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"!

Cocoon dress

I have long been an admirer of Groovy baby mama and of her perfect sense of style. 

I was thrilled when she released her Cocoon dress pattern, as I could get a bit of her style here at home.

I love the simplicity of this pattern and the fact it can be an autumn/ winter pattern.
Right now that's all I need: simple projects and warm clothes for my kids!
Sewing is very rewarding compared to knitting: I am a slow knitter and a slow sewer, but really you can get a dress in an hour if you sew it... it may take weeks if you knit it!

I chose a quilted sweater jersey, created by the talented Camillette création.
I had used the same fabric in a different colorway for my beloved crop linden, which I wear all the time!

I initially cut a size 8, even though I knew from the sizes table that I should really cut a 6 and use a size 8 for the length! so , obviously, the dress was too wide, so I had to reduce the sides of the skirt part by 2 centimeters.

The shoulders are the cutest!

My girl is so fond of this dress!

Her hair looks awesome on these photos: but I am not he author of this miracle: a friend of mine did it:! I am totally unable to do that ! my hands just won't do it !! even if I try! I guess all they can do is sew and knit!!:) bad mom!!

This girl is killing me! she is so sensitive, so authoritative, so clever, so jealous of her brother, so in love with her brother, so girly yet so fearless..... she is exhausting and I love her to bits! being her mum is my hardest mission, but it  is also making me grow in many ways. I am praying daily for her and for our relationship. I am praying it will bloom in something sweet and secure.

I mostly used my serger for this dress, but I would recommend this pattern for any beginners because it is fast and easy.
The neckline is worked with no neckband: it is the first time I sew one like that, and really I love it!

I am so glad I spent some time sewing this dress today. What a lovely way to spend a rainy sunday afternoon! The satisfaction of making a handmade garment will always bring me such joy! and the look on her face when I handed her her new dress.... unbeatable!

Délires laineux / WOOL

Cher Blog!

je t'ai longtemps négligé, préférant utiliser mon temps en des activités créatives. 

Mais me voici aujourd'hui de retour pour partager avec le monde ma fierté du moment: j'ai tricoté mon premier pull!! (ajoutez des cris hystériques!) 

j'ai appris à tricoter en octobre et me voilà aujourd'hui avec une vraie belle pièce pour ma garde-robe!

La laine est une laine écologique, la Cascade Eco en Ecru. 

Le patron est le Il grande Favorito de Isabell Kraemer que vous trouvez facilement sur Ravelry. 

Well, people, I am back to blogging , for today at least! 

I could not help but share my pride with the world: I knitted my first ever sweater!

I learnt to knit back in October, so this does feel like an achievement!!

The pattern is Il grande Favorito by Isabell Kraemer, that I found on Ravelry.

I made size 2 and just added 2 centimeters to the sleeves. 

As usual, this was a long learning process: every step along the way, I learnt everything from scratch using the Internet: Youtube is now my best friend and I found support from knitters on Instagram. 

I could not be more grateful for the people who take time to make tutorials for others: what an amazing gift!

 J'ai fait la deuxième taille après avoir  fait un échantillon qui tombait plutôt bien .
J'ai ajouté 2 centimètres de manches.
A chaque étape, j'ai utilisé cette merveille de ressources qu'est Internet: youtube est désormais mon meilleur ami. Je voulais aussi remercier les filles d'Instagram qui m'ont donné des conseils: Dudette, Nutellise et Cocotteknits. 

Knitting that sweater really proved that anyone can learn anything!

So I am ready for more sweaters, being the sewer that I am!!

My next project will be the Puntilla sweater by Joji Locatelli.

I also have 2 projects on the go right now:

- the Swift hat by So very Shannon

- the Masgot Shawl by Letesknit 

 

Faire ce pull m'a donné confiance. Je me sens capable de déplacer des montagnes de laines!!
Et j'ai bien l'intention de m'ensevelir aussi sous une montagne de laines! car j'ai découvert , en même temps que ce nouvel art créatif, tout un monde et par dessus tout: la teinture à la main.
En grande curieuse que je suis, j'ai donc exploré et découvert en particulier les laines de Dudette, de La bien Aimée mais surtout celles de Lainamourée. Je vous invite à suivre ces personnes sur Instagram pour être au courant des dates de leurs ventes. J'adore les laines de Dudette et sa personnalité pétillante qu'elle révèle dans ses podcasts.

 Mais je n'ai pas de mots pour vous décrire la beauté des couleurs et la douceur des laines de Lainamourée, qui est en plus une fille totalement adorable,  alors je préfère quelques clichés: 

  As usual when I start a new creative art, I get very curious about it and I explore as much as I can: I discovered the world of hand died yarn:)  my favorite yarn right now is made by a gorgeous french girl you can find on Instagram under "Lainamourée" : not only is she the sweetest girl, but she dies the softest and most colorful yarn. Here are a few shots :





Mpn prochain projet sera le pull Puntilla de Joji Locatelli Mais j'ai d'autres en cours:
- le châle Masgot
- le bonnet Swift de Very Shannon

Je compte bien aussi coudre une robe Cocoon de Groovy baby mama pour ma fille pendant ces vacances!

Car ce sont les vacances!! et c'est donc le temps des bonnets de lutin et des matins paresseux avec les cheveux en batailles!!
 
 
Passez de belles fêtes!!

{ autumn weaving // un tissage d'automne}

Voilà un nouveau tissage, que je ne vous avais pas encore montré! c'est mon tissage d'automne  aux couleurs douces. Je me suis beaucoup amusée à construire ces dessins géométriques. 

I made this weaving a while ago and had not taken the time to share it here.
I enjoyed the process of weaving this geometric design in fall colors. 

If ever you follow me on Instagram, you may already have seen these shots of the weaving still on its loom. The process really is amazingly therapeutic for me right now. 

I must say that when I got back to work at the beginning of this month, I thought I would have plenty of time to dive into big projects: I wanted to start sewing  a lot again and I wanted to quilt again. 

But really, my kids are growing up and it seems like they need me even more than before!! I thought I could rely on the good old autonomy thing!! but no! they do need me more. They need me for homework, to take them to soccer and horse riding, to take them to bible school ! 

They need to tell me about their days! It is a different kind of me they need from when they were babies. But, still, they need me A LOT! 

And really, this leaves so little energy, and so little me time, in the end!

So at the end of the day, I am happy to sit on the couch and grab my loom. My fingers are busy, my mind is scheming pretty designs and color combo, and that is all I need right now!

I still have plans to sew my wardrobe: they are so many cool patterns I want to make for fall, so I am hoping that when september is over, and we are all settled in our new routines, I will have the energy to sew again!

Si vous me suivez sur Instagram , vous aurez peut-être déjà vu ces photos du tissage encore sur le métier! le processus est réellement thérapeutique pour moi. En ce moment, avec la folie de la rentrée et la reprise des activités de chacun, je n'ai pas la force d'entamer de gros projets coutures. 
Alors je suis très satisfaite de m'asseoir sur mon canapé, avec mon métier à tisser et d'occuper mes doigts avec de douces textures et mon esprit avec des choix de design et de couleurs!

But for now, it makes me happy to touch and look at this wall hanging.
In order to hang it, I used a piece of driftwood I found on the beach during our Italian vacation this summer. I love that I get to have a piece of this beloved place with me right now.

J'aime cette tenture, et je suis heureuse aussi d'y avoir ajouté un morceau de bois flotté trouvé sur ma plage italienne favorite cet été.  Cela lui donne un petit supplément d'âme qui me plait bien!

{ Why I love weaving / pourquoi j'aime tisser }

I am really new to weaving, but it seems like it landed in my life at the perfect moment! Here are the reasons why:

#1  I love weaving because you can create beautiful things. And I love creating beautiful things!!
I get to play with colors and design! mmm. Yes! please! This piece I made last week was inspired by the  Arizona fabric collection by April Rhodes. I have sewn with some of these fabrics and, really, I adore every color combination she uses.

#2: I love weaving because I can do it while kids play around me, or while my hubby watches tv. It is not noisy and I don't have to lock myself in my studio when I weave.
It is something that gives me the same feeling as hand sewing the binding on a quilt. I feel part of a long line of women, ancestral women who always have felt the need to be creative and managed to create while managing their daily life and chores. Creating in the midst: I love that!
 

#3: I love to feel the threads under my fingers and I get a similar feeling as touching a great soft fabric or a finished quilt. I am very new to weaving, but still I can sense that there is a whole world to discover out there in terms of quality and texture of yarn. And I am loving the idea of discovering it eventually!

#4. I love weaving because I can share that with my girl and I hope to pass on the love of handmade things to her.
 
here is her first creation:




#5: I love weaving because I made a deliberate choice to make time for the most important this year: family, friends, Bible study and creativity.
A weaving project takes less of my time and of my energy than a sewing project. It does not leave me tired but rather energized and gives me the feeling of accomplishing something beautiful in a short time.  I need this right now in my life and it came at the perfect time!

My dear friend Rachel says weaving, like knitting, is more about "being" than about "doing". I can only agree with that.

As I posted my most recent weaving on Instagram this week-end, a lovely lady asked if I would sell it. It had not even occured to me that anyone would want to buy my weavings. But she seemed to love this one so much that I could not say no. It felt weird to send her this piece against some money! But then I thought I could buy more yarn with that money! and it felt fair. On the package I sent her, I used the name I used when I sold some of my quilts in the past : "sc studio" and it was fun playing the business woman!

Maybe in the future, will I be able to gift some of my weavings and maybe even sell some of them too. Who knows what the future holds?
 But in the meantime, I am so glad to think that this lady will be happy to look at this piece that I weaved patiently.

{ Entering a new season / le début d'une nouvelle saison

September always feels a bit like a second january for me! being a teacher AND a mom I feel even more that it is a new start in the year.  I usually use this time to set new goals according to my new timetable. I take time to reflect upon what I want this new year to look like and our life to look like too!

September is the time to say goodbye to our sweet Italian vacations: oh: yes! How we love our time by the sea, there, together as a family. The food, the people, the language, we try to make the most of it all. 

Septembre a toujours eu un petit air de janvier pour moi! en tant que prof et maman, c'est toujours un moment où je réévalue mes objectifs , surtout en fonction de mon emploi du temps. 

C'est un moment de transition où il faut dire au revoir à nos belles vacances italiennes! Les 10 jours que nous passons là-bas sont toujours une belle parenthèse: les glaces, la plage et la chaleur mais surtout nous 4 ensemble tous les jours! C'est vraiment cela que nous aimons le plus.

 

 Life is good there. Maybe because of the delicious pasta and amazing icecream. Maybe because we have so little time as a family during the year that we truly enjoy these 10 days together!

But yes, we have to say goodbye to that!

Mais, oui, il faut bien rentrer un jour!! Cette année cette belle petite a eu 9 ans le lendemain de notre retour. Coup dur n° 1! c'était hier que nous sortions de la maternité non???

This year this girl turned 9 the day after we came back and she had a blast with her friends.
She says she would rather still be a baby, because babies have the cutest feet! but still.. I think she is growing up too fast anyways, and without my permission!!

Et puis bien sûr, ils sont retournés  à l'école, mais cette année, dans une nouvelle école, et la première semaine a eu son lot de larmes et d'anxiété.

 And then we all went back to school: these two went to a new school and we had a hard first week. I am glad for one thing: that they felt that it was ok to feel bad and cry in mama's arms because they were anxious of not making friends fast enough. I am trying to parent these kids with as much grace as I can. And I am so glad that they know that I am here for them and that they can find comfort in their home whenever they need it. 

In the end, after 10 days, they are settling in, loving their teachers and they have found new friends. 

I am praying for them a lot these days: praying for protection and joy in learning. 

Ne parlons même pas de l'inscription au foot, qui m'a fait basculer dans un monde inconnu et redouté!! (insérer sanglots de la mère qui va devoir assister aux matchs le samedi!!) .


This boy started playing soccer. And to make a long story short, let's say that we weren't sure at first that we wanted him to play socker! But we agreed and I am so glad we did because I got to witness his delight yesterday as he attended his first real training session!

Et puis, comme ça, aujourd'hui, comme si mon cœur de maman pouvait en supporter davantage, voilà qu'il a 6 ans! Mais bon, il a promis d'être toujours mon bébé! alors tout va bien! (insérer bruits de sanglots de mère démunie!!) .

He also turned 6 today: 2 birthdays in a row are a lot to take in for my mama's heart! No matter how hard I try to enjoy each moment with open hands and a grateful heart, time seems to rush by way too fast!

SO that is where we are at right now! In the midst really, like most of you out there!

voilà donc pour notre vie aujourd'hui... la routine quoi, comme vous! bisous!

 

{ Je tisse... // weaving my summer days }

Oui! je sais ce que vous vous dites:" N'en a-t-elle pas assez ? Ne peut-elle donc se satisfaire de la couture, du scrap et du dessin??" 

Et bien non!! Parce que je suis une apprentie pour la vie, ou DE la vie plutôt! J'aime apprendre et j'aime découvrir et tout ce qui peut me permettre d 'exprimer ma créativité, je l'acceuille à bras ouverts! 

Alors quand, au hasard de mes ballades sur la toile j'ai découvert le "weaving", ou "tissage" à la main, je n'ai pas pu résister. Comment ne pas aimer cette technique qui combine couleurs, motifs et belles matières??!!

You all know that I am a learner. Learning and growing and experimenting make me happy. I never have enough ways to express my creativity. 

This year, I joined Creativebug, a platform of DIY classes varied and of great quality.  Perfect for people like me!!

And along the way I found this weaving class by Annabel Wrigley. I watched it many times before deciding to get started.

Annabel teaches you how to make your own loom, but I am way to impatient for that and I found many places online (yes! even in France:!) where I could get a loom for a reasonable price. And so I did! And a lot of different yummy colored yarns!!

Alors me voilà lancée dans l'aventure. J'ai trouvé un métier à tisser sur "Jeux de mailles" mais  on peut en trouver aussi sur Butinette ou sur Arrowshop.com.

 On peut aussi fabriquer son propre métier à tisser mais je suis bien trop impatience pour cela!!

J'ai suivi un cours sur Creativebug, une plateforme de cours DIY en ligne d'excellente qualité.  Malheureusement il vous faut maitriser l'anglais. 

 C'est un travail hyper relaxant et qui laisse vraiment place à la créativité. Je suis sous le charme!

Weaving is amazingly relaxing and I am in heaven when I can play with colors, design and nice textures!! SO here is to another adventure!

 Alors voici donc une nouvelle aventure, qui sera menée en parallèle avec mes autres aventures créatives!! et voici mon premier tissage fini. Celui-ci est pour mon studio!