Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Siggy from Denise Huber of Mondercange, Luxembourg

This lovely siggy arrived from Denise Huber of Mondercange, Luxembourg while we were on vacation.  I love the design and the retro-modern circle fabric.

I need to get a return siggy in the mail to Denise right away; fortunately, I have a few already made up.

More Siggies - All Caught Up Now, and the IDIC Ideal

I looked in the one remaining siggy hiding place and there they were, the four last stragglers.  At least, these siggies are not quite so old as the previous batch.  Three of them are from 2014 and one is from 2013.  Two of them are from Germany, including this adorable little owl seamstress from Manuela Ehrke.  Isn't it sweet?  It appears a bit flummoxed by the idea of sewing on a button.  I can relate as I am currently a bit flummoxed by the idea of sewing an inset seam.  I just don't have the knack for them yet.

I love the tiny little hand stamp on this second german siggy.  The little hands are just darling!  I wonder if it is a generic stamp or if Kathleen Peckmonn had a stamp made from the hand print of someone one of her children?  She didn't say.  The newsprint fabric is very distinctive.  I believe, despite the siggy being from Germany, the language of the newsprint is French.  Mais oui!

Mirjam Beeldmann of the Netherlands, loves "too many kinds of hand and needlework, some as shown in my siggy."  I think those in the siggy are bobbin lace spindles (is that the right word?)  The fabric is really interesting too.  I see cross stitch, floss, spools of thread, a scissors, and embroidery all represented.  I have to laugh, if you look closely, the card of floss is labeled "blanc" but it is actually dark brown.  I love sewing related fabric; it seems very popular.  I guess the marketers understand their market better than their colors.  

This pretty little siggy is also from the Netherlands.  In a way, it reminds me of my own siggy:  horses for Texas and tulips for Holland.  Neither Elly or I looked too far afield for our siggy theme.  I love the rich butterscotch yellows of the center tulip and vase, they marry well with the blood red tulips and the siggy fabric.  Luscious!

I believe I am now completely caught up with all the siggies I have received.  I'm still on Annelies' siggy swap list, even though Annelies is not running it anymore.  I haven't initiated a swap in years; however, I am always willing to swap with anyone who wants one.  Just send me an email.  I even have a few siggies made up, so the wait should be shorter than usual.

It was a very poignant weekend with the death of Leonard Nimoy.  My husband and I are huge Trekkies and the loss of Spock is deeply felt by both of us.  If I thought I could do it justice, I would design an IDIC quilt out of my siggies.  I think siggies are reflective of both the Star Trek ideal of infinite diversity in infinite combinations, and of reaching out to make friends and build bridges across cultures.

Siggy Catch-up Post

My DH did an inventory for me and identified that I had never blogged about these siggies.  How remiss of me!  I love the little french mouse too; the year on that one cannot be right, can it?  2010?  **blushes**

This dear little kitty came all the way from Germany.  I remember this one.   I believe Martha swapped siggies along with her mother, if my memory serves me correctly.

And here is that rarest of animal, a siggy from the United States. That's not really true, lots of people swap siggies here in the States, but it seems like the Netherlands is very over represented, especially considering the small size of the country.  Of course, Annelies van den Bergh in Huizen ran the swap for years until her health forced her to pass it off to someone else last year.  When I received this siggy I had never even been to Florida, but we have since had a lovely trip to Fort Walton Beach in 2013.

Now this is a quintessential Dutch siggy.  I would say Renske really knocked this one out of the park.

Arianne chose to alternate her "ears", which is unusual and rather striking.  I like it!  I suppose that "607" in the lower corner means this is her 607th siggy.  Wow.  That would be about enough for a king sized quilt, wouldn't it?  I don't know how many I actually have.  I should do a counting someday; heck, I should actually make these into a quilt.  What a radical idea!

I remember Jos just loved penguins.  I thought this siggy was very cute.  Doesn't it look as if the penguins are holding hands?  I love her beautiful blue fabric too, and the way she has made it swirl is very nice.

I have one more bin to check to see if I have any additional undocumented siggies.  I'll have to scrounge through it and see what I can find.

Siggies

2012 has been pretty light on the siggy front, but I have received these two this year.  Both are from the Netherlands.  This cute little elephant duo is from Anita Janssen in Tiel, which is about 45 miles southeast of Amsterdam, in the central part of the country.

And this wise-looking chap is from Linda Gossens in Rijen.  Rijen is about 50 miles due south of Amsterdam, fairly close to the border with Belgium.

Both are very lovely and very simple, which I like.  It is sort of embarrassing to return my simple pony-stamped siggy for one that has been hand-stitched or fancifully embellished.  I always think they'll have to tuck my siggy in some hidden corner of their quilt.  lol

Happy Easter, New Look and New Siggy!

I hope you like the look of my blog. I thought it was definitely time for a make-over, and Easter seemed like the perfect time for a fresh start.

Here's my most recent siggy. It arrived a week ago from Helma de Jongh, who lives "between the cows in Lopik" in the Netherlands. I really love this siggy. I used to live "between the cows" in Wisconsin, so I know just what she means.
I've been busy quilting, but that's a story for another day. Happy Easter, everyone!

A Year in Siggies

Has it really been over a year since I posted any siggies on my blog? (I guess my words, "Your siggy will be posted on my blog shortly" were just a big fat lie. oops) I appear to have a backlog of 17 siggies, so without any further ado, in no particular order, for your viewing pleasure, may I present: Helen McNaught of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and her lovely embroidered koala:Lilo Kreuzer of Merishausen, Switzerland and her iconic steeple. Saski Smit of Hoofddorp, in the north of Netherlands and her collection of seasonal gourds.

Ans Vollebregt of Naaldwijk, in the southwest of Netherlands, where the fruits and vegetables embroidered on her siggy grow prolifically.

Mia Jansens of Geldrop in the southeast of Netherlands with her frolicking Poo bear.

Mary Winegar from Oswego, in the great state of Illinois (the land of my birth.)

Regina Friedek-Maciolek (mother of young Martha below) of Korb, Germany, with her lovely machine-embroidered flowers.

Monique Boucher of Quebec, Canada, with the Fleur-de-lis of our dear neighbors to the north.

Sherry Beddard of Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with Canada's lovely maple leaf flag. (I love this siggy, even though it is technically illegal. Gasp!)

Janet Lee Monnett of Cloverdale, Indiana in the good old U.S. of A. Love the appliqued heart!

Martha Maciolek of Korb, Germany, with her shiny free motion kitty cat.

Lotte Klint of Copenhagen, Denmark and her embroidered ravens.

Carolyn L. Hosier of Des Moines, Iowa with lovely Miss Abbie.

Ineke Lagraauw of Maassluis in the south of the Netherlands, with her affectionate penguins.

Thomas LeClerc of Pittsburg, Kansas, "Vaya con Dios"

Mary LeClerc (Thomas' wife) also of Pittsburg, Kansas with her dear little Sunbonnet Sue.

And last, but certainly not least, Willie Timmer of Ide in the Netherlands, with her exquisite hand-worked counted cross-stitch.

Whew! And yes, they have all received siggies from me (except for my most recent one from Ans, which got posted yesterday). I'm better about getting them in the mail than I am about blogging about it, thank heavens. I didn't initiate any swaps last year, just responded to requests. If this looks like fun to you (and I'm going to have an AWESOME quilt someday from all of these) join in the International Siggy Swap fun on Annelies' blog. You swap one on one with Annelies first, then she puts your name on her list and sends the list to you. There are hundreds of people from all over the world currently swapping.

More Siggies

These first two lovely siggies are from Canada, and they really reflect their Canadian roots. I love Monique Boucher's Fleur-de-lis. It's not hard to tell that she's from Quebec, non?

And this lovely from Windsor, Ontario is from Sherry Bedard. I've never seen a siggy done like this before. I love the flag fabric. It reminds me of the Olympics. I'm a little concerned that if I EVER get to actually MAKE this quilt, some of the embroidered text will go missing. It should still be legible though, and it's soooo pretty! I'm also not sure which end is up, but I decided that it bothered me more to see the flags flying upside-down (think mayday, mayday, SOS!), than to read upside down text. 8)

The next two siggies were from Mother and Daughter in Germany. My German is non-existent, but if I understand her letter correctly, Martha is 10 years old and lives in Korb, Germany, and has made a lovely free-hand machine embroidered kitty! (I see I missed the string there. Sigh.)
Martha's Mother, Regina, has made me this lovely machine embroidered flower siggy. They each sent pictures of themselves with their letters (I love that) and they have the CUTEST little doggy!

This last siggy, on a lovely batik from Mia Jansens of Geldrop, Netherlands highlights Winnie the Pooh. He's adorable! I'm a little concerned that the flowers ran a bit when I spritzed them with water while ironing, but thankfully, not enough to spoil it. (Man, some of these siggies come with almost permanent wrinkles. That's why I've chosen to send mine out in oversized envelopes, though folding down the ears is a good choice too. Folding in half, not so much!)

It will be 4 weeks Wednesday since my surgery. I had been doing really well, but then had a bit of a setback last week. Nothing serious, just a bit annoying and depressing because I thought I was PAST that part, you know?

Siggies and Hemorrhoids

Remember that painful flare-up I mentioned in my last post? Well, the hemorrhoids are history as of Wednesday, but they didn't exactly go quietly into the night. I haven't had much post-op pain, I just can't pee without having a sitz bath first. And I feel as if I have to pee ALL the time. Argh! I just keep telling myself, this too shall pass.
I'm way behind on posting my siggies, and I got some really cute ones too. This darling one from Carolyn Hosier in Des Moines is a calico applique of a real calico cat named Miss Abbie. It makes me miss my Libby, a dilute calico I had 25 years ago. She was a sweet kitty too. This highly detailed siggy has an ironed on stamp of penguins that is meant to look like cross-stitch. (At least, I think that's how it was done.) The stamp is very smooth, but really looks like cross-stitch. Ineke lives with her husband in Maassluis, Netherlands and has a big collection of penguins.
This pretty siggy with embroidered ravens comes from Lotte Klint in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Lotte tells me that these two ravens have a role in Nordic mythology. One is Hugin (thought), the other is Munin (memory). They were sent out at dawn to gather information and return in the evening. Then they would perch on Odin's shoulders and whisper the news from all over the world. What a fitting symbol for siggies, which go all over the world sharing news of fellow quilters. 8)

Last, but not least, is this delightful little siggy from Janet Lee Monnett in Cloverdale, Indiana. I'm trying to find out if Janet Lee is related to Terry, my 2009 Secret Pal, since they have the same last name and are from the same small town. Janet Lee is an experienced quilter with lots of ties to Texas. The heart symbolizes the heart of friendship that goes out with each siggy. What a lovely sentiment!

Hey! I just pee'd without having to take a sitz bath first. That's progress! Wish me luck, and if you think of me in your prayers, please remember to bless my bottom. 8)

International Siggy Swap - Willie Timmer and Thomas & Mary LeClerc

This gorgeous cross-stitched siggy came in the mail recently. It was made by Willie Timmer in the Netherlands. It is just stunning. I often wonder if the people who labor so much over each siggy are disappointed when they get my little stamped pony? I keep thinking I'll upgrade the mane & tail to turkey work or something, but there never seems to be enough time, and I end up just stamp stamp stamping away. I got these two terrific siggies from Thomas and Mary LeClerc, my first husband and wife siggy team. Thomas and Mary live in Pittsburgh, Kansas, where Thomas is a retired psychologist and an ongoing student of western US history. His working cowboy stamp and saguaro cactus fabric reflect his love of western culture. I particularly like the "vaya con Dios", or "go with God", salutation on his siggy, which emphasizes the importance of the Spanish influences on the American southwest.

Mary's siggy is Kansas all the way, with Sunbonnet Sue on a bright sunflower fabric. Just lovely! Mary LeClerc. Mary is working on a Dear Jane (like so many of us) and has just finished a wonderful Dutch Treat quilt. Her blog is here.

I was informed a few days ago that another one of my siggies apparently did not make it to its destination last year. Poor Elfriede has been waiting patiently practically forever. And here I don't have any siggies made up. Got to get busy on that, she has been waiting long enough!

International Siggy Swap - Helen McNaught

I got this lovely siggy yesterday from Helen McNaught of Queensland, Australia. Helen has a lovely blog of her own called Aunt Henny's. Helen lives in Bardon, near Brisbane, right by the Bardon Scenic Reserve. Helen said she lives in beautiful bushland and gets lots of interesting "visitors" like Kookaburras, Possums, lizards and many varieties of birds. I went to my LQS on Friday to buy some of my favorite Presencia thread. I took two swatches of Minkee fabric with me to match with. [Remember I'm making all my quilts this year starting with the back side. 8) ] The thread doesn't come in that many colors, but look at this, they both match perfectly. How about that!I'm making good progress and am almost half done with the white work section of the English Garden sampler. I also got the last of the pink-backed First Steps quilts quilted and trimmed. It just needs to be bound now (my least favorite bit.)