New Christmas in Italy Quilt 3

It seems that no Italian city or village is complete without a red brick bell tower. They are often the first structure to be spotted high up on the hills, or looming from the centre of town. Once again their architectural styles varied although I knew one had to appear in my Christmas in Italy quilt.

Here is what I came up with

Now there was only one thing left, and that would be Santa himself and his Reindeer!

See you next time warmly Lenna

A Faithful Friend Stitch a Long Quilt Blocks 10,11 and 12

The next three blocks in my A Faithful Friend free block of the month quilt pattern, are now ready for download.

Just click the link here to visit the Complete Craft website. It is so easy. You will have access to these free patterns within minutes. Click here to go there now
Hope you enjoy them!
Warmly Lenna

New Christmas in Italy Quilt 3

 Italy is known as the country of Churches and after visiting this amazing country it is not difficult to see why. Monasteries, Churches and Mother Mary greeted us around every turn. Even in the most unlikely places.
Here are a few of the amazing churches we found. All very different in their architectural style.

So naturally my Christmas in Italy quilt had to include a church, although finding inspirational elements that could be adapted to fabric and applique was not that easy. After much reminiscing, a Church in the city of Verona came to mind. Verona is the home of Romeo and Juliet and boasts the famous balcony.

One of the Churches I discovered was down near the river.

And this stunning Rose window and arched entrance found its way into the quilt as well.

The other discovery down by the river was this lovely lamp post, it reminded me of some I had seen on the shores of Lake Como as well.

Yes, into the quilt it must go.

Although mine is looking a bit older and on a lean!

Speaking of "on a lean", the leaning tower of Pisa did not make it into my Christmas in Italy quilt. But it would have been remiss of me not to include a red brick bell tower. More to come soon.

Warmly Lenna

New Christmas in Italy Quilt 2

Our trip to Italy involved a house swap and we were blessed to exchange with a lovely family from Milano who also owned a villa at Como Lake. Nestled at the base of the Swiss Alps, Como lake was one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. Normally bustling with tourists in Summer, Como Lake in the middle of winter was tranquil and at rest. The little village at the top of the lake where we stayed seemed asleep and hardly stirred as we explored its surroundings.

On one of our walks we discovered a small collection of old, stone houses on the side of a hill. They looked over the snow covered mountains and I pondered their history.

It's no wonder that as my Christmas in Italy Quilt evolved, these stone villas and rolling hills appeared. I found the perfect range of fabric for the look I was after.

My other delightful discovery whilst at the villa in Como Lake was in our back yard. The first morning we woke to snow falling from the heavens and as I drew back the curtains in the kitchen there was the most amazing tree laden with wonderful, orange persimmons.

So into the quilt it had to go as well as some of the balcony hanging gardens!

And then of course there were all the churches...but that's another story!

Warmly Lenna

Blocks 7 , 8 and 9 Faithful Friends Stitch a Long Quilt

Blocks 7, 8 and 9 of my free block of the month quilt pattern, A faithful Friend are now ready for you to download. Just click through to the Complete Craft website by clicking the link here. It will take you straight to the page. Click here for free pattern blocks

Don't worry if you missed the first block, you may be able to locate a back issue of volume 12-4 of Homespun Magazine. For US readers Ericas still have copies. Click here for the magazine that contains pattern one. For Australian readers contact the Homespun Subscriptions department on 1300 303 414. Otherwise I will have it available at the completion of the program towards the end of the year.

Hope you enjoy these blocks.
Warmly Lenna

New Christmas in Italy Quilt

Last November my family and I were blessed to spend 8 weeks in Italy. The trip was a dream come true for me and something I had been planning for a few years. The experience of soaking up another country's culture was a wonderful experience and something we will all never forget.

One of our very special moments was experiencing a white Christmas, something very different for we Aussies who normally sweat in the heat of summer over an oven, or contend with seafood, salads and sand at the beach. Seeing snow fall from the heavens was something very new. And I will never forget the delightful squeals of  excitement from Miss 10 as she looked up into the falling snow and exclaimed "It feels like fairies are dancing across my face".

For so many reasons I felt that my next project should be one inspired by my trip to Italy.

Truth is though it took me a while to get my Mojo back in full swing, but thankfully when the ideas started to flow I was soon on my happy way, sketching from images fresh in my mind.

A few months on, the quilt is now complete and I have a confession to make. I have not been very diligent in taking photos of my progress. So instead I have another idea.

Over the next few weeks I thought it would be fun to show you where my inspiration has come from. So I will include some photos of sections from the quilt and then show you some of the places and buildings that inspired their creation.

The overall concept for the quilt flashed into my mind as we were driving through farmland in the Northern part of Italy just outside of Venice. Red and terracotta brick farmhouses nestled amongst snow laden trees was a scene quite new to me. The colours were so pale and yet so beautiful. It was the trees that intrigued me the most, their delicate branches dusted with snow silhouetted against the sky. Hopefully you will get an idea of what I saw from these photos, taken from the inside of the car (it was too cold to wind down the window).

So including these trees within my design was a must. I discovered a variegated DMC thread that gave the perfect effect, doing all the creative work for me.

As you can see there's lots of little houses, hills dusted with snow and lots more to come...!

Warmly Lenna

Block 5 and 6 A Faithful Friend Stitch a Long Quilt now ready

Blocks five and six of my free block of the month quilt pattern, A Faithful Friend are now ready for you to download. All you have to do is head over to the Complete Craft website by clicking the link here

Hope that you are enjoying the sewing journey!
I also wanted to let you know that there is an exciting competition being offered over at the Stitching Cow blog. The winner will receive the complete kit of fabrics and threads for this quilt project worth over $250. For your chance to win click here for all the details.

Best of luck
Warmly Lenna