Quiltmeva

Can you guess what the first I did when I learned that we were going to be staying in Malmo, Sweden?

I searched for a quilt shop!!

And guess what…..

I found one that was less than a mile away from our hotel…..QUILTMEVA!!

When we arrive in another country, with our body time ALL messed up, our mantra is to STAY AWAKE until bedtime. That helps us to avoid jetlag.

The best way to stay awake is to stay on your feet so Michael and I headed out to discover the city of Malmo.

We took a few obligatory photos of the area…..

….of a cool church……

…and of ourselves…..

By then, Michael was ready to head back to the hotel to relax.

I knew that if I went back to the room, I would immediately go to sleep, so I headed for the quilt shop!!! (And not sleeping was not the only reason)!!

As I opened the front door and climbed the few steps up the shop, I knew that I was in the right place…..

The front room was awash with gorgeous fabrics…..

….and the door led to two more rooms that held goodies galore…..

I started talking to the shop owner, Eva…….

….and we had a marvelous time exchanging stories….as quilters are wont to do!!

Since we were to meet our hosts for dinner, I didn’t have a lot of time to stay but promised to come back later in the week.

On the following Friday, Michael was in the woods and I was alone in Malmo…..WHAT TO DO????

Head for the quilt shop of course!!

When I arrived, Eva greeted me like an old friend and told me that she had a class in progress. Each month she holds a technique class and quilters come to learn something new. She shows the project and then they choose whether to do the project or work on their own things.

Today they were making Rag Quilts!!

Eva showed me her samples. This one is just a simple one-patch design……

…but look at this great idea for pillows……

How cute are those??

Since it was lunchtime for the class, Eva and I had a few minutes to talk and we compared notes on patterns, fabrics, machines and shows. It was so much fun!!

The hard thing about visiting overseas shops is that it is difficult to find items that aren’t regularly available at home.

So, I was excited to see these thimbles from Prym (a German company)……

They seem to fit my arthritic fingers pretty well and I am excited to give them a workout!!

The other thing that I found were these two rulers for making small and REALLY small Dresden plate blocks……

I have a Dresden quilt in mind and these are perfect….even if I could have bought them in the US. Stand by for more about this upcoming quilt.

Finally, I am a fan of Gutermann thread and I had never seen these variegated varieties…..

I can’t wait to try them out!!

It was such fun to meet Eva and her customers and the morning outing was perfect!!

And made even more perfect as I found a food trailer in the park and enjoyed a MAGNIFICENT burger and fries……

I love that quilters can be immediate friends, even if they have never met before!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

A day at Ericksberg

While in Sweden, I spent two days in the field with Michael. I wrote about the first one here…..

Visiting the Swedish Countryside

I hadn’t planned to go two days in a row but our hosts, Stefan and Sophia, INSISTED that I go on this particular day.

So…..I went….and man, were they right!!

We drove to the Ericksberg Hotel and Game Reserve and were met by our guides for the day…. Albin (an apprentice gamekeeper) and Sophia.

The Ericksberg property is gorgeous with stately buildings ……

….. classic Swedish architecture……

…..and stunning grounds……

As we left the vehicle and struck out on foot, I was met with one of the rockiest areas I had ever seen…..

After a few minutes of scrambling over these boulders, I found a stick to help me in my journey. It wasn’t a great stick, but it did the job. Then, a little later, I found a better stick so I traded in the original one for a “new and improved” version!!

These rock formations were spectacular…..

One of the reasons we were visiting the property was to see the Swedish Fallow Deer. They were extremely skittish and, although we saw a bunch thru our binoculars, none were close enough to photograph. Here is what they look like…..

They have “Palmate Antlers” and the coat coloring, especially during this season, is dark with white spots. They were exciting to see!!

The property also has a large population of Red Stag……

Since it was the middle of the rut (mating season), the bulls were VERY vocal. In this video, you can hear one calling out to the ladies to say that he was “ready to go”, and then another one answering “Don’t THINK about taking my woman”!!

When this video was taken, we were behind a large group of rocks and the Stag was on the other side. Have a listen!!

It was SO cool to be that close.

In another instance, we could hear the “paddles” banging together as two males had a tussle with each other.

My biologist husband, Michael, was very excited by this pond of Lilies…..

Apparently, they are a rare version….although they look pretty normal to me!!

The Ericksberg property is committed to the conservation of animals that are native to Sweden and have a large population of Mouflon Sheep…..

…. and an even larger population of Wisent (European Bison)…….

Isn’t this baby cute…..

A face that only a mother could love!!

The only animal that isn’t native to Sweden is the Pere Davids Deer…..

These are native to China but are virtually extinct there. Ericksberg is cultivating this population with the idea that they will be returned to China to repopulate their native lands.

Our morning excursion ended with a Smorgasbord at one of their restaurants…..

The Swedish people love to eat game animals and this Wild Boar was amazingly tender and flavorful. I also couldn’t resist all of the grilled veggies!!!

And, since I am crazy about sunflowers, here is one of my favorite photos from the day…..

Our final act on the property was to visit the gift shop and Michael couldn’t resist trying on a typical Swedish cap and assuming his best “thoughtful” pose….

It was a very nice day that ended with Swedish Meatballs for dinner…..

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Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Visiting the Swedish Countryside

On my recent trip, I spent two days with Michael in the Swedish Countryside.

The weather was about 10 degrees warmer than average and was GORGEOUS.

The first day was spent at Jordberga Gods (FYI, ‘Gods’ is Swedish for ‘Estate’), a gorgeous property just outside of Malmo. It was founded in 1355 and the current guardians keep a great emphasis on agriculture, while using the estate’s grounds, halls and living quarters to host everything from groups of hunters to large wedding parties.

When we arrived, the fog was on the verge of lifting, and I was happy to get this shot…..

This tree had so much character!!

I loved the collection of hats and other “hunting apparel” in one of the offices…..

The buildings on the property are amazing, from the main house…..

….to a “cottage” just down the road…..

We were joined in our excursion by Stefan and Sophia and their cohorts, Paris and Lilly…..

We were on the lookout for birds in the area and were greeted by this massive flock of Eurasian Cranes…..

Oh the racket when they took off!!!

We also came upon a covey of Hungarian Partridge…..

….when Paris spotted them, it was time for them to fly for the hills!!

We started walking along the plowed fields of the property, enjoying the gentle curves in the land……

….and, every once in a while, noticing a red barn in the distance…..

There were also random copses of trees that provided some shelter …..

As always, while Michael is looking for wildlife, I am looking for plants and other beauties!!

I kept seeing bushes with lovely flowers and red berries…..

After translating the Swedish term “nypon”, I learned that these were Rose Hip bushes….a new plant to add to my list!!!

I was truly enamored with the berries….

As we walked, I was often lagging at the back as I stopped to take photos of…..

Dried Thistle…..

…..tiny Daisies……

….. the ubiquitous Dandelion…..

…..and a bit of Queen Anne’s Lace….

When I saw this flower, I was instantly reminded of my round robin quilt…..

“Vila Do Conde Friendship Garden”

….and the Queen Anne’s Lace that Ruhanna added to the garden……

At lunchtime we drove about 10 minutes to the coast….

….where we stopped for a “typical” Swedish treat….. “Räksmörgås” which is a Swedish Prawn Sandwich……..

It was very tasty but I was surprised to find that there was a boiled egg underneath the prawns!!

So….this was day one in the countryside. Stay tuned for day two (it has trumpeting Red Stag)!!!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

This art made an Impression!!

I remember in 10th grade when my World History teacher taught a section about impressionist painters. I was in LOVE, but I never expected that I would get to see any of their paintings in person.

So, when I climbed the long stairs in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen…..

…..I was thrilled to find a gallery of impressionist paintings!!

I have long been a Monet fan and loved this one…..

“Shadows on the Sea” by Claude Monet

….but was surprised to see that these two were also by him……

“The Artist’s Son” by Claude Monet

“Windmill & Boats Near Zaandam” by Claude Monet

The same goes for Picasso. I truly enjoy many of his abstract pieces but was surprised to see this realistic portrait…..

“Spanish Lady in Crinoline”by Pablo Picasso

You can always pick out the Toulouse-Lautrec pieces…..

“Portrait of Monsieur Delaporte” by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

I feel like many of his works contain men in top hats!!

And then there are Degas and his ballerinas…..

“Two Dancers” by Edgar Degas

I like this self-portrait of Paul Cezanne….

“Self Portrait with Bowler Hat” by Paul Cezanne

He was able to recreate so much texture!!

And finally, this wonderful Renoir……

“Young Girls” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Of course, anytime I see a Renoir, I am reminded of the “Night of Living Art” episode from Gilmore Girls……

Since tomorrow is Free-Motion Friday, I have a BUNCH of designs taken from one rock carving. Come back for more!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!

Glyptotek – Part 1

First of all, what is a Glyptotek?

According to Google, it comes from the Greek root glyphein (to carve) and theke (storing place). So basically, it is a storage place for art….and statuary in particular!!

Come to think about it, there were a LOT of statues!!!

This particular “storage area” represents the art collection of Carl Jacobson who was the son of the founder of Carlsberg Breweries. Apparently, there is a LOT of money in beer!!

As I walked into the galleries, I was first struck by the color of the walls in each room…..

The first room was a stunning vermilion which highlighted this splendid sculpture……

“Little Girl with A Dead Bird” by J.A. Jerichau

I was mesmerized by the eyes of these women…..

“Girl Welcoming a Person Entering” by Wilhelm Marstrand

….and loved the story that was told by these three gentlemen…..

“Brewer Jacobsen in Conversation with the French Sculptors Chapu and Gautherin” by P.S. Kroyer

This painting looked VERY much like a piece of cloth…..

“Hermes and the Charities” by Vilehlm Hammershoi

A closer look showed the texture that he produced in paint….

HOW can they do this???

I appreciated the images that were depicted with just a few lines in this painting…..

“The Wood and the Apple Trees” by Theodore Rousseau

The same was true for this one…..

“Autumn Morning on Lake Sortedam” by Christen Kobke

These small dots of paint tell such a story……

Finally, I love the light that shows in this painting…..

“Michelanelo’s Cypresses in the Cloister of the Baths of Diocleton” by Martinus Rerbye

Just look at this tree…..

I truly enjoyed checking out these galleries but my favorite are the Impressionist artists…..

Come back tomorrow for those!!!

Michael and I love to travel and see new parts of the world and then I love to take those memories and turn them into quilts!!! I hope that you enjoy traveling along with us!!

Be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a single trip!!