… busy stitching...

Late winter and early spring is a relatively quiet time for Les Soeurs, as we look back at the events for the last year with a little more perspective and consider how we can make small changes to improve the experience for participants.  As the snowdrops, aconites, narcissi and finally tulips begin to push their way through the cold earth, we still hunker down indoors and try to catch up with some sewing and knitting projects - some for the Maison de Maitre and l'Espace (our studio complex); others just to to keep us warm and stylish.

My latest creation is a gathered smock shirt;  made with some wonderful fine cotton check, from a favorite on-line haberdashery, RayStitch.  Sadly, I may have bought the last of the red, but they have other colours to amuse and inspire and it is a fabulous fabric to work with, incredibly soft and comfortable to wear and just the right weight under a wool cardie whilst it's still cold outside.  It has a longer, scooped front with a shorter reverse with a button at the neck.   I made the first prototype of this shirt in a floral silk I've had for many a year - great with jeans and jacket for that slightly more formal occasion. 

flattering scooped front

Meanwhile, a project that Les Soeurs have been supporting since we first discovered them last year, is Comma Workshops which is the brain child of Kerry Larkin. In 2006, Kerry installed an art piece at the SAAW gallery in Philadelphia that explored fabric, typography, and storytelling. Wanting to explore this more, she went back to her roots and embraced quilting. From a family of quilt-makers, seamstresses, and upholsterers, Kerry is continuing the tradition with a fresh perspective and her company, Comma, is dedicated to bringing a fresh perspective to the time-honored traditions of quilting and storytelling. Crafting original poems and stories about life and adventure, her talented stitchers thoughtfully sew these stories into every beautiful quilt, producing functional heirlooms.  Beset by floods last year, their workshop was temporarily shut down, but work continued regardless and we recently received a "thank you" pillow for our support of their KickStarter campaign.