A trees quilt

Only three days later than announced (it's end-of-school-year-stress!) here are some pictures of the second wall-hanging I made, when thinking that my brother might expect trees in his quilt after he had seen this one I made in January.

Again I used the wildfire motif from Christina Cameli to create 5 treetops.

They are not very regularly. Some parts of the Tree tops are denser than others, but I keep telling me that real trees are also not even.

The most fun it had been to quilt the trunks.

And the last step it had been to create a little landscape with lines.

For the sky I didn't do any quilting. I thought it might be too much. The open space has a structure of its own, as the fabric is ruffled around the treetops. A quilted area is always pulling the fabric a little bit together - it's like shrinking. I am thinking about wind, when seeing the wobbles in the sky area.

And this is the whole composition! Click on the picture to see it larger.

I hung up this quilt and the one I presented in the previous post in our guest room (also known as sewing room) and my brother and my sister in law slept for a week below them - and decided for the first one! :-)

But I don't regret making two. It had been fun and I like both of them, even when they are totally different!

A bientôt,
Jane

Grains and countryside

Since February I have a wall-hanging quilt in mind, but it took until now to become real. The idea started, when I offered this quilt to my brother as a birthday present. He declined, but after his wife saw the quilt they both said, they would love to have something like that, but the preferred color would be light green. In my head "light green" connected automatically with a countryside and I began thinking and drawing and thinking some more and drawing some more and making the first quilting exercises for trying out the patterns. Not that I have been concentrating on this project, but it had been in the back of my mind a long time. 

With the visit of my brother and wife shortly ahead I started finally beginning of last week with the quilting. This came out:

(click on the photo to see it larger)

I have to say, that it is very hard to get this right on a photo. I tried for two days now and the real thing is still a bit different. The different light green shades of the quilting thread are changing with the light and the angle of view. 

Try to see better on detail-photos:

The background is very light a bit yellow-greenish and the grains and the grass in the foreground are slightly darker in three different greens. 

Very early I decided for the pattern of the grains and I love how light and fragile they appear. I am sure someone else has already quilted grains like that, but I can't remember seeing any.

The background composes from several different motifs, some of them coming from Christina Cameli whose blog "a few scraps" is very inspiring for my quilting (only I often get lost in the patterns and don't find a way out - I have to practice some more).

The sky is invented from her "planks design" and there is a forest or a zone with shrubs that is her "bear claw pattern". You should check out her quilting tutorials on video, just follow the links.

The other quilting elements are more or less common.

I can't tell you how happy I am with the finished quilt. Of course there are some things to make different next time, but all in all this is what I had in mind and that is very rare. 

And then with the last stitches on the tendrils below the grass, I had second thoughts, about what my brother was expecting. He had only seen this quilt with the matches I quilted in january, but where everybody sees trees instead of flames. Maybe he is expecting the same "trees", but only in green? Panic! I had to start a second one ...

- to be continued - 

A demain, avec images du deuxieme quilt,

Jane 

Midsummer

In Lutin village there is everything prepared for a midsummer feast tonight. 

I guess they plan to eat together outside, there will be a fire in the upper part of the village, and maybe some dance? Will the hermit who is living since some weeks above town attend the party?

Let's hope it is not raining.

Happy midsummer to everybody!

A bientôt,
Jane

Light summer baby blanket

Because I had so much fun making this baby blanket, I immediately made a second easy blanket from the remainder of the molleton fabric.

I had a lovely rest of flower print cotton fabric and made a 7cm wide border once around. I ironed the binding strips first like for a bias tape and take great care to pin it accurately so I could fix it with one seam. I think it's finished pretty well and straight.

It will go to my shop as soon as I have time to write an accompanying text in French.

A bientôt,
Jane

My first cardigan Mary

On the first sight this pattern looked so comfortable to me, I had to try it! 

And it is really comfortable! The absolute right gilet to wear in the evenings when it gets chilly after a warm day. 

The whole front is doubled and forms at the same time a large shawl collar, that you can tuck around yourself. Cosy!

Like all the patterns of Pattydoo that I tried so far, there had been no problems at all. I had only difficulties to sew the neck-shoulder-seam, but not because it hasn't been well explained, just because it is the only tricky part and surely I recognised it too late. (Should have taken the extra step and stitch over it before using the overlock) 

As you can see the cardigan is cut longer in the back than in the front. There are two solutions for the sleeves and I took the narrow sleeves, so I can only wear T-shirts under it. But that is no problem as I planned to use it in the summer and make myself a second one in winter with a woollen fabric. 

I just love it! Therefor I will show it in rums-link-party (that is only for things you are crafting for yourself)

A bientôt,
Jane

There's music in the air (and on the wall)

For this weekend I helped organising a Gospel concert in our village. A choir from the near city offered to give a concert for the profit of our school. Amongst other things I have been responsible for the decoration of the hall and the attached bar area. For the bar room I made some paper garlands: 

I love to make those as they are quick and easy. You cut a lot of triangles (at school they have a cutter with which you can cut several papers at once) and then you are just sewing over them with long stitches. I used paper that has 120g/m² and I've never had rupture problems with it. 

In the background you can see that I put white notes to the magenta wall. I put also black notes all around the concert hall.

As it takes quite a while to cut out so many notes I asked a lady that is giving crafting classes at school if their students could help me and they did. Some not very well, but it was still a big help and only the most ugly ones I had to smooth on the edges afterwards.

From cutting the buntings of the big garlands there had been a lot of paper scraps left. Those I cut to small buntings and made little short garlands that had been hanging on every glass door leading to the hall or bar (there are at least 10). Those papers have been only black and white and I drew some notes on them. I also let a bunch of children try and their buntings are the most creative ones.

There has been one more decoration with white paper fans and silver-glittery Christmas tree balls, but I forgot to take photos.

The concert was a big success and I got compliments for the decoration as well :-)

A bientôt,
Jane

10 minutes skirt to-go

After I have been horse riding all afternoon at 30degrees sunshine, I returned home, took a shower and after the tight riding trousers I wanted to wear something light. Unfortunately the trousers had left some heavy marks on my lower legs that didn't disappear with the shower. I neither wanted to show those marks to everyone when picking up the kids, nor wearing again a trouser. A very quick solution for a super-fast skirt.

 

I had a length of grey striped cotton jersey and just added an elastic equal grey waistband. So simple that it is nearly embarrassing to write a post about that.

Voilà - 10 minutes and I have been ready to go. 

Okay, it is not a very attractive skirt. More something to feel comfortable in. But after a hard day this will be a relaxing outfit to be around the house and garden. 

A bientôt,
Jane

baleine rouge - red whale

I gave myself a fabric-shopping-restriction, because I have a big space problem in my sewing room. It is at the same time our guestroom and it takes quite a while to clear up when we are awaiting guests. The last didn't even had one shelf in the cupboard to put their things in it. If you are asking a sewing addict, she never has too much fabrics, but I have to stay reasonable. I donated some fabrics that came somehow into my possession, but that I didn't like. Funny enough it didn't helped much to close the cupboard doors again, there is plenty left that needs to be used. 

This weekend I pulled out a 50cm piece of Ann Kelle's "urban zoologie" fabric to actually use it. I like the clear forms of this fabric series - I think the animals are very characteristic and perfect for little children. I also had a thick and soft coton molleton, a friend gave me. It had been already used, but the quality is great. I like used fabric: if you know it had been already washed several times, but you can see and feel it is still good in colour and surface, then you are sure about it's great quality and that it will last also for all the future washings.  

I made an easy light summer-toddler-blanket:

The blue whale is applicated and as it is a single layer blanket the application is visible on the back side. I knew this before and when it is not possible to hide something, I think it is best to made it look like purpose. So the stitches are also dark blue from behind.

Don't you think that red is a missing colour in this whale school? I made a red toy whale:

It can go like "underwater" to hide behind the other whales in a pocket that is integrated:

He can hide completely, but the blanket becomes a little bulky what I didn't liked so much. Also there has been some fabric left and this leads me to a matching cuddling cloth. One side is whale fabric the other molleton with an applicated red whale. For the kid to fiddle around there are some jersey stripes.

It is fitting much better into the pocket:

I still didn't use up all of the fabric. You think I should made a fitting little pouch? 

All together a cute ensemble for a baby, isn't it? I need to update my shop and put it in. (It has been a long time since I really worked on my shop. It is much easier to sell privately and I have been quite busy lately with costumers commands and sewing courses)

A bientôt,
Jane