Seams French

During our time in the south of France, one of the quintessential signs and sounds of summer that I waited for every year, was the return of "les cigales". Their steady, yearning lovesong (or chirring) announced the arrival of the long, hot sultry days and nights ahead. So here, in tribute to those little fellows that are right now singing their hearts out to some little lady cicada under the next leaf in our old neighbourhood in Montpellier, is my completed "les cigales" boutis needle fold. Completed needle fold. The needle fold opens to hold all of the needles required for my next boutis project. I was fortunate to find a piece of wool felt in the appropriate colour for my needle case. To secure it firmly, I machine stitched it into place while at the same time, giving the boutis piece a better crease for the fold. A collection of needles ready for all stages of boutis. I'm linking up to W.I.P Wednesday

Although the re-org. process is still on and strong in my life, my stitching hands have not been completely idle. Since my hummingbird boutis has been completed, (see my post of Nov. 23, 2013), I have been working on drafting some smaller boutis pieces. Below are 3 of the designs ready to be stitched. Rose windows from some of the many churches and cathedrals that I have photographed over the years, were the inspiration for two of these designs. This first piece, which will be a cell phone case, is my first attempt at stitching boutis with dupioni silk. Although Swiss cotton batiste (in white), is the most traditional material used for boutis, a number of the more contemporary boutiseusses are experimenting with silk. Silk is less forgiving then cotton, so consistency in tension, and accuracy in stitch length and placement become more crucial because of their greater visibility.  In this little mobile phone case, I have used the two most basic stitches of boutis: " point ...