Closing Down

Dear Friends, thank you for reading this little blog for a while.
I just cant keep up with running two blogs and with all that goes on in the rest of my life!
So i am closing this one down now, saying farewell to you all, and thanking you for being here with me for a time.
My other blog, which is more about life in general and less about sewing, is
Frenchvillagelife.blogpot.com. Some of you already come to visit. Maybe I'll see some more of you over there.

W.I.P

It's very 'White rabbity' here today, as I am running, running, trying to get a cushion made.

It's my sister in law's birthday next week, and I suddenly decided she should have a hand made gift. I think it's much more personal to give a bit of yourself.

This is a Dresden Plate (what else?!) design and picks up the colours in her sitting room.

You can see that I still have quite a bit to do, but I have started the handquilting now, so it should go along smoothly..........I hope!

Popping in

Do you remember the Bushfire quilt project that I mentioned some time ago? It was a project to make Maverick star blocks to be made up into quilts , which would be given to the people of Victoria who had lost so much in the fires.

I saw today that 1760 blocks had been sent to Australia. That's enough to make 70 quilts. Another 39 have been donated, ready made up.

I think the final figure will be around 110 quilts to be given away. There are some amazing people who have taken on the quilting of the tops, and they look super.

I had a most interesting magazine sent to me from Australia (thank you Irene), which told the story of one girl who was given a quilt, having lost everything. It was so touching and made it all worth while.

Isnt it amazing how one person's idea can mushroom into such a worldwide project?

Late late......

Like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, I am continually LATE.

Spring means far less time indoors, far less time to write, to read, to comment.......even less time to sew.

Spring means hours in the garden, in the greenhouse, cherishing little seeds and baby plants. It means time spent weeding, training roses, planting new babies in the flower beds.

Spring means that I shall only drop in here about once a month now. Sewing has to take a back seat.

See you later in the season , my friends!

Playing about........

I'm playing around with blocks and fabric today. Some while ago I started to try out foundation piecing, and , as you do, made five little blocks and put them away. The other day I found them, and thought they were too pretty to sit in a cupboard. Wondered what to do with them, and came up with this arrangement.
I'm adding some squares of fabric bought in Bordeaux (lovely shop!), and sashing it all with a fabric that seems to pick out the colours. It will be big enough to use as a table centre, around 24" x 24". Now all I have to do is to put it all together!

A quilter is someone who.......

By Rose Mannassee

Saves ten boxes of scraps,
Has one corner of the house an eternal mess,
Buys half a yard of calico,
When on vacation, goes to the fabric store in every town,
Loves flea markets,
Is always looking for new ideas,
Spends sleepless nights thinking about colour combinations,
Has a tottering pile of books and magazines in her room,
Visits every five-and-dime,
Is always picking up pins and bits of thread from the floor,
Has a callous on her left index finger,
Is always looking for more quilt patterns,
Begs her friends for remnants,
Works for a year on a quilt, then gives it away,
Watches TV with a needle in her hand,
Is forever ironing,
Is never bored,
Knows one hundred patterns by heart,
Forgets to water the lawn,
Can get it all together,
Finds treasures at a garage sale,
Always has time to help a friend.

Does this apply to you?! It did to me! I went through each line saying, yes, yes (except that we dont have 'five and dime' shops here!)

The Quiltmaker's gift.

I wonder if anyone else has found this delightful book called 'The Quiltmaker's gift', by Jeff Brumbeau?
My daughter sent it to me last year, and it gives me so much pleasure, simply poring through the beautiful illustrations.
It is the story, I suppose for children?, of a very rich king who wanted the quilt maker to make him a quilt. She would not until he had given away his riches to the poor. He resisted, but in the end found a joy in giving. the exquisite colours of the quilt that the old lady made him shine from the pages.
There are blocks drawn on the end pages, and there are secret blocks to be found through the text. The details are amazing.


Click on the photos to enlarge and enjoy these lovely paintings. The artist is Gail de Marcken , and she obviously has a keen eye and a true love of quilts. If you can find a copy of this book I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.