Yvonne 1897–1982

For Time #5 the person who inspired me is my grandmother. She passed on to me her love of fabrics and sewing.

Even as a little girl, with the secret help of her father, Etienne, she would alter her dresses when she didn’t like them.

A childless cousin of her father’s ran a fashion house in Paris and offered to take her in, train her, and eventually hand over the fashion house to her.

But my great-grandparents were planning to emigrate to Tunisia and refused.

I’ve often thought she might have been happier, since her marriage to my grandfather turned out to be a disappointment…

All her life, she dressed the entire family, including her granddaughters!

To pay tribute to her, I used only damask and silk fabrics. I must say that they weren’t easy to work with ! I placed them on a muslin background and assembled the composition using reverse appliqué with invisible thread.

I used free-motion quilting and acrylic paint for the cascade of flowers, as well as bead embroidery.