Simply quilting

Last week I wanted to do some free-motion-quilting. Except for my shoulders, who get always tense, I find quilting very relaxing. I don't even need to think very much! 

I quickly made a simple sandwich, added a hole for a bag handle, so I could use the piece of quilt later for a bag. Including the time I needed to sew-turn-iron the handle hole it took me only half an hour to do the first piece. Fun, fun! Until I found out, that I sewed a flap on the backside...

 I corrected it quickly, but after it took me until today to make a second piece.

 

Quilting little pieces (about 40x45cm) like that is just fun! They are moving so easily under the machine!

To make a bag out of them was a quick job too. I used bias tape to debaste the inner seams. For the top edge I cut a bias binding from the outside fabric and added it with the machine.

 

Beside that bag I made today some very yummy brownie cookies to welcome the weekend and the winter vacations of the kids. 

Bon week-end pour vous aussi,
Jane

My blanket

After a tiring weekend with carnival for our village school, organized by 6 motivated moms (I have been one of them), I lay down ill on Monday. Strange illness whose main symptoms have been a hurting cotton head that didn't like the sunlight and couldn't think well and a stomach that couldn't decide if to feel sick or not. 

For two days I spend a lot of time on the sofa cuddled in my favorite blanket. I made it only for myself in 2010 and since I have to defend it, because everyone likes to use it.

The idea is clear: There is one side of night and one side of day. Houses in sunshine and in moonshine. The border is made from all leftover scraps. 

The backside is of soft white fleece. It hasn't been long enough so I added a row of squares from the houses fabrics.

I didn't do any quilting, because at that time I haven't been experienced with free motion quilting and also I wanted the blanket to stay soft. And it is soft and cozy and I still love it after 4 years of use. The final size is 215x155cm, so it's perfect to wrap in even a tall person :-)

A bientôt avec quelque chose nouvelle,
Jane

Already done!

Very surprisingly for me, my new pyjama pants are ready. Already since yesterday morning, but I had to wait for my husband to make some photos today. And we found out, that it is not easy to photograph white pants. I am looking fat on most of the photos, what in reality I am not!

In the last 15 years I only had one pyjama that has been comfortable and stylish at the same time. I already mentioned that trousers are normally too short for me. If I buy longer ones they are often also wider in the waist and bulky around my bottom. So this one pants fitting well is now 3 years old and falling apart. I used it to make a paper pattern - this took the longest time. Then I cut it out of a light jersey, I already bought last fall. Same color and same fabric as the old pants. 

Yesterday morning I got out my overlock machine and just half an hour later it has been done! Then the moment of truth - yeah! - everything fits just great! And the seams are looking so professional with over-locked stitches. I am very happy!

When my husband saw my new pyjama when I put it on first this morning he said: "Hey, it's looking exactly like your old one!" - "Yes, my darling, that's what I wanted it to look like!" I took it as a compliment, anyway!

And now I directly want to make a second one with a little thicker fabric. Not that I am cold in bed in wintertime, but I want to have a comfortable warm pant to hang around on the sofa in the evenings. Hardest thing will be to buy the fabric. There is no fabric shop near my home! I need to find something online or have to wait until my spring vacation in Germany. 

I also took the decision, that I have to keep on trying with clothes. So every month now I want to present a new piece of clothes here.

A bientôt,
Jane

Snowdrops in the sun

When the rain stops and the sun comes out, it already feels like spring. The sun is warming my back, the kids are playing everywhere in the garden and starting a new hut, the birds are singing, the cat is going crazy and the first flowers opening up to the warmth. After the winter everything green or blooming is a miracle. I am going around and search for them. Every single one is beautiful and makes me smile, but the most I love the snowdrops. They are looking so friendly and discreet.

About 5 years ago I made a little patch with snowdrops. In size about 30cm by 30cm. I gave it to my mom, where it is still hanging on the wall in her office.

A bientôt, 
Jane

Attack my overlock

The biggest constraint in my sewing-life is sewing clothes! As a girl I learnt sewing from my mom and she showed me of course how to do clothes too. She has always made some for us and still does for herself. I have seen her doing it and doing it with her together and doing it alone with only her advice from the background: So theoretically I can measure out a body, decide how to chose the right size, prepare the pattern, cut out the fabric pieces, understand the explanations from the pattern book, sew together all the pieces in the right order .... yes theoretically!

In practice I didn't sew a proper cloth the last ..ähhmmm 10 years. Except some easy skirts and a vest that is okay, but isn't my style any more so I never wear it. In fact I stopped trying, as there has been frustration too often. But actually it would be very useful if I could sew things for me that suits me. I am very tall (1,81m) with long legs and even longer arms. I can't find a blouse with sleeves that are long enough - I wear them all as 2/3 sleeves. Jeans are possible to find in Jeans stores, but other trousers not. In France this is even a bigger problem than in Germany as here the average woman is much smaller than me. 

A year ago my husband bought me an overlock machine in discount, because he heard me complaining about I couldn't sew elastic fabric on my machine as it causes always waves around the seam. Very kind and I wanted really to try it out on some simple shirts or others, but I have been also afraid of the frustration and so since one year I only made some jersey loops and some very professional looking seams when turning a trouser into a skirt.

Now the excuses have to stop and I will try harder! Next week I will show you a pyjama trouser that I intent to sew (the fabric is already in the house since 4 month :-))

Today I got out the Overlock from the cupboard to up-cycle an old shirt for my son. Of course after I got all other excuses done - I even repaired the toilette flush, what normally I say is the job of my husband. Then finally after I ate half a bar of chocolate I felt brave enough. This came out. Nothing extraordinary but my boy likes it - probably because of the fire trucks.

This is the most nice fire brigade fabric I have ever seen. Unfortunately I bought only enough to make one loop for my son, who is the biggest fan of fire men. This are the last bits that I used for the shirt. I hope I will find some day more of it.

A bientot,
Jane

many many little fishes

... are now swimming on the duvet cover of my youngest.

One even made it to the pillow:

I cut them out of various cotton fabric bits to spice up a very boring blue/white striped cover. I glued them on with Vliesofix, for me the easiest way to fix parts for applications. They can stay fix even when you're washing them, but I don't want the fishes to fray, so I framed them with small zigzag-stitches. The eyes and the bubbles I fixed by quilting about 3 times around.

This is me on the living-room floor fixing the pieces with the pressing iron.

A bientôt,
Jane

St.Valentin hearts

Tomorrow it is Valentines day. It is not really a date that means anything to me. If my husband needs to be reminded for weeks by TV, radio, Internet and other advertises to buy a gift to show his wife that he loves her, it doesn't feel very romantic for me. So normally we are not celebrating that date, except that maybe I make a fancy cake or so. Just for fun and because my darling loves cakes and I like to make them.

But over the years I generated anyway some little decorations that lasted in our household. 

Several years ago I mad this two patchwork hearts from scraps. Now they are hanging together with a faded rose on the air exhaust beside the chimney.

Last year I took little stones and draw hearts with red acrylic paint on them. For each family member there has been one with his name on it. I put them for decoration in the middle of the table on a small linen (that's why it looks so crinkled, I tried to iron it!) table runner. Those pebbles stayed for some weeks as decoration and I guess I will get them out for tomorrow again.

I have an other house deco that has hearts in it. When I first tried to make garlands with triangle pennants I experimented a little with the size and form. I used an old white bed sheet and when I found my preferred form I quickly made some more the same size to see how they appear as a garland. For not wasting this example I applied some red hearts to decorate the boring white pennants. I found no one whom I could give this as a present, so it is now hanging in our bedroom between two roof beams.

Yeah, I am not the most romantic person in the world, but I wish you all have a Darling to think about tomorrow!

A bientôt,
Jane

Version 3 ?

Guess what I found in the web after I packed a parcel for my friend with the last writing case?

A very good idea of how to realize a case like that with much smaller risk that something might fall out.

This is the link (click) to the binder purse! Have a look! Isn't it great? Need to make this for Version 3 - ehhhmm - some-when in the future :-)

A bientot,
Jane
with something else than writing cases!

Writing case - 2. version

Over a week I have been looking at the writing case I made in January (watch here). I disliked it more and more! Especially the outlining seam has been very disappointing. It is not straight and the most annoying is that the tension is not equal: some stitches are tense and some are very loose.

After sewing some easy bags, I felt brave enough to think about a solution for this project again. I can't give something away that is not satisfying me. So for not disappointing my friend, who wanted the writing case, I had to think of something else. Friday night I had a new idea: It is not a real case, as it is not closed by a zipper, it is more an advanced folder, but for the beginning I am very happy how it turned out and this one I will send to my friend and see if she likes it. Maybe some when in the future I will attack again a version with a zipper.

For this one I took a normal folder and removed the clips/hooks. It is just the base for giving stability. I didn't use synthetic leather this time. It is cotton fabric with a light batting that's giving a little volume. It is to close with a velcro strip, that I added to a cotton belt.



Inside it has the same features like the first version. On the right side you can put either a block (opening in the blue horizontal line) or a college block (that can be slipped in from the left side).

In the middle there is a piece of belt where I fixed two elastic lashes to put pens in. This stripe hides also the holes where there has been the clip before and pulls the outside nearer to the folder, even when it's open.

On the left side one can slip in A4 papers under the blue and apple cover. The apple fabric forms a little pocket for smaller paper and there is a pocket for business cards also.

Even if it is still possible that loose pages and papers are falling out while you carry it, I think it will serve its purpose. I'll see what my friend says.

A bientôt,
Jane