Homespun

Yesterday I had the pleasure to visit the Atelier Tissage et tradition, situated in Chilly-Mazarin, and see their looms and the lovely handmade fabrics.

A glimpse of a tapestry:


Threads of every kind, wool above and silk below.


Warping the loom can take up to several days, before one can start weaving future dish towels or blankets.



Close ups on waffle fabric, made into soft colorful towels:



We couldn't resist and bought some magnificent towels to brighten up the table. But the atelier also produces table cloths, handbags, clothes and hats.

A streak of luck

I love doing this. And then cross my fingers and wait for the outcome, sometimes for the better, sometimes not, but surprise makes it only more interesting.

Happy women's day!

for the little ones

There are two reasons why I haven't posted much pottery lately. First, most of my "pottery" time is spent helping kids learn working with clay. Second, I've been putting much more effort into sewing than anything else, but since clothing is trickier to shoot than pots and cups, there aren't many photos :)
But anyway, here's some kids' stuff I had the occasion to sew recently:

It's intended for a baby boy. The patterns come from Astrid Le Provost's "Les intemporels pour bébés". Since last time I drafted baby clothes was more than a decade ago, I played it safe and followed a book, but the patterns seem kind of huge for the size intended (6 months here).

Crystalline glaze

Thought I'd share some more photos of crystal glazed plates. Since in my workshop there's no possibility of crystallizing glazes, that is what I tend to buy in pottery fairs this year. So far I'm the joyful owner of 4 hypnotizing ceramics... =)

This cup is butterflies


This one is like a nebula


And these 2 pot holders are frost and chrysantemums


   

Milly-la-Forêt

This weekend was a pottery fair at Milly-la-Forêt, the "capital" of medicinal and aromatic herbs and home to Jean Cocteau.

This market hall was built in the XV century!



Pretty plant hanger by atelier "La Salamandre"

Monogrammed

Is this becoming a tradition? For my wedding I got couple pillows and that is what I offer newlyweds ever since.
This was the tester, but since I went with unbleached linen instead of the white one, I felt like linen mouliné was better than cotton, but surprise surprise, DMC discontinued their line of linen mouliné and I had to do with the leftovers in the shop.

Actually, linen thread is difficult to work with. It's delicate, uneven and brittle, so trust me, you wont miss it.


The heart is done in "french knots", kind of metaphoric =)


I also did a little bit of thread doodling on the bride's dress, so I hope I'll have some photos to show soon.