Warming it up a bit

Hi everyone!
It's getting cold here in Paris, so I felt like warming up my blog a little... Thought it felt cosier that way! Hopefully it'll feel the same for you :)
Please do tell me if there's anything not working for you (I'm using Firefox)... Thank you!

(Barbara and Gemma, thank you for your comments... I decided on a different layout... Hope it's working in every browser this time!)

Sweetness from so far away...

Nicki just sent me a very unexpected Act of Kindness... (to take up Becky's own phrasing, which I find particularly apt!)

I'd oohed and aahed when she finished stitching The Counting House by LHN... Now guess what... not only did she send me her chart - she was also thoughtful enough to include a piece of the same gorgeous fabric she used (Hazy Dayz by Country Stitch), as well as the hand-dyed fibers required!

A true bundle of kindness, complete with the sweetest kitty card...
Wow Nicki... You really made my day week!! Thank you...

It never fails to blow my mind when I receive a package from so far away... New Zealand is truly le bout du monde to us!
What a lovely start to a new week... Just when some other things are starting to look up, too!

Getting started on Christmas stitching

Hi everyone!
There are a lot of friends who have blessed me with their kindness this year, and to whom I would like to send something for Christmas; unfortunately, it won't be possible for me to buy much this year. Because I'm afraid they might be disappointed in receiving thin packages, I want to make it up by creating as many gifties as I can. I believe in the special value of a handmade gift, and I hope my friends will, too!
I probably won't be able to send something to everyone I'd like, but I do hope to get as much of my list covered as possible...

The trouble is, if I kept all of this secret till Christmas, there would be nothing to feed this blog with for the next couple of months. So I've decided to show some of those Christmas pieces, cropping pictures whenever they might give too much away about the recipient.

I've been happily digging into the De Fil en Aiguille "Rouge" special issue, which I sent to Karen but also couldn't help purchasing for myself...

The following design is for a lady with a BIG heart.

This was - obviously - supposed to be stitched in red (on white linen); but I stitched it on a soft, soft blue Belfast, using "Black Crow" GAST thread (which is in reality way more navy blue than black!).

I also stitched this last weekend at my parents'
(and in the train that brought me there):

Sorry I can't show any more of it - the saying would be totally giving the recipient away!

The thread is GAST Holly Berry - absolutely lovely! I wish the GAST skeins were a bit bigger, though, as I've almost run out of that one just for this project. True, all that backstitching uses up a lot of thread! I'd like to add a tree to each side of the house, but I'm not sure I've got enough thread left!

Finally, I started this a couple of nights ago:

This is a Sweetheart Tree needleroll design... I hope no one will be horrified on hearing this is actually their "Blueberry" design! I've decided to completely change the colours in order to go for a Christmassy look. So far, I've been using DMC 115 (my all-time favourite in the DMC range!) and white perlé. It's being stitched on Antique Ivory belfast by Zweigart. Those four bands took me two evenings - needless to say stitching sessions have been short lately! Besides, I'm taking my time because I want the specialty stitches to be really well done. This is for a perfectionist lady - but aren't we stitchers all! LOL!

(You can see the blueberry needleroll stitched in its initial colours by Andrea and Katrina - I'll definitely stitch it in its true colours one day, it is so beautiful!)

I'm having such a ball stitching those gifties. This is a stressful time of the year - the second semester should be waaay better as I'm teaching all my classes on the first semester and am having a terrible time finding enough time for my PhD research! Not to mention research or pedagogical seminars I have to attend as well. However, trying to spend even just one hour every night stitching for a friend is wonderfully soothing :)

Everyone have a great weekend! Mine will be very short... Starting only on Saturday evening!

Paris -> Pennsylvania... California -> Paris

Hi everyone!
Most of you probably know that Monday was dear Jenna's birthday... I was a bit pressed for time and didn't manage to finish and mail her gift before the previous Monday. Eight days was a bit tight for a giftie make it to Pennsylvania... However, the postal services were my friend this time and Jenna did receive her package on her very birthday. :)

Jenna is fond of purple, hardanger, and (among others) designs by the Victoria Sampler. I stitched her a "Beyond Cross Stitch" kit, but replaced the pinks from the kit with mauve hues, to match a batik fat quarter I had in my stash.

(there should have been picots in there, but I just wasn't feeling adventurous enough at the time I was stitching this... Sorry Jenna... Just didn't want to ruin the piece! I'm glad you like it all the same! )

The piece was finished into a mini matelas (mattress): those are rather fashionable among French stitchers right now, and may be used as pincushions.

Of course it may also simply be displayed! ;)

~*~
On the day Jenna received her package,
the Cat Crazy Lady exchange reached my mailbox!
Cari stitched me this lovely autumnal banner... Thank you Cari!

She included a cute toy for Violette and a gorgeous Lesa Steele kit, with silk threads. I did not know this designer, but this is stunning! Thank you Cari :)

I hope you're all having a good week! We had a lovely family weekend. My sister and BIL were thrilled with the embroidered trousseau for Robin.

A medley of gifties

Thank you so much for your compliments about the dress...

You really help me build up confidence and thus continue challenging myself!

I can't wait to start making my coat, but first, here are a few things I made more or less recently...

First, two new additions to my nephew Robin's things, still in the animal theme, since this the theme for his room and clothes.

A fleece blanket (150x115 cm), cut and serged in a jiffy
(hurray for fleece!)

The blanket is off-white, but the spools I have for my serger are either white or black... I was afraid that the white would not make a pretty contrast to the blankie, so to compromise, I used the sable spool I'd bought for my ruchéd blouse for the upper looper, which resulted in a decorative effect and muted the "whiteness" of the three other threads.

And here's another stitched bib... This one took two evenings although the previous bibs only took one; but my stitching evenings are rather on the short side at the moment; and anyway, what can it matter? That bib is my favourite... Doesn't that variegated thread (Anchor 1302) makes the kitty look like Little Miss Cutie? (she's gray, cream and pinkish-red).

Free design found here...
Thanks to Anne's suggestion, thanks Anne!!

And a swathe (swaddle? This is just something to lay the baby on while changing his nappy)
with a little frog:

Finally, here are two small pieces I stitched last time I visited my parents, 3 weeks ago. We celebrated my father's and younger sister's birthday then and those were extra gifties for them. They were actually my first two projects for the "stitching smalls October". Both are freebies from Brittercup Designs; I started stitching them in the train to Lille, and finished them up while chatting with my mother in the kitchen, as she was making soup (a treasured moment!).

For my sister Hélène, a small kitty in her Choupette's colours:

Stitched with GAST in Soot

For my Dad, a dog in our P'tite Chienne's colours
(she and my Dad have a special bond )

Stitched with a Vicki Clayton silk.

The whole family is gathering again at my parents' this weekend. This is pretty close from our last time together, but it'll probably be the last time when neither of us has acquired the Mama/Auntie/Uncle/Grandparent status yet! Not that we're nostalgic of that, far from it - but things will definitely not be the same once little Robin is born...
Hope everyone is having a good week.

The Plum Dress

My brother and I visited little Sis yesterday afternoon, and she'd asked me to wear my new dress. When I arrived she picked up the camera and took a few pictures to send to our Mom - but that was also quite useful for my blog!

Obviously Hélène had me pose like that on the second photo... Just for fun. However, it actually shows the line of the dress better - and the bow at the back, which is why I did post it. ;) At least you can see how seeing my sister always makes me smile!!

The dress has a side zipper. The fabric is a fine corduroy (what we call milleraies in French, as the ribbing is very narrow). You can find more details on the pattern (New Look 6615) here.

Since Little Sis didn't take any picture of the back, here's one with the dress on my dressform.


And this one's just to show you that Fall is coming to Paris,
despite the amazingly warm temperatures and sunny weather:


Miss Choupette has been growing in size...
and calmness!

(although she is definitely not always so well-behaved...)

~*~

A little Birthday Fairy left Paris for Pennsylvania today... She might be a bit late though - that's because she's also become an Auntie Fairy... Ah well, hopefully she'll manage to get there on time !

Baby sewing

Thank you so much for your help concerning baby designs! Margaret, Shashi, Nicki and Anne, the links you gave me are great! Thank you!
A couple of French readers even sent me a few charts straight away ...

Pending their arrival (probably on Monday), I left the bibs on the back burner and went back to the onesies. I decided to stitch the remaining ones using my e-machine. Machine embroidery has definitely not the same sentimental value to me, but I do have fun using those cute machine embroidery freebies collected over the years - and my sister and brother-in-law love the onesies all the same!

My nephew's embroidered trousseau thus grew by a few more items today...

All five onesies my sister gave me are now ready for little Robin.

I still have blankets, etc. to make, but I finally feel as if Robin's trousseau list is under control.

Sorry I haven't been able to post a picture of the plum dress yet... Sébastien has been taking part in a science festival in Paris and has been incredibly busy - and away from home - all week, including today (he came back at 7.30). Hopefully we'll manage to take a picture tomorrow.
I did manage to find a pair of shoes today - and they were just what I was looking for, too - and 15 euros! The seller took a while to find them in my size, but he finally emerged with a pair from the depths of his backstore. Hooray! I know this is quite insignificant, but this, added to the joy of sewing for my first nephew and chatting both with my older sister (on the phone) and my younger sister (who came to visit), helped me distance myself from my problems - they're still there, and distressful, but I don't want them to have me overlook the good things.
Hopefully I'll still have that outlook tomorrow!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. ((((Hugs))))

Stitching smalls, stitching bibs

Hi everyone. I hope your week has been going well.
Things have not been going well here - I just wrote a whole paragraph to explain why, but finally decided against it - I just won't enter into that here, it'll only make me more frustrated. And I don't like to rant on my blog. This is a happy place!

So, on to more cheerful things.
Thank you all for the wonderful comments on the ruchéd blouse!

Like Karen, I decided that October would be devoted to stitching smalls. This is exactly what I need at the moment: quick, rewarding projects, that also allow me to dig into the pile of bibs and onesies my sister gave me for her baby. I was getting worried as little Robin is expected in a month, but I am now confident I'll manage.

Here are the first four bibs I stitched for him - each of them took me an evening.
All the designs are freebies from the Internet.
The first one is stitched in a DMC variegated thread, which is colourfast.

I have three bibs left to stitch, but am running out of free designs! If any of you could give me any pointers, that would be great. In particular, do you know where I could find cute free alphabets? My sister would like a "R" on one of the remaining bibs. Thanks!

~*~

That's all for today, friends. I'm not very talkative when things aren't going too well - there is only so much you can take, you know? And this week has been insanely busy, too.
Hopefully Seb will manage to take some pictures of the plum dress soon - although I don't have the right shoes for it yet. All my shoes are flats and I need a pair with heels for that dress. Beside the fact I can't spend much on them, I haven't found a single shop that sold shoes in my size. The salespersons always look at me as if it was my fault! And come on, it's not as if I had unreasonably small feet either. I'm a French size 36, which in the US is a size 4.5 and in the UK a size 3. All shoes start from size 37 in the shops here... The most ironic is that I'm shopping in Paris's "Chinatown".

Hope the week is going smoothly for you all!

Sable Blouse, Plum Dress

Hi everyone!
First of all, thank you for your kind, sweet, fun and witty, comments on the previous post!
I hope you all had a nice weekend. :) Mine was spent working on next week's classes - but was also interspersed with a good dose of sewing.

Some of you might remember the blouse I'd started before I came down with strep throat. There were still the sleeves and cuffs to make up and attach, and the bottom hem. What with being sick and spending last weekend at my parents', I hadn't had a chance to go back to it until Friday evening; I finished it on Saturday afternoon.

New Look 6513, view B

This blouse did require a bit of work and focus, with its long ruffles and above all the crinkled fabric, banning ironing of any kind... This made the cutting and sewing process much fussier - I had to be careful not to flatten out the creases while laying the pattern pieces on the fabric, and yet still cut out pieces that had the required shape; besides, I couldn't press the seams open or mark the hems with the iron (and all those ruffles meant lots of long hems). What can I say - I'd really fallen in love with that fabric - and it was very reasonably priced too! (cf. end of this post). I guess this is actually the colour called isabella or isabelline (isabelle in French).

This was also the first time I was making a blouse, but the process was truly enjoyable - and I must confess I am happy with the result. Those frilly blouses are very fashionable in France this season - and while I'm far from a fashion addict, well, when the current fashion is to my taste, I do enjoy following it! I made this blouse to go with my chocolate trousers and skirt (I also have a purchased pair of brown pinstripe trousers).

I really like that New Look pattern 6513... I'll definitely make view C one day - the one with the ribbons and the flounced sleeves. What a pity Liberty fabric is so darn expensive, or that'd be a perfect choice!

~*~

I also had a dress pattern dilemma this weekend. It all started with my mother questioning the choice of the pattern I'd earmarked for a fabric I bought at Lille last weekend (New Look 6615). I didn't want to bore you to death with that whole question, since most of you are interested in embroidery rather than sewing, so I asked my French readers instead.

After lots of pondering, and thanks to my sewing friends' advice, I finally kept to my initial pattern idea - only I chose the sleeveless model vs. the long-sleeved one.

I was still not totally sure I'd made the right decision, as the pattern required light fabrics, but I wanted a fall/winter dress.

I cut out the dress on Saturday...

... and actually sewed it all up in one afternoon yesterday!
I haven't had a chance to take pictures yet, but this dress turned out an absolute cutie and I have abolutely no regrets.

~*~

I do have a stitching update to post too - following Karen's example, I've decided to make October (and probably November, too) a month of quick stitches. More on that soon!
Have a great week everyone!