genannter Lieblingsfarbe) einen ziehen, der die beiden Kaffeeuntersetzer geschenkt bekommt. Voraussetzung ist natürlich eine hinterlassene Antwortadresse.

The giveaway closes on Monday, March 30! Thanks for dropping by!
Die Geschenkaktion endet am 30. März! Danke fürs Vorbeischauen!

the complete patchwork retreat

Are you looking for a full-catered, patchwork retreat that is well organized and thought out? Do you want to leave your sewing machine at home or need to buy some thread or more fabric while you are there? Not to worry! This retreat has it all such as sewing notions, fabrics, sewing machines on site (if desired), comfortable accommodations, fine food, massage, nail services, hot tub access, expert quilting & patchwork instructors, a diverse program of different quilt projects and quick activities all in the most exquisite of locations - a chalet in the French Alps! This full service, complete retreat is offered through Elita Sharpe (The Busy Needle Quilting) from Geneva, Switzerland. Her very well organized and well thought through quilting retreats in Morzine, France offer everything an international quilter might want at the Patchwork in the Peaks Retreat.

Miss Elita

Elita has been organizing retreats for several years now perfecting the ultimate patchwork retreat experience. She is ever humble in her abilities and knowledge and helps you on your way as a quilter to further develop your skills as well. She neither boasts nor brags and is always reassuring and helpful. Elita has been quilting for over twenty years and runs a long arm quilt service and a small online patchwork shop in Geneva. Being a quilter herself, her passion is to provide a haven for quilters to get together, enjoy their time off quilting and share their experiences with one other.

I was so honored to attend this wonderful retreat (Peaks 6) last weekend where I was not only warmly welcomed by Elita and her group but also instantly accepted by the other quilters who have previously attended. Thank you, Elita, Gina and Crew!

As a group of sixteen quilters with a wide range of experience from the near novice to the professional, there were absolutely no problems with understanding, because the pace was set by your own needs. Both Elita and Gina (her right hand and additional instructor) helped us along with our projects. They always made me feel comfortable - no rush, no worries, no pressure. If I  didn't want to sew, I could just sit out on the terrace and have a glass of wine if I fancied it better. All projects were optional. You could just sew on what you brought with you, if you preferred to.

Early Morning Sewing Views of Morzine, France

Elita introduced us to a Y-seam exercise with the spinning card trick. Most of us were a little challenged with the new Y-seam, and I think I heard a few interesting words thrown into the air, but we all mastered the project in the end. Our projects adorned the wall of fame by dinner time. I too was most definitely challenged by this seam. I try to avoid it at all costs. But I continued on and made the $&§% thing!

Spinning Card Trick - A Hard Day's Work

Most of the projects were organized in the mornings and other activities such as nail services, massage or hot tubbing in the afternoons. A French/English breakfast including porridge and baguette was served for breakfast, a light yet filling noon-time lunch and a very savory dinner & dessert in the evenings. I didn't take a picture of my chocolate croissant bread and butter pudding we had for dessert one night, because it simply disappeared too fast. Delicious! It was a slight change to my typical "German-style" cuisine of breads in the morning and evenings, but I adapted quickly. Thank you very much, Lou!

The Finest of Dining Prepared Fresh Daily

Not to mention the two lovely hosts of our chalet, Karen and Richard who thought of everything to help our visit more enjoyable including shuttle service to and from the airport as well as the most awesome entertainment on the way back. If you are a future guest of the Mountain Lodge Company, don't forget to ask for the Julie Andrews package and tell them "Karen the blogger" mentioned it! Thank you, Richard! I didn't have to be so nervous about catching the plane; you got me there with a good amount of time to go.

View of the Chalet Les 4 Vents Including Ample Parking

This retreat and chalet caters to the English-speaking community which allowed me to feel absolutely comfortable speaking in my native language and opening up to the others around me. Sometimes, I tend to freeze up and shut down when others around me are talking too fast or I don't understand a foreign language as well as I should. Here, I felt like I really belonged especially since I met others who also had very similar life journeys and experiences such as myself. I feel that I made a few more friends on this retreat and look forward to my next visit for another awesome experience. I am very curious to see what type of agenda Elita and Gina have planned for the next retreat coming up in April 2015! Are you?

View from the Wrap-Around Balcony

Did I mention that I have always dreamt about a quilting retreat in the mountains in the fall? As a patchworker reading American quilting magazines, you will find advertisements for ultimate quilting retreats in the ski areas, surrounded by nature - locked in with other patchworkers for a quilting experience away from your families and other distractions. I have been searching and yearning for such a retreat in Europe for years now. And now I have found it, and I don't think there is any way you can improve upon it. Elita has fulfilled all of my expectations and more. There was even perfect 20°C weather with sunny skies every day!! Thank you, again, Elita!

Everyone Deep into their Sewing Projects

And for those of you who joined in the fun for the long four-day weekend, thank you for putting up with my little paper piecing intro. I hope it helped you learn a new technique that you will continue to use and feel confident about.  I truly enjoyed your company and look forward to continuing this new friendship. Most importantly, I look forward to seeing you again at another Peaks Retreat!!

Patchwork in the Peaks 6 Crew

THANK YOU EVERYONE!! Big Hugs!
Karen - the blogger