Seams French

A boutis star to celebrate the winter solstice. Grand Baby H , now the young Lady H, turns 3. I can't imagine a better reason for celebrating! Wishing everyone a very happy  Christmas season.

Choosing and Prepping Materials Although I have quilted on silk in the past, never has it been on a scale like the 100" x 100" whole cloth quilt I am currently working on . There are  so many things to consider when quilting with less familiar materials like dupioni silk.  There's the question of  prewashing or not? Some say yes, others say never. Underline? When is it necessary? How will it affect the loft? Markers react differently on silk. Blue wash-outs can spread and must be washed out after the quilt is made, (you are then committed to pre-washing the silk).  Chalk marks easily and is fairly visible initially, but will rub off long before the large quilt is completed. What will show up the best on a dark fabric? Battings. Wool? High loft polyester? 80/20? Combinations of two? Partial combination, like trapunto style (see below). Which threads to use? Colour? Weight? Will it highlight the main motifs? Which thread disappears into t...

"Enjoy the delight of discovery as you try something new. Give yourself permission not to know exactly where you are going. Yet note that creating improvisational quilts is never arbitrary or accidental; It requires active discernment in determining each design choice."   Quote by permission of the author, Patricia Belyea In her book "East Meets West Quilts: Explore Improv with Japanese Inspired Designs" , Patricia Belyea introduces the quilter to a fun and fresh method of improvisational piecing using Japanese prints as her inspiration. Written by Patricia Belyea. Photography by Kate Baldwin. Published by Abrams, New York, 2017. Patricia's comfortable approach to improv piecing eases the reluctant improv quilter (eg. ... me ) to drop those nasty self imposed inhibitions and restrictions and have fun playing with colour and pattern, while at the same time providing a safety net with a few basic concepts. Using strong solids next to vintage yukatas,...

Little pouches come in handy for a number purposes. They can provide a protective sleeve for cell phones, mini tablets, cameras, etc. Or, by adding a looped cord to use as a handle, it can serve as a small evening bag to accommodate essentials. When I spend a lot of time making something, it's nice if there's a practical purpose to the item. This is the second tri-fold butterfly pouch that I have made. It is a little larger than the first, and the design has evolved somewhat. The 2nd, newer version of the butterfly pouch. The original butterfly pouch; smaller with different motifs. The latest pouch is lined with a grey cotton and assembled in the same way as I did the first. See the first pouch here . Open front. Back and front flap. This close-up of the butterfly highlights the background filler stitch. The stitch, called "point rapproche" (meaning back and forth stitch), has a similar effect as the basic stipple stitch in machine quilting....

It's already Thanksgiving in Canada. Where did the summer go? Wishing everyone on both sides of the 49th parallel a wonderful autumn weekend.

Although I have not written about boutis in a very long time, it is still very much a part of what I do. Over the last year, aside from making progress on some earlier projects (completing some), I am constantly working on new designs. With all the time and effort that goes into making a piece of boutis, it's nice if at the end there is a practical use for what I have just made. The pouches that I have been working on can have a variety of uses, such as sleeves for cell phones and sunglasses,  holding sewing notions, etc.  The first six images show three of the little pouches (or sleeves) that have been my experimental playground. The pattern evolves with each pouch as I work out the design kinks and look for better, more efficient methods and materials. An example is the circular surround enclosing the little butterfly motif below. In it's current state, it looks quite unfinished at the lower end and will need some reworking. This is a tri-fold pouch which is stitc...

Just Buzzing Around Finishing some "vintage" Phd's (Projects half done) is a quick way to make a bit of a dent in my self imposed goal to "Scrap the Stash" (well, ....., reduce it anyway). Years ago, when we still spent part of each year in Montpellier, France, these 8 placemats had been cut out and prepped, ready to quilt. But as often happens, the project was interrupted and the materials were "filed" under "Later". Well, "later" finally came this summer and the placemats got done.   To applique the little bumble bees, I used "Appliquik", a light weight iron on fusible, and then machine satin stitched around the wings and body. The backing fabric is the typical Provencal cotton found in most French markets. The quality isn't the best, but the colours and designs are a happy reminder of those sunny, warm days in "le grand sud". All of the quilting is free motion. The swirly border is mea...

Sew with the Flow Having started this post sometime in June, it was to be a bit of an update of what was on my stitching list for the summer. As often happens, unpredictable events take us from our routine schedule and force a re-prioritization of plans. Therefore the post never got published, and the motto "sew with the flow" became my daily mantra. A number of the projects below have been completed, progress was made on some, while others were not even touched. First up on the list of priorities was the whole cloth silk quilt that I'm making for my husband and myself. The design is well under way, and as soon as there is a large chunk of time, I will start transferring the pattern onto the silk. It will not be an easy task, but I'm very anxious to get going on it. Hummingbirds and gardenias are a major design element. As are shamrocks. The top of the quilt is a teal dupioni silk (centre of the photo). On the back will be the dark navy/tealish Northco...

When I came back from the "Curves and Composition with Yukatas" workshop a few weeks ago, the four quadrants of my quilt top had been sewn together but not finished with a border. Borrowing an idea I had seen in one of Patricia's quilts, I decided a square in a square 3" block would use up some of the scraps, plus add a bit of a "glitzy necklace" frame around the  butterfly. The idea was to encircle the 1" jewel coloured squares inside a navy border. When I ran out of the navy fabric, instead of cutting into another chunk of the navy yardage (which has been purchased to be the back of my silk wholecloth quilt), I decided to make a few of the blocks using just the jewel tones. These were casually interspersed around the border. I tried to add the more colourful blocks in areas of the quilt where the navy came to the edge. After the border was completed, there wasn't much of the "Yukata" fabric left over, but I managed to ...

My absence from the "blogisphere" does not equal idle stitching hands. Currently there are  7 or 8 boutis projects on the go, all in various stages of development. Progress (although slow) is being made on my whole cloth silk quilt, there's been a little bit of "scrap busting" happening, and even some fun summertime sewing. Updates on those in future posts. But last week, I participated in an energetic, productive, fun-filled quilting workshop in La Conner, Washington called "Curves and Compositions with Yukata cottons". La Conner, WA is a pretty little waterfront town, half way between Vancouver and Seattle. The five day workshop is organized and taught by Patricia Belyea of OKAN Arts . Patricia imports and sells vintage Japanese textiles called "yukata" cottons, around which we based the designs for our quilts. Patricia Belyea of OKAN Arts. "Yukatas" are 15" wide, hand-dyed cottons, traditionally used...