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 mushroom embroidery and a fall mantel

I just finished my first fall embroidery:

And it has mushrooms!

It is a free pattern from Madame La Fée,

with the most beautiful fall colors you would want:

It is from the same designer that inspired my apple pillow:

These little mushrooms are quite smaller and faster to stitch!

and look perfect on the fireplace mantel

that I built last year.

So this year is my first fall mantel décor,

simple with a lot of reuse pieces from previous years,

and a few new ones, like the pumpkins pillow.

Happy cross stitching!

Happy New Year

I wish you all Happy New Year!

My mom sent me this lovely embroidery for the new year,

from this agenda book:

I have it too,and I am planning more embroideryfor this new year.
Bonne année 2021!

a year in review: 2020

What a year!I am so ready to say goodbye to 2020....but I have had a few good projects!
First up was the year of blue:

I painted the library, the island, the outdoor couch!
But the biggest change was our front yard/porch:

part I and part II

and of course, some sewing:

Apple pillow, I love you Quilt, Bunny pillow,

Bunny bunting, Bunny bags, Halloween pillow.

See you all next year!