Wanna Swap?

Karen from Sew Many Ways is having her first Swap Meet Weekend and I thought it might be fun to join in and see how it goes. What I have to offer is one full yard of Kaffe Fassett Rosette print, which I think is beautiful, but I bought it for one specific project and now it just doesn't fit with the other fabrics, so I would be happy to let it go to someone who could use it.  And just so you can check shipping fees, I am located in Quebec city, Canada.

What I would like to swap it for?  It could be either another Kaffe Fassett print or some Phillip Jacobs.  I am also collecting polka dot prints and vintage calico fabrics , and they don't have to be a full yard, they can be a bunch of nice scraps, since most of my projects are quite small.  So, don't be shy, let me know what you have to swap and we'll see if we can make a happy match!

Visit Karen here to join in the swap party!

Sylvie

Craft Book Challenge - January

I finally came around to making this patchwork pincushion that I liked so much from the book Tout en patch'..., which I have mentionned numerous times on this blog.  It is, by far, my favorite craft book from my small collection, and I return to it quite often for easy small projects.

The pieces for this patchwork were really small, some less than half an inch wide, so I decided to try paper-piecing them, and it worked like a charm.  There is something about hand sewing that I find very relaxing and I have enjoyed making this little piece.  I think the hardest part was selecting the fabrics, which I chose from my vintage scraps collection.

You can still join in the challenge here, and see what other participants have been making.  For February, I will try something red to be in the spirit of Valentine's Day, crossing my fingers that I can get an earlier start than I did in January.

Happy crafting everyone!

Sylvie

Paper-piecing Challenge

I've had such a slow crafting start this year, I feel pretty bad about it.  I had a very nice project all laid out, the "I'll take one of everything bag", a pattern from Anna Maria Horner's book Seams to me. I had ordered the fabric especially for this project and went as far as cutting out the paper pattern from the book. Then I spent an evening trying different layouts with the fabric, and calculating how to cut it so I would still have enough for the lining and the braided handles.  I never came to a final decision and the project is still waiting, the fabric neatly piled up on the end of my ironing board.  This was meant to be my project for this month's Craft Book Challenge, but now I have to switch to something else because there is no way I can make this bag over the weekend.

So I took out my vintage fabric scraps and decided to make a paper-pieced pincushion I've had my eye on for quite a while.  I only had time to get started on a few pieces tonight, but hopefully I can put it together this weekend.  It promises to take quite a few hours, though, as it will all be hand sewn.

Sylvie

Fairies and Snow

A fresh layer of snow is covering my little corner of the world today, fluffy and beautifully white.  The sky was glowing pink last night, and this morning the trees were straight out of a fairy tale. 

I've had fairies on my mind these past few days, while I am reading this great novel, The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. It is the story of a four-year-old English girl abandonned on a wharf in Australia, and the journey of her grand-daughter, ninety years later, to unravel the mystery and find out who that child really was.  Her starting point is a fairy tales book which belonged to her grand-mother, and with it we travel back in time, and from Australia to Cornwall.

It might be the best new winter reading I've had in a long time.  For some reason, I tend to re-read my favorite books in winter: Girl with a Pear Earring, I Capture the Castle, Frozen Music, Emily of New Moon, Quelque chose à l'intérieur.  Their long-time acquaintance keeps me warm and comfy during the cold days.

  

I might come back tomorrow with a report on my crafting activities - or lack thereof.  In the meantime, I keep looking for traces of my own fairies,  little blue-feathered, peanut-eating fairies...

Sew and Tell - Holiday Recap

Why is it that every year I tell myself that I will start sewing presents early, only to get caught on December 23 frantically handsewing the last pieces close?  I guess I like to live under pressure, and I sure got plenty of that this year.  But it was well worth the trouble because I am glad of what I made and the little presents were appreciated by the recipients.

I made this simple bag for my sister Nathalie, who likes birds and purple.  The pattern is from a French book called "Tout en patch..." by Corinne Crasbercu, and you can see what it's all about here.  My sister and I actually exchanged our handmade gifts, she made some lovely crocheted items for me.

I couldn't resist the urge of making yet another of those lovely patchwork baskets from Pink Penguin.  This one, my fourth, was for my mother, and I filled it with japanese paper scraps for her scrapbooking and cardmaking, and with a few cross-stitched ornaments that I had made.

I also made her a couple of laundry bags (also from "Tout en patch...") that she will get to use in her upcoming trip to Cuba.

And as if I wasn't busy enough with the gift making, I decided on a whim to make a couple of chinese puzzles that we used in a game at our Christmas party.  They don't look like much, but trust me, they were a lot of work!

Want to see what everyone else made in December?  Hit the Sew and Tell button on my sidebar and find out on Amy's blog!

Sylvie

A New Year, a Challenge and other fun things

You may have noticed  a new button at the top of my sidebar, Craft Book Challenge.  Liesl from Liesl Made has challenged us to use our craft books and make at least one project from them every month for the year to come.  I think it's brilliant.  I have a small collection of craft books, but I've only used 4 or 5 of them so far, so I've decided to join in and see if I can keep up.  I will start with a bag pattern found in Seams to Me, by Anna Maria Horner.  I've already got the pattern cut out and the fabrics chosen, so hopefully I can make it in January.  I'll keep you posted on that.  You can check out the challenge here and join in too, it will be a lot of fun.

And if you need some more inspiration to get you started in 2011, check out this great compilation of tutorials made by Ursula at Muffins and More.  I know I've already bookmarked a few to try out in the coming months.

To start the New Year with some colors, I've made a new pair of pillowcases with fun patterns.  After last year's cows, let me present you my new monkeys!  I've used the very easy and quick tube method to make these.

And lastly, to answer Susanne's question, the mosaics in my previous post were made using a little software called Collage Creator.  It is meant for scrapbooking and is very easy to use.  You can download it for free here

I'll see you all later with new crafting projects!

Sylvie.