Barcelona Day 2 – Gaudi and the Zoo

I figured Sunday in Barcelona would be relatively quiet and it might be hard to find things to do. Was I wrong! The fountain in the above picture was near my hotel – Barcelona is a city full of fountains, parks, circles, and other places where you can meet up and enjoy the fresh air.

The day started with a trip to a famous cathedral designed by Gaudi called La Sagrada Familia. This is huge church that began construction in 1882 and is not expected to be finished for another 30 years. It is a MUST SEE if you go to Barcelona. The original architect died in 1927 and other people have worked on it, so you can see an interesting mixture of old and new architecture. The picture doesn’t do it justice.

Gaudi has designed a fair number of buildings in the city that showcase his distinctive expressionistic and organic style. What’s interesting about his buildings, is that most of them are still being used the way they were originally intended. I passed another one of his buildings called Casa Mila which was designed to be multi-family housing and is now a hotel in the upscale retail district.

One of the other jewels that Gaudi designed for Barcelona is Park Guell, which can best be described as a garden city. It is located high up in the hills (so be prepared to walk up hill for about 20 minutes to get there). Once you are there you can walk to the very top (marked by a stone cross) and see a breathtaking panoramic view of the city.

Sites_ParkGaulli — Park Guell - Cross at the top

From this view you can also clearly see La Sagrada Familia in the distance and see how large and dominant it is to its surroundings.

Gaudi_ParkGuell5 — View of La Sagrada Familia from Park Guell

You can also walk down to the park entrance where you will see a magnificent entrance with two smaller buildings designed by Gaudi and a double staircase.

Sites_ParkGualli_4 — Park Guell Entrance

The entrance is presided over by the famous Gaudi Dragon. Visitors to the park rub the dragon’s head for luck.

Sites_ParkGaulli_2 — Park Guell - Dragon

Muro is another famous architect from Barcelona, so after spending some time at Park Guell I headed over to Parc Joan Muro. This is a very large park with a playground, tennis courts, and a reflecting pool that is dominated by a Muro sculpture. The perfect place to hang out, eat a quick bite, and rest my feet!

The next big event was the Barcelona Zoo. On the way to the zoo I had to walk through the Arc de Triomf and to my surprise, I caught the tail end of the Barcelona marathon. The runners were on the last leg of the race and there was a large crowd cheering them on. I’m sure seeing the Arc provided enough inspiration to make it to the end.

Sites_Marathon_Arc — Arc De Triomf - with Marathon

The zoo was spectacular!! I love going to the zoo, and the Barcelona one is beautiful and well worth the trip. You can get really close to most of the animals, which is always fun. My two favorites this time were the giant anteater and the komodo dragon. I couldn’t get a good picture of the anteater since he was hanging out in the back of his enclosure. The komodo dragon was very entertaining. He put on quick a show for us and I could have watched him all day.

Speaking of entertainment, the chimps were in fine form! A group of them started begging for food by raising their arms up in the air, throwing up their hands, and pleading for someone to throw them some small morsel.

The giant turtle was also pretty amazing. They always seem so peaceful and harmless to me, even though they are so large.

The caimans (relatives of gators) were obviously up to no good. I have no idea what they were smiling at, but I was glad to have a thick piece of glass protecting me!

Last but not least, I saw a real live teddy bear! The brown bear was curled up in a nice patch of sun and snoozed away most of the day. There were a bunch of other animals, but unfortunately there is not enough room to put up all 67 pictures I took! Trust me, you need to visit this zoo if you go to Spain.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip! Hopefully I will get to travel someplace exciting again. Keep It Thimble!

Barcelona Day 1 – Quilt Shop Tour and Other Sites

I’m back from my trip to…. Barcelona! Work was the primary reason for going, but I managed to have two whole days of sightseeing. I walked from one end of the city to the other and had a great time looking at all the beautiful parks, buildings, churches, and quilt shops! Yes, that’s right, Barcelona is home to at least 12 quilt shops (more if you count stores outside the city center) and my plan was to visit all of them. This website – www.cosman.nl – lists quilt shops in Europe and I used this to generate an itinerary. Since I have so much to tell about my trip, I will split this into two posts – one today and one tomorrow, so be sure to check back!

First, a brief word about the food, specifically the treats! I am not a huge foodie, but I do love cakes, candy, and ice cream. Barcelona does not disappoint, you can find some type of candy store, gelato parlor, or bakery on every corner! The treats are arranged in eye catching ways and you can’t wake by too many of them without eventually being tempted to stop and indulge.

This bakery was next to my hotel and I stopped in each evening to pick up a little something to enjoy before going to bed. Meringue is very popular there and it is usually dipped in chocolate or flavored with some type of fruit.

My first chance at sightseeing was on Friday night. I was done with my business and had an evening to my self. I wandered around the Gothic and Las Ramblas districts since they were close to my hotel. I stumbled upon a chamber orchestra practicing Vivaldi’s Four Season in a beautiful cathedral. They were giving a proper concert later that night, but the rehearsal was open and it sounded as beautiful as an actual concert.

Sites_Concert — Concert rehearsal in cathedral

When I walked out of the cathedral, I found myself in the middle of festive processional. The procession was headed by these large figurines – they are basically large puppets and someone gets inside the base and navigates the figure. A children’s band plays music and they throw out candy to the spectators! I followed them for a few minutes and then headed back to the hotel for the night.

Site_Procession — Festive Procession in Gothic Quarter

Saturday was the day earmarked for the whirlwind quiltshop tour. Unfortunately, due to jet lag I didn’t start until about 11am, which was a problem since on Saturdays many of these shops close at 2pm! I did manage to visit a few shops – Nunoya, Fet a Ma, and Lola Botona, but not see as many as I would have liked.

Quilt_Lola_Botona — Lola Botona Quilt Shop

I am most disappointed I didn’t get to go inside Dona as this was the largest by far and the display windows (see picture above) were packed with projects and ideas.

This picture on BCN Patchwork’s gate is adorable. Too bad this is the only thing I could see!

Quilt_BCN_Patchwork — BCN Patchwork Storefront

However, from the few shops I visited, it was obvious that things were way out of my price range. Basically, these shops have the same fabric available in the states – Moda, Robert Kaufman, Batiks, etc. but it is $25 a yard, versus the $10 – $12 a yard! They also have the same books — but again, these are priced at least double. There was a very simple pincushion pattern that would sell for $5 here, but cost $20. The shops had lots of attractive samples and I got a few ideas (you can’t take pictures in the shops so I have to rely on my memory). So for all my friends who wanted me to get you some fabric while on my trip, I am sorry to say I came back empty handed. However how about we hit up the local quilt shops and buy it for half price :)?

Shops_HousePurse — Baghangers Barcelona - House Purse

I did find one unexpected surprise, a purse shop called “Baghangers Barcelona.” This was a small shop packed with lots of novelty purse made out of leather. They had a pumpkin, tomato, Noah’s Ark, porcupine, and tons of other clever purses.

porcupineowl_purse — Porcupine and Owl Purses

Since I didn’t buy any fabric, I splurged and purchased a Mushroom House purse. I couldn’t resist how cute and colorful it was!

Shops_MushroomPurse — Mushroom Purse from Baghangers Barcelona

Well, that’s the end of Day One! Check back tomorrow for Day Two which features my trip to the Zoo!

Keep it thimble!

Mini Bow Tucks Tote

Need a new spring purse or tote? Check out Quilts Illustrated pattern for the Mini Bow Tucks Tote. I finished mine this week and was very happy with the results. The pattern is well-written and easy to follow.

Keep it Thimble!

March Flea Market Finds

Here’s a smile for you – my son holding up this love bug mask and saying “Hello Spring”! How can you resist?

I had some good luck with flea market finds this month and found some great knick knacks. I’m not sure what this first item is; it is some type of souvenir tray from Florida. I think this might be for carrying drinks? If anyone knows, please tell me!

This is a handmade Raggedy Ann doll. Her face is hand embroidered and she is stuffed with fabric scraps (very old-fashioned). I figure she was probably made in the 60’s or 70’s based on the fabric used for her dress. I plan to make a new dress for her from my plethora of fabric. She looks perfect sitting on the school desk I found a few months ago.

Here is a wooden bread box. It needs a bit of cleaning (there are crumbs in it), and I may end up painting/distressing this. It would make a perfect sewing box – especially since you can see your project through the window.

When I saw this piece with the handcarved star and the little drawers, I had to have it! According to the signature on the back, this was made in 1986, which makes it 26 years old – so it just qualifies as being vintage!

Lastly, here is a very clever tote bag. This is made from a paper-pieced quilt block that shows a girl jumping rope. Do you see how her rope is actually the handles of the bag? Also, I love her braids!

Jump Rope Quilt Block — Jump Rope Quilt BLock

Good luck with your flea market finds! If you find something fun, let us now by posting in the comments.

Keep it Thimble!

Tutorial – Cute Cupcake Pincushion

Happy Birthday to me! Yes, today is my birthday – one of my favorite days of the year (besides Halloween and Fourth of July) and I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a Cupcake Pincushion.

Figure 6 - Finished Cupcake — Birthday Cupcake Pincushion

Awhile back during one of my thrift store runs, I bought a bunch of plastic ramekins with the idea of making something with them. Inspiration struck me when I was trying to come up a fun gift for a sewing friend and this cute little cupcake pincushion was born. In honor of my birthday, I put together this tutorial for you.

Supplies Needed:

3 oz plastic fluted ramekin
Poly-fil stuffing
6″ Sq. Fabric
Size 5 Perle Cotton
Red Button
Ribbon
Saucer (for template)
Glue (I used Allene’s Quick Dry glue)
Long needle
3/16″ glue dots

1. Trace around the saucer on the square of fabric. The circle should be roughly 5 1/2″ in diameter.

2. Thread an embroidery needle with a 36″ piece of perle cotton. Make a running stitch around the outside of the circle with about a 1/4″ seam allowance. (Figure 1)

3. Gather the circle and stuff tightly with Poly-fil. Gather tightly and tie off, but leave about 28″ of thread for the long tail – do not cut. (Figure 2)

4. Poke the needle through the top center of the pincushion and come out at the bottom center. Wrap perle cotton around edge of pincushion and come down through the top center again. Pull on thread to make tight (cushion will dimple on the side). Wrap cotton on the opposite side and come down through top center again and pull tight. Proceed in this manner until you have done this a total of 8 times. The cushion will now be segmented into 8 parts. (Figure 3)

5. Bring thread up through center one more time so that it is coming out through the top center. Take red button and place in top center of pincushion. Thread the perle cotton through button holes and then down through bottom to secure button. Repeat 2 – 3 times. (Figure 4)

6. Apply glue to inside of ramekin. (Figure 5). Place cushion inside ramekin and let dry for a few hours.

7. Cut 18″ of ribbon. Use glue dots to secure ribbon to outside of ramekin (place glue dots about every inch around top). Tie into a bow. Put a dot of glue to secure bow. Add some pins. Enjoy! (Figure 6).

Have a great day and eat some real cake.

Keep it thimble!

Two Pillows – Finally Finished!

First off, here’s my monthly stash reduction report for February 2012:

Used the last month: 4 yards
Used Year to Date: 5 yards
Added in the last Month: 2 yards
Added Year to Date: 32 yards
Net Used for 2012: +28 yards

As you can see, I had a much better month then January, since I actually used more fabric than I bought. My overall net went down by 1 yard, so surely by the end of the year my net fabric used will be running in the negative (that’s the goal).

I also had time to finally finish two pillow kits that I’ve had for at least 4 years! The first is a cute little wool bunny – perfect for Spring. This kit is from a LQS (local quilt shop), and I think the owner of the shop drew the bunny pattern. This is wool applique on top of one of those colorful cotton dishtowels. The trim is a cream colored fringe that sets off the pillow perfectly.

The second pillow is from a Crabapple Hill pattern (I think it was a freebie pattern she offered a long time ago). It is stitched with Red, White, and Blue perle cotton. I love the fireworks!

What projects have you been able to complete this month? What are you working on for Spring?

Keep it Thimble!