Be My Valentine Kitchen Towels - a Bernina project

Hi everyone! Finally the time has come to share my first BERNINA project: Be My Valentine Kitchen Towels!

To work for a sewing machine company is a dream come true for me! Not to mention that I'm working with one machine like no other: the new BERNINA 780. Should it be to obvious to put this into perspective and tell you that is like driving a Ferrari? Well, kind of this... lol!

It is so fun to do something that you love like sewing and then make it double fun when sewing in a machine that has so many features. I want to tell you everything about it and don't know where to start!

What's not to love about her... but one of the first things that caught my eye is the new dual feed system that will make us quilter our job much easier (more of that on another post). The other is the zillions of decorative stiches that are loaded inside. I was always a big fan of decorative stitches, because you can create textured fabric in a 1-2-3! You can maximize this having a 9 millimeter stitch width and the freedom of regulating the length. It's like you having many stitch choices coming from the original :) How cool is that!

For my first project, having Valentine’s Day around the corner, I decided to create a cute and fun project for your home for this sweet day that celebrates love and happiness. This duo kitchen towel project is perfect to enjoy a romantic dinner with your husband, giving them to your loving mother or a great friend as a gift! Working with appliqué let me explore different decorative stitches that the 780 had to offer.

This baby glides over the fabric when stitching dense and intricate stitches. It's like spreading butter over warm bread! Why this machine is so stable when it's sewing time? The all-metal, one-piece presser feet makes all the difference for me... Those who own a BERNINA know what I'm talking about. It was pure sewing pleasure :-)

Check out my tutorial on the WeAllSew blog where I give my tips and tricks on perfect appliquéing and how to create various looks with just rotating the stitching direction!

Enjoy and have fun creating :)

XO,
Pat

Paris 2012

This is the second time I visit Paris and I feel it's like the first time. I remember when I went back in 2009 it was around the same time of the year, cold and rainy... but it didn't matter to me because I would go there regardless of what weather!
Everything looked very new to me; I'm not talking about the monuments and museums, but the shops have a totally different feel. It's a city that renews itself day after day. I imagine that because of the huge amount of tourists it gets yearly. 

I don't know why but I come here to get all kinds of inspiration... everything is so beautiful and artistic! And it's the second time that happens to me the same: when coming back, I want to start designing right away :)

This is some of the pictures I took. All of them make me so happy. I hope they make you happy too!

St Germain des Pres old street

Christmas decorations are a must in Paris and they are to die for!

Can you believe that you can order this as a floral arrangement?

Galleries Lafayette is a department store like Macy's and they have this decorated skylight on the seventh floor

This huge wall of kitchen towels organized by color is so inspiring

All home decor stores have beautiful displays

Desigual had a complete home decor section and the colors are as bright and fun as here

Laduree is a famous store that sells delicious macaroons. This year the windows are really colorful 

I loved this lovely blue ceramic set, it reminded me French Provençal without the yellow

This cute drawer cabinet was cover with a floral tapestry fabric. What a great idea to use our stash!

French people are known for cooking dishes with many types of mushrooms, so you can find them everywhere at street markets

They even make these grapes look more delicious. Artistic decorations everywhere!

Chinese tea sets

You can put different kinds of tea in these containers covered with fabric

I found this store that have home linens in every color in the rainbow...

Coffee anyone?

Colorful street markets show a great contrast against the grayish city landscape...  

One distinguish feature of Paris is the flowers. You have them in almost every color possible

Parisians have an eye for "everything" floral. And these damask roses are an example on how bold they engage with color

I had the most amazing time! But I have more pics to show you that deserve their own posts, like a quilting show that by chance I was lucky to visit and a very traditional parisian flea market...

I can't wait to talk to you about them :)

Much love, Pat