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!

{ 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!

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"!

{ ISHI dress pattern tour }

Meeting An from Straight Grain in Paris last April was delightful. And when she asked me to take part in her much anticipated Ishi pattern release tour, of course, I joined happily. I had seen sneek peaks of the dress on her blog and thought it was a pattern my girl would love: princess seams and big pockets are bound to make little girls happy! 

When we were in Paris I found the perfect combination of 3 fabrics with my Ishi in mind: I found the floral and pink neon stripes at the Petit Pan shop and what I believe to be silk lawn at La droguerie. 

I was so happy because , really, the 3 are a perfect match!

The dress is a very easy sew. The only tricky part is the princess seams, but An takes you through it with tips and tricks.
However, I would not be able to tell you how long it could take on average to make this dress: the last few weeks have been quite nightmarish for me, with so much work and 2 displaced vertebraes! so I really took this dress one seam at a time: and it took me a whole 3 weeks to complete. But I would say that it took about 3 hours maximum to make it altogether!!

I thought this very special dress needed a little accessory: I made a headband in 15 minutes to make a cute outfit.

Because my girl is so thin , I cut a size 6 in all widths and added 2  3/4 inches  to all hemlines following Julie from our chez nous advice (yes there are some real conversations happening on Instagram! if you have not joined that amazing community, I can only encourage you to join us in the fun!!) .

 The fit is perfect that way!

The head band is reversible: the other side is made out of the neon stripped fabric. 

The result is amazing: we all love this very special dress here: the fabric is extremely beautiful and precious and the cut of the dress is something quite unusual too. 

One more happy sewer and one more happy girl in this world! thanks An for inviting me to be part of this tour!

Today you can also check out Kelly's version on her blog here. 

VanAtotZetje | P'tits Monstres | Aamore | Flieg Federfrei | Neven Jansen | Lieveke en Zus | Feathers Flights | Brigitte Whatsup | Lily & Woody | Kaatjenaaisels | Our Chez Nous | Creative Needle and Threads | Sisko By Mieke | Conversas de Hermanas | My Minnie Mie | Bobby & Minouch | Bonnie and Lottie | Bellelien | Kid Approved | Les Jardins d'Elysse | S Is for Sewing | Groovy Baby and Mama | Made By Sara | C'est La Vie | Boomie Blogt | While She is Sleeping | Kelly Jade | Miestaflet | Glitter & Wit | La Folie Sewing Booth | A Jennuine Life | De Zusjes | Le Labo* d'Isa| Welcome to the Mouse House | Stannel | My Cozy Co | Morningstar Designs

{ Sewing with fabric from Paris: a pair of Ottobre trousers }

The fabric:

This is the first item I have sewn with some of my Paris fabric. 

I am crazy about the fabric: it is a gorgeous linen I bought from La Droguerie. It is light enough for summer clothes and has this gorgeous stone gray I love. 

Un nouveau pantacourt pour Max, avec un tissu en lin acheté à la Droguerie à Paris. 

{ Paris! Here I come!! }

I am beyond excited to say that at the time you read this, I will be on the train to Paris, to meet 13 other sewing bloggers from 9 different countries from all over Europe!

We will be 14 women from 9 different european countries chatting about fabric, patterns and scrolling around Paris searching for the perfect fabric store! Well, if you ask me that might well be heaven on earth for me!

Gioia from dotta (Italy), 

Nina from Fliegfederfrei (Switzerland), 

Maria from La Inglesita (Spain), 

Marta from Do Guincho (Portugal), 

Marte from Compagnie M. (Belgium), 

An from Straight Grain (Belgium),

Nienke from Pienkel (Netherlands),

Maartje from Huisje Boompje Boefjes (Netherlands),

Laura from Craftstorming (UK), 

Laura from Behind the Hedgerow (UK), 

Victoria from As it Seams (UK),

Olu from Needle and Ted (UK)

Annika from Näh-Connection.

When we come back, we will have a huge giveaway involving all our sponsors! 

So be sure to come back next week for fun prizes and I hope some cool photos of our trip! 

 Now I will go and sing: "Freedom! oh freedom! freeeeeeeee-dooom"! 

A l'heure où vous lirez ce post, je serai dans le train pour Paris!! oui Pariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis! 

Je vais y rencontrer 13 autres blogueuses, toutes couturières, venant de 9 pays différents! Nous allons passer quatre jours à flâner dans Paris à la recherche de la boutique de tissus de nos rêves et à parler couture et patrons. Le rêve quoi!!!

A mon retour, et après reprise du travail, nous organiserons un grand giveaway qui impliquera tous nos merveilleux sponsors! Alors, pensez à revenir pour tenter votre chance!

En attendant, je vous fait des biz et vous dis: "Freedom! oh freedom! freeeeeeeee-dooooom"!!!

{ Thursday soulmate stitching : the washi dress }

Today my friend Annika from Näh-connection and I are both posting our take on the Washi dress pattern by Made by Rae! 

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this already, so I apologize for the fact that I am not showing anything new!!

Aujourd'hui mon amie Annika et moi postons notre version du patron de la robe Washi de Made by Rae. Pour ma part, je me suis contentée de la version top, pour être sûre que le patron taille bien et c'est tout à fait le cas!! 

{Thursday sewing: Babydoll Linden Sweatshirt }

Although we are way near the end of March and officially in spring, our weather has been very windy and so cold! 

SO I thought I needed to bring spring to me in the shape of a nice pink, yet very warm and cosy Linden Sweatshirt!

Ma troisième version du Linden Sweatshirt de Grainline Studio dans un tissu d'une douceur indescriptible de chez Pretty Mercerie!!

 Une fois de plus, rien à dire, un vrai plaisir à coudre grâce à la surjeteuse magique du père Noël!!

This is my third take to this pattern. You can see my two other versions here and here. There is nothing more to add about this pattern: I think it is an amazing staple and I love the fit. 

I cut in size 4 and just added 1 inch to the sleeves because I thought that on the previous one, which I am wearing all the time, the sleeves are a bit too short.

I totally adore the fabric : you can't see it here, but the inside is like a "long hair softy"!! 

it is so so soft! I got it from this french online shop called Pretty Mercerie: they have a great range of sweatshirt fabric.

I wore this outfit many times already, it is super comfy!

I wanted to add a little note to  you , my dear readers: I hope you not too confused about my creative projects and what I post here. I used to feel self-conscious and somehow guilty to have different passions. I thought it was a bit weird and believed my blog would not interest anyone if it did not deal with one topic / one craft only. That is partly why I stopped scrapbooking a year ago, when I discovered my passion for sewing!

But after much pondering and a bit of self-examination, I realized that I love being crafty, I just do, whatever the way, the medium. I HAVE to create daily in order to find a balance in my life. It is the way I recharge and reload. I have come to terms with the facts that I have multiple passions and that it is ok. I will not make a career out of any of these passions, but I don't mind, well, not really::) 

So, now that I am back to scrapbooking I thought it would be nice if I try to post twice weekly, if I am able to. Thursdays will be "thursday sewing posts" and at the week-ends I will post my scrappy projects: I am thinking that either a "scrappy sunday or saturday" would fit!!:)

Anyway, thats just a plan!!:)

Thank you for visiting!

{ Quilted Linden Top }

Hi there!
I am back with what is now know in the house as : the fastest project ever made !!
Yes this Linden Sweatshirt, not only is another fav and will be worn a lot BUT it was also so fast to make!
With my beloved serger, it took less than an hour to assemble!

Bonjour!
Je suis de retour pour partager mon tout nouveau pull, aussi appelé "projet le plus rapide de l'année"! grâce à ma surjeteuse , ce petit pull tout simple a été assemblé en une heure environ!
Il s'agit du Linden Sweatshirt, de Grainline studio, un patron en anglais mais, avec son niveau débutant, tout le monde peut le faire, même les ceux qui ne sont pas polyglottes!! Et même sans surjeteuse évidemment. Le sweat n'est pas très extensible, un point droit peut suffire.

{ I made a shirt! A Mulberry tunic for my boy }

 People!!! I made a shirt! I sewed button holes !:) even though it is a kid's shirt I am still proud of myself!!
Well, actually, my sewing machine sewed the button holes and I almost kissed it when I realize how easy it was!!:)

J'ai cousu une chemise! je n'en reviens pas! j'ai cousu des boutonnières!! enfin, ma machine les a cousues! et j'en étais tellement contente que je l'ai embrassée!!

I used the Mulberry tunic pattern by  Kid Approved for Willow&Co. 
I cut a size 4 for my 4 1/2 boy and the fit is PERFECT. 

This tunic makes me so happy!

 I love this pattern and I think it is so well written: I love the finishing touches: the topstitching and the seams inside the garments are well finished thanks to the details in the pattern:

J'ai utilisé le patron de la Mulberry Tunic par Kid Approved pour Willow&Co: un très beau patron, qui offre des détails très intéressants pour les finitions. J'aime apprendre de nouveaux trucs et astuces et ce patron m'a permis de faire de jolies finitions à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur: 

  Love the cute back yoke and pleat:
J'adore la découpe et le pli dans le dos:

I used Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics Collection bought from Hawthorne Threads a while ago.
I first bought the whole collection in 1/2 yards in order to make a quilt but it turns out I am using those prints for garments: I used them for my Knight hoodies' hoods and know for this tunic.

The prints resemble scribbles and doodling, perfect for this summer's Kids Clothes Week theme, don't you think?

J'ai utilisé des tissus de la collection Botanics de Carolyn Fieldlander achetés chez Hawthorne Threads. Les tissus rappellent des crayonnages, ils sont parfaits pour le thème de cette saison de Kids Clothes Week: KID ART!

 The boy wore it proudly to a birthday party today.

 He loves the inseam pockets:
Mon boy adore les poches sur le devant:

There really are 5 buttons on the front but he didn't want to button up the last one: "Boys don't wear the last button!!" So he says!!... OH BOYS!!

Il y a bien 5 boutons sur le devant mais :" Les garçons ça ne boutonnent pas le dernier!" dixit le boy! Je m'incline:)

Oh well! I was scared of shirts and now I am not!! I am ready to embrace the whole shirt thing!! give me shirt patterns!! I am ready!!

Alors voilà!! je n'aurais plus jamais peur des boutonnières! alors à moi les patrons de chemises pour enfants, hommes et femmes!!!! 

I wish you a great week-end, sending hugs your way!