Wednesday 8 February 2012

Peek-a-boo blocks and painted houses

At this time of year one of the sights we find amazing is the frozen shores of the Baltic Sea, so nothing would have it but that we venture down to the coast for a stroll along the icy shoreline. Quarter of an hour from the car park, however, with ice in my hair the frozen sea didn't appear to be as attractive an option as the nice, warm coffee shop twenty yards away! Photos of natural ice sculptures take a back seat when a hot Cafe Latte is on offer :)

The houses at Jurmala, the nearest seaside town to Riga, are just as interesting as the frozen shore and in the quiet of a winter's day more accessible. Just like the Art Nouveau buildings in Riga the houses in Jurmala are, or were, bright and colourful and some of the decoration on the wooden buildings is like lacework.

This one is for sale, isn't it a real chocolate box of a house?

And how about this for a change of style?


Our trip to Jurmala wasn't entirely a sightseeing one. There is a small fabric shop on the Main Street in the town, where I had purchased one of the background fabrics I am using in In Color Order's HST BOM. After cutting out the second block I worried that I might not have enough for the twelve blocks, so took the opportunity to stock up with more. Needless to say this wasn't mentioned to my husband until we were nearly there!

I am amazed to find that this week is the eighth block in the Sew Happy QAL, the time has certainly flown by with this. Talking to my son and daughter-in-law on Skype at the weekend I was able to show them my progress so far. Fortunately, they seemed pleased with the blocks! I hope they like this one too.



This week's block is a Peek-a-Boo block, another new one to me. I was a bit worried about dealing with 2.5in triangles, but got there in the end. I am still not confident when marking the diagonal lines on squares for the triangles, as I often seem to be a shade out at the corners, so any tips would be much appreciated!! Especially as I am going to be practising a lot with the HST BOM over this year.

15 comments:

  1. Ooh, love those houses, although I can see that once your hair's frozen, the coffeee shop would be more appealing lol Great job on your block too :o)

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    1. Thanks Katy, the houses are great aren't they? There are almost derelict ones next to completely over-the-top palaces, it is great fun walking around (except when your hair is beginning to freeze!).

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  2. Love your fabrics in the block. :D

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  3. Pretty houses and block! I would have took the coffee option over frozen hair too :). Visiting from Freshlt pieced WIP Wednesday.

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    1. Welcome Kelly I am delighted to 'meet' you thanks for visiting.

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  4. Lovely houses. your block looks very nice,too. Love the fabric choice.

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    1. Thanks Teresa, nearly all of the fabrics are from Julia at the Intrepid Thread.

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  5. Wow! Great pictures! Nice quilt block too, love the colors! It's so neat to "travel" from my computer...

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  6. Love your pictures!! The houses do look different than what I see here in Canada....but unique...love the colours you picked for your block

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  7. Love the "chocolate box" house :)

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  8. Thanks for sharing a little part of your world with us. Fantasic pictures.

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  9. Yes, I love getting a glimpse from anybody elses corner of the world, so thank you! I love you block - great colour choice!

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  10. Thank you for the lovely travelogue. Those houses were awesome. I am not one for hiking in the woods and mountains and prefer to find beauty in man-made creations so I really appreciated the views of those homes. I do not need to worry about my hair freezing since I live in sunny California. But I have lived in Boston and can appreciate the challenges of cold weather. I love the turquoise and red colors of your blocks. It appears to be that bit of fire/heat you need under those clear chilly turquoise blue skies!

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  11. I love the colours your using for these blocks. The photos of the houses are lovely.

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  12. Me again, just stopping by to tell you that you've been tagged for a Liebster Award http://thelittlestthistlecraftshop.blogspot.com/2012/02/bloggy-love-and-awards.html

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