Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Memories
I grew up on the farm in Friesland with Friesian cows and horses. That was in the days before these black horses where popular all over the world. All his farming life my dad had some Friesian horses around. Although we milked a lot of cows
for those days and had an up to date milking machine, we never had a tractor till after I moved to Canada in 1970. My dad did not like anything with a motor, but could tell you the pedigrees of all the cows and horses for generations.Our horses, all registred, did the work,Besides that we drove and rode them. I can still remember when the inspector of the Association would be in the area. Dad would take one or two horses by the halter and on his bike he would go to the next town. We would follow on horse back if necessary. Right there, in the middle of town on the cobbelstones the horses would be judged. If they were good enough the branding iron would come out and the appropriate symbol would be burned in the neck.
Over the last 25 years there have been Friesian horses in North America. Inspectors would come over and judge the horses here for entry in the books. My brother let me know, that this would happen near Woodstock near the end of August. So last Saturday, with the combining over and some free time I convinced Laurence to come with me to see the judging. It was just like the olden times with the black horses, shown by people dressed in white.
The weather was not co-operating and at first the judging was done outside in the rain, but later it was changed to the inside arena. It was just like I was home again, except this time I was only watching. This made me wish I could still be riding, but that has not happened for a very long time. After a few hours Laurence really, really, really had his fill, so back to home it was, where I had so Skype with my brother in Friesland, who had been to a similar, but much larger show near his place.
Back to quilts now
.
I finished the sashiko sampler and it turned out not too bad. The final size is 43 by 43 inches.
Fabric used is Essex (linen/cotton mix) by Kaufman
Threads used: overdyed cotton threads by Sassalyne.
Appliqued circles come from a piece of silk fabric bought from John Marshall
Crest designs: Japanese Design Motives 4200 Illustrations of Japanese Crests ( Dover book)
Setting idea: Japanese Quilt Blocks by Susan Briscoe
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A busy week

Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Another one done!
The sashiko on both of these pieces was done a few years ago. I quilted the one on the left, but did not get around to do the other one.
But last week it finally happened. I'm planning to hang both upstairs in the hall. This is after I have put something on the big window to keep the sun out.
The sashiko on this piece are all cranes. The patterns came out of a Dover book with over 4000 crest designs. They had to be enlarged, but it works well. And I will not be out of patterns in a long time.
This was the first time I used a variegated thread and I like the result. It seems to blend in better and gives it a softer look.
This is, what I look out to, when I do machine work. As you can see I'm working on another quilt and this one is much bigger. I put another small table behind the machine and use my ironing board to the left side. This way I get as much of the quilt as possible level with the machine.
Last week I mentioned, that we finally had started with the wheat harvest. That did not last long. After one round they tested for moisture and the wheat was way too wet, so the combine went back in the shed, where it still is. The weather is warmer, but we have not had the hot, sunny days we need.
I bet you, that there are not many people, who get their bread delived at home anymore. But we do. Every third Wednesday afternoon at about 2, a white van will drive in the lane. Out comes the baker, Guehnter's from Milverton, with the bread. And it is the best bread you can get, according to Jenny. She refuses to eat anything else. Nobody home.....no problem. The bread is put on top of the freezer and you can pay the next time. 

Thursday, August 06, 2009
Blame it on the apples
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