Espritpatch

Well I didn't go shopping for fabric this morning. I was almost ready to go when my husband had a call from work saying he had to be on site today. No car for me so no shopping! Not sure what I filled my time with instead! A little while back, I posted a picture of the pieced top below that I am planning to finish up as a birthday present for my Auntie on day. I took the top apart back to the individual squares because I didn't like the look of it as it was put together about a week ago. Looking at my pile of 25 blocks, I felt some of the blocks still didn't work. I have finally decided that I don't like the two patterned fabrics next to each other so I am now unpicking some of my blocks to make them up differently. The 9-patch block was set on point and I am taking apart the set triangles to replace them by plain violet as on the picture below (the "planned" block is on the right): I am also taking apart some of my pinwheels to replace the 2 triangles by the...

Finally I have finished my blocks for the blocklotto and introduced myself briefly on the blog. I ended making 6 Cactus Pot blocks. I was initially planning to make 8 but I am running out of time. Blocks #5 & 6 have been cut, ready to be sewn for over a week now and I only manage to complete them today. The blocks are due by the end of the month (Sunday). Next week, the new block for June will be posted. I will try to be quicker and make more maybe... watch this space! Time to go to bed now as I might be tempted to go shopping for some fabric tomorrow with my lovely daughter (never to early to be immersed in the world of fabric/quilting etc!) Good night! Celine

I had mentioned last week that I was making a calendar on my wall with blackboard/magnetic paint, well it is now completed as off yesterday and is already in use as you can see from the photo below. I now need to buy different colours of chalks to get a more organised calendar and to make some personnalised magnets to finish the look! preparation work with masking tape: completed calendar already in use: I have also completed my other wall where I was planning to paint a Japanese cherry tree. I had to repaint the wall first to have a clean start. I found the pot of paint which was originally used by previous owners (probably when the house was built about 10 years ago). The paint was quite thick so I added water and there were quite a few bit of rust in it but I managed to recover enough to freshen the wall. I then found out that I didn't have the appropriate brush so I ended up painting the wall with a cloth. Great to give some soft texture! The tree shape was painted yesterday a...

I haven't posted any news for nearly a week now, time flies! The week-end in France was busy but very pleasant. We celebrated my brother's 30th birthday with the family on Saturday before his "big" party in the summer. AND I have finally got an idea for a present for him but I can't say much more in case he came around to visit my blog, who knows! It won't be a quilt but will be crafty, I will let you know more after the party! I had made him a memory quilt for his 25th birthday 5 years ago. I printed pictures of his loved ones and his passions in life (trucks, tractors, etc). The quilt was single size so he could use it in his lorry when he was sleeping on the road. Unfortunately the pictures faded very quickly even before the quilt was washed. Anyway here is a picture of the quilt just after it was completed. I have also spent most of yesterday trying my hand at digital photo collage to produce an invit for my brother's party in the summer. I had fun and...

Finally I have managed to finish my TV bag this morning. I finished all the blocks yesterday and assemble the bag this morning. I have added an inside pocket for the remote and an outside one for the . It was fun to make and green too. I have used one pair of adult jeans and a piece of fabric I bought before without knowing what I'll do with it. I hope my son will like it too! OK time to finish packing and off we go! Have a nice week-end and see you next week! Celine

Not much sewing time in the last 2 days unfortunately. I had to treck down to London for some appointements with my daughter yesterday so that was most of the day gone. I managed to fuse my first hen onto the background fabric and cut the second one last night while I was watching the Apprentice on TV, the only programme I watch every year. It is not sewn yet but it is looking good so far, if I can say so! 3 more to go and then onto the sewing! I also now have a picture of the 4 blocks I made for the blocklotto. I haven't posted the picture on the block lotto blog yet because I am planning to make more blocks. I will post a picture there with all my blocks at once I think. Anyway here is a peak of my first 4 Cactus Pot blocks: This morning I painted the wall again with my blackboard/magnetic paint and it doesn't seem to be magnetic at all so far so I will probably have to apply a third layer. I have also drawn a branch of Japanese cherry tree (Sakura) with a pencil. I am pl...

I had a little bit of time to play today so I have been able to complete the personalised bodysuits and pyjamas for the 2 baby boys. I also cut out one of the 4 hens for my grand-mum wallhanging and completed another 2 blocks for the blocklotto and cut 2 more that I will try to sew tomorrow. I will post a picture once I am done with my Cactus Pot blocks. I also managed to start on my home decoration project while my little daughter was having a quick nap. I cleaned the wall this morning and did put my first layer of paint this afternoon. I am creating a giant universel calendar in my kitchen from an idea I saw in Marie-Claire Idees. Pictures later. Time to go to bed now. Celine

Because the list is not long enough, I am also planning to do a little wall-hanging from my grand-mum who is turning 80 in June. I found a cute pattern on the Sulky (german) website which would be very appropriate since my grand-mum has lived on a farm and kept animals all her life: I already made her a wall-hanging on the same theme for her 75th birthday (5 years ago) from a pattern I found in Magic Patch: Then there is my other grand-Mum turning 85 in September. I have signed up for a mystery quilt Chain-A-Spool , which is based on the reproduction of an antique quilt from the 20-30s. I am planning to make that one for my grand-Mum using left over fabrics I have from the log cabin and flower quilt I made her for her 80th birthday 5 years ago. I should really get started with cutting my fabrics, which is the task for this month but have yet to start. I think I am going to use the green left-overs as the main fabric and some red as accent. I also have to decide which size I am going ...

Well, maybe to complete my presentation I should give you an insight in my on-going projects as there are a few. I like to keep busy but am not sure I can always keep up though. Lately I finished the little trapunto quilt below for the May challenge on BQL I also took part to two classes from quiltuniversity which offers online classes, great when you are somehow house-bound for a little while. I signed up for Colour Companions by Carol Miller and made 4 blocks (out of 5) so far. The last lesson was on 8 May so I am running a little behind... The first block I made was a monochromatic block with violet as my chosen colour: For the second block, we played with complementarity, so the colours in my block were violet and yellow: The third block was a play on slit complementarity, I used violet, red-violet, blue-violet and yellow in my block: And the last block I have made so far is using an analogous scheme with violet, red-violet and blue-violet fabrics: I still have the last block to...

Hello, Finally I have decided to take the plunge. I read a lot of blogs which I find very inspiring and love checking for updates on my favorite ones. I am not sure how I will keep up with updating my blog, as time is always in short supply with 2 little ones but I'll try. I hope over the weeks you will enjoy joining me and discovering a little corner of my life now and then. Please leave me a comment and let me know where you're from and if you've enjoyed stopping by. I would love to hear from you. Celine