Eva and I spent the afternoon shopping in Otta. It was snowing and unfortunately we didn't see the beautiful blue sky that we had seen at the begiinning of my holiday..... .....inside this loverly haberdashery shop, there was a selection of National costumes (Bunad), and a wonderful selection of lace and ribbon and buttons. I bought some beautiful ribbons to use for decorating small makeup boxes and toiletry bags..... .....then it was off to the supermarket. There was an enormous array of cold meats..... .....and sausages..... .....and my favourite, brown cheese - this is delicious, especially when served with waffles. I was able to buy everything I needed to take home for a traditional Norwegian breakfast :)
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We travelled back to Trondheim on the night train, and stopped off to spend a few hours shopping and sight-seeing. We had breakfast in a delighful cafe, and had fruit tea, juice, bread and jam. It really was delicious..... ....then we made our way through the streets of this beautiful city, to the main reason for our visit to Trondheim..... ..... which was to visit Quiltegården - and to meet Siw, the owner. Unfortunately Laila was unable to meet us - I hope you're feeling better Laila - maybe we can meet next year??!!..... .....inside this shop there were lovely displays of fabrics and threads and all sorts of things that we NEEDED to buy. I was especially pleased to buy some beautiful linen fabic for stitchery, that Lynette Anderson used for her quilt "A Scandinavian Christmas"..... .....and quilts - (Hi Gail - it was great to see this version of your quilt "Busy Little Christmas Elves")..... .....and this version of Leanne's quilt "Down in the Garden". These colours were so soft, and very different from the original. We had a lovely time here, and spend several hours and several Kroner!!!..... .....visiting the cathedral in Trondheim was the perfect end to a perfect day. The reason that Eva and me were travelling to Bodø, was because we were on a quilting course with Ann A. Kanstad Johansen (AnnAKa), a Norwegian designer. I had met Ann in November 2009, when Hanne had invited me to Norway for the first time. This picture shows Ann and me, with her beautiful quilt, that Merete had longarm quilted. I had seen this quilt in a previous issue of Quiltemagasinet (a Norwegian quilting magazine) and it was great to see it in real life..... .....this is my runner "in progress".....I used a selection of fabrics including batiks, that I bought from Lappedilla.The course was all about using a "60 degree triangular ruler". Ann had lots of samples on show, and they were all really inspiring.... .....here is Heidi and Randi, with Randi's runner - the black/ white/ grey combination of fabrics looked really dramatic - and Randi was so quick - she started this runner on the Saturday, and brought it to class the next day quilted and bound - it looked fabulous. I think I might make one like this too - I'll add it to my growing list of projects that I NEED to do hehe..... .....Ann and Hanne busy chatting..... ....Eva and Elin are busy sewing and chatting!! Hi Elin - it was great to meet you on the course - hope we meet up again next year :) .....and Merete is demonstrating some ideas for quilting this runner - no, she's not drawing directly on the runner, she's drawing on a sheet of plastic..... .....and busy quilting her own runner - this looked really lovely Merete - kjempefine!!..... .....and here Ann is talking to the class about another runner that I made with the leftover fabrics from the previous one - and when completed, this will be a diamond shape. We all had a brilliant time on this course, as Ann is an excellent teacher and I hope to go on another class with her next year if she'll have me!! My epic journey to Norway started in the middle of the night, with an arduous coach drive to Gatwick airport, followed by a delayed flight. I eventually arrived in Oslo at lunchtime, and this is the view from the window of the plane just before we landed..... .....I continued my journey to Otta by train, and the views along the way were absolutely STUNNING. It was great to see Eva again. She had turned her sewing room into a bedroom for me, and she had put this beautiful quilt on the bed for me. She knows I like the colour green :) .....the following morning, this is the view that greeted me - a breathtaking view of mountains and pine forrests. Eva told me that it has been extremely cold this winter, and they have had lots of snow. However, today it was only about minus 10 degrees outside - I'm glad I had my thermal undies with me!! ....Eva suggested a drive up the mountains as it was a beautiful clear day, and although it was cold the sun was shining - again, the view was breathtaking - the mountains were truely spectacular..... ..... on the journey back down, this was the view looking down over Otta. The river was completely frozen, and you can see a small island in the middle of the river. I'm writing this blog post all about my friend Eva!! She has just sent me some really exciting news - she has now got her own blog, "Evas Quilterom" so now I can follow her and keep up with all the beautiful things that she makes. This piccie was taken last summer when Eva came to stay with me - we really did have a great time together..... .....while Eva was here, we spent a couple of days on a workshop with Lynette Anderson over at my local quilt shop, Quilters Haven - Eva is really concentrating here - we were trying to master "Colonial Knots" - and if Lynette is reading this, yes we CAN remember how to do them - and we would both love to do another class with you hehe :) When Eva came to stay,she was the perfect house guest - she was quite happy to spend most of her holiday sewing, or going to quilt shops - and she bought me a lovely present too - a real proper Norwegian Waffle maker - here she is demonstrating how it works - my goodness those waffles were delicious..... Here's the Norwegian Waffle Maker in all it's glory - Eva even gave me her special recipe - they were just so crisp and yummy..... .....especially when they are served with blueberries and strawberries and extra thick double cream :) .....I first met Eva when I went to Norway for a holiday in November 2009 - I had gone to stay with my friend Hanne, and Eva was staying with her too - we got along really well (I am ashamed to say that my Norwegian was terrible and has not improved at all!!) and here is Eva, sitting in front of me - we were on a course with AnnAKa, making a Smykketeppe. A few days ago, I commented in a blogpost that I'd already bought something from the NorthernQuilts website, and here it is - "Julehjerter" (translated this means Christmas Hearts). And no, it's not completed yet - (don't get too excited) - but I have finished the stitchery hearts... ...this BOM has been running for 4 months, and each month I received the traceable pattern and full instructions(in English - wooohooo!! - no need for Google Translate!!). The final part has arrived, and now I just need to have a rummage in my box of Christmas fabrics to pick out something suitable for the blocks and borders and binding - when it is completed, it can be a cloth for the table or a wall hanging.
In an earlier blogpost, I wrote that May Britt and Hanne were having a competition on their blogs, to win a pattern for an embroidered baking cloth (here in the UK we don't use anything as nice as this, and usually in the Foreman kitchen, any old T-towel will do!!) - well, I didn't win the competition, but never one to be deterred, I ordered the pattern and fabrics to make the baking cloth directly from NorthernQuilts. It arrived promptly, and the fabrics are lovely - especially the linen, which is really beautiful, and this will be my first Norwegian project for 2011..... ...and I'd also done a little bit of shopping over here at Lappelåven(Patchwork Barn), and ordered this beautiful kit to make another AnnAKa pattern "Høytidsengler" (translated means Holiday Angels) - I had already bought the pattern a while ago, from Lapp-Elisa Quilts, and this will be my 2nd Norwegian project for 2011, ready for my dining table NEXT Christmas. How organised is that??!! This kit has all the buttons and embroidery thread to complete the runner, and the fabrics are beautiful.
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About me...Hi - welcome to my quilting blog! My passions are my family, my dog, my friends and sewing, not necessarily in that order! Archives
July 2023
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