Let the Workshops Begin!

It's time for our annual Art of Craft event this weekend!  Three days of creative workshops taught by friends and artists from near and far.  If you haven't been to a workshop at French General and would like to try one - this is the perfect time.  Project based classes, each three hours long and all the materials are provided.  We still have a couple of spots left and would love to have you join us!  Please call the shop to sign up and we'll save you a seat!

Molly, the Magic Coat and an Ikat

A couple of summer's ago in France, we were digging at a flea market in Caylus, and I came upon an old quilted coat. I wasn't sure if I liked the idea of a quilted coat, but I loved the idea that there were two different fabrics, the liner and the outer fabric. Both fabrics, I thought, I could use for our Moda fabric collection. I took the coat back home to the chateau and showed it off during our show and tell time before dinner. Molly immediately gravitated towards it (or did I make her put it on?) and modelled it for everyone to see the beautiful details and masterful stitchery. We laughed and laughed and then, somehow I put the coat away and almost forgot about it.
Until a week ago, when I was sorting through a pile of old fabric from France, looking for inspiration for our new line, and found the coat. The first thing I did, was put it on and was instantly reminded how much we laughed that summer in France when Molly would wear the coat - just to stay warm at night! We made up fanciful stories about the old, grand chateau owner, who had no heat and resorted to having one of his 18th century quilts made into a robe or smoking jacket...just to stay warm.

Pulling the magic coat out, I realized I had forgotten that inside the lining of the two fabrics, was yet another fabric - one that had been covered up by a 19th century floral. I spent a weekend (yes, a whole weekend!) completing the task of pulling out each and every stitch so I could remove the outer layer of fabric and get to what had been hiding underneath. I had no idea what I would find, but after seeing a small corner - I knew I liked what I saw.

What I found was an 18th century French linen ikat - in perfect shape, not a hole to be found. I think it had probably been covered simply because someone was tired of the design and wanted to update the quilt.
An ikat fabric is woven using a very complicated dyeing technique. The dyes are applied to the yarns prior to weaving which will create designs on the finished fabric. Depending on the pattern, specific areas of the warp and/or weft threads are are protected from dye to prevent them from absorbing color. When the threads are dyed, each thread will have different color pattern along its length. When the threads are ready for weaving, each thread has to be lined up perfectly on the loom. The warp thread is first to be set on to the loom, and then one must keep all threads in position very carefully to achieve the desired pattern in the final weaving of the textile. There is natural movement in these threads, which give an slightly feathered, or blurred look to the final textile.
To say I was blown away - is to put it mildly! Funny how one little textile can create so much excitement and then spur me on to search for as much information as I can get my hands on. The funniest part of the magic coat story is that I would have never known the little gem that was hiding inside had I not been curious...and taken the coat apart. So, I guess the moral of this story is....always look deeper, there may be something beautiful hiding inside!

Working on a Notion or Two....

The new year has started off with a bang - and a whole lotta work! We've finished all of the final details on the new paper crafts line and are getting ready for the launch at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) at the end of the month. CHA is a yearly show held in Anaheim, California that showcases all sorts of paper, fabric and jewelry crafts for the trade.

EK Success asked us to help make a short video featuring the inspiration behind the line, as well as some fun, creative ways to use the collection. Luckily, my brother-in-law, Ryan, happens to be a talented film and video master, so we were able to work together to create a snappy, fun video showing off the Jolee's Boutique French General line.

After working on the collection, for almost a year, I am excited to see if everyone out there will have as much fun with the line as we are having. The notions and embellishments are some of my favorite bits...and makes me remember (almost 15 years ago when we opened French General) my dad saying - "Are you really sure this notion idea is going to work?"

I'm hoping it does work! We'll have plenty of samples in the shop in the next few weeks, so please come by and see what we have been up to!

Friday the 13th and other Fears

Wow - I am overwhelmed by the honesty and insight from so many people who left comments. Thank you for digging deep and writing down your desires, dreams and fears. To our lucky winner Kate, I think at one point in all of our lives we have all felt this way - the good news is, once you leave behind the fear of being yourself, you will soar and become the person you were meant to be. Good luck!

Un, Deux Trois Club Giveaway

For the past few years, we've had a jewelry club at French General called Un, Deux, Trois, which consists of a necklace, bracelet and earring kit that can be worn together. It's been a fun run and we've designed over 40 sets that have been filled with vintage glass, old brass findings and charms.
But, alas, all good things must come to an end...the Un, Deux, Trois Club will be around for just three more months. If you would like to sign up for our last three months, you have one more chance!
In celebration of something new and exciting coming from something old, we thought we would give away our January Un, Deux, Trois Kit. The Fleurs de Nuit kit has all the soft shades of old white accented with brass flowers and old Japanese glass pearls. You need just a couple of jewelry tools and a bit of glue to create this set of jewelry.
Leave us a comment about what you are leaving behind to make way for something new in 2012 - we'll chose one lucky winner on Friday, January 13th.

Bonne Chance!

Where Did the Time Go?

The last time I looked at a calendar it was December 21st...I was throwing our annual tamale party - which had been scaled down due to the fact that everyone I knew was sick or about to be sick or just getting over the sickness. How does that always happen right around the holidays??
It was just that kind of Christmas. Christmas Eve at my parent's house and a couple of weeks spent walking, talking, eating and relaxing. A friend texted me and said, "You're not in college anymore Kaari - you can't just move home for two weeks!" But I said - yes, yes you can. All seven of us moved home for the long haul.
My parent's live near the beach, so a lot of time is just spent looking south out their windows, towards Catalina Island. It's an amazing view - it's hard to take for granted. "Oh look there goes another pod of dolphins...or whales..." You can understand why we don't get much done - besides walking the beach, sitting at the kitchen table, eating and looking out the windows.
After doing this for two weeks, you start to forget about regular life. You forget about work, school, deadlines and any sort of stress. It's a great way to start the year - I highly recommend it. Then New Year's rolls around and I thought I had everything back in order only to end up cancelling our New Year's Dinner because there were too many sick guests! Welcome 2012!

Visiting Los Angeles This Weekend?

Just in case you happen to find yourself in Los Angeles this weekend and are looking for a bit of crafty holiday inspiration - why not join us for our Gilded French Holiday Workshop on Saturday, December 17th from 4-9! Join Shea Fragoso, Debbie Murray and myself as we each teach three festive workshops - an ornament, a tree and a bracelet! We'll have plenty of holiday cheer, as well as some of our favorite students in the house, for an evening of fun! Sign up at frenchgeneral.com or give us a call at (323)668-0488.

Shea Fragoso's Sparkle Ornament

Debbie Murray's Lace Tree

Kaari Meng's Ruby Bracelet

Paper Arts and Crafts

After years of thinking about it, mapping it out in our heads and dreaming up all sorts of creative inspiration...we have finally designed our first paper arts line!

Filled with all of the old bits and pieces from another time, our first collection, with EK Success for Jolee's Boutique, will be available in all the best craft stores, including Michael's, in the Spring of 2012.

Although this line is perfect for people who love to scrapbook, I hope that it translates to all other sorts of paper crafts - packaging, collaging and decorating your favorite inspiration boards.

All of our favorite old textiles and patterns have been reproduced onto beautiful card stock as well as textured adhesive backed paper.

And of course there are lots of tags, notions and old French paper bits - with twine, ribbon and lace included to make sure everything feels authentic and very French General.

We've worked hard on this collection to make sure everything layers and mixes well - and hopefully you will enjoy crafting with it, as much as we enjoyed designing it!

A Bundle of Winners

As always, I am amazed at all the wonderful comments and inspired by everyone's holiday inspiration - thank you for playing along in the Moda Blog Hop! To make it easy on myself I randomly picked four names to receive a bundle of our red, green and winter white fabric - hopefully to be used for your holiday sewing! Michelle Olsen in Washington, Rachel in Canada, Jenny in Indiana and Judy in North Carolina are the four lucky winners chosen - please write me at notions@frenchgeneral.com and send me your mailing address and we will send out a bundle of colorful fabric to you.
Warm holiday wishes to all!

Moda Holiday Blog Hop

It's that time of the year - lot's of red (my favorite!), holiday cheer and some fun from Moda! Today is the third day of the Moda Holiday Blog Hop and it's our day - as well as a few other friends! We've got one of our favorite holiday recipes, a block pattern and a wonderful holiday give-away on this exciting day!
I usually get all uncreative at this time of the year. I think I've worked with so many beads, buttons, fabric swatches and paper embellishments...that I burn out. I used to really dread it - but now I kinda like it - it feels like my August. Everyone has an August - that time of the year when you get to relax before it all starts up again. But the funny, is that it's the busiest time of the year - so I am trying to relax while all this energy in me knows there is so much to do...so much to get done...the holidays are here!

Some of my favorite holiday inspirations....

Fresh Herbs Tied up with Ribbon

(photo from Homestead Gardens)

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

(photo from Erza Pound Cake)

Creatively Wrapped Packages

(photo from Style Me Pretty)

Homemade Anything

(photo from Food Network)

Speaking about food...cause really...isn't that what we all love about the holidays?! Here is one of my favorite holiday recipes - the classic French Crepe! Crepes can be filled with anything from fruit or simple powdered sugar and lemon - and served for breakfast or dessert.
Inspired by the crepes, Moda has helped us design a block to go along with our recipe:

French General Crepes

How about a holiday giveaway - just to keep things fun! Leave us a message about your favorite holiday inspiration....and we'll choose a couple of lucky winners to receive a box of holiday fabric from French General and Moda - a bundle of our classic reds, a bundle of old greens and a bundle of winter whites - just in time to start another holiday quilt or a stocking or two!

And be sure to follow the Moda Holiday Blog Hop the rest of the week:

Today
Bonnie Olvason of Cotton Way
Liesl Gibson of Oliver+S
Karla Eisenach of Sweetwater
Ellen Luckett Baker of The Long Thread

Tomorrow
Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms
Kathy Schmitz' of Kathy Scghmitz Studios
Edtya Sitar of Laundry Baskets Quilts
Kate Spain
Lisa Bonegan of Primitive Gatherings

Friday
Jen Williamson of Basic Grey
Jan Patek of Brannock & Patek
Sandy Klop of American Jane
Sandy Gervais of Pieces From My heart

Art of Craft Workshop 2012

Our third annual Art of Craft Workshop has been planned for January 27th-29th, 2012. Coinciding with the CHA show in Anaheim, we will also be hosting out Sunday Soiree with Jo Packham on Sunday, January 29th from 6-9. This year we have some fabulous new teachers coming into town, as well as a couple of our old favorites returning - Molly Meng, Anna Corba, Michelle Jorgensen, Charlotte Lyons and Pam Garrison are all coming to teach their craft and share a few hours inspiring us all.

Sailor's Valentine
Pam Garrison and Charlotte Lyons

12 Month Pocket Memory Book
Molly Meng

Valentine Chocolate Truffle Box
Michelle Jorgensen

Beeswax Journal
Anna Corba

Old Button Bracelets
Kaari Meng

Sign-ups begin today and seating is limited to 30 students per class.
Come for the craft - stay for the day!

Creative Work and a Video Workshop

I have been asked to join in on Christy Tomilson's new holiday video workshop, The 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas. I don't know if Christy realized this before asking me, but I have never done a video workshop - and wasn't even really sure what one was. After much digging around on the internet, and asking a couple of friends, I learned that a video workshop is a short demonstration of a technique or craft. Easy - I can do that!
Not so easy - a week later and I was still figuring out a holiday ornament - let alone understanding how to film and edit a short video! The project was the first obstacle - the ornament had to be pretty, and have some new technique, not too religious, but universal, and are red and green too predictable?? I wasn't even sure if I had ever made a holiday ornament before!
Then, just when I needed it, I read this quote, from American Life host, Ira Glass:

Click on image to read the small print - it's important!

And I realized, I couldn't quit - I had to push through the uncomfortable phase, the worrying about the technique - was it too simple? Was it too complicated? And the part where everything was falling apart in front of the camera and JZ and I were arguing about why I couldn't act more serious and just say the opening line without a smirk on my face.
I pushed through - thanks Ira. So it's finished, done, we did it - our first ever on-line video workshop...it's a whole new world! I guess we all need to be reminded: DO NOT QUIT!

The 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas
A Five Day Mini Workshop
$19.95

You will receive your welcome email withing 2-3 business days. The class will officially start on December 5th and you will receive your log-in and official welcome email with class info on the morning of December 5th. You will receive your supply lists in the classroom.

More details:

Each Artist/Teacher will show you how to make a creative handmade ornament or holiday decor using fabric, metal, paint, glass and more - all in fully detailed videos...plus we will have a some suprise bonus projects as well!
It's a 5 day workshop starting December 5th! Each day for 4 days, 3 new ornaments will be posted by 3 new teachers.. and on day 5...we will feature some bonus projects and downloads, exclusive to the workshop from the different teachers. This workshop will actually be availble for 6 months...so you will have plenty of time to go back and watch videos.
Artists included in the workshop: Donna Downey, Margie Romney Aslette, Jeanne Oliver, Chrissy Gardner, Shea Fragoso & Debbie Murray From the Gilded LIfe, Kaari Meng, Junelle Jacabson, Alisa Burke, Danielle Donaldson and Kelly Barton.

An Unexpected Treasure and an Estate Sale

I am at heart, a digger.  I get my biggest thrill when I am out digging through the past and uncovering some hidden gem, secret or inspiration.  Estate sale signs send me into a tail spin and when I can afford to stop and do a deep dig, I am satisfied for months - maybe even years.  And although I have been to many sales over the years, I have never actually gone through a home of someone I knew well.  Needless to say, it is a very different experience and everything is looked at through different lenses.

A year ago a friend of mine, who was an artist, collector,  and mentor to many, passed away - leaving a house stuffed full of collected art, craft supplies and history.  This past summer, her daughters asked if I would be interested in coming over and taking a look at the collection as well as packing up anything that I might find useful and or inspirational - in lieu of a trade.  I knew it was going to be a deep dig, going through years of collecting and dare I even say hoarding - but I had no idea what I was in for - and how layered and deep one woman's collection could be.  I spent a couple of days going through room after room - the bedroom alone took me five hours.  I made piles of anything and everything that I might find useful or inspirational and then I waited.  I waited for the daughters to look through it and decide if they were also ready to let go of the history.  Weeks later, I received the call.  They had gone through the boxes and were ready for me to pick up what I wanted.   I went over and filled up the truck - packed up old photograph books, spools of ribbon, boxes of hand written letters, and an endless amount of craft supplies.
I walked through the whole house and snapped pictures of all of the art that hung on the wall - many pieces that had been given to my friend from various artists as a thank you over the years.  I wanted to pack up each and every piece and hold on to it - keep it safe from falling into oblivion.  The reality is the girls need to let go of the collection and have decided to have an estate sale.  They have hired a company to come in and price everything in the house that is worth more than $5.  

If you live in the Los Angeles area, and want to peek into this house of treasures, the sale continues tomorrow, Sunday, November 13th from 9-3 at 5029 Westpark Drive, North Hollywood, 91601. See you there!

Holiday Crafting at French General

Our first ever Gilded French Holiday Workshop is shaping up quite nicely! Join French General and Debbie and Shea of A Gilded Life as we celebrate all things festive! We've got three fun projects that will be taught over a period of five hours on Saturday, December 17th from 4-9. We'll have plenty of holiday cheer and bubbly for an evening of creative inspiration! To grab a seat for this workshop, sign up at French General.

A Gilded Life

French General

A Gilded Life

First Dance

There's not much I can say about this picture - except, I think Sofia was happy to wear her very first corsage. Sean and Sofia went to the homecoming dance as friends, but that didn't mean there weren't nervous laughs all around...and certain people feeling quite a bit OLDER!

Open Saturdays

French General will be open Saturdays in addition Mondays from 11-4 during the months of November and December. Come by for your holiday crafts, a glass of cheer or just for a bit of inspiration.
See you soon!

Field Trip with the Girls

The other day I had a day out with Pam Garrison and Amy Hanna. I met Pam and Amy a few years back and every time we see each other we say "When are we going on a field trip together?!"....and then time slips away and we never get around to it! Finally, after a handful of e-mails back and forth, we planned to meet down in Orange for an afternoon of hunting for treasures.

I found all sorts of beautiful patterns and colors - lots of good inspiration for textile and paper designs.

After a full day of hunting with Amy and Pam at Country Roads, I wandered over to my favorite shop Down Home, and finally found my one and only purchase - an old hand-sewn, cadet blue and white quilt - with a grand price of $11.95. A day well spent when the quilt costs less than lunch!