Patchworked Hangers / Cintres en patchwork

Last time I came here, I was working on some tiny patchworked pieces.  Here is what they became:  patchworked hangers.   They are a variation of those I made last year.  These were a great way to use up my smallest scraps, and I do like the colorful result.

Lors de ma dernière visite ici, je travaillais sur des tout petits patchworks.  Voici ce qu'ils sont devenus:  des housses de cintres.  Ces dernières sont semblables à celles que j'avais faites l'an dernier.  C'est un petit projet parfait pour utiliser mes plus petits retailles de tissu, et j'aime bien le résultat tout en couleurs.

I only did the patchwork on one side, and used my new Dumb Dots for the back.  Coordinated rick-rack all around and some satin ribbon completes the look.

Je n'ai fait qu'un seul côté en patchwork, et j'ai utilisé mon nouveau tissu "Dumb Dots" pour l'endos.  Un ric-rac coordonné tout autour et un bout de ruban de satin complètent la décoration.

Next up, I will be working on a special project for my turtles.  I don't show them much on my blog because I know that most people don't like turtles as much as cats and dogs, but you'll see that they can be pretty adorable.  Just wait to see what I have in store for their makeover!

Mon prochain projet en est un spécial qui met mes tortues en vedettes.  Je ne les montre pas souvent sur mon blog parce que je sais que la plupart des gens préfèrent les chats et les chiens aux tortues, mais vous verrez qu'elles peuvent être tout aussi adorables.  Attendez de voir ce que j'ai en tête pour leur transformation beauté!

Open and Press / Ouvrir et presser

Don’t you just love it when you find a new tool that simplifies your life?  That is what happened with the little Clover mini iron that I got for Christmas.

N’est-ce pas génial quand on découvre un nouvel outil pour nous simplifier la vie?  C’est ce qui m’est arrivé avec le fer à repasser miniature Clover que j’ai reçu pour Noël.

I tried it last week and it was a revelation.  I had some very small scraps of fabrics to piece together and needed to open all my seams as I went.  Because my scraps are very small and because I wanted to make the best of them, I reduced my seams to less than ¼” on most pieces, and I usually find it very difficult to press them open with my regular iron.  The mini iron worked like a charm and saved my fingers from the usual burns.

Je l’ai essayé la semaine dernière et j’ai eu une révélation.  J’avais de tous petits morceaux de tissu à assembler et il me fallait ouvrir chaque couture à mesure que j’avançais.  Parce que mes morceaux de tissus étaient très petits et parce que je voulais pouvoir conserver la plus grande partie des motifs, j’ai réduit mes coutures en deçà du quart de pouce habituel.  J’ai souvent du mal à presser d’aussi étroites coutures avec mon fer à repasser régulier.  Le fer miniature s’est avéré être l’outil idéal pour le faire et il m’a évité les brûlures aux doigts que je m’inflige trop souvent.

I had some doubts about the temperature that it could reach, and whether it would be enough to easily press seams, but I was impressed.  There are two different settings for the temperature.  I only tried the one for cotton, the other one is for more delicate fabrics.

J’avais au préalable quelques doutes sur le degré de température que ce petit fer pouvait atteindre.  Je craignais que la température ne soit pas assez élevée pour aisément aplatir les coutures, et j’avoue que j’ai été impressionnée.  Il y a deux réglages de température sur ce fer.  J’ai essayé seulement la plus élevée qui convient au coton, l’autre servant aux tissus plus délicats.

So, if you do lots of patchworks with small pieces, I am certain that this mini iron would be a great addition to your quilting toolbox.

En bref, si vous êtes de celles qui s’adonnent régulièrement à l’assemblage de petits morceaux, je suis convaincue qu’un fer miniature serait un atout dans votre trousse d’accessoires.

As to what these mini patchworks are destined to, you will have to wait a few days before I show you the final result.  Any guesses?

Et pour ce qui est de ces mini patchworks, vous devrez attendre quelques jours avant de voir leur usage final.  Vous voulez deviner?

While I was gone - Part 2 / Pendant mon absence - 2e partie

I have been working on a few other projects during the fall.  One of them is this small patchworked basket, which I made using my favorite pattern from Pink Penguin.  This is the fifth basket I make from this pattern.  The fabrics I used for this one are Liberty of London.  I love the prints from Liberty, but I found it a bit difficult to work with such delicate fabrics.

J'ai travaillé sur quelques autres projets pendant l'automne.  L'un d'entre eux est ce petit panier en patchwork, que j'ai réalisé en utilisant mon patron préféré de Pink Penguin.  C'est le cinquième panier que je couds à partir de ce patron.  Les tissus que j'ai utilisés pour celui-ci sont de la maison Liberty of London.  J'adore les imprimés de Liberty, mais j'ai trouvé un peu difficile de travailler avec des tissus aussi délicats.

I finally completed this chair pad that was lying unfinished in my studio for months.  All that needed to be done was the quilting with embroidery thread.  I sat for an evening in front of the TV and that was done.

J'ai aussi enfin complété ce petit coussin de chaise qui traînait dans mon studio depuis des mois.  Il ne me restait pourtant qu'à le piquer avec du fil à broder.  Une petite soirée devant la télé et le tour était joué.

Finally, this is not a sewing project, but it is one that kept me busy for a few days:  we started a little transformation in our laundry room.  This is one of the last two rooms that remained as they were when we bought the house over three years ago.  The color, a dark lime green, was ugly and there were holes in the wall, where a shelf used to be.  Since we needed to replace our old washer/dryer, it was the ideal moment to repair and paint the walls.

Finalement, le dernier n'est pas un projet de couture, mais c'en est un qui m'a tenue occupée pendant quelques jours:  nous avons commencé une petite transformation de notre buanderie.  C'est l'une des deux dernières pièces de la maison qui n'avaient pas changé depuis que nous avons acheté la maison il y a un peu plus de trois ans.  La couleur, un vert lime éclatant, était affreuse et il y avait encore des trous dans le mur là ou une tablette avait jadis été installée.  Comme nous devions remplacer nos vieux électros, le moment était idéal pour réparer et repeindre les murs.

We used the same color as the one in our family room, because we had a gallon left from it, and the color matched well with the flooring.  However, the new washer/dryer are lower than the old ones, and so we can see the big hole in the wall where the plumbing is.  I guess we could move the plumbing and replaster the wall, but I am trying to find an easier and more creative way to deal with this little problem.  I may have had an idea this morning, but I will show you when we are done in this room.  We still need to install cupboards on the wall for storage, and some decorations.

Nous avons utilisé la même couleur que celle de notre salle familiale, parce qu'il nous en restait un galon, et la couleur se mariait bien à celle du plancher.  Cependant, le modèle des nouveaux électros laisse voir le grand trou dans le mur ou se trouve la plomberie.  Je suppose que nous pourrions déplacer les tuyaux et refaire le mur, mais j'essaie de trouver une manière plus simple et plus créative de traiter ce petit problème.  Je pense avoir eu une bonne idée ce matin, mais je la dévoilerai quand nous aurons fini le travail dans cette pièce.  Il nous reste encore à installer des armoires pour ajouter du rangement, et quelques décorations colorées.

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

Birthday wishes

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, and I had put together a little present that I totally enjoyed sewing from some japanese fabric scraps that I love.

I made this little case for the super cute scissors I found at a Singer clearance center. Again, my inspiration came from this book. I just can't get enough of all the cute projects in it.

And I put together a needle book with the rest of the scraps, just for fun.

It all went together in a patchwork basket, from the tutorial by Pink Penguin, along with some Kaffe Fassett's FQs and a covered button kit from Cutie Stuffs.

Now let's just hope she likes the color pink!!!

Sylvie

Laundry Day

I finished these laundry bags late last night. Not that I needed them so badly, but this is an idea I got earlier this summer and when we were away on vacation, I realized it would be nice to have them next time.

I don't know about you, but every time we go to a hotel or a B&B, I find myself looking for a plastic bag to keep our dirty clothes out of the way. And each time I tell myself how much nicer it would be to have something a little more stylish than a boring plastic bag.

I got the inspiration from this book, which I simply love for all the great fabrics featured and the beautiful pictures. I changed all the dimensions of the pattern, however, because I wanted it to fit my needs and the size of the fabrics I wanted to use. Many of them are vintage and I only had a small quantity of each.

Oh, and by the way, sorry for the dark pictures, no sunshine today, it rained all night, and you can see below how little help was my lighting assistant...

I will be linking this post to Amylouwho's Sew and Tell party, so please check it out, lots of lovely finishes this week, as always!

Sew & Tell - Twice the fun

I am very proud of myself this week for finishing not one, but two projects. Ok, these are not exactly queen size quilts, but I'm not ready for that anyway and so I am very happy with my small accomplishments.

First this tiny handbag, made using the very simple Butterick's Retro Tie Bag pattern, which you can download for free from their website.

The outside fabric is a nice little pied-de-poule print that I simply adore, and which looks great with my spring jacket. Inside are hidden huge colorful flowers.

My second finish this week is Pink Penguin's Fabric Basket. I love this pattern and the fact that it allows me to use some really small pieces of fabric, like the tiny japanese prints that I've used for the patchwork on this one. I only had scraps of these fabrics, but there was enough for one basket. I think it looks at its best with really small prints, and I have one more in the making with other japanese fabrics.

Don't miss out all the great links on Amy's blog, plus the most adorable baby picture!

And come back to visit me on Monday as I will be offering some goodies in the Sew, Mama, Sew's May Giveaway Day.

Sylvie

Sew and Tell - A small debut!

This is my first time at Sew and Tell Friday, but I think it is a great forum and it may motivate me to actually finish each project that I start.

This little project is one that I've wanted to make for a while, ever since I learned that the fabric shop in town was turning green and not giving plastic bags anymore to pack our goodies.

I totally agree with this and was interested in buying the bag that they offer, with the store's logo on it... That is, until I saw the so-called bag. You would think that a fabric shop would make them out of, well, fabric, but no, they are made of some kind of plastic, like a grocery bag.

This seemed incongruous to me, so I did not buy their bag and decided instead that I would make my own shopping bag to take with me when I go fabric shopping.

Here it is:

and it is reversible, so depending on my mood or the season, I can use the spring side, above, with butterflies and colorful ferns, or the automn side, below, with fallen leaves and squirrels.

The fabric I used is made of bamboo and is lighter than quilting cotton, so that I can fold the bag pretty small and put it in my coat pocket or handbag - although it might still be too big for any of my handbags, since they tend to be tiny things, unless, of course, I got myself a new bag. Not that I want one, but if I HAVE to...

I think it is a pretty simple pattern to come up with, but I used Indygo Junction's Building Block Bags IJ771.

Please head on to Amylouwho to check out all the other great finished projects of the week!

Is it too late or way too early for Christmas stuff?

Honestly, I think it doesn't really matter as long as I enjoy what I am doing.

I realised, a few weeks before Christmas, that it would be nice to have some placemats for the season. Problem was, I did not have any holiday fabric and anyway I was much too busy with getting everything else ready for Christmas. Still, I ordered some fabric and received it during the holidays, but it is only now that I have time to sit down and sew what I had in mind.



My boyfriend wanted something very traditional as far as colors go, so he chose solid green and red fabrics to go along with the penguin pattern.



I, on the other hand, have a thing for the Be Merry fabrics, so I opted for brighter colors. I still need to quilt and add the bias, but I already am pretty satisfied with how it turned out, knowing that I did not use any pattern.

I am hoping to have time to finish them during the weekend, but today on my day off from work, I will definitely go play outside as the sun is finally back for a visit with some warm temperatures.

My bag and a walk in town

Wow, my first post was about this bag, and I've only just finished it last weekend. It sure took me some time, but I am very happy with the result. I like the country look of it, which fits very well in my home decor (or at least what I want my home decor to become...). Both sides are a little different, one is mostly reds and the other has more browns and greens.

We had a glimpse of summer last Saturday, when the temperature rose to almost 30 degrees. My boyfriend and I drove downtown and walked in beautiful old Quebec for the whole afternoon. If you have never had a chance to visit, let me take you on a little guided tour.


We started off at Place d'Youville and followed the walls of the fortifications.


Found the first flowers of the spring right across Parliament Hill.

Met some sheep behind Château Frontenac.

Admired the frescoes in Quartier Petit Champlain.


Spied on some cool roof terraces.


And walked down my favorite street, which is really a backstreet squeezed between the cliff and a busy street filled with restaurants and art galleries. This little street's name is Sous le Cap, which means something like Under the Cliff.

I couldn't resist taking one more picture of this favorite spot, Passage du Chien, or Dog's Lane if you prefer, a cute little dark alley.

And this other one, hum I guess I have a thing for dark alleys! This one is under the Musée de la Civilisation

And we finished our day sitting on the quay at Pointe-à-Carcy, watching the boats on the St.Lawrence River.

Can't wait to have more of these summer days!

Sylvie

Take a leap

Here it is, I have finally decided to take a leap into the bloggers world! I have been reading blogs, mostly craft blogs, for about two years and have found them to be an invaluable source of inspiration and new knowledge.

I would consider myself a crafty person, I have been interested in paper and fabric crafts since my early childhood, although I have never learned any technique properly. I just pick things as I go and give it a try, the way my mother has always done, going from quilting to oil painting to scrapbooking to anything new that would strike her fancy.

Lately I have got myself a sewing machine and have started experimenting with it, getting acquainted with its many possibilities. I am working on a country bag made of a patchwork of assorted check fabrics (from a pattern I found in an old issue of Handmade, vol.22, no.2)

I just seem to have a thing for checks these days (I am currently shopping for the perfect checkered sofa for our living room, too). When I told my mom about my plan for the bag and the fact that I did not have enough different check fabrics, she came up with a bag filled with scraps of exactly the kind of fabrics that I had in mind. Thanks mom!

To this point, I have sewed all sixteen squares separately and will now use a needle and thread to assemble them together by hand