a snowy Christmas tree skirt

I sewed a new Christmas tree skirt!

It is so whimsical and fun,

 trees and houses in the snow:

I made it for my sister who did not want too much red or green,

so lot of blue and pink!

The pattern is Yule tide Christmas tree skirt from Tied with a Ribbon,pretty easy to make, lot of raw edge appliques, so quite doable.
I mostly followed the directions, especially for the tree panel,with the reverse applique stars

but I realized my white and gold fabric was visible under the blue fabric,

so I did some regular applique on the house panel:

I also decided to stitch each panel on batting, 

skipping the quilting part later.

It worked well, making it easy to quilt.

I just stitched each panel to its friend,

trimming the batting at the seam to avoid any bulk.

Then I placed it on top the backing

and just stitched along the seams of each panel.

And finally I bound it with some candy cane print (cut on the bias)

I chose a more traditional print for the backing,

in case my sister decides to embrace red and green for Christmas next year!

I look forward to seeing some pictures with her tree,it will probably be better than this glass tree!

Here are some Christmas tree skirt I made previously:

Soft and fluffy skirt

Quilted tree skirt


Happy sewing!

picking chestnuts

Earlier in the fall, I went chestnut "hunting" in Brittany!

It requires walking under chestnuts tree and some good gloves!

It was a little too early in the season,

but we were able to gather quite a few:

We didn't roast them

(as I have previously done in the past: here),

but instead removed their hard shells

and boiled them with some salt.

The boiled chestnuts have to be eaten warm,

as it is easiest to pill the last skin before eating them.

It is a little messy, and fun and delicious!

And with a glass of cool hard cider it is perfect!

I hope I will be able to find some at the grocery store for Christmas,

other wise I know I can always find the candied version 

and make more Buche de Noel aux marrons:

Another version that can easily be found is those little bags of ready to eat roasted chestnuts,

they are ok, not quite like the fresh ones but better than nothing!

And I enjoy eating them with Beaujolais Nouveau!

(Here for last year Beaujolais nouveau celebration!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few linen pumpkin coasters

While blogs and Instagram are full of Christmas things,I am still in fall and pumpkins mood.After all pumpkins are a big part of Thanksgiving,and I am ready to celebrate it in a couple weeks.

So I made a few linen pumpkin coasters!They are inspired by Minki Kim's work,she has a great tutorial on you tube,quite easy to follow.I am a fan of her work, and have both of her books,I made a lot of sew illustrated projects!

I kept my pumpkins quite simple,

just linen and little hand embroidery:

and some fall print for the back:

I changed the embroidery a little between each one:

still, all very simple.I gave them all away, so I need to make one more for me!

I will leave you with one more fall picture,as my backyard is at its best:

Happy sewing!

fall embroidery

Lately I've had a really good time doing some cross stitching,

it is one of the easiest form of embroidery.

And this little fall cabin turned out super cute!

It feels like the perfect place to spend a weekend or some vacations...

The pattern is from this new book:

'Montagne au fil des saisons" by Veronique Enginger,

one of my favorite designers 

(she works also under les brodeuses parisiennes!)

More embroideries will come from this book,

so many cute winter/Christmas themes!

Right now, this little fall scene is taking a good spot on the mantel,

with a few pumpkins, acorns and leaves.

Happy stitching!