Buttons and Bells and Other Things

A kit from L'Atelier des ABCDaires
:-:
Joyeux Noël = Merry Christmas

This is a little Christmas tree that I made two years ago. It was fUn to make because it has so many different materials and stitches.

I love projects like this (appliqué and patchwork, too) that use bits & pieces and odds & ends of this & that (things that might otherwise be thrown away). It means that the possibilities are endless!

:-:-:-:-:-:

:-: Bon week-end :-:

From Reines-Claudes to Ribbon

Here's the jar mentioned in the last post, filled with red & white ribbon that I find pretty and inspiring. According to its old label, in a previous life it contained reines-claudes, little greenish fruits that resemble plums. So it's gone from being a reines-claudes jar to a ribbon jar.

Do you know why some of the ribbons have numbers and initials on them?

If you're French, you probably know. For those of us who don't--in the past, women cut them into individual number or initial sets, then sewed them as labels on clothing and household linens. They came in small rectangular boxes and to this day are especially appealing in part because 1) the numbers and letters are simply elegant, and 2) the red is woven into, rather than printed on, the ribbon (as you can probably notice in the photo). It's the little details like this that always win me over. :)

:-:-:-:-:-:

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it!

Recent Vintage Finds

Les dernières trouvailles *

:-:
an old pair of scissors, linen thread
des ciseaux, du fil en lin
:-:

:-:
some pretty fabric
de jolis tissus anciens
:-:

:-:
a little doll's dress
une petite robe de poupée
:-:

:-:
a strainer, an old jar, mattress ticking

une passoire, un bocal, de la toile à matelas
:-:

:-:-:-:-:-:

Thank you for stopping by and have a great week!
Merci de votre visite et bonne semaine !

* I promised here to make an effort and write in French from time to time.
* J'avais promis ici de faire un effort et d'écrire en français de temps en temps.

An Appliqué Bag

{little bits of felt, fabric remnants, thread}

+
{a vintage kitchen linen dish towel, linen trim for a tie}
=
a bag to hold stocking stuffers until Christmas eve

The Santa pattern is from L'Atelier des ABCDaires.

A bientôt !

No Convincing Needed

When I ventured out into Paris on Saturday I didn't plan on coming home with a new book, let alone (another) cross-stitch book. But this one, full of adorable patterns with a vintage French childhood theme, was just too pretty to pass up.

In fact, it's so irresistable--hardcover, attractive photos, those above-mentioned patterns, clear & complete instructions--I didn't even have to convince Monsieur Petits Détails of its many virtues (I spent the entire ride home in le métro preparing for this probability). It turned out that when he saw it, he really liked it, too!

A Christmas Tree Ornament

(front)

(back)

Traditions
When we were growing up, my brother and I each received a Christmas tree ornament from our grandparents every year, starting with our first Christmas celebrations. My grandparents are no longer with us, but my mom has continued the tradition.

And when I grew up and moved away from home, Mom pulled out all of my ornaments and sent them along with me. It's such a treat to unpack them at Christmas and hang them on the tree--they remind me of many many good memories (plus, Mom carefully labelled all of the ornaments so it's easy to tell which year we received each one).

In fact, it's one of my favorite family traditions, so I'd like to do the same for my son. The bear in these photos is the ornament that I made for him this year.

Inspiration
The latest issue of the French magazine Marie Claire Idées has this photo of bear ornaments, only they're creatively made of paper. I thought they were cute, decided to make them out of felt--et voilà le résultat. :)

Roses and Ticking

It's cloudy on our side of Paris this Wednesday morning. And a bit dark. So, to compensate for this wintery-like weather, here are some summery vintage fabrics.

Hope that you're having a cheerful day on your side of the world.

A Patchwork Pillow

Here's a pillow that I made this weekend thanks to my kind husband, who cooked and cleaned things up around home (did I mention that he also did the dishes?) while I sewed.

It's made with vintage French fabric and measures 50 cm x 50 cm.

Inspiration: Childhood Treasures, by Caroline Zoob.

This Week's Vintage Find

A cute little creamer...
Bon week-end !

Un peu de français

drapeau ancien chiné en France

Ce matin je lisais dans le journal Metro de hier une lettre écrite par un lecteur. Il exprimait son souhait que Barack Obama remporte l'élection présidentielle aux Etats-Unis. Son opinion des Etats-Unis était plutôt favorable. Mais il a ajouté qu' "en France, on n'aime pas les Etats-Unis. On va déjeuner chez McDo, on s'habille chez Levi's, mais on déteste les Etats-Unis."

Ce n'est pas facile pour moi de lire des choses comme cela. Je pense que, heureusement, il y a beaucoup de gens en France qui ne partagent pas ce point de vue. Mais c'est vrai que l'image des Etats-Unis et des américains n'est pas toujours très bonne (et parfois pour de bonnes raisons).

Alors je me suis posée la question "Qu'est-ce que moi je peux faire pour donner une bonne image des américains?". Je parle français (et j'essaie de m'adapter à la culture française). Si sur ce blog j'écris uniquement en anglais c'est par manque de temps (en plus je ne m'exprime pas toujours très bien en français). Mais je vais essayer d'écrire en français de temps en temps.

Merci beaucoup à ceux/celles qui me laissent des commentaires en français comme en anglais. C'est très gentil, ça m'encourage, ça me permet de découvrir vos blogs (pour ceux/celles qui en ont un), ça me donne une idée de ce que vous aimeriez lire et voir sur ce blog.

Vintage Inspiration

Here's a peek inside my sewing notion drawers. It would be nice if these drawers contained a magic wand, too, that with one wave could produce a few extra hours, as I'm short on time for crafting right now. :)

Bonne semaine et à bientôt...

Thanksgiving Thoughts

In 2007 our son was born very prematurely. He arrived--weighing less than one kilogram--and fortunately began breathing on his own, while I more or less held my breath from that moment until nearly three months (of ups and downs) later when he could finally come home with his dad and me.

Today our little one is no longer so little...he is the picture of good health, fits into clothes for children of his age, and bursts with energy. In the U.S., where I'm from, November is the month in which we celebrate the holiday Thanksgiving, so my husband and I thought it would be appropriate to mention that we are very grateful to:

The staff at L'Institut de Puériculture et de Périnatalogie de Paris, for its expert medical care and counsel

Family and friends, for love and support during a really difficult time

France's oustanding healthcare system, which covered the very expensive medical care

SOS Préma, for its instrumental role in prolonging maternity leave in France for mothers of premature babies

The Weston A. Price Foundation, for providing helpful information on nourishing foods for babies and children