Skip to main content
The mimosa trees were already in full bloom on our arrival, and by now, most of the early flowering shrubs and trees provide a colourful accent to the all the light coloured stone houses that line the streets.

We had hoped for sunshine when we got back to “Le Grande Sud” 4 weeks ago. Spring has been a little reluctant to make a firm commitment this year.
However, the Saturday market in town already offers “produits du terroir” (locally grown produce), in the form of asparagus and “garriguettes” ( very aromatic, flavourful strawberries ).

In everything that I see, I can visualize the next quilt, or wall hanging or table setting. Thank goodness for the digital camera, which allows me to record these images, and refer back to them as often as necessary.
I am currently designing several new pieces which will make it to the web site before too long. The problem here is the same problem that I face in Vancouver. There are only 24 hours in a day, and sleep seems to be a necessary part of life! So I put in the necessary hours of sleep required. When morning finally arrives, I’m eager to get started with the new day and to discover more about this textile art.


In the meantime, Leah is back in Vancouver, hand piecing her way through a 17oo piece quilt. (Is she kidding?!?) I am also hard at work trying to improve my computer skills, in all areas, but in particular, for use in the design process.
Leah and I share ideas and provide help and support to each other on an almost daily basis (our version of “on-line support”). We have been known to each sit at our computer until the wee hours of the night (for me), and browse the web, while having a running dialogue via skype. Being able to work together this way has made our 2 continent partnership quite viable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Boutis: Traditional French Needlework

" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t...
3 comments
Read more

Amish Hand Quilting in France with Esther Miller

Esther Miller, was born into an Amish family in the U.S., and now lives in Germany where she has for many years taught the techniques and methods of Amish hand quilting to anyone interested in learning these skills. As a child, she would closely watch as the women of her community worked together on a quilt, and eventually she was rewarded with a needle of her own and encouraged to join the group. Through the years, she has mastered these skills and techniques and now generously shares them with anyone who has a genuine desire to learn. Esther Miller in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace France. An example of her own work, Esther brings this intricately and perfectly hand stitched wall quilt to class as inspiration for her students.  Last week, at the "European Meeting of Patchwork" in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace France, www.patchwork-europe.com , I had the privilege of taking a 2 day workshop with Esther. The Amish...
1 comment
Read more

Blocking and Squaring Boutis

The door of her cage has been opened. She is free to fly off and find her destiny. After many months of hand stitching and then many more months of cording, my little "colibri" is ready to set off on her own. As this was my first attempt at designing so large a boutis piece, it was a learning curve. All of the tight swirls, curls and circles are a great deal more difficult and time consuming to cord then are the longer more gentle channels. Maintaining an even tension is absolutely necessary throughout the process, so patience comes in very handy when doing the cording. The process of stitching and cording a work of boutis subjects the fabric to a lot of handling and manipulation that can distort the design. For this reason, once all of the stitching and cording is complete, the boutis must be washed, blocked and squared.  The first step of washing is to remove all traces of the marking pencil as well as any soil that may have collected over the many months of working w...
17 comments
Read more