A Propeller Quilt in Nightfall

Honestly, circles and curves have always scared me to death!:) ( I am talking about sewing here!:)

I would immediatly skip the page of the magazine, or the pattern on Pinterest if it had curved seams. But, as soon as I saw Suzy quilts' pattern the Propeller quilt, I fell in love with its modern look. I thought it would be just perfect to show off some of my favorite prints from the Nightfall collection by Maureen Cracknell. 

I highly recommend this pattern, as it is very easy to follow and Suzy has a youtube video that walks you through some of the steps of the pattern. And actually, it is thanks to the video that I found the courage to tackle those curved seams. 

 J'ai toujours été effrayée par les coutures arrondies! trop peur! je passe! 

Mais lorsque j'ai vu le patron de la délicieuse Suzy Quilts je n'ai pas pu résister! 

Ce patron se nomme le Propeller Quilt et je suis ravie d'avoir tenté l'aventure! Honnêtement, je suis en amour avec ce nouveau petit quilt! Il serait parfait pour un petit enfant ou un bébé, mais je ne suis pas sûre de réussir à m'en séparer!:) quelle égoïste n'est-ce pas?!

 It all started like this.. curves,  my first ones. I was instantly hooked by the modern look! 

Even though I didn't find sewing these blocks easy, I still enjoyed the result! Yes sometimes you do have to step out of your comfort zone!

Actually in the video, Suzy recommends using a walking foot to sew these curves. And so I did, until I really got annoyed with my walking foot and decided to go back to my usual foot with the 1/4" seam allowance and it worked so much better. But it might just be my walking foot that plays silly!

So I am glad I took the risk with this pattern!  That's also what I did with the quilting on this baby quilt: it is a mixture of straight lines and free motion quilting. Now, I only had attempted free motion quilting once and I found my result less than perfect. But I decided taht, this time, I would be gentle with myself and give myself permission for imperfections. 

And yes, it is not perfect, but I love it like that. 

All these quilting lines provide a very soft touch to the quilt. Approved by mister Big Fat Cat!

 Je crois que la beauté de ces tissus contribue beaucoup à ma joie ! non, mais, vraiment! oh! ces lapins , ces chouettes adorables! et cette touche de moutarde associée au rose et au bleu foncé me ravie!

Oui ! vraiment, je crois que si je couds, c'est surtout pour pouvoir collecter, avoir sous les yeux, toucher de telles merveilles! j'ai et j'aurais toujours 5 ans en ce qui concerne les motifs de mes tissus!

  Pour le matelassage aussi j'ai pris des risques! j'ai utilisé un mélange de lignes droites et de "free motion quilting", une technique qui consiste à "dessiner" les lignes de coutures sur le tissu, sans pied d'entraînement. C'est assez difficile, et ce n'est que ma deuxième tentative. Mais j'avais décidé, dès le départ, d'être indulgente avec moi-même et de me pardonner les petites (grosses!) erreurs. 
le résultat n'est pas parfait mais il est satisfaisant pour moi et j'adore la texture que toutes ces lignes donnent  cette pièce.

 The fabric is Nightfall and I am so smitten with the owls, moons and cute rabbits! honestly I am 5 years old again when I get to play with fabric that pretty!

 

 For the binding I used some Carolyn Friedlander fabric: it is actually one of her first collections: called Botanics. 

I bought all the fabric form my beloved Hawthorne Threads online shop. 

 For the backing I used that dragon fly fabric that I had bought ages ago: it is called Helen's Garden by Tamara Kate, for Mickael Miller and I believe the print is called "Garden dancers".

 I know.... it's a lot of photos for such a small quilt ! but hey! the amount of photos depends on the love the quilt gets! and this one is loved a LOT in our home!
So much so that I find it hard to give it away as I intended to in the first place!:) Shame on me!
Do you have a hard time giving  the fruit of your loving labor away??

Thanks for visiting!

hugs

Sophie

Wild & free // a new quilt

knock knock....
Anyone?.......
Can we not talk about the fact that I have not blogged in a year?? please.... this is too embarrassing!

 I think I kind of burnt out on blogging and sewing for some reason. I think sewing felt like a job at one point.
So I had to take a break but the hiatus was not total as I did sew a few pieces of garment and I also knitted a lot. Creativity is my fuel, after all!
But doing it all at the same time got me a bit dizzy in the end and I have decided to concentrate on one craft only this year! Because quilting was my first love, that's going to be the one I am going to do - a lot- this year!

Toc toc! .... il y a quelqu'un? ............

Oh cela fait tellement longtemps que je n'ai pas écrit ici! j'ai même eu du mal à mettre en ligne ce billet! cela fait plusieurs mois que je n'ai pas blogué. Je crois que j'en avais trop fait et que la couture était devenu presque une obligation. Rien de pire pour tuer la créativité!
Mais je ne suis pas restée inactive pendant tout ce temps: j'ai cousu et j'ai beaucoup tricoté. J'ai dessiné et écrit. Mais toutes ces activités créatives , mélangées, m’ont laissé un arrière goût d'inachevé. 
Je me suis dit qu'il serait bon de me concentrer sur une seule de ces activités et le patchwork l'a emporté! après tout, c'était mon premier amour après le scrapbooking. 
J'ai donc repris le chemin du quilting, des marges de coutures hyper précises et du matelassage, avec une joie immense. 
Et j'ai commencé avec un projet que j'avais en tête depuis longtemps: un quilt pour ma fille en tissus Cotton and Steel, et en wonky stars ("étoiles tordues"!) .

And as this decision was made, I felt suddenly very relieved and very happy!
And I decided to tackle this project I had in mind for quite a while: a wonky star quilt for my girl using some Cotton and Steel fabric I had for quite a while in my stash.
And so I did.
 

It is called Wild & Free because I did not plan ahead the placement of the blocks. I just wanted to enjoy the process for this first quilt. This free process did have a few drawbacks but in the end it was a very pleasant project!

J'ai appelé ce quilt "Wild and free": "Libre & sauvage". 
Tout d'abord parce que je voulais assembler ces étoiles sans projet préétabli. Ce qui a été fort agréable mais a posé quelques soucis lors de l'assemblage final car j'ai eu du mal à trouver un design qui me plaisait. 
Ensuite parce que ce quilt est pour ma fille. Et que c'est comme ça que je veux qu'elle soit: Libre et Sauvage. 
J'ai entendu récemment Elisabeth Gilbert - l'auteur de "Mange, Prie , aime" , mais surtout du génial "Big Magic" - dire cette phrase: "Je suis fatiguée d'essayer d'être parfaite. Je veux juste être libre!" et je me suis dit: e-xac-te-ment!!!  

 It is also called Wild and free, because I let go of my fears of hand sewing and decided to handquilt the stars. And , oh my word, it was sooooo awesome I couldn't stop!

I followed Suzy Quilts advice on handquilting and got the whole set of gear: the Clover leather Thimble, the DMC Perle Cotton thread, and I luuuuuve the result!

Enfin il tient son nom du fait que j'ai  enfin réussi à vaincre ma peur de la couture à la main et que j'ai tenté le matelassage à la main. Et vraiment j'ai adoré et je n'arrivais plus à m'arrêter! J'ai suivi les conseils de Suzy Quilts en matière de matelassage moderne et j'ai utilisé ce dé à coudre en cuir (une révolution!!) et ce fil DMC taille 8.  

 This quilt is for my girl. I told her it is called "Wild and free" and I explained to her why.
I told her that's what I want her to be, wild and free. I want her to enjoy and embrace her creativity, her dreams.

I heard this phrase in one of Elizabeth Gilbert podcast series called "Magic lessons" and it really stuck with me and inspired me :  a friend of hers said: "I am so tired of trying to be good. I just want to be free!" 
Amen to that! yes! All I want for my girl is to be free: free from fears, free from the desire to please others, free from desires that will make her life small. I want her to know she is a child of God and that in Him she can do anything. 

By the way I incourage you to listen to this podcast if you are a creative person like I am ! it is very inspiring.

 I hope this quilt reminds her always of how much I love her and how she can be "WILD & FREE"!

{ Liberty Love }

I have already said how much I like "Liberty Love" book.

I made a few projects from the book and the more recents are this Mini Spool Quilt and 2 pincushions

The mini Spool Quilt is actually a mix of the book's pattern and Camille Roskelley Spool quilt pattern. I am taking her brand new class on Craftsy and loving it.
I used 4 different fabrics for my spools, the top of the spools are made out of Robert Kaufman linen.

 and guess what? for the first time I used free-motion quilting !
I know, I know , It is no big deal:  it is only a tiny portion of the quilt, but I am LEARNING!!:) and loving it!

 

  

The mini Quilt was gifted to a dear friend for her new home. 

With the scraps from the spool quilt and from my scrap bin, I made 2 pincushions for 2 sewing friends. I didn't have enough prints in Liberty so I added other scraps in the same colorway.

What I really like about these pincushions is that they are quite a generous size. Quite cuddly really!!

 I really enjoyed these small projects! they brought a lot of satisfaction!!

Well! tell me, what are you working on right now?? my next project will be a bed cover for my 4 year old boy.

have yourself a great day
soph

bonjour amis francophones!
voici mes 2 projets les plus récents: un mini quilt bobines, en Liberty et des petits coussins pique-aiguille. Des petits projets offerts à des amies couturières. 
J'ai tiré mon inspiration du livre Liberty Love et d'une classe en ligne sur la plateforme Craftsy: Playful Piecing technique par Camille Roskelley.

voilà!! je vous laisse car je suis harcelée par mon fils: "tu joues mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn??????"

biz
soph

{ little softy }

 I can now share this little Lamb Softy I made as a christmas present for my sweer niece.

It was the first time I made a softy and to be honest I did struggle a bit with the different layers.
But I love the result and the cuteness of it!

I used some sherpa Fleece I bought from a small fabric shop in Switserland.

For the apron I mainly used Lori Holt Bake Shop fabrics and some linen, to which I added a little cat button.

 

I followed the pattern in I love Patchwork 

 

Well! I hope my niece will enjoy this "made with love" present!

 have yourself a great day!:)
sophie


Bonsoir!! 
voici le petit mouton que j'ai cousu pour mon adorable nièce pour Noël. 
Pour être honnête , j'ai eu bien du mal et je l'ai maudit maintes fois, ce pauvre petit mouton!Mais une fois fini, je ne pouvais que lui pardonner!! c'est un amour de doudou!
Pour la jupe, j'ai assemblé des morceaux de tissus : la plupart viennent de la collection Bake Shop de Lori Holt. 
J'ai utilisé un patron trouvé dans le livre " I love patchwork" qui est une mine de projets simples et tout à fait adorables pour la maison.

Voilà!
adieu petit mouton! 
et bonne soirée à vous!!
Sophie