April

The weather has not been that nice all the time. Actually, we even had a little snow two days ago!

I received my copies of the new Twelve by Twelve book yesterday. It's a small catalogue style book that we published mainly for ourselves as a souvenir of our Colorplay collection.
Look here, and here, and also here for more information and pictures.

My first "Nuages" quilt is almost finished.  But now I think I have to add another layer of clouds to it.

And, btw, here are some more lovely clouds above the North Sea...

It looks like I had some pictures ready for another blog post in March, and that I forgot to post them...
So, here they are...

 More drawing, some paper mono printing, and beautiful spring flowers...

October

Last month, I did a demo at the annual exhibition of the Belgian Quilters' Association.
I showed three of my Twelve by Twelve quilts, and I explained where I find my inspiration and how I work from there.

I had picked my favorite quilts from the 2012 series and brought my sketchbooks, photos and some samples.
As always, it was lovely talking with many people, sharing ideas and techniques.

In October, there was also a short visit of the Open European Quilt Championships in Maastrricht..

And a quick trip to the seaside on another sunny day.

In the studio, my first "Empreinte" quilt is finished, and the second one is ready for quilting.

And, great news!... my GD is making a new quilt! :-)

Alsace

I only spent one day at the Carrefour Européen du Patchwork this year, but look what I found on the racks of the Kaleidoscope bookstore... :-)

Yes, our book! Isn't it nice, my fellow Twelves?
I also found Deborah's new book, which must have sold really well as I was just able to grab their last copy on the Friday afternoon.
I didn't take many pictures at the show, but I think my absolute favourite was Ann Johnston with her exhibit "Contact: Quilts of the Sierra Nevada". And then Denise Labadie with "Sacred Stonescapes", Lager Malin , the Hungarian Modern Movement and the group QuiltArt.

I took more pictures of nature and architecture...

The next one was taken from the top of the Hahnenberg, above Châtenois...

It was going to be a nice little walk. It was indeed very nice, but we ended up walking more than 13 km, up and down the mountain. A great way to take care of the extra calories from the (too) rich Alsatian cuisine.
Next is a picture of the Tour des Sorcières (Witches Tower) in Châtenois, with a a very photogenic stork nest on top of it...

In the studio, I've been printing more "Empreinte" fabrics.
This the state of my design board today...

On the right, my first top which is almost done. On the left, the second one. I think I can start cutting up the fabrics, although I still want to rearrange some patches.

More pictures

More pictures of my trip to Japan.

Did you know that the Twelves are blogging again, celebrating their 9th anniversary?
Here's the link to my post.

May

I cannot believe that May is almost over already. It was quite busy actually.
Lots of family time, and some studio time too.
The first Orient quilt is finished. Now, I am busy quilting the second one.
Today, it's raining cats and dogs, but we had some very nice weather last week, (and also the week before, I think), so I am adding a couple of sunny pictures to this mosaic.

In other news, my 2012 Twelve by Twelve quilts came back from the States a couple of weeks ago.

I am a little surprised at how I'm liking them now! I remember that I was rather unhappy with most of them 4 years ago. But now... I don't know anymore why that was... A bad case of perfectionism, I guess.

And then, there were also lots of kids' art sessions this month...
GD1 painting with earth pigments bought in Provence a few years ago...

and GD2 at the easel.... :-)

It's over

The 2014 edition of the Belgian Patchwork Association exhibition is over. It took me a full day to recover from it, but I absolutely had a great time at the show.
There was a large variety of quilt styles both in the competition and in the different exhibits. I think all the visitors really enjoyed it.

In the room next to the Colorplay Twelve by Twelve display, there was a very moving exhibit dedicated to the quilts of Lutgard Gerber who was the guild's president from 1996 to 2005 and who passed away last year.

The weather was summery for the first three days. It turned a bit cooler on Sunday but it stayed dry, which is nice.
As you can see in the mosaic, there was even a little train going around the park and linking both sites of the show.  So much fun!

Colorplay in Belgium

I'm glad to report that the Twelve by Twelve Colorplay quilts are ready for they final show!

It's in Enghien, at the Belgian Patchwork Association exhibition.

Twelve by Twelve in Alsace

Here are a few pictures of the Colorplay quilts at the European Patchwork Meeting.

It was great beeing able to show the quilts there and to talk with so many people, and of course to at last meet Brenda in real life!

A long break

This was a very long blogging break...
Here are a few pictures taken last month during a short trip to France.

I've been back in the studio for several weeks already. I've been writing, drawing, journaling, and (mainly) weaving.

I've put a 3 meter warp on my loom. I'm testing Cottoline yarn (by Venne). Tabby weaving at the moment.

I always like to take a picture of all the knotted ends right after threading the heddles.

In other news, I've sent my Twelve by Twelve 2012 quilts to the States. And I'm so glad they made it safely!
They're going to be shown in Oregon next month, at the Northwest Quilting Expo, along with the other Twelves' 2012 quilts of course.

I took lots of pictures before shipping the box. It was very nice handling the quilts as they had been sleeping in a drawer, out of sight, for 8 months.

I'm almost ready to start a new little scrap quilt. I've chosen the fabrics already. But this will be for another post.

Another small quilt

In May, I made this quilt top using my fabric scraps left over from the Twelve by Twelve Colorplay challenges. First, I put together some thin strips of fabric, "à la Brenda".

Then I cut them up, and pieced them back with more fabric scraps.

My first idea when I started this piece was to make another small quilt with an orange background, to go with this one.

But I liked it so much better with a blue border that I gave in.
It still has to be quilted. That will be for later.
Now, I'm reading some weaving books that I bought last year. I must decide what new techniques I'll try out in the next months.

Twelve by Twelve in Melbourne!

Our Colorplay quilts will be on display at the Australasian Quilt Convention! It's from Thursday April 18th until Sunday April 21st, and you can even meet Brenda and Kirsty.
See here

Genki desu...

... which means I'm fine.

I spent most of yesterday in my studio and I'm glad to report that my loom is now ready for a new project.

I'll start weaving tomorrow.

Yesterday, I also managed to take a decent picture of this quilt...

I named it "Rose in Autumn II". Do you remember? I dyed the fabrics for my first Twelve by Twelve Colorplay quilt. Which makes me think that the Colorplay quilts are now Down Under, almost ready to start their 2013 tour.
And just one more picture of snow, quickly before it's gone.

I tried snow dyeing the other day. The results were not particularly exciting except for a few pieces which gave me ideas for other experiments. I'll post pictures in a few days.