The seventh side of the hexagon / Le septième côté de l'hexagone

(I am linking this post to Amy's Sew and Tell party, be sure to check it out and see what everyone's been up to)

I am so happy to show you my finished hexie bag today.  I started working on it way back in March.  The paper piecing took me quite a while, but I enjoyed it very much.  There is something about handsewing that motivates me, probably the fact that by doing so, I really feel like the item is handmade and therefore more valuable to my eyes.

Je suis très heureuse de vous présenter aujourd'hui mon sac en hexagones, enfin terminé.  Je l'avais commencé il y a déjà un bon moment, au mois de mars.  L'assemblage des hexagones à la main, avec la technique du papier, m'a demandé beaucoup de temps, et m'a apporté aussi une grande satisfaction.  Il y a quelque chose dans la couture à la main qui me motive et m'encourage, probablement le fait qu'en travaillant lentement à la main, j'ai l'impression que l'item terminé aura une plus grande valeur, du moins à mes yeux.

When I was done piecing the hexagons, I wasted a lot of time trying to choose a lining fabric, and I realised that a solid color would have worked beautifully, but I didn't want to buy any more fabrics for this bag, so I thought about it long and hard and finally settled for this large print by Kaffe Fassett.

Il  m'a fallu si longtemps pour le terminé parce que j'hésitais sur le tissu à choisir pour la doublure intérieure.  Un tissu uni aurait fait un bel effet, mais comme j'étais décidée à ne pas acheter davantage de tissu pour ce sac et à utiliser ce que j'avais déjà à la maison, j'ai finalement opté pour ce large imprimé de fleurs par Kaffe Fassett.

I had to read the instructions more than twice before I understood how to make the lining and attach the handles, and I am still not sure that I did it exactly as the book instructed, but I must say that I am very happy with the result.

J'ai relu les instructions à plusieurs reprises avant de comprendre comment coudre la doublure et finir le sac en  y insérant les poignées.  Je ne suis toujours pas certaine de m'y être prise exactement comme dans le livre, mais je dois dire que je suis assez fière du résultat.

The pattern was intended for a knitting bag, but since I don't knit, it could be a crochet bag, or just an all-purpose bag, I like those very much!

Le patron était destiné à un sac à tricot, qui se traduit pour moi par un sac à crochet, dans lequel je pourrai ranger mes balles de laine et mes petits travaux au crochet, ou encore en faire un sac tout usage, toujours pratique!

When the temperatures rise over 30 degrees, what's a girl to do stay away from the heat?

Well, okay, playing with yarn may not be your ideal way to keep cool, but trust me, it was much better than sitting in my sewing-room-turned-oven! I made these without a specific plan, using Lucy's Summer Garden Granny Square pattern on Attic24. Now I think I'll just join them in a big square and use it as a pot holder.

My own little success, and a winner

I've been done with this pillowcase for a few days, but haven't been able to post it before today. This is what I did following the Pillowcase Crochet Along hosted by Cassie. I was pretty scared of doing the crochet border when my experience of crochet was very basic and so far away in the past. To tell the truth, I did not remember anything about crochet, except the fact that I once loved it, when I was 10 or 12 years old. I actually had to watch crochet videos on the internet to understand how to do it. Pathetic, I know, but I was determined to learn it by myself, even though my sister offered to help me. It was part of the challenge. The result is far from perfection, but I am very pleased with it. And the great thing is that now I want to try other crochet projects. I've been eyeing some very tempting granny squares lately, here and there. We'll see where that leads me.

And now, time to announce the winner of my giveaway. I've put the names in a bag, and had my boyfriend pick one.

The lucky winner is:

Henria O.

My favorite sign of spring is when I can finally stop worrying about whether my kids are underdressed for the weather and start worrying if they are overdressed! In addition to that, I love the longer days....waking up to a sunny morning instead of a cold, dark one!

Thanks to all for participating and writing such nice comments on spring and fall. They were really cool to read, and they are linked to something I did over the last week. More on this tomorrow!

Crochet Study

I learned the basis of crochet from my mom, when I was a kid, but I had not given it much of a thought for over twenty years.

Recently, I couldn't help falling in love with these pillowcases made by Beata, and when Cassie annonced her project, I knew I had to join in and make my very own. I knew just which fabric to use and could already picture the final result.

Then I thought I'd better give a try to crochet before the time came to actually make the pillowcase border. I unearthed the only hook I've ever owned, bought a couple of yarn balls, looked at some directions on the internet and was ready to crochet away...

Until I realised that this whole crochet business, which seemed simple enough when I was twelve, just got a lot more complicated with the years. It took me forever to understand how to make the double crochet, and even after I got the hang of it, I still can't figure out how not to lose any stitch as I change rows.

Last night I crocheted a piece that could have become a nice triangle, had I kept going, and I thought it was pretty funny too, but then I was also very tired. I know it is just a matter of making "spare" stitches when I switch from simple to double crochet, but the answer still eludes me.

Hopefully I can find it in time to crochet a border to my pillowcase. I am off to once again undo my almost-triangle piece and start over again. They say practice makes perfect, but what I actually wonder is just how much practice will get me anywhere near good enough...

Have a good week!