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Sunday, November 4, 2018

Still alive, mostly

it's been a ridiculous several weeks in my life, jetting here and there.  I'm not complaining.  It's been great;  just has left me little to no time for myself.  Add to that babysitting (my daughter was between nannies so I stayed in SF for most of last week helping her, and then we had the kids this weekend).

Have I done any sewing?  Not a lot.
I did get the Sajou top that Lori (Humblequilts) organized but of course mine is not like the original design!  Once I realized that my center toile was going to be lopsided, I realized that I wanted to keep it straight. So I designed corners that allowed it to be upright!  For me, that was no small feat.



I love that toile;  and the pink outer triangle fabric is one of my favorite fabrics as well.  All in all, I'm happy with the result.  I just need to quilt it (one of these years).

And speaking of Sajou, did you know that it is a fabric/thread/supply store in Paris?

My husband and I had a trip to France in the past two weeks where I was lucky enough to spend the day with my dear friend Will.  She took me to the shop where I found some wonderful little things to buy.  I bought only a little bit of thread...but look at the choices!  This is just one portion of one wall.  I didn't take a picture of the wool threads... I bought a few spools of the thread that Will swears by for appliqué.


I was very tempted but resisted and didn't buy this adorable sewing machine cover pattern.  I figured I'd never do all that cross-stitch, realistically.  It sure was cute, though!


I had to take a picture of these marking pens that they had at the check out counter.  Can you read it? Hysterical.  Who would ever take a top off with their mouth??!! HAHAHA  Imagine that!!


Will and I usually meet for coffee near the metro (and her fabulous, charming neighborhood) and then amble our way back to her home for a little show and tell. This visit was just as I'd hoped.  She has been working on a most amazing hexagon quilt.  Here was her pile of hexies ready for assembly:


Here is one side of her project!


In the right corner, you can get a little glimpse of another small quilt she made from the Jane Lury book.  Fabulous!


The true masterpiece, in my opinion, was this quilt she showed me. (not that any of the others are less gorgeous by any means!

The photo does not do it justice.  Will is an amazing quilter!  She has such a fabulous eye for fabrics and choosing what fabric to put where.  She doesn't go into a local quilt store since there isn't one-- she buys old clothes or other items with fabrics. She fussy cuts.  But her hand quilting is fabulous.  You also cannot see but her embroidery skills are amazing (the corner basket stems!)... I had brought her some valdani threads a couple of years ago and she really used them beautifully.  And the appliqué?!  She's very inspiring!!  And one of the sweetest women I know!

It was another great visit and trip to Paris.  We also went to Provence, in the south of France, which is for another day's blog post.
I wanted to share with you a photo of the hotel where we stayed in Paris.  We stayed on the top floor, where there is a roof balcony on the right.  This is a typical building in Paris.


This is looking up the street from our hotel.  Let me point out a few things:  the iron railings are very typical. They are usually so intricate and one of the most beautiful parts of any building. And every building's railings are always so different!  The street sign is also typical of Paris;  the roof-top windows as well as the floor to ceiling windows on each floor are very typical.  This is a one-way street with two lanes; many are barely wide enough for one lane of traffic!


Flights always seem to arrive first thing in the morning in Paris (you fly through the night, from San Francisco) and I loved this view of the sunrise. FYI: it is about 11 hrs from SF to Paris! 


It's been a very busy and crazy month for me, between my trip to Singapore, babysitting, quick trip to Napa with friends, babysitting again, and a great vacation in France, then more babysitting.  I'm off for a business trip to Hawaii tomorrow, home for a couple of weeks and then my dh and I are returning to New Zealand after Thanksgiving.  Then THAT'S IT!!  Staying put (or in Oregon!!).  My fabric is missing me! And, I will admit, that I was longing for my sewing machines.  I did bring hand-work for the flights but still missed the hum of my machine! ;-))

I have so many pictures to share... thanks for standing by me in my absence.
xxxxs,


14 comments:

  1. Oooh what an amazing trip in Paris with Will !! Thank you for all the pictures !
    I hope you've had beautiful weather in Provence ! My parents told me that it was rainy and rainy days actually...

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  2. Thanks for the photos! First of all the pictures of Will's quilts are just amazing! Wow! Interesting that she buys used items/clothing to make them. She must be hunting for fabric on a regular basis to find things she can use. I also enjoy seeing the photos of Paris and various buildings.

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  3. Beautiful quilts and that shop looks so lovely. thanks for the photo tour of Paris Streets and buildings; I've never been to Paris (I named a quilt that) and would dearly love to go...hugs, Julierose

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  4. Glad to have you back even if it’s only for a short while. Thanks for the great photos. Will’s quilts are works of art. What a treat to see such lovely work.

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  5. OMG--you have been doing a lot of traveling! Your little Sanjou is adorable and it's so fun to see the inside of that little shop. Thanks for the peek at your friend's quilts--she is an amazing quilter!

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  6. Ha! You were on my list to e-mail today. I was getting worried! So happy to hear your absence was for fun things. Your Sajou quilt is sensational. I loved seeing all the creative solutions to having the center come out right for "on point". Yours is a great one! Will is indeed a remarkable quilter. So glad you got to spend some time together. Enjoy your week!

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  7. I was wondering where you might have been...turns out it was everywhere!! Gorgeous quilt you showed there...love the quilting!

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  8. Life has kept you very busy, but in a good way. Enjoy the rest of your journeys. Thanks for sharing the trip to sajour. What a special treat.

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  9. You have been quite the traveler! What fun adventures!
    Will's work is exquisite.
    That is a gorgeous horizon from the plane. I've used those colors in a quilt before. :)
    Safe travels to Hawaii!

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  10. wonderful photos....thanks for the travelogue! i have some of that pink fabric too...it IS beautiful...oh and the sewing machine cover...and the hexies...oh my, so many beautiful things to see!

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  11. what fun you have been having! and globe trotting.
    great photos and SAL!

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  12. Your setting solution to get the toile design oriented correctly works well. I have collected some toile prints of late as I like them so much. I did not participate in the sew-along but had I, would have used a toile and had the same problem to deal with.

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  13. I had jet lag and was exhausted just after READING about your adventures! THANK YOU for sharing your world with us ... fun!! Linda

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  14. I have dreamed of visiting France as long as I can remember. Hopefully we will get the chance when our last four graduate from college. I just ordered from Sajou's website. Makes me feel a little closer. Thanks for posting!

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