That's the French Way

The most attentive among you should have already noticed them. Some days ago we have inserted some French fabrics in the patchwork/quilting section that we have found during one of our journeys in the world trade fairs.
Now, I think that you are wondering why we are still inserting some fabrics… And even if you are not that curious, I like sharing with you some thoughts about the reason why we have decided to put in our catalog also these cotton fabrics.
First of all, a fundamental preamble: as for their quality, be sure that also these French fabrics, all by Mas D’Ousvan, are in very pure cotton and their trustworthiness is then guaranteed! When I first saw them, I cannot hide that I was amazed, for several reasons. First of all, I was struck by their style: it is so deeply French, which, at first sight, has made me think of the wonderful scenery in "Marie Antoinette" by Sofia Coppola, the splendors of Versailles and the pomp of the Ancien Régime
However, the beauty of these fabrics is in their being "simply cottons", but with some patterns which are not that easy - i.e. particular- as to create an unexpected result: just as it happens when our mouth is pleasantly struck by sweet and sour flavors, that is the mix of what is naturally the opposite -sweet and salty- and, at the end seems to be so harmonious. Well, the harmony of the opposites - the wealth of the XIX century French style, combined with the genuine aspect of the most ordinary fabric of the world, the cotton -which captures our sight and steals our heart… Or, at least, for now it has captures my sight and my heart… As for yours, I hope you'll let me know
By contrast, such a harmony cannot be due to chance, since these cottons are all created by the genius of Bruno Lamy: adopted by Paris -his office is in the capital- but ideally a wandering spirit, who has made several trips in Rajasthan and India. And in these far countries Bruno has learnt the antique printing technique of "manual pressure" (best known as the hand-block printing): a complicated and complete procedure which includes a series of more than 100, precise and studied movements to put on the fabrics layers on lyres of rich color shades, capable of reflecting the typical colors of the nature. The Indian artisans, still nowadays, are used to put these colors with wooden teak blocks finely engraved, which they move with their own hands (here is the meaning of the term hand-block printing): a tradition that, for centuries, has been transmitted from father to children. This process needs also that the fabrics are cleaned and dried after each application of color and, once that all the layers of the different shades have been sticked on, they can be cut and worked to create different types of house sheets. In these pictures you can see some matchings of simple squares and rectangles, which, however, speak for themselves: don't you think? Of course, the quilts created with these fabrics are also useful for the French art of the Boutis: the typical Provence quilting that, even with simple stitches, offer really incredible and beautiful results (well, it comes from Provence, but, once again, their origins are Italian: in fact it seems that it was brought some centuries ago in the region of the southern of France by some Sicilian embroiderers!!!). And Bruno Lamy has been inspired by the typical Provence subjects for the motifs of his fabrics, which are enriched by two new printings for each season, often interchangeable and always perfectly matchable with the others
All the fabrics, in respect to the printing art I've mentioned above, are produced in India and carefully checked by the French staff of Mas d'Ousvanand by Bruno himself who warmly suggests to wash them in mild water, even in the washing machine, in order to maintain them always so beautiful and lively!
If you have a sewing machine, try to quilt these fabrics freely, helped by these wonderful masks. The final result will be amazing, that's for sure!
And, finally, a last piece of advice: do not laminate yourself to quilts! These cottons are perfect for wonderful tablecloths (a hem is enough, but if you want to make everything richer, you can just sew with your machine the hems of your tablecloth with a running stitch, which has the effect of the crocheted hems), towels which will be more precious and real decorations of your toilette, as to refresh some old sheets or dress, with some applications here and there, but also to create unusual cushions for your sofas, also the more modern ones
Happy Stitching and do not forget to send me some comments
A big hug