I have never made a handbag that I could use daily.
But I could not resist anymore making the Compass Bag by Noodlehead . I know I can trust her for making the best bag patterns ever! and this one does not disappoint. Everything falls into place perfectly, she gives great trips too. And all in all it is a pretty easy sew.
The only hard part was to find the proper hardware in France.


Voici ma version du Compass bag de Noodlehead. Un patron en anglais de très bonne qualité comme tous les patrons de cette créatrice. Le plus dur n'a pas été de coudre le sac mais de trouver les bons anneaux, crochets, ... J'ai eu du mal à trouver une boutique qui ait tout ce qu'il me fallait.
Si vous êtes en France et que vous connaissez une bonne boutique en ligne pour le matériel de fabrication des sacs , je suis preneuse!

 For the fabrics I chose some Les Fleurs Canvas and some Essex Yarn Dyed in Nautical for the pockets and the lining for more sturdiness.

  The lining is also made out of Essex Yarn Dyed. I did not include the zipper pocket but I am really proud to have installed this magnet closure!

 I chose the long adaptable straps.

 I have already adopted this bag and got lots of compliments for it!
On my computer I saved the photos under "compass bag #1" because I know there will be more versions of this pattern!

{ Improv quilt }

 Here is my first attempt at improv quilting!
Honestly it felt so good I can't really put words on the experience.
It all started when I got this book from Amazon, after listening to a podcast featuring the author, Sherri Lynn Wood.
 I found her intriguing and really wanted to look into her book to see what she was really on about!
And, oh my reader, honestly! I never would have thought that quilting could be so freeing, so artistic and creative.

What I really love about the book is that she does not provide patterns per se, but "scores": 2 or 3 guidelines to kick start your creativity. And then : off you go!

For me what happenened with this quilt top is that I was trying to put some order in my fabric and made a pile of the three main fabrics totally by chance:  that gorgeous night blue, the beautiful gold-mango yellow and the gorgeous Art Gallery orange. I thought they looked awesome together, and started cutting into them, with no rulers! going with the flow, raw by raw, enjoying the piecing progress without thinking about perfectly matched seams!

During the piecing process, I let go of my fears, of my quest for perfection. It was not easy and often I felt something like :"Who are you to think you can make your own pattern here? Who are you to think you can create something unique, without following the rules?!"
Honestly, there was a lot of that involved. But the author of the book does incourage you to follow your creative instinct and to let go of your fears.

 I also tried to apply her method of "yes... and": which is to say: now that I created this row, or this block, I am going to make it mine and say: what's next? what do I feel like adding to it? what would go well with it now?
Honestly : so good!

I quilted it almost all with my free motion quilt foot. I am a total beginner when it comes to free motion quilting. But I though this crazy improv quilt was the perfect place to start experimenting.

I added some really awesome Essex yarn dyed linen in black for the binding and called it a day!

The quilt is now on my girl's bed. She loves it, she loves sleeping under it and she thinks it is the coolest thing on earth:)

{ Winter Janie Dress }

It feels like ages since I made a garment.
But this pattern by Welcome to the Mouse House had been calling my name for ages, especially after seeing the version sewn by my dear Rachel of Stitched Together.

Et me voilà de retour avec une robe pour Blandine. Cela fait une éternité que je n'avais pas cousu de vêtements et ce patron par Welcome To The Mouse House était exactement ce qu'il me fallait pour ce grand retour! Il s'agit de la Janie Dress, un patron qui permet des variantes intéressantes. Un patron très bien expliqué, comme la plupart des patrons indépendants américains, avec ses illustrations et ses photos. J'adore!
 

 For this dress, I used a very pretty and light knit I found (unexpectedly!) at my local fabric store.
I combined the same knit in two different colors using the darker for the collar.

Pour cette robe j'ai utilisé un tissu de  mon Laurent Tissu local. Une espèce de maille très très douce, en deux couleurs pour mettre en valeur le col.

My 10 years old girl is a tiny girl! She is "petite" and I should have cut a size 7 according to the measurements. But she and I wanted a longer lasting garment, something she could wear next winter if she wanted. So I made a size 8 and added length to the bodice and skirt. Therefore it is a bit wide at the chest and waist, but we don't mind. 

J'ai choisi de couper la robe dans une taille supérieure à celle que j'aurais dû choisir, pour que ma petite minette puisse la porter encore quelques saisons. 

 The dress twirls like a dream, and Blandine, who still dreams of princesses, loves it!
And her brother agrees!

C'est la robe qui tourne par excellence: le rêve de toute petite fille, et surtout de la mienne!!

 This dress was so fast to make and so easy with my beloved serger.
I hemmed the skirt and sleeves on my normal machine with a jersey needle.

  This girl.... I am so proud of her. She is clever and witty, creative and funny! I love her to pieces!

Thank you so much for visiting!