Read it girls!

Who is reading what this spring?

Les Toiles Du Soleil

Oh friends, have I found something gorgeous for you. Well, actually Genevieve Gorder found something lovely for you, I have just been sitting around watching her TV show. Anyway, have you heard of Les Toiles Du Soleil? It is a 150 year old French company that weaves the most gorgeous, bright and fun outdoor fabrics. Stripes! So many stripes in amazing colors.

In 2008 the first retail outlet of Les Toiles Du Soleil opened in New York. Not only do they have bolts and bolts of fabric but they also have espadrilles, totes, pillows, accessories and even deck chairs (by the way, I LOVE stripey deck chairs). They can also do custom work, so if you are looking for the most amazing awning ever, you would go there. The store is on my list for the next trip to NY, but since who knows when that will be, I have been soothing myself with their online store. Not quite the same, but still full of goodies.

E's hunt for the perfect Sweater part 4

Hunt for the Perfect (Sailor) Sweater Part 4 - Breakwater
(See parts 1, 2, and 3)

   So while in the midst of the Middlefield I started sniffing around for the next pattern since it's never too early to start planning the next sweater, right? Right! The Breakwater pattern by Cecily Glowik MacDonald has been tempting me for some time. It's top down so I can try it on as I go and imagine in Ultra Pima Cotton Dark Navy with tiny Natural Stripes....perfect!

 But wait, I have flubbed the cotton before so I am already swatching to get it right. The pattern calls for Kitchen Sink Dyework Luxe Merino Fine on #7 needles and I am wavering between the Ultra Pima on #2 or #3 needles so there is going to be some adjusting right off the bat. I really like the cotton knit up on the smaller needles (I am ignoring the fact that I am choosing to knit a whole sweater on #2's...sigh) so the dream is still alive... 

Dior Gown

Now that is a dress.

Dior dress photographed for Harper's Bazaar by Louise Dahl-Wolfe

Spring florals from Marni

Here are some great Spring florals from Marni. So happy!

Slipcover finished!

Through a series of unusual and unforeseen circumstances last week I found myself with a 4 day weekend..a Spring Break of sorts.  Not only was it a 4 day weekend, but it was 4 glorious days of unseasonably warm and sunshiny weather. Tempting weather, the kind that throws your goals to the wind and you find yourself spending your days drinking Pimm's cups  and eating chips and salsa.

But No! I said. I will not give in to your sunny temptation! Instead, I opened some windows, turned on summery music and hunkered down. I spent 3 8 hour work days and on Saturday night, I had one new slipcover. Plus a couple of hours Sunday morning to cover some throw pillows.

I'm so pleased it's done. Perfection it isn't, but it's pretty darn good, I think. Here is the sofa before. Brown, comfy eh.

And here it is in it's new dress! I love the turquoise highlights. My goal was to make it fitted..I didn't want a loosey goosey slipcover. I think it's pretty good. Everything has zippers so it is as tight as can be. And of course there are quite a few upholstery tacks keeping it tight as well.

And here she is dressed up with her new throw pillows and ever present quilt. Now on to the next project!

(roman shades, if you were wondering)

St. Patricks Day

Hey everyone, as you know St. Patricks Day is tomorrow and since Westport will be a madhouse, we will be Closed. Enjoy the holiday!

Carly's Craft Column

First of all, I have to say that it's not lovely Carly's fault that this is just being posted...she had this to me weeks ago. Anyway, we have the return of Carly's craft column and today she is going to show us how she turned a sad bench into a happy plant stand. Take it away Carly....

 When I was out picking up paint for the bedroom, I stopped at Home Depot to try and find tile for a different project I'm working on. They didn't have what I was looking for, but they did have succulents, orchids, leafy house plants and cacti. I went a little overboard and picked out an array of succulents and cacti to make a potted arrangement. And I continued to grab as much as I could carry.

 I needed a happy place for my plants to live and happened to have an old bench that I sanded down and stained to new life. We are all getting along quite well. The process is simple and the plants that I chose do not require much watering. The light and soil are most important. Plants are a great way to soften or accent any area of your home that needs a little life and love. Try to make your own sassy succulent arrangement

Bench Materials

Bench

Paint brush 

stain and protective finish

rag/paper towel

sanding sponge/sandpaper

Bench how-to

Sand bench with sanding sponge or paper. Use a damp rag to wipe off dust.Use a paint brush or clean rag to apply your stain (follow product directions). Use a paper towel or rag to wipe off excess. Let dry completely and then apply a finish or protective coat.

                                      

Introduce your plants to Mr. Bench.

Purple Knits

So it's 80 degrees outside..so what? Does that mean that I'm not going to enjoy the gorgeous purple hat knitted for us by our friend Kristin? (And modeled by the lovely Jaime David) How could we not enjoy this hat? It is a pattern in the book Vintage Modern knits and is made from Lorna's Laces blackberry merino wool.

 And what about socks? My very own sister made me some gorgeous (and incredibly soft) socks. Just because I have to take them off in the middle of the night doesn't mean I'm not going to wear them to bed. E made these out of Cascade sock wool. So soft!

So heat be damned! I will enjoy my knits, even it's a little warm for it. Good thing I got a lot of wear out of that whale hat e made me for Christmas though..I don't know that I can sport two wool hats in this heat. cascade llblackberry worsted merino

Spring Window

I want to show you the gorgeous new Spring Window that e put together for us. Inspired by Cath Kidston it's springy and fun. Just looking at it, I'm ready to hop on my bike and go. Special mention goes to the bike basket that she wove out of our new Midori paper!

Denyse Schmidt is coming!

Big news bon bons, the mother of all modern quilters is coming to Kansas City! Denyse Schmidt will be signing her new book, Modern Quilts Traditional Inspiration on Thursday. May 17th from 6-8pm at Bernina in Overland Park! We will be there with all things Denyse; fabrics, stationary etc. 

We are so excited and hope to see you there.

* You can attend the event for free by pre-ordering Denyse's new book from Bernina. The book is $29.95 plus tax. If you already have the book you can pre-register for $15 or pay $20 the day of the event.

Slipcover progress

The slipcover is coming along nicely. I've got the shell of the sofa done, now all I have to do is the cushions. That seems easy enough, but who knows! Despite Gumdrop's reluctance to have me cut the beautiful blue weave into strips for piping I did get the job done.

Chanel Fall 2012

For Fall Chanel brought us eyebrows by Lesage, the legendary couture embroidery house and gorgeous shoes in my favorite fall colors.

Alber Elbaz for Lanvin

I wish I could carry lovely Alber Elbaz around in my pocket. Not only could he design me a gorgeous wardrobe, but he is adorable. Here he is singing in honor or his 10th anniversary of designing for Lanvin.
 

Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

Is anyone else in love with Marc Jacob's collection for Louis Vuitton? Aside from the custom train, the glamour and the colors I am especially enamored of the proportions. How can I be excited for Fall when Spring has barely sprung??

Drawstring bag tutorial from My Aunt June

Our good friend Lauren from My Aunt June has been kind enough to make us a drawstring bag tutorial. She used our Yuwa vintage floral mixed with the Lotta Jansdotter rugged suede. So cute!

Take it away Lauren...

Hello Bon Bons! It's your friendly neighborhood Fake Aunt! Or not, because chances are, I do not live in your neighborhood, and also, you might have another fake aunt. Details. Anyhoo, the project I'm sharing today is super fun and cute and SO satisfying, I've already made four of them!

The tutorial  for this bag, by Jeni of In Color Order  is simply fabulous- I had great results with it the very first time I tried it, which is really saying something, because my sewing projects tend to get, shall we say... unintentinally creative? It's very well written and illustrated, and for this version of the bag I just made a few small changes.

You will need: 

-1/3 yd of the main fabric, a delightfully silky floral print "La Vie en Rose" by KEI

-1/4 yd of the accent fabric, Rugged Suede by Lotta Jansdotter (you will need 1/3 yd if the fabric is directional and it runs parallel to the selvedge.)

-1/2 yd solid green fabric for lining and drawstrings

-1/3 yd muslin 

Cut (2) 12" x 11" pieces of the main fabric 

Cut (1) 12" x 8", and (2) 12" x 3" pieces of the accent fabric 

Cut (2) 12" x 20", and (2) 2.5" x WOF [42"] strips of the lining fabric

Cut (1) 12" x 40" piece of muslin

Bag will be approximately 11.5" wide by 19" tall when finished.

You will mostly follow the directions as written, except:

-In step 1, when piecing together the exterior of the bag, sew your 12" x 8" piece of accent fabric in between the two 12" x 11" main fabric pieces, making sure that on both sides the main fabric is going in the right direction. This adds the bottom piece of accent fabric to the bag. Topstitch across the top of the accent fabric, 1/8" from the seam, to give it a bit sturdier look.

-I used muslin in between the bag layers for added stability. To do this, just take your piece of muslin on the back side of your exterior (meaning the pieced together strip that consists of the two main fabric panels and three accent fabric pieces), and baste them together 1/8" from the sides. Do this right before you sew the interior to the exterior.

-To make your ties a bit thicker, use 2.5" strips instead of 2". You could also use a lightweight interfacing in these, to give them a bit more sturdiness. 

-Instead of finishing the ends of the tie strips, I left them raw. If you do this, you will need to fold the strip in half, and fingerpress a crease in the middle.  After you put them through the bag, use a tight zigzag to sew the raw ends together, so the tie is one big loop. Pull the loop through the casing until you find the crease mark you made, and then make a knot in the tie there.

I really love this girly little bag, and am using it to store my friendship bracelet supplies. (Yes, I am 28. Yes, I do make friendship bracelets. You wanna mess with me? [No, you do not.]) 

Also, this bag is EXCELLENT to give as a gift--- I filled one with handmade burp-cloths and gave it as a baby shower gift, and I think that they would be perfect to fill up with goodies and give to bridesmaid or housewarming present!

Moveable Type Truck @ Hammerpress this Friday!

Have you heard about the Moveable Type Truck? It's a letterpress studio on wheels that is traveling cross country letting people design and print their own stationary and prints! How cool is that? We are lucky because Hammerpress will be hosting them this Friday, March 9th from 6-9. You can design and print whatever you can dream up. And, our favorite people, Oddly Correct coffee will be on hand in case you get thirsty. Will I see you there?

Slipcover fabric

This weekend I took a big step and bought slipcover fabric. (insert dramatic music here) I made J take the trip with me to the fabric store and he picked out the main fabric for the couch. It's a little more avocado than apple green, which is what I pictured in my head. And, admittedly in these photos it looks like a weird brown, but it's not, picture more of a avocado green. 

Anyway, I chose this really awesome dark teal woven fabric for the piping which really livens up the whole thing. I think it would be pretty drab without it, but it's pretty zingy so that and some zingy cushions will be good.

Although I had my mind set on an apple green, I think that this darker color will probably be a good choice...we tend to eat on the couch and this is going to hide those spills. Which, let's face it, is probably one of the main things I should have thought about, what with my love of making tacos. 

Anyway, I'm going to start on the piping this week!

Purses By Design event

I don't know if I told you but I recently joined the Kansas City chapter of the American Sewing Guild! The ASG has all sorts of good reasons to become a member, one of which is a discount to their events they hold. On April 7th the KC ASG is bringing in Roseanne Lauters and Pamela Day who run Purses By Design. There will be an all day workshop and you will make and finish a bag. You can choose from two options (above) and they will give you all of their expert advice on purse making.

Non-members are welcome to come to the event, the price for the full day is $75.00 It is $65 for ASG members. If you are interested in joining us, or at least some more info please email me at betsy@bonbonatelier.com. It will be fun!