Monday 25 January 2010

New start and another finish

Last week I finally started my string blocks for Stephanie's No Strings Attached challenge. It also qualifies for my own Use Your Stash 2010, as everything comes from a box in my sewing room. Here are the 14 first blocks:



I think this will be a bed quilt. The blocks will be 7" finished, so I need a few more. Luckily there are more blue scraps than I can use. - Reading the blogs joining in this challenge and another one I joined last year has made me think where I'm going with my life. In real life I'm a rather shy,  usually quiet, middle aged mother of three grown kids and happily married to Mr. Kotkarankki. Last May I became a hooker when crocheting the granny squares, and now the string block ladies are writing about stripping and referring to themselves as strippers. Great Aunt Saima would have understood this kind of play with words. Oh yes, and my mother (a very talented word twister as well) has called me an angel maker because I sew angels for Villa Cooper. I don't know about the term in English but the Finnish word has been used for someone illegally helping women with unwanted pregnancies. Oh dear! Sounds far more ominous and exciting than it is.

My first real finish for this year is the Country Calendar quilt. I have been working on it all last year, and now have put the month blocks together to make a wall hanging. Finishing it I only used fabric from my stash for the sashings, corners, borders, batting, backing and binding, so this qualifies for my UYS 2010 challenge as well. I only bought the black fabric for the October block background, and it was last year.




This morning was again beautiful like from a fairy tale. I took these pictures about 8.30, twnety minutes before sunrise. It has snowed a little last night. This is my washline, waiting for warmer, sunny days:




And this is where the sun comes up, not yet East but more like Southeast:



The days get almost 10 minutes longer every day here in South Finland. Up North the change is bigger: from the 'no sun at all' day the first day has almost an hour between sunrise and sunset, and a week later the day is 3 hours 15 minutes from sunrise to sunset. By Spring Equinox their day is longer than ours, and in mid May they will have no more sunsets for 10 weeks.

12 comments:

  1. Blogging has tapped into your "dark side"--stripping and hooking. :o) Love your strings blocks. So pretty. I'm shivering at the gorgeous winter photos. Do you have a dryer indoors for your clothes? My grandmother NEVER used a dryer (and only a wringer washer)...but she lived in Southern California!

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  2. I really find it fascinating about how much day vs. night that you have. The photos look fabulous, almost eerie. I am not sure that I could deal with so much darkness. But I definitely can deal with lots of light. By the way, I love the string quilt.

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  3. The snow and especially the sun rising over the snow - - - that is just peaceful and beautiful!

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  4. I love the string quilt!

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  5. The pictures of winter look so beyutiful, but, oh boy, you must be freezing!!! It is amazing how fast you got those blocks done! And they look just beatiful! Playing with words is a funny thing, aren't we all "quilt junkies"??!

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  6. Hi Ulla, your string quilt is looking so beautiful in blues :)
    It seems like a winter wonderland out there... really stunning!

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  7. LOL I can just imagine- a stripper a hooker a woman with wips/whips. :-) It is an exciting on-line life you lead and with UFOs around too. LOL

    Your strip quilt looks so gorgeous. I love how the middle strip gives a continuity to it.

    Well done finishing your Country Calender Quilt. It looks fabulous on the wall.

    Yes I do think you are living in a fairy tale with all the soft snow.

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  8. Your snowy photos are lovely, and it is always interesting to hear about differences...at the moment your sunrise and times are about the same as ours I think.
    Your play on words is very amusing!Perhaps though I won't tell my Mom that I have a Finnish blogfriend who is a hooker...she would not be amused!!!!

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  9. Your pictures are beautiful; I had no idea what no sun meant. So interesting in all the different places in our world. Your string quilt is gorgeous and will make a lovely bed quilt everyone would love.

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  10. Wonderful string blocks! I love how you've incorporated the "sashing" into the blocks!

    You've caught up on alot of projects...I finally am catching up on blog visits-love your shuttle and redwork embroidery post for VTT!

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  11. No wonder you are a sewing fiend!! With all that darkness..yikes!! Love your shots of the woods..but I love your quilts even more!! Gorgeous! Well done!
    Paulette

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  12. Wow your stripquilt block are stunning!! I love it ;-))
    It is going to be a beautiful quilt..

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