sardaana henke

Resolved to sew 2012

First of all, please check this wonderful blog called Very Berry Handmade with a crazy giveaway. It is gigantic, huge, ultramegacool!!!

I don't make any new year resolutions like start exercising, eat healthy things and that kind of stuff, but I'd love to make few crafty resolutions:

1. Finish UFOs. I was shocked how many unfinished stuff I hoard, there even are knitted jackets {well, parts of them}, mini quilts, fabric shoes, pincushions, PJs - OK, the list is verrrry long.

2. Make one quilt per month. The size doesn't matter at all. My goal is, to learn as many techniques as I can. I think quilting is THE ultimate way to express myself.

3. Learn to sew {and handquilt} using a thimble. Honestly, I can't use thimbles. Perhaps I didn't find the perfect one.

4. Write patterns, e.g. for my pleated shoulder bag, the sewing case, etc.

I'm pretty excited. Feel free to share your resolutions for this year!

Thank you and have a nice time.

xo,

Sardaana

 

First quilt

Happy Easter, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - all in one post. I'm very happy to be back.

First of all, I'd love to share pictures of my first quilt eva:

{this is how I started last November}

I recently finished the handquilting and am impatiently waiting for a friend of mine who will help with the binding. {I'm preparing the bias these days.} So here it is: 

It was a joy to play with Kaffe Fassett jelly roll, I used up almost 2 of them. I went from light to dark and so I plan to do with the bias. Sashed and backed in linen from Italy.

 

This quilt led me to something new, more on that later.

 

xo,

 

Sardaana

Winners!

I really apologise I couldn't announce the winners of Big Celebration Giveaway yesterday, but today it was first thing I did as I got up. So here we are:

Blue bundle won Elena/comment #20:

Congratulations!
I'm currently working on several orders for customers, but for myself I'm doing a sew-along of a Weekender bag by Sew Spoiled. I love sewing bags b/c they're useful afterwards, but I did just start quilting, so I've been loving that, too.
They're all so pretty, I don't know which one I'd choose!

Pink bundle won Sylvie/comment #4:

Hi Sardana,
I did not know you had a blog!
Happy Birthday! And Congratulations for your 100th post!
My latest projects were sewing tops for me. I made 4 tops in April, and entered a contest (at MadebyRae) and I have even been selected as a finalist! Wow!
Now I think I will make some more clothes for me and my daughters, and some patchwork.
If I win your giveaway, I will choose the pink bundle, because a mother of 2 daughters can never have too much pink fabric!
Love from France,

Sylvie

Green bundle goes to Jaime/comment #6:

These are SO lovely!! What a generous giveaway! I am currently working on some doll quilts. I have been binding them all weekend!

I would love to win the green bundle, but any one would be wonderful!

xoxo

Lilac/purple bundle gets KatieB/comment #15:

Wow! Beautiful fabrics! I'm working on finishing up my pinwheel quilt. I feel like I have lots of crafty deadlines looming!

Happy birthday. I like all of these, but the lilac is my favorite :)

I emailed all winners. Thank you for visiting my blog and all your lovely comments!!!!!

Have a great week!

xo,

Sardana

The Ultimate Sardana Sewing Case

The Ultimate Sardana Sewing Case, originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

If you follow me on Flickr, you sure saw few pictures of my sewing tools and notions just laying on my craft desk I've uploaded lately. Elisabeth guessed correctly, I was going to take my sewing stuff on my travel. (Marguerite, I'll travel by train, and yes, not everything would be allowed to take on a plain). Thank you all for playing does-it-make-any-sense-to-you-guess-game!

Okai, back to my sewing case. I named it ultimate because it's perfect (clever me! {road sign: ironic}), it holds all my tools:
roller cutter,
seam ripper,
crochet hooks,
pen,
pencil,
scissors,
pincushion,
sewing thread,
embroidery hook,
embroidery floss,
measuring tape,
!!!
I can carry hexagon templates or fabric scraps in a roomy zipper bag! Small things in a pocket with two Velcro's! I added an extra pocket for large pieces of fabric or crochet instructions, or whatever. Oh, I used newest Tilda prints which arrived on Tuesday. 30 bolts of happiness! It was really hard to pick out prints. I added here and there vintage lace, I used a trim Cybil from Alaska sent me along a swap parcel and elastic strap for thread.
I needed 5 hours to get it done, and I'm very happy and satisfied with the result. Now I'm off to pack my luggage for trip. See ya!

Have a great time!

xo,

Sardana

A Short Break

A short time-out, originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

My daughter has a day off at school this Friday so I thought it would be great to "hit the road". On Thursday is the Ascension Day, we have time till Sunday. I called my friends in Budapest right away, bought train tickets and now am preparing for travel. We are so excited since we've been there once in November and the second trip was back in January. Spring-y Budapest for a change!

Certainly, I don't think I'll get to draw winners of my Big Celebration Giveaway on Friday. I decided to extend the closing day till Sunday, the 16th of May. I'll draw four winners on Monday.

Thank you so much for understanding.

xo

Sardana

Big Celebration Giveaway!

Giveaway!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

I had so many celebrations lately,

♥ I'm 40!!!!!!!

♥ I got my VAT-# (after 4 long weeks of waiting!)

♥ my first fabric order arrived

♥ 100th post (OK, 106th) --> phew, I never thought I'd keep blogging!

To celebrate all these wonderful moments in my life, I'm having a giveaway! Four bundles of european FQ's cut fresh from the bolts are waiting for their new homes. There are:

#1 - blues (6 FQ's)
#2 - pinks (7 FQ's)
#3 - greens (4 FQ's)
#4 - lilac (5 FQ's)

By the way, all this prints are from Bavaria, wonderful 100% cotton, extra wide (about 60''-62'').

To win my Big Celebration Giveaway please tell me which project did you finish lately or you are working on and what do you prefer to sew. Oh, and don't forget to let me know which bundle would you love to win. I'll leave this open until next Thursday, the 13th Sunday, the 16th of May, and will announce 4 winners on Friday, the 14th Monday, the 17th of May.

Good luck and thanks bunches for playing!

xo,

Sardana

Sew & Tell Friday

Sew & Tell Friday, originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

I finished a project today I've been working on since Monday. I thought I never get done. As it is a secret project, I can upload pictures only after my partner receives it. So I was a bit confused about what to do and upload.

Sew & Tell Fridays is a great opportunity to keep motivated and get to know so many amazing and talented crafters from all over the world. I'm hooked and sure I'd love to be part of it! Then the idea came pretty spontaneous - a sleeve for new MacBook! My daughter {as it's her laptop} chose Sandy Henderson prints and after less than an hour it was done! Quick project made from less than two two fat quarters - happy me. Though I'm not sure if I'll ever do top stitches again, I defo need more practice. Anyway, I love how it turned out. By the way, it's my own pattern and I might sew more for my land-based shop.

Happy sewing!

xo,

Sardana

PS: here is the link, I'm afraid my tag doesn't work: http://www.amylouwho.com/

At long last I unravelled the tag mistery :)

D o n e .

Done. , originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

Happy me.

xo,

Sardana

Last Check

Last check , originally uploaded by ::Sardana.

before final step, # 12.

Ready For Step # 8

Ready for step #8., originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Tomorrow. As I'm working from 7am, and now we have 9:11pm already. Time to stop here and get some rest. I'm going to enjoy some tasty beer. Prost!

Have a nice evening!

xo,

Sardana

PS: I kept working till midnight, still preparing for big show.

WIP

WIP, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

New work-in-progress pics on my Flickr. As I meant before, I'm making a fabric banner for an advertising agency. It'll be a whole sentence in German, "Ideen kommen nie aus der Mode" which means something like "Ideas will never be out". I'm at the 5th step of 12 (I wrongly meant somewhere there were 10). Still playing with fabrics, what you see is not the end version. I'm not happy with lilac & pink, though, and will replace them. More pictures tomorrow on my Flickr.

By the way, I'm taking custom orders, feel free to drop me a line :)

Wish you all the best!

xo,

Sardana

Totally Satisfied

Finished, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

I got a custom order recently, two reversible passport cases. The prints and embroidery design were chosen very quickly. The only thing I was worried about was the question how to transfer fine-detailed drawing onto the fabric. Then I remembered I ordered lots of sewing and embroidery supplies from a wholesaler. My order is arrived on Thursday and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this:

Totally Stable, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Totally Stable, it's an easy-tear, iron-on embroidery webbing. I drew, then ironed the webbing on fabric.

WIP, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Ready to go!

WIP , originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Stitching, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

And then started to embroider. It was super easy, the webbing stayed on fabric despite the fact that I skipped sewing-the-webbing-on-fabric step. I was able to stitch every fine detail of my design. Not really bad, huh? I can't imagine how I'd transfer them with another method.

I was pretty excited about the next step - tear away. I found out that a tapestry needle works best when it comes to tear tiny wee webbing pieces. Patience is very helpful as well ;)

Finished, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Finished work.

I'm totally satisfied with the result. I even might list the webbing on my Etsy, let's see. I'm just back from the post office, let my cases go to Karlsruhe. Hopefully my customer likes them :)

Have a great weekend!

xo,

Sardana

Handmade Banner

Custom, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Now here I am. What do you think how many steps you need to make a fabric garland? Hm? You need ten twelve. TWELVE! I'm at the third *sigh*. By the way, there is a tutorial on your right.

I got to re-organise my craft desk as well. Checked pre-loved Brother (it sews very well!) I've bought back in January. {Go check pictures on my Flickr!} Now I got an extra machine to sew zippers on and don't need to change foots anymore!
I also got more than 30 templates at local Bauhaus for my entire product line. First cutting test well done, I sewed a pencil case for myself.

Working more efficiently is all you need.

Have a wonderful Friday!

xo,

Sardana

DQS8 Finished & Sent!

DQS8 finished and sent!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

It's been such a fun making this quilt. It's my third, by the way. And my first free motion quilting ever. Well, what can I say... I'm hooked!!!! The quilting foot was sitting around for a whole year, can you imagine that! But now I see lot of free motions and even free machine drawing in my future.

The hardest part was to let it go, but it went to a good home. I hope my {secret} partner will like it.

Happy swapping!

xo,

Sardana

Crafternoon

Crafter-noon, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

with my friend. We were shopping at craft fair in Salzburg this month. Some of my semi-precious stones and silver supplies were sitting at home for at least two years (oh well, as always). I made some earrings, finally!

I got a bit unorganised last time, got sick of it, went to Thalia, bought a Moleskine sketchbook and since this week I keep a diary/to-do list. Yay! It makes way easier to keep an eye on my goals since I have chaotic AND lazy weeks behind me. I started ripple blanket, my first big crochet project ever. Read all Stephenie Meyer's Twilight-books. Started to archive my old pictures on Flickr. Watched the Olympics here and there. Procrastinated loooots of things. So, time to get organised at long last.

Have a great {and well-organised} time!

xo,

Sardana

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Warmest wishes from snowy {again} Salzburg!

How did you spend this day?
I baked Buchteln today, for the first time on my own. They are as heavenly as ML's Grandma's ones! Yay!!!!!

Love,

Sardana

Cannot Wait...

Can't await..., originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

First spring-ish impressions from Salzburg.

Enjoy!

xo,

Sardana

Buchteln

Mmmmmmmh!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Semester break this week! We visited ML's Grandparents in Upper Austria. Grandma and I baked super-delicious Austrian speciality called Buchteln. It tasted heavenly, so I'd love to share the recipe with you! Here you go:

Ingredients:
300 ml lukewarm milk (I guess it is 1.26 cup in the US)
1 pkg yeast (42 g/1.48 oz/0.09 lb)
500 g flour (17.63 oz/1.10 lb)
4 egg yolk
60 g sugar (2.12 oz/0.13 lb)
1 pkg vanilla sugar
grated lemon peel
100 g (3.53 oz/0.22 lb) butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt

Filling:
100 g (3.53 oz/0.22 lb) apricot marmalade

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 80 ml (0.02 gal???) of warm milk, add sugar and 3 teaspoons flour and mix. In Austria we call this yeast mixture Dampfl. Sprinkle a bit flour on Dampfl, cover and let rise on warm place 20 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix egg yolk, vanilla sugar, grated lemon peel and 1 tsp salt until smooth. Add rest of milk, flour, butter and Dampfl. Cover and let rise again on warm place appr. 30 minutes.

3. Coat the bottom of baking pan or casserole (35 x 25 cm/13 3/4 x 10 inches) with butter. Knead dough briefly, roll out on a floured surface to 1/2 cm thick and cut into slices (8 cm/3 1/8'' in diameter). Do the same with the rest of dough. Place 1 teaspoon marmalade on each slice, fold the dough over the filling, forming balls.

4. Dip Buchteln into butter, set close together with the closure side down on baking pan or casserole and let rise on warm place 20 minutes.

5. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320 °F. Bake for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Mmmmmmmh!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

Enjoy! See you on heaven!

xo,

Sardana

PS: please be gentle with me, it's my very first recipe translation from German into English. Critiques are much appreciated. Thank you! :)

PPS: unfortunately, the recipe source is unknown.

Sunday Stash Vintage Edition

Sunday Stash Flea Market Edition, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

I love flea markets! Every Sunday there is one on Münchner Bundesstrasse in Salzburg, and I try to get there at least once a month. Today I found several meters of wonderful fabrics, I couldn't resist to give them a good home. I can't wait to start to play with them!

Have a lovely week!

xo,

Sardana

New Project...

I did it!, originally uploaded by ::Sardana (aka sardana_creations).

...finished! My first oven mitts which was a huge fun to sew. I traced my old oven mitts, added seam allowance, appliqued, quilted, and that's the result. I used Windham print I've brought from a craft fair in Cologne November 2008 and wonderful kitchen print I've got from a private swap with Syl in Denmark, a Flickr friend of mine.

It was a surprise for ML's Grandma whom we met yesterday. She was happy + we were happy = happy family.

Have a great weekend!

xo,

Sardana