A fresh wind

Have a look at those gorgeous tiles: an entire wall in the entry of a Paris building from the turn of the century.
Normally you can not enter a building without knowing the doorcode.
Doorcodes are a disaster for me, i'm soooo curious, but i do agree, for safety it's necessary.
As the postman just came out, i slipped inside and took these pics.
The hall was not large enough to take the whole wall, but i'm happy to show you these details.
Jugendstil period i suppose.

A junkshop find from heaven knows where, the background is velvet, punchneedled, bold colors.

Folk art from eastern Europe?

I payed 1 euro 50 for it, which is quite a good deal i think!

Just a litle bunch of nine patches, but not a clear destination.

Always good to have at hand on a rainy winterday.

I had a subscription for swatches at Vintage and Vogue for quite a long time, and i used some of those to make them.

I made this top last week:

the blocks were made a few months ago, with dutch fabric from Den Haan en Wagenmakers.

The big triangles a junkshop find, kind of chinoiserie.

The sashings were destinated for the crumb diamonds i showed a while a go, but his seems a far more better use to me.

I'm happy with the blended effect, inspired by a quilt from the American Museum in Bath, UK.

I was happy to spend a moment with you, but go back to the clutterfight right now for an hour or two.

Will in Paris.

War against clutter

No photos today: this will be a very austere message: i declared war against clutter, and believe me, changes will be made here!
I'm filling big plastic bags with rubbish and unnecessary stuff, trying to get my life on order.
The problem here is that we have no space, just 2 rooms, a kitchen of course, a bathroom.
It's an average Paris apartment, the Mimi Pinson style.
My American friends just can't imagine HOW SMALL it is here!
Ask Lazy Gal Tonya, i'm sure she is smiling there in Florida.
OK, let's get to the point: i have a huge pile of MARIE CLAIRE IDEE magazines.
I'm willing to send 3 issues in a pouch by post to whom it demands: all i ask you is to send me some scraps, but reproductionfabrics only, please.
If you are interrested,let me know by a private mail and bear in mind that i'm talking about OLDER ISSUES, but in mint condition.
If you collect MCI's, mention the issues you already own.
Hope this is not too confused,
Will in Paris.

A mistery in the neighbourhood:
The building is beautifully refurbished, but the area is not that nice, crowded, noisy, between Barbès and Gare du Nord, you wouldn't stop there just to sit and have a break.
It'on the Boulevard de Rochechouart.
Maybe it was the architect?
an author? a compositor?
But such an elegant décor, and not a sign of life behind the windows..........


We had another get-together last sunday with the girls from the Creuse Convention,
there was food, good wine and we showed progress made on Bonnie Hunter's Bargain Basement and some other stuff.
Good job girls, ready for a new adventure?
Sylvie showed us a darling baby quilt, ready for quilting.


Anne Marie and her Bargain Basement

The other Sylvie knitted a new pullover.

Done with Noro yarn as she told me, isn't that gorgeous?

She's a very experienced knitter too and lots of her knits have been published in the magazine ELLE during the years when we were all knitting.

I'm working for quite a while on this:an antique dutch quilt.

The thing is that i lost the center somewhere and never found it back.

I just have to look forward and start it over.

The hexagons a tiny: the diameter is half an inch, so it will take me busy for a couple of years i think.

It's the kind of work i take with me when i travel, i do it with the english paperpiecing method.

The overall look will be from beige to dark browns( a lot ) some soft pinks and powder blues, civil war fabrics will be dominant.

The background will be a vibrant red.

I found this lovely chair the other day in the street!

Still going strong and no reparations necessary.

A professionnal will redo the sitting, and i'll show you the result when ready.

I hung it in the chandelier to show you the entire chair.........

That's all for today, will be l

back around the weekend so happy quilting! Will V in Paris

The triangles in this medallion quilt were made with paper piecing, a great help, but i forgot that the stiches must be VERY TINY, so tearing the paper away is a real pain in this case!
Where will i find time to quilt all my tops?
I'm constantly tempted by starting a new quilt, just can't resist!
The quilt was shown in QNM, directions in two or three issues.
The chrome yellow was from the Callie Lu collection, don't remember the brand.
I love chrome yellows and poison greens, a pity there are so few available for the moment.

Oh, i know, i know, i don't need those paper sheets, but who could resist?

I try to do , once a week, what i call my LUXURY TOUR:

I start Place da la Madeleine, drink an espresso at FAUCHON, then go to the English Bookshops, Brentano's, avenue de l'OPERA, and Galignani's, rue de RIVOLI.

Brentano's seem to suffer from crisis, or is it that people buy more and more via the internet?

I went there often just to take a look, and then order at Amazon's.

I feel a little guilty, but it's so much cheaper this way, even with shipping and handling...........

BTW, the paper was from the museumshop in the Decorative Arts Museum.

I've spend many hours this week on tydiing my embroidery floss.

Everything was hidden in messy plastic bags, and it looks so much nicer in this box!

Some more Spode china mugs:

bought in one of Houston's charity shops, as big as a Wallmart.

I had 6 for 6 dollars, i din't believe my eyes and i was over the moon!

I want to wish a warm welcome to my new followers, among them is Colette, oh girls, you should see her quilts!

Sunday i will stick together with my friends from the CREUSE CONVENTION, for quilting and a good meal with some wine.

Hope you all will have a lovely weekend with sun and nice people around,

Will V in Paris, bright and sunny.

A pic for Joes in Amsterdam, DUTCH QUILT CAT, from Pondichery, in the latest issue of Marie Claire Maison.
Some color in a rather gray morning, but as i'm writing this, the sun breaks through.

The start of a new quilt: the most boring part is done: the triangles, and though i made them with thangles, it's very, very time consuming!

I'm goin' to make this quilt, another Fons and Porter's project of their book: Quilts from America's heartland.

Next part will be the nine patches, after that the square in a square.

Thereafter it will be easy peasy.

The red fabric hasn't been chosen yet,Who cares.............;

My love for Spode china is recent, only a few years.

I found this plate last year in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

In summer there is a weekly fleamarket along the canal, very relaxed.

It's only 10 miles away from my sisters home, we go there early in the morning for a hunt.

DH under the siesta quilt.

The quilt is 25 years old, made of woollens.

The black stripes were man's pants, the kind of fabric that was used for costumes worn for weddings and funerals until the fifties or maybe sixties.

If i remember it well, my dad called it KISTENTUUG.

I also used a tweed vest and an old red skirt.

It's been washed many times, tied, used for camping, picknick's and so on.

I decided to go to Nantes from 24 to 26 April.

Quiltmania is organising

POUR L'AMOUR DU FIL.

It could be a lovely break before summer.

Happy quilting, Will in Paris

Saturday morning, jazz on place des Abbesses, just beside the subway entry.
All of a sudden it becomes a sort of tradition: music on the place.
I love street music, no matter what: klezmer, gypsies, classic, Irish, i love it!

And this is a doll quilt made by my friend Marie Claude, she invited me for luch last thursday and we spend a couple of hours in her quiet appartment, just the two of us .
We had not met for several years, so there was so much to talk about....
MC loves to work with silks, her husband is from Japan, and oh, you should see her stash!
Mouthwatering!
It's a pity that you can't see the beauty of the fabrics at the pictures, i was wordless....
Take a look at her beautiful website:
www.france-i.com/marie/index or google on: chambre des couleurs.
As her DH is a webmaster, her quilts are very nicely presented. Her lovely home was also featured in one of the 2008 issues of QUILTMANIA.
Enjoy!

Thank you for the interresting comments on my last post.
I realize that there are many among us who are interrested in reuse and new ways to use different fabrics for quilting.
Clare, i will contact you privately very soon.
Yuki, thank you for your lovely offer, but i've build in 30 years a big big stash, and if you need something typical french, i will help you with pleasure.
I will soon present my woollen tops, made from thrift, found, you name it.

Yesterday was filled with household work, cleaning, washing, changing furniture to another place, very satisfying!
Happy quilting on the 8th of march, WOMEN'S DAY

This quilt is a pic from CALICO AND CHINTZ, my most cherished quiltbook.
My friend Christiane B. was in Washington DC at the Renwick Gallery, and brought me a copy from the book.
What's nicer than simple quilts?
The ones you would easily use everyday?
Of course, the more intricated patterns are fascinating too, but the escence of quilts are probably four patches and triangles...........
What's your point of view?

The pics of my shiny featherweight are especcially for Lucy in Haarlem. This one has a lovely story: i'm the second owner.I bought this machine from someone in the Netherlands,in nearly to mint condition. Servicing was recorded on the manual and i love to do piecing on this machine.

The lady who owned it before was the aunt of the seller, and she was described as a very talented seemstress.

The noise it makes while sewing is absolutely delicious, it's purring like a cat.

For the rough jobs i use a Bernina 1008, mechanic and very reliable too.

The bunch of fabric you see here was scored since last spring.

In fact, i hardly bought real quilt fabrics, just a few fat quarters.

We pay a random 18 euros a meter for american fabric, so guess the amount of money for a quilt!

I know i should support quiltshops here in France, but how long can we afford to do so?

I hope that some of you are interrested in a discussion about frugal quilting,i'm sure i'm not alone LOL!

Next thursday i'm invited for luch at a fellow quilter, Marie Claude T

I hope she allows me to take some pictures, her work is simply gorgeous. Will V in Paris, happy quilting ladies!

This is the last episode of the finger soap: the needle point never moved by itself, doesn't hurt anymore, so we learned to live together and i will not be operated, damage could be important , scary huh? I feel good about it, it's ok, period!

Just wanted to show you where i buy most of my garments, coats, skirts, shoes, bags, you name it, and also a lot of fabric for quilting .

I didn't dare to take pics inside, they have very poor clients and people can get angry easily when they are pictured and i don't want to hurt anybody.

It's so amazing what you can find there: i LOVE quality brands and cashmere pullovers, why should i spend a fortune on one piece if i can find it in my neighbourhood for a nickle and a dime?!?

It's messy, sometimes smelly, but it's one of my urban adventures and i feel like a hunter when i go there.........

Last weeks quilttop is finished.

I found the directions in Fons and Porters' QUILTS FROM AMERICA'S HEARTLAND, easy peasy job.

The most time consuming part was the triangle strips, i did it with THANGLES.

I'm pretty happy with the result.

Showing the entire top was not easy, i simply put it on the wall with scotchpaper.

Hoping for a quiet week and some time for sewing, Will V in Paris