www.linhoealfazema.com

I served a mission in Portugal, and came to learn and love its people and all the beautiful things they have to offer... friendship and love was the first that touched my heart. This was when Salazar was deposed from his 30 years dictatorship, and Portuguese were fleeing the hard times associated with the political turmoil and the wars in the African colonies. Brazil took in many Portuguese and planes were arriving in constant flow! This is when I arrived there ... 2 years after the liberation... the political environment was very strong and the communist ideas permeated all the aspects of the politics of the time!
I wasn't involved with it because my purpose there was not political, but one couldn't help feel the things in the air. Many Portuguese were coming back from Angola and Moçambique, and the retornados, returned, faced many obstacles in their return home; no housing, jobs or hope! I had the opportunity to meet many of them and work closely with them, and they were among the best people I met in Portugal! I so loved them and leaving the country was a hard thing. I loved the beautiful gardens and castles and history that is so mingled with the Brazilian history and much of this history and culture is still felt in the little towns across the country, and that resembles the Portuguese architecture from the colonial period when Brazil itself was a Portuguese colony.
Portugal is know for its beautiful handwork, stitching and knitting...
In this elegant style you can see some of the Portuguese craftsmanship!! just beautiful!

www.linhoealfazema.com

Casamia in Italia

I love the shabby chic look and feel, the French style associated with it + the Provençal country work and looks, this link will take you to Casamia in Italia, a Japanase in Italy.... isn't it wonderful how cultures mix and we learn from one another?

 There are some beautiful things to see in this site!  have fun...

still Bunny Hill Designs

isn't it darling... I looooooove pink and all it's nuances... 

this makes me  want to eat it... pink and chocolate!!!  

you can see lots more in their site!!!   enjoy!

Free Patterns

We all love freebies don't we!!!!!!!?? I do!!

This is a cute snowmen aplique quilt from Bunny Hill Designs.. their forte are the bunnies... sweet and pink... but this quilt is adorable!! have fun!



Free Patterns

me

It's funny to speak about yourself,  there are so many aspects to a person!  but to our purposes here and to justify this blog... a means to things I want to accomplish at this point in my life I will deal with the creative aspect of my personality.

Technology is something that came to me later in life since it was not available as a teen or a young adult, I mean the internet of course. I already was a mother of babies when the 1st contact with computers was possible... I didn't have one but I had already understood that it would be big and I would eventually need to know how to use one!  SO I learned how... can't live without it now...but the biggest opportunity came when working at this office and the 1st computers were being installed in the office... the old windows 5 with the blue screen...I had to work with it all day and we didn't have a network or were connected to anything... it was just that!! and slowly I started on the different programs and upgrades. My company believed it was paramount to keep up with the market and have top of the line equipment; I liked that because it gave the opportunity to learn what many hadn't had the chance to have yet! and then I bought my first PC and so on!! and here we are ... our teens today can't imagine life without this technology...if they only knew!!!

Anyway... I have always enjoyed crafts and doing creative things since I was a little girl, my mom was very talented with the needle, the brushes and in the kitchen!!  and as little girls do... we want to do just like mommy does... and so did I!

I used to seat by her and watch when she was sewing my dolls clothes, and how she cut the pattern out of newspaper!  I was a girl scout and every year we went camping in the mountains in Rio, gorgeous place... in the peak of the summer... tropical summer, we needed blankets at night, pine trees were huge and old and my love with nature started just then, and of course I needed the proper clothes... the 1st I went camping I was around 5-6 years old and we stayed out for 10 days... we had cabins and bunk beads, washed ourselves in the freezing cold water of a little spring that would take your breath way when you got in contact with the water, so cold we had to wash around noon when the sun was the hottest! I'm going away in my memories... so my mom would make me under panties out of very soft cotton (knit material was not available as today), white cotton with lace around the legs and dainty little flowers painted on by mom!! I loved to watch her do things... and of course was there sitting next to her watching her paint!!  I remember going to a ceramics class with her ... I was around 4 or so... we would mold the clay and paint whatever we made, and after being cooked in the oven we would take it home... I still have them ... pieces my mom made and a little one that I  made and mom helped me paint... I treasure those pieces!!

And then she would embroider a lot of items in the house and being Hungarian, embroidery had to be a must... and she did beautiful work, and what intrigued me was that she would make her own patterns and designs; it fascinated me that she could make beautiful things out of nothing!  and then she would give a piece of cloth and teach me the 1st steps, embroidering, knitting, crochet, sewing, drasowing ...

And  so I was raised and grew up... We didn't have much money for magazines and all the other gadjets we now take for granted; mom had and old sewing machine, one of those with the pedal, and I learned how to sew with it!... we didn't have an electric one until I was 15!

I am curious by nature and am always trying to learn everything I can, most of the time by myself, reading, watching, researching and lots of trials and errors!

I am a mom of two handsome young men, Joshua and Zoltán, both all grown and not needing too much of my attention, my DH is calm and helps me things and I work from home as an ESL teacher and a translator, and with more time in my hand I really want to devote more time in my crafts and creative activities.  Of course, the blog finally came to be, not quite yet to what I want... but certainly it will get there!

I just love the idea of being able to visit so many of you out there and see how you live and the beautiful things you can do, and feel very inspired and motivated... it will also help me keep my journal in a fun way!

And then there is the other thing that keeps my life complete and full of hope!  I love my Heavenly Father and have kept busy in the church serving in many capacities that have allowed me to grow as a person and acquire many other talents of a more personal and spiritual nature! But I am certainly sure that I have been in many ways and given much in this life!  I especially thankful for having been born of good parents who took care of and loved me, I felt protected and cherished, even when we had disagreements or not always saw and understood things in the same light! 

My parents are now gone and I miss them... I wish I could have the understood the importance of family life and loyalty as a teenager.... what years are those... we become little monsters!! 

So in this blog I will be touching all of these things that I have learned along the way and wish to incorporate many others as I learn from you!

I hope to meet and make good friends here!

But my absolute most cherished thing about this blog is the opportunity I have had to go into the life of Hungarian ladies, see their work and life!  it somehow brings me closer to my mom....I haven't been there yet, but it is one of the things I still wish to accomplish!

I love to read your blogs...lots of you are being followed and like to know how you do and handle things!!  This is very neat!  thank you all, I hope I may be of inspiration to some as well!

Welcome chez moi... and enjoy! I hope we can become friends and leave a note so I know you been by!! xoxo!

free quilt patterns

this is a nice place for lots of all kinds of the quilts!  with lots of contacts of quilting lovers!

and this is a very nice lady from Romenia  with a very touching story her blog is beautiful and her work gorgeous ... quilts with trapunto quilting!

very good reading!  enjoy !!  and here a link to her blog with a free bag pattern! !!!   free bag pattern
have fun!!! 

caramba!!

well ! if you have been around visiting and found the blog going crazy.... it was... mr blogger is very finicky!!  I find that my eyes get very tired if I'm working on a very busy page... too colors and what not! and I just couldn't find the right background to fit what I wanted... if it wasn't one thing it was another...but I didn't want a blank page either.... my eyes get worse on a white page....my word processor always has a greenish tone to it...green relaxes the eyes! As I have had to work with a computer for long hours, I am a translator, it is hard on me now!  so it seems I finally found something to make it a little easier... let's see how long it will last!!! cross my fingers...
Today I found a nice blog on patchwork and quilting ... there is a lot of stuff happening there, besides, Kelly has a very nice way of "talking" to us on her blog...and of course beautiful and fun quilts...the blog looks like grand central station ... so much traffic!  http://cottoncharmquilts.typepad.com/charmingchatter/2010/08/index.html

I have been working to put all my projects in order... have soooooo many unfinished things to work on... so my goal now is to get them finished... and keep a log ... hopefully to be shown...
My problem is that I start and then get trapped on adding and adding to the original project...not good...also I don't like to work in a hurry like some people who want to see it finished right away!  I enjoy the process of creating !!!
Anyhow!!
I am also in the process of segmenting the areas of endevour to make it easier to find things... there are so many wonderful blogs, ideas and people... don't want to spend too much time looking for them... I want to be able to access everything quickly....  I like to browse on the ideas and get my creative juices running... once they are warmed up I take off on my own ... that's dangerous!!
I was helping my son yesterday with a poster for a play the young adults will put out for Christmas and found some illustrations from A Christmas Carol by Dickens... the popular story never looses it's appeal!  so here is one of them... you all have a good day!

 

this is not the one I wanted to post ... but the format is not allowing to download

... need to check and see what happened, but this is Scrooge's nephew and his sick boy!!!

a gift

 

I've just finished this tote and bag organizer for a friend .... it was a gift !!

I had  lots of fun thinking about her and what would

be a bag that would look  like her and something she could identify with!

 

We usually carry lots of books to church  as we are always a teacher

or a leader at different occasions , and if not, the scriptures!!

 So I made it large enough to carry all the books we do need to carry!! 

.
                                      ...just finished  and given to my  friend on her birthday!!

doll making

this is a cute blog on doll patterns... some cute dolls!!


Paix�o por artesanato

bags and more bags

I just found this blog on bags... crochet bags!!! beautiful bags... and I love bags ...
I am working on some crochet bags myself! and this blog has some wonderful ideas!

It's in Portuguese but it is easy to go through it ... check it out!


Louca por artes - Bolsas

The Stories of A to Z: Personalized Erasable Calendar Tutorial

As I like to blog and visit what many of you are doing and checking out anything new around I arrived here and thought that this would be something interesting and useful to many of us!! didn't have time to try it yet, but it doesn't seem to be a hard thing to use!

the blog is also one i liked!! have fun!!




The Stories of A to Z: Personalized Erasable Calendar Tutorial

things from chez moi

 

these are some lemons,

even though you might think they oranges!!!!

  they have a very different flavor...

lemonades are super any time of the year!

these were the first in this tree!

 

 jabuticabas -- typical of Brazil,
they are very sweet juice little things...
I love them, can't have enough of it!   
they grow in the bark ...
first the little white flowers bloom
and then the sweet fruit start going!
this is a young tree in it's first round of blooming!

my little kittens

 when they were little...
don't you just have to love them... they are so cute!!
this is Mimi who became mommy of
these other 3 little rascals!--
always mischivious getting into things!

 

Cotton slept in the most funny ways

  

Cotton and Simba always cuddling to sleep!

 

this is Roswell...

a joke because the boys said she 

looks like an ET with them big eyes, 

but I prefer to call her Rose! 

after all she is a little girl!

bags and totes from moda

And now this link is really cool!!  lots of ideas for totes and bags and this is one of my passions, I loooooove totes and bags!! love inventing and designing them.... need to get around getting pics and posting them! but here are some fun things to look at get inspired!

a tutorial for a rag rug!!!

I just found this tutorial!!!  I have wanted to do one of these for a long time and always lacked the time and this shows a much simpler way of doing than what I have previously learned!!

It would be perfect in my sewing room, I love working bare feet and like the feel of the rugs as I walk on them! especially on the hot days!

Enjoy!