Frenchy bag...Amy Butler

I'm totally in love with my new bag.

It's the first bag that I've sewn and the first time I've used Amy Butler fabric and there's no turning back now!

A couple months ago I literally dusted off my old sewing machine to make my niece some bibs for her new baby. It felt so good sewing those few items that I thought why not try something else. So I went on flickr and naively searched 'sewing' thinking that a few hundred results would pop up......more like 250,000!

One style of bag caught my eye, the Frenchy bag, and by coincidence it was a pattern made by, no other than Amy Butler.
It is a wonderfully well designed pattern and I found it very easy to put together, I'd recommend it for anyone who has some sewing experience.

A smaller handbag version is also included in the pattern and I'm definitely looking forward to sewing it.
Fabric names: green nouveau trees from her midwest modern collection and blue gothic rose from her Belle collection.

Second afghan

I finished the second one.
Exactly the same except this one has a larger border.
I'm afraid to say it but I am very tired of making these guys!

Japanese pouch

Japanese pouch
Originally uploaded by sukigirl74

I’ve been meaning to post this little Japanese pouch (made from a kit) for ages.

It is basically a crocheted hat-like roof

with three pieces of felt (2 circles and 1 long rectangle) that form the base.

Then some basic embroidery and a zipper.
The roof is stuffed; the base isn’t and forms the pouch for coins.

There are tons of permutations (yes I enjoyed math as a kid)…substitute knitting for crochet, fabric for yarn, hand felted instead of acrylic, etc.
If you make the base higher and insert a can you would have a cute container…
the roof would form the lid.

I’m thinking of making one that has no bottom and is unstuffed and larger and would fit over a teapot.
Voila….a teacosy.
Or make it smaller and pop it over a soft boiled egg to make an egg cosy
(how cute would that be!).

You can make it as simple or complicated as you like.
I hope it gives you ideas and please let me know what you think.

The Luxembourg Garden in Paris

I saw this lovely fountain in the Luxembourg Garden
in Paris and instantly fell in love with it.
Who were these lovers and why was the god
who hovered above them unhappy
....no doubt he wanted her for himself.
A little research and I found out a few things...

The god was in fact not a god, but a cyclop
named Polypheme who was
indeed in love with the lovely sea-nymph Galatea.
But Galatea, as fate would have it,
only had eyes for Acis and the
giant Polyphemus pushed a boulder, killing Acis.
In sorrow Galatea
turned her dead lover's blood into the river Acis.

A little French window shopping

A little French window shopping
Originally uploaded by sukigirl74

Aren't these lovely! So feminine and so French.

I found these in a window of a little shop
in southern France.
Maybe one day I'll actually get the nerve to wear something as beautiful as this.

Inspiration from France

One wonderful thing about traveling is that it slightly shifts your view of the world and inspires all sorts of wonderful ideas!

One of those inspirations has become my new addiction.
French magazines
Today's ideas come courtesy of Mari-Claire Idees June/08 issue.
This was the one magazine I wanted and
as far as I know they are not available in Canada.

The title of the article is "Rouge comme une tomate".
In English "Red like a tomato".
This mosaic watering can makes me want to get my tiles
out and get back into mosaics. Beautiful!

And look at this bag. The variations are endless!
All you need is some beautiful fabric and then add some embroidery.

Next is a beautiful kitchen cupboard made with a combination
of decoupaged and painted images.
You could come up with all sorts of variations on this theme.

And my favourite is a beautiful linen covered binder to hold your recipes.
Most of the details are done in embroidery but what I love most is the tomato.
It looks like it is layered fabric sewn down in strips to
create a three dimensional effect!