Thursday, December 13, 2007

Under the weather...



Wow! Is that ice in the bird's bath?... well, my children are from Florida so this really is a new experience...
Sera? Sera gelo no bebedouro dos passaros no quintal?...bom, os meus filhos vieram da Florida por isso gelo assim e uma experiencia nova...






And they really are "under the weather": both sick, first my daughter and a few days later my son. She had a ear infection and both had fever and caugh which complicated with the asthma.
Mas eles estao mesmo doentes, conforme a expressao no titulo deste "posting". A minha filha adoeceu primeiro e teve uma infeccao num ouvido e ambos tiveram febre e tosse que se complicou com a asma.




Fortunately they are good playmates and being sick only made them play a little less energetically.
Felizmente os dois juntos brincam bem e estar doentes so os faz brincar com mais meiguice.






The Princess and "Darth Vader" read books and have some milk from their "snowman" mugs.
A princesa e "Darth Vader" leem livros e bebem leitinho das suas canecas "boneco de neve".




They were playing so well that I could spend the morning making a Christmas present. I have had in my mind the Seminole patchwork and I just had to try it (if it is not a challenge, why bother?). So I used the Seminole technique and modified to make "diamonds" instead of squares. For that modification it really helped the hints I learned from Billie Lauder, at the only quilting class I have ever taken and which I really enjoyed. But this is a Christmas present so...Schhhh...it's a secret...
Eles estavam tao entretidos que eu aproveitei para fazer uma prenda de Natal. Ha ja algum tempo que tenho na ideia a tecnica de patchwork (retalhos) dos Seminole. Pus maos a obra e usei a tecnica do povo Seminole com modificacao para fazer paralelogramas em vez de quadrados. Ajudou bastante as dicas que aprendi com Billie Lauder, numa aula em Gainesville. Mas e uma prenda de Natal por isso...Sshhhh!..e segredo...

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Little camera bag



I made this little quilted bag for my new camera some time ago. I found it so handy that I made another one for my friend when she came to visit. I used a fabric with blues and greens (her favorite color combination) and added a personalized label on the inside of the flap. I forgot to take a picture because, as usually, it was a (very) last minute project...

Fiz esta pequena bolsa para a minha nova maquina fotografica ha ja algum tempo. Gosto tanto de a usar que resolvi fazer outra para a minha amiga quando me veio visitar. Usei um tecido com as suas cores favoritas, azuis e verdes e cosi do lado de dentro da aba uma etiqueta com uma dedicatoria que bordei. Nao tenho fotografia pois este foi um projecto a ultima da hora (como e habitual...).


Monday, December 3, 2007

The Nutcracker



It happened! After anxiously waiting for the promised treat, the family went to see the performance of the Nutcracker at the Stevens Arts Center.
Finalmente aconteceu! Depois de uma longa e ansiosa espera, a familia foi assistir ao Ballet "Nutcracker" no centro das artes "Stevens Center".

It was a success!
It was beautiful, entertaining, involving and... rather long in my daughter's opinion!
A few weeks ago I read the story of the Nutcracker Ballet of
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to my children, while listening to its music recorded by the Philharmonia Orchestra. They loved it and we ended up repeating the reading and talking about the story quite a while. For Ana Christina the fact that the mice did not win the battle against the toy soldiers and the Nutcracker was very reassuring (she kept repeating it on the way to the ballet!!). Well, she still jumped into my lap predicting the battle scene was coming and hid her face when the enormous "rodents" showed up. It ended up in a really happy manner, she relaxed but after two hours sitting with a break to line up for water, she had had enough...
My son loved it. He was maybe disappointed for the king rat was not as scary as in the book...
Foi um sucesso!
O ballet foi bonito, divertido, envolvente e... muito comprido na opiniao da minha filha!
Ha algumas semanas atras, eu li a historia do bailado do "nutcracker" (quebra-nozes) de
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ao mesmo tempo que ouviamos a sua musica num CD gravado pela Philharmonia Orchestra. Eles adoraram e acabamos por ler o livro varias vezes e conversar sobre partes excitantes da historia. Para a Ana Christina foi muito importante que os ratos nao ganharam a luta contra os soldados brinquedos, o quebra-nozes e a Clara, (facto que ela repetiu varias vezes no caminho para o ballet!). Bom, com a cena da luta a aproximar-se, a minha filha saltou-me para o colo e quando os enormes roedores apareceram no palco, escondeu a cara no meu pescoco! Mas com o final feliz, a minha petiz acalmou-se. Mas depois de duas horas sentada e um intervalo em que pacientemente esperou pela sua vez para beber agua, estava pronta para se ir embora....

Thursday, November 29, 2007

My grandmother's quilt

I decided that my first post should be about the quilt I created two weeks ago, for my grandmother, which also inspired the name of my blog.
Eu decidi escrever na minha primeira publicacao deste blog sobre a colcha (quilt) que fiz para a minha avo ha duas semanas, o qual tambem serviu the inspiracao para o nome do blog.

I made the top of this quilt in one day, while the kids went with daddy to see the grandparents. I was inspired by the quilts in the book Kaffe Fasset's "quilts in the sun",... but was not sure about the fabrics to use.
Fiz a parte de cima num so dia, enquanto os meus filhos tinham ido a casa dos avos com o pai. A composicao foi inspirada pelos quilts do livro de Kaffe Fasset "quilts in the sun",... do que eu nao estava certa era de que tecidos usar!

I wanted oranges, yellows and warm earth colors but.... So I went to my stash and started combining. I wanted something that warmed my grandmother in the cold winter days, literally and visually.
Eu queria a colcha em tons de laranja, amarelo e outras cores quentes, mas..... Entao, fui a minha "coleccao" e comecei a combinar. Eu queria uma colcha que aquecesse o corpo e a alma da minha avo.


My grandmother used to be a tailor. She has sewn many clothes, for me and for the rest of the family. The blue fabric in the above square is a leftover from a dress she made for herself and which she gave to me when she learned about my new hobby.
A minha avo era alfaiate, coseu muitas roupas para mim e para toda a familia. O tecido azul no quadrado acima e um resto de um vestido que tinha feito para si propria e o qual me deu quando (muito espantada) soube que eu gostava de costurar nos "tempos livres".


I sent the quilt some days ago and really really hope it gets to her hands, and soon!
Enviei a colcha ha alguns dias e estou ansiosa para que ele chegue as suas maos.