One More Bag / Un nouveau sac

I'd had this bag on my project list for a long time, and I finally came around to making it last week.  The pattern is "I'll have one of everything bag", by Anna Maria Horner.  It was easier to make than I had expected, and I really like the braided handles.  If you would like to make yourself one too, check out this book.

J'avais depuis longtemps ce projet sur ma liste, et j'ai enfin pris le temps de le coudre la semaine dernière.  Le patron est "I'll have one of everything bag", par Anna Maria Horner.  Je l'ai trouvé plus simple à réaliser que j'avais imaginé, et j'aime beaucoup les poignées tressées.  Si vous avez envie d'en coudre un aussi, le patron est disponible dans ce livre.

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!

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

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!

From book to fabric

I came across this book last weekend and I just had to buy it. I've been leafing through it since then and I love the beautiful pictures and the cute little projects, all designed by Corinne Crasbercu from Marie-Claire Idées magazine, a favorite of mine.

It makes me feel less guilty to have bought the floral fabric in the background without any idea of what I might make of it, because now I am thinking of using it to make a bag like this one:

What do you think?

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!

Back to the sewing room

I have been away from the computer for a long time, trying to make the most of the wonderful weather we have had in September. Summer here has been all cold and rain, so I tried to make up for all the wasted time.

Now the rain is back and I will be spending more time indoors, downstairs in my little craft room. Lately I have been working on some quick and easy projects, just to get reaquainted with my sewing machine.

These book covers are a real charm to make and very easy to adjust to any book size. I made the pink one for my sister and kept the blue one for myself.

I also made this bag for my sister, but I am thinking of making one for myself too. I recycled a fabric shower curtain to make it and I like the fact that it has three pockets. I think it would be great as a library bag. The pattern, a super easy one, comes from this book.

Next up, I have to start working on some Christmas gifts, and a special request from my boyfriend who wants to have a pencil case for his upcoming return to school.

Sylvie

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