Whilst Waiting for Good Light

I’m feeling a bit ‘laissez faire’ about my blog at the moment but it will pass I’m sure.  It doesn’t help that, now that the clocks have gone back, the light for photography is a bit pants for most of the day so I haven’t been able to take photos of certain things that I would usually have blogged about.

I have been busy though, making things for the festive season so I’ll show you some of those, even though I had to take those in bad light too! 

I’ve got a thing at the moment about using linens, fabrics and trims which I have come across whilst stocking up my vintage shop.  I like making new things out of old things – or ‘upcycling’ as I think the proper term is – and  some of these old linens deserve another life instead of being put in the bin.

 

Lavender filled berlingots (or humbugs) made from vintage & antique French linens.

A Patchwork of vintage and antique French linens in 6 inch hoop

A piece of vintage lace, ‘hooped up’ and decoupaged with words from antique French dictionary.

and something I made as a result of my ‘almost a coach trip’ visit to the craft exhibition in Toulouse,

I know I said no more hobbies but this felt creation is just a one-off

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Getting My Mojo Back

After my brief period of ‘ennui’ I have put a bit of a spurt on and started creating again. 

 

Plus, I’ve been cleaning some lovely old demijohns which I had never realised were so pretty inside the wicker coverings and now have all over the house with flowers and dried arrangements in.  There is a limit though (as Mr. Tialys often points out) and they are best displayed in spots where the light can shine through which, this being an old French house, are few and far between.

Festive Mini Hoops

I love the little embroidery hoops that you can display as miniature wall art or prop up in a little niche somewhere.  The trouble is I don’t embroider and cross stitch makes me go cross eyed so I improvise.  I’ve been using the 4″ size hoops, which are small enough, but when I saw some 3″ ones, I knew I had to have them for Christmas tree ornaments.  For the most part, I’ve kept with my French theme but I couldn’t resist slipping a ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ in there too.

 

When I make the 4″ ones now, they seem enormous!

 

‘It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’…….tra, la, la, la

On the 3rd August the Daily Mail reported on Selfridges  ‘Those on a last-minute trip to grab some sun-cream yesterday were shocked to find Santa’s grotto on arrival at the Oxford Street store, with children dressed in their summer clothes encouraged to visit Father Christmas.’  Harrods followed not long afterward and apparently Selfridges have said that they can foresee a time when they will be selling Christmas items all year round.  Heaven forfend. 

When we first moved to France 5 years ago I was delighted that they didn’t anticipate Christmas until the beginning of December.  The fact that they then forget to take the decorations down until around May we will gloss over.  Unfortunately, in the last couple of years, some of the chain stores have succumbed to whatever pressure it is – can it really be the public? – to introduce tinselly, shiny, glittery items to their shelves in October.  It’s the thin end of the wedge.  However, I can report that, up until last year,  it was possible to shop for food right up until Christmas Eve without having to plan it like some sort of military operation and without having to stand in queues so long that, in the U.K., they had to employ people specifically to hand out conciliatory chocolates to the desperate.    

Having said all that, I have started to see the first glimpses of festive products on Etsy and, what’s worse, I have bought some of them.  I have bought  supplies with which to make my own Christmas goodies this year, some for us and some for the shop and  have been thinking of ideas for things to make.  It’s  weird having to root through the decorations that were packed away only 7 months ago so that you can stage a photo shoot for a festive item.  I imagine it must be like that for the staff in shops such as Selfridges – how they must detest all the Christmas records that come out every year – I think they must just train themselves to ignore them otherwise they would surely go mad.   I remember last year being a bit fed up with it all by the time the actual day arrived so, this year, I shall try to remain a bit detached  until at least the end of November – although I have made these………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy August!

 

 

 

 

 

Hoop Addiction

Since I bought those little embroidery hoops, I’ve gone a bit berserk!   I love coming up with ideas for new ones and I’m sort of keeping a French theme going.  What I really like about them is they are so tiny and can be propped up on a shelf, inserted into a little niche, insinuated ino a crevice…..you get the picture. 

Spots Before the Eyes

Ooh! What to Make?

A Project in Waiting

 

When I was round at my friend Anna’s house the other day, she showed me some tiny embroidery hoops she had ordered and I had to have some.  These ones are 4″ in diameter but you can also get 3″ ones.  Don’t quite know what for yet – although I think I might use something vintage – but an idea will come to me.    Whilst ordering the hoops, I noticed the lovely felt that the same shop, Lupin,  had for sale and had to have some of that too.  Again, I don’t know what for yet but some things you’ve just got to have and, at the moment, I like looking at all those lovely colours piled up full of promise!

NEXT DAY –

La Nuit

I don’t hang around you know.

The next one I made got on the front page so that’s some encouragement.

La Pluie on FP

And here’s another – I need to order some more of these little hoops at this rate.

La Petite Ecole