Sew & Tell - Amy Butler's Challenge

I was very excited when I read about the Amy Butler's challenge on Amylouwho, and I wanted to participate. Small problem though: I barely had any Amy Butler's fabrics. I am just not such a huge fan, and my fabric stash is still quite modest.

However, I had bought a charm pack of Love thinking that I might make a table runner for my fabric cabinet with it someday. The challenge made that day come much faster than was planned! And I am glad it motivated me to complete one more project. You can't see because the pictures are awfully dark on this rainy morning, but this runner adds a great spark of colors to my craft room.

I did not have enough time to buy more Amy Butler fabrics though (because I have to order it from the US), so I cheated and used a Denyse Schmidt print for the borders and some random dots for the backing and binding.

Be sure to check the whole extravaganza and comment for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

Happy sewing!

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

Slowly slipping

We've had a beautiful weekend over here in Quebec, all sunshine and warmth, still I couldn't help but notice, while watching our visitor cat play in the lowering sun, that we are undeniably slipping towards fall.

I took a good look around my backyard and saw all the colorful signs of automn.

Beautifully textured raspberry leaves turning orange and gold.

Striking flames of amaranths at their tallest and brightest.

Ripe berries calling my feathered friends to the banquet.

Giant sunflowers gently bowing their heads, heavy with seeds.

Busy bees sucking the last few drops of pollen from the gaillardias.

Hope you enjoy the changing colors as much as I do.

Sylvie

Paper piecing love

I never thought I'd try paper piecing one day. Every time I read about it, I told myself I would never have the patience for it. But as they say, never say never...

I came across this cute hexie caddy pincushion on Penny's Hands last week, and it was love at first sight. The tutorial was very clear and it looked easy, even with all the paper piecing and hand sewing. I decided to give it a try, and it was a blast to make. I sat in the sun on my patio Saturday afternoon and pieced all the hexagons together. That would not have been possible had I needed my sewing machine to make it.

I will give my new caddy a place of choice on my sewing table, it will look great in my new decor, but more about it in the coming posts.

Have a great week!

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!

This week's lucky finds

I have a confession to make. I don't like shopping. Usually. But once in a while, I get on a roll and make great finds. This week was one of those times. It started on Monday when I visited Carac'Terre, a pottery expo. I fell in love with the little teal pitcher above, which was handmade by a ceramic student, and I just had to have it. My luck started there when I got the cup as a freebie with my purchase. How cool is that?

On Tuesday I went to a clearance store just around the corner from my office. And look what I found!

Vintage cotton ribbon in great flower and veggie patterns. Yards and yards of them! For next to nothing, only 2$ a roll.

I then took a few days off from my shopping spree, until my boyfriend suggested we go to a flea market yesterday. How could I say no to him? And what did I find buried in a cardboard box under a counter? This colorful textured tin can, dating back to when you could still buy something that wasn't made in China. This one came from Holland.

And I just love the painted flowers on the cover.

And now, the "pièce de résistance", this pair of wicker chairs that I found on kijiji.ca and bought from a nice lady for 35$. We picked them up yesterday. Once accessorised with cushions and throws, they will be a great addition to our living room.

Don't you wish every week could bring such lucky finds?

I will be linking this post to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality. Go check her great finds of the week and all the other links.

My first quilt top

This is such a relief to have finally completed this quilt top, my first ever. I started working on it months ago, and got stuck on the inner border which, according to the pattern, alternated black and ivory bands. I tried to do so, but I could never match my seams and the result was pitiful. So, I got bored with the whole thing, folded it and left it in a corner of my craft room.

Recently while reading Jane Brocket's latest book The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking, I realised that this quilt did not have to be so complicated. I liked the way Jane works from instinct rather than by following rules, and I thought why can't I do something like that too? So, I decided to digress from the pattern, although it really did look amazing, and go with a simple black inner border. This was much more within my reach, and at least it made me finish the quilt top.

Now I have to decide what fabric to use for the backing, and I can't think of anything. I'd like it to be colorful as the top, but I don't want to use any more fabrics from this Keri Beyer's collection. Any suggestion of pattern or specific fabric would be more than welcome, so please leave a comment if anything comes to mind.

I am linking this post to Amylouwho's Sew and Tell, where I have spied some gorgeous things, including her own Amy Butler's Love Quilt. You've got to check it out!

Sylvie