Maevy's Corner

Patchworked Hangers / Cintres en patchwork

2012-02-05T21:27:00.000-05:00

Last time I came here, I was working on some tiny patchworked pieces. Here is what they became: patchworked hangers. They are a variation of those I made last year. These were a great way to use up my smallest scraps, and I do like the colorful result.

Lors de ma dernière visite ici, je travaillais sur des tout petits patchworks. Voici ce qu'ils sont devenus: des housses de cintres. Ces dernières sont semblables à celles que j'avais faites l'an dernier. C'est un petit projet parfait pour utiliser mes plus petits retailles de tissu, et j'aime bien le résultat tout en couleurs.

I only did the patchwork on one side, and used my new Dumb Dots for the back. Coordinated rick-rack all around and some satin ribbon completes the look.

Je n'ai fait qu'un seul côté en patchwork, et j'ai utilisé mon nouveau tissu "Dumb Dots" pour l'endos. Un ric-rac coordonné tout autour et un bout de ruban de satin complètent la décoration.

Next up, I will be working on a special project for my turtles. I don't show them much on my blog because I know that most people don't like turtles as much as cats and dogs, but you'll see that they can be pretty adorable. Just wait to see what I have in store for their makeover!

Mon prochain projet en est un spécial qui met mes tortues en vedettes. Je ne les montre pas souvent sur mon blog parce que je sais que la plupart des gens préfèrent les chats et les chiens aux tortues, mais vous verrez qu'elles peuvent être tout aussi adorables. Attendez de voir ce que j'ai en tête pour leur transformation beauté!

Open and Press / Ouvrir et presser

2012-01-24T20:41:00.000-05:00

Don’t you just love it when you find a new tool that simplifies your life? That is what happened with the little Clover mini iron that I got for Christmas.

N’est-ce pas génial quand on découvre un nouvel outil pour nous simplifier la vie? C’est ce qui m’est arrivé avec le fer à repasser miniature Clover que j’ai reçu pour Noël.

I tried it last week and it was a revelation. I had some very small scraps of fabrics to piece together and needed to open all my seams as I went. Because my scraps are very small and because I wanted to make the best of them, I reduced my seams to less than ¼” on most pieces, and I usually find it very difficult to press them open with my regular iron. The mini iron worked like a charm and saved my fingers from the usual burns.

Je l’ai essayé la semaine dernière et j’ai eu une révélation. J’avais de tous petits morceaux de tissu à assembler et il me fallait ouvrir chaque couture à mesure que j’avançais. Parce que mes morceaux de tissus étaient très petits et parce que je voulais pouvoir conserver la plus grande partie des motifs, j’ai réduit mes coutures en deçà du quart de pouce habituel. J’ai souvent du mal à presser d’aussi étroites coutures avec mon fer à repasser régulier. Le fer miniature s’est avéré être l’outil idéal pour le faire et il m’a évité les brûlures aux doigts que je m’inflige trop souvent.

I had some doubts about the temperature that it could reach, and whether it would be enough to easily press seams, but I was impressed. There are two different settings for the temperature. I only tried the one for cotton, the other one is for more delicate fabrics.

J’avais au préalable quelques doutes sur le degré de température que ce petit fer pouvait atteindre. Je craignais que la température ne soit pas assez élevée pour aisément aplatir les coutures, et j’avoue que j’ai été impressionnée. Il y a deux réglages de température sur ce fer. J’ai essayé seulement la plus élevée qui convient au coton, l’autre servant aux tissus plus délicats.

So, if you do lots of patchworks with small pieces, I am certain that this mini iron would be a great addition to your quilting toolbox.

En bref, si vous êtes de celles qui s’adonnent régulièrement à l’assemblage de petits morceaux, je suis convaincue qu’un fer miniature serait un atout dans votre trousse d’accessoires.

As to what these mini patchworks are destined to, you will have to wait a few days before I show you the final result. Any guesses?

Et pour ce qui est de ces mini patchworks, vous devrez attendre quelques jours avant de voir leur usage final. Vous voulez deviner?

New Fabrics and Favorite Music / Nouveaux tissus et musique préférée

2012-01-22T14:47:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend. I am making a quick stop here to show you the new fabrics that I got last week. I felt like I needed a splash of colors to brighten up the coldest days of the winter. From top to bottom they are:

- Birch Forest in Aqua from Backyard Baby by Patty Sloniger

- Tiled Primrose in Brown from Bijoux by Heather Bailey

- Pineapple Brocade in Celery from Bijoux by Heather Bailey

- Dumb Dot in Red by Michael Miller

- Tiled Primrose in Celery from Bijoux by Heather Bailey

- Dumb Dot in Citron by Michael Miller

- Sophie's Garden in Orange from Wildwood by Erin McMorris

Bonjour à toutes! J'espère que votre fin de semaine se déroule bien. Je viens faire un petit tour ici aujourd'hui pour vous montrer les nouveaux tissus que j'ai reçus la semaine dernière. J'avais besoin de belles couleurs vibrantes pour égayer les journées les plus froides de l'hiver. De haut en bas, les voici:

- Birch Forest en aqua, de la collection Backyard Baby par Patty Sloniger

- Tiled Primrose en brun, de la collection Bijoux de Heather Bailey

- Pineapple Brocade en céleri, de la collection Bijoux de Heather Bailey

- Dumb Dot en rouge par Michael Miller

- Tiled Primrose en céleri, de la collecton Bijoux par Heather Bailey

- Dumb Dot en citron par Michael Miller

- Sophie's Garden en orangé, de la collection Wildwood par Erin McMorris

Because it is the weekend and we all need some good music to relax, I am leaving you with two of my favorite songs at the moment. The first one is called Adieu and is the first single from Blonde, the new album by Coeur de Pirate.

Parce que c'est le week-end et parce qu'on a tous besoin de bonne musique pour relaxer, je vous laisse avec deux de mes chansons favorites ces jours-ci. La première s'appelle Adieu et est le premier extrait du nouvel album de Coeur de Pirate titré Blonde.

The second one is the new song Somebody Somewhere from Dallas Smith, former singer of Default, who is now trying a solo career in country music.

La deuxième s'intitule Somebody Somewhere. C'est le premier extrait de Dallas Smith en solo qui fait une incursion dans la musique country après avoir laissé le groupe Default dont il était le chanteur.

I wish you all a great Sunday and I will be back during the week with news from my studio.

Profitez bien de votre dimanche et je vous reviendrai pendant la semaine avec des nouvelles de mon studio.

New Toys... / Des nouveaux jouets...

2012-01-09T20:58:00.001-05:00

The holidays have brought some new toys to my humble studio. Wanna see what Santa gave me?

Le congé des fêtes a apporté des nouveaux jouets dans mon petit studio. Vous voulez voir ce que le Père Noël m'a offert?

I received a cute Clover mini iron (thanks to Thalie!). I had been wanting one for a long time. I ususally work on very small pieces of fabric in my projects, and I am convinced that this size of iron will be a lot easier to handle when pressing seams, and I can hear the sigh of relief from my fingers, which have suffered their share of burns in the past.

J'ai reçu ce mignon fer à repasser miniature Clover (merci à Thalie!). Depuis longtemps je rêvais d'en avoir un. La plupart des projets de couture que je réalise comportent de très petits morceaux de tissu, et je suis convaincue que la taille de ce petit fer va me faciliter la vie quand je presse les coutures de mes ouvrages, sans compter que j'entends un grand soupir de soulagement de mes doigts, qui n'ont pas manqué de souffrir de brûlures dans le passé.

I also got myself a cute little accessory that I simply love. It is an automatic threader that I found on Lee Valley. I do a lot of hand sewing, which means frequent re-threading of the needle, and with the chronic bad lighting of our living room, I found that threading was becoming a problem for me and discouraged me from sewing in the evening.

Je me suis aussi procuré un petit accessoires que j'adore. C'est un enfileur d'aiguille automatique que j'ai trouvé chez Lee Valley. Je fais beaucoup de couture à la main, alors je dois souvent enfiler mon aiguille, et avec l'éclairage médiocre de notre salon, j'avais de plus en plus de mal à enfiler mon aiguille, et ça me décourageait de coudre en soirée.

So I am very happy to have found this little device because it works like a charm and makes my life a lot easier.

Alors, je suis très heureuse d'avoir trouvé ce petit appareil parce qu'il fonctionne comme un charme et me facilite beaucoup la vie.

All you have to do is insert your needle head down in one of the three slots, depending on the needle size. Then you wrap your thread around the neck of the threader and you push the pedal down. A small loop of thread will come out of the neck, and all you have to do is pull one end through, then take your needle out of the slot and you are good to go.

Il suffit d'insérer l'aiguille, chas vers le bas, dans l'une des trois ouvertures, en fonction de la grosseur de l'aiguille. Ensuite, on passe le fil autour du cou de l'enfileur et on appuie sur la petite pédale. Une petite boucle de fil apparaît alors par un trou sur le côté du cou, et il ne reste qu'à tirer sur le fil pour en passer un bout au-travers du trou, et à retirer l'aiguille de son support.

What I need now is another device to knot my thread, because I am really bad at it.

Ce qu'il me faut maintenant, c'est un autre appareil qui ferait un nœud à ma place, parce que je n'ai vraiment aucun talent.

What have you got new in your studio?

Alors, quoi de neuf dans votre studio?

While I was gone - Part 2 / Pendant mon absence - 2e partie

2012-01-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

I have been working on a few other projects during the fall. One of them is this small patchworked basket, which I made using my favorite pattern from Pink Penguin. This is the fifth basket I make from this pattern. The fabrics I used for this one are Liberty of London. I love the prints from Liberty, but I found it a bit difficult to work with such delicate fabrics.

J'ai travaillé sur quelques autres projets pendant l'automne. L'un d'entre eux est ce petit panier en patchwork, que j'ai réalisé en utilisant mon patron préféré de Pink Penguin. C'est le cinquième panier que je couds à partir de ce patron. Les tissus que j'ai utilisés pour celui-ci sont de la maison Liberty of London. J'adore les imprimés de Liberty, mais j'ai trouvé un peu difficile de travailler avec des tissus aussi délicats.

I finally completed this chair pad that was lying unfinished in my studio for months. All that needed to be done was the quilting with embroidery thread. I sat for an evening in front of the TV and that was done.

J'ai aussi enfin complété ce petit coussin de chaise qui traînait dans mon studio depuis des mois. Il ne me restait pourtant qu'à le piquer avec du fil à broder. Une petite soirée devant la télé et le tour était joué.

Finally, this is not a sewing project, but it is one that kept me busy for a few days: we started a little transformation in our laundry room. This is one of the last two rooms that remained as they were when we bought the house over three years ago. The color, a dark lime green, was ugly and there were holes in the wall, where a shelf used to be. Since we needed to replace our old washer/dryer, it was the ideal moment to repair and paint the walls.

Finalement, le dernier n'est pas un projet de couture, mais c'en est un qui m'a tenue occupée pendant quelques jours: nous avons commencé une petite transformation de notre buanderie. C'est l'une des deux dernières pièces de la maison qui n'avaient pas changé depuis que nous avons acheté la maison il y a un peu plus de trois ans. La couleur, un vert lime éclatant, était affreuse et il y avait encore des trous dans le mur là ou une tablette avait jadis été installée. Comme nous devions remplacer nos vieux électros, le moment était idéal pour réparer et repeindre les murs.

We used the same color as the one in our family room, because we had a gallon left from it, and the color matched well with the flooring. However, the new washer/dryer are lower than the old ones, and so we can see the big hole in the wall where the plumbing is. I guess we could move the plumbing and replaster the wall, but I am trying to find an easier and more creative way to deal with this little problem. I may have had an idea this morning, but I will show you when we are done in this room. We still need to install cupboards on the wall for storage, and some decorations.

Nous avons utilisé la même couleur que celle de notre salle familiale, parce qu'il nous en restait un galon, et la couleur se mariait bien à celle du plancher. Cependant, le modèle des nouveaux électros laisse voir le grand trou dans le mur ou se trouve la plomberie. Je suppose que nous pourrions déplacer les tuyaux et refaire le mur, mais j'essaie de trouver une manière plus simple et plus créative de traiter ce petit problème. Je pense avoir eu une bonne idée ce matin, mais je la dévoilerai quand nous aurons fini le travail dans cette pièce. Il nous reste encore à installer des armoires pour ajouter du rangement, et quelques décorations colorées.

While I was gone - Part 1 / Pendant mon absence - 1ère partie

2012-01-01T18:48:00.000-05:00

I came here the other day to show you a review of my year in pictures, but I failed to explain what I had been up to during the previous two months. That was an awfully long time without posting a single word or picture, but that doesn't mean I was sleeping the whole time... although that might have been nice. I was busy with what you can see in the box above: One hundred and twelve one-inch sided paper-pieced hexagons. Don't you just love the hexagon shaped box? Patrick gave it to me when he realized just how much hexagon-crazy I had become over year.

Je suis venue vous présenter il y a quelques jours une revue de mon année 2011 en photos, mais j'ai omis de vous expliquer ce qui avait occupé mon temps durant les deux mois précédents. Mon blog est resté sans mot et sans photo pendant un très long moment, je l'admets, mais ça ne veut pas dire que j'ai dormi pendant tout ce temps... quoique ça n'aurait pas été désagréable. J'étais occupée par ce que vous pouvez voir dans la boîte ci-dessus: Cent douze hexagones assemblés à des formes de papier, faisant chacun un pouce de côté. Et la forme de la boîte n'est-elle pas géniale? C'est Patrick qui me l'a offerte quand il a réalisé à quel point je suis devenue obsédée par les hexagones pendant l'année.

I used 91 of my small hexagons to make this hexagon-shaped table center. I had these Martha Negley's fabrics in my favorites for a long time, and I finally decided to sew this piece so I could display them in my dining room.

J'ai utilisé 91 de mes petits hexagones pour fabriquer ce centre de table en forme de grand hexagone. J'avais ces beaux tissus signés Martha Negley dans mes favoris depuis un long moment, et j'ai finalement décidé d'en faire un centre de table pour les mettre bien en évidence dans ma salle à manger.

With the remaining hexagons, I sewed a small pot holder for my mom, because she had told me how much she liked the colors of these fabrics. I think those colors reflect beautifully what can be seen outside in the fall.

Avec les hexagones restants, j'ai cousu un petit sous-plat pour ma maman, parce qu'elle m'avait dit combien elle aimait les couleurs de ces tissus. À mon avis, ils représentent de belle façon ce qu'on peut voir dans la nature en automne.

I also made another potholder for my mom. I used the house design from a pincushion I had made earlier during the year, enlarged it and paper-pieced it in bright colors.

J'ai aussi fait un autre sous-plat pour ma maman. J'ai utilisé le motif de maison provenant d'un pique-épingles que j'avais réalisé plus tôt dans l'année, je l'ai agrandi et je l'ai cousu dans des couleurs vives en utilisant encore une fois la méthode d'assemblage sur support de papier.

Next up, the second part of what I've been doing during my long silence. See you soon!

À venir bientôt, la deuxième partie de mes réalisations pendant ma longue absence. À bientôt!

Good bye 2011 / Aurevoir 2011

2011-12-30T15:40:00.001-05:00

Another year almost over, and I sat down today and looked over the pictures I took in 2011. Last year, I had made mosaics and really liked doing so. In fact, I went back and looked at them a few times during the year. So, I did the same again this year to look back on my sewing projects and last summer's garden.

Une autre année qui s'achève, et j'ai pris le temps aujourd'hui de passer en revue les photos que j'ai prises pendant l'année 2011. L'an dernier, j'avais préparé des petites mosaïques de mes photos et j'avais bien aimé l'exercice. En fait, je suis retournée les regarder à quelques reprises pendant l'année. Alors, j'ai décidé de faire de même cette année pour me remémorer les projets de coutures que j'ai réalisés, et aussi les plus belles fleurs qui ont embelli mon jardin pendant l'été.

1. Bunny Softie 2. Country Chair Pad 3. Pot Holder 4. Hexie Table Center 5. Fabric-covered Hangers
6. Hexie Mug Rug 7. Pin Cushion 8. Hexie Pot Holder 9. Needle Book 10. Patchworked Basket
11. Another Bunny Softie 12. Hexie Yarn Bag

1. Stresa Tulip 2. Fox Trot Tulip 3. Morning Glory 4. Butterfly on purple Coneflower 5. Gomphrena
6. A view of my backyard (honeysuckle tree, kitchen garden and flower garden in the far back)
7. Runner beans 8. Malva zebrina 9. Multi-headed Sunflower

Fall Colors / Couleurs d'automne

2011-10-22T16:15:00.001-04:00

Yellow and orange / Jaune et orangé:

The last flowers to come out of the garden,
black-eyed susans and blanket flowers
Les dernières fleurs à quitter le jardin, gaillardes et rudbeckies

Blue / Bleu:

Only in the fall do we get such perfect blue skies in Quebec city,
here shown over the impressive Eurodam cruise ship
Il n'y a que l'automne pour nous offrir un ciel d'un bleu aussi pur,
ici surplombant l'impressionnant navire de croisière Eurodam.

Gold / Or:

In October, leaves turn to golden hues in downtown Quebec.
En octobre, les feuilles se parent d'or dans le Vieux Québec.

White / Blanc:

Many cruise ships visit Quebec in the fall,
here the luxurious all-white Seabourn Sojourn.
De nombreux navires de croisière visitent Québec en automne,
ici le luxueux et immaculé Seabourn Sojourn.

Green and rust / Vert et rouille:

Martha Negley's Automn Medley charm pack.
Carrés de tissus de la collection Automn Medley de Martha Negley.

Red and purple / Rouge et mauve:

Kaffe Fassett mixed charm pack.
Carrés de tissus en mélange de Kaffe Fassett.

A Happy Ending / Une fin heureuse

2011-09-19T20:45:00.000-04:00

This is it, summer is almost over, only a couple of days left. But we've had such wonderful weather these past few weeks that it can only be a happy ending. I have spent my free time outdoors sorting through the bounties of summer. My first attempt at growing peppers have been very satisfying -- and delicious. I've only harvested these three little guys, but their colors were glorious and we have enjoyed them very much on the grill.

Ça y est, l'été tire à sa fin, il ne reste plus que quelques jours. Mais avec les journées magnifiques que nous avons eu ces deux dernières semaines, la fin ne peut qu'être heureuse. J'ai passé mes temps libres dehors dans mon jardin, à cueillir les fruits de la saison qui s'achève. Mon premier essai de culture de poivron s'est avéré très satisfaisant -- et délicieux. J'ai cueilli trois petits poivrons, mais leur couleurs étaient éblouissantes et nous les avons beaucoup appréciés, cuits sur le grill.

I had fun picking the giant beans that my runner beans produced and playing with the lovely seeds hidden inside.

Je me suis amusée à cueillir les fèves géantes produites par mes haricots grimpants, et à jouer un peu avec les jolies graines cachées à l'intérieur.

I collected all the dead sunflower heads and kept the seeds to use in my birdfeeders.

J'ai coupé les têtes de mes tournesols fanés et j'en ai recueilli les graines que je vais offrir aux oiseaux dans mes mangeoires.

The Morning Glories and the Hollyhocks have waited until the very end of summer to finally bloom, but what beautiful flowers to have in the garden when everything else looks tired. They sure put up a great show with their giant flowers.

Les gloires du matin et les roses trémières ont attendu à la toute fin de l'été pour fleurir enfin, mais quelles fleurs superbes à avoir au jardin quand tout le reste montre des signes évidents de fatigue. Elles offrent tout un spectacle avec leurs fleurs géantes.

And here is one last picture of a Sunflower, because I never tire of looking at them, and because they are almost all gone to seeds now. Their great splash of yellow in my backyard is such a confort when the days get cold and rainy.

Et voici une dernière photo de tournesol, parce que je ne me lasse jamais de les regarder, et parce qu'ils sont presque tous fanés et remplis de graines maintenant. Leur jaune éclatant dans ma cour arrière est toujours un réconfort quand les jours deviennent frais et pluvieux.

Friday in Bloom - The End / Vendredi fleuri - la fin

2011-09-09T06:14:00.000-04:00

This is it, my last Friday in Bloom for this season. I would have more flowers to show, but I wanted to end it with one of my favorite flower, the sunflower, and now is the time when they look their best. I have different varieties in my yard, most of them being black sunflowers that birds scattered from the feeder. Hope you enjoy the show. I sure do everyday, rain or shine.

Je vous présente aujourd'hui mon dernier Vendredi fleuri pour cet été. J'aurais eu d'autres fleurs à vous montrer, mais je voulais terminer cette petite série avec une de mes préférée, le tournesol, et ces jours-ci ils sont à leur meilleur. J'ai plusieurs variétés de tournesols dans ma cour cette année, la plupart d'entre elles provenant des graines que les oiseaux ont répandues de la mangeoire. J'espère que vous apprécierez le spectacle. Pour moi c'est un ravissement chaque jour, beau temps mauvais temps.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-08-26T08:16:00.000-04:00

I planted runner beans this year, not because I wanted to eat the beans, but because I wanted to try growing some climbing plants and because the seeds packet said the flowers attracted hummingbirds.

J'ai planté des haricots grimpants cette année, pas tant pour les haricots que pour essayer de cultiver une plante grimpante, et aussi parce que le paquet de graines mentionnait que les fleurs de cette variété attireraient les colibris.

I got exactly what I had bargained for: a vigorous climber, an abundance of bright scarlet flowers, impressive beans and a constant buzz of hummingbirds.

J'ai obtenu exactement ce que j'espérais: une plante grimpante vigoureuse, une abondance de fleurs rouge écarlate, des haricots à la taille impressionnante et l'activité constante des colibris.

Runner beans will now be at the top of my list of returning plants in my garden. I enjoyed them so much this summer that I cannot imagine going without them next year.

Les haricots grimpant figurent maintenant au sommet de ma liste des plantes à cultiver dans mon jardin. Je les ai tellement appréciés cet été que je ne peux imaginer m'en passer l'année prochaine.

For a chance of seeing more of these tiny feathered beauties in my backyard, runner beans will have a choice spot next year in my garden.

Ne serait-ce que pour la chance de voir encore de ces magnifiques créatures ailées dans ma cour, les haricots grimpants auront un emplacement de choix au jardin l'an prochain.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-08-19T19:58:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I missed last week's Friday in Bloom, and I am coming quite late this week, but that's what going back to work does to me. There are still lots of pretty flowers out there, though, and so I am happy to show you one more from my little garden.

Bon, j'ai manqué l'édition de la semaine dernière de mon Vendredi fleuri, et je reviens plutôt tard aujourd'hui, mais je suis là avec une nouvelle fleur de mon jardin, et il y en a encore d'autres à venir, la saison n'est pas déjà terminée.

This one is a gomphrena, the variety is called "Las Vegas Purple". I had seen a similar variety last summer in a public garden and had fallen in love with these cute little papery pompoms and their vibrant shade of violet. Since then, I'd had it in my mind that I would grow these flowers in my garden. It has not been easy, but here they finally are in bloom. The flowers are much smaller than I remembered from last year, but the papery texture is just as amazing, and the color is perfect.

Cette fleur est une gomphrène, la variété s'appelle "Las Vegas Purple". J'avais vu une variété semblable l'été dernier dans un jardin public, et j'étais tombée sous le charme de ces petits pompoms de papier et de leur vibrante teinte violette. Depuis, je m'étais mis en tête de cultiver ces fleurs dans mon jardin. Ça n'a pas été facile, mais elles ont finalement atteint le sommet de leur floraison. Les fleurs sont plus petites que dans mon souvenir, mais leur texture de papier est tout aussi impressionnante, et leur couleur est parfaite.

Kitchen Garden Update # 3 / Revue du potager # 3

2011-08-05T20:53:00.000-04:00

My kitchen garden viewed from the deck
Mon potager vu du patio

August already. My flower garden is now at its best, and the kitchen garden is doing pretty good too. It's time for another review.

Déjà le mois d'août. Mon jardin de fleurs est à son meilleur, et le potager est tout aussi beau à voir. C'est le temps pour une nouvelle revue.

As you can see above, the morning glories have outgrown their treillis, but have yet to produce flowers. I am beginning to think that they may never blossom, but still I am happy with their profusion of heart-shaped leaves.

Comme le montre la photo ci-dessus, les gloires du matin ont largement dépassé la hauteur de leur treillis, mais leurs fleurs se laissent toujours attendre. Je commence à penser qu'elles ne fleuriront peut-être jamais, et je me satisfais de la profusion de belles feuilles en forme de coeurs.

First sunflower to blossom
Premier tournesol à fleurir

See how this sunflowers has
at least 5 buds on the plant?
Voyez comme ce tournesol a
au moins 5 boutons sur le plant

The sunflowers, however, are full of buds, and one flower is already opening. I simply love sunflowers and I like to try one new variety in my garden every summer. The great thing about these ones this year, is that each plant will bear many flowers instead of one single bloom at the top like most standard varieties.

Les tournesols, de leur côté, sont déjà pleins de boutons, et une première fleur commence à ouvrir. J'adore les tournesols, et j'aime essayer une nouvelle variété chaque été dans mon jardin. Ce qui est épatant avec ceux-ci, c'est que chaque plant va porter une multitude de fleurs, plutôt qu'une seule au sommet comme on retrouve dans les variétés standards.

Lettuce and carrots, yellow beans at the top, and what
should be sweet peas on the left
La laitue et les carottes, avec les haricots jaunes
tout en haut, et ce qui devrait être des pois de senteur
sur la gauche

One big "orange" pepper in the front,
and two smaller "red" ones in the background
Un gros poivron "orange" à l'avant,
et deux plus petits poivrons "rouges" en arrière-plan

Thank God the beans are finally about to blossom
Dieu merci les haricots vont enfin fleurir

The veggies are growing steadily. Carrot leaves have always been my favorite, that is until the actual carrots are ready to eat. The lettuce is nice and very good in salads, with chive and radishes. It looks like we'll end up with three peppers and that makes me very happy because I did not have that much confidence in my ability to grow them in the first place. Turns out they did all the work! My sweet yellow beans are a llittle behind, but I spied flower buds, so I believe I'll be able to taste them in the next few weeks.

Les légumes font preuve d'une belle constance. Les feuilles de carottes sont adorables, elles ont toujours été mes préférées, du moins jusqu'à ce que les carottes soient prêtes à être mangées. La laitue est bien jolie, et aussi très bonne en salade, avec ciboulette et radis. J'aurai finalement trois poivrons, et j'en suis très heureuse car je n'avais pas une grande confiance en ma capacité à les cultiver. Mais on dirait bien qu'ils ont fait tout le travail! Mes petits haricots jaunes traînent un peu derrière, mais j'y ai surpris des boutons de fleurs, alors je peux espérer y goûter dans les prochaines semaines.

The runner beans have long outgrown their teepee
Les haricots à rames ont depuis longtemps
dépassé la hauteur de leur tipi

And if the yellow beans fail, well, I also have runner beans growing on a teepee in my flower garden. Right now, they are in full bloom and very popular with hummingbirds, and from them I know I will get more than my share of snow peas.

Et si les haricots jaunes n'ont pas suffisamment de temps pour leur production, j'ai aussi des haricots à rames qui ont envahi un tipi dans mon jardin de fleurs. Ils sont tout en fleurs ces jours-ci, et très populaires auprès des colibris. Et je sais qu'ils m'offriront plus que ma part de pois mange-tout.

The only real disappointment from my kitchen garden is with the sweet peas. They took forever to germinate, and then they grew slowly but nicely, so I did have some hope. But at a certain point they stopped and have been stalling ever since. They never even reached the bottom of the treillis. So there must be something I got wrong with them, but I can't figure out what. I guess I'll just wait and see if they come back next year, and then I'll decide if I replace them or not.

La seule vraie déception de mon potager concerne les pois de senteur. Il leur a fallu un temps fou pour germer, mais ensuite ils ont eu une belle croissance prometteuse. Du moins jusqu'à un certain point, et tout à coup ils se sont arrêtés et n'ont plus bougé depuis. Ils n'ont même jamais réussi à s'accrocher au treillis. Alors, il doit y avoir quelque chose qui m'échappe à leur sujet, mais je n'arrive pas à comprendre ce que ça peut être. Je vais donc attendre de voir s'ils reviennent l'an prochain, et je déciderai alors s'il vaut mieux les remplacer par une autre plante.

A view of my kitchen garden from the entrance,
with my flower garden in the background,
where you can see the runner beans towering over the rest.
(Sweet peas should be on the left treillis)
Une vue de mon potager depuis son entrée,
avec mon jardin fleuri en arrière-plan,
ou l'on peut voir les haricots à rames dépasser tout le reste.
(Les pois de senteur devraient être sur le treillis de gauche)

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-08-05T09:01:00.000-04:00

Purple Coneflower / Échinacée pourpre
Echinacea purpurea

Summer Sewing Project / Projet de couture estival

2011-08-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

I finished this little project a few days ago. That was all the sewing I did during my vacation, a little mug rug in English Paper Piecing. I made it slowly, sitting in the sun on the deck in the morning, or in the shade in the afternoon, usually with my cat friend Gazou lounging near me.

J'ai terminé ce petit projet il y a quelques jours. Je n'ai rien cousu d'autre durant mes vacances, seulement ce petit napperon qu'on appelle "mug rug" en anglais, parce qu'il est juste assez grand pour accueillir un tasse et une petite collation. Je l'ai fait en utilisant la méthode "English Paper Piecing", qui consiste à assembler tous les morceaux à la main, en utilisant des gabarits de papier comme support. C'est un projet sur lequel j'ai travaillé lentement, assise au soleil sur le patio en matinée, ou à l'ombre dans l'après-midi, avec mon ami Gazou le chat étendu près de moi.

My hexagons are one inch long on each side, and all the fabrics I used for the front are japanese, a mix of tiny animal prints and dots. I embroidered the dotted hexagons in way of quilting. The binding is a Denyse Schmidt print from the Katie Jump Rope line.

Mes hexagones mesurent un pouce de côté, et tous les tissus que j'ai utilisés pour le dessus sont japonais, un mélange de petits imprimés d'animaux et de pois. J'ai brodé les hexagones à pois en guise de matelassage. Le biais tout autour est un imprimé de Denyse Schmidt tiré de sa collection Katie Jump Rope.

The back print is Who's Hoot by Michael Miller. I wanted to keep the theme of tiny animal prints, and my boyfriend, for whom I made this mug rug, chose these owls.

Le tissu du revers est un imprimé qui s'appelle Who's Hoot, par Michael Miller. Je voulais garder la thématique des petits imprimés d'animaux, et mon conjoint, à qui est destiné ce petit "mug rug", a choisi ces petits hiboux.

I still wanted to test it before giving it to Patrick, so I set myself up a little snack, but since I do not drink either tea or coffee, I switched the mug for a glass of milk. With homemade chocolate cookies, there is nothing better. And the mug rug did just right.

J'ai voulu tester mon petit napperon avant de l'offrir à Patrick, alors je me suis préparé une petite collation. Mais puisque je ne bois ni thé ni café, j'ai échangé la tasse du "mug rug" pour un verre de lait. Avec des biscuits au chocolat faits maison, il n'y a rien de mieux. Et je dois dire que le napperon a passé le test.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-07-29T10:36:00.000-04:00

"Zebrina" Mallow / Mauve "zebrina"

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-07-22T05:46:00.000-04:00

First Black-eyed Susan of the season
La première rudbeckie de la saison

A (very) Mini-break / Une toute petite escapade

2011-07-20T17:22:00.000-04:00

We are in a situation this summer where my boyfriend just started a new job, so he does not have any vacation. I, on the other hand, can have four weeks off in summer for the first time in my eleven years of service with my employer. I am happy to spend quiet time at home, in the comfort of our backyard, but at some point I need to get out of town for a change of scenery.

Nos vacances sont particulières cet été. Mon conjoint vient tout juste d’obtenir un nouvel emploi, et donc il travaille tout l’été sans avoir de vacances. De mon côté, je suis en mesure de prendre quatre semaines de congé pendant l’été, pour la première fois en onze années de service chez mon employeur. Je me satisfais du temps passé à relaxer à la maison, dans le confort de notre cour, mais il vient un temps ou j’ai besoin de sortir de la ville et de voir de nouveaux paysages.

A view of the pier and beach at Baie-Saint-Paul
Une vue du quai et de la plage de Baie-Saint-Paul

A view of the town of Baie-Saint-Paul
Une vue de la ville de Baie-Saint-Paul

That’s why we decided, last Saturday, to get in the car and head east to Charlevoix. This is, by far, my favorite region in the province, and we usually go there for a short visit every year. Nature is generous in Charlevoix, with the St.Lawrence on one side, with its numerous bays and “anses”, and the rolling hills on the other side. It is also a great destination for whoever enjoys art, particularly painting, as many artists have taken Charlevoix as their home and inspiration.

C’est pourquoi nous avons décidé, samedi dernier, de monter dans la voiture et de prendre la route vers l’est jusque dans Charlevoix. C’est de loin ma région favorite de la province, et nous y allons généralement pour une courte visite à chaque année. La nature est généreuse dans Charlevoix, avec le fleuve tout en anses et en baies d’un côté de la route, et les montagnes verdoyantes de l’autre. C’est aussi un endroit rêvé pour quiconque s’intéresse à l’art, et en particulier à la peinture, puisque de nombreux artistes ont fait de Charlevoix leur muse et leur résidence.

A view from Les Éboulements
Une vue depuis Les Éboulements

I had been dreaming of a stroll on the beach, sand between my toes and the sound of waves in my ears. We headed first to St-Irénée, where the beach is right on the road side and no one can possibly go by and not stop. We had a picnic on the beach, and then walked for a while as the tide was coming in.

Je rêvais de marcher sur une plage, avec du sable entre mes orteils et le bruit des vagues dans mes oreilles. Nous sommes d’abord allés à St-Irénée, un petit village ou la route passe si près de la plage qu’il est impossible de passer sans s’arrêter. Nous avons fait un pique-nique sur la plage, et avons marché pendant un moment alors que la marée montait doucement.

There is actually a "horse rental" right on the beach
Il est possible de faire du cheval sur la plage en sortie de groupe

We then got back in the car and took a small road that led us to Cap-aux-Oies. There, hidden in a small bay at the end of the road, behind the railway, is a much less popular beach. We stopped for five minutes, but found ourselves trapped by the beauty of the scenery and stayed there well over an hour. We risked ourselves walking in the cold water of the St.Lawrence, and watched a group of Common Eiders, a few female adults taking care of a bunch of juveniles.

Après notre ballade, nous sommes remontés en voiture et avons pris une petite route qui nous a conduit à Cap-aux-Oies. Là, cachée dans une petite baie au bout de la route, de l’autre côté de la voie ferrée, nous avons trouvé une plage bien moins achalandée que celle de St-Irénée. Nous y sommes descendus pour cinq minutes, mais envoutés par la beauté du paysage, nous avons oublié le temps et y sommes restés plus d’une heure. Nous y avons marché dans l’eau froide et vivifiante du fleuve et avons observé une maternité d’eiders communs, quelques femelles adultes s’occupant d’un groupe de jeunes de l’année.

We found this big seaweed-covered rock on the beach and it reminded us of a balding head of wet hair.

Nous avons trouvé cette grosse roche couverte d'algues sur la plage et ça nous a rappelé des cheveux humides sur un crâne.

Last stop on our itinerary before returning to Québec, a lazy stroll on the main street of Baie-Saint-Paul, where small shops and art galleries abound, all lodged in colorful old buildings. My recommendations: Saveurs et Fraîcheurs for ice cream and this little sweets shop (sorry I can't remember the name) for old time candies.

Dernier arrêt avant le retour à Québec, une ballade au centre-ville de Baie-Saint-Paul, ou les petites boutiques et les galeries d’art se succèdent en une guirlande colorée de coquets bâtiments. Mes recommendations : Saveurs et Fraîcheurs pour une crème glacée et une belle petite confiserie (dont j'ai malheureusement oublié le nom) pour un choix de bonbons qui nous ramènent dans notre enfance.

So many to choose from!
Difficile de faire un choix!

I fell in love with this rustic fountain
Je suis tombée sous le charme de cette fontaine rustique

We were back home by the end of the day, but this little expedition, although very short, has brought a new feel to my vacation.

Nous étions de retour à la maison en fin de journée, mais cette petite excursion, bien que de courte durée, a été une belle diversion dans mes vacances tranquilles.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-07-15T10:04:00.000-04:00

Soon my flower garden will be in full bloom, but before that happens, I took a walk around my yard yesterday and focused on wild flowers. Some are obvious and I had noticed them before. Others are new to me and I had never thought I could find such flowers in the wild.

Bientôt mes parterres de fleurs offriront leur meilleur spectacle, mais en attendant, j'ai pris le temps hier de faire le tour de ma cour et de me pencher sur les fleurs sauvages qui y poussent. Certaines sont faciles à voir et je les avais remarquées depuis longtemps. D'autres, par contre, sont nouvelles pour moi et je n'avais jamais imaginé pouvoir trouver de telles fleurs dans les recoins sauvages de ma cour.

Common Yarrow / Achillée millefeuille
Achillea millefolium, L.

Sneezewort / Achillée ptarmique
Achillea ptarmica, L.

Rough Cinquefoil / Potentille de Norvège
Potentilla norvegica, L.

Daisy Fleabane / Érigéron annuel
Erigeron annuus, (L.) Pers.

Musk Mallow / Mauve musquée
Malva moschiata, L.

Ladie's Sorrel / Oxalide dressée
Oxalis stricta, L.

Lesser Stitchwort / Stellaire graminoïde
Stellaria graminea, L.

Kitchen Garden Update # 2 / Revue du potager # 2

2011-07-14T19:46:00.000-04:00

It's time today for a new update on the kitchen garden, and I must say we are doing pretty good.

C'est le temps aujourd'hui pour une nouvelle revue de mon petit potager, et je dois dire qu'il s'en sort très bien.

Carrots and lettuce are growing slowly, but steadily, and I can already envision the taste of sweet baby carrots in a near future.

Les carottes et la laitue poussent lentement, mais montrent des progrès réguliers. Je peux déjà imaginer le goût délicieux des petites carottes à venir dans quelques semaines.

Radishes are the best growers, as is often the case, and I already picked a few to add to salads.

Les radis sont les plus performants, comme c'est souvent le cas, et j'en ai déjà cueilli plusieurs pour agrémenter les salades.

The sunflowers, this year, are not as explosive as those I had last summer, but they look healthy and I trust that they will blossom in their time.

Les tournesols, cette année, n'ont pas une croissance aussi explosive que ceux de l'an dernier, mais ils sont en santé et j'ai confiance qu'ils fleuriront en fin de saison.

The peppers are looking very good, bearing cute little fruits already. Will they really turn orange and red, of that I am not sure, but time will tell.

Les poivrons sont vraiment beaux à voir, ils portent déjà de mignons petits fruits. À savoir si la saison sera suffisamment longue pour qu'ils puissent tourner au rouge et à l'orangé, seul le temps nous le dira.

The morning glories are now climbing high on their treillis, and I can't wait to see their blue flowers.

Les gloires du matin grimpent déjà haut sur leur treillis, et j'ai très hâte de voir apparaître leurs fleurs bleues.

The sweet peas are far behind, but as they are perennials, I will give them a break and not expect flowers until next summer.

Les pois de senteur sont loin derrière, mais comme ils sont vivaces, je ne leur mets pas trop de pression et ne demanderai pas de fleurs avant l'été prochain.

The ant problem, although not completely eliminated, is well under control, thanks to boric acid and Raid Ant Killer. I know, these products are not very green, but I only use them in secure areas where other animals like birds and critters will not be exposed to the product.

Le problème de fourmis, bien que pas complètement éliminé, est maintenant sous contrôle, grâce à l'acide borique et au Raid Tue-Fourmis. Je sais que ces produits ne sont pas très "verts", mais je prends garde de les utiliser de manière sécuritaire afin d'éviter que d'autres animaux, les oiseaux par exemple, soient en contact avec ces produits.

I use old plastic containers and pierce small holes on the sides, trough which ants will be free to come and go. I then put a few drops of Raid in the bottom and close the lid. Ants will do the rest. When using boric acid, I soak a cotton rag in the solution and put the rag in the closed plastic container. You can find many different recipes on the internet, but the secret is to mix sugar with boric acid in water. Sugar is what's going to attract ants and boric acid will put them to sleep for good.

J'utilise de vieux contenants de plastique dans lesquels je perce des trous sur les côtés. C'est par là que les fourmis vont entrer et sortir. Je verse ensuite quelques gouttes de Raid dans le fond et je ferme le couvercle. Les fourmis se chargent du reste. Quand j'utilise l'acide borique, je trempe un linge de coton dans la solution à l'acide, et je place le chiffon imbibé dans le contenant de plastique. Il est possible de trouver sur internet différentes recettes de solution, mais le truc est de mélanger du sucre à l'acide borique et de les dissoudre dans l'eau. Le sucre est ce qui attire les fourmis, et l'acide borique les endort à jamais.

The hardest plant to grow in my small kitchen garden seems to be beans. They ususally are very easy to grow, once you can get them out of birds preying eyes, but this year I've had to reseed more than once. With all the rain we got in June, seeds have rotten in the ground, or have germinated and then rotten on their feet. I now have a few plants, and I can only hope to get at least one meal's worth of beans out of them.

La plante la plus difficile à faire pousser dans mon petit potager semble être les haricots. Ils sont si faciles d'habitude, une fois qu'on a mis les graines à l'abri des oiseaux gourmants, mais cette année il m'a fallu semer à plusieurs reprises. Avec toute la pluie qu'on a eu en juin, les graines ont le plus souvent pourri en terre, et quand elles ont germé, les plants ont pourri à la base du pied. Néanmoins, j'ai maintenant quelques plants et je me permets d'espérer qu'ils m'offrent au moins un repas de haricots.

Sweet Summer Vacation / Douces vacances d'été

2011-07-12T16:50:00.001-04:00

I've been on vacation since last week and I am having a glorious time just enjoying summer's simple pleasures.

The weather is fabulous and I've been spending most of my time outside.

Je suis en vacances depuis la semaine dernière et je suis contente de pouvoir profiter de l'été et en apprécier les petits plaisirs. La météo est de mon côté et j'ai passé presque tout mon temps dehors jusqu'à maintenant.

I've had the chance of picking some wild strawberries in my backyard. They were so yummy!

J'ai eu la chance de cueillir des petites fraises des champs qui poussent dans ma cour arrière. Quel délice!

We went downtown to the port and watched sails and boats on the St.Lawrence River.

Nous sommes descendus en ville jusqu'au port pour observer les voiliers et les bateaux de plaisances sur le fleuve St-Laurent.

I have had enough free time to notice small critters that I normally often ignore or don't have time to stop and watch.

J'ai beaucoup de temps libres qui me permettent d'apprécier la présence de petites créatures qui, normalement, passeraient inaperçus.

Butterfly on Hawkweed
Papillon sur une épervière orangée

Grasshopper on a Black-eyed Susan leaf
Sauterelle sur une feuille de rudbeckie

Cute kind of bright blue dragonfly in the grass
Une espèce de petite libellule bleu électrique dans l'herbe

This one almost got stepped on, but luckily was spared
Celle-ci s'est presque fait marcher dessus, mais je l'ai évité de justesse

I have even been working on some sewing, but since it is way too hot to sit outside with my huge quilt, I have decided to work on a smaller and lighter project, made with hexies in animal and polka dot prints. I plan on joining them to make either a mug rug or a pot holder.

J'ai même fait un peu de couture, mais comme il fait beaucoup trop chaud dehors pour sortir ma grosse courte-pointe à piquer, j'ai décidé de travailler sur un projet plus petit et plus léger, tout en hexagones aux motifs d'animaux et de pois. J'ai l'intention de les assembler pour en faire soit un petit napperon ou un sous-plat.

I always keep my camera close to capture a few birds. It is a good time to see the youngs out the nests, but still being fed by their parents. My birdfeeders are very busy these days with flocks of baby chickadees and a few young woodpeckers as well.

J'ai toujours ma caméra à portée de la main pour capturer des images d'oiseaux. Cette période de l'année est idéal pour observer des jeunes oiseaux hors du nid, et que les parents nourissent encore. Mes mangeoires sont très occupées ces jours-ci, alors que quelques portées de mésanges à tête noire y attendent la becquée de maman, et quelques jeunes pics y sont venus avec papa.

Young Red-winged blackbird awaiting the return of daddy with some food
Jeune carouge à épaulettes attendant le retour de papa et la becquée

Cedar Waxwing hiding in the trees
Jaseur d'Amérique bien caché dans les arbres

Northern Pintail in the marsh
Canard pilet au marais

Hairy Woodpecker on my fence, awaiting his turn at the feeder
Pic chevelu sur ma clôture, attendant son tour à la mangeoire

Eastern Kingbird looking over the marsh
Tyran tritri observant le marais de haut

There is also some gardening going on, and visiting with friends and family, but really most of the time, I can be found just lazing around in the backyard, noticing how much the patio needs to be freshened up, and telling myself that tomorrow is the day I will do it...

Je fait aussi un peu de jardinage, et quelques visites aux amis et à la famille, mais honnêtement, la plupart du temps on peut me trouver en train de faire la "dolce vita"dans ma cour arrière. Bien sûr, je vois comme le patio aurait besoin d'une couche de teinture, et je me dis chaque fois que demain sera le jour ou je vais m'attaquer à cette tâche...

My friend Gazou keeping me company
Mon ami Gazou venu me tenir compagnie

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-07-08T09:39:00.002-04:00

Sweet Williams / Oeillets de poète

There is a nice story behing these flowers. It started last year. I had an area of my border that I was not very happy with because it was practically bare save a very tired and pitiful sagebrush. I looked through my seeds and found an old packet of sweet williams that I had used three or four years before. There were some seeds left in the packet, and although I did not think they were any good all those years later, I sprinkled them in the bare space of my border.

Il y a une belle histoire derrière ces fleurs. Elle a commencé l’année dernière. Mon parterre avait une section plutôt dégarnie, mis à part une petite armoise argentée, fatiguée et pitoyable. En fouillant dans mes paquets de semences, j’ai trouvé un vieil emballage d’œillets de poète dans lequel il restait des graines. Elles devaient dater de trois ou quatre ans en arrière, et même si je n’avais pas confiance en leur qualité, je les avais saupoudrées dans ma plate-bande, juste au cas ou.

To my own surprise, seeds germinated and leaves appeared. But the plants grew only a few inches tall before frost came in the fall, and I did not think much of them. I knew sweet williams were biennials, so I left them in the ground and forgot about them over winter.

À ma grande surprise, les graines avaient bien germé et des petites feuilles étaient apparues. Les plants avaient poussé, serrés les uns contre les autres, mais n’avaient pas atteint plus de quelques pouces en hauteur avant l’arrivée des premiers gels à l’automne. Je savais que cette plante est normalement bisannuelle, alors j’avais laissé les plants en terre et les avais oubliés pendant l’hiver.

When they sprouted again this spring, I thought I was up for another season of small green plants. But they surprised me again. They grew taller and taller, and when their spiky heads appeared, I understood that blooms were on their way.

Quand les plants ont rejailli ce printemps, j’ai repensé à leur allure de l’année précédente et je n’ai pas été impressionnée. Je me suis dit qu’ils allaient faire encore un petit massif de feuilles vertes et rien d’autre. Mais ils n’avaient pas fini de me surprendre. Ils ont grandi, de plus en plus, et quand leurs têtes effilochées sont apparues, j’ai compris qu’il se préparait une floraison.

And here they are now, in all their beauty. I just love the variety of colors that they offer, and their old time charm. I guess the moral of the story is never throw out seeds, no matter how old they are. Just sprinkle them in a corner of your garden and let them surprise you.

Et les voici maintenant, en beauté. J’aime tellement la variété de couleurs qu’ils offrent, et leur charme d’antan. Je suppose que la morale de cette histoire est de ne jamais jeter des semences, peu importe leur âge. Il suffit de les échapper dans un coin du jardin et de les laisser nous surprendre.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-07-01T06:58:00.000-04:00

Orange Hawkweed / Épervière orangée
Hieracium aurantiacum, L.

My boyfriend loves this weed. He's lucky we have like a gazillion of those in our backyard, and even on our front lawn, which has given up being a lawn quite a while ago now.

Mon conjoint adore cette mauvaise herbe. Il est chanceux de pouvoir en trouver des millions dans notre cour arrière, et même quelques-unes sur notre pelouse, laquelle a perdu le droit de pouvoir s'appeler pelouse.

What I like the most about this flower is that it appears right when summer really kicks in. They bring the sun and the heat. They bring good news.

Pour ma part, ce que j'aime le plus de cette fleur, c'est qu'elle apparaît juste au moment ou l'été commence pour de vrai. Elle apporte le soleil et la chaleur, plein de bonnes nouvelles.

I like the smell of it too, it brings me way back to when I was little. It reminds me of school's end and playing outside all day long, despite sunburns and mosquito bites.

J'aime aussi son odeur, elle me ramène très loin en arrière, quand j'étais toute petite. Elle me rappelle la fin de l'année scolaire et les longues journées à jouer dehors, malgré les coups de soleil et les piqûres de moustiques.

Mixed with Field Hawkweed / Au-travers des épervières des prés

It may be just a weed to most, but to me it is a nice flower, and I will gladly let it grow in my yard. Though I still have to do something about that lawn...

Elle est peut-être juste une mauvaise herbe à éliminer pour la plupart des gens, mais elle est une jolie fleur à mes yeux, et je vais la laisser pousser et s'épanouir dans ma cour. Mais il faudrait vraiment que je fasse quelque chose au sujet de ma pelouse...

Kitchen Garden Update #1 / Revue du potager #1

2011-06-29T18:23:00.001-04:00

Here we are, a little more than two weeks after the birth of my kitchen garden. Time for a first update.

Luckily, I have some good news to report:

Déjà un peu plus de deux semaines que mon petit potager a vu le jour, et il est temps pour mes premières observations.

Heureusement, j’ai quelques bonnes nouvelles à rapporter :

The morning glories germinated in just a few days, and showed these cute unusual cotyledons. I have had morning glories two years ago, although a different variety, and I don’t remember that their leaves had that weird heart shape. These particular ones are called “Heavenly Blue”.

Les gloires du matin ont été les premières graines à germer, en seulement quelques jour, et leur cotylédons ont cette forme étrange et ravissante. J’ai déjà eu des gloires du matin dans mon jardin il y a deux ans, mais d’une variété différente, et je ne me souviens pas que leurs feuilles avaient cette étrange forme de cœur. La variété qui pousse cette année dans mon potager s’appelle « Heavenly Blue ».

Radishes, lettuce and carrots are on the right track, although they still have a long way to go.

Les radis, la laitue et les carottes sont sur la bonne voie, mais les plants sont encore minuscules.

The sunflowers have had a very slow start, but we’re getting there. The variety I had last year had grown much faster, but they were some of those giant sunflowers that got to 8 feet tall. The ones I am trying this year are meant to be shorter, but with multiple flowers on each plant. We’ll see about that.

Les tournesols ont eu un départ très lent, mais je suis maintenant rassurée. La variété que j’avais l’année dernière grandissait beaucoup plus vite, mais c’était une de ces variétés de tournesols géants qui ont atteint près de huit pieds de hauteur, avec des fleurs énormes. Ceux que j’ai choisis cette année devraient être plus courts, mais porter plusieurs fleurs sur chaque plant. Ça reste à voir.

And my small pepper plants just started flowering a few days ago, which is a very good sign that they might produce actual peppers. I don’t want to be too optimistic about that, this being my first try at growing peppers, and I know from my mother’s experience that they are not easy to get to maturity, but we’ll pray for the best and see how it goes.

Et mes petits plants de poivrons ont commencé à fleurir il y a quelques jours, ce qui est un signe encourageant d’une future production. Je ne veux pas être trop optimiste à ce sujet, cependant, parce que c’est ma première expérience de culture de poivrons, et je sais par l’expérience de ma mère qu’ils ne sont pas faciles à rendre à maturité, mais je vais espérer pour le mieux et voir comment ils se développent.

However, as I mentionned in my original post about the garden, mistakes and deceptions were to be expected:

Comme j’avais mentionné dans mon premier article sur mon potager, il était à prévoir quelques erreurs et déceptions :

Within two days after the garden was installed, I came to the conclusion that it must be sitting right on top of an ant nest, because it is completely infested. I have put in a few traps made of a mix of boric acid and sugar. To this day, ants are still very active in the garden, but I believe their number is going down. Hopefully I can get to the queen before the end of summer and call it checkmate.

En deux jours après l’installation de mon jardin, j’ai réalisé qu’il doit y avoir un nid de fourmis juste en dessous, parce qu’il est complètement infesté de ces bestioles. J’ai réparti quelques trappes à fourmis constituées d’un mélange d’acide borique et de sucre. À ce jour, les fourmis sont encore très présentes dans mon potager, mais je crois que leur nombre a diminué. J’espère pouvoir atteindre la reine avant la fin de la saison et lui faire échec et mat.

The sweet peas have yet to show any sign of life. I’ve only recently realized, by reading on the seed packet, duh!, that germination can take up to four weeks. That is a really long time for such a short summer season as we have here, and now I regret not starting them in the house earlier this spring. I still don’t understand why I had not seen that particular bit of information before, but I guess that will remain a mystery... The good news is, these sweet peas are perennials, so if they don’t have time to bloom this year, I can always hope for next season.

Je suis toujours en attente d’un signe de vie des pois de senteur. J’ai réalisé tout récemment, en le lisant sur le paquet de graines, que la germination peut prendre jusqu’à 30 jours. C’est un délai très long pour une aussi courte saison estivale que celle qu’on connaît ici, et je regrette maintenant de n’avoir pas fait des semis à l’intérieur plus tôt au printemps. Je ne comprends pas comment cette information a pu m’échapper, mais je suppose que ça va demeurer un mystère… La bonne nouvelle, c’est que cette variété de pois de senteur est vivace, alors s’ils n’ont pas le temps de fleurir cet été, je peux toujours espérer pour la saison prochaine.

Despite the use of metal mesh over my garden, birds have been able to steel some bean and sunflower seeds, so I have had to put new seeds in the ground. The same birds, or other charming critters (squirrels or mice, maybe?), have feisted on some radish and bean tender sprouts, bringing me back to square one with these.

Enfin, malgré l’emploi de grilles de métal par-dessus mon jardin, les oiseaux ont réussi à me voler des graines de haricots et de tournesol en les déterrant avec leur bec, et il m’a fallu remettre de nouvelles graines en terre. Les mêmes oiseaux, ou d’autres charmantes créatures (les écureuils ou les mulots, peut-être ?) se sont fait un petit festin de tendres pousses de radis et de haricots, ce qui m’a encore ramenée à la case départ avec de nouveaux semis.

Quilt Moment / Retour au quilt

2011-06-28T20:13:00.001-04:00

It had been quite a while since the last time I worked on my quilt. In fact, after I received the backing fabric in the mail, I put it aside and never touched it again. It’s only this weekend that I decided it was time I worked on it a bit, if I ever wanted to finish it someday. The time was right, with a long weekend for the national holiday and three days of rain on the forecast.

Il y avait longtemps que je n’avais pas travaillé sur mon quilt. En fait, depuis que j’ai reçu dans le courrier, il y a des mois de çà, le tissu qui servira pour l’endos, j’avais tout mis de côté et n’y avais plus retouché. Le week-end dernier, je me suis enfin décidée à m’y remettre. Le moment était bien choisi, avec le long week-end de la St-Jean-Baptiste et trois journées de pluie au menu.

I ironed all the pieces, creased for being folded in a cupboard for so long, and then spread them out on the floor of my studio and worked on making a sandwich with the backing, the batting and then the top. I took a long time to flatten everything and pin the three layers together. It was my first time doing this, I have never done anything so big as a quilt, and I still wonder what got into me, but I know I want it to be finished so I can use it.

J’ai repassé tous les morceaux, qui étaient très froissés d’avoir été si longtemps abandonnés au fond de l’armoire. Ensuite, j’ai utilisé le plancher de mon atelier pour monter le quilt en sandwich. Il m’a fallu un temps fou pour bien lisser les trois épaisseurs et les épingler. C’était la première fois que je m’attaquais à un aussi gros morceau, je n’ai jamais rien fait d’aussi grand que ce quilt, et pour être honnête, je me demande un peu ce qui m’a pris de me lancer dans ce projet, mais je sais que je veux le terminer et pouvoir utiliser le quilt.

The actual quilting had been bugging me for a long time. I didn’t know what technique to use. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to do it by hand. Wait. You probably think I am crazy. And you are probably right. Why would I subject myself to handquilting when it is so quick and easy to do it with a machine? I honestly can’t offer a good answer, I just feel like I want to quilt it by hand. I like hand sewing, it makes me feel good about myself.

Le piquage est la partie qui m’embête le plus. Pendant longtemps j’ai hésité sur la technique à utiliser. La seule chose dont j’étais certaine depuis le début c’était que je voulais piquer mon quilt à la main. Bon, je sais, c’est un peu ambitieux et fou de se lancer dans le piquage à la main. Pourquoi je mettrais tout mon temps et mes efforts dans cette activité manuelle quand la machine le ferait pour moi en un rien de temps ? Je n’ai pas de bonne raison, si ce n’est que j’aime la couture à la main et que je sens que c’est de cette façon que je dois m’y prendre.

So I considered how I would do it. The obvious method would be to stich along the seams. But I was afraid I would find it boring and give up well before the quilt was finished. I thought about knotting it, but this technique gives a very traditional look to a quilt, and since my fabrics are so modern and loud, I came to the conclusion that it just would not do. I kept thinking about it, evaluating different options, turning the question over and over in my head, knowing that I was missing something.

Donc, j’ai considéré plusieurs façons de procéder. La méthode évidente consisterait à suivre les coutures avec des points droits. Seulement, j’avais peur que ce soit un peu ennuyeux et que je me décourage bien avant que le quilt ne soit terminé. J’ai pensé aussi à la technique des nœuds, mais je pense qu’elle convient mieux à un style plus traditionnel, et puisque les tissus que j’ai utilisés sont plutôt modernes et un peu criards, j’en suis venue à la conclusion que ça n’irait pas. J’ai continué d’y penser et d’évaluer plusieurs options. Je savais que quelque chose m’échappait et qu’il me fallait me donner le temps pour trouver ma réponse.

This picture is from Anna Maria Horner's blog /
Cette photo provient du blog de Anna Maria Horner

Until one day it finally hit me. I had the answer buried in my memory all that time. I remembered seeing something on Anna Maria Horner’s blog, and thinking how clever and cute it was. I have tried to look through the archives of her blog and find the particular article I remember, but I could not put my finger on it. However, what I have in mind is something like this recent pillow of hers, but slightly simplified. And when I say slightly simplified, what I really mean is that I will use it as inspiration, but there is not a chance that it could look anything like it. Of course you knew that, right?

Et puis un beau jour, la petite lumière s’est allumée dans ma tête. J’avais la solution juste là, bien terrée dans ma mémoire. Je me suis rappelée avoir vu quelque chose sur le blog d’Anna Maria Horner, une idée que j’avais trouvée brillante et belle. J’ai bien essayé de retrouver l’article en question dans les archives de son blog, sans succès. Cependant, ce que j’ai en tête ressemble à ce qui a été fait sur ce coussin, encore une fois par Anna Maria Horner, mais de manière un peu simplifiée. Et quand je dis un peu simplifié, ce que je veux vraiment dire, c’est que je vais m’en servir comme inspiration, mais qu’il n’y a pas la moindre chance que je réussisse à faire quelque chose d’aussi beau. N’y pensez même pas !

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-06-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

The last of lilacs / Les derniers lilas

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-06-17T06:50:00.000-04:00

Columbine "Pink Tower" / Ancolie "Pink Tower"
In the back, my unidentified weigela

The making of a kitchen garden / La naissance d'un potager

2011-06-16T20:21:00.000-04:00

As a kid growing up, we had a huge garden behind our house, with rows and rows of potato plants, a bounty of carrots that lasted all winter, and all kinds of traditional vegetables like parnsnip, radish, onion, beet, yellow and green beans, lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower. I have to admit that I didn't eat much veggies at the time, I hadn't yet developped the taste for it, but I liked the garden all the same, watching plants grow and turn into colorful, edible vegetables. I loved it when my mom sent me out to pull a few carrots and pick a basket of beans for supper. I liked weeding and even got some fun out of killing potato bugs. We had a greenhouse that my dad had built, and in which my mom grew tomatoes and cucumbers. The peculiar smell of tomato leaves was enough to invite me in to admire those huge plants, heavy with fruits. The interest for gardening was always in me, from my earliest years, when my mom had me help plant potatoes and sow big bean seeds in (somewhat) neat rows.

Quand j'étais petite, nous avions derrière la maison un grand potager, avec de longs rangs de plants de pommes de terre, une quantité de carottes qui nous duraient tout l'hiver, et tout plein de légumes traditionnels: navet, radis, oignon, betterave, haricots jaune et vert, laitue, chou et chou-fleur. Je dois confesser que je ne mangeais que très peu de légumes à cette époque, je n'en ai développé le goût que beaucoup plus tard. Ça ne m'empêchait pas d'être attirée par le potager, d'aimer suivre l'évolution des petits plants verts jusqu'à leur production de beaux légumes colorés. Envoyée par ma mère, c'est avec joie que j'allais arracher quelques carottes et cueillir un panier de haricots pour le souper. Je sarclais avec enthousiasme et je trouvais même un certain plaisir à tuer les insectes qui menaçaient de détruire nos plants de patates. Nous avions une serre que mon père avait construite et dans laquelle ma mère cultivait des tomates et des concombres. L'odeur des feuilles de tomates était suffisante pour m'attirer à l'intérieur et admirer les plants énormes, grands jusqu'au plafond, croulant sous leurs fruits.

When I left for college, gardening became out of the question. I was living in one single room, in the basement of a house in the city, with no access to the backyard. This is the kind of place I called home for seven years, before I finally got an appartment all to myself, with a balcony. It wasn't long before potted flowers and a few herbs made their way to that small outdoors space. As for vegetables, it didn't feel right to try and grow them in bots on the balcony. The memory of my childhood garden was too strong, and if I could not reproduce the same as what I had known, vegetables would have to come straight from the Jardin Mobile.

Quand j'ai quitté la maison pour aller au collège, le potager, et toute autre sorte de jardinage, a disparu de ma vie. J'habitais dans une seule pièce, au sous-sol d'une maison en ville, sans accès à la cour arrière. J'y restai pendant sept ans, jusqu'à ce que je loue un petit appartement juste pour moi, avec un balcon. Il ne fallut pas attendre longtemps avant que des bacs d'annuelles et de fines herbes fassent leur apparition dans ce petit espace extérieur. Mais je ne voyais pas comment on pouvait cultiver des légumes sur un balcon. Mes souvenirs d'enfance étaient mon seul repère, et si je n'avais pas l'opportunité de reproduire le même modèle, les légumes continueraient de venir directement du Jardin Mobile.

It tooks years still before I finally tried to grow carrots in a pot on my balcony, without much of a crop, but some good came of it as it made me realize that there was a way to growing vegetables differently, that I could make it my own way. When we moved to our house three years ago and finally had a yard of our own, my mind was set on having flowers all over the place. I wanted colors more than anything. Cleaning the long-neglected border in front of the house occupied me the first summer. Last year, I made a plan to create a new flower bed in the corner of our backyard, in the middle of which I had installed a bird bath. I new that flowers would attract birds. I had included some veggies among the flowers: carrots, lettuce and onions. They did get a good start, but when the flowers towered over them, they stalled and grew very slowly in the shade. I was left, in late October, with carrots the size of my little finger. They sure were tasty, but they were not enough to satisfy my appetite.

Il m'a fallu encore des années avant que je me décide à tenter la cuture des carottes sur mon balcon. La récolte ne fut pas fameuse, mais il en est quand même ressorti du bon. Cette première tentative m'a fait réaliser qu'il n'y avait pas qu'une seule façon de cultiver les légumes, et qu'il n'en tenait qu'à moi de trouver celle qui me conviendrait. Quand nous avons emménagé dans notre maison il y a trois ans, avec enfin une cour bien à nous, mon esprit s'est d'abord tourné vers les fleurs. J'avais envie de couleurs plus que tout. La plate-bande qui fait la devanture de la maison et qui avait été négligée depuis des années m'a tenu occupée pendant le premier été. L'année dernière, j'ai eu envie d'un parterre fleuri dans un coin de notre cour arrière, pour attirer les oiseaux dans le bain installé à leur attention. J'y avais inclus quelqes légumes au-travers des fleurs: des carottes, de la laitue et des oignons. Ils ont connu un bon départ, mais quand les fleurs se sont développé bien au-dessus d'eux, ils se sont retrouvés dans l'ombre et leur croissance a stagné. À la fin octobre, j'ai cueilli des carottes qui faisaient la grosseur de mon petit doigt. Leur goût était succulent, mais je n'en ai pas eu assez pour satisfaire mon appétit.

Sometime last winter, I had a vision of a kitchen garden in its own right. Not a big affair, mind you, but a small patch devoted to veggies. I played with the idea for a long time, looked at pictures of other people's gardens on Flickr and came up with a plan that marries both my taste for vegetables and my love of flowers. I presented my plan to Patrick last week, and we got to work. He did most of the structuring tasks: cutting the grass out, transporting the cement blocks and installing the headboards that I will use as treillises. I put in the plastic borders and good earth, added a couple of stepping stones for easy access, and sowed seeds of carrots, lettuce, yellow beans and radishes. We had bought two plants of peppers, one red and one orange, and I gave them the best spot in the garden. As for the flowers, I added sunflowers in the back, sweet peas ans morning glories under the treillises.

Durant l'hiver dernier, j'ai vu en songe un petit potager dans lequel je pourrais regrouper mes légumes et leur donner la priorité. J'ai longtemps jonglé avec l'idée et glané un peu d'inspiration en regardant des petits jardins sur Flickr, et j'en suis venue à un petit plan qui marie mon goût pour les légumes et mon amour des fleurs. J'en ai fait un petit croquis que j'ai montré à Patrick il y a une semaine, et nous nous sommes mis au travail. Il m'a aidé en s'occupant de la structure du potager: retirer la pelouse, transporter les blocs de béton et installer les têtes de lit qui vont servir de treillis. Je me suis chargée de placer les bordures de plastique, d'ajouter de la terre et du compost, de même que quelques dalles de béton pour faciliter l'accès. J'y ai semé des graines de carottes, de laitue, de haricots et de radis. Nous avions acheté deux petits plants de poivrons, des rouges et des orangés, et je leur ai donné une place de choix dans le potager. Comme je ne pouvais imaginer l'espace sans fleur, j'ai ajouté des tournesols dans le fond, des pois de senteur et des gloires du matin sous les treillis.

This new space will be used as an experiment. I have no idea how anything will grow and what kind of crop I will have, but I will certainly come back over the summer and show you the evolution of my experiment. Expect small successes and stupid mistakes. Expect good surprises and small deceptions. Expect very little of me as a gardener. I just go from what I remember of my childhood and what I learn from my readings, and mostly I trust nature will teach me how to make the best of it.

Ce petit espace est expérimental. Je n'ai aucune idée comment mes semis vont se développer ni du genre de récolte que je vais avoir, mais je reviendrai sans doute partager avec vous l'évolution de mon potager au cours de l'été. Vous pouvez vous attendre à des petits succès et à des erreurs de débutante. Vous pouvez vous attendre à des belles surprises et à des petites déceptions. Mais ne vous attendez pas à découvrir en moi une grande jardinière. Mes seuls guides sont mes souvenirs d'enfance et ce que j'apprends de mes lectures. Je m'en remets surtout à la nature pour me montrer comment en tirer le meilleur parti.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-06-10T06:52:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it's Friday again, time for new blooms, and I haven't had time to come here the whole week. Not much going on in the craft room with the gorgeous weather we're having now, but I keep a few ideas in the back of my mind.

Déjà vendredi et le temps de vous présenter ma fleur de la semaine. Je n'ai pas eu le temps d'écrire depuis le dernier vendredi, et je n'ai pas non plus travaillé dans mon studio, pas avec le beau temps qui s'est finalement installé après toute la pluie de mai. Par contre, j'ai bien encore quelques idées qui me trottent dans la tête et qui pourraient se matérialiser prochainement.

There were lots of flowers to choose from this week, but I opted for the lovely honeysuckle that we have in the backyard. We have a view on one of those trees from our bedroom window and I just love the sight of it.

Il y avait beaucoup de fleurs parmi lesquelles choisir cette semaine, mais j'ai opté pour le charmant chèvrefeuille dans notre cour arrière. Nous avons une vue sur l'un de ces arbres depuis notre chambre à coucher, et j'aime admirer sa vue.

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-06-02T20:16:00.000-04:00

True forget-me-not / Myosotis scorpioïde
Myosotis scorpioides, L.

The seventh side of the hexagon / Le septième côté de l'hexagone

2011-05-30T21:24:00.001-04:00

(I am linking this post to Amy's Sew and Tell party, be sure to check it out and see what everyone's been up to)

I am so happy to show you my finished hexie bag today. I started working on it way back in March. The paper piecing took me quite a while, but I enjoyed it very much. There is something about handsewing that motivates me, probably the fact that by doing so, I really feel like the item is handmade and therefore more valuable to my eyes.

Je suis très heureuse de vous présenter aujourd'hui mon sac en hexagones, enfin terminé. Je l'avais commencé il y a déjà un bon moment, au mois de mars. L'assemblage des hexagones à la main, avec la technique du papier, m'a demandé beaucoup de temps, et m'a apporté aussi une grande satisfaction. Il y a quelque chose dans la couture à la main qui me motive et m'encourage, probablement le fait qu'en travaillant lentement à la main, j'ai l'impression que l'item terminé aura une plus grande valeur, du moins à mes yeux.

When I was done piecing the hexagons, I wasted a lot of time trying to choose a lining fabric, and I realised that a solid color would have worked beautifully, but I didn't want to buy any more fabrics for this bag, so I thought about it long and hard and finally settled for this large print by Kaffe Fassett.

Il m'a fallu si longtemps pour le terminé parce que j'hésitais sur le tissu à choisir pour la doublure intérieure. Un tissu uni aurait fait un bel effet, mais comme j'étais décidée à ne pas acheter davantage de tissu pour ce sac et à utiliser ce que j'avais déjà à la maison, j'ai finalement opté pour ce large imprimé de fleurs par Kaffe Fassett.

I had to read the instructions more than twice before I understood how to make the lining and attach the handles, and I am still not sure that I did it exactly as the book instructed, but I must say that I am very happy with the result.

J'ai relu les instructions à plusieurs reprises avant de comprendre comment coudre la doublure et finir le sac en y insérant les poignées. Je ne suis toujours pas certaine de m'y être prise exactement comme dans le livre, mais je dois dire que je suis assez fière du résultat.

The pattern was intended for a knitting bag, but since I don't knit, it could be a crochet bag, or just an all-purpose bag, I like those very much!

Le patron était destiné à un sac à tricot, qui se traduit pour moi par un sac à crochet, dans lequel je pourrai ranger mes balles de laine et mes petits travaux au crochet, ou encore en faire un sac tout usage, toujours pratique!

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-05-27T06:07:00.000-04:00

Purple Trillium / Trille dressé
Trillium erectum, L.

Giveaway Results

2011-05-26T18:53:00.002-04:00

Now that the swirl of Giveaway Day is past, I want to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time to visit my blog and enter my little giveaway. With over 350 entries, I call it a success, and I am glad that my fabrics met the tastes of so many.

I have received really great comments on the topic of nature, and was pleased to read them all. Some were sweet, others were funny; some brought back memories of childhood and a few were quite fascinating. I would have liked to answer them, but the task was simply too great and I gave up altogether.

However, I thought I could share some pictures of what I like about nature, in no specific order.

Flowers started from tiny seeds in the spring

Neat little rows of carrot sprouts

The smell of lilac in my backyard

Wild strawberries growing along our fence

The promise of a new flower

Growing vegetables

The uniqueness of each bloom

A young robin perched on my garden shed

Bugs and wildflowers

A field of wildflowers

A walk in the park

A Wood Duck's reflection

A visiting woodpecker in my yard

I had to look carefully to find this one...

Critters at the park

And now, the reason why you really came to visit today, let's find out who was the lucky winner out of Mr. Random's hat!

Number 71 is the lucky winner:

Millie said...

We live on a farm, so we see lots of nature, all the time...but I love discovering new things that have found there way onto out land. We now have at least one Buzzard, sometimes three. This Spring my DH spotted a white Hare...very unusual for our temperate climate in Ireland.

Congratulations Millie, I will contact you shortly to get your address! Thanks again to all who participated, I'll see you around next time.

I will be back tomorrow for Friday in Bloom, and hopefully I can finish a work-in-progress over the weekend and show the result soon.

Sylvie

It's Giveaway Day!

2011-05-22T21:51:00.000-04:00

I don't know about you, but Giveaway Day has become a tradition for me. And I have realised that I have even more fun when I am giving something away than just participating in other people's giveaways. I love reading comments that others leave on my blog and I am happy to make one lucky winner.

Which is why I am participating once again in this Giveaway Day. The last few weeks have been a bit hectic and I haven't had time to sew something nice to offer, so I will keep it simple and give away three coordinating fat quarters of fabrics from my stash. The pink one is a print from Jenean Morrison's California Dreamin' collection; the flowers on brown are from Michael Miller's Hedgehog collection; the other one, I don't know where it comes from, but I call it Froot Loops!

So, if you would like to win these fabrics, here is how it goes:

1. This giveaway is open to everyone, everywhere in the world, so you have no reason not to enter, right?
2. It will be open until the end of May 25, Eastern Time, and the winner will be announced late on May 26.
3. Please do not Twitt nor write on Facebook about my giveaway, and follow me only if you feel like it, because none of these will give you more chances.
4. What you need to do is leave me one good old comment right here and tell me something that you like about nature (it can be watching the sunset from your backyard, or going fishing on the weekend, or collecting insects with your grandchild). I know, it would be easier to say "Pick me", but I read the comments, and it's better if I can find interest in them.
5. The winner will be chosen randomly, so don't worry about having the most original comment, just tell me something nice about your relation to nature.
6. Make sure I have a way to reach you if you win. If your profile is set up as No-Reply, please include your email address in your comment, otherwise I will have to pick another winner, and that would be such a bummer.

Best of luck to all! I'll be looking forward to reading your comments.

And don't forget to check out all the other giveaways on Sew Mama Sew!

Sylvie

Friday in Bloom / Vendredi fleuri

2011-05-20T19:27:00.000-04:00

Stresa Tulip / Tulipe Stresa

For the summer months, I will be here every Friday to show you my favorite flower picture of the week. Some will be from my yard, like this Stresa Tulip, but others will be taken in the wild.

Pour les mois d'été, je viendrai vous présenter chaque vendredi ma photo de fleur préférée de la semaine. Certaines seront prises dans ma cour, comme cette tulipe Stresa, mais d'autres seront des fleurs sauvages rencontrées pendant mes randonnées en nature.

Out in the rain / Sortie sous la pluie

2011-05-19T20:26:00.000-04:00

N.B. J'ai rédigé cet article dans les deux langues, vous pouvez me lire en français dans le texte violet.

We had this little trip planned out for a while, the room was reserved and we were to go out birding for two days in the Eastern Townships. However, the closer we got to the date, the more certain it became that rain would be upon us the whole weekend. We almost cancelled. But it was Patrick's 35th birthday and it didn't make any sense to stay at home and do nothing special for the occasion. So we decided to leave anyway, but change our itinerary a little. We headed to Montreal on Saturday and went birding inside, at the Biodome, which is such a wonderful place to watch animals in their (recreated) natural environment, out of cages, hopping from tree to tree and mingling together. We were able to identify over 35 bird species during the visit, and had a chance to watch turtles, alligators and monkeys as well. I am sorry not to have any pictures to show you, but truly, I wanted to take time to take it all in instead of focusing on my camera and missing all the action.

Depuis un moment déjà, on avait organisé une petite sortie comme on en fait trop peu souvent. On avait réservé une chambre dans un gîte charmant et on avait planifié deux journées d'observation d'oiseaux dans les Cantons de l'est. La semaine fut très pluvieuse sur le Québec, et plus les jours avançaient et plus il devenait évident que le week-end serait toujours aussi pluvieux. On a failli tout annuler le jeudi soir. Mais c'était le 35e anniversaire de naissance de Patrick, et rester à la maison sans rien faire de spécial pour marquer cet événement me paraissait inconcevable. Alors, on a décidé de partir quand même, en modifiant un peu notre itinéraire pour l'adapter à la météo. Nous sommes partis vers Montréal le samedi matin, pour aller au Biodôme. J'adore cet endroit, ou les animaux cohabitent dans leurs habitats naturels recréés à l'intérieur. Là-bas, pas de cage, les animaux sont en liberté dans des grandes salles, ils peuvent aller d'arbre en arbre et se mélanger les uns aux autres. En plus d'y identifier plus de 35 espèces d'oiseaux, nous avons pu observer des tortues, des aligators, des singes et un lynx. Je suis désolée de n'avoir pas de photo à vous montrer de notre visite là-bas, mais je préférais observer les animaux et profiter du moment plutôt que de me concentrer sur ma caméra et manquer toute l'action qui se déroulait autour de moi.

After our visit, we took the subway and headed downtown Montreal and strolled down Ste.Catherine Street, which was crowded as usual, despite the rain. We walked past all the cool shops and I did admire the window displays, but I was not in the mood for shopping so I have to admit that the only place I went into was Banana Republic. Everything was so grey outside, and between trying not to step in the water and not to hurt anyone with my umbrella, I had very little time for picture taking. This little flower stand, however, caught my eye and I had to stop and take a picture. These flowers were the only flash of colors in all the greyness.

Après notre visite, nous avons pris le métro et sommes descendus marcher sur la rue Ste-Catherine, qui était bondée de monde malgré la pluie. J'ai admiré les vitrines des grandes boutiques, mais comme je n'y étais pas pour magasiner, je ne suis entrée nulle part sauf chez Banana Republic, et encore juste pour jeter un petit coup d'oeil. Le temps était très gris dehors, et entre surveiller mes pas pour éviter les flaques d'eau et faire attention de ne blesser personne avec mon parapluie, je n'a pas eu beaucoup de temps pour prendre des photos. Quand j'ai vu ce petit kiosque de fleurs sur le coin d'une rue, par contre, il a fallu que je m'arrête un instant. Ces fleurs étaient le seul élément coloré dans la grisaille de la ville.

We left Montreal in the afternoon and headed toward Magog, a small town in the Eastern Townships, on lake Memphremagog. We stayed the night at a lovely B&B called Le Cerf Argenté. They had luxurious theme rooms with a fireplace and a therapeutic bath. We took the morrocan one, nicely decorated with rich fabrics, intricate tiling and colorful lamps.

Nous avons quitté Montréal en milieu d'après-midi et sommes partis vers Magog, une charmante petite ville des Cantons de l'est, au bord du lac Memphrémagog. Nous avons passé la nuit dans un très beau gîte, le Cerf Argenté, qui offre des suites thématiques luxueuses, avec foyer et bain thérapeutique. La nôtre était de style marocain, décorée de riches tissus, de motifs complexes réalisés en céramique et de luminaires exotiques et colorés.

I did not dare take pictures in the rest of the house, but the place looked lovely and was filled with green plants, more artistic tiling and ancient furniture. It was a shame that rain would not stop one minute, because I would have liked to go for a walk on the property and have a look at the pond and gardens.

Je n'ai pas osé prendre des photos dans le reste de la maison, mais l'endroit était superbe, rempli de plantes vertes, de jolies céramiques réalisées par un artisan et de meubles antiques. C'était vraiment dommage que la pluie tombe sans arrêt, parce que le gîte est entouré de jardins et d'un étang que j'aurais bien aimé visiter.

The following morning, rain had stopped - temporarily - and we were able to go visit a small marsh recommended by our host. The place was calm and the only sounds were coming from the birds. Barn Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds were puting a great show for us, while mallards were quietly feeding on the far end.

Le dimanche matin, la pluie s'était arrêtée, bien que temporairement, et nous avons pu aller visiter un petit marais bien caché que notre hôte nous avait recommandé. L'endroit était tranquille, et mis à part le vent qui soufflait, les seuls bruits étaient les chants des oiseaux. Les hirondelles et les carouges à épaulettes nous ont offert un beau spectacle, pendant que quelques canards se nourissaient en silence, un peu à l'écart.

We left when the cold and the wind made our fingers too numb to hold the binoculars, and drove on country roads for a while, admiring the flowering trees and some unusual farm animals, like these alpacas, along the way.

Nous nous sommes résignés à quitter parce que nos doigts étaient engourdis par le froid et ne pouvaient plus tenir les jumelles. Nous avons parcouru des petites routes de campagne et admiré au passage des arbres en fleurs et des animaux de ferme un peu inusité, comme ces alpagas.

We were headed toward another marsh, where we braved again the strong wind and the rain, which began pouring. Nevertheless, it was a great birding day for us, as we were able to see many warblers, a dashing Baltimore Oriole, a flying Great Heron and a proud Double-crested Cormorant. We also made a new friend in this Canada Goose, who was not bothered by our intrusion. In fact, she seemed to invite us to follow her.

Nous sommes allés visiter un autre marais, ou il nous a fallu braver encore le vent, le froid et la pluie qui s'était remise à tomber. Malgré la rudesse du temps, nous avons beaucoup apprécié notre sortie d'observation, qui nous a permise de voir plusieurs parulines, un oriole de Baltimore éclatant, un grand héron en vol et un cormoran à aigrettes trônant fièrement sur un tronc d'arbre immergé. Nous avons aussi rencontré une gentille bernache du Canada qui n'était aucunement importunée par notre présence. Ne trouvez-vous pas qu'elle semble nous inviter à la suivre?

Walk for Wildlife, April 10 to 16

2011-04-12T19:54:00.003-04:00

National Wildlife Week

Did you hear the songbird's melody coming from that tall pine on the corner of your street?

Did you see the squirrel running along the neighbor's fence?

Did you notice the small toad jumping on the sidewalk, or the robin looking for worms on your front lawn?

I am a nature lover. I cherish the trees and flowers that grow in my environment. And I am amazed by all the animals that I meet, from the smallest ladybug in flower beds to the giant moose hiding in the forest.

This week we're all invited to go for a walk and look at the life around us. We often forget all those creatures who share the territory with us and we don't realize how much our actions on the land impact them.

Official walks are organized all over the country, but I invite you to make it on a more personal level. You don't need to go deep in the woods to be aware of the wildlife. A simple stroll around your neighborhood will let you see plenty of animals, and will reconnect you with nature, if you just open your eyes and your ears and take time to observe.

I am not just talking about this, I believe in the necessity to reconnect with nature. My boyfriend and I started the week on Sunday with a visit to one of our favorite places, a protected area including a small marsh, a wood and an access to the St.Lawrence River.

The marsh was still frozen and pretty much deserted at this time of the year, but in summer

it is a marvellous place to observe birds: herons and egrets, kingfishers and kingbirds, and a great number of ducks

We went down the trail to the woods where the snow had begun to melt and where robins were actively looking for juicy worms. Black-capped chickadees and squirrels were begging us to give them seeds and nuts and were following us from branch to branch. A wood-pecker was hard at work in the dead trees a little further, and water was streaming down the hill in a soft ringing melody.

And just as we were going through the apple orchard and wondering about the faded prints in the snow, Patrick spotted a deer lying under the trees about 30 feet from us. We knew then whose prints we'd been looking at on the trail. She looked at us unalarmed and let me take pictures of her for a long time, even when she got up and walked slowly towards a clearing.

A second deer was going her own way a little further, we watched silently as they gracefully entered another wooden area and disappeared.

Our walk took us down to the river side where we were able to observe a large flock of

Canada

geese feeding and chatting gaily. We also spotted a couple of mallards sliding on the calm water and far away some sea ducks were visible through our binoculars, though we could not identify them at that distance. We watched them dive and resurface a few yards from their starting point.

This was a walk filled with pure delight, and we still talk about it two days later as if we had just come home. We could have made it a very different experience, we could have walked through the woods and never stopped one minute, talking about our problems or about the movie we had seen the night before. The deers would have watched us walk by unnoticed. We would have never seen the sea ducks. We would have been annoyed by the insistence of the chickadees.

We would have forgotten that we share a land with so many other species, all of them worth at least as much interest as ourselves.

Take some time this week and go for a walk, open your eyes and your ears and your heart, and who knows what new furry or feathered friend you could meet.

A mosaic of hexies

2011-04-10T16:41:00.001-04:00

This is what I have been up to lately, 60 hexagons. I started with two charm packs of 5 inch fabric squares, one is Amy Butler's Soul Blossom, the other one is Kathy Davis's Blossoming.

I now have all my fabric basted to paper hexagons and I have been playing with them to make a mosaic, a very colorful one. I will start handsewing them together this week.

What are they to become?, I hear you asking. Well, it could be a number of things, really, but if you own the book Sew! by Cath Kidston, you will know. And the rest of you will find out soon enough!

A mini makeover

2011-04-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

This is the "new" couch that we bought last year. We'd been wanting a red, country-looking couch for a long time and we just love it. However, there is one thing about it that got me a little depressed: its legs.

It had some cheap black plastic legs that I just couldn't stand. There was nothing remotely country about those legs, and so we'd been talking about changing them for wooden legs instead. We shopped for those, but they were either too big or too expensive. I was not about to pay 20$ for one leg, however beautiful it might be.

We finally found what we were looking for at the flea market. These are basic unfinished wooden legs, and for 3$ each, we took them home. My boyfriend used some colored shellac on them and screwed them in place.

I like the new look much better!

Craft Book Challenge... without the book

2011-03-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

Well, there is a book, I just don't get along with it very well. My two last projects, meant to be my CBC for February and March, were supposed to come from this book, but the patterns were all wrong for me and so I had to toss the book aside and improvise, which turned out to feel even better. It made me realize that I can do stuff my own way and it can look as good as the ready-made patterns. Huge boost for my self-esteem.

So, the book in question is Sew!, by Cath Kidston.

It is a very good-looking book with great ideas, and I don't regret buying it. In fact, I am trying a third project from this book, knowing that if I get lost again with the pattern, I can change a few things and work it out. My first attempt was a needle book, shown here in the book:

And here as it turned out:

I thought that using fabric covered cardboard was a bright idea, that is until I tried it and realized it did not really work out well. My main problem was that my Heat'n'Bond stuff did not really stick to either the cardboard or the felt, so that the whole thing was coming apart. It might be that I was using the wrong stuff, or that I did not know how to use it. Anyway, I had to add a few stitches here and there to secure it a bit, but it ended up looking a little too cheap for my taste.

You can see below what it looks like from the back, where I had to sew the strap.

I was not about to call it quit, though, so I made my own version, inspired by the pattern, but without the cardboard and the fabric adhesive. Everything is sewn and nothing will come apart with this one. It is not as sturdy as the one from the book, but I wasn't really into it to begin with, so I made mine a soft cover with a sheet of felt as batting.

I like this one much better and as you can see, I have already found some use for it.

My second attempt was a fabric-covered coat hanger.

I have to report that I did not go very far with this pattern. I read the instructions twice and could not make any sense of them. The measurements were all wrong for the hangers that I had, and the gathering technique did not seem to me like it would work. I was still on my guard from my recent experience with the needle book, so I used the book as inspiration for the choice of fabrics and I just drew my own pattern to fit my hangers.

I am still surprised they came out so good, and I can see a few more of these hangers in a near future, because these were given to my mom for her birthday, but I want some for myself as well.

So far, the CBC has been very revealing to me. I have learned not to be afraid to try something new, and I have learned to trust my instinct and to improvise. The three patterns that I had chosen lacked some instructions, and I have had to stop and think to find out how to get to the result in my own way.

My next project again comes from Sew!, and hopefully I can work around that one too. I will show you soon what I am up to.

Out of the Rabbit Hole

2011-02-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

It's been so long since I showed up here that you must have thought I fell down the rabbit hole.

It might be just that, for look who I met when I came out.

I was browsing my favorite blogs a couple of weeks ago when I came across this great tutorial from All Sorts.

And instantly it was clear to me that I NEEDED to make one for myself. I pushed aside everything else I was working on and had to make it right away. I looked through my supplies - sorry, no time to go shopping for the perfect fleece or new fabrics - and had my little bunny ready in no time.

Of course, my boyfriend got jealous and demanded a matching boy version, so a second one came as quickly as the first. They are that easy to make! And for the clothes, I used the dress pattern, which I slightly modified, and turned in into a little jacket.

What I like the most about these cuties, apart from the fact that they multiply in the blink of an eye, is that their clothes are reversible and leaves space for their pompom tails to pop out. That is just too darn cute.

I don't have any specific plans for them, except to keep me company in the studio, but don't you think they'd be great in Easter baskets?

Sylvie

Wanna Swap?

2011-01-30T19:57:00.000-05:00

Karen from Sew Many Ways is having her first Swap Meet Weekend and I thought it might be fun to join in and see how it goes. What I have to offer is one full yard of Kaffe Fassett Rosette print, which I think is beautiful, but I bought it for one specific project and now it just doesn't fit with the other fabrics, so I would be happy to let it go to someone who could use it. And just so you can check shipping fees, I am located in Quebec city, Canada.

What I would like to swap it for? It could be either another Kaffe Fassett print or some Phillip Jacobs. I am also collecting polka dot prints and vintage calico fabrics , and they don't have to be a full yard, they can be a bunch of nice scraps, since most of my projects are quite small. So, don't be shy, let me know what you have to swap and we'll see if we can make a happy match!

Visit Karen here to join in the swap party!

Sylvie

Craft Book Challenge - January

2011-01-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

I finally came around to making this patchwork pincushion that I liked so much from the book Tout en patch'..., which I have mentionned numerous times on this blog. It is, by far, my favorite craft book from my small collection, and I return to it quite often for easy small projects.

The pieces for this patchwork were really small, some less than half an inch wide, so I decided to try paper-piecing them, and it worked like a charm. There is something about hand sewing that I find very relaxing and I have enjoyed making this little piece. I think the hardest part was selecting the fabrics, which I chose from my vintage scraps collection.

You can still join in the challenge here, and see what other participants have been making. For February, I will try something red to be in the spirit of Valentine's Day, crossing my fingers that I can get an earlier start than I did in January.

Happy crafting everyone!

Sylvie

Paper-piecing Challenge

2011-01-20T21:22:00.001-05:00

I've had such a slow crafting start this year, I feel pretty bad about it. I had a very nice project all laid out, the "I'll take one of everything bag", a pattern from Anna Maria Horner's book Seams to me. I had ordered the fabric especially for this project and went as far as cutting out the paper pattern from the book. Then I spent an evening trying different layouts with the fabric, and calculating how to cut it so I would still have enough for the lining and the braided handles. I never came to a final decision and the project is still waiting, the fabric neatly piled up on the end of my ironing board. This was meant to be my project for this month's Craft Book Challenge, but now I have to switch to something else because there is no way I can make this bag over the weekend.

So I took out my vintage fabric scraps and decided to make a paper-pieced pincushion I've had my eye on for quite a while. I only had time to get started on a few pieces tonight, but hopefully I can put it together this weekend. It promises to take quite a few hours, though, as it will all be hand sewn.

Sylvie

Fairies and Snow

2011-01-19T20:07:00.000-05:00

A fresh layer of snow is covering my little corner of the world today, fluffy and beautifully white. The sky was glowing pink last night, and this morning the trees were straight out of a fairy tale.

I've had fairies on my mind these past few days, while I am reading this great novel, The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. It is the story of a four-year-old English girl abandonned on a wharf in Australia, and the journey of her grand-daughter, ninety years later, to unravel the mystery and find out who that child really was. Her starting point is a fairy tales book which belonged to her grand-mother, and with it we travel back in time, and from Australia to Cornwall.

It might be the best new winter reading I've had in a long time. For some reason, I tend to re-read my favorite books in winter: Girl with a Pear Earring, I Capture the Castle, Frozen Music, Emily of New Moon, Quelque chose à l'intérieur. Their long-time acquaintance keeps me warm and comfy during the cold days.

I might come back tomorrow with a report on my crafting activities - or lack thereof. In the meantime, I keep looking for traces of my own fairies, little blue-feathered, peanut-eating fairies...

Sew and Tell - Holiday Recap

2011-01-06T19:36:00.000-05:00

Why is it that every year I tell myself that I will start sewing presents early, only to get caught on December 23 frantically handsewing the last pieces close? I guess I like to live under pressure, and I sure got plenty of that this year. But it was well worth the trouble because I am glad of what I made and the little presents were appreciated by the recipients.

I made this simple bag for my sister Nathalie, who likes birds and purple. The pattern is from a French book called "Tout en patch..." by Corinne Crasbercu, and you can see what it's all about here. My sister and I actually exchanged our handmade gifts, she made some lovely crocheted items for me.

I couldn't resist the urge of making yet another of those lovely patchwork baskets from Pink Penguin. This one, my fourth, was for my mother, and I filled it with japanese paper scraps for her scrapbooking and cardmaking, and with a few cross-stitched ornaments that I had made.

I also made her a couple of laundry bags (also from "Tout en patch...") that she will get to use in her upcoming trip to Cuba.

And as if I wasn't busy enough with the gift making, I decided on a whim to make a couple of chinese puzzles that we used in a game at our Christmas party. They don't look like much, but trust me, they were a lot of work!

Want to see what everyone else made in December? Hit the Sew and Tell button on my sidebar and find out on Amy's blog!

Sylvie

A New Year, a Challenge and other fun things

2011-01-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed a new button at the top of my sidebar, Craft Book Challenge. Liesl from Liesl Made has challenged us to use our craft books and make at least one project from them every month for the year to come. I think it's brilliant. I have a small collection of craft books, but I've only used 4 or 5 of them so far, so I've decided to join in and see if I can keep up. I will start with a bag pattern found in Seams to Me, by Anna Maria Horner. I've already got the pattern cut out and the fabrics chosen, so hopefully I can make it in January. I'll keep you posted on that. You can check out the challenge here and join in too, it will be a lot of fun.

And if you need some more inspiration to get you started in 2011, check out this great compilation of tutorials made by Ursula at Muffins and More. I know I've already bookmarked a few to try out in the coming months.

To start the New Year with some colors, I've made a new pair of pillowcases with fun patterns. After last year's cows, let me present you my new monkeys! I've used the very easy and quick tube method to make these.

And lastly, to answer Susanne's question, the mosaics in my previous post were made using a little software called Collage Creator. It is meant for scrapbooking and is very easy to use. You can download it for free here

I'll see you all later with new crafting projects!

Sylvie.

2010 in pictures

2010-12-31T16:23:00.002-05:00

While browsing through the pictures I've taken over the year 2010, I came to think that it might be nice to show them here. I have made three mosaics (sorry for the quality, they were made quickly as I have to get ready for tonight's party), one as a review of this year's craft projects, one of my garden, and another one of places I've been to this year.

Hope you enjoy this little journey in what really makes Maevy's Corner!

All these projects can be found in earlier posts.

Flowers include, in order, lilac, sunflower, wild red cherry, gaillardia, rose, black-eyed susan, hosta and lupine.

1. Birding in Parc du Bic; 2. Old building in Bois-de-Coulonge; 3. Rodeo in Ste-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier; 4. The lake at Duchesnay; 5. A rainbow seen from my porch; 6. A street in Old Quebec; 7. The view in fall, from my rooftop; 8. The marsh at Cacouna; 9. Fontaine de Tourny, downtown Quebec; 10. Gardens at Domaine Joly; 11. Beachfront houses in Ste-Luce; 12. Sunset on Ste-Luce.

See you all in 2011, wishing you all the best!

Sylvie

Handmade decorations

2010-12-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

I know I am coming a little late with these, but as I was gifting them to my mom for Christmas, I couldn't show them earlier. They are just simple designs cross-stitched on Aïda and backed with red cotton, but they make fancy decorations. The designs come from an old Christmas edition of Marianne magazine.

Best wishes for the New Year!

Sylvie

The Final Cut

2010-12-27T20:19:00.001-05:00

Remember my quilt top? I finished it in August and four months later it still is just that. A quilt top.

I received a few weeks ago the fabric that I'll use as backing, pictured above, right, and seriously, I can't believe that it took me all these months to finally make a decision about this backing fabric. I have been so fussy about it, and it could have kept going on, the hesitation, the constant "what if I find something better".

The only reason why I decided to buy this fabric now is that the store was down to 4 1/2 yards and I needed four. I got scared that they would sell out and I'd be back to my starting point of having no idea what fabric to use. Because this Valori Wells Del Hi Pom Pom was the only remaining option on my list.

I am still not convinced that it is the best match to my quilt top, but at least the fabric is gorgeous and bold enough to get some attention.

My plan when I received the fabric was to baste the quilt over that weekend and have it ready for hand quilting during the holidays. However, as I write these lines, the fabric is still waiting, unwashed and uncut.

For my defense, I was working on Christmas presents at the time, and they had to be finished before the quilt.

Fabric Basket Tutorial

2010-12-19T15:28:00.001-05:00

Here is - finally! - a tutorial for my little FQ fabric basket. The incredible response I've had to my giveaway has given me the small push I needed to sit down and write it. So here it is, hopefully clear enough to be understood, but if anything is missing, please let me know and I will try to clarify.

FQ FABRIC BASKET TUTORIAL

Material needed:
Coordinated fabric scraps (fat eights work well for the sides)
Thin polyester batting (cotton and bamboo are not stiff enough)
Non-woven, heavy weight sew-on interfacing
Two yards of ribbon
Matching or contrasting thread
Vanishing-ink fabric marker
Plastic Ruler
Hand-sewing needle
Scissors
Rotary cutter (optional)
Cutting mat (optional)
Sewing machine (optional)

Cutting List:

From the outside fabric (here the black and green fabric)
2 pieces of 13" X 4" for long sides
2 pieces of 51/2" X 4" for short ends

From the inside fabric (here the green dots)

2 pieces of 13" X 4" for long sides

2 pieces of 51/2" X 4" for short ends

From the bottom fabric (here the floral)

2 pieces of 13" X 51/2"

From the batting:

2 pieces of 13" X 4"

2 pieces of 51/2" X 4"

1 piece of 13" X 51/2"

From the interfacing:

2 pieces of 13" X 4"

2 pieces of 51/2" X 4"

1 piece of 13" X 51/2"

From the ribbon:

8 pieces of 7" long

Once you have chosen your fabrics, iron each piece and cut according to cutting list above. I have used two coordinated fat eights for the sides, but any scraps will do. It would even be fun to have all different sides.

What you choose to use as batting and interfacing will determine the sturdiness of your basket. I wanted a clean look, but I don't plan on moving this basket around much, sot extra sturdiness was not necessary. I have tried different combinations and this light batting with the thick interfacing is what gave me the most satisfying result. However, if you need something sturdier, inserting plastic canvas might be a better option. In that case, you would need to leave larger openings when you sew around each side.

Step-by-step how-to

1. As we have four layers for each four sides of the basket (inside fabric, batting, interfacing and outside fabric), we will quilt three of them together to give stability and add a little interest. The quilting may be done differently than what I do, a simple cross pattern, but from experience I would recommend to avoid vertical or horizontal lines as they make a bend in the side of the basket and make it lose its shape. So, this being said, take a small piece of the outside fabric, and using a ruler and a fabric marker, trace an X from corner to corner. Repeat for the other small piece of outside fabric. For the two long pieces of outside fabric, trace two Xs, from corner to middle of long side.

2. Now what you need to do is a “sandwich” with one piece of batting, one piece of interfacing, and one piece of outside fabric on top, right side facing up.

3. Quilt the three layers on the X that you have marked, either by machine or by hand. Repeat for the three other sides.

4. Now is time to add the inside fabric and the ribbons to the “sandwich”. Place a quilted piece of outside fabric on your work table, outside fabric facing up. Position two pieces of ribbon, one on either side, at 1” from the top.

5. Then, lay the inside fabric over, wrong side facing up, and pin everything in place, making sure that the loose ends of ribbons will not get caught in the seam.

6. Sew around the “sandwich”, leaving a 2” opening on the bottom side, i.e. the long side farther from the ribbons. Clip corners.

7. Turn right side out and repeat for all three other sides, and for the bottom part, omitting the ribbons on this last one.

8. Iron flat all pieces and hand sew the openings.

9. Now is time to assemble the sides to the bottom of the basket. Place the bottom on your work table, inside up ( I chose the quilted side to be inside the basket, but you could choose otherwise, it won’t make much of a difference). Take one side of your basket and lay it on the bottom piece, outside up, aligning the bottom sides of both pieces. Pin in place. Hand sew both pieces together.

10. Repeat for other three sides.

11. Tie the ribbons in the corners and you have a finished basket!

Giveaway Winners

2010-12-18T18:25:00.000-05:00

Oh, this was a fun giveaway day, or should I say week? I've enjoyed reading comments and I am thrilled to have had 300 entries, plus a bunch of new followers. Welcome to all of you new readers.

Many commenters have requested a tutorial for my fabric basket, and that was just what I needed to convince me of doing one. So check back in the next few days and I will have it posted right here.

Now, to the winners - 'cause really that's the reason you're here today, right?

Names were picked at random, with the help of my boyfriend, and the lucky ones are:

Carol, who won the ready-made basket

and

Kerry , who won the kit.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who entered! Stay tuned for the basket tutorial!

Sylvie

It's Giveaway Day!

2010-12-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew, Giveaway Day is back, and I wouldn't want to miss it, so I have prepared a little something to offer.

A while ago, I came up with a simple basket designed to store fat quarters. I wanted to write a tutorial for this, but being the big procrastinator that I am, I never did. However, I still want to share my little baskets with others, so I thought this giveaway might be a good opportunity to do so.

I will have two prizes: one is the basket below, all sewed and ready to receive your fat quarters (or anything else you might want to store in it, it is up to you).

The other prize is a kit to sew your own basket, including all fabric pieces, batting and interfacing, as well as ribbon for the ties and a simple how-to.

If you want to enter my giveaway, here are the rules, which I have tried to keep as simple as possible:

Leave a comment on this post and let me know whether you want to be entered for the already-made basket or for the kit, or for the two of them. If you don't mention which you want, I will assume you are in for both.
Make sure I have a way to contact you. If your profile is set up as no-reply, make sure you give your e-mail address in your comment.
Giveaway is open until Friday, December 17, midnight EST.
I will ship internationally, so everyone is welcome to enter.
Winners will be selected at random and will be annonced next weekend.

Best of luck to everyone!

Sylvie

Winter crafting

2010-11-28T16:45:00.000-05:00

I know I have been silent for a long time, and I am sorry about it. I have been quite busy crafting and there wasn't much I could show here because most of the projects I have been working on are to be gifted at Christmas, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.

A few weeks ago, I took out my Sculpey clay and made the figurines above. I was in the mood for small things I guess, the little bird is just over 1 cm long! It wasn't easy to paint such small things, but don't they look pretty sitting in front of their paper house?

While at it, I also made this set of mushroom buttons, and the little lady below, just for fun.

And now, I'll be going back to my Christmas crafting, I have a little project going on with these fabric remnants from last year.

Have a great week!
Sylvie

Goodies in the mail

2010-11-03T19:45:00.000-04:00

See how happy they all look? But not as happy as I was when I opened the package from Blushful. A few weeks ago, tired of fighting with my tangled embroidery threads, I went on a search on Etsy to find some cute thread cards, and came across these.

They were by far the cutest I'd ever seen, and I ordered a pack of 20. Now, they look even better in real, and I've had fun selecting one mushroom for each color thread. But where it gets really cool is that because I was her first Etsy customer ever, Annie was overly generous and sent along some more gorgeous handmade goodies:

A cute little pink haired girl, made out of a wooden spool and dressed in pompom trim.

And this felt beauty, hiding decorative pins in her hair.

I feel very lucky to have received all these nice gifts. Hop on over to Blushful if you want to see more of Annie's work, she's got the cutest pincushions!

Black stitching

2010-10-29T19:38:00.000-04:00

I had planned to come back earlier this week, but life got busy and the days were gone before I noticed. I started to stitch a few weeks ago, and worked on a little project that I can't show you right now because it will be a gift to someone who might read this blog.

I then found this little pattern somewhere on the internet -- but I can't remember where exactly -- and decided to stitch it just for fun, and because I love roosters. It was the first time that I tried monochromatic cross-stitching and I enjoyed it a lot, plus I like the dramatic effect.

That got me looking over blackwork and I got fascinated with all the intricate designs like this one, or this one. Now I really want to try some more black stitching and see where it will get me.

As for the rooster, I have yet to decide what to make of it. Any suggestions?

Enjoy your weekend! I have a special crafting day scheduled with my big sister on Sunday, can't wait!

Cheers, Sylvie

2010-10-25T19:20:00.001-04:00

Hello there! I am back after a long silence, caused in part by all the work that needed to be done around the house in preparation of winter, but mostly because of our computer's illness (a nasty virus) over the last week and some trouble with our internet connection.

I have a few things to share in the next few days, starting with some pics from our little escapade in Saint-Hyacinthe and Victoriaville which took place a week ago. What took us there in the first place was an event called Salon Passion Bois, a kind of fair where woodworkers meet and sell their creations. We had a great time there, and found many pieces that we would have gladly brought home. Instead, we came back with some exotic woods like Canary wood, lacewood and amarante, to be used for inlays in Patrick's future creations.

We spent the night in a gem of a B&B in Saint-Hyacinthe, Le Nid Fleuri, and fell in love with our room.

The victorian patterned wallpaper covered all the walls and the ceiling, and even baseboards and switchplates! It was the kind of bold decor that I would never dare have at home, but love to live in for one night.

The furniture was very interesting as well, like this reproduction of an Arts and Crafts armoire, made of pine instead of the traditional oak.

The next day, on our way back home, we stopped at every antiques places on the road. It was our first time antiquing out of Quebec-city and we had a blast. Most of these places we huge and packed with (affordable) treasures.

This place is my favorite of all, Antiquité Michel Prince Inc., the picture comes from their website.

I came across lots of stuff that I would love to call my own, like this library card cabinet. I am crazy about those, and I wish someday I can have one in my house, in my craftroom maybe...

via Benoît Rochefort

I also have a thing for floor grates, I like all the lovely lacey patterns, but I have no idea what I'd use them for, so this will be for another time.

via Benoît Rochefort

We met a bunch of cute cats all through the day, because it seems that every antique store in that area, ,most of them barns, had its mascot cat, and I just couldn't resist taking their pictures.

Yup, this is me with my new friend, who followed me to the car and would have jumped in if I'd have let her!

This little kitty is Zoé, and she was clumsily trying to catch a fly. I thought it was funny that she'd choose to lay on a carpet with leopards on it.

I almost stepped on this one, she was lying very still behind a table, looking a me with her big green eyes.

Finally, here are our finds of the day. Pictures are as we found them, they all need deep cleaning and a new coat of finish.

I wanted a small chair to use as a spare in our office, and I really liked the simple shape of this one -- and its price. I can already figure it with a cute checked cushion, and I just happen to have the perfect fabric for it in my stash.

The telephone was an idea of my boyfriend. It came to him while we were at a flea market a while ago, and we thought we might get one to hang in our living room as a decoration. The small size of this one was perfect for our tiny space, and I really like the big tag Made in Canada. We just don't see that much anymore...

And last, but not least, Patrick grabbed these two old planes. They don't look like much today, but you should see what he can do with them, they'll be all shiny and ready to go when he's finished with them.

This was our little antiquing expedition. If you ever are in the region and want to follow the route too, here is a link to the Antiques Roadways & Byways.

That's all folks, I will be back later this week with some stitching I've been working on lately.

A walk in the yellow wood

2010-10-10T10:51:00.011-04:00

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;"

"Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,"

"And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back."

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

-- Robert Frost, The Road not taken --

Sew & Tell - Amy Butler's Challenge

2010-09-24T09:38:00.005-04:00

I was very excited when I read about the Amy Butler's challenge on Amylouwho, and I wanted to participate. Small problem though: I barely had any Amy Butler's fabrics. I am just not such a huge fan, and my fabric stash is still quite modest.

However, I had bought a charm pack of Love thinking that I might make a table runner for my fabric cabinet with it someday. The challenge made that day come much faster than was planned! And I am glad it motivated me to complete one more project. You can't see because the pictures are awfully dark on this rainy morning, but this runner adds a great spark of colors to my craft room.

I did not have enough time to buy more Amy Butler fabrics though (because I have to order it from the US), so I cheated and used a Denyse Schmidt print for the borders and some random dots for the backing and binding.

Be sure to check the whole extravaganza and comment for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

Happy sewing!

Birthday wishes

2010-09-22T19:08:00.007-04:00

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, and I had put together a little present that I totally enjoyed sewing from some japanese fabric scraps that I love.

I made this little case for the super cute scissors I found at a Singer clearance center. Again, my inspiration came from this book. I just can't get enough of all the cute projects in it.

And I put together a needle book with the rest of the scraps, just for fun.

It all went together in a patchwork basket, from the tutorial by Pink Penguin, along with some Kaffe Fassett's FQs and a covered button kit from Cutie Stuffs.

Now let's just hope she likes the color pink!!!

Sylvie

Slowly slipping

2010-09-19T20:45:00.010-04:00

We've had a beautiful weekend over here in Quebec, all sunshine and warmth, still I couldn't help but notice, while watching our visitor cat play in the lowering sun, that we are undeniably slipping towards fall.

I took a good look around my backyard and saw all the colorful signs of automn.

Beautifully textured raspberry leaves turning orange and gold.

Striking flames of amaranths at their tallest and brightest.

Ripe berries calling my feathered friends to the banquet.

Giant sunflowers gently bowing their heads, heavy with seeds.

Busy bees sucking the last few drops of pollen from the gaillardias.

Hope you enjoy the changing colors as much as I do.

Sylvie

Paper piecing love

2010-09-12T17:14:00.002-04:00

I never thought I'd try paper piecing one day. Every time I read about it, I told myself I would never have the patience for it. But as they say, never say never...

I came across this cute hexie caddy pincushion on Penny's Hands last week, and it was love at first sight. The tutorial was very clear and it looked easy, even with all the paper piecing and hand sewing. I decided to give it a try, and it was a blast to make. I sat in the sun on my patio Saturday afternoon and pieced all the hexagons together. That would not have been possible had I needed my sewing machine to make it.

I will give my new caddy a place of choice on my sewing table, it will look great in my new decor, but more about it in the coming posts.

Have a great week!

Sylvie

Laundry Day

2010-09-03T12:01:00.004-04:00

I finished these laundry bags late last night. Not that I needed them so badly, but this is an idea I got earlier this summer and when we were away on vacation, I realized it would be nice to have them next time.

I don't know about you, but every time we go to a hotel or a B&B, I find myself looking for a plastic bag to keep our dirty clothes out of the way. And each time I tell myself how much nicer it would be to have something a little more stylish than a boring plastic bag.

I got the inspiration from this book, which I simply love for all the great fabrics featured and the beautiful pictures. I changed all the dimensions of the pattern, however, because I wanted it to fit my needs and the size of the fabrics I wanted to use. Many of them are vintage and I only had a small quantity of each.

Oh, and by the way, sorry for the dark pictures, no sunshine today, it rained all night, and you can see below how little help was my lighting assistant...

I will be linking this post to Amylouwho's Sew and Tell party, so please check it out, lots of lovely finishes this week, as always!

This week's lucky finds

2010-08-29T19:47:00.010-04:00

I have a confession to make. I don't like shopping. Usually. But once in a while, I get on a roll and make great finds. This week was one of those times. It started on Monday when I visited Carac'Terre, a pottery expo. I fell in love with the little teal pitcher above, which was handmade by a ceramic student, and I just had to have it. My luck started there when I got the cup as a freebie with my purchase. How cool is that?

On Tuesday I went to a clearance store just around the corner from my office. And look what I found!

Vintage cotton ribbon in great flower and veggie patterns. Yards and yards of them! For next to nothing, only 2$ a roll.

I then took a few days off from my shopping spree, until my boyfriend suggested we go to a flea market yesterday. How could I say no to him? And what did I find buried in a cardboard box under a counter? This colorful textured tin can, dating back to when you could still buy something that wasn't made in China. This one came from Holland.

And I just love the painted flowers on the cover.

And now, the "pièce de résistance", this pair of wicker chairs that I found on kijiji.ca and bought from a nice lady for 35$. We picked them up yesterday. Once accessorised with cushions and throws, they will be a great addition to our living room.

Don't you wish every week could bring such lucky finds?

I will be linking this post to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality. Go check her great finds of the week and all the other links.

My first quilt top

2010-08-20T19:05:00.004-04:00

This is such a relief to have finally completed this quilt top, my first ever. I started working on it months ago, and got stuck on the inner border which, according to the pattern, alternated black and ivory bands. I tried to do so, but I could never match my seams and the result was pitiful. So, I got bored with the whole thing, folded it and left it in a corner of my craft room.

Recently while reading Jane Brocket's latest book The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking, I realised that this quilt did not have to be so complicated. I liked the way Jane works from instinct rather than by following rules, and I thought why can't I do something like that too? So, I decided to digress from the pattern, although it really did look amazing, and go with a simple black inner border. This was much more within my reach, and at least it made me finish the quilt top.

Now I have to decide what fabric to use for the backing, and I can't think of anything. I'd like it to be colorful as the top, but I don't want to use any more fabrics from this Keri Beyer's collection. Any suggestion of pattern or specific fabric would be more than welcome, so please leave a comment if anything comes to mind.

I am linking this post to Amylouwho's Sew and Tell, where I have spied some gorgeous things, including her own Amy Butler's Love Quilt. You've got to check it out!

Sylvie