little tags

A couple days ago,

I got an email for 101 Patchwork Projects and Quilts magazine,

it seems like a nice publication,

but $20 is a little steep.

In the same email, there was a simple tutorial for tags.

I could not help myself,

and went to make some right away!

So cute, right?!

After working on my circles quilt,

I had a lot of scrap pieces of Liberty of London,

it is a shame to waste these fabric,

so I used them up to make 4 little tags,

following the directions from the email,

I believe there are also in the magazine.

I used some off white cotton sateen for the center,

and just did some free motion embroidery

to write the name,

just perfect to send away my Mom's present.

I still have 3 gift tags/ name tags,

I will have to keep one for myself,

so with 2 left, I will be ready for some unexpected

birthdays or events!

 Happy sewing!



strawberry shortcakes

For the last few weeks,

I made a couple tartes aux fraises,

they were delicious.

When I got to eat out

I always check out dessert first,

just so that I know if I should get just an appetizer,

it is so terrible to not have space for dessert!

I am a "huge" believer of

"life is uncertain, eat dessert first".

At this time of the year, it is strawberry everything,

which is wonderful.

Since we are on a tight budget,

we have not being eating out in months.

So time to learn a new dessert:

Strawberry short cake.

Somehow I always ordered and

I never tried to make one at home,

a total American dessert!

I got my red and white cook book : Better Homes and Gardens

and just followed the recipe.

I was surprised by how easy it was to make shortcakes.

I made my own whipped cream with

1 cup of heavy cream

3 tbsp of powder sugar

and 1tsp of vanilla

It is really bad for one's self

but it is delicious!

For the strawberry sauce,

I pured 1 cup of strawberries,

 added 3 tbsp of sugar, and stirred it until mixed.

Then I added 3 cup of cut strawberries,

let it marinated for 30 minutes in the fridge.

The hardest part:

putting all together without

leaking the cream or stealing other people strawberries!

Oh yes it was good,

better make some more,

perfect timing I went to Costco

and got so many strawberries!

Enjoy!



total circles

I wrote this post a couple of days ago,

but Blogger crashed very nicely (!)

and has erased everything written since Wednesday.

I guess that is why we should do back up....

All right, moving on,

this is the project I made for my Mom

with all my circles!

a sewing machine cover.

I was inspired by a quilt seen at

http://www.purlbee.com/mini-quilt-circular-applique/

I basically followed their directions,

I just changed the sizes of the circles

since my "quilt" is a little smaller.

I hand appliqued the circles

but machine quilted around them,

I also did it before putting the back,

skipping the need for binding.

I attached ribbons at 5 inch from the tops

and bottoms, before sewing the back.

All the circles are Liberty of London fabrics, all different,

the background is a off-white sateen cotton.

I hope my Mom like it

and if she does not, she can always use

it as a table runner!

Happy sewing!




 

   

happy Mother's day

Happy mother's day!

Maman and Moi,

very fashionable,

in the 70's.

She had made my dress,

I am not sure about hers.

I miss you Maman,

but I will see you soon!

Happy day!

grocery bags, take II

I had such a good time making

the previous grocery bag,

I decided to make some more,

but this time, I used my fabric from Provence.

I have been holding onto my stash of Provence fabric,

like a precious commodity,

but since I started using it for my sewing room,

the seal is broken,

and I am going to town,

using it guilt free!

It is not like there are no more

where they come from!

( my parents will go there for vacation soon!)

For this project I used this fabric:

and some osnaburg for the handle

and lining, like my previous one.

I made them for my mother in law

as a happy mother's day present,

she reads my blog,

but since she is travelling to visit us,

it is safe to post today!



It is hard to tell on the picture,

the handles are top stitched in dark green,

matching the fabric.

For fun and pleasure, I added

a little tag, as a little logo.

Since I am not selling any of my work,

but I still want fame and glory

(not really!)

I went low key:

just a stamp on a piece of osnaburg!

a cute sewing machine and a little M:

I was inspired by this post by See Kate Sew

who made her own label.

Happy sewing!

presents for teachers

I finished the presents

for my kids' teachers,

just on time for the end of appreciation week.

As the daughter of a first grade teacher,

I know teachers like presents that are edible

(especially if they are married or have children!).

That said how about a cute bucket to put the chocolate?

I made 2 more buckets using this tutorial

from Ric-Rac.

I had made some last year

here and here,

they are fun and easy to make.

This time I used a quilting cotton

(left-over from my favorite jacket)

and drop cloth.

Probably unusual, but not buying fabric,

remember?!

I like them so much

that I think I will make some for myself,

to use in my new sewing room....

still a work in progress!

Happy sewing!



May the 4th be with you

Today is a special day

for all the Star wars' fans,

it is "May the 4th"

the unofficial Star Wars holiday.

Mon Cheri asked me last night to make

the appropriate cookies,

and the kids are ready to wear

their favorite shirts to school today.

The joke is totally their level,

and they are excited to share!

Brick Master is wearing his Boba Fett

sweat shirt from last month.

Here is a great Lego video: "May the 4th be with you",

that summarizes in 2 minutes the first 3 movies.

(appropriate for any age, no rudeness)

Come and join us,

enjoying the silliness of the day:

May the force be with you,

always.

whole wheat pancakes

On the week end, I love making pancakes.

We do not have them in France,

I have been making them for many years

but they are still a treat!

For a long time I followed the traditional recipe,

but because of the 2 tbsp of oil used in making them,

it is not really a healthy breakfast!

A year ago, I found the perfect pancake recipe:

whole wheat pancake,

fluffy and oil free!

they are healthy, and as easy to make as the traditional ones.

here the recipe (from the Volumetrics Eating Plan )

1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour,

1 tbsp of sugar

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1 egg

1 1/2 cup of low fat buttermilk.

Just mix dry ingredients together,

add the wet ingredients,

stir until all combined

and cook them as usual,

with just a trace of oil in the pan.

Enjoy them with strawberries

or syrup,

they are so good,

even my picky eaters like them!

Happy day!

in circles

here is my latest work in progress:

circles and more circles!

Lots of Liberty of London fabric circles,

I am working on a project for my Mom

for Mother's day!

Happy sewing!

grocery bag and great big dog

A couple of days ago,

while blog hoping

(could be a sport, just saying!)

I saw some cool grocery bag at During Quiet Time.

I got the pattern from Keyka Lou patterns

and went to work.

 

It went well and fast,

I am not planning on using it for the grocery store.

I have some nice ones from Trader Joe's,

but this is one will be perfect for purchasing clothes

and other "clean" supplies.

I used some older quilting cotton for the top,
and some osnaburg for the handles and lining,
the opposite style of my grab bag.

To make the fabrics work well together,
I top stitched the handles with a dark blue thread,
color present on the top fabric.

I have been trying to work on my craft space,

and make the valence,

but Great Big Dog is not feeling well.

GBD has been my best friend for the last 11 years,

and the last few days have been really hot and humid,

not ideal for the dog that lives for snow!

His back legs are stiff and he has allergies,

quite the combo!

He still manages to climb on the bed

and sleep on my favorite quilt.

He comes for treats,

but does not follow me in the house,

no more dog over my sewing machine pedal...

I hope it is just a phase,

and as the weather cools down,

GBD gets back to feeling better,

bugging me to take him on walk!

Here he is,

just a few days after we picked him up

at the animal shelter.

craft room make-over

It happened,

I could not take it anymore,

I had to do it:

make over my sewing/crafting space!

I thought I would wait until things

settle down around here,

but working in that ugly dirty cold blue space

was bringing me down!

So I repainted,

it took me a while to decide on a color,

the room is small (9 feet by 12 feet),

with on large window on the north side

and hard wood floor (a little tired).

At first I looked at some nice green,

then some lavender,

but not of them "spoke" to me.

I want to use some fabric from Provence

to decorate the room,

(still not buying fabric!)

In the end I went with a nice warm

light peach wall color

(Behr pale coral)

it seems perfect with the fabrics

I chose to use.

I reused most of the "furniture" from my previous

sewing room  and craft room in the big house in the Midwest.

Most of the pieces come from Target

and are not the most beautiful thing,

but with the new paint color,

they kind of blend in, instead of stand out,

a definitive plus!

The armoire still needs to be refinished,

all the moves have been pretty hard on it,

but since we do not have a garage,

there is not real place to work on it,

so it will have to wait some more!

I was able to trade the IKEA book case with my son:

he gained 2 black ones that could not fit in our bedroom!

(smaller houses are so difficult!)

I like the storage,

perfect for taller books (over 11 inches)

and for storing some cute fabrics.

(see all my Liberty of London fabrics?)

I kept the laminate top

and all the bookcases as the base

for my huge work table,

it is perfect to cut large pieces of fabric,

to sew/quilt and for the kids to craft with me!

One chair on each side makes it perfect for double crafting.

The big chair is for Miss C., and the little one for me,

both are high chairs since the counter top is about 3 feet tall,

perfect for working standing up!

I have also special guests:

the girls!

There are just not enough place in Miss C.'s room

to keep them safe (and that bed is huge!)

so they keep me company in the entry way!

Now I need to decorate this place,

and make a valence using  the lavender fabric!

Happy sewing!