Seams French

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...

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 ...

Cathedral Window, Silk Jewels and Brush with a Balistic Strawberry Over the last several weeks, a great deal of my stitching time has been devoted to boutis; there is the on-going stitching on some of the larger projects, other projects where the stitching has been completed, as well as some new designs and patterns in the works. Below are a few of these projects. Holding a boutis piece up against the light makes the stitching a lot easier to see. Below is the progress so far on my cathedral window . Cathedral window boutis, held up against the light. The next photo shows a close-up of the stitching. Aside from the small circles, which will become rosettes, most of the piece is being stitched using a tiny backstitch. The backstitch slows down the process, but it enhances the channels and gives the pattern more definition once corded. Close up of back-stitch used on Cathedral Window. A very recent project is a series of silk keepsake box covers. I love the look of silk...

The second boutis "Cathedral Window" that I started back in February is well under way. (To get the right lighting for photographing white on white is almost impossible, (very frustrating) so I have included two variations of the same photo, hoping that the pattern will be visible on at least one of them.) Just as in machine quilting, when stitching boutis, the first step is to stabilize and secure the major design lines, working from the center out. So, starting at the center rose, all of the large arches and channels radiating from it were stitched first. Black and white photo of the entire design. Colour image of the same photo. Next, I continued with the first inner row of half arches, working the short, middle bar towards the rosette, and then on to the smaller arch. From there, each following segment in the circumference will be stitched sequentially. Some of the most impressive antique boutis quilts that I saw in France were stitched only wit...