PQs BO2M 2013

For the last 2 years, we have been offering a project every two months as a stitchalong for our Guild, the PQs.  Last year it was in the form of a mystery quilt, and you can see mine here.  This year we decided to do a group of small projects - this time sewing accessories.  In November it will be time for the last project for 2013, and I thought you might like to see them together.

The knot bag is November's project, and is a free tutorial from Dame Valiste.

Here is everything together - zippered pouch, sewing machine mat, pincushion, notebook covers and sewing machine cover.

Next year we are back to making a quilt and I was working on that yesterday.  The aim is always to provide a framework for each person to add their own ideas and variations, so the plan allows for a lot of size variation. 

Otherwise I have almost finished stuffing a small petasson, and our 365 day hearts are progressing nicely !

2nd National Boutis Salon - France Boutis

Next year France Boutis will be hosting their 2nd National Salon.  I went to the inaugural one in 2012 and it was fabulous, a must for boutis lovers, so go if you can.  The list of exhibitors has not yet been released, so I will post that when it comes out.   Mr Cabanel is well-known for his collection of courtespointes and boutis, which he has amassed over many years.  Parts of his collection have been featured in a number of books and referenced in many others.  I will be there for all three days (more about that later) so come by and say hello if you visit.

Early Fall on the Wine Route ....

We spent a week at our house and as usual, I was captivated by the colors and flowers of fall.  This is the palace in Bad Bergzabern.

Of course a new fall wreath had to find it's place on my front door !

We followed one of the walking plans, which started in the Kurpark Bad Bergzabern and led through the woods and vineyards to Doerrenbach.  We need to do this more often, the ups and downs of the paths were tough on us, in Florida we have no hills at all !   Along the way, we saw this covering the entry to a spring.  Our house was built in 1898 also by a J. Mayer, we wondered if this might be his father, since they were stonemasons.

Ripe grapes this time of year, the harvest had begun in some areas.  The vines were marked with the type of grapes.

Vines almost as far as the eye can see.

 The last few sunflowers ...

And the first apples.

Doerrenbach is so pretty and well worth the walk. 

The houses are decorated more on the beams, which is less usual for the wine route.  We noted that many of the houses were destroyed in 1945, and rebuilt in 1949 or early 50s.  Some  houses have the date of the original building - mostly in the 1600s - the date of destruction, and the date of rebuilding recorded on the cross beams at the front of the houses.

The fortified church, it is really beautiful.

And even has a sundial, usually I see them like this in France, but of course Doerrenbach is very close to the border.

Day out in Alsace

I was fascinated by these hinges on a church door - wouldn't they make a great applique block ?  They also look like a rose tree or lyre design.

And no visit would be complete without a view of our village church.

On the last day, I changed the wreath to one for winter.

 

This post was of course just a quick visit report.  I will be getting back to sewing notes soon, but have not done anything much recently.  Mostly I am making progress on the stuffing of the petasson.  If I can get more done this week, I will show it again in its current state of finish.

 

Petassouns, old and new

Recently I was able to acquire two old petassons/petassouns, infant lap pieces, pieces piquees, or whatever name is most familiar to you.  They arrived today, and I am looking at them and thinking over what they can tell me.   Although these are not the work of professionals making very grand pieces in an atelier, they are the kind of work I like best - those made at home for family, showing different levels of needlework skill.
 One is very damaged, the fabric has completely worn through in the center, rather like another one I bought before. However, the stitching is very fine and it is obviously the work of an experienced needlewoman.  It has other condition problems, there are rust marks, a pen mark on the back which I hope will wash out, and holes in the edging - one corner of which has been patched with another piece of old embroidered edge.  It is very old, it has survived the ups and downs of more than a century, and has undoubtedly passed through many pairs of hands.

On the left corner you can see the repair with another piece of embroidery.

Here you can clearly see the many worn areas.  The fabric has simply worn away with wear, but the piece itself is firm, well stitched and stuffed.

I will be reproducing this one, I think I will not change anything about it, its design is simple and elegant.  Size: 17.75 x 20 inches, without the trim.

The second piece is different.  It is stitched well, but the channels are wider, the design is not as balanced and I think it is a later piece.  It too has a border of trimmed batiste, and I cannot decide whether or not it was added later.  It is the same color, so perhaps it was made this way, certainly there is no tape or other finished method before the lace.  The stuffing is firm, the stitching is fine, and I will also reproduce this one, although I may modify the design a little.

Size 19 x 20 inches, without the trim.

In the last photo you can see the difference in quality of work, the piece on the right is much finer.

And last but not least, I have made a little progress on my small petasson from Boutis Traditionnel.  The stitching is complete, and I have started the stuffing.  I used the Frixion pen to mark, and when I have finished stitching, I run the hairdryer over it to remove the marks.  I find I am happier working on the stuffing with the marks gone, I can see the stitches better.  Now I want it to be finished so I can wash it !

Recemment,j'ai trouve deux vieux petassons qui viennent d'arriver chez moi.  Tous les deux sont abimes, mais pour moi dans ce cas ca sont des pieces pour apprendre et reproduire, et franchement j'aime les pieces faites a la maison par les familles.    Le premier est tres fin, le travail super bien fait mais le tissu du centre  est dechire au fil du temps.  Le deuxieme est peut-etre plus recent que l'autre, le piquage tres bien fait mais le bourrage plus epais, et je ne suis pas sure si la broderie autour etait fait au meme temps que le boutis, malgre le fait qu'il n'y a rien d'autre pour la finition, pas de tresse, etc.  Si quelqu'un a un autre avis ou bien quelques informations, n'hesitez pas a m'ecrire, je suis toujours tres heureuse d'apprendre, merci.

Profile of a boutisseuse - Marie Silvestre

It is always fascinating to me to observe how others approach designing their own boutis.  Marie has just completed a beautiful, original boutis which will be displayed at at upcoming show.  I have had the pleasure of seeing her work before, at the first salon of France Boutis in May 2012.  Go over to her blog and take a look at her latest works, then go back and browse older posts with some of her other projects.  Don't forget to leave her comments, she loves to hear what people think of her boutis.

Marie gave me permission to describe how she designed this boutis so you have some idea of the time and dedication involved.  In October, there will be a boutis festival in the village of Calvisson, Gard, as there is every 2 years (see the link to the right, La Maison du Boutis).  The challenge presented by the founder  Mme  Francine Nicolle, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the boutis association,  was to design and execute a boutis on the theme of "In the Gardens of the King".

Marie started work back in March.  She knew what she wanted to draw, and avoided any problems of perspective by making her work an aerial view.  After a number of hours spent on drawing the designs, she transferred them to a large sheet of paper.  She says this was not easy, but she is patient.  To give you an idea, she spent 60 hours on the design.  Tracing onto fabric took another 8 hours.  She started stitching on April 10 and finished on August 24, taking a total of 551 hours to complete the entire piece.   "My Royal Garden" measures 74 x 63 cm.    Fabulous, isn't it ?

Progress on New and Old Projects - at least a century apart in style !

 Last Saturday, I went to a mini-retreat of a small sewing group called Bee Modern.  The idea is to try something that is in the style of modern quilting.  I have stayed away from this style mostly, since I prefer applique and a more traditional look for quilts.  However, I can't deny the sheer happiness of bright and crisp patterns !  I love white in quilts, and this kit with simple piecing and clean, clear colors appealed to me.  The top picture shows the rows laid out on top of one another.

I got most of the blocks done last week, and this afternoon sat down to piece the rows together.  Here in Florida on the Gulf Coast, it is our most uncomfortable time of year - hot and humid with afternoon thunderstorms.  I got about 20 minutes splashing around in the pool before the black clouds moved in again - so a good time to sew for a while !

Here are the first two rows put together.

The quilt has a narrow blue border, then the cornerstones you see in the photo, and the vine print is for the main border.  Binding fabric is the green dot.  I was lucky enough to get one of these prints for the backing - the quilt itself is bed-size, 78 x 102 finished.  I will tackle putting on the borders next weekend.

On to my small petasson in the making.  The pattern is from Christiane Vignal's book, Boutis Traditionnel (one of my absolute favorite books).  I started this as stitching practice for my large boutis, I am still not happy with my stitching and so I sew a little on this one before continuing with the lovely large one.

No real progress made with better stitching, but although they are not very even, these stitches are very small.  I have no issues making very small stitches, but somehow even, regular work is  challenge for me.

Hard to see the overall pattern now that it is stitched, but it is a very simple traditional one.  Since I only have one small corner area of the tunnels left to stitch, I will finish this one now and stuff it, and continue stitching on the large one when it is not quite so hot to have on my lap !

Applique Baskets

I have been making these small applique baskets for a while.  I have some charm packs of French fabrics, so I drew a small basket that fits exactly on the 5inch squares (as I didn't want to waste any !) and the background squares are 6".  There are 30 finished now, and this afternoon I prepped another 70.  I have now used all the background fabric I had and am not sure yet how big I would like the quilt to be.  All the baskets are different, and all shades from pastels to very dark.  I have an idea for an applique center, and I also have some plans for the setting.  They have been so much fun to do - it is hot here now and they are small and not heavy in my lap .

I have made a little progress on my big and small boutis, but as I said, it is hot here and very humid, so having a larger piece on my lap is not too much fun at present.
Hope everyone had some time to sew this weekend.

Vacation

I have just got back from  vacation.  As usual we spent time in  our home in Germany, just on the border with Alsace, France.  I had hoped for better weather, but the first week was very rainy and cold.  The last few days, however, were sunny and warm, just in time for us to leave !  I only stitched on one of the days, because we were finishing up some things in the house, going to wine festivals, and generally sightseeing.  Although I do not want this to turn into a travel blog, I thought you might enjoy some photos.  I love the style of houses in this region, so here is a selection of Southern Wine Route homes and Alsatian ones.

And just for luck, some lavender stuck in our old barn door.