Seams French

With the stitching and cording finished on "Cathedral Boutis Blues" , I have started my next boutis design. Whenever I design a project for myself, I like to make it relevant to my world and my experiences, just like every generation of quilters and designers has always done. Birds have always fascinated me and one of the delights of our balcony garden is the constant flurry of hummingbirds around the 3 feeders my husband faithfully tends. I am thrilled for the opportunity to observe and photograph these delicate creatures at such close range. They have inspired many of my patterns. There is resolve and focused determination in their ability to hover at the feeder with a steady, stable grace. Perhaps that's the reason I admire them and am drawn to them.     In a boutis project, narrow channels form the outline of the design. These channels are stitched first, and then individually corded with a cotton yarn, thereby adding relief that highlights the design.    The colour

Stitched in white, restitched in shades of smoky blues and then finally corded, my boutis interpretation of the Notre Dame Rose window (Rose Sud) was finished over the summer. "Stitching the Boutis Blues" , which was posted on October 10/2019, describes the inspiration and the evolution of this piece. The original intent of the project had been to make a traditional white on white boutis piece. The addition of the cut out "rosettes", a technique that I had been wanting to try for a while, were added to lend a sense of luminosity to the window. With the rosettes done, the stitching was complete and the piece was ready to be corded. But then, on April 15, 2019, when much of  the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris was destroyed in a devastating fire, a pristine, light interpretation of the rose window no longer seemed appropriate. I felt that the piece needed to be darkened, dirtied somehow, to convey this recent destruction. To achieve this darkened smokiness, I started ov

"Dancing Shamrocks" , as I have named her, is finally finished and on the bed. My hope had been to finish the quilt for our 40th wedding Anniversary, which was March 17th. 2019! It was in May of 2018 that I was ready to start the machine quilting. By November of that year, the top of the quilt was finished with only the border left to quilt. A 2019 finish seemed quite possible. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances put the project on hold from Dec.2018 until October 2019. However, from then until it's finish in April of this year, my sewing machine and I have been best of buds. Even so, we didn't quite make it for March 17th of this year, our 41st, but came close. The last stitch closing the binding went in on April 24, 2020. When squaring up so large quilt (94" x 100"), a clean floor is my only option and the parquet flooring gives me great reference points for getting it square. Unfortunately, when I laid it out, setting up for advantag

A sister project to "Boutis Blues", but with a brighter outlook, "Boutis Gold" represents hope and light. This project will require 8 - 10 of Medallion A, (see below) Medallion A and another 6 - 8 of Medallion B. (below) To create boutis, two layers of a fine white Swiss cotton batiste are stitched together into channels and small closed shapes, and are later corded. Medallion B Although traditionally cotton thread is the thread of choice, my preference for detailed stitching like this has become a 50 weight silk thread. (I use Tire thread by Superior . It's available in Canada through Cindy's Threadworks . ) As well as being a pleasure to stitch with, the contrast of gold silk on a bright white background, adds a luminescence not possible with cotton thread. The reverse side of Medallion B. Most of this project is stitched with a tiny back-stitch, (point d'arriere), one of the most frequently used stitches in boutis. The backgroun

Europe is rich with magnificent historical buildings, many dating back to medieval times and earlier. Spending time exploring some of these amazing architectural structures is always a priority and highlight for me when traveling in Europe. After reading "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett , I became particularly fascinated with cathedrals and living in France for a number of years gave me the opportunity to visit many of them. Cathedrals provide a huge source of design inspiration for me. From floor to ceiling, inside to out,  they hold a treasure trove of motifs and patterns. I have spent hours photographing and collecting data in these churches and cathedrals and they have become an important resource for me. Rose windows, in particular, fascinate me and have become a recurring theme when I'm making patterns for my boutis. The radiating bars that divide the circular windows into segments easily lend themselves to boutis design. With the help of my husband and

When a shirt (or any item of clothing) becomes an all time favourite,  it is worn beyond threadbare to such an impressive point that there are not even enough threads to mend. Replacing it wasn't an option, because the store where said shirt was purchased some 15 - 20 years ago had long since closed. What to do? While evaluating the options, I came across an almost identically coloured cotton in my stash, so maybe mending would be possible. The stash match: The shade is slightly off, but very close. The thought of unpicking all of the seams was extremely uninspiring, (understatement of the year), but the more I thought about the problem, the more of a challenge it became. So unpick is what I did. (The things we do for love) Reams of Seams (unpicked!) Once the daunting, dreaded task of unpicking was done, I used these pieces to draft new pattern pieces for the parts to be replaced. Taking another look at the shirt to be mended, I decided that even though the w