french-patchworker

Little lavender houses

2012-01-19T15:37:00.000Z

I found this tutorial to make a house ornament from Retro Mama. Inspired I thought I would try to make some. They seem particularly appropriate as we have just moved house.

I made 6 of them, and added some lavender to the filling.

They are gorgeous, if I may say so.

Have a great day sewing,

Pascale

I'm back!

2012-01-17T14:57:00.001Z

Thank you for staying during this brief interruption of the program...
Time has gone quickly and I am ready to take my blog again.
So first I will wish you a Merry Christmas/ Joyeux Noel. Mine was very good with all the family in France. Thank you.
Then I can wish you a Happy New Year/ Bonne Annee 2012. The french know that with the rush to prepare everything for Christmas, they won't have time to write cards. So they allow themselves to send them until the end of January. See I'm not even late.

The big news is that we have moved. Like always, everything goes quickly at the end. We moved on the 2nd of December to a bigger house, 10 minutes from the previous one.
It is strange to pass in front of the old one, and to see the carpets and cupboards go in a skip. I'm better about it, it's not my house any more.
The new one is better but it will take us time to make it feel like our home. It is good with the girls and our furniture.... but it doesn't smell right, yet. And we need time to redecorate a bit, change a few things, and hang pictures and quilts on the walls.
The best that happened is that I have a sewing room! I have some photos to show you later, with some changes done already.

Now for some sewing.
While trying to sort out a lot of fabric (I don't know where it all comes from), I found a piece that I used for a craft project when I was around 12 years old. We made a round bag with a zip in school (I don't know where it is any more), and at home I made a pencil case.

So here is my new pencil case, same fabric but with a different technique.

Have a great time sewing.

Pascale.

A nautical card

2011-11-22T19:08:00.001Z

I quickly want to show you some cards I made. I just sent one to Avril for her birthday, in the BQL birthday swap. The technique used is reverse paper, and I added 2 little birds by hand.

We are moving in 2 weeks now, so I'm starting to think about giving our new address to lots of organisations, to keep things working.
My shoulder is getting better every day it seems, but I still need to take things slowly. Progress.
Oh and I did a bit of knitting, but I need to finish it before I can show you.

Have fun sewing.

Pascale

Progress for me and a tutorial for you

2011-11-08T11:48:00.000Z

It's so nice to be able to use my arm again. I went to the hospital on Friday with DH who has been a great help all along. My slingy thing is off and I was told to use my arm a bit. I can now type with 2 hands, and knit and sew. All is not perfect yet and I can't do some movements going up or on the side with my arm, but I'm more mobile.

So here is a little tutorial I made earlier for a little purse, or to wrap a small present in. You can see Christmas coming around the corner, better start on some projects. Benta from Slikstitches asked for a tutorial a long time ago when I made my first one,

First you need 2 squares of fabric. You decide on the size, mine was 9 1/2 " because that's the size of my ruler. The finished pouch is just under 4 1/2" square.
Sew right sides together 1/4" all the way around leaving an opening in the middle of one side, for turning.

Trim the corners, and turn right side out. Poke the corners out. Slip stitch the opening closed.

You get this nice reversible square.

Fold in 2 along one diagonal.

Then fold the top corners again, on both sides. The photo is the best way to explain this.

Sew a litlle chanel along the fold, enough to pass a ribbon through.

Now draw a vertical line (in blue but not very visible on the photo) starting from the corner of the fold, in cream for me, going down to the central fold. Sew on these 2 lines, one on each side, to form a square pouch in the middle. This line of sewing will be hidden by the next step.

Now my seam on the left is in the fold. Do the same on the other side.

Secure the folded fabric and you are nearly done.

The last step is to put 2 pieces of ribbon through the little chanel we made. One starting on each side. And then pull to close.
It's an easy project, you need just a little bit of hand sewing.

Meanwhile our move to the new house is planned for the 2nd of December. That date will come quickly now. I will try to do some sewing , as I can't lift things, and show you my projects.

Enjoy your time sewing.

Pascale.

Frustration !

2011-11-02T18:29:00.000Z

I'm back from my little trip to northern France with the girls. Sorry I didn't contact you Pascale, but I wasn't very organised.
I managed to give a second lick of paint to the bathroom, and then on Tuesday last week I went to register for a horse riding lesson. As I left with DD1 in the dark, I slipped on some mud and had a bad fall. I didn't get to go on a horse. To cut the story short, I have dislocated my right shoulder with a bit of broken bone. I'm not supposed to move it : can't write, cut my meat, sew or knit. I'm developing my abilities with my left hand : brushing my teeth, holding a pencil.
DH had to come rescue us on Friday, as did my parents and sister on Wednesday. Luckily the girls are not toddlers any more, they can look after themselves for a little while.
I had taken some little projects with me but just managed to iron some fabric before falling.
That's where the frustration comes from.

I've used this time to check all my emails, and update the way my blog list is displayed. I need to do something about my banner though.
If only I could sew!

I can show you a card I made just before leaving.

They were for the birthday swap on BQLpostcards, with cats as a theme.
My free motion quilting is easier now that I resolved the problem of tension.

I have somthing else made previously to show you, but my typing is very slow.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale

The story of Tristan in Boutis at the V&A London.

2011-10-21T21:59:00.000+01:00

This summer, in the South of France, we visited the Boutis Museum in Calvisson. We were lucky to meet the creator at the origin of the Museum, Francine Nicolle, and she gave us a long explanation of a copie of a boutis made by the women of her group. The Tristan Quilt.

She has bought an original, very ancient boutis, one of 3. Another one is at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in London, England.

A few weeks ago we took all the family to the V&A and found the boutis. You can do the same by entering this immense Museum through the main door, and go right straight away (before reaching the shop) down some stairs. This area covers the Middle Ages, and there are also some great tapestries at the end of the rooms.

We were allowed to use the flash on our camera, but sadly this creates a reflection on the glass protecting the precious fabric.

This is the most ancient boutis found, and it is thought to have been made in Sicily, Italy, between 1360 and 1400.
This is copied from the website of the Museum "The legend of Tristan and Isolde was a favoured narrative in the Middle Ages and appears in many forms in literature and the decorative arts. The story represented here on a quilted linen coverlet in 14 scenes, is that of the oppression of Cornwall by King Languis of Ireland and his champion the Morold, and the battle of Sir Tristan with the latter on behalf of his uncle King Mark. Although in subtle shades, the large scale designs are very clear and the quilt must have looked particularly impressive by candlelight, with lively scenes of battles, ships and castles."

They call it a quilt, but it's not one. There is no uniform wadding. Rather the shapes defined by the stitching are filled with a cotton meche afterwards. This gives the project transparency when a light is shown behind.

You can click on the photos to enlarge them and see the details.
There is a PDF explanation on the page from the V&A Museum.

The boutis is very big and made of several panels. You can't even see all of it in the vitrine where it is displayed, some is folded at the top.
On the sides of the main panel are 2 other ones placed to look at people around the quilt. As this would make them more obvious if the boutis was on a bed or table. There is another panel at the bottom.

I've increased the size of this photo but you can look on the Museum website at the PDF that gives lots of explanations.

As you can see there is a lot to look at.

I have included a lot of photos, I hope you enjoyed them. And maybe you will get the chance to see this testament of the skills of previous artists in needlecraft.

Enjoy your sewing.
In the meantime, as it is the school holidays, I am taking the girls to northern France for a quiet week away. DH has to work so won't be accompanying us. I hope to be able to sew a bit.

Pascale.

A quick quilt, disappearing nine patch

2011-10-12T09:19:00.011+01:00

Sadly in July we learned that my mother in law was not well. She lives in the South of France, very far from England in a way, and had to go to hospital. They found out she had osteoporosis, and had broken a vertebrae.

We were going on holidays there so I wanted to make a quick quilt to take with us.

An easy pattern is the disappearing 9 patch. You sew your squares together 9 by 9, as on these 2 photos. I had some pre-cut squares and used these.

One 9 patch block

Then you cut right through the middle in both directions.

Finally shuffle your blocks and choose your favorite design.

This is how I put my blocks together. I find it difficult to capture the right colour of the fabrics.

A photo of the back, in the garden of the house we rented in South of France in August. I did some very simple quilting as I was rushed for time. The back is made with 2 pieces of small pink flowers fabric.
The folds are nothing to worry about, just the consequence of travelling a long way.

With a corner of the back.

I added a small border to make this lap quilt a bit bigger, and it's a nice finishing touch.

DD3 is showing it fully, she has growned a lot, nearly my size.

My MIL really appreciated the quilt. She said it was the first she had. I explained that I haven't made many, especially outside the close family. DD2 is still waiting for me to finish hers. It's in the work in progress pile.

I'm sorry I didn't show this before. it's only from looking through the past posts that I realised I had forgotten to show you the photos.
I have more projects to illustrate, just need to find time to blog.

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale

a nice little cake

2011-10-10T12:16:00.000+01:00

As a group activity, we made some fabric cupcakes. I was hoping to take a photo of several others, but they don't seem to have been finished.

To make a cupcake, draw a circle on your bottom fabric, including a seam allowance (you can use a bowl, plate whatever is at hand). Cut and then use wadding or felt to cut a smaller circle (no seam allowance, that's the only difference).
To get the shape I made some cuts in my 2 circles. Holding them together with pins, fold in half and cut on 2 folds. Repeat the other way, you have 4 cuts around your circle. then pinch the folds inward and sew the fabric together, making a triangular shape. The end of your seam, towards the centre of the circle is thiner than the beginning.
I repeated the process and finally had 8 seams all around. That gave me a good cupcake shape.

The next stage is purely decorative. I used ric rac on the edge.

I had some pink fabric for the top, but it was a bit boring, so I used 2 colours of embroidery and randomly put some stitches. I cut this red flower from a piece of flower ribbon.
Fill the interior of the cupcake with soft toys filler, or bits of wadding left over.
Sew the top fabric by hand.

And there you have a yummy cupcake. You could of course use it to put your pins in.

Enjoy your sewing.

New oilcloth pencil cases for school

2011-09-26T15:52:00.000+01:00

Sometimes you see oilcloth or "Tissu enduit" in French, and the designs are just so great. I use them mostly to make pencil cases for the girls, and only buy half a metre of a design.
Here is my latest batch, made this afternoon.

Today I made 4, and 2 of them have gone already for DD3 and her best friend Bernadette. They were pretty excited to have them.

I can't remember where I bought the fabric, but I think it was DD1 who chose it. Tha't s why I have some spares.

To be able to stand, I gave them this cornered bottom.

There isn't any lining, which makes them fast to sew.

This smarties fabric I found in Dunelm, I suppose it is primarily for children's parties. It was cheap anyway, and just perfect for a pencil case. Cheerful.

I used the same construction, and DD4 has got one since this morning. I have one spare.

Have fun sewing.

Pascale

Laptop bag

2011-09-16T09:45:00.000+01:00

I'm still here and as the girls have now gone back to school, I am slowly catching up on everything. I read my emails on the day they arrive, which is a big progress. There are a few things still demanding my attention.

But I want to show you my new laptop bag. Having 4 girls in the house, 3 of them teenagers, we have a lot of laptops. 5 plus DH work one. At home he is sharing his with DD4. We bought laptop bags but they are very bland. And they are obvious in their design so not very good to protect your property from being stolen. Why not have a different bag.

I've tried to take some pictures while working on this project. Here are my pieces prepared. You would measure your own laptop to adjust the size.
I had some fabric for the body of the bag; it is a long rectangle that goes from the front, around to the back and makes the flap as well. You need it twice, or in my case a 1 metre piece, folded, and the left over was used for the pockets.

Here is the piece folded.

This strippy fabric is for the partition in the middle of the bag, to create a pocket for the computer, and separate it from the papers, wires,etc.... There wasn't enough of the first fabric for that part. It makes you creative !
There is a piece of wadding the same size, which is the surface of the computer plus 2 rectangles, one on each end for the depth of the computer. Add a seam allowance of course.

For my strap I had to find another fabric again. It's quite fun. It measures finished 3 1/2"(9cm) wide by 63" (160 cm). The strap is also the side of the bag. There is some wadding inside to make it more comfortable to carry.

So here is my partition quilted. 11" high by 20 " long. It's not a snug fit, and again you need to measure your own computer.

Next I made some pockets with bits of fabric left over. I like to make them lined, so I cut my fabric twice the size of the pocket, fold it right sides together, and sew around 3 sides and 4 corners, leaving a small opening that will be sewn when the pocket is put on the bag. Easy.

Cut the corners and turn right side out.

I sewed a line at the top, 1/4" from the seam. I should have ironed it !

For the main body of the bag, I used the envelope method to attach the fabric and wadding in a rectangle shape, leave a gap, cut the corners, turn right side out.
Then I quilted following the design that was to be outside, with a walking foot on the machine, plus around my rectangle about 1/4" all the way.

This is the time to put your pockets on . Here on the inside partition.

I was wondering how to attach the partition to the sides, in a nice way. The first side is easy, and the seam allowance is in the pocket.

That's a nice finish inside.

This is the other side, slightly more tricky because you can't hide it inside. So I folded and sewed.

Here is a view of the pocket for the laptop. I have left the bottom open, because the computer can't go through it, but other things could. You could decide to sew the bottom.

My next step was to attach the strap/sides. It's easy but you need your walking foot. You position the bottom of your strap where you want it (back, bottom and front of the bag), use plenty of pins and sew around. Pivot at the corners. Take your time.

Inside view of the compartment for paper and wires.

There is also a pocket on the body under the flap of the bag for pens and paper.

Bag open with the flap at the back.

View of the 2 compartments of the bag, plus pockets.

My bag is finished.

I hope you enjoyed these explanations. I haven't put many measures because this needs to be adapted to your laptop.
Have fun sewing.

Bat card

2011-08-24T21:17:00.000+01:00

After downloading the holiday photos, I realised I have a few things to show you.
This one is quick. As part of the birthday card swap I made a bat card for Jan. The animal is purple (bad colours on the photo), and I was lucky to have the fabric for the back.

I embroidered the face and body of the bat, and gave her feet. The wings can flap, they are not sewn down.

I hope you find the time to do some sewing.
Pascale

Pink crocheted hat

2011-08-22T20:39:00.000+01:00

I forgot to show you this hat I crocheted.

The design is from Laura Cracknell from "Made in Oxford". She has a page on Ravelry.

I made the hat for DD3 who is modelling here in her school uniform . I made the flower to go on the hat, but she doesn't want it. Too bad. It could become a brooch.

I bought the pattern in a shop called "Wool" in Bath, 10 metres away from my favourite patchwork shop "Country Threads" mentioned before. The thread is variegated and produced by Louisa Harding, Grace col. 20.

And some detail to show you the shells. Very nice if I can say so.

Happy sewing.

A bit of news

2011-08-22T19:42:00.000+01:00

I don't have a photo, and just wanted to let you know that we were back from our holidays. Sadly the buying of a new house is not going to happen as there was too much work to be done on the property for our liking. We have to start looking again and that's hard.
I did some sewing and need to get around to downloading some photos to show you. This blog has been a bit too quiet lately, I'll try to do better (that should be easy, just post a bit !).
Happy sewing.
Pascale.

Our challenge finished in a quilt

2011-07-08T17:40:00.000+01:00

As a challenge, all the members of the Golden Lion Quilters were given 2 fabrics at Christmas to be used in a project with squares and rectangles. There was this japanese inspired fabric on the left, with a blue background. I liked that one.

And then there was this pale pink and green fabric , in a completely different style and colours.

They didn't go together and that was the challenge.

I managed to find some fabrics from my stash that went with the blue, but the pink was more difficult.

But at the end I think the number of fabrics mean that they blend together, so the result is not too bad.

I kept the blocks pretty big so the quilt would be made quickly. It's a lap size and will be used in the family.

It has been given to Frances who leads our group as I will miss the meeting when all members bring their production. That's a shame but my brother is coming next week with his family and I'm really looking forward to having them all here.
And because we cleaned the house a lot to put it on the market, I am not too worried about last minute tidying up. It will be easy.
Moving in a month though will be a different matter.
Enjoy your sewing.

Liberty table set

2011-06-29T14:40:00.001+01:00

This is the last little project I finished. I started on holidays as it was easy to take with me. It was at Easter mind you. It's the label that slowed me down. Funny how I don't like doing the labels.

And here is a detail of one of the blocks, the binding and backing.

I was given tiny bits of Liberty fabric and thought I would use them up in this project. Needless to say I still have a few small bits of fabric left.
Maybe fabric lasts longer when it is cut up in small parts.

I wanted to try a classic design on a small scale, and do it fast. I think the result is very nice.
Now where should I put it...

Enjoy your sewing.

Pascale

Pennants for the Olympics

2011-06-27T14:39:00.000+01:00

My local quilting group has finished making their pennants, and I have them until I can pass them to the organisation "Pennants for London". Here are some photos.

First are the ladies themselves holding the pennants. They are not always matching the pennants and the author, as some are holding 2.

By John G, Frances's husband.

By Libby T, because she went on holidays there and they will sail for the Olympics.

By Frances G.

The windsurfer by Helen T

A life on the ocean by Jane T

Wiltshire Moonracker by Bernice P

Boat by Janet W

By Yvonne J

Swindon's famous roundabout, by Laine S

Red buses by Pearl P

Swindon Ssteam by Helen

Windsor Castle by Christine H

The celtic crosses representing a flower, keys and animals by Kaye M

These are all wonderful pennants, and we hope the people who will receive them will enjoy them as much as we did making them.

To see my own pennant go there.

We are hoping to move

2011-06-05T16:50:00.000+01:00

This is the reason I haven't posted much recently. We saw a house we liked not far (so no need to change schools for the girls, nor friends or dancing lessons) and to make an offer on it we have put our house on the market. That meant a lot of tidying up and putting things away. Most of my sewing is now in the loft (le grenier en francais), and I have to be ready to show the house quickly. The garden is tidy, the kitchen empty and the girls have wonderful, clean bedrooms.
It's all good for selling this house, which we love but it has become too small for our big family. But it's no good for creativity and crafty activities. Hopefully the reward should be a sewing room, and not a bit of the living room for me. Hourra!

In the meantime I had to make a card for Irene's birthday (in the BQLPC birthday swap), and I was late. It is now in the post and she should have it on Monday. Here it is, a calorie free cupcake.

I'm just practising techniques. The wadding is a bit too thick but that's the one I could find.
I really enjoyed designing and sewing again, and hopefully should have more time for it soon.

Lighthouse fabric cards

2011-05-18T13:53:00.000+01:00

Before going on holidays I made these cards. They are for the birthday swap.

I used the technique of reverse paper piecing. I've had a lot of practise through previous projects so it's not a problem for me. I drew these to the 4"x6" size needed for the postcards.

I find that I don't have much time at the moment to get involved in more card swaps, life is too busy.

I do a bit of sewing and hope to show you some things regularly, but I was hoping to do a bit more, and it's not going to happen.

Anyway on Friday I intend to go to Quilts UK show in Malvern, you can find more information on this page. It will be a great day, lots of shopping, inspiration, photos (I can't show them because of copyright rules).

Have a good time sewing.
Pascale.

2011-05-09T11:18:00.000+01:00

Sorry for my absence. We went on holidays to northern France, I saw my sister and her family, my parents, some friends. Had a lovely time. We also started painting the bathroom in that house, it needs it dearly.

Since we came back a week ago I have been trying to get the house in order and working again. I haven't yet caught up on all the emails received in that time, the non urgent anyway.

I have done a bit of sewing but not as much as I had hoped. I always take projects with me, more than I can do, just in case. I wonder if you do the same.

Here is a little pencil box I made before leaving. I use it on my coffee table whith a glass top, hoping it will look a bit tidier.

I decided on the size I wanted, drew it, added the seam allowances all the way around and made this shape. Use 2 pieces of fabric right sides together, and sew nearly all the way with 1/4" seam allowance, leaving one short side opened.

You clip the seams in the corners, and turn it right side out. Next you measure the space you have in each rectangle area and cut some stiff interfacing to fit in. Insert the rectangles for the 3 sides and then sew to maintain them in place (sorry I forgot to take a photo at that stage).
Now do the same with the bottom of the box, sew the fourth side closed , and finish with the opened side where you might have to hand sew to close your structure.

The last stage is to slip stitch the vertices, or angles of your box. Done.

You could make a lid, change the size to whatever suits you, enjoy.

Pascale.

My Japanese lantern box

2011-04-14T20:59:00.001+01:00

I bought the book "Rangements a coudre" by Cecile Franconie, as mentioned in my post on the crochet holder. So this is the second project made from this book, and again it is a small project, easy to start and finish. There are still at least 2 things I want to make from this book.

For the author this box is supposed to hold your thread while knitting. the only problem I could see was that you could not take your project away from the box if the thread was coming out of the lid through a hole. You are stuck with the box until you cut your thread. So I decided to skip the hole in the lid.

Each face of the box is made with fabric glued on to a solid interfacing, same with the lining. There was a lot of hand sewing to put the parts together, but the result was worth it.

My only remark about the pattern is that it should tell you to make the lid bigger than the bottom, otherwise it just falls inside. I had to remake a lid slightly bigger so it would close properly.

And finally I have this postcard below, stuck to the wall above my cutting mat. It's a reproduction from the second world war, and there is a reedition of the book of the same name. I just like old things related to sewing, and there are not many in advertisements.

I am not the only one noticing things linked to my hobby in movies, articles, museums, books. I suppose we become a bit obsessed, in a good way.

Pascale

My new green shawl

2011-04-12T20:52:00.000+01:00

I'm wearing it at the moment as we switched the heating off. I saw the pattern in a shop in Bovey Tracey, Devon, called "Spin a Yarn" and bought their Kid Mohair Merino from Touch Exclusive in a bright green. It was very easy to knit in Garter Stitch (I had to check and it means all rows in knit stitch. I learned knitting in french so am not always sure when reading patterns in english).

On this project I also taught myself to knit with the thread in my left hand (continental knitting), and not in the right one (english knitting) as I was doing before. After some time to get used to it, I am much faster than with my previous technique.

I asked DD3 to display it to its advantage in the garden, but the colour is really hard to show. It is deeper, not as pale as on the photo.

I had a plan with another thread to make a complicated shawl. It's not started yet, maybe it's too ambitious. Meanwhile this one was started and finished in a blink.

This green shawl is really good in the evening when I feel colder and don't want to go upstairs find something more consequent. I love it which is the main thing.

Pascale.

Japanese folded purses

2011-04-07T09:51:00.000+01:00

A new little project.

We made these in our patchwork group, The Golden Lions, in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The pattern is not mine, in fact I don't know where the lady found it. So I don't know if it is protected and can't give a reference. That's why I will just show you the photos of my project.

Maybe I can still tell you that you start with 2 squares of fabric, sew them together and turn them right side out. Slip stitch the opening closed. Then it's a question of folding and sewing by hand.
It's a very enjoyable little project, although I find that it is difficult to guess the finished size from the beginning squares.

Maybe I could try with a rectangle, or an hexagon ! with paper first then on fabric. That would be fun.

So thanks for reading me, and if you know the source of this pattern and could drop me a line, I would be very grateful.

Pascale.

Progress on a quilt

2011-04-01T10:23:00.002+01:00

I just want to show you that I made some progress on my Dreamcatcher quilt. The design is by Jan Hassard, and it was started a long time ago, like in 2007 ! I can't believe it's been so long.
Anyway this is for DD2 who is 15 now, and has been waiting for her quilt for 4 years. It does show that I prefer small projects really.
So afer a full day spent with my group sewing, and a bit of time at home, I have finished the borders. The next step is to make a backing. As I have a lot of fabric, but no piece that would be big enough to cover that kind of surface, I will piece the backing. My briefing from DD2 is that she wants equal pieces. I wonder what she is worried about...

There are also all the other projects looking at me and saying "me first". And then all the things you find on the internet that make me want to start them, and the books, magazines...I love it.

Cupcake purses

2011-03-30T10:23:00.000+01:00

This is oil cloth (in french toile ciree), bought at Laura Asley.
I cut it to keep the size of the cupcakes on each little purse. These will be useful for the girls, they can take some money to school to buy some tuck.
I also made a long pencil case in this fabric, need to find the photo. DD3 is using it already so it's not looking so new anymore.
I could make more and sell them, get on a kind or roll. But only for a while.

Knit hackers

2011-03-23T12:15:00.001Z

My DH found this article about knit hackers in Austin, Texas. This is all done with the Museum of the town, and wouldn't have happened without an army of knitting volunteers.

I like the idea of knitting getting closer to art than craft. I think it draws attention to the possibilities offered by yarn and needles, or crochet. People take products for granted and at the same time lose the understanding of how it is made. That's when you get "Did you make that", in amazement and without any comprehension of the time and equipment needed to get to that result.

So I love these manifestations of textile art.

I'm taking part in the Olympics !

2011-03-21T12:24:00.001Z

Ok I'm not taking part as an athlete but my participation will be given to an athlete coming to compete into the olympics or paralympics games. This initiative is run by "Quilts for London" and is going on in Great Britain. The idea is to give a pennant to every one of the 12 000 athletes, and we have until the end of 2011 to finish our work.

I chose a gymnast as their silhouette is so recognisable.

You can see the quilting on the back. I kept it very simple.

I hope that the person who will receive it will like it.
Each one of us in our quilting group is making something, and I should be able to show you the photos when we all get together ready to send them off.

Pascale.

Hen cards

2011-03-19T12:16:00.001Z

These were made for a birthday request, and the theme was chicken. OK mine are hens.

I must confess that I was running out of time and used some pre printed fabric with hens on them. I still think that they look great, but wish my effort was a bit better. Days like this happen.

No more birthday for the moment so I should have time to prepare for the next one.

Napkin holder

2011-03-17T20:15:00.000Z

This is a project using card and fabric. It was offered by my local quilt group, The Golden Lion Quilters who meet in Swindon. I chose a bright Kaffe Fassett fabric and love the result. Some members in my group have made several as they make really good presents. Here are the photos.

I put some white paper napkins in but they are a bit on the small side.

I wish you a good sewing day.

Pascale.

Cats everywhere, in fabric card and a toy

2011-03-08T13:53:00.000Z

Again time has been flying by.
We went on holidays skiing and that took a lot of organising on my account before and after the week we were gone. I think I caught up with the washing, nearly.
I didn't do much sewing while I was away or since I came back but I have some little things to show you.

First there was Barbara's birthday, and she asked for a cat on her card, and this is my result. I pieced a background and drew a cat face on a paper template, then fabric. I used some free motion sewing to applique the design.
They look a bit cheeky.

Now I can stay on the theme of the cats with this blue one.
The pattern comes from Wee Wonderfull and this link will take you to Hillary's page of freebies. She has also published a book.

I love this cat, the design is very modern and you could put the head at a different angle to have a new expression.
OK and I could also give him some eyes and mouth.

More fabric cards

2011-02-17T16:25:00.000Z

Last week was my birthday, so as part of the BQL postcard swap I received 13 cards. You could easily get used to so much attention.

By Jacquie, the white fabric is folded.

By Avril, you can use the felted flower as a brooch, it has a pin at the back. So clever.

By Carole

By Barbara G, I love the birthday ribbon.

By Janet B

By Rosemary

By Lois, I am so sorry this one got damaged in the post.

By Irene, I love the edging.

By Jan S, hand embroidery.

By Lesley, another one damaged by the post.

By Sandra, each stamp is on a separate piece of fabric, and appliqued.

By Sue W, I don't know how she managed to sew all these shapes together.

By Plum, I wish it had not been damaged.

The theme I had chosen for my cards was red and white as you must have guessed. There is a lot of inspiration in all of these. So I am saying a big THANK YOU.

As there was also Valentine's Day this week I made a card for my DH, well 2 in fact.

There are some beads around the heart on the right.

That's a lot of cards.

Crochet holder

2011-02-13T12:08:00.000Z

For some time I have followed the blog of Cecile Franconie, she is french and writes in french but don't let that stop you from visiting and having a look. She uses embroidery to the maximum, adding ribbons and beads. Her choice of fabrics is different and opens new doors.
Her blog is "Facile Cecile", and she also has some projects published in magazines, like Magic Patch, which is translated in English, and books like this one "rangements a coudre". Her next one is coming in March.

Let's come back to my crochet holder. I've used some liberty fabric inside, a piece of ribbon to close it, and some crochet along the top edge. This makes all the difference from other crochet holders, and is in the style of Cecile. Why make simple things when you can make beautiful things.

She admits to spending a lot of time sewing, crocheting or knitting, as well as having a big family.

So I hope to have inspired you to discover somebody new, or maybe you already knew about her work.

Have a good Sunday.

How to make a Kindle sleeve

2011-02-01T14:53:00.000Z

My husband received a Kindle for Christmas, and is using it quite a lot. Naturally he would like to protect it with a sleeve, and asked me to make him one, with my fabric figuring some writing.
The explanation does not include size so that you can adapt this idea to any device you want to cover.

First I went around the Kindle with a pencil held straight vertically, to have a pattern . Then I added 3/4" in width and length, to allow for the seam allowance and the volume of the fabric and wadding all around. I can tell you that it fitted snugly.

Here you can see my 2 paper patterns. I added a little flap at the top, to attach the Velcro for the closure.

Now we are cutting the fabric. Using the biggest paper pattern, you need 2 fabric pieces for the front and back, same with the lining. You also need to cut a rectangle for the flap, and a piece of Velcro. Fold the rectangle of fabric in 2 to find the middle, and stitch down one part of the Velcro.

You also need to cut the wadding, and I used the smaller paper pattern, to limit the volume in the seams. Quilt it down on the front and back. If you have some stiff wadding, you can use that, especially to protect the screen.

Here you can see the reverse of the Velcro flap, I have sewn the sides and cut the corners near the centre fold. You just need to turn it out.

I have attached the outside and the lining together, trying to follow the round shape around the corners. On the piece that is to become the back, I have inserted the Velcro flap.

The last stage is to attach the 2 final parts together, and I haven't got the photos. I suppose I must have forgotten.
You will put the outside parts right sides together, pin them, and do the same with the lining parts, leaving a gap on the side or the bottom to turn everything out. Follow the curves with your sewing machine.
The tricky bit is the middle. You might need to finish that by hand to have a very neat result, or try it by machine.

When you have finished sewing, turn everything right side out, and slip stitch the opening closed.

I chose to have a bigger opening at the top, so that you can pull the Kindle out.

Nice finish !
So here we are.

I am happy that I don't need to buy the sleeves offered in shops. They are all the same, overpriced and not original for a penny.
And I am proud that my work is deemed worth it by my family. Love it.
Now it's your turn.

Birthday cards

2011-01-27T14:22:00.000Z

In the BQL birthday card swap, I had to make a card this week. I went crazy.
It 's a technique that I find is not as easy as it seems, so it gave me some practice, and I think the results are quite nice.
I chose bright fabrics to make a cheerful card, and I kept the second one as an example of my work. I hope that Lesley who will receive it will like it.

Skinny quilt

2011-01-19T14:58:00.000Z

This year I am also taking part in a challenge on BQL to make skinny quilts. It just means that we don't have to spend too much time on them, because they have a smaller size. The first challenge is to make a 12" by 18" quilt before the end of February.
This is my contribution :

There are 24 log cabin squares with a blue centre, and light surround. Because of the binding, the size is a bit bigger than the one required, but that shouldn't be a problem.
I finished yesterday to put the binding, after embroidering a label at the back, and putting a sleeve for hanging.

To make it more interesting, hopefully, I inserted little triangles of fabric between the rows.

Now the next stage for me will be at the end of February, when we have to choose our 5 favourites little quilts, and then Kandy will swap them between us, with a priority in choice to the first people to have finished their pieces. She has found a way to make us work faster, and not wait for the last day at midnight.

On Monday I have also spent most of the day tidying up my sewing area and my stock of fabric. I am happy to have finished, although I have more boxes of fabric in our bedroom, there is less visible in the lounge where my sewing machine is.
It was nice to sometimes rediscover the fabric I bought. There were even 4 fat quarters bought twice! I have sorted some of the pieces by colour and have boxes for : white, dark, blue, green and red. The rest fills 3 drawers. Maybe I could do some projects using only some colours.
I also need to finish some of my projects, including 3 quilts which are more or less finished tops. One is for DD2 and she reminds me sometimes that she is waiting for it.
I would like this to happen this year.

Presents from Secret Santa

2011-01-11T14:00:00.000Z

As for last year, I took part in a Secret Santa exchange of quilt related presents on BQL. I received this very nice and clever square, with the hanger. It is quilted and the elephant is a little button. The black tree was appliqued. I should cherish this for a long time.

I myself made a present for a lady called Sue S who lives in France. Kandy who runs the group, told me the choice was made quite by accident as she uses the computer to determine who should send to who.

She chose jewel colours as her preference, so that's what I used. I made a jewellery roll and 6 coasters.

The coasters and the back of one.

There is space for rings.

When open you can see the red fabric flap which I designed to pin earings, or brooches.

I believe she liked her present, and I hope she will use it for a long time.
This Secret Santa exchange is really a great idea.

Bag kits

2011-01-07T10:13:00.001Z

For Christmas again, we prepared some sewing kits to make a bag. We made 2 and it took me some time to get all the parts together and to cut some of the fabric to the right size.
We, that is DD3 and myself, chose a bag project, so that it wouldn't be too complicated for beginners. At least I hope it won't be.
The 2 nieces are nearly 10 and 8, have never made something like this, and hopefully won't be put off sewing for life by this project.
I thought about it when I saw similar kits sold for £10 in shops, with some very basic supplies. I knew I could do better, but it does take time to get everything together.
I took some photos of the bags, which don't show much.

Everything was included, even the wadding.

The project was from a Tilda book which I happen to have in French. I copied the pages and put them inside, with some of my instructions as well. Book "La maison de Tilda" or "Sew Pretty Homestyle". The book also includes the needle holder shown in the previous post.

Now I just have to wait for the emails from the mums to ask for help.. or maybe not.

Christmas sewing present

2011-01-05T19:12:00.000Z

I know I am late, but I would still like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We spent 10 days in France after a long journey in the snow, we just had to take our time to drive slowly to Paris.
Now we are back and the house is starting to look tidier, I can show you some presents I made and received. First today will be the little sewing kit I made for my nearly God Daughter ( she is my husband's but on my side, just a question of how many sisters the parents have ). She is 8 years old and lives in France, and her mum told me that they had done some knitting together.
In the process I made a needle holder for DD3, she loves it and I have more photos of that one than the other, pink one.

This needle holder is a model from Tilda

This is the pink needle holder

Here you have the kit for my niece with a zip closing case, the needle holder and a pin cushion.

I forgot to take a photo of all the things we put inside like scissors, pins, needles and a thimble.

I also made this pincushion in the shape of a strawberry. At least it is supposed to be a strawberry, but one of my girls thinks it looks like a radish !
Next time I'll show you the little bag kits we prepared.

Velvet scarf

2010-12-17T16:22:00.000Z

This was a Christmas present from my sister. SHe bought me the velvet, and the elephant ribbon. I just had to sew everything together...But that took me a long time.

It is finished, not used yet but it will be as it is gorgeous.

Sorry for the poor quality of this photo, there was nobody around to take a photo of me,
so you have a reflection of the flash.

There are 2 colours of velvet, one for each side of the scarf. And they come back to the other side, with the ribbon as a separation.

I have some Christmas projects ready or nearly ready, but can't show them to you yet. So sorry. But they will appear here when they have been given.

My new knitted wrist warmers

2010-12-04T17:10:00.000Z

First I had to deal with the vocabulary here. In France we call these "Mitaines", but in England they are Wrist warmers.Then English mittens are what is in French "Les moufles". That's a bit of confusion taken away.

Next the wool. I bought it from The Crafty Yarn and it is from Manos del Uruguay, extrafine merino number 9298. The funny story was that I bought it at a show near London, in Alexandra Palace, in October. I came home and discovered on the card that the shop is very local for me. Anyway I went to see them on another occasion and the owner is very nice indeed, I would recommend her.

The wool came as a big skein, and I made it into a ball with the help of DD4, holding the wool, and a kitchen ustensil, to put some juice on a roast in the oven. Not sure about the actual name. The idea is that it is conic.

Next the pattern: I found it on Ravelry. It is from Coco's knitting and is called "Improvisation pattern".
It is done with one circular needle for both wrist warmers, and that takes some getting used to.
But finally it worked and I am happy with the result.

Here they are finished.

I made the length before and after the thumb the same, so that you can wear them on either hand.

The inside of the hand is simpler.

They are really nice, but I wouldn't wear them outside at the moment as it is too cold. We had -3 C yesterday in the afternoon. I was freezing while waiting at the school doors for DD4 to come out.

I wish you a nice week end, preparing for Christmas, no doubt.

Christmas tree wall-hanging

2010-11-29T14:56:00.000Z

I was wandering from blog to blog when I happened on this vintage Christmas tree on Pleasant Home. I think I was very interested by the technical aspect of the realisation; it stayed in my mind for a few days, so I knew I had to make it.

And it is that time of year again...

First you make a square of squares. To make this one I cut strips in 11 different Christmas fabrics, each strip 1 1/2" wide, by roughly 50cm or 20 "(the size of a fat quarter very often). You arrange them and sew them together, starting your seams once at the top and the next at the bottom to avoid any twisting. Iron you seams flat, one right, one left so that when you sew them back together they will meet in opposite directions.

Next sew them to make a tube, which you then cut in 1 1/2" wide rings. You open the seam between 2 squares on the 11 rings at different places to vary the colours. I chose to move by one square for each new row, which gives you this effect. You could choose to move 2 squares, or randomly.

Next you sew the rings together, once from the bottom, once from the top, and you should end up with this.

The back of my square with seams ironed flat.

These are the bits left over after squaring up. I will use them later.

Next you fold your square like on the photo, and sew the top and side together, leaving a gap for turning (see fingers).

Put the seam in the middle, still with the opening, pin and cut the triangle at the bottom. Keep it for later.

Now sew a straight seam at the bottom, on the wrong side. Take out the pins, cut the extra fabric in the corners, and turn right side out.

I took the easy option to measure the wadding. I cut around my triangular shape. Easy.
It is more difficult to then push the wadding inside, and slip stitch the opening at the back closed.

I used the triangle left over to do the same thing, in a tiny size.

That's all that was left, and discarded. Too small to do anything.

The last stage is the quilting. I used my walking foot to quilt a triangular shape, with a space of 1/2". Easy again.

I forgot to take a photo of a little ribbon stitched at the top, and another one at the back to hang my tree.

On the small tree I used one of the long strips end, as a binding, I left it too long on purpose.

I hope this will give you ideas for your own Christmas decorations.
The time seems to be flying in my house.

A funny video on Knitting

2010-11-25T13:50:00.000Z

I saw this video on You Tube some time ago, but it is so good, and impossible in a way, it has to make you laugh.
I hope you enjoy it.

The last knit, video on You Tube
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Pink card swap

2010-11-12T12:14:00.000Z

In October I took part in a pink swap of cards. I really enjoyed it.

I made 6 cards, kept one for myself and sent 5, and in exchange I received these 5 fabulous cards.

Pink champagne from Claire, Edinburgh

Flowers from Pauline

By Jacquie

A calorie free muffin from Barbara in Leeds

Pink ribbons from Benta near Windsor

The backs with "Postcards"stamped on

The theme being Pink, I made some Kokeshi dolls, using a stencil bought in France. These Japanese dolls are quite popular in France and my niece C is especially fond of them.

The front of the cards

My dear Husband bought me some rubber stamps with "Postcards" in different designs. I used one on the back and I think the result is effective.

I hand quilted around the design with a white thread, but wonder if it was really necessary as I had to use an iron to fuse the buckram to the backing and the front. It flattened everything.

This is the stencil and all the equipment I needed. Only 3 colours of paint, and the smaller stencil brushes were the most useful on this project.

I enjoyed doing these and my little collection of fabric postcards is growing slowly. Nice.

Tee shirt becomes a bag

2010-11-09T13:54:00.000Z

During the half term holidays, my sister and her family came to visit us. One of her son's favorite tee shirt was becoming too small, so she asked me if I would transform it into a bag.

It stayed in England while they went back to France, but I don't think my nephew realised that. He is 7 years old. He also has several other favourite t-shirts.

And so I used my rotary cutter and a long ruler to cut the sides, and the neckline (this way I avoided the seam of the armholes and made a taller bag).

The next step is to over-sew all the raw edges of the fabric.

To make the pocket, I cut the bottom of one sleeve. I used the hem as the top of my pocket, folded 1/4" on the 3 other sides, and sewed it on one piece of the bag.

Then, when the 2 parts of the bag right sides together, I sewed all the way down one long edge, the bottom of the bag, and the other side, but on that last one I left a gap for the string or ribbon that will close the bag. I left a gap of about 3/4", or 2 cm, and then sewn to the top on the last 1".

Finally to make the channel for the closure, fold twice your fabric at the top of the bag and sew all the way around. The first fold will be your seam allowance, and the second will give you the space for the string to go along the top of the bag.

Then you just need to find a matching ribbon or string, attach it to a safety pin, and pull through the channel. Make a knot and you have a new bag.

It is an easy way to recycle old t-shirts, provided they are flat. I have an old one which I really liked, but it has extra fabric for the breasts, so is not suitable for this technique. Too bad, it was a very nice pattern.

Now I hope that when C receives his new bag, he won't be cross with me for cutting his T-shirt !

2010-10-27T17:28:00.000+01:00

This summer I took some knitting with me on holidays. It is easy to carry and do anywhere.

I know you might not all be interested in my knitting, but it seems I have some periods or phases when I play with different textile mediums.

I still love my sewing, but sometimes I need more time and place to do it, where knitting or crochet is smaller and you can do just a bit and put it away.

In fact it is one of the risks : it gets put away, and stays there for longer than planned.

So these are my socks, always the same pattern as the previous ones.

Now I found some gorgeous wool and am starting some mittens on a round needle, but both at the same time. It is a kind of challenge, we'll see if I can manage.

New cushions on the sofa

2010-10-24T21:39:00.000+01:00

In fact the inserts are the old ones, but the covers are new.
I didn't take photos for a tutorial but they are very quick to make. I bought 1 metre and a half (60 inches) of this synthetic furry fabric, and managed to make 4 cushion covers. Each one is roughly 40 cm (16 inches) square finished.

I cut my fabric 42 cm(16 3/4") large by 95 cm(37 1/2") long. It doesn't have to be so precise on the length.
Next you need to sew a double return to make a hem on the 2 short ends.

Now put your pad or insert in the middle, and overlap the ends of your cushion cover, right sides outside. You can decide where you want the overlap to be. Pin the fabrics together. There is no need to measure with this method, it will fit.
Take the insert out through one of the open sides, turn the cover outside in and pin the open sides closed. You need to sew along each of the 2 sides, and then zigzag the edges if necessary (it was for my furry fabric).

Turn it right side out and you have finished. Bravo.
There was no need to put a zip (go to a store and buy one) or to make button holes and hand sew the buttons. It was also very fast.

I was amazed at the mess this fabric made on my floor. Lots of little threads went everywhere.

And I will have to cover more cushions as I realised that the fabric on some of them was getting worn out. It's a shame as I liked them, but then it gives me the opportunity to make something new.

Pink Union Jack purse

2010-10-14T22:12:00.000+01:00

This little purse on the theme of the Union Jack, the British flag, is all pink ! It was a request from DD1 to be used at school and keep her dinner money.
I made it some time ago but had lost the pictures on the computer.
In real life it doesn't look so pristine any more, but is still very much loved.

I had seen things similar in the shops, so the idea is not original, and I thought I could make one myself. It proved a little more complicated than I thought, but I've done it.

After the front panel was done, I sewed the zip together with the front, back and lining. The rest is easier, although I am not always happy with the ends of the zips. The sides go a bit round, and I don't know what to do about it.

I made it on holidays in France, and it reminds me of a lovely quiet time.

Kokeshi bag

2010-10-04T14:19:00.010+01:00

My lovely niece who lives in Le Havre loves the Japanese Kokeshi dolls. She has books about them, and some small reproductions in hard plastic. I made her a bag with a pieced Kokeshi on the front.
Here it is shown by DD3 in her school uniform, just to give you an idea of the size.

The pattern was taken from Quilt Mania, number 77, which was published in the spring.

I used one of their designs, although the round part of the bottom of the face disappears on my bag. I wonder why I took so much trouble to piece this part, and would recommend that you just make a square face.
Here is a close view of the doll finished on the quilted panel that was to become the front, bottom and back of the bag.

Of course I added some little pockets inside, in 2 different purple fabrics.

The edging on the top was made with my sewing machine on a cross stitch point.

I hope she gets to use this bag a lot, as it was given in June this year when we visited for the first communion of her brother and the baptism of her sister.

I'll try to publish more posts from now as I stopped working. More time to sew, hooray.

Holiday bag

2010-09-16T15:52:00.008+01:00

Now I'm back from my holidays, I would like to get this blog going again.

My work has stopped me from sewing as much as I would have liked, but that will finish at the end of September. After that I shall be blogging more often I hope. And sewing lots!

Before leaving for France in August, I made this bag for DD2. The fabric comes from Ikea (no affiliation) and it's quite strong. The lining is made of calico, and the pocket is using the same fabric but going in the other direction.

Let me know if you would like more info on how to make such a bag. I could make a tutorial if there is some demand.

Now DD2 would like to have a little purse to go with it, with a rounded top and a zip. I took the fabric on holidays with me, but had no time to make one. It will happen eventually and I will show you the photos.

I told you I needed more time, and I don't even mention the UFO's.

Knitted socks

2010-08-09T17:47:00.000+01:00

I have made some socks before and then I stopped. In fact the first one on that pair was made probably last year. Recently I managed to start the second one, and then stopped again. But now that I am on holidays from work, I managed to finish the second one.This stopping and starting is the reason why they are not completely similar. But I am sure it won't have any consequence when wearing them.

I like the way the toes are finished. It's not like something you see in the shops.

My heels were difficult, but they look all right at the end.

I love my socks.

2010-08-07T17:40:00.000+01:00

Here are the 7 cards I made for the swap. 6 were sent and I kept one to remind me of my work.

The background is made of 6 squares of fabric on the theme of summer. My idea was of a hot day, enjoying a cool drink in the garden.

The glass and jug were glued on the background and then I did some free machine quilting to attach them.

There is a zig zag stitch all around the edges.

I really enjoyed the process of planning and making these cards. My problem is still finding the time to make more.

July's card swap with BQL

2010-08-05T17:20:00.011+01:00

I took part in a swap in July on BQL. We swapped fabric cards. I made 7 and sent 6 of them. In exchange I received 6 different cards.

Today I'll show you the cards I received. They are all different and all beautiful.

This first one from Irene in Scotland is of a thistle of course.

There is some distressed netting, and free motion quilting on the flower, with squares of fabric to make the background.

This one is from Carole in England. Each piece is carefully cut and appliqued on the background.

From Marian K, she had to eat a lot of penguin bars to make her cards and there is a very fine blue non woven fabric on top. Lots of fun.

From Sue W, the photo doesn't make justice to the shiny pieces on the fabric and to the hand embroidery.

From Miriam B there is some machine applique and free machine quilting.

And last in this series but there is no real order, this card from Inge in Germany, hand embroidered with a log cabin.
I am very grateful to all these ladies for the hard work they shared with me. In fact I enlisted on BQL post card group to take part in more card swaps.

Next I'll show you the cards I made.

Week end bag from Amy Butler

2010-07-27T11:53:00.008+01:00

I started working on this bag, and then it took me longer than I thought to finish it.

I saw a sample at FOQ in Birmingham last August, and ordered the pattern. The fabric is curtain material, and it is all lined in cream.

I love it but am a bit worried about how strong it will be, and if it will keep its good looks with use. There is a lot of interfacing, and lining to make it stronger but I didn't have one of the products recommended.

And there it is with a photo of the pattern from Amy Butler. You can find these pretty much everywhere.

Sorry for being away

2010-07-27T11:25:00.002+01:00

I realise that I haven't been posting for a month. It's never happened since I started this blog. I even prepared posts for when I was away on holidays.

The only explanation is that I was busy, just with life. There were all these end of year party, and children things. I do realise that my new job has taken a big toll on how much I can sew, and the time spent on the computer looking after my blog.

Now that the school holidays have started I hope to have more time to post and to sew. So before going away, I might do a few posts. I don't know how much internet access I will have while away, so can't guarantee that I will be much here then.

Now to write another post on some sewing.

Fabric postcards

2010-06-21T15:11:00.006+01:00

When I met the wonderful Kandy, who runs BQL on the internet, and lives not far from me, she showed me her fabric postcards. She has taken part in a lot of exchanges and in consequence has got a large collection ( a few shoe boxes in volume, but in inspiration, so much more).

Later on she came to give a talk to our patchwork group on such cards, and then I was in charge of organising an evening workshop.

These are my samples, finished.

Oh and they are perfect rectangles, it's just the angle of the photograph that makes them look not so.
This card was made with a flower on fabric. The bit left wasn't much bigger than the final postcard. There is some wadding, a border and some free machine quilting.

All the edges of the cards are made with a zig zag stitch.

This one uses the appliqué technique with embroidery floss.

And the last one is 2 log cabin blocks sewn and cut to fit the card at an angle.

I enjoyed these small projects, tried new techniques.

Here is the back of the cards, with some white fabric covering the Buckram. This is used to give some rigidity to the cards, and sticks to the fabric on both sides when ironed. Very practical.

Now I have put my name down to do an exchange, probably with 6 or 7 people. I just need to find the time to make the cards, isn't it.

I think it will be a good challenge for me, and I will have some lovely postcards as well.

Lunch bag

2010-06-12T15:45:00.003+01:00

I made this lunch bag quickly to use it when I went to Malvern patchwork and quilting spring show.

I took some photos but I don't feel that I can use them here because I would need to get the authorisation from every artist involved. It's a shame as we are missing out on spreading the word about what we are doing, but I do understand that it gives the artists more control over their rights.

The pattern comes from the website of the magazine "All People Quilt".
The button was one we made with the girls in Fimo paste.

DD3 new dog bag and pencil case

2010-06-05T15:00:00.009+01:00

I saw this fabric at the Malvern show (more about this later) in May, and had to buy it for DD3 who is so fond of dogs. We don't have any because I am busy enough with the family and the house. But we had the fabric.I didn't use a pattern for this one, just used the 50 cm of fabric that I bought. There are 2 inside pockets. It is lined and quilted all over, including the strap. That detail was very important for DD3.With the bits left over I sewed a pencil case with a zip. I used the same lining fabric which comes from Ikea.

Here you have a view of the inside of the bag, with embroidery (by machine) on the top of the pockets.

DD3 wanted a big bag to put all her notebooks for school. We discussed the size, depth, pockets, lining fabric, and she is very pleased with the result. Apparently her friends are amazed that I can do THAT...They mean not buy it ready made.

Blue rabbits in my house

2010-06-04T14:19:00.007+01:00

This is another big gap in my blogging. I do have things to show you, but not much time to sit in front of the computer.

So here are 2 at the same time.

The first comes from the book "Zakka Sewing" by Therese Laskey and Chika Mori, and is a pencil case in the shape of a rabbit.
The lining inside doesn't follow the shape outside. Very cute isn't it ?

The second one was much simpler, for a friend who had a little boy.

Old sewing notions

2010-05-09T21:52:00.011+01:00

My grandfather worked in the textile industry. See it's not my fault if I love everything related to fabric, it must be in the blood. And I found these in my grandmother's sewing supplies.

I loved them both dearly but sadly they left us a few years ago.

Under the brown paper from Coats, are reels of thread. I didn't open them to check the state of the cotton, because I think they look so much better like this, with the tie around.

And then there were these books of buttons. Some were used by Bonne Maman, probably on some clothes for my Mum and Aunt.

Sorry it's all in french, but I am sure that you can catch the spirit of the time, just looking at these.

My first knitted hat

2010-05-09T21:32:00.006+01:00

OK I'm a bit behind with writing my blog. I'm trying to keep up with everything : work, children, husband, house, and other commitments.

We have to finish some quilts for the Hospital. I only need to put the labels but it takes me longer than I thought to do that. I'll show them soon.

Now I took some knitting with me on our last holiday. I bought this gorgeous wool in a shop in Burford UK. It's called Colinette, Skye.

The pattern was on Ravelry and is "Pajunkissa". It is done on a circular needle.

Oh and the gorgeous model is DD1. I love her hair coming out.

I had to start 3 times to get the right size but the wool is so nice to use that I didn't mind.

Finally meeting Pascale

2010-04-28T10:24:00.001+01:00

Again this photo was taken during the Easter Holidays in France. I finally got to meet Pascale, we share the same name, with her beautiful children. If you look again the youngest, who is only about a month old at the time of the picture, is showing his head out of Pascale's coat. I'm the one standing on the left.

We met on the Grand Place in Lille, and it was still very cold at the beginning of April.

There is so much to talk about, we will have to meet again.

You can visit her blog "Journal d'un Atelier". She writes in french but speaks english as well so you can leave her some comments. She has had some of her projects published in France, and is very creative. Enjoy.

As a present I gave her the little purse in the front, the other ones have gone already but I think I might make some more as I really love their shape. They are from Tilda and appeared in a previous post.
I also made on the morning of the meeting this blue rabbit case. It seemed to fit with her having a new baby boy.

It was so nice to finally meet her as she organised 2 challenges I took part in. The first one was red houses, which I need to finish, one of my UFOs. And the second used ribbon embroidery, and I also need to finish it.

She hasn't done a challenge this year, I guess I know why she is busy, but she is still an inspiration.

A rabbit to keep my card

2010-04-26T20:00:00.008+01:00

You can see that I had a bit of time during the Easter holidays.

I made this little purse to hold my credit card, and replace the ugly, boring, plastic one I had before.

My only slight worry is that the snap fastener might need to be resewn at some point. Of course I can't use a magnetic fastener because of the nature of the credit card.

The pattern comes from a book I really enjoy at the moment, called "Zakka Sewing, 25 japanese projects for the household" by Therese Laskey and Chika Mori.

The meaning of Zakka is "household good" in Japanese, and the projects were made by 25 different japanese designers. Luckily it is all in english, no need to translate. You will see other projects from this book soon.

The black and white fabrics are a bit different from my usual choices. Interesting. And I'm glad I've made something for myself and am using it. Otherwise I have a tendency to make things that are so nice that I don't use them. Or I use them as presents, hopefully to people who will enjoy them.

I'm trying to change that as I have so much pleasure in using things homemade.

A late birthday present

2010-04-19T14:56:00.006+01:00

This was a late birthday present for my friend Katherine. We have been running together for the last 6 years (already). We are trying to go out twice a week at the moment.

2 years ago we were together in Bath in the fabric shop, and she noticed this panel. I bought it for her but it's taken me all that time to make it, and she received it after her birthday (you know how it goes, you start a project really early, then get distracted and it is not finished in time).

The panel is printed and all the quilting was done by hand, relaxing. I have put a photo of the back as I was hoping the photos would show more of the quilting, but I am not sure it is enough.

Keyfob for work

2010-04-15T16:18:00.007+01:00

This is a quick post. I am back from holidays but in washing mode, putting away the stuff we took we us, and catching up with the many emails, before reading all the blogs I follow.

So this is my version of a key fob. This used to belong to my husband, given to him at one conference. I changed it to my own version by undoing all the seams and covering the writing on the nice thick ribbon, with some fabric left over. All the plastic parts were kept.

Have you seen my whistle?! I need it for my new job in a school. I work part time now as a teacher assistant, until 1 pm every day of the week. It makes the rest of the week very busy, and I really want to have my time for sewing. The big advantage of working in a school is that I am home when the girls come back in the afternoon and we get the same holidays. But for now it is still the Easter break and I managed a few small projects when I was away. Just wait and see.

Happy Easter - Joyeuses Paques

2010-04-04T14:59:00.000+01:00

I have gone on holidays for 10 days, so will not be able to answer your comments, but meanwhile I wish you all a very Happy Easter. We say Joyeuses Paques in French.

Don't eat too much chocolate, and I hope you find some time for sewing. I have taken quite enough to keep me busy all the time, and hope to be able to sew a bit.

See you soon.

A bientot.

A new pencil case

2010-04-03T14:45:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday, DD4 was invited to a party by her friend Hannah. She likes rabbits at the moment, so I hit the shops trying to find things rabbity for a girls aged 9. If only it had been about cats, there is all this Hello Kitty stuff everywhere.

I found some lip balm and shower cream, but while I was there I just resolved to making something with some of the fabric I have at home. I was bound to have something with rabbits on.

I found this Japanese linen fabric that is so cute. That was perfect.

Cut a rectangle, some lining fabric, find a zip, and Voilà !

Belt for the playgroup

2010-04-01T12:34:00.000+01:00

My friend Chris has started working for the playgroup and needed a belt to carry her notebook, pen and some cards. So this is all made to measure in a way, to fit her specific needs.

The fabric is aimed at the children, aged between 3 and 5 years old.

The tie is very long on purpose, to fit any clothes she might have to wear.

I'm really happy my skills could be used to help her. She is modelling for the photo.

Chinese outfit for my daughter

2010-03-31T14:25:00.006+01:00

At her school, DD4 had a chinese day some time ago. And so I found myself trying to make quickly a chinese outfit for her.

This is the result, not perfect (I know where something is not right, but won't tell you where), but not too bad either.

Now I hope she will wear it again before it becomes too small.

Quilts 1700-2010 exhibition at the V&A London.

2010-03-20T12:24:00.008Z

So back to Wednesday, when I was able to attend the exhibition on the preview afternoon for us bloggers.

I went by car with my friend Katherine who offered to accompany me, even though she wasn't allowed in the Quilts exhibit. She had a lovely time wandering around some parts of the Museum. I must say that it is huge, and well worth a return visit. You can have a look yourself on their website : Victoria and Albert Museum.

First here is the front of the Museum, on Cromwell Road, London :

Now check the courtyard, there is a cafe in the corner, and there can be some sun sometimes, like on my photos.

I have taken lots of photos, about 70, but not using a flash and zooming on details means that some of them are out of focus (floues en francais). But there is hope. First there are all those photos you can find here :

http://www.rexfeatures.com/live/2010/03/17/quilts_1700-2010_exhibition,_victoria_+_albert_museum,_london

And then I seem to be allowed access to the official photos.

What I would like to do is put more information on the pieces I saw. I bought the book from the exhibit and will use it to make some research. It will be interesting for me and I hope for you as well.

Now I just need to find the time ...

I'm adding this link to a blog with a very interesting article on the exhibit, have a look yourself :

http://thedyershand.blogspot.com/2010/03/quilts-1700-2010-at-v-part-one.html

Cards and card holder

2010-03-19T19:13:00.005Z

Before going to the preview at the V and A last Wednesday, my DH printed me some "business" cards with the address of this blog and a piece of one of my quilts as an illustration. They look great, very professional.

So I quickly found some lovely Japanese fabric and sewed a little holder. A bit tighter than what I was hoping for, but the cards fit which was the objective.

Janet Bolton's workshop

2010-03-13T15:38:00.010Z

I feel very lucky because I was able to attend a workshop with Janet Bolton yesterday, in Bath, in the patchwork shop called "Country Threads" ( see my previous post here).

Find Janet Bolton's website.

She is a true textile artist, with collectors of her work around the world. It might appear very simple first, but it is also magical like a Matisse, transporting you far away. Each stitch and each little piece of fabric has a purpose, and each piece is the fruit of a lot of thinking and choices.

We were shown what she called mistakes, that looked like perfect little pieces, except she wasn't satisfied with them.

I booked this day a few weeks ago and was really looking forward to a few hours sewing in the beautiful city. Not that I ventured out much.

Janet Bolton was very interesting, and she explained her method very well. Then we were left to choose one of our own photos to use as a base for a piece. It's a bit daunting at first but you soon feel that you have to make a decision, under her kind guidance of course.

She helped me choose a photo of DD1 on her sledge. Her ideas are to keep the design simple. I'm not sure I can do that yet. I still think too much of the details to be put in, like legs, arms but I gave up on the idea of gloves for example.

I was surprised to discover that her pieces are quite small. It's difficult to stop yourself from going bigger, I'm not sure I'm there yet.

She loves adding a little bit of colour, in our case a speck of red, to lift the picture. I think it's a brillant idea, very interesting.

We also learned a bit about framing and presenting our work. But of course I would need to finish it first.

We all had a brilliant day, too short of course. Here are the other participants, they will have to stay anonymous as we only knew our first names.

I already have 2 of her books "My Grandmother's Patchwork Quilt" from which I have made a few blocks, but it's not finished see here.

I also own "In a Patchwork Garden" but haven't used it yet. I don't think I would do all the blocks but a few would be wonderful.

I have ordered another of her books, which has just been reprinted "Patchwork Folk Art" which you can find on Amazon uk ( no benefit for me,it's just easier to show you a photo on their website).

I have taken a few quick photos of the work we produced at the end of the day. There is still some time needed to finish them, and then frame them hopefully.

We all developped different ideas, used colours from our stashes. There aren't any of the added embroidery, buttons, and in my case frame.

What a great day !

Baby book

2010-03-13T14:58:00.011Z

I made this for my next door neighbour, Julie, and more specially for her son Dan.

I have already made 2 books like this, some years ago, before starting this blog. The children have grown since, but one of the books is used by the recent addition to the family.

I start with a few fabric pictures, and use fabric from my previous projects.

I have this woven basket to put all the little bits leftover. I can't close the lid any more. I might take part of it to one of my Brownies meeting one evening, to help lower the level.

So each picture is framed, adding enough for the seam allowance. The side that will become the binding is larger than the 3 other ones.

Then I put 2 images right sides together, on some wadding. Sew around 3 sides, not the one for the binding. I cut the angles and the wadding around, and turn the page right side out. I topstitch around the page to flatten it.

The last stage I tend to do by hand because of the thickness of the book. I sew the pages together and hide all the edges with a piece of fabric.

Each fabric reminds me of a project.

The one on the back was bought to make some trousers for my first born. She is 15 now.

Exhibition at the V&A Museum, London, Quilts 1700-2010

2010-03-05T15:39:00.005Z

There is this exhibition starting on the 20 th March in London at the V&A Museum, called "Quilts 1700-2010. I think it will be very interesting.

Of course I am biased because of my interest in everything fibre related, but I thought their advertising with lots of different newspapers was very good. I have seen several articles in the Times, starting a few months ago about the coming exhibit.

This week there were 2. One on 28 Feb reporting on the "new vogue for quilting" although I wonder how they can think it is new.

Today there was an article telling you how to make your own Tracey Emin cat quilt. The explanations are written by Sue Prichard, the curator of the exhibition. It is designed more for beginners, but you could use the design of the cat on something else.

The best article was written last week by Grayson Perry, who also made a piece for the V&A, called "Quilting is not a dumb hobby"

The best part is that I received an invitation to a preview at the Museum on Wednesday 17th March. I wonder who will be there, it will be so interesting so see the pieces, and of course people passionate about patchwork and quilting.

I'll tell you all about if when it has happened.

L'aiguille en fete Paris, Feb 2010

2010-02-26T14:57:00.007Z

2 weeks ago I went to Paris for my God daughter's first communion. It was on the Saturday, and I was very lucky because this french show was happening at the same time. I left home a day early, on the Thursday, and spent Friday looking at quilts, embroidery, knitting...kits, fabric, ribbons, patterns, books.

Although books are more expensive in France than in England, because of some protection laws that are supposed to give more money to the authors, but then they sell less books because of their prices being so high !

I didn't buy much : some Liberty fabric that we couldn't name, some japanese jelly roll..

I got some ideas for things I want to make, just need the time.

There was also a speed knittng competition, very relaxed. Everybody could take part, including a teenager who had just learnt.

And there was some massive needles. On the photo below the pieces are on a sofa. The wooden needles would have been the size of my wrist roughly. Knitting becomes a workout.

There were 2 women from the Toft Alpaca with some beautiful alpaca wool. It made me want to start a hat.

I also saw a very interesting demonstration of painting on fabric with some stencils from The Stencil Store

I would like to make some bags using transat toile like the Cabana Creations people did.

And I discovered a man who makes beautiful buttons or pendants in ceramic called Rouge Petit Coeur. I bought a beautiful P on a heart, that I will use on a wallhanging.

Of course there were many more shops, these are just a bit different.

And I did a workshop, but more about this later as I have not finished the embroidery started that day. Isn't that typical.

Knitted Baby cardigan

2010-02-23T16:35:00.007Z

This had to be kept secret as it was a present for my little niece, now aged 7 months.

I started knitting before she was born, then had a break... and hurried to give it to her dad, my little brother when I saw him a week ago.

I began to get worried it would be too small by the time I finished it, luckily it seems to be too big ! I did it in a size 6 months to 1 year.

The colours are pink and brown, difficult to show them on this photo. I started knitting the neck and got down to the belt level. It is all done in one piece, with just 2 seams under the 2 arms.

It was supposed to be a quick project, and it wasn't, all my fault.

I hope the little J. likes it. She seems to be growing by the minute.

Sketchbook and pencils holder

2010-02-02T17:47:00.007Z

Another quick project, I know my UFO's are not making any progress meanwhile.

I found this tutorial, tried it once, and then lost my papers, couldn't find the website, but finally here it is. The tutorial was on the blog "Atkinson Designs", and is called an Airplane Art Binder (it is the third from the top). There are lots of useful photos, but you have to change the size of the paper pad as it is an american measure, and the european ones are slightly different.

All in all it was easy to make. I chose more masculine colors as it was offered to my husband on his birthday. And then I had to borrow it back to show it to my patchwork group.

The ladies there expect me to show something every time!

On this next photo you will see the outside completely opened up. The button was homemade with Fimo paste by one of our daughters.

The tie is sewed on the right, left, and on a vertical line in the middle.

There is no quilting as there is no wadding, but interfacing.

So go on and try one.

It makes me think of the phrase written by William Morris “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”.

So instead of having a horrible plasticky object we have a homemade one.

Of course this only works when you have the time to make the object, and it's not going to be ruined, or not appreciated.

Sunbonnet Sue needle holder

2010-02-02T17:45:00.008Z

I found this tutorial in french on the Frimousse's blog here, and as it doesn't take long to make, I had a go one afternoon.

So it was one quick project but I am not sure it looks finished enough. Maybe I could try again with some thicker cardboard, and with sewing the edges instead of applying glue. But then of course it wouldn't be a quick project any more.

I drew the pattern freehand, as I couldn't find one on the tutorial.

There are 3 pieces of cardboard, cut twice. Two the whole size, two of the head alone, and two of the dress, without the feet. Each is in a thicker cardboard, and one thinner.

Tell me what you think, especially if you try this project.

Kath Kidston bag

2010-01-27T15:44:00.008Z

While we were in Bath we had a look at the Kath Kidston shop. There was this book with enough fabric included to make a bag. I just had to buy the book and make the bag.

The other projects are quite simple, but could be inspirational, depending on what you are looking for. I thought that for £15 I could have a book and a bag, so not bad then.

The pieces of fabric were pre-cut, that's what I call luxury, with little marks to match up the seams. The buttons and label were also provided. I copied the pattern first, on the recommendation from DH. I'm not sure it was included on the pattern sheet provided.

Then I decided to line my bag, and add an inside pocket. It's easy when you have been making bags in a challenge for a year.

So a quick project, which stopped my progress on

the UFO list, but nevermind.

Iris wallhanging for my Mum

2010-01-22T21:51:00.007Z

Now for something I have made, and am proud about: my Mum's Birthday present. She was born before Christmas, and as we go back to Paris around that time, she gets a second cake, with the candles, presents and family. She deserves it.

This year I wanted to give her something I made, and used the pattern I bought some time ago (ok a few years...but I knew who to use it for). It is "Iris" by Gail Lawther, and is a stained glass patchwork pattern. Go down on the web page about 2/3 of the way to find it.

http://www.hbweb.co.uk/gqpv3/pattern_packs_regular.asp

Now I can promise that the wallhanging is straight. It's just that it was folded when travelling.

I used this opportunity to practise my free motion quilting on the feathers in the borders. It doesn't look too bad on the photo.

I regret that I didn't have time to buy a bar to hang it on the wall. This being Christmas time I was pretty busy. I hope that she has found the time to hang it properly. I'll see in February when I'll be going on my own to my god-daughter's first communion.

I enjoyed this pattern, the second I've made by Gail Lawther.

Now back to this UFO list, to shorten it, and then I need to make something for my DH's Birthday.

Seasonal art in Japan

2010-01-19T16:38:00.001Z

I found the Quiltmania blog in french with these amazing photos taken in Japan. Have a look yourself, art has taken a new form.

http://blog.quiltmania.com/?p=58

Visit to Bath

2010-01-19T15:04:00.012Z

On Saturday, DH, DD3 DD4 and myself spent the day in Bath, in England of course. The first objective of the day was to drop my sewing machine to be serviced in the Husqvarna shop. I must say I was very satisfied with the service. We left it in the morning and I had it back at 3 pm. It is now so much quieter.

The bits of thread and fluff that get under the bobbin and feed dogs can't be stopped, sadly. I shall try to clean that part of the machine more often,otherwise my empty bobbin indicator doesn't work anymore, until the next service of course.

We were hoping to visit the Fashion Museum, and the Asian Museum, but the shopping won.

Second stop was the patchwork shop "Country Threads" in Pierrepont Place. It's Alibaba's cavern, you could spend hours there...except the girls wouldn't have any of that. I managed to buy some fabric, admire some quilts, pick up some ideas for future projects.

Here are some photos taken on DH's phone.

There was a lot more shopping. Some tea and coffee in a shop were the girls were offered to smell the lid of jars: vanilla tea, chocolate coffee.. I thought it was a really good idea, as it got them interested at 11 and 8 years old.

And then we saw the windows of the All Saints shop, full of old sewing machines. I wasn't the only one dribbling in front. Sadly the photos are not so good because of the reflections.

Snow

2010-01-11T14:08:00.010Z

We have had some snow since last Wednesday morning. School was out on that day for all 4 girls, but the youngest had to go back on Thursday, and the others on Friday. The roads were not safe at the beginning, but are OK now.We have been sledging every day, and there have been some attempts at igloo building, but not very successfull.

Here is what it looked like on Wednesday morning.

The girls are getting ready to go to school, with my friend Chris all kitted up to walk in the snow with them.

The pleasure of children walking in fresh snow is such that we all went to accompany them to school at the end. Only to all come back soon after.

This photo was taken by my husband on his way to work on Thursday. Everything looks so beautiful, although very cold indeed.

This last photo is to show you that I did manage to do some sewing. I finally reopened my working/sewing station. The machine is in place and I can work on my UFO, the Dreamcatcher quilt for DD2.

I cut 120 rectangular pieces for the border.

Tilda little purses

2009-12-28T13:59:00.005Z

I made these 3 little purses, all lined and closed with a white pop up, before Christmas.

The 2 brown ones have gone to a friend and as a secret present in my quilting group, the Golden Lion Quilters.

I still have the light green one, made with some japanese fabric.

They are all a bigger version of the smaller one I made in a blue and white fabric, see more information here.

Baby shoes 2

2009-12-27T13:08:00.005Z

And now that Christmas has come and gone, I can show you the present I made for my niece, the lovely Juliette, who is 6 months old.

These were done with the same pattern as the blue ones, made over a month ago, at the request of Juliette's Mum, who happens to come and visit my blog.

I didn't see them on the little girl, as she wasn't very well unfortunately.

My brother and his family have left us now but it is the turn of my first and third daughters to be sick. You can't blame them for looking after their smiling little cousin.

Hopefully they should get better soon, as we are leaving Paris on tuesday to go back home, where I am hoping to have more time to sew.

Secret Santa present

2009-12-27T13:02:00.003Z

On Christmas eve, as is the tradition in my family, and very often in France, we opened the presents. It was after Father Christmas managed to sneak in the living room while we were in the dining room (it was my 15 years old nephew this year). The youngest boy still believes and we all indulge him.

I opened my present from Secret Santa on BQL and was very pleased to find a log cabin bag. Thank you Secret Santa, whoever you are.

I hope you all had a great day.

Sorry for the silence

2009-12-23T21:19:00.003Z

My thousand excuses for keeping quiet for so long.

I have been sewing but had some problem transferring photos from my camera to the computer. I need to sort that out.

I also have the problem of not being able to show photos of presents that are surprises. That will soon be sorted, after Christmas.

We left England for Paris in France last Friday, and got caught in the big problems with Eurotunnel, after the snowy storms in France.

We waited 4 hours in the car, queuing to get to the Eurotunnel terminal, only to be told that it was officially closed. 5 trains got stuck between the 2 countries, and I pity the people aboard them.

We then tried to get to the ferry, 3 hours stuck on the motorway, and when we finally escaped we tried a hotel. It was 2.30 am on Saturday. Hotel was full but the person on duty found another one the other side of Dover. We left, got lost and found the ferries. After more queuing, we were told at 4 am that there were no tickets for sale for the ferries.

At that point we were lucky to find a hotel.

Later on Saturday, after 4 h sleep, we booked a crossing for 10 pm, and arrived in Paris on Sunday morning at 4 am.

A journey that should have taken 7 h, ended after 35 h.

We were stuck in the car for 12 continuous hours with no toilets or additional drinks. Luckily I had taken some and the girls were good because it was night time.

We had not planned to pay for 6 persons in a hotel, and hope to have our money back, as we also had to pay full price to book another crossing.

For you, quilting friends far away, this problem that happened last week-end has been in the English and French papers a lot. It is a disgrace for the Tunnel Company. They had nothing for the thousand of people stuck in their trains. No food nor drink.

Now we are rested, and amply fed by my Mum, everything is fine.

Tomorrow we will listen to the Christmas Mass and have a massive family meal. then Father Christmas will come...

I wish you all, who come and read my little posts, a very Merry Christmas, with lots of sewing related presents, and your loved ones around you.

Pascale.

Secret Santa

2009-11-28T14:42:00.009Z

This year for the first year, I am taking part in the Secret Santa swap with BQL. I have received my parcel, and it is waiting neatly, still in the envelope.

On Friday I sent my own parcel and am allowed to show its content, without revealing who will receive it.

I embroidered the front of the needle holder with a design found on Cynderberry Stitches by Natalie Lymer called "Sweet and spotty Needle Wallet". If you look on the website there is a free download of this project in the column on the right.

The pin cushion is made with 2 squares sewn in a strange way.

You start with one corner sewn on the middle of the side of the other square. You keep going like this all the way around. I then added a button in the middle.

The 6 fabric coasters you have seen before in a post.

Bear Brooch

2009-11-26T16:42:00.001Z

I found this tutorial on the net, to crochet a bear and mount it as a brooch.

You need 2 big circles and 2 small, easy.

And then my daughter, can't remember which one, said it looked like a pig....maybe because of the colour of the cotton !

Anyway I wore it once and got some interest, so I can say that it is a ..nice .. bear.

You can find the tutorial on Folksy, the author is Irenestrange, and it is called an amigurimi bear.

November Calendar

2009-11-24T15:25:00.006Z

And November is going on quickly, Christmas seems to be running towards us.

This is my interpretation of our block for our perpetual calendar on BQL for this month.

The block was "Drunkards Path", and we could

machine applique a circle in the middle of a

square, then cut it in 4 to get 4 little blocks.

I complicated it a bit by putting 2 circles in, one being much smaller than the other. It was all calculated so that the final design would give the impression of a continuity between the squares on the block. It worked if you don't look too much in detail.

This photo was taken before the quilting-embroidery-ribbon were added.

I love the result, tried different fabrics, on the basis of a blue, white and red choice.

And then I thought there was still a lot of space in the red area, and added the embroidery (machine) and the ric rac ribbon.

It looks a bit old fashioned, which I find interesting.

I enjoy trying a different technique every month, and a small project gives you the opportunity to play a bit with fabrics, ribbons and quilting.

Soon I will be given the instructions for Christmas, I wonder what Kandy has done for us...

Fine cell work

2009-11-20T11:06:00.003Z

I have just been watching a video about "Fine Cell Work".

This organisation is teaching men and women in prison in England to sew, embroider, make patchworks. They produce cushions and throws sold to the public, admittedly they are not cheap but very good quality, and the designs are beautiful.

The video is very interesting, so if you have a few minutes, go and have a look.

http://www.finecellwork.co.uk/audiovideo/

They have made things for Dover Castle in a medieval inspiration and will have a piece at the V &A museum in a coming exhibition.

Baby shoes

2009-11-10T15:58:00.009Z

Julie who lives next door from me had a baby boy last Friday. We are all very excited about this new addition to their family and I made some little shoes from a pattern made by Amy Butler inher book "Little Stitches for little ones".

There are some other projects which are quite tempting. My only regret is that my own children are too old, and I think I didn't have enough time to make all the things I would have liked to make when they were baby girls.

But I'm still making some for the babies around me.

I followed the pattern in the book, done in a size 3 months in this case, but wasn't happy with the space left for the leg of the baby. I then changed the position of the velcro on the shoe, put it higher, and it works much better.

This photo with my hand is just to give you an idea of the size of the shoe. It needs to be roomy enough for the socks as well.

Now should I make another one for my young niece in France, in size 6 months...

News

2009-11-06T18:37:00.003Z

I am sorry there was a gap in my posting.

I went away in France for a week and took some sewing with me, but didn't find the time to do much. Nothing finished anyway.

We came back in time for Halloween, walking the streets with my youngest, and then on 1st Nov was the Malvern Autumn Patchwork show.

I went with my friend Jane and her daughter Amanda and it was a great day. I didn't buy too much fabric in the morning, but the afternoon was more productive.

I also bought some wadding in advance as I hate chasing cotton wadding for a project, and paying a high price. In fact what happened was that near the end of the show I mentioned it near a shop and was offered to buy whatever wadding was left for £5.50 a metre. A bargain. So instead of a roll I have pieces going from 1 1/2 metres to 4 metres, but I know that some of them will be used for small projects, so it's not a problem.

I am still looking for some black fabric for one of my projects. I am running low but the rolls in the shop have a slightly different hue, and I am getting nowhere. I left my phone number with a shop and haven't heard from them after a week. Another one has something close to the right colour, is that good enough ?

I am hoping to get more sewing done now.

Oh and I have a new computer, much faster, that should help as soon as I get used to the new features.

Enjoy your sewing..

Tilda bathing lady

2009-11-06T16:59:00.009Z

In the last 3 days I made this beautiful doll, from the tilda book "Sew Sunny Homestyle". There are a few other projects that tempt me for later.

I bought a fat quarter of the black with white spots fabric, from the Tilda collection, and a metre of white croquet ribbon. I already had the fabric for the skin, plain calico.

I had fun and am pleased

with the result.

Now it's your turn to try.

Here is a photo of the book, it has recently been translated in english, and I bought it straight away as I already love Tone Finnanger's other books. Here is a link to the product on Amazon uk no affiliation.

I was wondering how to do the hair but followed the explanation and it worked. I put some pins around her head and weaved the knitting thread around the pins. Then I sewed everything in place, and took the pins out.

I just need to put some colour on her cheeks.

Coasters

2009-10-19T08:35:00.008+01:00

This is a simple project, you can use whatever size of fabric you have at home, or some remnants or bits left at the end of another project, which is what I did.

I assembled the fabric to make squares 4 1/2"

unfinished size. Then very simply you cut a square the same dimension for the back, put them right side together on a piece of wadding. As a remark I can add that I used leftover wadding, and didn't cut it until after I had sewn around my coaster. This is easier.

So you put the walking foot on the sewing machine, start 3/4 down one side of a square, and sew 1/4" all around your square, leaving a gap at the end to turn everything right side out.You cut the corners to reduce the bulk there, and turn your coaster out.

There is some hand sewing involved now, to close the gap. I use a ladder stitch that disappears in the fabric.
The last step is to quilt each square 1/4" all the way around the top. They should finish close to 4" square, but that's not very important as long as they are all a similar size.

I can say it is a quick project, but it depends how many coasters you make, and how long it takes you to make the top. You could choose to piece it with a small block, or embroider it. I had 2 bits of trees left from another year, and used them.

I chose not to be too precious about it, because I want these little coasters to be used, and washed. They will be little presents ready to go, I don't know where yet.

I love the batiks and their colours.

I hope you find this inspiring and start yours. It could become a little Christmas present...

Blog award

2009-10-11T22:04:00.003+01:00

I was nominated by lovely Gill for the Dorset Cereals Blog award.
I don't know if I have any chance, but I ought to try to participate. As we say in french "Qui ne tente rien, n'a rien!".
So I would be very impressed and pleased if you would take a few instants to vote for me on their website : I am going to put a little banner at the bottom of my right hand side column to take you to the right place.
With lots of thanks, from Pascale.
XX

October calendar

2009-10-09T13:31:00.002+01:00

And here is my next panel for the calendar organised by Kandy for BQL. Kandy also has a blog called"A break at home" where she posts about her sewing and her family, as well as looking after us on the group site .

This October we made some windmills, in 3D. They were easy to make and effective when finished.

Cat purse

2009-10-07T14:13:00.006+01:00

This is a small project I started and finished yesterday. It is for my friend Chris who has 2 cats, and for whom I made a bag with the same fabric. I'm not sure if she still uses the bag, but she can use this on its own.

It is lined in a beige fabric, and I have used a thin wadding, plus my little label of course.

I am working on different things but they are either not finished yet, or I need somebody to help me to take a good photo. I'll show them soon.