Under Construction

Since my last post, there has been construction happening on several fronts.

The most obvious is the new look of my blog site. There are still many kinks to iron out on that front. "Techno Wizardry" is as alien to me as sewing and quilting are a natural extension of who I am. Since I'd rather be quilting any day, the blog rework is a bit of an ordeal but it is slowly coming together. (If my 3 year old granddaughter could read, she probably would have had the rework up months ago!)

That having been said, I will start posting again in the next couple of weeks, ironing out the rest of the kinks along the way.

However, throughout the drama of my computer trauma, the sewing machine has been running overtime, happily quilting. And my hands, not idle either, are working on new boutis pieces.

Here are a few pics of some of the projects that have been keeping me busy.

A doll quilt and vintage doll bed were under the tree at Christmas.
The star blocks are left-over from my grand daughters baby quilt and the cradle was made by my father for my daughter 30 some years ago.

Several silk samplers are on the go where I'm experimenting with everything from under linings to stitching patterns. The next few blog posts will discuss some of my experiments and the results.

A wall hanging, now finished, is shown here in progress. More about this quilt at a later date.

The pattern for our bed quilt should be ready to commit to fabric by the end of this week.
Finally!

The rosettes on the Notre Dame Boutis have been completed.
Now I must decide whether to add embroidery to any of it; and what colour? Maybe this is the year to give this piece some TLC.

I'm also working on several easy boutis patterns that will find their way into a kit at some point.

So, as I continue to iron out the kinks of the new layout, I will be posting again more regularly. Thanks for checking in.

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Boutis: Traditional French Needlework

" Piqûre de Marseilles" or "Boutis" is a traditional French hand stitched and corded needlework technique, which uses embroidery stitches to create intricate channels that will later be stuffed with yarn, thereby creating a raised design with three layers. It's origins, and it's name, can be traced to the port of Marseilles in southern France to the 15th century. Traditional boutis was a technique invented to embellish otherwise plain white cotton with intricately patterned channels that would later be stuffed with a plump white yarn to give it relief. The resulting corded whitework created an elegant, embossed textile that was much sought after. Not only was it aesthetically appealing, but it also provided warmth and absorbency, so could be used for bed coverings, toilette linens (like towels), clothing items, home decor, etc. The first two photos below are from the collection of Mme. Monique Alphand, a well known French expert and collector of antique t

Amish Hand Quilting in France with Esther Miller

Esther Miller, was born into an Amish family in the U.S., and now lives in Germany where she has for many years taught the techniques and methods of Amish hand quilting to anyone interested in learning these skills. As a child, she would closely watch as the women of her community worked together on a quilt, and eventually she was rewarded with a needle of her own and encouraged to join the group. Through the years, she has mastered these skills and techniques and now generously shares them with anyone who has a genuine desire to learn. Esther Miller in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace France. An example of her own work, Esther brings this intricately and perfectly hand stitched wall quilt to class as inspiration for her students. Last week, at the "European Meeting of Patchwork" in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines, in Alsace France, www.patchwork-europe.com , I had the privilege of taking a 2 day workshop with Esther. The Amish quilting method requires a free-standing simple

Blocking and Squaring Boutis

The door of her cage has been opened. She is free to fly off and find her destiny. After many months of hand stitching and then many more months of cording, my little "colibri" is ready to set off on her own. As this was my first attempt at designing so large a boutis piece, it was a learning curve. All of the tight swirls, curls and circles are a great deal more difficult and time consuming to cord then are the longer more gentle channels. Maintaining an even tension is absolutely necessary throughout the process, so patience comes in very handy when doing the cording. The process of stitching and cording a work of boutis subjects the fabric to a lot of handling and manipulation that can distort the design. For this reason, once all of the stitching and cording is complete, the boutis must be washed, blocked and squared. The first step of washing is to remove all traces of the marking pencil as well as any soil that may have collected over the many months of working w

Seams French

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