One year later...

Baby H. crib quilt is finished!!! And just in time for Blogger's Quilt Festival! (Don't forget to check out all the other amazing entries out there!)

I started thinking about this quilt and buying fabrics (online because I was in bed rest) in September of 2010 after discovering the sex of the baby I had on the way. During the months of October and November, exactly one year ago, whenever I could master some strenghts I would cut fabrics, but never got to piece them together. It was physically too much for me to sit in front of my sewing machine and however much I missed sewing I always thought to myself: "More important than sewing this baby quilt is keeping the baby it's meant for SAFE". Three days after my doctor finally said I could get out of bed... she was born!
As a first-time-around-recent-mommy, free time was little and mostly used to sleep. Then work got in the way. But every little chance I had I would make some progress on the quilt.
Yesterday I took a day off and finally cut the binding and decided to try to sew it on by machine, for the first time, because this is always the most time consuming part and I was already so "late" in finishing the quilt that I couldn't wait any longer to have it finally done. And in no time I finished it!!!
It turned out ok, not perfect, but the alternative was so... undesirable and unappealing that i don't mind at all living with my flaws. After all, one lesson i will someday teach my daughter is the capacity to live imperfect lives.

So, without further ado, here is my latest accomplishment (and probably my favourite quilt, second only to the "Good News Quilt", which is also hers): the "My Precious Butterfly Quilt"!

At first I had decided on a disappearing 9-patch top but wasn't totally sure, so I ended up changing to this pattern, which I don't know if it has a name or who has already done it (but someone I'm sure).
And I had though of a Dream Dot back but then had a change of heart and went with Flower Shower instead.
Also, the binding wasn't meant to be Kona Cotton Peony, but a yellow dot fabric whose name I can't recall and that it turned out I hadn't in as much quantity as I thought and needed.
Finally, I decided to quilt it 3/4 inch into all the white parts in a pink 100% cotton thread, but maybe because of being so sleep-deprived it turned out pretty wonky. I can always blame it on the baby ahahaha!
So all this goes to show that surprises and hick-ups and obstacles and changes can be a good thing. I actually love this quilt even more because of all its history.

I still have some more things I would like to make for her bedroom, but the main thing was the curtains (check) and this quilt (check). Yeiii me!!!

How did I not know this?

Os meus novos quadros / My new paintings

Quando se tem uma cunhada que pinta, as paredes nunca estão vazias. Tenho tantos quadros que quando me apaixono por um novo, o marido pergunta sempre: e onde é que o poríamos?
Pois bem, apaixonei-me por uma colecção que retrata os bairros de Lisboa, é uma impressão em tela feita a partir de foto-montagens. Eu adooooro recortes e foto-montagens e alguns destes quadros partem de postais antigos e depois juntam alguns elementos característicos de cada bairro. Eu comprei o da "Baixa-Chiado" porque é a minha zona preferida em Lisboa. Depois nos anos ofereceram-me o do "Bairro Alto e Princípe Real", que era o meu segundo preferido. Depois voltei à feira de artesanato e comprei o de "Campo de Ourique e Estrela e Lapa" porque é também uma zona lindíssima e desde que trabalhei em Campo de Ourique fiquei-lhe com um carinho especial. Agora só me falta dois bairros e depois vou pendurar todos na cozinha - a única divisão até agora imaculada!!!

When you have a sister-in-law that paints, your walls are never naked. I have so many paintings that every time I fall in love with a new one, my husband asks: and where would we hang it?
Well, I fell in love with a collection of paintings portraying the neighbourhoods in Lisbon, it's a printing on canvas made out of pictures and scraping. I love that kind of thing and some of these paintings have in the background old postcards and then the typical elements of the neighbourhood are added. I bought "Baixa-Chiado" because it is my favourite place in Lisbon. Then on my birthday my friends gave me "Bairro Alto and Princípe Real", which was my second favourite painting. Then I went back to the crafts fair and bought "Campo de Ourique and Estrela and Lapa" because it's also a beautiful part of the city and ever since I worked in Campo de Ourique I hold it in my heart. Now there are only two paintings left and then I'll be hanging them in the kitchen - the only room in the house that was still paintings-free!!!

Baking...

In the middle of the night... and out of the blue... whether it's yoghurt cake or scones, there's noone else I'd like to share it with :)

Redecorating

O chão novo, o adeus à maldita lareira, a parede laranja e a minha "biblioteca" no hall de entrada. E um sorriso na cara por termos sobrevivido às 3 semanas de pó, roços, baldes, escadotes...

The new floor, saying goodbye to the damn fireplace, the orange wall and my "library" in the hallway. And a smile on my face for having survived 3 weeks of dust, holes, buckets, ladders...

At last...

A Kodak moment!

In these last few months, we went through some serious renovations in our home. We demolish our living room fireplace and now we have an orange wall with a beautiful phrase written in it. And the hubby's ashtray collection is now elsewhere.





There were lots of boxes everywhere...




And then, like magic (read: lots of hours of hard work and heavy lifting), there was nothing...




Say bye-bye to that ugly dark red tile... and hello to wooden floor!!! yeiii!!!
(More photos of the "after" soon)