A nice and atmospheric evening at Theater Carré in Amsterdam, with a show by Anohni. Although I sat far far away, I had a nice view in the stage.

With pleasure I can say my Erwin Olaf quilt is finally ready. Here it is in it's full glory, with the photos by Erwin randomly inserted. I am so happy and proud it's finished and I love how it turned out. The alphabet pattern is from the book "Stitch Your Story" by @sfielke.bsky.social #quiltsky

This Dutch book "Zondagskind" tells the story of young girl Jasmijn,who grows up in the 70's/80's of the last century, in a time when very little was known about autism.It's an autobiographical story by Judith Visser, and gives an interesting insight in how it is to grow up on the spectrum. #booksky

A friend of mine found this children's book in a public mini library, where you can place your own books and take some if you want to. The story is about a little girl, who visits her grandad. He tells her how happy he was with his boyfriend (gramps) travelling with their camper 1/2 #booksky

I made a second block for my "The shape of Japan" quilt , with blocks from the book by Kumiko Fujita. This one is called "Tsunami craftwork hair ornament", and I decided to introduce some of the striped fabrics, plus a tiny piece of my yellow accent colour. #quiltsky

I had the most amazing gift today. When I was in the Berlin subway this morning, I saw a poster that immediately caught my eye. I didn't know about this, but there is an exhibition of the photos by Peter Hujar and art by Liz Deschenes at Gropius Bau here in Berlin. 1/2

My travel companion to Berlin today: the latest Splinter Chabot novel Twee Prinsen (Two Princes) Looking forward to read the story of Richard and Matteo in Rome. #booksky

Since I finished my Harvey Fierstein quilt, I allowed myself to make 1 test block for my new "The Shape Of Japan" quilt by Kumiko Fujita. This is a Daruma doll, which stands for perceverance and good luck, which I think is fitting. The block is hand sewn. #quiltsky

Torch Song is an iconic play and movie by Harvey Fierstein (you know, from the quilt I made) This afternoon I saw the play at the Amsterdams Theaterhuis in a production by The Cauldron Absolutely loved the cast and the production, it's a very entertaining, but also emotional story.

Yesterday was an evening filled with trans and queer joy 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 "Becoming" hosted an evening "Trans & Loved" at Theater Kikker in Utrecht. Conversations and performances by 6 great trans icons, a wonderful host and an afterparty. @tijnblijftzacht.bsky.social

That's a wrap! My Harvey Fierstein quilt is finished. For the backing I used a rainbow striped fabric, and for the binding an off-white and orange striped fabric. It was a very fun quilt to make, I'm very pleased with this result. #quiltsky

Fun afternoon today in Amsterdam. At No Limits Art Castle I visited the Cruising Amsterdam exhitibion. Cruising is an important part of gay culture, and the exhibition is in a lovely space in the Red Light district.

"Kusama: The Graphic Novel" by Elisa Macellari is a graphic biography about the life of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. I loved reading this book, thanks for lending it Samuel😘 End of this year the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam will host an exhibition overviewing her work and carreer. #booksky

"De Zwevende Wereld" by Annejet van der Zijl tells the story of young German doctor, naturalist and collector Franz von Siebold, who moved to the Japanese trading post Dejima in 1823. The story evolves around Franz, his concubine Sonogi and their daughter Oine in the isolationist Edo era. #booksky

While I'm still working on finishing my last 2 quilts and I certainly am not allowed to start working on a new one (no: really!), I did start collecting fabrics for the next one. So this is my fabric haul so far. I will be making a quilt with blocks from this great Japanese book by Kumiko Fujita 1/2

In "Stay away from nothing" you get an insight into the relationship between artist Paul Thek and photographer Peter Hujar. Letters written by Paul (to Peter) and photos by Peter, starting in 1956 and spanning 2 decades. #booksky

Not much exciting happening here in the quilting department, I'm mostly focused on handquilting my Harvey Fierstein quilt. Making good progress, about 3/4 finished. And that's perfect, because I want to have it finished before June. Exciting things happening in June, more on that soon! #quiltsky

Woohoo: Orville Peck will be on a European tour this year and he's coming to my hometown Utrecht 🤠😍🎉 Presale started this morning, ticket is in the pocket!

What a fun and queer evening tonight at Club Queersten by Kirsten van Teijn at TivoliVredenburg Utrecht. Kirsten hosted a colorful evening full of divers queer acts. Loved the queer joy in the room 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ and seeing so many dear friends 💖

In "Journey to the Centre of a Quilter" @joaverystitch.bsky.social tells the story behind 20 of her improv quilts. This book is part of her Textile Gallery at the Festival of Quilts 2025 in Birmingham. Great explanation of improv techniques, featured in 4 projects you can make. #quiltsky

'A Queer Gaze" is the retrospective of Dutch photographer Marian Bakker. Between 1980 and 1999 Marian took photos of lesbian, bi, queer and gay life in the Netherlands. We see her friends in their lesbian living group, the Eurogames, Pride marches, Roze Zaterdagen and so on. #booksky

I'm halfway reading the Game Changer book series by @rachelreidwrites.bsky.social , my latest finish is book 3 "Tough Guy" I read the books digital, but recently I bought book 1 "Game Changer" as a physical copy, because I'd love to have this series complete in our bookcase. #booksky

Yesterday I visited the Patchwork & Quiltdagen in Rijswijk, and this is the loot I brought home. A brand new foundation piecing pattern from our Utrecht Dom Tower, a Japanese panel and 3 other fabrics, plus I found a striped Tula Pink fabric for my binding on the Harvey Fierstein quilt. #quiltsky

All the letters for my Harvey Fierstein quilt are handsewn in place. As you may have noticed, the second vertical row has a mixture of colours, in contrast to all the other 2 coloured blocks. This row is an homage to all the colourful people who define their own lives. #quiltsky

John Singer Sargent is mostly known for his work as a portrait artist, although later in his carreer he stepped away from portraiture and focused more on landscapes and even war paintings. This book describes his life chronologically and shows 500 of his paintings. Very interesting read.

"Het einde van de eenzaamheid" (Vom ende der Einsamkeit/The end of loneliness) by German author Benedict Wells tells the fictional story of Jules, who's in hospital after a motorcycle accident 1/2

Yesterday we went to see the Dutch musical "Stoornis of my life-de musical die niet over autisme gaat"(Disorder of my life - the musical that is not about autism) in Utrecht.A fun and interesting musicalcomedy about what happens if your perfectly scripted life suddenly doesn't have a script anymore.

I started stitching the letters on my Harvey Fierstein quilt. Love the effect of the light thread on the dark fabrics. #quiltsky

Interesting exhibition at the Centraal Museum Utrecht right now: "Getekend, de Natuur" (Signed, Nature) Our world was seen as a threat in the past, because of dangerous animals, diseases and natural disasters 1/2

As a birthday gift for a dear friend who loves neon colors, I made this zippered pouch. Not from a pattern, just based upon my experience and knowledge. The inner and outer fabrics are both by Tula Pink. I machine quilted a grid on both side panels, one side pink neon and the other green neon 1/2

Work in progress. I read this quote last year in the book "I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir" by Harvey Fierstein. The quote is very personal to me, because I was affected for years by other people's view of me, in fear of rejection. That's gone now, so I'm happy to turn this into a quilt. #quiltsky

I've seen Maria Mena perform multiple times now, and also the Amsterdam Sinfonietta , but never together. So tonight was a special evening at Tivolivredenburg. Maria sang several songs from her own repertoire, and also covers from Alanis Morisette and Amy Whinehouse. Great evening!

Game Changer is the first book in the "Game Changers" series by Rachel Reid and is followed up by "Heated Rivalry". And this one, as you may know by now, turned into a hugely popular television series #booksky 1/2

This big size Erwin Olaf magazine is an ode to the life, ideology and legacy of photographer Erwin Olaf. Stories of love, celebration, saying goodbye and the power of being yourself come together with previously unpublished work and contributions from his partner, friends, activists and artists.

I've selected 2 possible options for making my letters on this quilt. Both are MODA Grunge fabrics, one a bit gray/black and the other more blueish. Maybe I use both, maybe one, all is still open. First step is select a font that I like. #quiltsky

Bought this book about the American painter Edward Hopper second hand online, because I wanted to learn a bit more about him and his work. Although I liked seeing more of his paintings, the text was way too technical for me... 1/2

Update on both of my current projects. First one is the finished striped quilt top. Although, finished: this is just the base. I have a quote, that I want to appliqué on top of this. So the next step is looking for a proper font and make all the letters #quiltsky ->

Early November last year I immediately loved this drawing by @tombontattoo.bsky.social when I saw his flash tattoos at Queer Tattoo Fest in Amsterdam. So a while later I contacted him and we made an appointment. 1/2

First book finished in 2026: "Altijd van je af - Leven en werk van Arjan Ederveen" by Sara Berkeljon. Arjan Ederveen is a Dutch actor, comedian, tv producer and copywriter 1/2

Bringing some colour into this wintery January. Trying out possible lay outs for this new quilt. This wild and crazy idea is not all: I'm planning on appliquéing a text on top of it. Fingers crossed it works out like I envision it in my head 🤞 #quiltsky

Last book finished in 2025: "Welkom bij de club" (Welcome to the club) by Thomas van der Meer. In this book Thomas tells his own story: being born with a different name in a different body, and how people respond during his transition. A heartwarming story, funny and sad at the same time. #booksky

Yesterday we went to the Pop Mart store in Utrecht Hoog Catharijne for the first time. They sell lots of cute figurines in series, but you buy a blind box, so you don't know which one you'll get from that serie. 1/2

"A fairytale for Everyone" is a collection of fairytales, first published in Hungary and edited by Boldizsár M. Nagy. This book sparked quite some political controversy because of the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters and different ethnicities and genders. Great illustrations by Lilla Bölecz. #booksky

Like usual around this time of year, I have some days off from work until January 5th, so that also means: extra time for my hobbies. I decided I could do with some colour in these dark and cold days, so I dug up my fat quarter bundle of Tula Pink solids ->

So far I finished 30 books this year, according to Goodreads. Yesterday I finished this Dutch book "Gloei" (translated: Glow) by Edward van de Vendel with illustrations by @flodego.bsky.social A series of 20 interviews and poems about young people between 16 and 23, growing up queer. #booksky

Spotted this quilt in episode 2 of the Apple TV+ series "Pluribus". It's a colourful quilt made up from squares, but it doesn't end well: the main character Carol takes the quilt from a chest and buries her friend in it ☠️ 💀 #quiltsky

I've been stalling for time for weeks now, but today was the day: I finally sandwiched my Erwin Olaf quilt. I used my Q-Snap frame to prevent the layers from shifting and my Micro Stitch to attach the 3 layers together with tiny black tacks. #quiltsky

Enjoying some WinterGlow tea in my new cheeky mug by @theslagroom.bsky.social 😍🍑

Obsessed lately with the album "A Complicated Woman" by British artist Self Esteem. One of those rare album where I love every single song on it 😍 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-U...

Two recent reading finishes. Both magazines are devoted to exploring the world and its men 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ They both focus on photography combined with stories and interviews. First one is Kink Magazine and the second one is Elska magazine. This one highlights the men living in Akureyri in Iceland #booksky