Monday 25 April 2016

My adventure.....

I have had such an exciting adventure this past few days and it has been a lot of fun.  This may be a long post so, feel free to make yourself a hot drink to sip!!  



First a little background.... For many years when I lived in Switzerland I used to order my fabric online from a shop call Cotton & Color.  It was however, a fair distance from where I was situated in Switzerland and I had never had the opportunity to visit the actual shop. Also some years ago, I started following the blog of designers Me and My Sister and used to leave comments to which I always had a nice reply.  So, when I recently learned that Me and My Sister Designs were coming to teach at Cotton & Color, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to both visit the shop and meet Barb and Mary the designers behind Me and My Sister Designs, so I signed up to take part in the classes.



I flew to Basel airport and took a taxi to my hotel which was just across the border from Switzerland in Germany.  



The first evening there was a trunk show with Barb and Mary who delighted us by showing many of their beautiful quilts.  It was lovely to meet them both in person and, I also had the bonus of meeting Martina and Katharina who I have got to 'know' through my blog. Sadly, I neglected to take a photograph of my meeting with Martina but, hopefully it won't be the last time I get to meet her in person.  I did get to spend some more time getting to know Katharina as she also attended the second of the two classes taught by Barb and Mary. 



Each morning I had a pretty walk from the hotel to the quilt shop.  It was a lovely way to start the day and I was lucky with the weather which was warm and sunny.


In the first of the two classes we were following the pattern called 'Wild Jelly Rolls (3&4)'. The pattern gives instructions for two different quilts and we were following the pattern for quilt (3). By the end of both classes I had managed to get the top half of the quilt finished.


In the second class we were following the pattern called 'Slice of Cake (1&2)'.  This pattern also gives instructions for two different quilts and we were following the pattern for quilt (2).


I only managed to get one block from this quilt made. 


You may be thinking that I didn't seem to get a lot of sewing done but, we had such a lot of fun chatting and laughing that the sewing wasn't quite as quick as if I'd have been at home! 


There were also lots of fun giveaways and prizes as well as some extra projects to make. We were shown a super quick method for making a pillowcase called 'The Dilly Dally Pillowcase' which is a free pattern on the Me and My Sister website.


We also had fun making some cute mitten decorations using some of the Me and My Sister 'Smitten for Mittens Making it Cute' templates as well as a cute scissor case which is a free pattern from the Moda Bakeshop website.


I met some wonderful people including Barb and Mary of course.  



I have been corresponding with Barb through their blog for some years, so it was like meeting a good friend.


Then there was Martina (sadly no photograph), Katharina, a lovely lady called Ellen and another called Ariadna who also writes a nice blog which you can find here as well as many other nice ladies. It was a really fabulous time and, to top it all off, Martina and Katharina both gave me lovely gifts to bring home with me.


Martina some Swiss chocolates (no photograph.... I couldn't resist them!!) a cute little fabric basket (which held the chocolate) and some traditional biscuits from Basel (they are delicious!)..... thank you very much Martina!


And from Katharina a beautiful thread folder with a Gail Pan embroidery stitched on the front and some beautiful threads inside.


Such a generous gift... thank you Katharina.... It was so nice to meet you and I had such a lovely time... it certainly made my heart happy!


All in all it was a wonderful adventure and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made it such a lovely trip.  Including everyone I have mentioned above and not forgetting Astrid, the owner at Cotton & Color and her team, who all worked so hard to make everyone feel welcome.



48 comments:

  1. What a wonderful time! So glad you were able to go, and everything lived up to your expectations.

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    1. Thank you Sunny.... I had a fabulous time! Christine x

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  2. You made a dream come true, thats the way to go!
    I am happy for you!
    KATRIN W.

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    1. Thank you Katrin! It was such a lot of fun! Christine x

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  3. Oh wie toll! Da würde ich auch gerne mal hin wollen!

    Gruß Marion

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    1. It was a beautiful place Marion! I enjoyed every minute! Christine x

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  4. Wow - what a fantastic trip - you've really excelled yourself here!

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    1. Thank you Lynda! It was lovely... a nice change from everyday life! Christine x

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  5. Oh wie schön, da habt ihr viel Freude gehabt, wie schön, dein neues Projekt gefällt mir auch sehr
    Liebe Grüße Marika

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    1. Thank you Marika! I had a wonderful time and the quilt projects we were working on were lovely! Christine x

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  6. Looks like you had fun Mummy! :) I'm so glad you got the chance to go! xxx

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    1. Thanks Josie! It was a lot of fun.... I may do it again sometime! xxx

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  7. So lovely to see all these pictures! So glad you enjoyed it so much! Looking forward to see you another time, yay! Take care, hugs Martina

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    1. Thanks Martina! It was so lovely to meet you and the classes were a lot of fun! Christine x

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  8. What a lovely report! It was indeed a wonderful experience, and I couldn't agree more when you talk about all the fun and chatting we had... and we did sew a lot too! I can't wait to see your quilt finished. Regards, Ariadna.

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    1. Thank you Ariadna! It was lovely to meet you and the classes were a lot of fun! Christine x

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  9. Sounds like you had a fantastic time!

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    1. Thanks Janet.... it was lovely! I enjoyed every minute! Chrissie xx

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  10. Wie schön, das hört sich nach viel Spaß an. :)

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    1. Thank you Christiane! I had a tremendous time! Christine x

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  11. Sounds like a wonderful time was spent there. It's so lovely to get to meet blogging friends. You do really feel like you've known them forever even though it's the first time. Maybe one day we'll get to meet! Hugs, Christine xx

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    1. You are absolutely right Christine.... it was a lovely trip.... who knows... maybe one day we will! Christine x

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  12. Sounds like a perfectly wonderful time. It's amazing to be able to spend some time with like minds doing something you all enjoy.

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    1. Thank you Mary Anne! It was brilliant.... I enjoyed every moment! Christine x

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  13. Isn't it wonderful to get together with people who share your interests? It looks like you had a great time. I thought you got a lot done during your stay! And what a beautiful setting!
    Cathy

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    1. Thank you Cathy! It was such a lot of fun and I met such a lot of wonderful people! Christine x

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  14. Very fun. I have a few of Barb and Mary's fabrics and I love each one. Thanks for sharing. Janita

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    1. Thank you Janita! It was a lovely trip and the classes were a lot of fun! Christine x

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  15. Was für ein schöner Post, es muss ein herrliche Zeit für dich gewesen sein, deine neuen Projekte gefallen mir sehr gut, schöne fröhliche Stoffe.

    Liebe Grüße
    Uta

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    1. Thank you Uta! I had a fabulous time and I really liked the quilts we worked on... hope to get them finished soon! Christine x

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  16. Hello Christine
    I have loved reading about your time in Switzerland, you look like you are having the best time. Your sewing projects are beautiful and the gifts you received are very special. xx

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    1. Thank you Leanne! It was a really lovely trip and one I shall remember for a long time! Christine x

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  17. It sounds like you had a lot of fun--I'm sure Barb and Mary were a hoot! The slice of cake block looks very challenging, but very cute. I'm so happy you had a great trip!

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    1. Thanks Karen! It was a brilliant trip and Barb and Mary were such a lot of fun! We laughed a lot! Christine x

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  18. That sounds like a fabulous couple of days. It's so nice to get together with like-minded people, especially when you already know some of them digitally.

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    1. Thank you Marly! I had a fabulous time! Christine x

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  19. Oh my goodness! What an exciting time!

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    1. Thank you Heather! It was a very exciting time.... I thoroughly enjoyed it! Christine x

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  20. What a wonderful trip for you to do. Especially exciting when you get to meet some of the blogger friends that you make along the way. Certainly looks like a beautiful part of the world.

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    1. Thank you Dawn! It was a brilliant trip and a lot of fun! Christine x

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  21. Liebe Christine,
    wie wunderbar ist das denn, ich freue mich ja total mit dir über diesen schönen Ausflug! Schöne Nähereien und viel schöne Ideen hast du mit nach hause gebracht!!!
    Liebe Grüße
    Steffi

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    1. Thank you Steffi! It was a really exciting trip and I enjoyed every moment! Christine x

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  22. How great is that! Bliss - sewing and making new friends - it couldn't get better! And such lovely patterns.

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    1. Thank you Baa! It was tremendous fun.... I enjoyed every moment! Christine x

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  23. It sounds absolutely great! I loved seeing all your pictures. Thank you for the links, too. cq4fun & desertskyquilts

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    1. Thank you Susan! I had a marvellous time.... hope I get the chance to do it again sometime! Christine x

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  24. Liebe Christine,
    welch ein schöner Post. Das sieht nach einer schönen Zeit und viel Begeisterung aus.
    Sei lieb gegrüßt
    Monika

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    1. Thank you Monika! It was a really wonderful time! Christine x

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