hexies, ready for quilting

Nicole, who helped me tremendously with beiges and pinks , is holding the finished top.

I worked more than 3 years , the center was lost for several month, i started a new one, found the fist center again and went on with the first when i found it back.

The red background was bought at Joann's in Houston with a huge discount, so i bought ten yards.

Roughly a yard and a half are left over, as i appliquéd a border from the same fabric.

The paper hexagons mesure half an inch, and were baught from PAPERPIECES.com in bulk, that means 1700 pieces if i remember well...

So accurate those pieces that i consider too boring to make them myself.

I used them again and again, and hardly a few were thrown away.

The border from the original antique quilt was quite different as you see on the pic, but i don't like the sharp points, so opted for the more discrete small red border.

I've ordered a dark brown backing with oak leaves, and i'm waiting anxiously to start the quilting.

There will be no batting, i want the quilt to stay flat.

Only the red fabric will be quilted .

What more can i say?

These three years brought joy and scary moments and i recognise them in the flowers.

Last but not least, i thank Annemarie, Nicole and Joelle for their help by giving me small pieces of fabric, which helped greatly to get an endless variety.

I had all sorts of encouragement from many people,also non quilters.

I count my blessings for knowing them.

A bit of street art,modern poetry i saw this morning passage des Abbesses.

Will try to show you more of the kind. Have all a happy weekend, and thank you for passing by .

Will V in Paris

On the last pic you see how the border is fixed, time consuming but easy peasy, the paperpieces were pulled out in the very last moment. 

TO THE CRAFTSHOW

Carol and Michèle from QUILTMANIA eating her dessert: 4 hectic days and always smiling, real troopers and preparing POUR L'AMOUR DU FIL in Nantes as a next challenge.

The basketquilt in PP's booth is from Gerda, ( kijk daar is- her blog  good job Gerda, what a lovely eyecatcher. 

what a difference with last year, when the freezing blizzard blowed us over the place before the LA VILLETTE hall, sunny wheather and a pleasure to be outside , quiing up and recognize familiar faces, people in a good mood and happy to be there.

I should have adapted my clothes: i suffered from the heath this time. Right after the entry was the SELVEDGE booth: friendly girls from the UK selling back issues from the magazines and the stunning scarves from SOPHIE DIGARD, made in Madagascar.

I know i can never afford to buy one, and making one myself would just take for ages, but soooooooooolovely to see...

My old quilting buddy and partner in crime Joelle, and Valerie in Joe and Mary Koval's booth.

They brought antique quilts , tops and fat quarters from Mary's latest fabric line for Windham's.

You've recognised Petra Prins didn't you?

She's showing her sweet little woolen bookcover.

Luce Smits is a knitter: her creations a modern and without fussy details, she wrote bokks with patterns , DDlearned knitting with her first book.

Ever met the crew fromLA FEE PIROUETTE?

Nathalie creates embroidered quilts, they are in the mayor craftshows, Nathlie's shop is in the Alsace.

Joelle de Bailliencourt, Christine Meynier and Diane de Obaldia, we worked together in LE ROUVRAY, Diane was my boss for long years

We hardly meet each other now, t was good to see them.

FACILE CECILE, her blog is world famous, she also will go to Nantes. The exhibition this year inside the show was about lace.I'm not mad about lace and didn't take pics, most of the items could not be pictured. Stunning was, how much material was available for lacemakers and the modern twist in contemporary works.

With the help of friends i made pics from my latest tops, and i have also brocante finds to show, i will be back soon, take care,

Will V in Paris

A week in St.Jacut

We had a welcome Januari break in Brittany, the beaches belonged to us only. Whereever we walked, not a human being at the horizon, and, even better, bright and sunny wheather all the time, just a little drizzle at sunday afternoon, while loading the car.

Joes and Isabeau came to join us from Amsterdam, very motivated, they drove 9 hours to join us.

You probably know them allready from Quiltmania's articles about their sewing rooms.

Isabeau allowed me to show her antique 1860 quilttop: a gem. 

When you look closely to the tiny nine patches, you'll see that the size of a little sqare is half an inch....

The borders are stunning too: flock of geese and broken dishes.

Shirtings, madders, poison greens, chrome yellows, indigo blues, a touch of black also here and there.

Monique won the top she will have to assemble herself: lucky she was indeed and at the end she will have a bed quilt of a very generous size.

We used reproductionfabrics for the squares, the allover look will be anticky.

We all loved the dressed table with an embroidered tablecloth and dishes , all various DIGOIN.

We ate fresh fish, oysters, shrimps and various seefood, drunk white wine and cider.

The lovely floor was found in St. Malo, in a milk and cheese shop.

All of us are quilters, but some, like Dominique, are embroiderers too: so we arranged a mini expo to show you their sewing cases and other small items.

And here is the beach in winter,how fascinating it is to walk on a lonely seaside, far from the madding Paris crowd.

Thank you Monique to open your house for us, and for all the kind attention you had for each of us individually.

No work from me this time, but the hexies top is finished,i'm joining a small red border of 4 inches, i don't like the original one.
I ordered fabric for the backing and THOUSANDS OF BOLTS, and some smaller pieces of reproduction fabrics, it's the first time i ordered frpm them, hope the best of it.

Sorry for the chaotic setting of this post, via google chrome, windows will no longer upload my photos and i'm not yet familiar with it, but tremendously happy to be able again to post.

My thoughts go toAustralian quilters who suffered from the floods and then from thunderstorms, nature can sometimes give hard lessons;
Will in Paris, have a good weekend you all.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

s

See you tomorrow........
Will

i can

blog again after 3 weeks struggling with Bogger, BUT I CANNOT UPLOAD PHOTOS, mindboggling and will cry for help in the neighbourhood, i know some whizkids in my building.
Will in Paris humid and cold.