Hand Dye Workshop

We dyed fabric in Garen's garden.



Lucky that in Porutgal the weather is still good enough in November, to dye fabric in the garden. Even I tried to be careful and not splash around, there were some color spots on the tiles. Thank God this did not happen in the house on carpets or floor.
Sorry Garen.

The colors look very nice already. I wanted to obtain muted colors. So Garen added black to the yellow and we used dark blue. The effect is stunning. I love my colors!

See the colors now washed and ironed. I adore them!


These are Garen's dyed fabrics in clear and bright colors. They are beautiful!

What beautiful quilts they will make! What a fun to work with these bright fabrics!

For more information you are welcome to contact Garen. We are happy to forward your requests!

text by Ursula
photos by Garen and Ursula

Charm-Bag-Class

The Quilt Bar was full today for Helen's class of making a Charm Bag. With the good support of Javhlan's brownies and Ann's cheese cake, we all worked very well on our bags. It was not much space, and we had to move together. The crowd of ladies did not bother Javhlan's dog at all and he was in between all the time. Helen was a very patient teacher, and we all kept her busy with permanent asking for support in different stages of our work.

Everybody is getting ready for the work.

Therese finished her Christmas Tree Centrepiece. She is very busy with all the projects that she is finishing and doing. I forgot to ask, if she keeps this one for herself this time.

Javhlan had to take care of her two daughters today and could not take part in the fun.

Helen and Javhlan.

Some of the ladies worked ahead already a little bit. It seems they could not resist to the directions, that Helen sent to us last night. We others were busy to lay our squares into order and try to sew them together in a pleasing way.

Sally, Irene, Anne-Marie and Helen

Susan was very busy working on her bag in charming reds and blacks with oriental patterns.

Cinzia was today for the first time with us. I hope that she liked what she was doing.

Rosalia (Bluelady) and Irene are working on the pattern.

Therese with bright and "sexy" colours for her bag.

Irene took this photo and thanks to the mirrors in the backside on the wall, we can see more of the ladies.
Irene's bag. She chose the fabrics carefully and had some extra care with the quilting. This bag will be very pretty and without doubt it has Irene's character.

Arabella was the first to finish her bag. She had to hurry to pick up her children, young mothers are always running.


It was a good day in the Quilt Bar and we all had fun. It was a different project and a good idea. Thank you Helen and Javhlan.


Text by Ursula
Photos from Irene, Javhlan, Ursula

29º Festival Nacional de Gastronomia Santarém

Today I spent a very nice day at the 29º Festival Nacional de Gastronomia in Santarém. I had the plan to go there since two years. And today finally I managed to go. At the festival all regions of Portugal present their wines and foods, their big variety of cheeses and presuntos, chouriços and all the lovely sweets. The festival presents tradition and modernity. One can visit a restaurant from Açores or Ribatejo, Minho if one prefers. I was happy to look and to eat. I was happy to try some wine (not so much as I was with the car!). And of course that I took with me some of the nice sweet cakes, that are at the moment still resting in the fridge.
The festival goes only until 8th of November, and it was worth the visit.




Here it is clear to see that I was one of the first persons that came in at the opening time. Later on this became very crowded!




This lady from Açores showed her hand craft and art works. Patchwork in very bright and lively colours and beautiful embroideries.





Pataniscas de bacalhau with vinho verde tinto. Delicious!


In the afternoon there started to be a crowd at the stores for the pastries and sweet goodies.
Everything is very good and has no calories at all!!!! (Or ?)


by Ursula

Birte's Lone Star

Birte from Germany sent a photo of her latest work. She is a very busy lady! Birte finished the quilt just in time, before she begins to work with Käthe Wohlfahrt at a German Christmas market. I envy her a little bit!! Good luck Birte. Enjoy the cold weather of a German November and December..................



by Ursula

Arabella's work

Last week I visited Arabella to see her embroidery patterns. She has been making lots of patchwork bags for her friends using her embroidery machine. I think this will be a newborn's bag.

Two more bag fronts have already been made.

This is Arabella's painted quilt that she made after Garen taught us how to draw and quilt on a fabric in the summer. The quilt has been made for her daughter Alexia and is already on her wall.

A very antique-looking photo frame made by Arabella. She took classes in frame making and framed her two children's photos.


By Javhlan

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!

As you remember, October was a crazy month making Christmas bells and centrepieces. On Thursday Regina suddenly started singing "Jingle Bells!" holding her finished bells, as she was so happy to finish a project. She started cutting more bells to make Christmas presents.

Ursula is holding her bells. They are in orange and green colours to match her paper pierced Christmas tree wall hanging.

Cathy and Bette finished their bells and they started working on their centrepiece. Therese finished her centrepiece and Ann was still working on hers.

This is Garen's Kaleidescope quilt inspired by Jenny Bowker's workshop, which was in September in Caldas da Rainha. The workshop was organised by Mário, our friendly Bernina dealer. Next January he will organise another workshop with a Spanish textile artist Nuria Madurell. You can visit her blog here http://nuria-madurell.blogspot.com


By Javhlan

Quilt Camp News

Last Friday and Saturday we had Quilt Camp. Many of us just made Christmas projects; bells, table centrepieces and wall hangings. Cathy, Bette and Regina are still working on their Christmas Bells. Below is one of Helen's bells - as you can see options are endless.

During the camp, Bette sewed and stuffed her Christmas Bells - even if she had to go back to buy a wider, thicker ribbon.

Cathy cut her middle sized bells incorrectly and had to make replacements. But by Saturday she was happy with them.

Therese has been working really hard with her centrepiece and now she is half way through. There are three more Christmas trees to be sewn and she will have it on her table at Christmas.

It was very nice to see Amalia and Sofia, our Portuguese friends. I had a chance to practice my Portuguese with them. I managed to make them understand my broken Portuguese, with some help from Sofia and Ann. I am really hoping to see them more often. Amalia is our TV star because she has been on TV talking about patchwork in Portugal and showing her work.


I did not take Sofia's photo here but I took a photo of her pink pig pin cushion. Isn't she cute?

On Saturday I made my Christmas tree skirt. I bought half a metre of 5 different fabrics, cut them in strips and sewed them together. I should have cut triangles using a 60 degree triangle ruler, but even though I did not have the ruler I made a template. At the end of the Quilt Camp I had my seven hexagons ready, and now it is time to sandwich and quilt. How? I have time to think until next Quilt Camp, which will be on 20 and 21 November.

When I finished my paper pierced Christmas tree wall hanging last week, I thought I was the last person to finish that project, but I was wrong - on Saturday Sofia only finished making her 10 baubles. I like her choice of colours!

Amalia and I were competing in unpicking seams a lot that day. But both of us finished what we were making.
Amalia's friend Rita did the embroidery.

This is Ann's Christmas table centrepiece with two trees made. She decided to have trees made of two different greens. Keep going Ann!

Thank you to everyone who came to the Quilt Camp and helped me do my work and practice Portuguese.

By Javhlan