Ramoneur (sooty) Brown

Ramoneur, chimney sweep or sooty brown, was a popular color for 18thC patchwork. It can be found today in French General's Josephine old brown.

Jane Pizar Marriage Quilt Date?

I have fallen in love with patchwork, specifically 18thC European patchwork. For some reason, I always remembering thinking that patchwork was only American. How wrong I was! Barbara Brackman, Quilt Historian, has a wonderful post on the Jane Pizar wedding quilt, and I believe like Brackman, that it dates to the end of the 18th Century. The only problem I see is it will cost a fortune to acquire all the snippets of fabrics to reproduce such a beauty! But I am well on my way …

Cutting Hourglass Blocks From Strips

My thanks to Vicki's Fabric Creations for sharing a chart on how to cut hourglass blocks from strips. I am gathering strips, charms, fat quarters and yardage to make a Dutch-inspired quilt. I will be using Fons&Porter's Half and Quarter Ruler as I am concerned in getting the most from my limited fabric stash. Part of the charm of this quilt is its scrappy quality. Chintz design is «Virginia» from Windham Fabrics.

Hussifs

I just received my paper of handmade, tinned brass pins from At the Eastern Door. Now I can stock the several hussifs I am making for my various workbaskets and pockets.

A Needleworker's Pincushion

From Chardin's 18thC painting - a pincushion for the table made from Rouenneries scraps from French General fabrics. The top of the pincushion is stuffed with wool threads for ease in adding pins--the bottom is stuffed with buckwheat hulls for stability.

Quilt for Gigi's Baby Shower

Here is my take on Moda Bakeshop's Shabby Spring rag baby quilt by Sew Dang Cute Crafts. I used fabrics from 3 Sisters Aviary and Howard Marcus' Collections for a Cause - Legacy.
I highly recommend trimming any dangling threads before washing to get the shabby effect. I also chose to bind the quilt, instead of having shabby-raggy edges. I think it will keep the edges cleaner. I used almost 4 jelly roll strips of Aviary to bind the quilt.

Frogs for Sarah

Happy Mother's Day, Sarah--here's an addition to your frog collection--a biscornu pincushion designed by Casey Buonaugurio Designs with beaded scissors fob to match and a bourse in which to wrap it.

Dorset Thread Buttons

Two linen shirts made for two petit garçons including handmade Dorset thread buttons.
These buttons show at the collar of the shirt with lace jabot and cuffs worn with a banyan in Liotard's painting.

Bits of Ribbon

Bits of ribbon, used to attach brooches of loved ones, often worn in pairs. Here is pictorial documentation from the 18thC by Jean Liotard, 1760.

April Fish

April 1st, in France, is a day to give gifts and express friendship. This is an old tradition, seen hidden in painted lines on a gift box from the 18thC.