Good news and two more birthday gifts

Hello friends!

Wow, what a long week this has been. And I still have lots of work to do this weekend! I do hope I'll manage to make it to the sewing machine though. I can see her from the corner of my eye, begging me to come and pay her due respects!

I DO have very good news though! I had my eyes set on a specific flat for little sis, but I was forcing myself not to hope too much as there were many candidates for it... Now guess what - the landlady chose us! I first visited the flat on Monday, with MANY other candidates - my sister couldn't come as she was working late at the hospital, but since it was ideally situated and very good value (well, for Paris anyway! ), we thought it was worth my visiting it alone. I really thought it was the loveliest flat we visited - new, well isolated, very well equipped, cute and roomy enough for one; besides, it's in a nice neighbourhood, 2 minutes from a strategic metro junction (which is essential for my sister, as she changing hospitals every 6 months for the first 2 years of her internship); and it's only 15 minutes from my own place, which I'm VERY happy about! In fact, it's on the other side of the Canal Saint-Martin from my flat; for those of you who know that part of Paris, it's a very pleasant neighbourhood - friendly, animated, though not posh . I tried to make the best impression I could on the landlady last Monday, and told her that my sister would definitely want to visit it whenever possible. Which we just did - and voilà! I still can't believe she chose us (I caught a glimpse of her notebook and there were something like 15 candidates listed)! Woohoo! My sister will have the flat on March 15. I am so happy for her - I thought we'd be flat-hunting for several long, stressful weeks. What a great pick-me-up for her!!

Now, as promised, here are the two other gifts I made for Becky and Karen...

Karen is a heart collector and since she likes natural tones, so I made her this heart in beige, cream and brown:

I really couldn't decide whether it was pretty or not... But I thought I'd better send it to Karen anyway, and let her decide. Fortunately, Karen said she likes it! Karen, I do hope you didn't say it just to have me stop worrying!

And here's the pillow I stitched for Becky:

The design is by Virginie Goussé of C Mon Monde ("It's my world"); she's a new French designer whose naive, whimsical creations really appeal to me. I also enjoy following her blog, and she offered this design as a freebie to her readers. I do hope you go see her creations; I know she is preparing some new designs for Spring right now. You can see them here: C mon monde I and C mon monde II. I just saw she released two new designs: la fée des Lilas and a very pretty May design!

Here's a close-up on the embroidery:

Stitched over two on 32-count natural linen

The red is an Atalie silk thread in Beaune (Beaune being a wine-producing town! ). It was the very first time I stitched with silk, and wow! I loved it! The house was stitched with a GAST in Peacock (thanks again, Carol! Your gifts sure go a looong way, and I think of you each time I use one of the threads you sent me last Spring! ); the yellow is simply Anchor floss. Virginie added a heart-shaped button to her own piece, but since I didn't have one at hand, I made a lace heart on my e-machine. I then sewed some narrow lace all around the design, to match the heart.

The backing fabric is a deep red embroidered fabric:

It's in the same range as the backing fabric I used for Karen's and Becky's quilts:

I love that fabric, but since it was a slippery poly, of a very different weight from the cotton quilt top, I had a hell of a time sewing it to the quilt top! I do hope Becky and Karen don't mind the slight irregularities!

Now... I have to confess that Becky's quilt has ribbon loops to hang the quilt - but Karen's has a sleeve.

Only while making Karen's quilt did I realize that a sleeve would be more appropriate for a wallhanging of that size. Unfortunately, Becky's quilt was already on its way to her... I wish I'd though about it earlier, dear Becky... I hope the wallhanging hangs fine nonetheless. Big (((hugs))) to you!

I also have a happy dance to share with you - l'Ange du sommeil is all done! But I don't have more time tonight - I'm not finished with my work for today, and haven't had dinner yet (it's 8 pm)... A crazy week I tell you! But also, such a happy week.

Everyone enjoy your weekend!