Seams French

"Joyeuses Paques" Happy Easter A visit to the local greenhouse this past week provided for a colourful and cheerful welcome back to the south of France. Although the weather has been unseasonably cloudy and wet, the brilliant burst of colours at our favourite gardening centre did much to brighten the mood. This gloriously golden primula found it's way home with us. The shop was ablaze with brilliant oranges and yellows. The citrus trees in the yard were heavy with fruit. Kumquat trees ready to be planted in someones garden Neon pinks and oranges seem to have joined chartreuse as the "les couleurs du jour". Pretty arrangements ready for Easter. More primulas that now brighten up our balcony. It's no wonder that so many quilters and other fibre artists choose flowers as their design subject. The natural beauty and brilliance of a flower is always inspirational, and will always find a welcome home in all things thread...

It's that time of the year, and we're on the road again. Well, we're almost on the road again. By this time next week, I should be sitting at my desk in Montpellier and posting my blog from there. Hopefully the sun will be streaming through the windows with a warming hug, welcoming us back to the clear blue skies of the south of France. After a winter of oppressive dark clouds and of unusually heavy rains, the blue sky will be welcome. For the flight over, aside from the usual books and magazines to keep me occupied and entertained, I like to have a further variety of options to choose from. My hummingbird boutis has seen some progress and will come along with me. Cording does not require the same precision accuracy as stitching does, so it's a good project for travel. As you can see, there is still quite a bit of cording to do. Because redwork is easier to see when lighting is less than optimal, it is also a good project for travel. These four little embr...

Because I sell some of the things that I make, it's important to have a system in place whereby I can easily identify the fabrics used in the item, as well as find the pattern and construction details. It has taken a while to design a system that is functional and efficient. Since I have only recently started to use this system, time will tell how useful it will actually be. Organization is an ever evolving process for me that must adapt as requirements change. Last year, I sold these four placemats. Since then, I have had a request for 4 more that are the same or similar. Because the red and beige bird "toile" was the only fabric left in the stash, the other fabrics had to be matched and re-purchased. Placemats-"Cours I" To help with this process of matching fabrics, my daughter and I had catalogued all of my fabrics according to colour a few years ago. A 3"x3" sample was cut from each fabric and glued to a sheet of cardstock with other fabri...

What do you do with all those little bits of thread left over on an almost empty spool? Well, you save them until a couple of meters of that exact colour might save the day (or the quilt). Right? Hmmm...! More then likely, they will just keep multiplying and become more and more irritating as they get in the way of the new spools that are invited to join the collection. They seem to multiply like bunnies! Well, the other day I had an inspired idea. I pre-wash almost all of my fabric before I use it in a quilt. Before washing it in the machine, I finish the edges with a zig zag stitch to prevent the fabric from unravelling. As I was looking for just the right shade of burgundy to do that, all of those almost empty spools kept getting in my way and falling onto the floor, rolling all over the place. To keep them out of the way, I removed them from the thread drawer and placed them on the table, near the machine. Hmmm...! It was a light bulb moment. (Why did it take so many year...