Quilt in Progress

Daylight saving time began yesterday in France, which means lots of light for crafting in the evenings. I think I'll need it -- I've been bitten by the quilting bug.

Here's the beginning of a quilt that I'm making based on the inspiring pattern here. The one that I'm making will have 35 blocks like these (with a mixture of vintage and new fabrics), and I can't wait to see it come together!

Have a great week and à bientôt!

Thank You and The Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the vintage giveaway is: Bloom
Congratulations!

Also, thank you, everyone, so very much (merci mille fois à vous toutes) for participating in the giveaway and for your comments, which I loved reading. And, just a few remarks in response:

Congratulations and warm wishes to you, Angel Mélie, on the new addition to your family! Félicitations et beaucoup de bonheur à toute la famille !

Happy Birthday, Ashley Ann!

To all of you who leave comments in a language -- whether French or English -- other than your mother tongue, thank you very much because I know from experience that it's not always easy to do so.

Since some of you have asked where I find vintage fabrics...the answer is the usual places -- thrift stores, flea markets, etc. But I should say that I'm not lucky enough to find them very often. I love vintage fabrics and have just collected them for many years. For example, I've been sort of hoarding these two giveaway ones for quite awhile (a good reason for me to part with them - they should be put to use somehow rather than just sitting hidden in a basket).

Why give these away? Well, it's nice to be able to share an interest in vintage fabrics with other people who like them, too. Also, it's a way to show my appreciation for the visits and kind comments that I've received on my blog. Being a mother to a little boy keeps me really busy and I'm not able to visit/leave comments on other blogs or respond individually as much as I'd like to.

Have a nice weekend! :-: Bon week-end !

:-: A Vintage Giveaway :-:

This giveaway is for two pieces of navy blue and white vintage fabric and some vintage labels. In the first photo the colors appear darker than they really are -- the second photo gives a better idea of the colors.

The fabrics are some of my favorites -- they are like new and have never been used, but they have that irresistible vintage fabric feel to them. The labels could be used for organizing your craft space.

To enter, please just leave a comment -- if you have any questions about participating or leaving a comment, you'll find details here.

This giveaway ends on Friday, March 27, 2009 at 6 pm Central European Time (CET). Have a wonderful week!

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Ce tirage au sort est composé de ces deux tissus anciens ainsi que de ces étiquettes anciennes. Sur la première photo, les couleurs paraissent plus sombres qu'elles ne le sont. La deuxième photo est plus réaliste.

Ces tissus sont parmi mes préférés. Ils sont comme neufs et n'ont jamais servis mais au toucher on sent qu'ils sont anciens. Les étiquettes pourraient servir à organiser votre coin créatif.

Pour participer, il suffit de laisser un commentaire -- si vous avez des questions, vous trouverez plus de détails ici.

Le tirage au sort aura lieu le vendredi 27 mars 2009 à 21h Central European Time (CET). Je vous souhaite une très bonne semaine !

A Recent Vintage Find

I couldn't resist this 1920s/30s fabric when I saw it for sale. It's tattered and faded...but, oh, the charm of it.

Things I especially like about it:
:-: those rosy cheeks
:-: the "rain" on the umbrella that's actually from the watering can above
:-: the polka dot and plaid dresses
:-: the socks and shoes
:-: the springtime theme (so timely!)

On the subject of vintage fabric, I am still planning on doing a vintage fabric giveaway soon - I hope you'll stop by for it!

The Quilt Binding

Here's the binding that will go around the edge of the quilt. It's cut on the bias, which I'd never done before, but it was actually easier to do than I'd imagined (there's a helpful video here). Now I just have to figure out how to piece together the back of the quilt (the plan is to use fabric that I already have) before basting the layers together with safety pins.

Ever since I started this quilt, in the back of my mind I've been wondering where in our little home there would be space for this. Well, it's looking like it might require moving some furniture out of the way so that I can stretch it out on the floor (fortunately, my husband is a very understanding man).

:-: Hope you have a nice weekend :-:
:-: Bon week-end :-:

The Finished Quilt Top

The quilt top is finished, with all 20 blocks and the white sashing sewn together. I've decided to name this quilt "Past and Present" because it's made of both vintage and new fabrics.

This is the largest sewing project I've worked on (it measures 65" x 80" or 1,65m x 2,03m), so it's been satisfying to watch it come together. I think the next steps -- quilting and binding -- will be challenging (maybe I should have made a baby quilt first as practice :), but I hope to learn a lot in the process.

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Happy Month of March

This bag was inspired by the floral fabric that I used for the heart and drawstring casing. I have just a few small pieces of it and tried to think of a way to use them, since I liked the fabric so much. Here's what became of them.

Thank you very much for your comments -- merci beaucoup pour vos commentaires -- I haven't been very good lately at finding time to visit blogs. Please know that I haven't forgotten you. And I should write more often in French. If you knew how (very) slow I am when writing in French, though, you'd understand why I haven't. Oh, how nice it would be to sometimes have 48 hours in a day.

Hope the month of March has started well for all of you!

P.S. Just to follow up, the quilt status is -- 13 blocks done, 7 to go.

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Sonia has nominated me for an award. Thank you very much, Sonia! It's really kind of you.

Here are the rules of the award:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post
2. Nominate at least 8 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude
3. Link to your nominees within your post
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award

In turn, I'm giving it to:
1. Thimbleanna
2. Rêve de fil
3. Poetic Home
4. Sophie picoteuse
5. Sans Souci
6. La Maman des Quatre
7. Something White
8. lille ursus
(participation is optional, of course :)