Quilt Show Season !

It's quilt show season here on the west coast of Florida.  This morning I went to the Tampa show of the Quilters workshop.  They had some nice quilts hanging, and everything was very well organized.  I took some photos, but unfortunately I had some trouble with my camera and most are out of focus, but I will show a few.

I also did a little shopping ..... half  the fun of going to a show !  I met the delightful owner of an online quilt shop Worn Threads and bought a kit and a surprise for Lou.  Here are a couple of pictures of her very pretty booth - just my favorite style !  Funnily enough, after the show I met some friends and of course, we found that we were all complimenting the same booth (where they had also done some shopping ...!)

Next week - next show !

Basket Class

Yesterday I took a basket class at Country Quilts and Bears in Clearwater.  Susan has been teaching these for a long time.  My friend Janet and I have so often said we wanted to learn, and so Janet came up with a great Christmas present idea for me - this class !  Here is the intrepid Susan teaching us ....

I did not quite finish my basket in the class, so did the last couple of rows this morning.  The fabric I used was a old blue and yellow print.  The appearance of the fabric changes a lot with this method, so as long as you like the colors, it doesn't really matter what fabric you use (you can get rid of old stuff you no longer like).  It was interesting to see the different effects people got with different fabrics.

Here's a view of it turned over ....

Janet spoiled me with the gift of this lovely little strawberry wool pincushion.  She is so good at making (and actually finishing !) small projects.  I love it !

And I also picked up my PQ challenge quilt from the quilter..... just need to put on the binding now.

 Hope I can get that done today

This whole quilt was made using scraps and things that I already had - I only had to buy fabric for the backing.  I am making it a goal this year to sew as many quilts as possible out of things I already have -I have collected fabrics I really like, and it is time they were used !

Boutis exposition Lei roucas dou barri .....

In March each year, the wonderful ladies of Lei roucas dou barri have a show at Pierrefeu du var.  On alternating years, there is either a swap project (last time it was small pouches or purses), or a challenge with certain rules.  The project challenge for 2013 is to create an original design on the subject of the sea, a bag,  all in white, completely stuffed.  Henriette has shown hers today on her blog.  She has made a charming bag to store slippery scarves which otherwise fall on the floor !
You can also see what Marie made on her blog.  I am sure there will be many more elegant examples.

Here is the poster for this year's exhibition.  There will be 20 exhibitors of boutis, 2 stores, and one bookshop.  If you are in the area, go !  You will be assured of a wonderful exhibition and magical welcome from warm and talented boutisseuses.

Henriette  says that she works on a smaller project while also keeping a big project going.  I was thinking about that this morning, so I decided to set up a small and simple boutis to get me up to speed with my large project.  Since it is Superbowl Sunday here, I will get some stitching time later LOL !

Pattern is Magali from the book Boutis Traditionnel by Christiane Vignal

 Swiss batiste front and back, cotton handquilting thread.

Henriette also has kept a memory book where she records all her projects, when she started them, how long each step of the process took her, as well as photos of the finished item.  I have not done this but find it a wonderful idea and I am starting today !  I will also go back and take pictures of my other pieces, both collected and made myself.  No one else knows their story, so I am thinking about keeping this for my daughter.    The small petasson took me 2 hours to trace and baste.  I will keep a notebook in my sewing basket now to keep track of how long I work on each thing.  It will be especially important to look at for my large vanne !

First Stitches on my boutis ....

First, meet Winston, our daughter's cat.  He came to spend the weekend with us,  he is beautiful and sweet, also a cat who likes quilts and helped me yesterday .....

All the fabric cutting was tiring, so he chose a piece to rest on .....

And finally, this afternoon I went outside and started stitching my beautiful boutis.  As you can see, it is a glorious day and perfect to start a big project.  I am sitting on our terrasse under the palms.

Et enfin, apres un long delai, j'ai fait les premiers points dans le grand boutis.  Aujourd'hui il fait un temps parfait, je suis assise au dehors sous les palmes.  Les points ne sont pas tres jolis, pas assez petits,  mais j'espere redecouvrir le rhythme - c'est bien longtemps depuis mon dernier boutis.

January 2013

A rather belated Happy New Year to everyone !  I hope you all have a good, healthy and happy year, with plenty of stitching time.
I have been setting up some new things to stitch, and have made a little progress on older projects.  I received some lovely gifts from afar which I want to show, and my new project for the year is a large boutis of an original design which I commissioned.  I have finished tracing it and basted it yesterday, and I even enjoyed doing that because I looked at the design more closely.
Hiromi send me a lovely gift of a silver sewing set from Ireland, plus some Japanese fabrics and beautiful little pins.  She bought herself and Lou the same, as she says the 3 boutis sisters !  I love that since I don't have a sister ......
Lou sent me an antique handkerchief with an elaborately and finely stitched monogram.  It is amazingly fine, and I am in awe of the ladies who stitched these fine pieces in candlelight or daylight, without the benefit of the superfine needles we have today.

Looks like I will have to post the photos later, blogger won't let me access the photos on my computer .....Update:  I am still not getting the option to upload photos from my computer - Monika told me that others have had this problem.  How did you solve it ?  For now, I made a Picasa album and uploaded from there. 

Christmas Pleasures

I always find that the things which I enjoy most about Advent and Christmas are small, enjoyable projects, things which as a rule I don't do enough of.  This year, at my favorite quilt store in Clearwater, I participated in the 11th Christmas Mystery.  I have done them all except one (can't remember why not that year), and it has become something I look forward to.  The staff in the store (and you know who you are !) always add that little bit extra to make it all pretty, and we eat and chat and hopefully get our project done. 
I promised Becky I would take photos of my projects, most of which are complete, although some are in the finished top stage and one is a completed top with no applique yet - and so here are a few of the first ones.  One I adapted into a tree skirt and is under our tree as we speak ... will take a photo of that in the next day or two.  Other projects to follow ...

This was the first one .... 6 pieced blocks

Pam's ornament

Roni's tree

 Primitive Gatherings

And finally, a couple of pictures of my poinsettia.  Living in Florida, I decided to plant my two poinsettias in a pot in front of my house last year.  They were average pots of the kind you see everywhere in December.  Well, they were so pretty as plain green plants after Christmas that we left them the whole year; they have turned a glorious red over the last couple of weeks.  I am so thrilled with them !

Boutis lavender sachet

Small heart with bird motif stuff with lavender this time.  Just for the pleasure of stitching something small.  This one will go to live with a friend ......

Boutis - Vanne 19th C

Vanne boutis, this style of boutis was frequently made for a marriage and is intended to lay on top of a bed.  To my very great pleasure, this one is now living at my house !

Each corner has the same basket depicted

There are wonderful garlands with flowers along each side

Here you can see the oval borders with channels stuffed

The central oval motif with straight channel filling

Recently I acquired a boutis which has been on my wish-list for a long time:  a vanne size approx. 143 cm x 161 cm, with my favorite kind of motifs and style.  I would date this about mid 19th Century, but it may be a little earlier than that.  It is cotton, the cotton on the back is a slightly looser weave, and you can see some remaining "holes" from passing the cotton yarn stuffing.   The straight edge is finished with a hem, and it is in excellent condition.  I still need to spend more time studying this quilt, but for now, here are some pictures.  The overall design is symmetrical, with each corner motif repeated 4 times, oval garlands surrounding oval borders.