WIN A MINKY BABY BLANKET!

To celebrate the launching of my new product line, I giveaway one baby blanket twice a month in 2017, and I will also offer promotions and coupon codes monthly too! The first draw will be the 15th of March for a luxurious geo bear blanket with ivory faux fur minky backing. It is gender neutral, it measures 28" x 40", it is absolutely gorgeous and terribly soft!
The giveaway is open to everyone who is more than 18 years old and lives in US or Canada.
To enter go to my Facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/minipeonyblankets

My red colander

After a move, almost 1 teepee/day to sew this summer, a chicken coop to build and 2 todds to take care of, I finally found time for a new block... And I hope many more by the end of this year!

I had an old ugly plastic colander that I dreamed to replace by an enamel red one. Moving is a good excuse to get rid of some things and to buy some new stuff. I found the red colander of my dream in July and I am in love with it. Here it is. Do not forget to use a piece of white polka dots print, it is way nicer and easier than embroidery. The pattern is available here.

Cuckoo clock, time for work and time for sleep!

I could not resist...
I love cuckoo clocks. Maybe my swiss origins. So, after a long silence and a lot of teepees created for my toy shop, I come back to my patterns with... a cuckoo clock! I think this one would be great as pot holder and also as mini wall hanging. It is now available in my shop.

And for those who are waiting for new patterns, I have some good news: I will be able to produce new patterns regularly, as my husband and I will manage our working time differently, starting this summer. He will reduce his working time to help me with the kids and allow me to have more time for work ... and hopefully I will stop working at night! YES!!!!

unexpected business

I do not like letting so much time without a post on my blog, but since December, I have been busy, very busy. It happened that I build play kitchens for my Etsy shop #2, that people asked for more, that I have add some canvas teepees, and again people ask for more. Play tents are something that I love, my kids have the perfect age for this, and was excited by the idea of a toy that I can sew and add some patchwork on it. I did not expected that success, I am now happy and exhausted. My priorities now are: to find a better way to manage my time, to sleep enough and to keep being to my kids the best mom I can. I also want to continue developing my block pattern collection (I am currently working on a teddy bear, a robot and few others).
But I will not complain and the timing is just perfect. Baby #2 is now 14 month old, time for me to work more and allow my husband to spend more time with the kids.
I hope to come back soon with my new blocks :-)

Felt Donuts

Almost 6 months ago, my oldest son turned 3. I wrote this post and kept it as draft, waiting for Lesley Chaisson to list her pattern. She did not and I think it does not matter, so I publish my post now:-)

So, my son who had 3 years old last summer loves playing kitchen and cooking delicious meal for all the family. I had a leftover of felt in brown and pink and I thought some donuts would be perfect for "mon petit patissier".  The pattern has been designed by Lesley Chaisson, for Quilts & More mag. winter 2010. Her shop is here with some other adorable pincushion patterns (hamburger, scoop ice-cream...). An if you like those donuts, just ask her, maybe she will make her pattern available again. The donuts were published as pincushions pattern but it is also perfect as pretend toy. It's a fun, easy and yummy project. And rewarding as the result is so cute!

1- Cook the dough.   2- Make the icing.   3- Sprinkle sugar decoration.  4- Eat !

New Year

2014? Hurray !!!!

Lovely Xmas crafts

 I wanted to share with you some simple and beautiful crafts found here and there for Christmas. I will update and add some next week.  Enjoy!

Lovely evergreens, instructions on Martha Stewart's blog

Cute Animals ornaments here.

Love gingham... Instructions here!

Lovely chains to print and cut here.

Fun 3D cards here!

Camping Set Winners!

I am very busy those days as I have a huge success with my play kitchens. I am a kind of Santa's elfe and it is such a pleasure to work thinking about the joy of the little ones who will find their kitchen near the christmas tree and will play with it! But I will come back soon with new blocks, as I have been boosted by your kind words during the blog tour. I have decided to add 4 more winners for the camping set. So here are the 5 lucky ducks!

Quiltmaker's 100 blocks Volume 8 and giveaway!

I am in Quiltmaker's 100 blocks Volume 8!!! I am so happy to participate to the blog tour and to introduce my special block designed for this great magazine.

Here is Master Liu, a cute Panda named from a wonderful Chinese man I knew when I lived in Switzerland. I did so much for me... now I live in Canada and I miss him. He practices Kung Fu, so when time was to find a name for my little Panda, I just thought about Master Liu :-)

For this block I have been inspired by my son's love for animals, I wanted a cute animal block that could make lovely baby/toddler projects.

For a sparkler version, I like to change the frame as shown below, using triangles.

Now it is time for a giveaway! If you want to win my camping pattern set, just let a comment below (do not forget to let me a way to contact you!). For a second chance to win, follow my blog and let me know!
A winner will be randomly picked at the end of the blog tour (15 of Nov. midnight pacific time).

And do not forget to tour the designer's blogs to discovers their work and to participate to great giveaways!

DIY Play kitchen part 2

Do you remember my play kitchen post from october 2012? It was my first play kitchen made for my son from an old night stand. I have recently found a pair of old night stands really great to make some play kitchens. I wanted to make one for my goddaughter's christmas and I thought I could make the other one for sale. Here is the result.

This one is featured in my "cuckooclocks shop". For the fabric, I have been inspired by Amy from Nana Company (one of my favorite blog) and I have chosen a Tanya Whelan print. My goddaughter's kitchen is not finished yet, I want to add a small oven and I will put a red fabric from the Lecien's Azalea flower sugar line. I recommend Marie-Madeline studio shop, they have a lovely selection of fabrics.
The great thing with this kind of night stand is that the feet are easily removable (screws), so I can make a package small enough for a reasonable shipping price. And I love the retro style of the small "columns".  The original brown night stand was quite ugly, but it makes a perfectly cute kitchen, isn't it?

My son plays every single day with his kitchen. He has tested and approved this one too! He told me that he wants to keep the yellow one and to own a blue one like this too! Maybe I should look for a bigger house...

Cuckoo Clocks

Oh, I forgot to tell you, if you like embroidery, just have a look to my other Etsy shop (The Cuckoo Clocks) that I opened recently. I have also put some other stuff like baby toys, etc. I hope to be able to add a lot of more patterns by the end of the year. So many ideas and so few time!!!

.....Ok, I give you a glimpse:

Squirrel BOM

The October BOM is here! It's my favourite of the quilt. Isn't it cute?

I will probably sew several of this lovely block for Christmas gifts...

I think I will have to design a badger and a raccoon too, so my woodland animals team would be more complete. Any other ideas?

Starbucks Coffee

I know some people are really fan of Starbucks. I do not think I enter this category even if I love their Tchai tea Latte. But I am completely fan of the aesthetic of the hot drink cup with sleeve. I know it is a waste of plastic and paper, but I love the shape and colors. So I have made a paper pieced block of it, it is available here and there.

It is an easy and quick block to piece, perfect for beginner, and the letters and stars are simple embroidery (satin stitch). It makes the perfect mug rug for the office or the house, or a lovely kitchen mini quilt. It is far from my usual tales and woodland design, but sometime I love doing something different... and I need it. Hope you will enjoy.

        

Hedgehog block BOM 2013

September is already here... Wow! Time is going sooooo fast!  Anyway, my cute little hedgehog is ready to prepare his winter nest. His name is Harvey and he is an happy little one. I have had a lot of pleasure to sew him and I can't wait to sew his friends for my BOM quilt!

If you want an Harvey at home, he is available in my Craftsy and Etsy shop. And do not worry, he has no true pikes and he is as soft as can be!

Summer blocks BOM 2013

Here are the June, July and August blocks of my 2013 BOM. I have been so busy those past weeks with family from switzerland visiting us (my inlaws), that I have not been able to post it before. The good point is that those 3 blocks are cuter together, don't they?

So far, we have sewn the pine trees, the flower, the heart and the house. That means we have 4 cute little friends for the months to come! September will be for the Hedgehog, then the bunny, the bird and in December the squirrel (my favorite). So much fun to come!

 The sweet flower was June block and the sweet heart was July block.

Little house is August block.

Your great sewing projects and a winner!

I have received a bunch of pictures of great projects you have done from my patterns those past days. First of all here is a cushion perfectly sewn by a 9 years old crafter, Kelsie, probably my younger customer. Her work should give motivation to all the new paper piecers. Congratulation Kelsie, you have won a free pattern of your choice!

And congratulation for their beautiful work to Anne (teapot and cups quilt), Carol (Elephant), Debra (Salmon), Gillian (Fox), Laurie (Matriochka), Susan (little red riding hood Table mats) and Melanie (bunny, hen and barn).

Front

Back

Paper hen and Sweet Flower

I have been quite busy those past weeks, and I have some great news like a new Etsy shop for my embroidery patterns. But before, I would like to introduce 2 new blocks. The sweet flower is the second block of my 2013 BOM, it is available separately in my shops

 I have created it to fit my Sweet Heart block. It's an easy block providing a stunning effect. it is scrap friendly as it is also beautiful with different fabric for each petal.

And this is my Paper hen block. I love origami and I wanted a block for a japanese inspired quilt for my younger son. I think HST plus the colour selection achieve pretty well this goal. You might think it's a serious quilt for a baby... He already has a bunch of "baby" quilt and I wanted a quilt he could use as wall hanging when he will be a man. I hope he will still like it :-)

 This Paper Hen block is very easy and quick to sew. I have had a lot of fun with this one. I hope others will enjoy it too! The pattern is available here.
I will come back soon with news of my embroidery patterns!

Let' go camping!

Warm days are here, the outdoor is just waiting for us, so let's go camping!
It's been a while I was thinking about some outdoor blocks... here they are: 7 lovely blocks for all those who love camping, fishing, walking in nature, barbecuing or just watching wildlife.

Those 7 blocks can be used for a beautiful 9 blocks wall hanging or for delightful projects as cushions for your RV, seat mat for the trailer, quilt for a retreat cottage or a week-end cabin, for a scout kid, nd many fun summer projects that smell forest and BBQ.

The patterns are available in a set of 7 blocks or each block separated, in my Etsy and Craftsy shops. This should satisfy anyone who wants to add a wilderness taste in his home or decorate his trailer. We just need to find a way to bring our sewing machine in the tent...