"Pour L'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread)

The language of thread and fibre is clearly an international language. Recently I had the pleasure of attending "Pour L'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread), an international exhibition of quilts and needlework, held in Nantes, on the westwern coast of France, from April 27-30. Having only 2 days at the exposition, it was very difficult for me to choose which events and courses to partcipate in. There were so many excellent opportunities, but only limited time. After some deliberation, I chose to spend one day in a course learning about the traditional technique of "boutis" with Hubert Valeri, and the other day I chose to spend enjoying the gallery of quilts on display by some very talented quilters and needleworkers.

Among the quilters who had their work on display were the "Piece O' Cake" gals, Linda Jenkins and Becky Goldsmith. The room showcasing their work was energized with a brilliant vitality. Jan Patek was also there with her warm and cozy "Little House on the Prairie" exhibit, as were many other talented quilters from all parts of the world.

The show is sponsored by "Quiltmania", a vibrant French quilting magazine, that is now also being printed in English, and available in North America. (It's well worth looking for.) And the vendors came from all parts of the world as well, selling products for every possible quilting need. What Fun!

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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

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 quilting method requires a free-standing simple

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

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