Miniature "lapin"

Yesterday I we had a crepes party at Lili's. I wasn't feeling like sittching on "Stitcher's prayer", so I started this little japanese freebie over one on... 36ct linen. You can find it here.

Yes, it was a bit of madness... You can see it's less than 4cm for a 45x45 stitches. A size 28 needle feels big to work with.

I had time to stitch the whole thing but the border at Lili's yesterday evening, as the guys played ont he PS3 until... 3am !!! Lili and I felt like we did a lot of stitches...

This morning I finished it into a mini scissor fob. I got the back fabric in K'thylda.

Lili and I also went to a LNS in Quesnois sur Deule where she knows the lady, and I got some Bent Creek, Lizzie Kate and other charts. And some silk ribbons. I'm sure you know where I'm going with my ribbons... New technique !!!

PS: I didn't change anything to the layout of my blog. I check on Firefox, IE, and on different computers, I don't see anything fishy...

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Un petit freebie japonais que j'ai brode en 1 sur 1 sur lin 14fils hier soir chez Lili. Les garcons ont joue a la PS3 jusqu'a 3h du mat, ca fait beaucoup de temps pour broder !!!

Ce projet est 45x45 points, et fait moins de 4cm. Et c'est maintenant un mini coussin !

On a aussi ete a Quesnois sur Deule dans une boutique de broderie, et j'ai pris des rubans de soie et des grilles.

Stitcher's prayer update 2

Here is my progress on "Stitcher's prayer". Tonight we'll have a crepes party at Lili's, and I hope to finish it today. And move on to "School of Needlework".

The verse is finished, the stitcher as well. The eyes are a bit weird. I made them more separated from eachother because the original very narrow ones looked a bit silly and weird. Guess what? too wide doesn't work either, so this is a nice compromise. I think what I feel is odd is the colour. But I will keep it this way for the moment. I might get used to it.

Yesterday afternoon DBF and I went to Menin with Lili and her DH. Both men are into video games, so we must be a weird ensemble.

The main purpose was of course to go to Het Atelier, an Ali Baba cave kind of LNS. We told the men there was a movie figurines store nearby so they would come with us. But it was still bizarre to have those two waiting in the store talking video games, movies and what they might stitch (!!!) in the middle of the store.

Once again it was the nice young lady (although I think she's older than me!) and not the anti-french speaking old lady. At one point she asked me "are you looking for something? ribbons?"

She blew my mind, because that's exactly what I was looking for !!!

Ok, I had a book about how to make birds and blossoms in silk ribbons (I can't wait to try that!!!) in my hands, but still... attention to details.

I also got a few fabrics to make Spring cushion (most of my fabrics are Christmas related!!!)

We then walked in Menin, and got waffles and chocolate in a TeaRoom before being slightly lost in the residential area looking for the car (guys didn't pay attention which way we went, Lili and I remembered a church with a square...) But we survived ok;)

To finish, a little "philosophical reflection", tell me what you think about this.

I notice that many people arrive on the snowman freebie post directly, and don't visit around. I don't really mind, I didn't post the freebie for any sort of gain, but I wonder why people don' look around. I'm the kind of person who likes to see what the person likes to stitch, and, let's be honnest, to see if there isn't any other freebie around ;)

And you, are you a "come and go" person, or "visiting" person?

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Mon progres de Stitcher's prayer, que j'espere finir aujourd'hui, a la crepes party chez Lili. Thes mots sont faits, la bordeuse est faite, meme si les yeux ont l'air un peu bizarre... surement leur couleur claire.

Hier Lili et moi avons emmene nos hommes a Menin ou il y a une boutique de broderie, en disant qu'il y avait aussi une boutique de figurines de cine.

Pendant que les hommes parlaient cine, jeux videos et ce qu'ils allaient broder (pour le fun...), on a parcouru le magasin ou c'etait la jeune vendeuse, et pas la vieille pro flaminguante. Elle m'a soufflee en me demandant si je cherchais des rubans, ce qui etait exactement ce que je cherchais. Faut dire que j'avais un livre sur la broderie au ruban dans les mains...

Apres une balade en ville, on a mange des gauffres et bu du chocolat avant de se perdre un peu dans Menin a la recherche de la voiture. Les hommes n'avaient pas fait gaffe a la route, et Lili et moi on se souvenait d'une eglise avec un square.

Mais on s'y est retrouves quand meme.

Pour finir, une reflection philosophique: J'ai remarque que pas mal de gens arrivent directement sur le blog par le post de la grille du bonhomme de neige, sans visiter le reste. Fondamentalement ca ne me pose pas de probleme, mais je suis du genre a jeter un oeil au reste du blog dans un cas pareil, pour voir le style de broderie qu'aime la brodeuse, et, admettons-le, pour voir s'il n'y a pas d'autres grilles ;)

Et vous, etes-vous du genre a venir et partir, ou a continuer la visite?

A day in town - post 2

This post is just to show what I got yesterday.

First you can see what I think is the most amazing thing: a silicon thimble, with flowers on it. I seem to be one of the few still using this tool to stitch. But when you use the sewing method and push the needle with your middle finger, it's a must !!!

She had red, yellow and blue as well, but I have a thing for the colour orange...

What else did I get in K'Thylda? French charts I drooled on visiting French Blogs like Lutine's from "Coeur de Lin", Symphonie de points and Harmonie de frises. And also a Patricia Ann design, Honey hive harmony.

I also got some fine linen (16 fils, I think it's 36 or 40 count), some Spring green cloudy linen (32ct), some size 26 and 28 needles, and some fabrics.

In the Furet du Nord I found this "Country au point de croix" book, from an American designer living in France. It's all 4 seasons in a very American style.

And when we went food shopping I got 2 French magazines as well, one Cross Stitch, and the other traditional embroidery.



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Des photos de mon shopping... Le plus etonnant pour moi est ce de a coudre en silicone orange avec des fleurs. Je me sert de mon de a coudre tout le temps pour broder, donc c'est une decouverte important pour moi.

Sinon j'ai aussi pris des grilles, dont certaines que j'avais envie depuis que je les avais vues brodees sur des blogs francais, comme celui de Lutine. Plus du lin 16 fils, 12 fils, des tissus et des aiguilles.

Au Furet j'ai eu le livre de Country au point de croix, qui est les 4 saisons style americain.

Et finalement 2 magazines....

A day in town - post 1 of the day

Yesterday morning when I woke up I had no idea I was up for a raid on the town... About 3pm, I suddenly decided to go to K'Thylda, an embroidery and patchwork shop (rue des Arts in Lille).

I only went there once, because even if they have the most gorgeous things, and display stuff they made themselves and such, things are expensive.

Not their fault, the rent in the neighborhood is so high, and stitching stuff is very expensive in France in general....

But that wouldn't stop me if it wasn't kind of badly situated if you circulate by car. But let's take a minute to thank DBF who drove around a very jammed town, where parkings were all full.

For me, I enjoyed visiting the Vieux Lille by car (less tiring than walking, and not as cold !!!). We got lucky: we made a wrong turn, we had to turn around, and the parking in front of the shop finally got spaces !!!

So we spent some time in there, DBF playing with his PSP and me, well... shopping.

I will show that in next post. The lady is very nice (I first made her laugh on the phone by asking her what time she was closing today, if she was opened !!! Irony !!!), and the shop is like a stitcher's fairyland. The major advantage is that you will find some charts you can't find anywhere, including touristy stuff like a kit of the Grand Place (you can see and purchase them on their website).

We then walked in town a bit, went to the Furet du Nord (biggest bookstore in Europe) where I found a cross stitch book). Then we tried to find a bakery to rest, but there were too many people... We finally took some stuff in a local bakery and went home...

All in all, no stitching for me !!! it's terrible ;)



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Hier on a ete a K'thylda, quasi sur un coup de tete. J'ai quand meme appele la boutique avant de partir, demandant a quelle heure ca fermait, si c'etait ouvert aujourd'hui. L'ironie de la phrase nous a fait marrer toutes les deux. Il faut dire que les boutiaues en France, et particulierement dans le Vieux Lille ont tendance a fermer sur le temps de midi ou debut d'apres midi, ce genre de truc....

Donc, comme c'est un endroit pas evident a atteindre en voiture, mieux vaut prevoir. Et il faut dire que ce coup-ci DBF etait super, tournant dans le Vieux Lille pres d'une demi-heure a la recherche d'une place, pour finalement se tromper de route juste assez longtemps pour que le parking le plus proche se libere un peu.

Vu l'emplacement et le prix des choses, je n'ai ete qu'une fois a ce magasin avant (Le prix est pas vraiment leur faute, vu le prix des trucs de broderie en France et le loyer monstrueux du Vieux Lille !).

Mais ca vaut la peine de se deplacer pour toutes les belles choses qu'on ne trouve pas ailleurs... Allez sur leur site pour voir les kits touristiques regionaux par exemple.

Ensuite on a ete en ville se balader un peu, au Furet du Nord, tout ca.... Et du coup, pas de broderie pour moi hier !!!

A Stitcher's prayer update 1

So yesterday I started on of my Christmas gift, A Stitcher's prayer from LHN on 36ct natural linen.

I now know that the problem I have with Snowflakes is the dark fabric.

Because this new project is a delight, even in near darkness (try to stitch in the same room as a man also enjoying his Christmas gifts, with his PS3 and a projector requiring a dark room...)

Anyway, I sitched 3/4 of the verse, in a not so orderly fashion. The reason is that to keep things clean, I re-start the thread at each word. There you go.

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Mon project cadeau de Noel... A Stitcher's prayer. J'ai fait les 3/4 des mots, malgre les conditions parfois difficiles (semi-obscurite du a l'homme jouant a la PS3 au projecteur). Mais ca marche quand meme !

Christmas Christmas !!!

Look at what Father Christmas gave me !!! Well, amongst all things (including loads of books), a special Hello Kitty, and stash !!!

It's "Stitcher's prayer", "School of Needlework", "Prairie Moon", "Gourmet Garden", "Spot of Coffee" from Little House Needleworks, and 2 36ct linen pieces, in white and natural.

Since the beginning of my holidays, I mostly slept. Maybe abnormally slept, but people say I hibernate. Hum... ok... Anyway people seem not to come here anymore as I don't get comments anymore, so I might keep hibernate away from my blog anyway...

Another reason I haven't stitched like crazy is a sort of boredom for "Snowflakes". Too much white, not enough colour changes, and the dark fabric is a nightmare in poor light.

So for the moment I will enjoy my Christmas gift and start "Stitcher's prayer" on Christmas day ;)

Regardez ce que le Pere Noel m'a apporte ! Une Hello Kitty, et des trucs de broderie (entre autres...).

Il y a "Stitcher's prayer", "School of Needlework", "Prairie Moon", "Gourmet Garden", "Spot of Coffee" de Little House Needleworks, et 2 pieces de lin 36ct en blanc et naturel.

Depuis le debut des vacances, j'hiberne, et je dors quasi tout le temps. Il faut aussi dire que j'en ai marre de "Snowflakes", avec ses trop de blancs, toile trop sombre, etc... bref...

Tout est excuse pour que je commence "Stitcher's prayer" des aujourd'hui, en cadeau de Noel....

Merry Christmas to all !!!

Merry Christmas ! May Father Christmas bring you loads of stash !!!

I'm on holidays, and I sleep most of the time. Snowflakes is a bit of a nightmare with all that white snowey ground ! But I see the end of it, I hope...

Meet me in St Louis (oops, St Pancras...)

Here I am, spending the day at my parents...

A cat walks in the snowed garden (although our american friends would laugh at the thin layer we have), Mom is decorating the tree with Christmas songs, and Grandma is filling cushions I made...

I showed them all my little creations, and gave them beaded angels and stuff... and their double Christmas present of Garden Pleasures.

I survived my trip from England to Lille ok. It was my first time on the eurostar from St Pancras, and I took loads of pictures you can find here.

It's a lot faster for me, that's all I can say !

Me voici chez mes parents pour la journee...

Maman decore le sapin au son des chants de noel, grand mere finit des coussins que j'ai rapporte... et un chat marche dans la neige dans le jardin !

Mon voyage s'est bien passe hier et j'ai pris des photos de St Pancras que vous pouvez voir ici...

Corections and first mini Snowman stitched...

Lili stitched my little snowman today...

She mostly beta tested the chart, as she found many mistakes. So I had to modify and reupload the chart, and it's now here. (Picassa web album has a weird system to upload pictures, so the old link isn't valid anymore).

You can totally tell it's my first chart ;)

But of course, Lili used her own colours:
28 count parme linen
NN 155
nose 3341
hat 3799
hat band 3831
scarf 3835

I didn't stitch or crochet yesterday. We had a late Christmas lunch at work (from 2 to 4pm !!!), and I was very tired when I arrived home. Plus i did my packing...

I did stitch on Snowflakes this morning, but I of course I over packed and essentials had to be retrieved from the very full suitcase... I still think I packed DMC 355 in the bobbin box instead of keeping it with the project, but I don't care... I have that very big area of white to stitch... One of the advantages of stitching on dark fabric is that you can see white threads on it as you stitch !!!

It's all frosty out there, but no snow... so it's basically lovely...

Lili a beta teste ma grille du bonhomme de neige... Car j'ai fait plein d'oublis !!!! Donc la grille modifiee est ici. L'ancien lien ne marche plus, c'est un des aleas de Picasa.

Mais elle a quand meme utilise ses propres couleurs:
lin 28 count parme
NN 155 (mais je crois que c'est un collector retiré de la production de threadworx)
nez 3341
chapeau 3799
bande chapeau 3831
écharpe 3835

Encore une fois, j'ai pas brode hier soir: trop fatiguee apres le dejeuner de Noel tardif au pub avec les collegues (de 2 a 4h!!!) et l'enpaquetage. Par contre j'ai brode ce matin, et j'ai du revisiter la valise car j'y avais cache des objets essentiels. Et j'ai toujours le fil rouge que j'ai pas eu le courage d'aller chercher. De toute facon il y a une grande zone de blanc a faire...

Le gel a saisi la nature et c'est tres joli...

Totally Snowflakes

As the title suggests...

First, update on Snowflakes from LHN. It's going slowly... but I intend on stitching it on the trip tomorrow, so I need some stuff to stitch left on the project !!!

Second, crochet snowflakes. These are quick and fun to do. These are still patterns from Crochet Central, but I'm working on my own design right now. Of course, it means a lot of do/undo and trials, but it's part of the fun.

I'm nearly all packed, and I managed to fit everything, including the gifts I thought I would need an extra bag for, in my suitcase. Dunno how I managed that...

I've put my 2007 freebie stitching in the Freebie gallery as well. You can tell I'm in waiting, and have some time to kill ;)
Comme le dit le titre... flocons de neige.

Tout d'abord, la broderie avec Snowflakes, qui n'avance pas vite car je compte bosser dessus lors de mon voyage demain, et des flocons de neige en crochet. Ces deux-la viennent de Crochet Central, mais je bosse sur un projet perso pour le moment. comme je vais a tatons, c'est pas rapide non plus !

J'ai mis les freebies que j'ai brode cette annee dans le Freebie gallery, aussi...

Ma valise est presque prete, et j'ai reussi a caser les cadeaux aussi, alors que j'ai cru devoir prendre un sac de plus, miracle? J'attends toujours de decouvrir LE truc oublie, qui fera que tout n'entrera pas dans la valise...

Morning after?

Well, after 3 different projects shown yesterday, it will come as no surprise that I don't have anything to show today ;)

Add to that the fact that I was totally tired yesterday, and mostly spent time staring at the tv. And I prepared my stitching for the trip:

- Snowflakes: it's stitched so slow I will still be on it in 2 days, no worries.
- Charlie bear and robin.
- Christmas Heirloom
- Abigail Winslow (Dear Diary LHN)
- threads to stitch some of the charts I will get for Christmas.

All this sorted in my big bag... I think I will just leave out the Flower Fairies, I mean, I already have too many things...

I'm glad you all love my little snowman. Now I'm very impatient to see pictures of your stitched version of it !!! You know I tend to choose my own colours, etc... so feel free to do the same, it would be a lot more fun ! Note that it's now featured in Lagattac's freebies blog. But according to Feedjit, some people actually come from there...

So to these new people... welcome !!!

Apres tous les projets d'hier, vous ne serez pas surpris si je n'ai rien a montrer aujourd'hui ;)
Il faut dire que j'etais si fatiguee hier que j'ai passe des heures a fixer la tele, et aussi j'ai prepare mes broderies pour le voyage:

- Snowflakes: je le brode si lentement que dans 2 jours, j'aurai encore plein a faire.
- Charlie bear de WOCSL aida et backstitch...
- Christmas Heirloom
- Abigail Winslow (Dear Diary LHN)
- les fils necessaires pour broder mes cadeaux de Noel.

Tout ca dans des trousses et dans le panier de brodeuse, avec les outils necessaires, etc...
Je suis contente que les gens aiment mon bonhomme de neige, et je suis impatiente de voir les photos des gens qui le broderont !!!! Surtout si les couleurs sont differentes...

Ce freebie est dans le site Lagattac- freebies, et apparemment des gens viennent ici par la aujourdhui, donc bienvenue aux nouvelles !!!

Lutine, je ne peux plus non plus offrir de napperons en crochet, car ma mere et mes grand meres en ont deja une collection impressionnante... donc c'est rate. Faut que je me concentre sur d'autres crafts plus modernes ;)

D'ailleurs, le probleme est le meme pour la dentelle aux fuseaux: j'aimerais bien m'y remettre, mais que faire de l'objet obtenu apres tant d'heures d'effort?
Une idee cependant: faire de la dentelle autour de coussins ou autre projet brode...

Your Christmas gift from me to you....

Yesterday I played with my cross stitch software a bit. My scissor fob so far was a little pumpkin freebie from Drawn Thread. I felt like it was time for a more wintery fob. So, inspired by the pumpkin fob, I made this little snowman.

I know it might look familiar (not my fault, I suffer influences?), but I wanted something I could stitch fast. And the whole thing took me about an hour to stitch, bead and finish as mini cushion. Mission accomplished.

For those interested, I made a printable chart. Colours are what I used, but you can obviously use something else. If you stitch my mini snowman, I'd be interested in seeing what you are doing with it !!!

I also crocheted some snowflakes... these are quick crafts. About 10 minutes each. I love making doilies (all the different stitches, the lacey aspect of it...) but what would I do with the finished piece? Only grandmas put doilies in their homes? So snowflakes are a good compromise...

With all that, Snowflakes doesn't progress fast, but... I'm loosing interest a bit. Maybe I stitched too many LHN wintery scenes.

I bought World of CrossStitching this week end, as I want to stitch Charlie bear and his friend the robin. It will be a nice change of style... The rest of the mag doesn't interest me.

I still haven't packed, and in my head I think of so many things to take it's mind blowing. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and sort things out...




Hier j'ai fait un petit pique aiguilles bonhomme de neige, sur un modele fait moi-meme. Vous pouvez d'ailleurs voir la grille ici. Si vous le brodez, ce serait sympa de m'envoyer une photo !!!

J'ai aussi crochete des flocons de neige. J'aime ce genre de crochet, et c'est un bon compromis, car que ferais-je de napperons crochetes? Je n'ai pas envie que mon interieur ressemble a celui d'une grand mere !!! POurtant, j'aime la technique des napperons, les differents points etc...

Snowflakes n'avance pas vite, forcement si j'ai passe mon dimanche sur les deux premiers trucs, mais aussi je ne me sens pas motivee pour le broder. Je dois avoir fait trop de trucs similaires recemment....

J'ai achete WOCS (magazine anglais) pour le nounours et rouge gorge de la couverture. Un truc mignon avec du back stitch, ca devrait me changer un peu !!!

Je n'ai pas encore fait ma valise, mais il semblerait que mentalement j'aie prevu 40000 choses... et ca risque de pas le faire. Essayons quand meme?

How to close a cushion

Well, Danielle... you are lucky to ask your questions on a week end... I made a tutorial about how to close a cushion. I have to admit I still had Pine tree Hill to close up, so...

For your particular project, I would match the fabric at the front. That's what you will be showcasing, right? ;)

Susan, I will indeed remain inside... it's 3c outside... and I still have a bit of a cold. But I don't feel particularly crafty today... so I don't know... ;)

Anyway, I'm sure I had this cushion left out... so here it is !

J'ai fait un tuto sur comment fermer un coussin avec des petits points apres qu'une lectrice m'aie demande comment je faisais. Comme j'avais aps encore ferme Pine Tree Hill... c'etait l'occase !

Acorns pouch

As usual, week ends are a time when I have much to say, but apparently everybody is busy away from the net, and blogs.

I'm pleased to say that I'm done with most of my to do list.

I cleaned, but I still need to sort things out for packing and leaving a house without stitching all over.

I went food shopping, and I'm glad I don't have to look for presents anymore, as there are a lot of people everywhere !!!

I finished the little bead angels, and the "makes 24" of the box label turned into 26 !!! Youhou !

And, as the pictures are showing, I made the Acorns pouch. I didn't show much imagination here.

I love my Strawberrry patch pouch so much that I wanted a similar on. I know, some people use plastic ziplock bags for their different projects...

The Strawberry pouch being occupied by a Flower Fairies wip, I needed a new pouch for my ongoing project. There you go.

Otherwise I decided to leave my panier de brodeuse as is, things being in pouches anyway. And the sewing is done : I made a fleece protection on a bag strap where it's uncomfortable on my neck.

If you recently went to the gallery on my website, you might have noticed it was hacked by a"£%£$%£$%£$ turkish person. But it's repared now. Morality: always back up your files.

Le week end, j'ai tendance a m'etaler en paroles: quand on bosse toute la semaine, c'est souvent le week end qu'on a le temps de faire des trucs.

Comme la liste de ce matin qui est finie, a part l'empaquetage.

La boite du kit des petits anges a beau dire qu'on peut en faire 24, j'ai reussi a en faire 26, et encore j'aurais pu en faire plus si certaines pieces n'etaient pas en nombre plus juste que d'autres.

J'ai fait ma pochette avec Acorns. J'ai manque d'imagination, vu que j'ai fait une pochette proche de la pochette aux fraises que j'ai faite plus tot dans l'annee. Il faut dire que cette pochette est occupee par un Flower Fairies en cours que je compte prendre en vacances, et donc il me fallait une autre pochette pour ce que je brode au quotidien.

Imminent departure?

Those of you who come directly to the blog (ie no feeds reader), might have noticed that I changed the "I'm stitching" to "Snowflakes" from Little House Needleworks.

The LHN and CCN yahoo groups have 2 simultaneous SALs, Gingerbread Cottage and Snowflakes. I'm finished with the first one, so here we go ont he second one.

I opted for Spruce blue 32ct linen. The brown is 434 instead of Crescent Colors Roasted Chestnut. And the other house is in DMC variations. Got a bit of a problem with this house. I first wanted to use a green/blue/purple Needle Necessities, but the chemistry wasn't right. Then I went for the classic DMC variation 4230, but the darkest blues being so close to the colour of the fabric... I decided to be daring and go for a more light and purple thread.

Of course this involved a lot of stitching/frogging....

On another note... I nearly stopped coughing, after more than 2 weeks, it's about time... but I still have a cold sort of thing. And I have no energy/courage to do all the stuff I am supposed to do this week end:

- Cleaning and packing
- Shopping
- Finnish the bead angels
- Make a cover for my brodeuse basket
- Make a pouch for my Acorns
- Do a bit of sewing

And of course all I want to do is sleep... not helping... But hey, it's the week end and the weather is bad !


Mon nouveau projet est "Snowflakes" de Little House Needleworks. Dans le groupe yahoo de LHN et CCN, on fait un SAL avec ca et Gingerbread Cottage. Comme j'ai deja fini GC...

J'ai pris "Spruce blue" 32 ct lin et j'utilise que du DMC, et pas les Crescent Colors preconises. D'une part, je trouve que ca ne vaut pas la peine d'acheter plus cher des fils parce qu'ils ont ete teints a la main, et d'autre part j'aime presser mon projet fini en le mouillant.

Et comme mouiller des fils et tissus teints les font baver... catastrophe.

Ce week end j'ai pleind e choses a faire, et aucun courage pour m'y mettre. Pourtant, comme c'est bientot les vacances, c'est le moment ou jamais !!!

- Menage et enpaquetage
- Coutures diverses
- Finir les petits anges en perles

Enfin, on verra lundi ce qui aura ete fait !!!

Stitcher question of the week

Do you do anything special to your threads before putting them through your fabric to make them more manageable?

No, DMC threads don't need any special treatment...Usually I use 2 strands, but unlike what they recommend (separate the strands and put them back together), I take both strands directly from the 6 strands and leave them naturally untwinned... Dunno if it makes a difference, really. But the thread doesn't even recoil.

Also, use the right needle for the fabric: size 24 for 28ct, size 26 for 32ct...

Faites-vous quelque chose de special a vos fils avant de broder pour qu'ils soient plus gerables?

Non, les fils DMC n'en ont pas besoin. Pourtant je ne separe pas les fils avant de les utiliser, je prends directement les deux fils de la masse de 6.

Par contre, j'utilise differentes aiguilles pour differents tissus. Plus grosse pour 14ct aida que pour 16 ct...

Let's try something...

As I felt more and more drawn to French blogs, I also felt the language barrier. French people would come here, only watch the pictures, and not read... not fair.
So I had the idea of creating a blog to wite in French, in parallel to this one (that's the content of the message in french, below).

But then people commented, and maybe it would be best to have both English and French in here. Less work. So that's what I'm trying to do in the previous message. Of course, the lenght of the 2 might be different, and I might not say exactly the same thing, but... you get the idea.

ok, d'apres les commentaires, il serait peut ete plus judicieux de faire les deux langues dans le meme blog... Donc c'est ce que je vais essayer de faire, comme le post ci-dessous. On verra si la mayonnaise prend !!!!

Finnished acorns

Not much to say except just that: it's finished ! I hope soon I will sew it onto something interesting...

Et pourtant pas grand chose a dire... J'ai fini ce petit projet de little House Needleworks. Tout en DMC, sur lin 32ct "pearl grey".

J'ai bien envie de me refaire une pochette de brodeuse, en le cousant dessus. La couture etant une activite du week end, ca devra attendre un petit peu (2 jours).

En ce moment j'aime beaucoup Little House Needleworks, des motifs simples mais rustiques...

Message en francais... (to French people)

Ces derniers temps je me sens attiree par la blogosphere des brodeuses qui ont un blog en francais. J'ai l'impression que de la France viennent de grandes idees comme les pendibulles et les biscornus, et autres "finnishings" interessants.

Cependant je ressens comme une barriere du fait que mon blog est en anglais, et donc la plupart ne peut pas comprendre ce que je dis.

Donc j'ai pense a creer un blog en francais, http://angelsanfr.blogspot.com

Croyez-vous que ca vaille la peine? Est-ce que ca interesserait des gens?

Couldn't help...

Christmas heirloom has been set aside once again... I hate all that cross stitching with white perle !!!

I started "Acorns" a little Little House Needleworks pattern, on 32ct pearl linen. I feel like making something special with it, like a pouch or something...

We'll see !

Apart from that, I'm still coughing for some reason.. something tickly is teasing my throat or something... I never cough when I have a cold, and now I can't seem to be able to stop !!! Except at night for some reason...

I really need my holidays...

Week end works

Looks like the Christmas Heirloom is a winner... for the moment. Like Secret garden, or the Old gardens, I am under the spell of "one more band to stitch before I stop".

Meaning that I find myself at 11pm willing to continue instead of going to bed. Now, the real question will be... Will I finish it before Christmas? It's only 2 weeks away, and the sampler is big... so the outlook isn't so good ;)

Susan, the fabric is 28 count platinum linen, and I feel like stitching on big fabric (I usually stitch on 32count). I guess in cross stitch you are supposed to follow the chart, but... in some cases, rogues like me will loose patience and go free hand. I did it for a Tatty Teddy pattern (the teddy has intricate fluffy backstitching all around its body!), and seeing how I have to add beads and pearls and ribbons on the tree, I might resort to that.

This time I took the picture with my camera, and you will have to click to get it full size. I already made a mistake in the chickadees row, the pines should be green. This shows how this chart isn't for novices, the explanations can be confusing. And if you've never done any drawn thread work before... forget it ( or buy Patricia Bage's Drawn Thread for beginners, it's a great book).

Yesterday I also went to Hobbycraft get a few bits and pieces. I came across a beading kit to make small angels for 3.99 pounds. Here is one of them up close, and what I did with the first 9 I made. The kit is to make 24 angels.

I also made some decoupage for Christmas cards. I think papercrafters would have a heart attack seeing me cutting with my big school scissors...

Christmas Heirloom reappears, and the blog changes

Well, after finishing the Gingerbread cottage, I didn't know what to stitch.

I still didn't feel like stitching ornaments... and then I fell on the Victoria Sampler Christmas Heirloom.

I started it on and off earlier this year, not feeling in the Christmas mood. But now... maybe?

After all those easy JHN and CCN (blocks of crosses), I felt like stitching something a bit more challenging.

So that when I get more LHN patterns for Christmas, I would be in the easy mood again.

As you can see, I gave up on the intricate nightmarish tree, and did band 2: the presents. And now it's band 3: Christmas lace.

The challenge here is the size, and working with silks and perle threads. Plus the speciality threads and beads.

I don't expect to finish it this side of Christmas, but... Little by little...

Yesterday I also framed Gingerbread Cottage. I used the frame I first bought for Acorn Hill before switching for a darker frame. I was lucky enough to take the picture during the only hour of sun of the day !!

And of course I change my blog to winter. Not much imagination there... But on the top right you can see what my mantel piece looks like now, with winter cushions and stuff...

Now I'm going to do some different crafts... more in future posts !

It's the most wonderful time of the year.... not

Here in the UK we have an ad with that Christmas song... But I can't say it would apply to me this year...

You might have seen the "punkymoods" pictures getting very cranky and more, but no explanation on this blog.That's because I keep this blog "craft related" most of the time. Plus there's not much to tell about my life ;) But I have to admit to be in a very dark period.

First, my tenants in my previous house are not paying the rent. When you rely on that money to pay mortgages and it happens just after you moved (more spending than usual) and close to Christmas "do I have to say it again? more spending...), it's not a good combinaison.

Second, I got sick last Friday. Spent most of the week in bed (on Thursday I made an attempt to go to work and I was sent back home !!!!). It seems to be a big cold, but what worries me is that cough... plus the headaches that can be related to point number 3...

Someone stole my bike in my garage. No trace of effraction. Yesterday morning I just realised it was missing. Could be missing for some time I guess. The only possibility I see is that someone came in during the one hour I went shopping on Wednseday, and didn't lock the garage. A garage that is locked at all times usually. But there you go, I was sick, the weather was horrible, and I didn't feel like making that extra key turn.

To top it up, I noticed a red bike in my neighbours garden on Wednesday afternoon. Of course I didn't know my bike was missing at that point, so I didn't pay much attention... and now it's out of sight in their shed. Could it be mine?

I would have never thought I would have to deal with the police only 2 months after moving... It's not so much for the bike, I never use it, but it's the fact that someone came into my property that bugs me !!! What next?

So yes, I get super headaches that no pain killer can kill... but apparently it's stress as when I sleep or calm down, the pain goes away.

So it's time to play the "glad game" (cf PollyAnna):
- I have all the presents, just need to wrap them. No more running around in the shops, I could just enjoy the Christmas lights in town centre.
- D-12 of holidays. 2 weeks of good company, good food, and no caring.
- Any object I care for has no money value: less fear of burglars.
- Headache gone, I hope for a long time.
- My panier de brodeuse joined the club of more than 100 made on the creator's blog.
- Gingerbread Cottage finished !

Yes, it seems like I stitched like a tortoise while others on the LHCHN yahoogroup sped like hares... But there it is !!!! I messed up the border a little bit, it's not the right distance from the design, but... who cares?

I plan on framing that one. I have too many cushions already ! This design might look "bubblegum" on this fabric, but hey, it's for Christmas !!!!

I forgot, Danielle, the little gingerbread men ornament is a humburg, I used the tutorial here.

Anyway, I have no idea what to stitch next, I don't feel like stitching... I think I will try felt stuff and paper cards (The latest Papercraft mag has Margaret Sherry Charlie bear decoupages in it!)

D-15 holidays

Couldn't find a better title... I'm stuck home with laringitis or something like that... I never coughed that much in my life ! But my audition is back (I couldn't hear from my right ear yesterday!) and seem to be back to "big cold".

Gingerbread Cottage isn't progressing fast... there is something about that project that doesn't motivate me much.. I don't know what... Too pink?

Yesterday I made those felt robinand reindeer. It's an old DMC kit I got in a discounter years ago, for just 1. 50 pounds.

I also finished this Blue Ribbon freebie into an ornament on felt.

And you see of course my "ornament tree", which is just a mug tree from Asda. I use some blue tack to hold the ornaments in place.

Finishes of the week end

Me sick

Well, this is your typically "stay in bed and nothing more" cold-flu type.

On Saturday I had loads of energy, so I finished Snowdays and Forest Snowfall, I designed a little something for DBF, but then yesterday... total sickness. And I'm still in it.

So no stitching to show I'm afraid...

PS: Gingerbread Cottage is from Country Cottage Needleworks. I find it flattering that people could think I designed it, but I'm not there yet.

Blogspot allows you to put "tags" on posts, so you now have the designer's name at the bottom of all posts.

Gingerbread Cottage update 3, or about whites....

As usual, pre-week end pic... I think I got sick going swimming on Wednesday, something weird on my lungs and down throat, not my typical cold.

Apart from a bit of chest compression, I feel ok surprisingly enough. What a good night sleep can do to us !!!!

Since last time I stitched the snow on the roof and the "floor". I started white on the house with DMC "blanc". I have loads of it. But then I remembered that B5200 is "bright white". So, as an experiment, I decided to do the snow in B5200, and compare with blanc ont he same design. The difference isn't stricking, but when you look up close in certain lights, the difference is obvious.

So the tip of the day would be "don't mix and match blanc with B5200". It might give a weird grimmy look to your stitching. Here I treated them as 2 separate colours, so of course it's ok ;)