Stitched by Stéphanie

No I have not vanished...

2009-08-20T20:29:00.012-06:00

yes, yes, still here!

And still working on the three cushions. They are coming along nicely actually. I'm just sewing the binding to them. One is completed but need to be handsewn in the back. Pictures will come soon, don't worry about a thing!

Cushions to match, and a sweet tooth.

2009-08-02T23:40:00.012-06:00

I've started three big cushions to match my living room Snapshots quilt. They will be 20 inches square. I'm using three left over blocks from my quilt. I intend to quilt them too. The outside fabric isn't my first choice. I would have much prefered to use the Joel Dewberry Aviary Sunburst one but I'm not sure I had enough for all the borders. But this will work.

I am piecing the back of the cushion covers with the scraps also from the Snapshot quilt. It was my first time using scraps and sewing them together without a pattern. So I just went ahead, making sure I would maximize my use of fabric.

Some scrappy scraps waiting to be sewn together.

And here we have two pieces that will be the back of one pillow cover. Not too complicated, but still cute and random. They are all different. I like that.

Do you know by now that I like this Joel Dewberry's Aviary Sunburst? .... no? Weird. I really thought I made that clear.... Well the binding will be made with... right, you guessed it. And it's all rolled up, ready to go. So neat.

I'm now basting the cushions to the batting and backing. But with many guests in my house (whom I'm very happy to see though), it's getting hard to find some time and space to baste.... So this project isn't coming along that fast.

So I spend more time in the kitchen. You know, entertaining my guests!

Would you care for some chocolate covered strawberries and cherries?

Oh my, so YUMMY!!!

I was going to use some of my own chocolate at home but I stumble upon this little box at Sobey's, right next to the strawberries.... How convenient (and so "marketing" I concur).

Anyway, I gave it a shot. At $2.99, I didn't have much to loose, did I? It worked pretty well and the whole box was enough for all the fruits in the plate (plus a little bit more eaten in the proces... who can blame me?) You just microwave the little chocolate waffers, give it a stir and voilà! you're ready to dip! Easy peasy yummy.

And last but not least, the PAVLOVA!

oh Heaven, Oh Goodness, Oh my oh my!

What is a pavlova would you ask? Here is a great recipe and some information too.

It is basically a thick meringue crust (that is crisp on the outside and soft and marshmallow-like on the inside). On top of that, you layer whipped cream and fresh fruits and berries.

Well thanks to my good friend Marlene, I've been introduced to it last summer and since then I've been making this consistently over the summer months. I would say.. once every two weeks?
Well no one here can resist it!

Purses? done!

2009-07-23T00:20:00.018-06:00

I finished the purses for Leeann and Amy. Aren't they cute?

Amy's:
Inside pockets, a big one and a cell phone double pocket too.

Here are Leeann's purses.

Two cute purses, sitting on the bench, next to each other.... They just look like a girl and boy version of each other....

Something else got done yesterday! (they finally came to paint the front door! hum, I waited what... two years almost?)

Isn't it just beautiful? It just ties the whole house together, with the front red bricks that we have. I'm super happy with it! (even if the colour isn't a perfect match, it works great by adding so much more life to the house!)

J'adore ma nouvelle porte orange brûlé!

I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night

2009-07-17T00:47:00.019-06:00

(yeah, you know, even my 4 year old sings it these days.)

Anyway, yes indeed it was a good night:

PRV'd The Real World Cancun last night and watched it.

Watched Big Brother 11.

Made some Florida Orange Iced tea. Yep from scratch, with real tea. A Rooibos tea from my friend Jacqui at Sisters Leap Tea. (which one of my friends isn't addicted to Rooibos Chocolate Mint yet? that's right, you know you all are! LOL)

After being at Amy's house on Monday, and tasting her iced tea, I decided to give it a shot.

I boiled about 7 cups of water and added the tea to that. (how much tea? about 6 or 7 tea measures I think). Then some sugar too (how much? well maybe 5 tea measures?) Got it all cold in the fridge too. There, we're ready for you Summer! Because The Weather Network tells us that you're finally coming back tomorrow for a while! hallelujah! It's about time!

Then of to the purses....
The "exteriors" are done.
Cutting the pockets for the interior.

In queue...

2009-07-14T23:52:00.014-06:00

This is what I've been working on tonight.... Making three purses, two for Leeann and one for Amy. Using some beautiful material from Amy Butler and Erin McMorris. It's a very cute pattern too from Sweet Pea Totes!

Ready to iron:
My purses, Joel Dewberry's Sunburst and Sparrows and Amy Butler's Optic Blossom and Martini, are patiently waiting for me to get more interfacing from the store....

All pined, ready to assemble.

More patience needed.... I bought this last weekend. From the Sandy Gervais's Mix and Mingle (but not the solid marbled colours). I can't wait, I really can't wait to start this quilt! I will of course inspire myself from the Mix & Mingle quilt. But it will be a bit different. I want to try the whirlygiggles (aka scrappy cartwheels). Let's finish these purses this week, shall we?

I am still working on my two Ragged Square Quilts (a wonderful tutorial by Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts).

Yes, you've guessed right, one for my little twin boy and one for my little twin girl. For their toddler beds, which they are not using right now, but maybe in the fall (still in their cribs). So the quilts are all assembled now, and they are just waiting to be turned into sandwiches. Well, that's okay because there are some purses to be finished...right. The back will be flannel, warm and comfy for this winter.

I'm nervous to see how they will turn out because I didn't buy all good quality fabrics.... *shy* I started them in February 09, just after I discovered Amanda Jean's blog. I know better about fabrics now. Mistakes are part of learning, that's what I always tell my students.

Next project in queue: my first Christmas quilt... I'm not too rushed with this one. Although by the looks of it, yep it seems that summer never came here and we're skipping it altogether to go into Fall...????? in July ???!!!! Ok I know we live "north" but where are the sunny +32 Celsius days???!!!! (that's about 90 Fahrenheit by the way) Anyway, I'm excited to make a Christmas quilt and equally excited to try some pinwheels. (but not too soon.)

Well, gotta get going, 'cause that plate is getting full....

Lila Tueller, "la magnifique" (oh I won the Colourway contest!)

2009-07-14T20:56:00.008-06:00

Check out the AMAZING blog from Lila Tueller Designs!!! Don't you just love her work? She is just so talented.

She posted a few weeks back about helping her coming up with colourway ideas for a new Fall collection of fabric. I had just visited the Three Irish Girls website. They just make the best colourway of yarn! I want to order them all. I picked the Aiden colour: beautiful mix of green, teal, brown and ivory.

And guess what? I won!!!!

I won 2nd place in the contest. Here is the proof in this post from Lila Tueller!

YAY!

She mixed up the two names with the suggestions. So my name is supposed to be with the yarn, not the leaves. But she added a little note. All good! :-)

And then, she has already started putting the colours together. How amazing is that? Look at what she did so far, just gorgeous!!!! I love the little bird and the different type of flowers and ferns. Very good....

At the beginning there was... the Snapshots quilt.

2009-07-13T22:18:00.020-06:00

Off to a new adventure! Are you on board? I have so much to say and I don't know where to start! I feel shy too. Let's take the plunge!

On y va, je dois bien plonger si je veux nager.... non?

I finished my first ever quilt last week! I took a class... yes I was the youngest one by far! LOL but I'm so glad I did.

And here we go: Snapshots from the Happy Hour Quilt book, my first ever quilt!!!! It will be meant to be displayed in our living room upstairs. I love the fabrics: Amy Butler mostly and Joel Dewberry too. I'm so proud! (can you tell?) It measures 45" X 63".

I got inspired to try this pattern by the amazing AmandaJean at crazy mom quilts and her version of Snapshots but mostly her many versions of Happy Hour (which is the bigger version of Snapshots) like this one that I fell in love with the colours, oh the colours!!, and this one too, and I can't forget this one, my goodness, don't you wish it was Christmas already just to display that quilt?! I LOVE her work! She is such an inspiration to me. Check out her blog, but I warn you, you might become addicted, just like me! ;-) She has this great effect on people I think.

This is me agencing the colours together. A big puzzle.

Take one on arranging the square. It took so long to be happy with it. (didn't go with this one)
Take two. There we go... that's better!
Details of the quilting in the border.(yeah, it's far from perfect...but I'll learn!) I chose Cotton Bamboo for the batting. It's super warm, and soft, and not too thick either.

I did "jeans quilting", around each side of the main seams. (well if I recall correctly, that's the name of this technique.... isn't it?)

The back of the quilt. I wish I would have added some piecing, to make it more exciting. Kind of like this one from Liz at Teeny Tiny Quilts, beautiful. I love this Sunburst Chocolate fabric from the Aviary collection of Joel Dewberry!

There you have it! My first quilt!!!! ... and my first post!