Apples, marmalade and the "Autumn leaves"

It's time for Autumn, and as usual, Mum makes marmalade. She cooks the fruit for a long time, hours... and when it is ready, soft and creamy, she pours everything into small/medium bowls. As a final touch, a little pinch of rum or "aguardente" is added to the surface, and covered with "vegetal" paper. This is a way to preserve marmalade, the alcohol "kills" every unwanted bacteria... or so the popular wisdom says, and the paper keeps it from new infestations...



















And these are some delicious apples from our garden... reminding me of grandpa's habit of bringing home the best apple (or the funniest!) he could find for me... The brown ones are called "Rainetas", a bit sour, they are perfect for cakes and pies, always with cinnamon, of course!


















Meanwhile, strange things, veggie-fruity-weeds invade the garden... I found a lot of these after the first rainy week. I think they are astonishing! These should be the COLOURS for this Autumn... Don't you think?


















Now here's just a tiny lift of the curtain on what new stash combined with Autumn inspiration makes to my head...


















At last, a very good surprise on yesterday's mail... our labels! Aren't they cute? I already feel like I want to order three or four more colours and motifs...

"Step on it!!!" - "Pé na tábua!!!"

Long time no blogging around here, hã? It's not only the lack of time, nor the busyness... It's Autumn. :(
I always try to look on the bright side of life (like the Monty Pythons) but it all comes down to this: Ihate the end of Summer!
Ihate to wake up in the morning freezing and grumpy... I hate when it is too cold to wear sandals, but still too hot for shoes... I hate not knowing what to wear these days when it can be cold in a minute and hot the next... Uff!
Well, at least not all is bad. The fresh smell of humid soil after the rain... Oh! That is "home" for me!

















Also, sitting in front of the sewing machine and sew all evening, no matter what goes on theTV, no matter dinner, or anything else...That's a favorite too!
And here it is, now officially a kind of a small afghan (I don't know if you can call it like that, maybe that's just for knitting or crocheting?!)
or just a warm softy cover for Sunday rainy afternoons watching movies and having tea with biscuits...
After several days of joining tiny pieces together, I'm now quilting. It's not easy, one has to be very careful not to let it too tight or too loose...

















Nevertheless, I love my sewing, my quilting, my crochet, it's my best way to fly away!...

Quilting - Passion for details, or the construction of life.

I always regarded life in a constructive way. I think it is always a process of adding diverse things. Each person has their own "patchwork quilt". It's true that you can also have losses through life, but I can't see those as a subtraction, in the sense that one always gets something out of it... To me crafting is also a similar process. When I "build" a project, either sewing, embroidering, crocheting, drawing... I am making choices, transforming ideas, developing concepts, and above all I'm being me. As a consequence I usually don't manage in following projects. I really like not to know what will be the final result. As for the process itself, it's importance is major. Only by observing the process can you really "deconstruct" the work, the purpose, the achievements and failures... Maybe that's the great thing about blogging too. One can show the working in process disasters, bad experiences, trade precious information on techniques and know-how, all in the same chair, quickly and easily , and in a appealing way.
Here's my new WIP, a quilt, not like the first one, this time bigger, bluer and patience-devouring!

This was the easy part: making eight big squares with 12" to 14"...
















Then I saw a tremendouly gifted quilter's blog ... and I understood she would sew a lot of tiny pieces together...
















And after having one large piece all made of small pieces, one should cut that in other pieces, as if it was a normal fabric.
Here you can see the detailed stripe made of tiny 2,5" wide stripes... lot's of them.. uff!
















I still don't know if it's going to be a big quilt, for a couple's bed or just a small "afghan" to keep on the couch for wintery TV watching nights...

Another of my favorite quilters: Rosa!

Novidades do outro lado do globo... - Novelties from the other side of the globe!

A new swap has arrived! Nina sent me a very nice package with a lot of goodies in it.

















She really has got an eye for strange things, she collects amazing old or new stuff. I would love to take a peep in her house...eh!eh! I think it must be some kind of odd museum. Anyway, you see for yourselves, she is "Fun Old New" at flikr.

A pretty candle, lots of american postcards...
















Wonderful vintage lace...
















And look! The fabrics even have that border with all the printing details!

















Thank you Nina! I'm delighted with your gifts, and I hope you like mine too.
In this swap I tried to pick up old products from portuguese origin. Some of them you can't find anymore, because the foreign products have taken over our market... welcome to globalization.
Others are still on the market, but maintained their original design since ever! I think I can give you just a small taste of our beautiful country. Enjoy!

"Piensa en mi"...

Uma grande voz, sim, mas muito mais uma grande Senhora. Um presente (não de agora) da ChipChip que muito me diz e me faz vibrar... Chavela Vargas. Dizem algumas línguas (más ou boas) que namorou Frida Kahlo...

















Entretanto as novas pregadeiras partem, e apesar de tudo sinto sempre que fica algum vazio... gosto de olhar para as coisas que faço. Quando a mesa fica vazia, fica...vazia.

My favorites at flickr

My favorites at flickr, originally uploaded by quartodeideias.

Here's a selection of some of my favorites at flickr. Just love them all!

Small treasures in a cardboard box - Memories in fabric

Finally I can show the wonders my grandma had for me. She had a store a long time a go. They sold a little bit of everything. In those days my grandfather would go once a month or so to Porto and Lisbon. There he would buy the best portuguese cotton/ wool fabrics. I say cotton and wool, because that's exactly what was produced in those days. Now everything is a mixture of fibers and something else. So, grandma always kept a few yards of fabrics that were left over after the shop closed. As you can imagine, all my life I had asked her if she didn't have some fabrics for me to make things and to learn how to sew! By now I had already given up... but the other day she goes like: "Come to my place there's a few fabrics I'd like you to take a look at" - Wow!














These two are double sided! Gorgeous!














These are some of my favorites, specially the tulip one.














I remember these on my pijama's...














And here she is, then and now:



















And here I am, the most yellowish, unhealthy child... eheheh! All my trousers and skirts were made of that fabric, wooly and not very nice for a girl who loved lace and ribbons!














And now, the dearest of all treasures in my grannie's house: one of my very first sewn dresses! Watch the details! All handmade, of course ... Things have changed that much, I guess...

Now, hands to work! New stash, new life!

Coisas de ler, "água e terra" e tempos de outro tempo.

As férias já acabaram, para trás fica esta leitura de Verão... não propriamente o que esperava. De facto, sinto que passei num episódio de uma vida, um dia, uma ocasião... mas extremamente bem narrada! Sentem-se não só os cheiros, as tensões de cada personagem, a hesitação de alguém que podia dizer algo que ficará sempre por dizer... como a maneira tão própria e feminina de ver as coisas, (pelo menos eu identifico-me com esta). Enfim, a irrevogável mestria de Virginia Woolf!
As edições Relógio d'água merecem todos os elogios... são simplesmente irresístíveis, muito bonitas, muito agradáveis de ler, boas traduções... uau!



Este é o último que comprei e que estou a "devorar". Também da mesma editora,

















espero ansiosa pelo próximo.


Entretanto, e porque o "bichinho crafty" que vive cá dentro não pára...















Desta vez em tons de azul e castanho, mais retalhado que nunca. Pedacinhos muito pequenos para criar um padrão mais pormenorizado. é de novo uma mala quiltada, a terceira deste modelo. Dá para usar esticada ou encolhida e tem um bolso interior para cartões ou um batôn.
















Um pormenor do acolchoado - "quilting".
















A versão "esticada".

















Pormenor da parte lateral com os atilhos e lantejoulas.

Hoje vou a casa da minha avó, chamou-me de propósito para ir lá ver uns tecidos... diz que tem muitos ainda "do tempo da loja"... Cheira-me que vêm aí coisas novas do antigamente, coisas que nos viram crescer, coisas que fazem parte de um tempo muito diferente, em que as horas passavam devagar à beira de uma máquina de costura a comer pão com manteiga, a beber leite com "Milo" na caneca do coelhinho e a ver "Verano Azul" no "Agora escolha".

Finished Quilt and small rainbows in my garden

After a few months of hard patchwork and quilting, I'm now ready to meet Emília. It is such a thrill when you finish a project, specially a long one! Mission acomplished! It really didn't turn out perfect, but considering it was my first quilt... I think it was very good. One can lean a lot by making little experiments before actually starting on a real thing. It didn't occur to me that this kind of technique could bring up such complicated questions of composition, you really have to think and imagine where exactly is that piece going to, next which? Near which? Against which...
And then there are surprises, as this one:















I usually work with a lamp right next to me, and when I was sewing the filling on the patchwork, I turned the quilt, and for a moment I saw the light passing through it... here's the result! It's like a world inside a different reality...

And now, hands to work again! New brooches on the way, here's a peep:
















Finally, new rainbows arrived to my garden... can you imagine a skin pattern like this? I had never seen such a beautiful worm! And it is big too! I wonder if it will turn into a butterfly...















This is an amazing cactus flower:
















It smells horribly, because it feeds on insects! It has a delicated appearence, a fine texture, yet it is thick and fat, like a cactus leaf... curious!

Back! - De volta!

Pois é, com a pressa e um monte de assuntos por resolver antes de "zarpar", esqueci-me de avisar no blog o breve intervalo próprio da época. Mil perdões! Entretanto, após 7 maravilhosos dias por terras de barlavento algarvio...muitos banhos de mar e bolas-de-berlim-sem-creme, depois... eis a volta à normalidade! Baterias recarregadas, toca a trabalhar!

Antes de mais, uma ferramenta essencial: um magnífico "organizer", organizador de tudo o que preciso para trabalhar. Uhauh! (Até me sinto mais profissional!).




















Muito baratinho numa dessas superfícies comerciais, (aquela onde temos que pagar os sacos e por isso trazêmos os caixotes de cartão... bela ideia!, pricipalmente para eles que não precisam de deitá-los fora, e para nós que reciclamos)! Agora a sério, é incrível a diferença que a arrumação pode fazer...

Adiante! Recebi esta semana a encomenda da F. directamente da Costa Rica!! Gostei muito do que me enviou e adorei a experiência de trocar... "swap"! Parece um pouco o jogo do amigo invisível.




O Quilt da Emília está quase quase pronto, mas ela é que pelos vistos ainda não! Só me custa um pouco mais por causa do calor, imagino o que será fazer uma colcha ou edredon para uma cama de casal! Ui!
















Novas flores de trazer ao peito, bordadas com lantejoulas e missangas:

Colorific Swap-o-rama, August: Rainbow!

Já está pronta! A encomenda para a F.! Espero sinceramente que corra tudo bem e que ela goste das prendinhas, tanto quanto eu! Nunca participei num swap (troca). Descobri no entanto, uma sensação muito engraçada de ser criança outra vez. Parece coisa de menininhas, fazer embrulhinhos, carimbar bonequitos, juntar pequenas coisas com um significado... fez-me mesmo sentir como quando brincava Às lojinhas, às casinhas, naqueles tempos não havia estas coisas giras e coloridas, improvisava com o que tinha, mas era muito divertido.
A Chip Chip deve lembrar-se com certeza da nossa brincadeira de "empresa de cheirinhos"... Pusémos a turma toda da 4ª classe a fazer trocas de shampôs, sabonetes, gel de banho... fazíamos as misturas mais estranhas, e vendíamos ou trocávamos uns com os outros. Depois haviam cartões de sócio, fichas de inscrição, senhas, recibos... tudo cuidadosamente decorado com carimbinhos, flores, desenhos... era o mundo a nossos pés!

Agora acho que não quero parar... viva o Swap!














Tudo prontinho e embrulhado em papel arco-íris!

Quilting again! - Mala "quiltada" II !

Pois, de facto coisas como estas que despertam em mim um qualquer instinto "trapeiro", que me faz estar a costurar 4 horas a fio, sem me lembrar de mais nada... cada detalhe exige uma nova escolha, e na ânsia de ver o produto final, não consigo largar a peça sem a deixar pronta! Isto custa-me apenas umas noites mal dormidas e os sonos todos trocados. Nada que não valha a pena quando se trata de um pedido de uma amiga muito especial que para além de dizer coisas, de escrever loisas, fazer bolachinhas divinais... também faz estas lindíssimas peças.

Assim, este é o resultado:















É um pouco mais pequena que a outra, mas parece-me mais prática assim.
















Entretanto, queria ter participado no Colorific Swaporama de Agosto, cujo tema era o arco-íris... mas fiquei de fora! :(
Por sorte há quem queira fazer a troca mesmo assim, ela é da Costa Rica, muito simpática e faz coisas "nitas". Resta-me portanto organizar tudo, enviar e esperar!

É hoje

Depois dos Belle & Sebastian, hoje são os Pixies.
Só falta decidir ir aos concerto de sábado.

Another WIP - Mais um WIP (work in progress)

quilting 1 WIP, originally uploaded by quartodeideias.

Não tem sido fácil, mas parece-se finalmente com um quilt! Acho que o próximo que fizer me vai correr muito melhor. Há coisas que só aprendemos quando as fazemos, acolchoar é uma delas!
A Emília está a caminho...