another cross stitch addict

Some stitching and -just a little- mischief.

2011-07-06T15:26:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers! :)

First of all, I want to thank all my readers who left comments here, my friends who asked for news of my son. He is feeling better now. He had lots of tests, including a fibroscopy that revealed nothing wrong, and our usual doctor has finally given him some homeopathy treatment that has done wonders where nothing else worked... There was some gelsemium for stress and nux vomica for his stomach. Huge relief. But yet, it reveals that his stress can make him physically sick and it's a problem.

Patchwork Sampler, Jardin Privé freebie (You have to be a customer and then you can make your own patchwork). Nathalie Cichon is a French designer who sells her PDFs worlwide.

School is over! At last! And they will have to go back in September, which means a long break. While Daphné will enjoy a well deserved rest and the swimming pool in the garden, her books, and games on the computer (her best friend is in Cambodia until end of July, we miss him, he's like my DD's twin), Corentin will have to make up for the weeks he missed at college and the general laxism he has shown this last year. Being 15 is tough, all right, but it's the time when they ask that you make important decisions for your future anyway... So I personnally deal with the German and French lessons, while his father deals with Algebra. O joy... I have always admired the mums who homeschool their children, mine do acknowledge my competences, but don't like seeing in me anything else than a mum...

Prairie Schooler a little transformed with a heart instead of a pink ribbon, the design is/was sold to help cancer research.

OK, here's for the almost seasonal projects. I have found many things I hadn't scanned and shown on my blog in the last year. Here are some of them, they're all Xmassy. I guess my avatar suits me fine... ;)

Lizzie Kate's snowman 2010, but a little truncated and that will be turned into two small ornies instead of one big.

Sorry for the bad scan, the beads don't help...

Homespun Elegance Sampler Santa.

I've added a fish (I had intended to but it was all the more useful to hide the red that did dare run when I ironed, bloody red thread, lol!) and the backing fabric shows that it's a gift I have offered my father, the fisherman, last Xmas...

Reindeer freebie from tantes Zolders

This design is old, I have seen it many times. For instance, it's in the last JCS ornament preview (part of a sampler that looks like bad DIY designing really) and Rosewood Manor also offered it (well rearranged) on her site for Xmas 2008.
Here's what it looks like (so you don't have to browse this blog):

Although I love Xmas and celebrate it in my heart all year long (does ring a bell... lol!), I've had real bad Xmas days, where the people around me just didn't seem to understand the true meaning of Xmas, and the good spirit that should have been shared. I must admit that this drove me angry and that these days really turned into flops and this memory made me change this design just a little tiny bit (of mischief).

This is Windows of Faith, Hope and Peace by Primrose Needleworks, from JCS ornies 2010.

I also did this in remembrance of these neverending wars, those truces that don't even see the end of the night when we celebrate the birth of our Savior... I am losing faith in men. :(
Originally, the design is stitched in a very beautiful, peaceful blue thread, and I'm thinking of doing it too. Without the FLOP word. To honour the designer. ;) And to remember that I should keep hoping... There was a time when asked "what do you want?", I always replied "Peace on Earth". This would make people laugh and ask "But seriously?". I was serious.

Yet, we all ended eating some Xmas cake, but not that kind, that's typically British:

JBW Xmas Pudding

That's it for now. I'm off to start La D Da's Old Crow. I just fell in love with this design...
Ooops, and first of all, German. (It's a chance I love studying foreign languages... lol!).

Hugs to you all, my friends. A special thought for those who are having a very difficult time, you know who you are. I will visit your blogs soon.

Lili Bear

Boink

2011-05-30T15:25:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers!
In this part of the globe, Spring (boink) is slowly turning into Summer (though here, the contrary generally happens, meaning early spring is like summer and autumn begins in August)...
No need to say that with such weather, I haven't stitched for Xmas... :D
No, I felt the need for a Blackbird Designs cure and I went for smalls.
Here is BBD's Basket of memories with its backing fabric. I used Needle Necessities Hydrangea.

I really enjoyed playing with the variations in the thread to try and have pink flowers and green stems. Well, as much as possible. ;) I haven't personalized it yet (initial) I'm not sure I will.

BBD's Bluebird was a challenge: I really love the bird, but I absolutely hate the bug/butterfly/whatever insect that is in the original design, next to the bird. At first, I thought it was a vine leaf. Well, I have changed the design and replaced the loathed bug with a flower.

I used Needle Necessities threads, Coventry Gardens and Blue is blue. And you can see the backing fabric, I love that the flowers look like the ones in the design. No initials there either. May be buttons later? Will see.

BBD's "A Stitcher's Journey" is a must have with lots of great designs, but my favourite by far is the Summer Stars Pincushion, a beautiful reference to quilts. I have chosen Crescent Colours threads that go together well: Blueberry Tart, Finley Gold, Purple Aster, Eve's Leaves and Sea Shelley. The backing fabric is the best I could find in my stash...

And finally, because there are other designers in life, here is a generous gift by Cathy Roy, French Blogger who owns Le Chalet des Perelles. Love at first sight, I wanted to go pink. It's called "le temps des cerises". Thank you Cathy.

I have fabric for it but I plan some different finish, I will show it someday.

Finally, for my friend Margaret, here's my progress on our LiMa SAL... I am late. Definitely, dreadfully, shamefully late... :(

But certainly not about to give up. I love every single stitch of this project. :D

About a month ago, we had a wonderful vacation in Oxfordshire near Burford and the most amazing needlework shop I have ever visited: hand painted canvas (amazing!!!), tapestry, cross stitch of course, name it, they have it.

Of course, we visited Straford upon Avon. A great moment. I just had to laugh though, because while some of Shakespeare's characters enjoy a well deserved celebrity,

their creator, up above, is enjoying the pigeons...

I have also learned something that's very preoccupying: it takes three geeks and an i pad to light a fire...

Now we're off to a specialist's to try and see what we can do for our son, who's been sick for ten days now, unable to move from home as his stomach rejects most of what it eats in spite of treatments (ulcer?). No need to say we're worried... He's losing a lot of weight... That's unfair: I should've been the sick one ;). No seriously, every mom will understand how much I wish I could take his pains, really.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Edit 31st May: I have edited this post with the colours used in the BBD designs.
I also wanted to add that Coco is going to have a fibroscopy -poor Baby :((( - next Tuesday (7th June). Please spare a thought for him. I know it's not going to be fun. At all.
We have also consulted a doctor today who's giving him homeopathy, for his nausea, stress and bellyaches. We do hope it will help.
Thank you for your kind messages.

Lili Bear

LiMa SAL, Hallosal and Reading

2011-03-16T16:58:00.000+01:00

First and foremost, I want to express my support to the Japanese People who are experiencing one the most heartbreaking series of catastrophes in their history. :( I don't think there is much to say, but there's something we can do: pray and send help.

Now, without transition, because there is no good transition in this case, I 'd like to show my progress on a SAL that Margaret and I are doing together.

Margaret is great at choosing names. Do you remember the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pattern with Waxing Moon's stitcher that said "my needle and my floss, they comfort me"? After stitching it, Harmien sent it to a winner (I was drawn :D) and then the chart was passed along in a great sisterhood. We all added some change in the dress colours and all and I must admit I have lost track of it, though. :( And Margaret found the name for this great initiative. :D
This was my version, I had her look like me. She doesn't have a mouth because I don't speak. ;)

Margaret has again found a great name, simply associating our first initials. We could choose then between Lima, capital of Peru, and Mali, in Africa. Well, Lima was the first pick. Now, what is this LiMa SAL? Well, we are stiching the most beautiful 12 days of Xmas project by Just Nan. Two days per month starting in February.
Here's what I've done until now:

I may not have chosen the best fabric for the b5200 thread to show, so I will probably add some backstitch in one shade of grey used there. What do you think? This is quite an intricate design with around 25 shades, and though I thought it would be a little hard on my goldfish ability to concentrate, for the moment, it's been only pleasure and no frog has shown yet. Fingers crossed.

I am also part of a SAL on the Hallosal with Lizzie Kate's SAL Boo Club series. I have stitched number 1, there are twelve to stitch.

And because it feels springy, and at the same time, because this is what I mostly do these days, here's reading by LHN. It was a chartpack but I have modified it a little as it was a gift for my friend and partner in crime (HalloSAL and books in common), Pink Canary. So the birds are pink of course. And I wanted to turn it into a little pincushion so I had to leave the Reading off. That goes without saying anyway. ;)

Thank you to my friends who still visit and comment here. This post is for you.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers,

Lili Bear

Xmas is on the corner...

2010-12-17T15:17:00.002+01:00

... My favourite season of all, although this year it has a slightly bitter taste.

My gran's passing has made us all very sad and old wounds and scars are visible again. I guess that's what happens in many families.
We had Eugenia buried with Adolfus in the family cemetery eight days after she passed away... In November around here, the dead have to queue to enter the cemetery...

Did I ever tell you how sadness made me angry? I don't cry out of sadness, I just loathe the whole world. I am irate and very difficult to live with. It makes me revolted, the unfairness of things just becomes completly unbearable, and I become bitter and unfair myself. I'm a nightmare for my loved ones, actually... but I'm working on it. It doesn't seem to work very well but time helps. That's what they say.

I know this pic may seem out of place and all, but in a sense, that's guy's anger and courage is really cracking me up, even if I feel sorry for the police force, just doing their job.

More than ever, I feel the need to see beautiful things. To see the beauty of life again. And to share it with you. I did not take these pics, they're from a French daily news web mag.

These are snowflakes on a car windscreen. Have you seen anything more beautiful, both fragile and delicately structured?

Snowed in landscapes make me dream... as long as I'm safely tuck at home with a warm tea or chocolate... ;)

At home, it definitely feels Xmassy, because I have a wonderful family who make it all worthwhile...

Are you ready for D day? Well, like Santa, I still need to get my elves on that... (Lizzie Kate):

And a helping hand (Val' Stuff) would be welcome:

It would help if we were not snowed in (Val's Stuff again, a freebie I cannot trace back, sorry...):

But it doesn't matter, I have my stitching to keep me busy . Plus the hyperactive dog and kitties and kids, and loving husband and food and auntie's move before Xmas, and the friends' children who will arrive tomorrow for a couple of nights' sleep in, and the Xmas dinner to plan and consequently, this:

will not be finished by D day... This is Xmas ABC, a chartpack with threads (Crescent Colours) by Lizzie Kate.

Have a great holiday time, enjoy the season, tell and show your loved ones how much they count, and seize the day.

Lots of Xmas hugs your way, my dear friends,

Lili Bear.

RIP Eugenia

2010-11-10T08:42:00.000+01:00

My gran died yesterday at 6 pm.
According to her beliefs, she is now with her beloved husband, Adolfus.
We are both devastated and relieved. It took two months and two days of agony.
RIP Mamie. You have been loved, and you will remain in our hearts forever.

Preparing Xmas is even better than...

2010-11-08T16:30:00.000+01:00

celebrating it...

Well, that's my point of view, I know some people don't share it. But I have always enjoyed anticipating a moment more than living it... Call it "living" my life.... Yup, I know.

But for a stitcher who loves Xmas, the best season is all year long. Here are a few of the things I have stitched for Xmas this year. There's more to come, of course...

Here's the Brightneedle Season petites Winter, I have now stitched the whole four seasons and I have really enjoyed it. What a shame they're no longer designing :( ...

This is a well known Prairie Schooler freebie . I have just added a red border and used overdyed green and red:

This is White Christmas by Ewe and Eye and Friends. I have replaced my initial with a silver snowflake:

Last but not least (and not really Xmas but has a feeling in it though), here's Tralala's under the stars (A la Belle Etoile). I haven't filled in the trees because I love the swirly designs of the branches and they wouldn't stand out enough if I filled them with some lighter green, as advised by the designer. I have bought this design there and they send worldwide for 1.50 euro only (just checked the site, it is discounted at the moment):

Next batch for soon, I hope. I'm still stitching reindeer, of course...

Thanks for the kind comments and thoughts. I'm not much there on the web and your blogs, but you are in my heart all the time.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili Bear

Fall

2010-11-04T17:55:00.001+01:00

Brightneedle Season Petites on 32 count linen

Plum Street Samplers freebie on 28 count evenweave :

Nouveau Encore freebie on black 18 count aida :

The Cricket Collection's Ectoplasmic kiss freebie :

Thank you for your kind comments on my last post. Together with counting those little crosses, they really help me though this.

Lili Bear

I shouldn't be apologizing...

2010-10-14T15:15:00.000+02:00

for not blogging lately, as I have this BWO (Blog Without Obligation) lovely crow in the margin.

Yet, I feel I owe you an explanation. And above all, for my friends who have not received any email from me yet. Some have been long due. :( Some have been written and unsent, they're not even up to date.

I just don't have the stamina to blog, nor to write or whatever. My grandmother has been in the hospital for six weeks now, slowly dying, agonizing. And it's not over yet. I spend as much time as I can to help, to feed her, to talk to her, thank her, and above all make her feel how much she is loved, has been loved, and will always be loved.

Lately, things have been deteriorating and I realize that despite our being there, holding her hand and talking to her -sometimes may be to no avail- the way to death is a way that you can only take on your own. My grandma must be very lonely, and suffering a great deal. There's no place for us there. But we keep trying though.

Soon, I hope, Eugenia, almost 96, will be able to rejoin her Adolfus who died aged 74 -twenty-two years ago- in heaven (this is her belief, she's a Roman Catholic) and will be relieved from her pain.

I will finish this post with a word I hardly use, I'm doing it for my gran:

Amen

Itch to stitch for Halloween

2010-08-19T14:59:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Just to show you the latest issue of Just Cross Stitch Halloween (Sep-Oct 2010). Here's a scan of the ornies page. I have just received my copy and I can tell you my fingers are itching and my head is twisting... I think (hope) you can click on the pic for a better view.

Up the page left to right are:
Mummy's Boy by Charlette Collectibles
Perched on a Pumpkin by Blue Ribbon Designs
Winifred Witch by M Designs (her eyes and lips are stitched one on one, oh so dainty...)
Halloween Greetings by Plum Street Samplers
El Dia de los Muertos by Monsterbubbles

Down the page, left to right, upper row:
Sally Stitch Witch by Brooke's Books
Jack O' Lantern by Casey Buonaugurio
Boo Bunny by The Victoria Sampler
Pumpkin Fairy by Fresh Threads Studio
By the Full Moon by Ink Circles
Trick or Treat Tree by Heartstrings/The Artists Collection

Down the page, left to right, last row:
Fleur de Boo by Miss Crescent's Crowne (that would mean mud flower in French, not so glamorous...)
Tricks or Treats by Val's Stuff
Moon Dance by Wee Works
and last but not least, Halloween Ghost by San Man Originals.

And now comes the big question: which one shall I stitch first? Oh my... I think I will kit up several at a time and zap...

Nothing new around here. The kids are still off school until September. Since school finished at the end of June, they tend to look forward to meeting their friends again. Corentin will enter High School but he's not too stressed out, apparently. Yet.

Here's a small ornie inspired by a Heart in Hand leaflet. I have added white to the black cat and named her Pumpkin, in memory of our beloved Pumpkin who died last Dec. This is my August contribution to the Hallosal.

I have been quite sick in the last weeks, and very slowly recovering.

I owe a few emails, and some packages are ready to be sent but going to the post office is a serious issue as far as I'm concerned...

Off for a little rest.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili Bear

Miscellaneous (not inspired for a title...)

2010-06-10T18:47:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Time just seems to fly by... It's been one month since I last posted!

I have some stitching to share, nothing seasonal though... Spring does not appeal to me. Nor summer. Go explain...

I have stitched this design by Lizzie Kate in memory of my beloved Phoebe who passed away almost one year ago. I gave her colours to the orange heart. I used to say that she was a heart stealer...

Phoebe loved comfy places, sleeping on our head, scrubbing our chins (and in particular, DH's lol!) with her head and she would talk to me for hours, through long glances and sweet meows... I miss her. This pic of her with a Xmas hat is a perfect introduction for this chap:

Isn't he the cutest reindeer ever? I love that he's shy. This is a design by Angel Stitching from JCS ornies 2009. I love Angel Stitching designs, they're cheerful. :D You can see the backing fabric, much in the same mood. I have slightly altered the design using different beads and adding a beaded star that follows the tree's movement towards the left. I have also added a stitched border and turned it into a small pillow.

Finally, this is my contribution to the Hallosal for June. This design was offered by Gen on her Board. It is quite large actually, and I have had a raw deal stitching one on one on this fabric (28 count but dark...). I'm a bit disappointed with the colours but they were my choices. If I had followed Gen's chart, it would've been more beautiful... I still have to add a bat button in the upper right corner.

Things are strange here. A few days ago, I have discovered that our daughter aged nine had lied to her teacher and to us in order to play truant. The teacher had decided to have the kids at school on a Wednesday morning, and Daphné just didn't want to go so she didn't give us the paper and she told the teacher that we were going to a concert on Tuesday night so she would be too tired to attend school. And nobody checked. And the kiddo stayed comfortably in bed then... Gosh, you can imagine how I felt about it when one of her classmates asked me if I had enjoyed the concert (unforgettable, kiddo...). Angry to DD, but also to the teacher! When my 14 year old does not attend a class, they call us; when my nine year old baby is in nature, nobody cares... She's been drastically punished (no video games for two weeks and more homework to do)... Can you imagine how I dread her teenage years? (((shivers)))

And now, here's a great plug, valid only until next Monday/Tuesday. You may know the talented French Designer Nathalie Cichon at Jardin Privé. Visit this page and create your own patchwork chart. All you have to do is type in the numbers in the grid, then click on actualiser, and then click on imprimer la grille. Enjoy! And don't forget that Nathalie also offers all her other designs in pdf so no need to wait, no shipping costs, piece of cake, piece of pie...

Second great plug? Visit this French site and click on Grilles Gratuites. There's a stunning new Tralala kitty freebie that I have already stitched...

That's it for now.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili Bear

It's raining cats and dogs

2010-05-11T19:07:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I wanted to show my babies, it's been quite some time since this pic was taken. It illustrates the sisters' love perfectly. They spend almost all their time together. Pudding, on the left, is now as tall and fit as her sister, Crumble, you could never tell she was the underfed, shy one. Well, except with strangers, that is...

We keep them indoors, only Luna is an outside cat, as she was used to it before we had her. I only feel good when the three are home. Fortunately, Luna is the stay-at-home kind, except when the weather is really warm and then she loves lying in the sun in the front garden. The tricky part is that she loves to walk the dog out with us, but will choose to walk on the street when she's as gray as the asphalt...

These three lady cats rule the house, and drive our Lord Euston mad. Here is proud Euston after a walk/crazy run.

Here's frustrated Euston after the infamous kitties have finished with him. He needs to squat his dad's lap then...

Oh and I also have this great pic of Euston playing hide and seek in the snowed in garden- and also munching some iced droppings of his, I think. His favourite winter game: find his droppings, launch them as high as possible, kick them, catch them, and finally eat them. Bon appetit...

By the way, this is still a stitching blog... I have stitched for winter lately:

Homespun Elegance, Snow Much Joy on 32 count Zweigart vintage, my choice of colours. Star charms are missing.

The Sampler Girl's freebie "my true love gave to me" with a few changes: a border added and little charm buttons too. 32 count Zweigart fein floba. The text is stitched with luscious silk I received for my birthday (can't remember the name, but thank you Sabine, I just love it), the rest is plain DMC.

Oh, and here's my contribution to the May Hallosal. 40 count coffee dyed linen, DMC 844, and a freebie by Primitive Betty. I left the date off.

Thank you for the kind messages you have left for my son. Many of you have advised a counselor, and I have tried the best I could to convince him, even with the help of our family physician. But he won't see one, doesn't want to.Doesn't want to try yoga to help him relax either. I have had him take some magnesium treatment, and that seems to help improve his mood.And I am super aware...
It may come as a surprise to you, my American and Australien friends, but around here in France, people who have a counselor are immediately considered as mentally ill and shown with disrespect. He is a victim of this prejudice.
I do have a counselor to try and find a way to cure my social phobia, but I never say "I have an appointement with my counselor". It would be a shame to admit my failures. So I say "I'm seeing my bald dwarf this afternoon". Quite an accurate description: he is very very small (less than five feet tall) and he is bald. I don't fear any transfer phenomenon with him, even as a father. Lol!

Time to sign off and prepare dinner here. I'll be back soon with more pics and stitching to share.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili Bear

I'm wicked?

2010-04-26T14:13:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I have a few things to show. You know that I belong to the Hallosal, a board where everything autumn and Halloween is very welcome.
I forgot to show my last months' contributions:

This is a freebie by Stitches'n Stones that I found there. I used my own mixture of threads. There was an accident with the overdyed threads when I ironed the k. Anyway, adds some charm to the design. Lol!

Here is a design by Prairie Schooler from the first JCS special Halloween. I simplified the design a little, leaving out the border and leaves.

Here's a little bit of spring too. The last Prairie Schooler Seasons from TGOS. Project started last summer... They're all done now. In a drawer, with almost all the rest of my stitching. Lol!

That's it for now. A couple of other things are finished and almost on their way to their recipients. Then I'll be able to show pictures. I'm waiting for the volcano's ash cloud to calm down as a lot of things seem to get lost or at least delayed at the moment...

The third and last term of school has begun and Daphné is doing OK. My teenage kiddo is worrying me because he is showing signs of depression. I find it hard to get help from the doctors. They seem to think this is not too preoccupying but as a mum, it's hard to see your child suffer and be so useless. And where is the border between the teenager's common sadness and the pathology?

I don't think I have the tools to be a good mother, being myself often depressed and phobic. I have doubts. I am a mountain of doubts.

Lili

A little bit of spring

2010-04-14T14:40:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Chouettalors freebie that you can find there (2nd page)

After a lovely week spent by the sea, with wonderful weather and lovely visits, we're back home and I'm eager to share some beautiful pics taken in Bretagne.

A crêperie sign. As far as I'm concerned, Bretagne is the place where pancakes are best.

In Quimper, the first Macaron maker. It's a beautiful, colourful town, with lots of architectural treasures.

By the sea.

The place reminded me of Côte d'Azur, still it's Bretagne. There was a house at the end of the path, and I so envy the people who have this beautiful sight all year long...

We had a wonderful time, spent to relax and visit, and hug and talk. Some things we have to make time for if we don't want to lose each other, don't you think?

While in Bretagne, in a condo with a lovely view on the beach, we spent every night watching a movie. Generally speaking, we're not into romance or comedy, but in action movies. But I want to advise the excellent "Atonement", based on Ian MacEwan's novel.

Here's a link to the Trailer though as often, I regret that this does not reflect very well the movie. We were very moved and this is one of those films that you never forget. They are few. The actresses (in particular Briony young and old) are wonderful.

Oh and -better late than never- I wanted to show this Saint Patrick's freebie so kindly offered by Paulette Stewart, the Plum Street Samplers Designer, on her blog.

Have a look at her Xmas hares. A must stitch...

I've been stitching too, but no pics or scans yet.

Each and every comment I have received on my last post has made my day. All the more as I don't write very often on this blog, nor take enough time to read your blogs, and I'm sometimes afraid you might think I don't care. So thanks a bunch for still coming here and taking the time to leave a comment.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers,

Lili Bear

Happy Easter... beyond the Sea

2010-04-02T16:34:00.001+02:00

A little bit of dreaming

A song,

And a pic of this By the Bay Needleart freebie dated March 7th, 2009. Still available on her delightful blog.

We're off for a week at the sea.

Have a wonderful Easter with your loved ones.

Hugs from Lili Bear

A chance to increase your stash and NOT feel guilty

2010-01-18T09:08:00.005+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

A la belle étoile by Tralala

You might like to try some French threads and designs (try Tralala). In this shop, the proceeds from sales until 19th Jan (French time so you need to hurry) are given to the Red Cross (la Croix Rouge) to help Haïti after this awful earthquake.
Shipment worldwide is 1.50 euros, quite cheap.
So if you want to indulge and do something good at the same time (meaning not feeling guilty for once because you increase your stash), just pay a visit there.
http://www.lefilatalie.com/
If you need help with the order, let me know, I will try to help.
Basically, when you have chosen a design (créateurs), a list of colors is listed -which you can buy if you want to. You can find the colors by alphabetical order under "les couleurs".
If you want a design, you need to click on "je commande" (I order). You need to do that on each page where you pick an item. The order form displays and you can go on purchasing clicking on "ajouter un article" (add an item). If you correct a quantity, you can have the order recalculated by clicking on "recalculer la commande".
You can pay by credit card, payment is secure.
I don't work for that shop, but I found this initiative for Haiti quite fabulous actually.

The pic above shows the design I have chosen (plus the threads for it). A big treat... :D

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Girly and gourmet

2010-01-13T14:05:00.005+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

It's been quite some time since I last wrote a post on this blog, and even longer since I last visited your blogs. How I miss that. Everyone's been sick and sick again and we're very tired. But the girls are doing fine as you can see.

We had a nice holiday time and now's the time for neverending winter. I don't remember ever having so many snowdays and I quite enjoy that, mainly because it's quiet and beautiful and I'm not the one who has to take the car everyday to go to work. But it also worries me a little, as if the movies we've seen lately were actually right at predicting the climate change and it would come faster than expected. Yup, I'm a very good spectator, cry and scream and laugh with all my heart, so no wonder I get worried... I should stop watching these movies and stick to horror films... Lol! Yes, these movies are painful, though. LOL!

I've changed the holiday decor into something very girly here, how do you like it? It's the perfect moment to show these Tralala (French designer) designs I have finished stitching last December. I used French thread by Atalie and enjoyed them. The designs are sold together, they're named Duo Gourmand (Gourmet Duet) and you can find them here.

And here is my January contribution to the Hallosal. It's a small pillow for needles. I can see now that the scan isn't very good, sorry about that.

It's a freebie by The Stitcherhood. I used 25 count evenweave that I hand dyed and Carries' Creations threads.

I'm off again,

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili Bear

Happy 2010!

2009-12-31T17:25:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

We're just a few hours from 2010 here in France (about six hours ahead of the US) and I want to wish you a very happy 2010 with my favourite cartoon characters.

Disney

2009 has been tough on many of us, but I will remember the great support I have found with my friends on the web. Thank you for always being there, you're part of my life just as if we had met for real and I cherish our friendship. This is my 2009 best memory.

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

I will also remember spending a wonderful Xmas with my loved ones.

The Peanuts by Charles Schultz

We've had wacky and fun moments. The kind of moments you live when you feel that life has to be light and fun if you want to stay sane.

Garfield by Jim Davis

I have loads of things to wish you for 2010. Whether it be a good job, a better health, or simply peace and love for you and your loved ones. I wish you what you need most with all my heart.

A New Year also means new resolutions. You know like losing weight or quit smoking. Or, for a cross stitch addict, having less wips. But you know what? Here's what I truly believe as far as stitching is concerned:

The rest is another subject I will not deal with for the moment. Lol!

Lots of hugs, my dear friends.

Lili Bear

Our Christmas home

2009-12-26T19:12:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Here's our Xmas home, as promised a few days ago... Sorry, this post is picture heavy... All pics are clickable.

These are my reindeer:

We have two Xmas trees and the smaller one was intended for cross stitched ornies, but Euston, our dog, loves munching them... I'll show you the result next time I take pics...

Near the small tree, my snowmen.

So that I had to place my stitched ornies there:

See the "all hearts come home forXmas" and the beautiful cards? They're presents from my beloved friend Margaret.
This is where I hide my stitching fabric and most stash (not really "hide" actually...) Lol!

And this wonderful fire place and Xmas tree?

Well, that's just my Xmas computer screen... Makes me dream...

That's it.

Thank you for all your kind, soothing messages. You're the most wonderful friends I have. I will try and visit your blogs soon, so much to see and crave upon...

Until then, hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A tale of two kitties

2009-12-23T19:55:00.003+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Because we were miserable after losing Pumpkin, because we love cats beyond reason, because the number of abandoned kittens is ever increasing, because the therapist would advise it, we have decided to contact a shelter in our town to give a home to a lonely cat.

At first, we intended to adopt only one kitten, but these sisters (yes, they're sisters! Almost unbelievable but true) were so cute and happy together, we have adopted both of them. With extremely friendly conditions from the part of the shelter and from the vet who very warmly recommended us to the shelter lady.

They'll be three months old on Xmas day. The tabby one is very thin and shy and her name is Pudding. She's adorable and loving, just needs to be reassured and she gives you all her love.

The grey one is bigger and her hair is longer and softer. She's also adventurous and incredibly trusting and loving. Her name is Crumble.

I wanted to name them Plum and Pudding (would've been perfect for the season) but we used to have a cat named Plum (though in French Prune) and my son didn't want to use the name again, even if in English.

Both pics were taken on Daphné's bed, their fav spot.

Daphné is feeling better, she's more peaceful, less sad.

I'm not a child, I'm still grieving Phoebe who passed away last July, and always will. Same for Pumpkin. Same for all the pets who have shared our lives and been fondly loved. Though I had doubts, the shelter lady said that even one day of love and good care was more than many cats ever get and she trusted us.

So here we are with three cats again, all female and loving and beloved. Now all I hope is that they live a very happy and long life. This is not all in our hands, but as always, we'll do our best.

Thank you for your kind messages, for sharing the sadness and being there.

I will try to make a new post before Xmas to show you our Xmas home. I know I probably won't have time to visit your blogs before Xmas though. And just in case you don't have time either, (time = luxury), I want to wish you

a very merry and peaceful Xmas, filled with love and cheer.

And as my current wip says (by Midsummer Night Designs):

At Christmas play and make good cheer,

for Christmas comes, but once a year.

Thomas Tusser.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers,

Lili

Grieving again

2009-12-19T22:52:00.005+01:00

After losing our beloved Phoebe last July, we had two cats left in our home: Pumpkin and Luna.

Here's Pumpkin. She was adopted from a shelter aged six months in October 2008. This morning, a neighbour rang at our door to say our cat was lying dead in the street. She had been hit by a car and as her face was not as it used to be, we had to check her tatoo to make sure she was Pumpkin as she had a twin in the neighbourhood. But it was Pumpkin, indeed.

We're devastated. Daphné, our nine year old daughter was her fav human in the world and when she was not outside hunting and playing, Pumpkin would spend all her time on Daphné's lap, and slept with her about every night. Actually, it's been difficult to find pics of her without my daughter.

Pumpkin was a fierce hunter, a fine hugger and a wonderful companion. She was playful and she would never ever use her claws or teeth on any human. She was the sweetest and kindest cat I'd ever met.

She was a good climber too.
When you have a cat, you have two options: let her out and pray that she doesn't have any accidents, or keep her indoors and deprive her from the natural joys a cat experiences in life. I have had both indoor and outdoor cats. My outdoor cats were undeniably happier. But the price to pay is high.
I don't regret that she was an outdoor cat, I regret that there was snow, that cars don't stop at the stop signs we have just at the corner of the house. I'm angry and sad.

And Luna, the hunter who taught everything to our Pumpkin, is the only cat in our home now. She's a little devil, always purring and talking and she has virtually destroyed every wallpaper in the house. Since this morning, Luna has been looking for her best friend in and outside, and meowed at me in dismay. This is heartbreaking.
Here's Luna, our fierce hunter in action.

For months, I have had nightmares in which Pumpkin died stuck in a window like our Salem, now I know that Luna will be the main character in my nightmares. This little lady loves me to bits, follows me very far when I go walking the dog with DH. She doesn't when I'm not there. I love her so much. Doesn't she have the most beautiful eyes?

Daphné is in denial. She is acting as if nothing had happened and I don't know what to do. I will take medical advice on monday. Our son learnt the news this morning at school from a friend who had seen her dead while his father was driving him to the college. How difficult it must have been... He has spent the morning hoping his friend was wrong...

I wish our kids wouldn't have to experience such sad and difficult things so early and so often. I don't know how to act. I have always said that love should be stronger than death, that life must go on, that you shouldn't stop loving for fear of losing your loved ones because a life without love would be far worse. Now I just don't know. I think I was wrong from the beginning. May be I shouldn't have taken another cat, she wouldn't be dead. And we wouldn't be sad.

I'm sorry to write this post, because I know some of you will be sad and I don't want to spoil the joy of the season. But you know, I need a cheer up. Seriously, I do need to tell you and read your comments.

Hugs my friends,

Lili

Miscellaneous - that's what happens when you don't post often enough...

2009-12-17T17:30:00.008+01:00

Ho Ho Ho Stitchers!

I have found a cute background for the Xmas season, and I just can't say how much I am enjoying this season.... I have lots of things to show: my house decorated for Xmas, the most beautiful gift from my dear friend Margaret, the exchange gift I have made for Barbara, as part of an exchange organized on a board... but my goldfish memory is in need of DH to upload the pics... Call me Dory -you know, the blue fish in "Finding Nemo"...

Yet, I have scanned a few thing, not all Xmassy. You probably recognize three of the four seasons by Prairie Schooler from TGOS magazine. I found them last summer in the to-stitch projects just before we left for our holiday and decided they would be a perfect summer project. So I started with summer, of course:

Then I intended to stitch the spring one with sheep but my mojo for spring was gone. I wanted to stitch winter, because my puppy's coat would glisten like snow in the sun and it was inspiring..

And last autumn was the season to stitch the autumn chart, that is also my contribution to the December Hallosal.

Oh, and here's one of my other contributions to the Hallosal, I don't think I have shown it here. It's Bent Creek's Cat O'lantern.

What next? Well, I have just finished my Spot of Xmas by Midnight Stitching.

And I have finished the Threadbasket's sal (see posts below for links) with Jardin Privé's lovely stocking. I have brought a few changes, because I intend to turn it into a real stocking for filling next Xmas. Daphné is clearly counting on finding some Daim caramel sweets in there... Lol! I have the fabric, just need the courage to deal with the finishing... (sorry the fabric is creased...).

Daphné and I have been sick for two weeks now, with ups and downs, but the virus is clearly nasty. We're extremely tired and nauseous -good thing for me to lose weight, but Daphné is already very thin, with possible tendencies to anorexy that we have to deal with -without showing our concern...

Corentin is doing OK. His teeth haven't changed colours so it's a good thing. Next appointment in January, and then March... We'll see.

OK. That's it for now. I just wanted to say thank you for reading me, for leaving comments in a hectic moment.

Enjoy the season, Ladies! Take time to sit and look and smell and feel Xmas and the special spirit that's filling us with joy.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Running in circles with reindeer

2009-12-03T18:19:00.003+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

A short message to say I'm sorry I haven't had time to blog lately. I really hope that things become less hectic soon so I can visit your blogs, see what you've been up to and say Hi.
Last event was my son's accident while playing football. His front teeth are very sore and the dentist says he might lose them in the mid term. He's 14 so there won't be any other teeth as we don't have any sharks in the family (though I have serious doubts but no proof. Lol!).

Lizzie Kate "it's a jingle out there"

His upper lip is sore and "inflated", and he's having big headaches. I had to go and pick him up from college in spite of the high doses of ibuprofene and antibiotics he receives. He needs to see the dentist almost every week to see how things evolve.

I don't know how working mums manage with their sick kids. I'm so admirative... I am totally unable to think of anything but my son and daughter and worry worry worry... Running in circles...

Rico designs

As you can see, I spend wonderful evenings running in circles with my reindeer friends...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T18:44:00.001+01:00

San Man Originals.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends!

French online shop offers free shipping worldwide

2009-11-20T09:38:00.005+01:00

Hi Stitchers!
Only today, November 20th, from 00.01 am to 23.59 pm French time. Beware, if you're in the US, you're about six hours late.
You will have to select "gratuit" on the first page, that is "free" when filling the order form.
Here's the address:

Des filles et une aiguille (girls and a needle: who's gonna win the one and only needle? Lol!)

I recommend their service. They're great.
Will post later but wanted to let you know asap.
Hugs to you all, Stitchers!
Lili

Jardin Privé, a long love story and a great sal

2009-11-10T14:57:00.009+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I didn't intend to write another post that fast, but a beautiful worthwhile sal has just started and if you want to be part of it, the fun is for NOW! It is a new sal by French designer Nathalie Cichon, aka Jardin Privé.

You can find her site there and she sells pdf files of her designs. On the left part, you can find adorable freebies in differents languages under the name "grilles gratuites".

Jardin privé (Private Garden) is getting famous worldwide (who doesn't know her Quaker Lady and her Quaker Gentleman? The Lady is even proposed with a cat instead of a flower on her blog!) and has a partnership with an American online needlework shop named The Threadbasket. There's a SAL there that started Nov 1st.

I haven't hesitated long and I'm in, with a fabric I didn't think I would ever use as it's DMC321 aida... and I'm having fun with every stitch. It's in four parts, and the first two have been issued.

I have also found out that my love story with Nathalie Cichon's designs is a few years old, as I have stitched this design that she offered on her site "Les Marottes de Nathalie" back in 2005. It was my first try with silks and one on one.

And this design, "aux fils du temps" was sold by A Mon Ami Pierre and Nathalie was the designer...

I was quite new at cross stitching at the time, so of course now I have a very critical eye on my NOEL and the threads you can see underneath... But hey, you gotta start and practice makes perfect...

Edit: I am also stitching her delightful "Douceur de Vivre" that I would translate into "La vie en rose"...

That's what I wanted to -quickly- share with you. I'm a fan... Gotta go now.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Fall projects

2009-11-09T09:06:00.003+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

First of all, I want to thank you for your kind comments that never fail to fill me with joy, and especially Diannthe who so kindly inquired about what I've been up to lately. Diannthe and I have very similar tastes and I've just found out that she and I had picked the same background (I think I did it unconsciously after she did). Lol! I love playing with backgrounds so I'll enjoy myself after writing this post... :D

Well, lately, I've been a lazy blogger but a very active cross stitcher. Though I wish I could do both, and I know people who are very good at it, I can't... I'm the kind of person who would get drowned in a puddle so you imagine with the kids off school, the bedroom repainted pink by courageous DH (I soooooooooooooo love my new bedroom!!!) and all the other rooms filled with things from my own bedroom (we don't have a spare room), well I was quite stressed out, believe it or not... Pathetic... Lol! Now that my aliens have gone back to school/work, things are more peaceful. I can breathe. Breathe, Lili. Breathe.

It smells of fallen leaves and wet earth here in Northern France. Here's JBW's Autumn Harvest. I have stitched it a few months ago (well, may be April or May) but haven't shown it yet. I stitch fall season all year long actually, as I'm part of the Hallosal. This is my August contribution to the SAL.

It is stitched on 25 count lugana, with from left to right Needle Necessities Witch's Brew, DMC fourty something, and Needle Necessities Vixen Red. The bird is Carrie's Creations black coffee. I would encourage everyone I know to try their hands at a JBW design. In fact, I think I have offered my best stitching friends at least one of those designs to stitch. And they have all loved it.

And this is my September-October contribution to the Hallosal. It's a big design according to the Hallosal standards, so I have decided to count it for two months.

And you sure recognize LHN's Autumn Harvest, that took me quite a long time to stitch, with a long pause that almost turned it into a UFO... I love it, but I must admit it was quite a boring project... I used the DMC threads the designer called for, and a French 32 count linen. A little stiff, which probably explains why it took me so long to finish it. A stiff fabric will really put me off stitching a design...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Is it Xmas yet?

2009-10-18T14:58:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

In France, after our three week summer vacation, we have no celebration to look forward to but Xmas. I must confess that I envy my American and Canadian friends who celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving while we wait for Xmas and it's looooooooooong... Lol!

Autumn is a wonderful season, with beautiful yellow light and beautiful leaves to kick in while walking, yet it's also dull sometimes, and minds become dull too.

That probably explains why I have stitched for Xmas so much, lately. Lol!
You probably recognize the JCS LHN ornament and its companion piece (same year but can't remember which). Originally, they were not companion pieces though, but I wanted them to be, so I have changed the cardinals' colour to fit the pear tree, and used the same thread colours (my own mix, as always) and fabric (32 count Zweigart Fein Floba evenweave).

I have also stitched my initials in red instead of green. I no longer sign my stitching, but I like to personalize it when possible... ;)))

Here's French stocking by JBW. I'd love to finish it into an ornie for my tree so we'll see if I do. I have stitched it quite a while ago and can't remember neither the fabric nor the thread used.

The kids will be off school next friday night for ten days and it's high time because the're exhausted. My son is obviously still sad after the loss of his teacher, he talked about him last week with my mother and his eyes were filled with tears. My proud, sensitive little guy won't talk with me because he thinks I'm too fragile. I'm glad he found my mum to talk to.

My daughter is still her old self. We should've named her Alcaline... She's a bundle of joy... so energetic and happy. :D

My Dh will also have a week off and we intend to redecorate our bedroom. It was... pink wallpaper and it will be... pink paint. DH loved it so much, he wanted to keep it pink. That's fine with me, I love pink. Lol! I just hope I'm able to help him because I've been under medication for a week now with a very painful back, and thing don't seem to improve at all. I might have to resort to injections. Not fun...

Thanks for your kind comments, I feel so happy when I read them. I know how precious time is, which makes your comments even more precious to me.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Celebrating?

2009-10-05T13:54:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Last week was one of those weeks you wish to forget about. My son turned 14 years old but he just didn't want to celebrate and he had good reasons: he had decided to attend his first funerals that very day. His technology teacher had just died of a massive attack. He was 46, he had a wife and a daughter aged 15. Everyone in his school was/is incredibly sad and the teacher will be awfully missed.

It's our daughter's turn to celebrate her birthday this week, next friday. Last year, we hadn't had the heart to celebrate because our dog, Jam, died that very day. I'm afraid 9th October will always be stained in my heart...

Yet good things also happened last week. I have enjoyed blogging again, reading your blogs and your nice comments. The weather was fine (fall has arrived today, for sure) and I was happy to be a stay-at-home mum to take care of my son, be there to listen when he needed to talk. And believe me, with a 14-year-old, you have to seize every opportunity... I felt I was needed and mums love being needed, even under such circumstances...

But still, it's important to celebrate, and I'm in the starting blocks for Xmas. I'm also in the starting blocks for Halloween and Fall but that's another story for another post. ;)))

No need to mention all the unfinished ornies I already have in that drawer, or the dog that will probably enjoy munching the tree branches and my stitched ornies, I don't wanna know. Lol!

This is Santa arrives tonight by Homespun Elegance. There are star charms missing but the rest is complete. I used a 28 count vintage Zweigart, and a combination of DMC and special threads that I have. The trees are green grass by Carrie's Creations and the snow is Polar Bear by Carrie's Creations.The reindeer is Cappuccino also by CC. The sheep are GAST unknown reference.

This one is a freebie by Rosewood Manor, kindly offered by Karen Kluba on her site. I think it's high time to point it out for those of you who haven't found it yet. Isn't it gorgeous? I mean, to me, every reindeer is gorgeous... But this one is... special. It's so elegant...

It's stitched on 32 count Zweigart evenweave with DMC threads, except for the metallic gold that is Madeira.

That's it for now.

Oh, btw, I had to reinstall the word control because of unpleasant spams I was receiving on my post about Phoebe's passing. Sorry because it makes commenting more tedious, but... that was too much for me. I'm talking dozens and dozens of very unpleasant spams on a particularly painful post... I hope it works...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Is summer really over yet?

2009-09-29T14:46:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Long time, no post. I think recent events in my life, and the flow of kindest comments I have received -even when my blog was totally neglected- will motivate me to feed this blog more.

Above all, I have missed sharing with you, and there are very special friends among you with whom there's no easy way to share otherwise. I also have more time on my hands, now, which feels pretty cool IMO.

I have had new commenters too, and I would love to point out this blog: The Ohio Farm Girl. I have sooo enjoyed taking a plunge into her lovely autumn home. She definitely deserves a visit and a nice comment, I think. ;)))

I will also update my links when I have more time, so you can discover Pilar's blog. It's written in Spanish (use your memories) but Pilar understands English very well and she does wonders. Say Hi, we all love it, don't we?

Enough talking, let's get to serious matters. A little stitching to share. Much more on the way...

Here's Little House Needleworks, Hannah Purrington, from the Dear Diary series. I have stitched it on 28 count cashel blue linen. I haven't added the key because I'm contemplating turning my favourite Dear Diary stitched designs into a quilt. Not sure yet.

And here's Brightneedle's Season Petites, the summer part. I reassure you: it was finished quite some time ago, and the autumn part is in the hoop. I wanted to stitch it along with seasons, and for the moment, I have stuck to the plan...

That's it for now. Gotta go. No time on my hands now: someone is finally coming to repair my garage door so I can park my car inside, as there's been a series of thefts in homes and cars in the neighbourhood lately. Gotta clean it up as I have no idea how the poor man will reach the door as it is... Shame on me...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Amazing Xmas designs by LHN, Workbasket and Swappons for the UNICEF

2009-09-01T14:36:00.007+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I just wanted to tell you that there's a wonderful initiative on this blog.

Little House Needleworks, The Workbasket and Sof' from Swappons have associated to offer three charts for Xmas. Two of them are brand new and especially designed for this special cause. All proceeds will go to the children via UNICEF.

Gigi Ries, a famous Belgian designer, speaks current English, everything is explained on her blog in English, Dutch and French, and you can pay through Paypal.
You can even choose to receive a pdf file for a very interesting price.
The charts are great, the cause worthy. Just go there and check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili the ghost ;)))

PS: If you could inform as many stitchers as possible on your blogs, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Plum Street Samplers' First Blogiversary Drawing

2009-07-19T12:34:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers!
Paulette, Plum Street Samplers' great designer, is having a drawing on her blog tomorrow. There are five charts to win, and you know how talented the Lady is...
Plus a new amazing complimentary chart on her blog.
Just go there and read today. And comment.
I never play but I couldn't resist that one...
Hugs!
Lili

Thank you

2009-07-10T17:24:00.003+02:00

for your sweet messages.
I am buried very deeply inside my shell at the moment, and have hardly been able to visit a few blogs.
I just gotta go back to my bedroom and wait for time to pass. Which is almost all I've been able to do since Phoebe passed away.
Fortunately, the kids are old enough to take care of themselves.
I use a huge amount of energy to just fake and let my DH and kids think everything's OK when nothing is.
I will have to come back to the living somehow, and better sooner than later.
Just can't right now.
I'm broken.

Phoebe's now at the Rainbow Bridge

2009-07-02T20:49:00.005+02:00

Phoebe, my feline twin, has passed away in my arms this afternoon. It took an instant, I don't think she had time to suffer. Thank you good fast driver. She was only five years old.

For those of you who have read this blog the last year, you know I have had three cats who passed away since 29th July 2008. That's too much for me. I'm devastated, sad and angry beyond repair.

The pain's beyond words.

Phoebe was the most special cat. She loved us in an incredible way. She was just all ours, spending all the time she could in our arms, always in contact with us. She would offer even her belly, every inch of her body to our hands. She was all trust with us, her beloved humans. And Jam, our golden who -also- passed away last October, was her best pet friend.

Yet she also was completely anguished and asocial with other cats. Just like I am with the humans who are not part of my little bubble. The two of us were completely connected, I understood her so well...

Our children are devastated, Daphné was there when it happened, poor baby.

This poem is helping us.

Edited 27th September 2009: I had to remove the Rainbow Bridge Poem as there were some key words that attracted spams of a shocking kind...

I am still grieving Phoebe and always will. But life is stronger than anything.

Thank you for the kind, loving and understanding comments you have left for this message.

Lots of love to you,

Lili

Boo!

2009-06-25T10:11:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

This is Halloween all year here, as I'm part of a very friendly SAL called the Hallosal. This is my June contribution.
It's a freebie that you can find there. The Stitcherhood is a great site, IMO. Many beautiful designs that you can order in pdf so no shipping charges. Great!

Oh! Pay a visit to Casey Buonaugurio's site! She has a new freebie there that every gourmet will want to stitch!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A quilt, a spell... and a rabbicat (no, not a rabid cat)

2009-06-23T14:51:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers and Quilters!

I have bookmarked this and could spend hours watching it. So if you have four minutes to spare and good loudspeakers on your computer, just watch this and get hypnotised by a quilt.

The hypnotising quilt

This cat is my fist attempt at sewing a stuffed animal and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I found the design in a French magazine named "Born to Quilt" and just couldn't resist.

Not everyone thinks it's a cat here as my DS and DD would call it a rabbit... I have offered this kitty to a dear friend of mine. And I clearly intend to sew more of those (with modified ears... Lol!). I'm hooked!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers and Quilters!

Lili

Tis the Season for Gardening... Fa la la la la...

2009-06-16T19:07:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

It's a beautiful day today and that's definitely something to celebrate so I have decided to write this short post to show some stitching and -hopefully- make you smile.

You do make me smile every time you leave a nice comment here. Thank you so much, Ladies.

Brightneedle's Season Petites, Spring.

32 count white Belfast.

Blackbird Designs Country House.

Stitched on 28 count light yellow Cashel linen. The threads used are Vaupel and Heilenbeck. This is cotton thread, non divisible and it has a waxy aspect. I like waxy aspect for threads so I decided to try on this small design. Not a success: the thread doesn't glide easily through the fabric and besides, tends to tangle a lot. A nice try but I won't invest in those. Actually, I prefer DMC's linen threads.
I changed the colours a bit as I wanted the heart pink instead of green (though I love green) and the backstitch around the heart is white but it's not very obvious on the scan. Isn't more obvious in real...

LHN's Gardening

It's a semi kit that I have stitched on the same 28 count Cashel linen as above. But I really had to change the "yellow" colour that was provided as it was more brownish than yellow. You could not even tell between the lady's hat and her hair! I used Ohio Lemon Pie by GAST instead.

And here's something to make you smile.

Euston is a keen gardener, digging holes and eating all the flowers in our back garden. Only the pricky rose bush has made it until now... The cats (grey is Luna and black is Pumpkin) are his great passion.

I also think he has a real hunter's instinct. Lol!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A Plum Street Samplers Addict

2009-05-27T11:01:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I wanted to share these lovely designs by Paulette Stewart, Plum Street Sampler's soul, one of my fav designers... How can I tell? Well, I have quite a few of her designs as wips and just can't pick anything new that's not PSS... Lol! But I try hard, so I'll show you something that's not PSS soon... Lol!

These ones are freebies (thank you for these lovely gifts, Paulette) found on her blog. I have used Zweigart marbled pink fabric, 28 count. I'm very happy with this choice. I'd found this fabric on discount at my LNS and thought I might eventually someday perhaps use it... and these cute designs were perfect for it (IMO).

This one was for Easter, I left the Happy Easter out so I can display it all year long if I want to....

This one was for Mother's Day in the US. In France, we'll celebrate that next 7th June -much later than in other countries. I haven't stitched the date but kept the text. After long hesitations. I loathe Mothers' Day as my parents used to fight a lot every year at the same period, and they still do. Thirty years later, I still feel very uncomfortable this time of year and find it hard to celebrate it. Actually, I didn't last year -which makes me a very naughty daughter- and won't this year nor any other year...

But "Good Day for You" could be said any day, couldn't it? And yet, you know, it is this mother-children aspect that I find so appealing in these designs. I love the relationship, just don't see the point to celebrate it. I'm working on it, though...

I still need to stitch one or two of Paulette's hares' designs, and then I'll make it all into a small quilt to hang on a wall.

I could say a lot about Plum Street Samplers.
"Christmas Tea" started the addiction... (wip)
"Free Birds" reminds me of Gangs of New York, it makes me dream.
"Love Notes" is a cute message that I soooooooooo love. I'm stitching the French design in it for my DD. Paulette made me feel very special with this design as she credited me for the translation of this "Je t'aime de tout mon coeur", "I love you with all my heart", at the back of her leaflet, and even offered it to me with a few kind words written on it. I could never part from it...
"A sweeter Love" is so beautiful, I just had to have it.
"Fruit of the Spirit", oh I love it...
And there's "Salem's Sisters" and its companion chart, very Halloweeny, with a vintage feel. I love them.
"The Exhumeplary Collection" is special for me. These are the designs I like to stitch when I learn a bad news. They collect my angry sad feelings and they help me feel better. At the same time, my other projects are not "stained" with those feelings. It's hard to explain.
I could go on and on but I think I'm losing you. If you want to see what I'm talking about (as seeing is best), have a look there.

How could I resist?

Hugs to you all, Stitchers.

Lili

A Good Deal for French Designs Lovers

2009-05-26T09:03:00.005+02:00

Hi Stitchers!
Just a small piece of information. This French shop is celebrating its first anniversary. No shipping charges worldwide today and until 27th May midnight (French time).
They're serious and fast.
Their site is a treat. It's in France so threads are very pricy. But for those who would like to try French designers...
http://www.desfillesetuneaiguille.com/epages/210375.sf
If you buy from them, you'll have to select Mode de Livraison, Gratuit.
Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Meet Euston!

2009-05-15T09:23:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I'd like to introduce our new puppy, Euston, named after Euston station in London (ring a bell? I'm a Paddington fan). In France, dogs born this year should have a name starting with an E. So that was it.

Euston is an English setter. Seven months ago, we lost our golden retriever and we thought we wouldn't have another dog. But little by little, we realized we missed having a dog. And I do need "someone" to go out with me or I'll just stay indoors (phobia). So Euston is some sort of therapeutic dog.
We have chosen to not have another retriever for the moment, because we would have been prone to comparisons and that would have been unfair for the puppy, so we made some research and found that a setter would fit well in our family.

That's his mum, Texane.

And that's his dad, Vasco.

Euston joined our family last friday and he is quite clever as far as I can tell. You know, the little signs like trying to find other doors to enter the house from the garden, watching TV with us, sitting when told (already!)...

It does take time to have a well educated dog, but I think he is promising.

Now, let's talk about stitching. I have dozens of things to show and I've been so lazy with blogging lately...

This one on one design is from a French book called "Miniatures au Point de Croix" by Françoise Prax. I think that you can buy it on Amazon since I have bought it there and I have access to almost every US or British book through Amazon France. It's all small designs in red. This one is stitched on 25 count lugana with DMC variations.

These love birds are a freebie by Plum Street Samplers that you can find here. Paulette is the sweetest designer I know. And I'm a total fan of her designs so you can expect to see other ones on this blog soon. I have used two complementary threads by House of Embroidery named Peacock. They're a pleasure to work with. I have changed the birds' beaks and decided to stitch the hearts inside the birds in the colour of the other bird (I'm not very clear, I know) to symbolize the fact that my DH owns my heart and I own his.

That's DH and Euston, my two Pisces. Think they will get along?

Time for me to go. But before I do, I want to send a million hugs to my friends who still follow this blog in spite of the very few posts I make. I'll be back soon.

Lili

Spring time

2009-04-07T13:01:00.004+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

First of all, I want to thank Margaret who has kindly given me this award -though I clearly don't deserve it... One post a month doesn't make me a keen blogger indeed... But I'm very happy nonetheless. Margaret is very dear to me and I can only advise that you go and visit her blog.
I know I'm supposed to list a few blogs too but I guess many of you have received it already. And I love so many blogs. So you who are reading this poor neglected blog, just know that I am sharing this award with you.

Margaret is also the stitcher who made me discover Homespun Elegance and kindly offered me this design: Delivering Flowers. I just sooooo loved stitching it. It was finished almost as soon as I received it but I'd never taken a pic before. It suddenly occured to me that this spring decoration HAD TO appear on my blog so Margaret could see it. I've added the small ewe button, and you can see the fabric I used for the back of the pillow. I used Needle Necessities threads mainly. On the right, you can see a pair of old scissors that my father found in the middle of old fishing items (antiques that he collects). The silver thimble was offered to my mother by her godmother who died very young. This is the only souvenir we have of her.

This small pillow is the gift I stitched for my DD, Daphné (8) for Valentine's day. It's a freebie kindly offered by Gigi. Perhaps you've read the article about her in the March issue of The Gift of Stitching. Daphné really loved the Ewe/you pun and she's using it as a pillow for her favourite plush elephant -meaning that she sleeps with it. Quite a success... You can see the backing fabric under.

I know some of you have wondered why I was so quiet. We've been under the weather lately with Daphné's heart being a real cause of worry. It's getting better now.
One of my grandmothers is receiving heavy treatment (dialysis 3-4 times a week) in order to keep her alive. I just don't understand why she wants to live like that at 94... Survive would be a more appropriate word. Yet this is what she wants. And let me tell you this is heartbreaking...
When difficult things happen, some people feel the need to share in order to lighten their burden, some just need to go back into their shell. I am one of those shell inhabitants. Only a few shellseekers knew what happened. You know who you are. Thank you.

I'm off now.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A pumpkin in a tree

2009-03-04T17:36:00.003+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Here's a pic of Pumpkin in the willow in my rear garden. She's about ten months and the nicest devil...

I've stitched lately, but not as much as I'd like.
Yet, as I am only in one SAL (er, two if you consider the thread bin), I've been able to stick to my schedule.

Here's my Halloween tree with the four designs stitched AND finished until now. The Hallosal started last November and will end next October.

At the bottom of my Hallotree, you can see the witch's feet, they're by La-D-Da from JCS special Halloween. I just changed the green legs for funny long socks...
On the left two freebies. The cat is by Homespun elegance. See their site.
The Boo Pumpkin is by Primitive Betty. On her site too. I have stitched it in tent stitch with two strands over one thread of fabric (25 count lugana distressed with coffee). Quite good with Primitive style, but the fabric ends up out of shape (which I was able to cure with good ironing and stretching).
That was a try before starting Brenda Keye's New England Sampler: the designer says it should be stitched in half cross stitch on the same 25 count fabric. I don't think I will.
On the right is Lizzie Kate's Booster Club Member, not complete for size purpose.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Vanished?

2009-02-24T18:35:00.002+01:00

Not really. But life's been hard on me lately.
I have another blog, in French. It's not about stitching. It's a mess, a melting pot, something unconventional. I need that. And it's not about me.
I'm still stitching but haven't got pics to show.
Still reading your blogs but not always commenting.
Thank you for your kind comments. I see some of you still visit this blog. This makes me very happy.
I don't want to promise anything, but perhaps I might eventually end up posting here about cross stitch someday may be... Lol!
Hugs!
Lili

It's cold out here...

2009-01-11T19:08:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

It's cold out here Ladies... It's been cold for days and it had been a long time (years) since we'd had a real winter weather. I won't complain then...

So I found that some seasonal stitching would fit the general feeling. It's not even snowing: it's freezing. We have tiny little ice flakes falling once in a while, and it's so beautiful in the sun.
Yes, it's sunny and our house is filled with sunlight from 10 am to 4.30 pm. This is the very reason why I chose this house and no other...

San man originals. Freebie retired.

This one is stitched on marbled blue aida and I just love all the pink colours. I think I should display it on Valentine's day with all its hearts... Unfortunately, it seems that San Man originals have ceased business? What a loss for us, stitchers...

Edited:Please have a look at the comments. Looks like San Man Originals is still in business, with new patterns to be found at Patterns Online this year. Isn't it great news? It's weird because their home page says "closed, sorry" but I have checked and there are wonders there indeed! Thanks for the plug, Michele and Roxymoron!

And this is the Val's Stuff freebie that my daughter calls my "snow pudding". Don't ask...

You can find it in the newsletter here. But hurry because it's the October newsletter and we're in January...
I have finished it into a small bag filled with stuffing for Xmas. Now it's flat (if I turn all my ornies or littles into pillows, there won't be any place left in the house in a couple of years... Lol!) and has joined my other Xmas ornies.

We're doing fine here. We're enjoying the Xmas gifts we got: stitching stuff, books and games like Lips. I love singing -yet nobody likes it when I sing... Anyway, I have fun and we all need a little fun sometimes.

Sharon, the kids essentially got books, cards and games for Xmas. Basically, when they don't play videogames, they read. Quiet kids. At least my son is a quiet guy. Because my DD will never stop talking or moving whatever she's doing. She even speaks when she sleeps... This is kind of a mystery to me but I can tell that she takes after her father. This is undeniable... Lol! Yet she doesn't want to practice sports (which would help to "tire" her a little) as rules drive her mad. She has to respect them during all school time so she wants to be able to do what she wants the rest of the time. I can understand about the rules...

Gotta go and prepare that darn dinner. I'm soooooooo fed up with planning those everyday meals. Aren't you?

Thanks for all the kind comments you left here.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Happy new Year!

2008-12-31T14:48:00.002+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Say Goodbye to Santa and his bodyguard reindeer,

Say goodbye to our good old traditional reindeer (I love reindeer).

Say goodbye to this abundance of gifts, (she's a lion at the Sydney zoo),

Welcome winter, the looong rest of it.

Welcome 2009.

I wish you and yours a very happy and healthy 2009, may some of your dreams fulfill (but keep some for the years to come). I hope you have it all peaceful and filled with love. I hope you find as much pleasure as I have in stitching and reading your blogs.

Thank you for being there in 2008, especially when things went wrong and you were there.

Many many special New Year's Eve hugs to you all, Stitchers.

Lili

A recipe for a wonderful holiday

2008-12-28T17:40:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers,

JBW Xmas tree

First a Xmas tree,

Lizzie Kate's freebie Peace Joy Love found here

Add Peace, Joy and Love,

Yule Rejoice by primrose needleworks, JCS 2008

And Yule rejoice...

I hope you had a great Xmas. We sure did and are now enjoying a well deserved holiday break until 5th January. Yummy... I just wish my good old migraines would forget about me as they come and go with one day break in between three day crises. Not cool... I can't stitch much, need to rest a lot as a consequence... Fortunately, DH has many games to play with... And the kids are having a great time too with their new books, games, cards all mixed with visits from their friends. This house is filled with life and laughter, and I sooo love it.

My personal Santa has awfully spoilt me: several pairs of embroidery scissors (that makes about fifteen pairs as I collect them eagerly), the whole collection of Cottage colors by Crescent Colours (so sweet) and lots of Carrie's Creations Threads...

I have also received wonderful gifts from blogging friends (which specially touched me as I'm quite absent from their blogs at the moment) and patchworks fabrics that might become another passion if I'm not careful enough... Lol!

I hope you enjoy the season as much as I do.

I have received the kindest comments from new visitors, and I thank you so much. I'll come and visit your blogs soon.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-12-22T16:04:00.004+01:00

Feathered Friends by Lynn Bywaters

Annalee Waite Designs and Midnight Stitching

2008-12-22T16:00:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!Here's my interpretation of a freebie (no link, sorry) by Annalee Waite Designs. I have replaced the DMC 680 with gold petite beads, and added a star on top. It is stitched on 32 count cream evenweave. Fun and fast. I still need to figure out how to finish it.
Mon interprétation d'un freebie de Annalee Waite Designs (je ne le retrouve plus sur le web, désolée). J'ai remplacé les croix en DMC 680 par des petites perles couleur or et ajouté une étoile au sommet. Je dois encore trouver une finition qui le mette en valeur parce qu'il est un peu tristounet, je trouve.

Midnight Stitching: a beautiful name for beautiful and pleasant designs.
Un joli nom, Broderie de Minuit, pour des modèles bien sympa et agréables à réaliser.

A Spot of Halloween by Midnight Stitching.

Les sorcières du Hallosal apprécieront celui-ci... Réalisé sur de l'aida DMC orange hideux mais parfaite pour Halloween... Avec du DMC 310 tout simple.

A Spot of Christmas by Midnight Stitching.

And some more seasonal stitching here... Stitched on 32 count Zweigart cream evenweave, using Needle necessities/Threaworx threads. I'm changing the design a bit: why stitch the stars with green for instance? Sorry but it doesn't make sense to me...
Et une broderie plus de saison... en cours... Sur de la toile 12 fils Zweigart, brodée avec des fils Needle Necessities/Threadworx. Je modifie un peu le modèle d'origine: les étoiles en jaune au lieu du vert par exemple...

A big huge thank you to all the stitchers who have kindly left a comment here: you've made my day.
Un grand merci à celles qui ont eu la gentillesse de me laisser un commentaire.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!
Bisous!

Lili

Edit: This post was started eleven days ago, and I forgot to change the date today when I finished it -as sweet Barbara kindly pointed... I have posted it today, 22/12/08 at 4 pm actually... Sorry for the trouble...
Edit: J'avais commencé cet article il y a onze jours et j'ai oublié de corriger la date en le terminant et en le publiant aujourd'hui, 22/12/08 à 16h... Désolée...

Baking and Quilting with the Cat

2008-12-11T08:45:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Three finishes that were a lot of fun!

Baking by Little House Needleworks (Little Women Threadpack).

This Baking design made me decide to not stitch the four little women on the same fabric.
C'est ce modèle qui m'a décidée à ne pas broder les quatre de la série sur la même toile.

Quilting by Little House Needleworks (Little Women Threadpack).

And JBW's Country Cat.

I had a lot of fun with the three of them.
Je me suis bien éclatée avec les trois.

I'm away from the puter most of the time due to poor health: my gran's first, and now it's mine... This will not be lethal for me, but I don't believe my gran will make it this time.
Je blogue peu (à part le HalloSal) pour des raisons de santé. Moi, je vais m'en sortir; mais pour ma grand-mère qui est hospitalisée pour insuffisance rénale sévère, et à qui je ne peux plus rendre visite depuis quelques jours en raison de mon syndrôme grippal, ça sent le roussi... Ainsi va la vie.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!
Bisous!

Lili

HalloSal Part One

2008-11-30T17:40:00.003+01:00

Hi Stitchers!
I'm stitching away these days, and knitting and sewing...
I have decided to take part in a sal too. It is organized by Lune d'automne. Basically, it's as simple as a Xmas SAL where you have to show one ornie you have completed every month. Here, we're just dealing with Halloween ornies instead...
There is a forum set up for this special occasion. Everyone is welcome, so why not join us? I know some of you are fond of Halloween stitching... The rule (flexible) is that you have to show your ornie between the 15th and 30th of each month. The ornie can be stitched, sewn, quilted...

Here is my first contribution:It is a freebie by Homespun Elegance that you can find here. It's stitched on 30 count raw linen with GAST fibers. I haven't stitched the "fall" word from the original design as I thought it would look more Halloweeny without.

I have finished it as a small bag. It's more convenient to store them throughout the year than pillows or cushions and I just have to stuff them a little when I want to display them... On the right, you can see the fabric I used for the backing. Sorry, it's a little crushed...

OK, I'm off to the forum to post this first ornie. Don't forget to pay us a visit : click on the line that says "Pour montrer vos pendouilles, c'est ici". And for design inspiration (freebies), click on "Ca peut aider".

If you want to take part, leave a message on Lune d'Automne / Gencat's blog. She speaks English. I can help too if need be.

I'm still reading your blogs, though less regularly... You're doing wonders...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A wonderful design by the Sampler Girl

2008-11-13T20:07:00.003+01:00

Offered for a limited time only. Go to this address:
http://www.patternmart.com/
It is by The Sampler Girl and is named Hannah's Spot.

Also pay a visit to her site.

And her blog.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Halloween

2008-10-31T10:22:00.002+01:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Chrisssstmasssss...

2008-10-28T12:50:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers,

IMO, JCS ornaments 2008 is a good mag. I mean -compared to the 2006 or 2007 issues- there are more things I want to stitch.

Here is M Design's "Bluebird of Christmas Happiness". Doesn't he look american with these colours? I have changed the DMC references for overdyed threads: it's more fun... Only the flakes are missing, it's because I always procrastinate when it comes to using metallic thread... I have stitched it on blue marbled 32 count evenweave. The holy is missing but it's something hard to find around here. I'll go to my LNS soon.

And this is my start on Primrose Needleworks' "Yule rejoice" (you'll rejoice, sounds cool to me). I am using 32 count Zweigart raw linen. As usual, I'm using my own range of colours...

This a a JBW design, one of their many Xmas trees. I really love this one and I have decided to stitch it twice.

This one is stitched on 22 count Zweigart Lugana with silver thread in it. I'm using two strands of DMC on one thread of fabric.

This one is stitched two on two on pearlescent 32 count evenweave, brand unknown. I'm also using DMC, but it's a different shade.I really enjoy those JBW designs. They're really pleasant to stitch and the result in real is very beautiful...

I would also like to give you a link towards this French online shop called Des filles et une aiguille (Girls and a needle) that sells worlwide and is currently offering beautiful freebies (click on Grilles Gratuites). The one with the Xmas fairy is definitely a must-stitch.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Explanations

2008-10-28T11:11:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers and cat lovers.

I guess this would be a better introduction to my posts as I have had comments from cat lovers who don't stitch and you deserve a Hi as well, don't you? You've all been wonderfully kind and understanding, and you've really cheered me up -which seemed helpless. You are amazing, all of you who stopped here, some of you even have subscribed to Blogger simply to leave me a cheerful message. This is so sweet. I don't know how to thank you -all of you.

See the picture? This is scary (but hey, Halloween will soon be there) but don't worry for the horse: she was freed thanks to a chainsaw (that was close. Poor horse...) Do you think she's been too curious? Or that she just didn't want to see something? Your choice. I will project my own feelings and say that she's playing the ostrich.

I don't know how I could not see the truth about Sirius. I will give some explanations in this post and leave the subject. I mean, life goes on. It has to.

I know why DH has hidden the truth from me: he wanted to protect me. This sounds weird, but he had to bring me back to life after Salem's death in the deadly window, and that was a raw deal for all of us. I was completely broken and it took me a long long time to stop mourning Salem (wrong: "to be able to control my feelings" is more adecuate as I will never stop mourning him). When DH found Sirius, he panicked. No other word to express that. He feared I would not be able to stand it, and feared for my mental health. Perhaps for my life. That's how anxious he is about me and I'm not proud of it because if I had been stronger, he would have told me the truth. And we would have dealt with it all together.

So he did what he did. He thought of the best way to hide that Sirius was dead, and found that was it. I'm not excusing him, I'm just explaining. Afterwards, he told my son how ashamed he felt, and I had him swear that he would never ever again do such a thing as he tortured me and the thought of my Sirius's body left like that is another torture. I had to say that "it's just a cat". Something I hate to say but let's face it: I have a wonderful family, I'm not going to commit suicide because my cat is dead.
He is in my heart forever though.

My next post will be about Christmas stitching. More cheerful and something nice to look forward to (we don't have Thanksgiving in France so this is our next celebration and it feels so far away from now...).
Many many thankful hugs to all of you,

Lili

Sirius is dead

2008-10-21T18:30:00.003+02:00

How would you feel if you were in my place? I have just found out -accidentally- that my husband (can't call him DH, he's not dear to me right now) knew Sirius wad dead a couple of days after my kitty disappeared, on 30th September. He found his dead body near our car, all cold. And disposed of his body secretly. "Disposed of" is a euphemism: my beloved husband threw his body on the side of a road. And let it rot. Like a rat. For Christ's sake!!!

And all along, since that day, he has hidden the truth from me and our kids. I know he wanted to protect us but I feel so betrayed. He knew all along, he let my son and his friends place posters in town, he let me go to the nearby park and call Sirius night and day since then.

Last friday, I had a phone call from a woman who thought she'd found my cat. I had little hope of finding him then but went to check, just in case. The cat was not mine -though quite similar- but he was obviously very ill. So ill that I took him to the vet's and he was put down right away. This was hard. And if DH hadn't hidden the truth from me, I wouldn't have had to live that. And I cound have stopped hoping that Sirius would be back someday, and start to accept the truth and grieve him just as he deserved. Obviously, Sirius deserved only a rat's funeral for my husband. This is probably the worst part of it. That he did get rid of him like that to try and protect me. Because he thought I had grieved enough for Salem. What kind of twisted mind is that?

Remember my post about poisoning hope? Scroll down, it's not far. I have sent it to him at work, together with a comment: think carefully of what you should tell me. Even then, he refused to say it. We've had a terrible scene. I hope the vision of my Sirius rotting, eaten by all sorts of bugs, will haunt his soul forever.

I don't need that kind of protection, never did and never will. I feel so betrayed, so deceived, so angry, so sad. Empty.

Auuuutummmnnn

2008-10-20T11:27:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Here is my amazing progress on LHN's Autumn Harvest. What progress? I have continued the house... All right, but why such a slow progress on this lovely design? It's because of Lune d'Automne. You see, she designed this freebie and I couldn't resist. I have used the same 30 count fabric as for LHN's Autumn Harvest, and stitched it with great pleasure. Oh, and I omitted the welcome word too. Thank you, Gencat!

And there's also this design by Midnight Stitching. It's fun too! Despite the ugly orange colour of this 14 count aida, and despite the use of plain old black DMC, it's fun...

And have you seen this Plum Street Samplers freebie? I love it! I knew I had to stitch it as soon as I saw it... I'm stitching it with a more Halloweeny/Sweeney mood than it was originally intended for. Here's the first progress pic. I'm using 36 count Zweigart Edinburgh linen, and one strand of Carrie's Creations Hearts on Fire.

And there's also Christmas stitching. Last year, I hardly stitched for Xmas, but this year, I feel it will be different...

Thank you for your suggestions. Diane, I think your idea is just great and would suit my poor abilities at finishing. I'll show a pic as soon as I have done them. Thank you so much, to you Diane, and to all of you who left a comment here.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

How do I finish those hearts?

2008-10-16T12:47:00.008+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Last Christmas (I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away... la la la...).

How come I can never say these two words and not start to sing George Michael's song?

Let's start again (are you singing it too now?).
Last Christmas, my sil asked me if I could stitch some hearts that she would hang in her X-mas tree this year. Of course, I said yes. And here are the six ones I have done. Now, I'm bored enough with this heart design, thanks... She'll get six. This is a design from an old French mag called "Point de croix Magazine".

They're all the same size, stitched on 14 count aida and I have a big problem: I don't know how to finish them...

The aida (Zweigart) is not too stiff, but it's not a good fabric to stitch with. I mean, I've never sewn a heart shape well, so I don't see how I can do it?
I have several options:
a- I sew them as small square cushions (but what do I use to stuff them? There are holes in aida so the white stuffing will show...)
b- I backstitch a line around each of them (fastidious...) and sew them like when you do a biscornu. Same problem with the stuffing. And then, should I use beads? That might seem weird with this folksy design...
c- I cut squares around the hearts, fray the edges and fix the hearts on thick cream felt (pray that I can find some. And still, there's that aida hole problem). But how do I fix them? Glu? I hate using glu, it's dirty.
d- I sit down and cry and then I throw them all in the bin.
e- You have a great idea, you save my life and I am forever acknowledging...

I don't have that much time until we decorate trees... So, although I have another post ready with seasonal (autumn) stitching, I am giving this crucial finishing issue high priority...

Thanks in advance for your help and hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Breast cancer and Pumpkin

2008-10-16T09:47:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

As a breast cancer survivor, Cathey, my fav Pumpkin, has a great project. I will take part in it as I have close relatives touched by this nasty, infamous crab. I also know bloggers involved and if they want to enter this action, I know Cathey will be thrilled.

Go have a look there, I think you'll love the idea as much as I do.

http://pumpkinpatchandco.blogspot.com/2008/10/all-points-bulletin.html

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

The Hours

2008-10-14T18:22:00.005+02:00

Hi Stitchers,

First of all, I want to thank everyone of you who have stopped by and left a comment on my last post. You have really helped cheer me up, you have shown so much understanding, found the right words... There are some of you that I can't thank personally because I don't have a link to your blogs (Matsouille, Christine, thank you).

Have you seen this 2002 film? I think it got 9 Oscars but I'm not too sure. This is not the point here anyway.
This is one of my fav films ever. If you want a good idea of it, see the link here.
Although I am a very keen cinephile, I don't talk about them very often on this blog. But there are some that are so thought-provoking, some films that can reflect the point you have reached in your life. And this film (originally, it was the title of Virginia Woolfe's Mrs Dalloway) is one of them.
Basically, at every stage of my life, I happen to think that I'm close to one of these three women. Generally speaking, I feel I'm the stay-at-home mum stuck in a life that she's not even good at (and it doesn't seem to require so many abilities, but it does). Sometimes, I'm the woman who spends her life taking care of others and finally forgets that she exists. And in the worst moments, I am that writer, so struck by melancholy, so stuck in her destructive mind, I am Virginia Woolfe who finally drowns herself (shit, I can't do that, I can swim)... Lol!

I have chosen a pic of her in the film to fit my profile. I was fed up with the stitched heart. And Sweeney Todd's pic (a much beloved film by my favourite storyteller, Mr Tim Burton) looked a bit awkward when commenting on babies' births and stitching... Sweeney is a great character too. He's so angry that he destroys everything around him, and life is making me angry these days. This is the reverse side of sadness.

There's a famous quote by a French philosopher named Jean-Paul Sartre: "L'enfer, c'est les autres". That can be translated like that: Hell is the others. This quote aims at the others' look upon you, on their judgement of you as a person. That is poisonous as they don't know you.
A famous French Writer named George Bernanos said: "Les autres, hélas, c'est nous". Meaning, that basically, we, ourselves, are the others. And here's the philosophical trick (very basic, I've always been a bad philosopher): I am my own hell. Indeed, I am.
Whose hell are you?

The Rainbow Bridge

2008-10-09T23:00:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Remember I finished my last post with a "unless anything worse happens"? Well, it has. Our dog, Jam, had to be put down this afternoon. He couldn't get up without help, kept falling in awkward positions, he was just too weak to go on.

Granpa Jam is at the Rainbow Bridge.

Jam had just turned 14 years old late september and he was a great dog.

If you want to know how Jam was, you could read John Grogan's excellent novel "Marley and Me" because Jam was all a retriever can be. He was "a cream" said the vet. You could do anything to him, he would never show fear (except for thunder and similar noises), anger or even impatience. Jam arrived in our lives one year before our son was born. Somehow I think that he gave me the motherly instinct that made it possible to finally conceive a child.

The first time he met our son, he litterally jumped when he realised that this smelly little thing could move! Then he went to pick his tennis ball and placed it on our baby's legs. For weeks, he would keep pushing the ball on Corentin's lap, inviting him to play.

During summers, we used to go camping near rivers with him, because dogs are not allowed on many beaches. Jam was a great swimmer and he had a mission: he took himself for a water shepherd. Everyone in the family was closely looked after and if one of us went too far, he would come to bring us back to the beach. It was not that funny actually: he had deadly claws... but he loved us, unconditionally. And we loved him the same exact way.

These two pictures were taken during the last holidays he spent with us in 2005: he was almost 11. Didn't he look fit and young? Except for the white mask that is... In the last three years, we had to go on holiday without him because he could not handle swimming anymore, but he just wouldn't accept that fact. Our silly granpa would have drowned. Besides, he could no longer take long walks: the end of our street was his limit. He would spend his holidays with my brother, his wife and their cat. They got along very well and Jam was so spoiled there that I have sometimes doubted whether he would have chosen them as masters if he could.

Jam loved eating more than anything else. He would empty our bin of all food, carefully discarding teabags. But he could also eat a wrapped cake and "give it back" two or three days later, still wrapped... He has stolen countless cakes from our kids, learning very fast that "you're not hungry anymore?" to our children meant "biscuit" for him!!! "Biscuit" was his favourite word in fact and it drove him mad. Some people tried to avoid the word and say "something" instead but he quickly discovered the trick too. Jam had a great vocabulary. I'm not kidding, he knew very well the following words (apart from commanding words like sit, stay and all): biscuit, jogging, lake, river, something, your master, your mistress, the cat, the ball, my brother's name and his wife's, go for a walk (promenade), and I'm sure I'm forgetting some. But in the last year, he was definitely deaf. If the magical B word didn't work, you could be sure that he simply couldn't hear you...

Jam loved everybody. Every visitor was offered a shoe (never the right size) and we had to tidy the house several times a day or we wouldn't have been able to walk in this sea of shoes... our shoes... I only have one doubt with the rabbit Daphné had in her classroom! I never could decide if he loved him as a mate or as possible food... hence the cage...

Jam didn't know he was a retriever though, that is, a bad guardian and a good hunter. He thought he had to be the guardian of the house. One night, DH forgot to lock the front door. We were awaken by Jam's growls and heard the door close. Dressed in my pink nightgown (all he could find), DH rushed outside and kicked the ass of a drunken man who intended to squat inside the house -said he. No need to say how much we appreciated Jam's vigilance...

I had promised myself that I would give Jam the In Memoriam he deserved, a happy one that would reflect the great memories, and all the goodness, love, loyalty he brought in our lives.

He is forever in our hearts.

Lili

The poisoning power of Hope

2008-10-08T17:01:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers!
Sometimes, I wish I could write this blog in my native language so I could convey my feelings and thoughts (Yup. I think. Too much.) more effectively.
You know, before this day, I hadn't considered Hope as a negative feeling. On the contrary, it sounded positive.
But what of that Hope that seizes me every time I hear a meow, every time I look though the window, every time I open the door, every time I shout my cat's name and the neighbour's cat comes?
What of the hope that keeps me waiting when there's nothing to wait? Sirius won't come back. Everybody here has accepted this. I haven't. Despite all I say, I haven't. That's why my throat has a table-tennis stuck inside, that's why I can tell you about despair and the black anger that fills me immediately after. The discouragement that cuts your arms and legs and leaves you exhausted. The nightmares too.
Things could be worse: I could have my children, DH or parents or brother ill or missing and that would kill me. Surely it would.
He is/was just a cat. But I love him and -in his feline way- he loved us too. And we miss him.
Thank you for your kind words of support and hope, for your positive thoughts, for being there.
Thank you for sharing your lives and beautiful stitching on your blogs. Because your posts help me forget my foolish problems and concentrate on things and people who count. They bring beauty and the priceless feeling that I belong to a community, that I'm not alone. Even though, in the end, confronted to our pains and weaknesses, that's what we are: alone.
Hugs to you all, Stitchers!
Lili
PS: Unless anything worse happens, the next post will be about stitching and more optimistic too. Because you're worth it.

I want my cat back

2008-10-05T22:29:00.002+02:00

I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back

I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back

I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back-I want my cat back

Little by Little: Hot Cider

A few posts ago, I was mentioning how some particular cross stitch designs seemed to bring some particular comfort. I started stitching this design the day when Salem died, and it gave me comfort. I put in the final stitch last monday night, and Sirius vanished tuesday night.

Despite all the active research and solidarity, he's nowhere to be seen. I'm devastated. I have repeating dreams in which we find him hanged in a tree during winter, once the leaves have fallen from the trees.

I can't help thinking that some fucking asshole has found him cute and taken him from us.

I fear that some fucking asshole has driven on him.

I want my cat back.

Secret Garden and Jardin Secret

2008-10-02T18:00:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

I have been tagged by Missy (Raven's stitching nest) and I'd like to try and answer this one while there are still people doing it...

Six quirky or just plain weird things about me:

So here we go:

THE RULES: Link to the person that tagged you: done.

Post the rules on your blog:

Share 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself

Tag 6 people at the end of your post by linking to their blog

Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Let your tagger know when your entry is up

1. I don't drink any alcohol at all, never, in any occasion.
2. I mostly read books in English even when there are French translations: as an ex translator, I always spot mistakes and that drives me mad. Actually, I don't enjoy the book in French, I correct the translated text....
3. I can spot a mistake in a French text (full page) at first sight. I always have that "spotting mistakes" mode on when I read. This is not a gift, this is a curse.
4. My voice is completely different when I speak English. It becomes deeper, more on the Bass sound than on the Trebles.
5. I hate finishing things: whether it be books, or cross stitched projects. Reading the last pages, stitching the last crosses, or emptying a glass (Hi Cathey!) is something I definitely try to avoid. Talk about a sense of accomplishment! Lol!!!
6. I can't eat meat from animals that I like. Which makes it simple for me: I don't like hens or pigs, so I only eat chicken and pork. And that's scarce anyway as I think of the poor animal, the killing, the awful life they had and I'm not hungry any more. I don't eat fish either. Sometimes, even eggs disgust me.

Who should I tag? Well, see the link bar on the right? If you're in it (and even if you're not there yet) and you feel like answering it it, do it and let me know. I'd love to read your answers. Many of you have done it already...

Pour mes lectrices françaises:

Six habitudes bizarres qui me caractérisent.

1. Je ne bois jamais d'alcool, en quelque occasion que ce soit.
2. Je lis les livres d'auteurs britanniques ou américains en anglais. En tant qu'ex-traductrice, je passe plus de temps à chercher les erreurs/maladresses de traduction qu'à savourer le livre...
3. Je peux repérer une erreur dans un texte français (page pleine) presqu'au premier regard. Chaque fois que je lis, je passe en mode "correction" et c'est parfois désagréable... Mais bon, ça ne va pas m'empêcher de lire non plus...
4. Ma voix change quand je parle /ou chante (faux!) en anglais; elle passe automatiquement en mode grave, et oubliés les aigus... Ca déconcerte les personnes de mon entourage...
5. J'ai horreur de finir les choses. Que ce soit en lecture ou en point de croix, je dois me forcer -parfois après des arrêts de plusieurs jours- pour lire les dernières pages ou broder les dernières croix. Je n'ai pas le "sens de l'accomplissement".
6. Je ne peux manger que la viande des animaux que je n'aime pas -à savoir les poules et les cochons. Et encore, je pense à leur vie misérable, leur mort horrible et ça me coupe l'appétit. Je ne mange pas de poisson non plus. Parfois, même un oeuf suffit à me dégoûter.

Si ça vous dit d'y répondre, n'hésitez pas à le faire et à m'en informer, j'adorerais connaitre vos petits travers...

On n'a toujours pas retrouvé Sirius. J'ai contacté le véto, les associations. Rien. Demain, on va mettre des affiches avec sa photo dans le quartier et espérer... Il me semble que chaque heure qui passe diminue nos chances de le retrouver.

OK. This is a cross stitch blog, so in the never ending wip series, here's a freebie by a talented French designer named Jardin Secret that you can find here .

I'm using 32 count flax linen by Zweigart and DMC 712. It's very pleasant to stitch. It more or less feels like stitching some lace. There isn't much contrast between the colour of the fabric and that of the thread so I have to stitch in day light, when I'm not tired. The second condition is hard to achieve... Sometimes, I have the feeling I was born tired -I mean born to be tired... Lol!

And now, what can I say about our beloved Sirius? He hasn't come back yet. I have called the vet, associations, etc. No sign of him. Tomorrow, we will place some posters with his photo and our phone number in the neighbourhood. This is our last chance. Thank you for your kind words of support. Let's face it, every hour makes his return less likely to happen...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Another problems with cats

2008-10-01T16:23:00.006+02:00

is when they disappear. Here's a pic of our young Sirius . He's about five months old and a very very good friend of Jam, our granpa golden retriever.

I don't have a pic of him with his collar but he actually wears a green collar (the last one in the shop) with red flowers (quite feminine actually) and the name Bunny written on it. OK. That's crazy but Sirius doesnt really care after all. Hence his nick name: Bunny Cat.

Yesterday night, Sirius went out of the house through the front door (he generally spends his time in the garden at the back of the house: the vet had told us he could now). The last person who saw him is a friend of Corentin's, around 7:30pm in the park at the end of our street. Yesterday night, this morning and this afternoon, I have strolled in about every street of the neighbourhood calling his name. If he were there and free, he'd have come back as he always runs to me every time I call his name. So I have to assume he isn't lost. I will have to call the vet (closed today) and associations to try and find him. He (Sirius, not the vet. Although his L'oreal long hair is kind of attractive... Lol!) is so cute that I guess someone might have "adopted" him but there's our phone number attached to his collar so what?

I'm awfully worried he won't come back. All I want to imagine is that, if he doesn't show up, that's because someone found him and is taking care of him. But he's still sick with his urinary infection and under treatment: will they see that something's wrong? And even worse: will they accept to pay for a cure for him when so many people just let their cats die as they can easily have one for free? I'm not joking: the vet sees it everyday.

For my French readers, photos de Sirius le petit dernier et de Jam le papi retriever. Sirius a disparu hier soir et nos recherches -quartier quadrillé hier soir, ce matin et cet après-midi- n'ont toujours rien donné. Comme Sirius est encore un chaton, nous pensons que quelqu'un a craqué pour sa jolie frimousse. Mais il a un collier avec notre adresse alors c'est un peu malhonnête. Et il est sous traitement pour infection urinaire récalcitrante... Je précise aussi que Sirius sort avec la bénédiction de notre vétérinaire, nous ne sommes pas inconscients...

Cet évènement pèse lourdement sur la fête d'anniversaire de mon fils qui a treize ans aujourd'hui. Tous ses copains se sont mobilisés pour essayer de le retrouver mais sans succès... On réessaiera ce soir, quand le quartier sera plus calme. Sirius a un rappel exceptionnel alors...

Finally, this event will have weighed upon our son's thirteenth birthday party. His guests have helped look for Sirius without success. I'm definitely sorry for him.

Please, if you believe in the power of positive thoughts, send us some so Sirius is back soon. I'll keep you informed.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

The problem with cats

2008-09-29T10:50:00.012+02:00

is that they hunt...

This morning, as I was checking the weather (foggy) through the front door window, I thought: well, it snowed?!!! (I was half awake, you see...). Then I saw my dear Luna waiting at the door. I opened and there was her gift: a beheaded beautiful white dove... Apparently, that means she loves us. I guess I'd rather not... DH picked up the corpse, and after Daphné was at school, I sadly picked up the small feathers one by one. It took some time but I felt that this poor bird deserved more than vaccuming you see. Once finished with the picking, I turned around to throw it all into the bin (my garden would not suffice for all the murdered birds to be buried) and was confronted with the poor dove's vanished head...

I love my cats. As they were found wandering in streets and famish, they were used to freedom when adopted. So I know they need to be able to go out to be happy. But bird killing is something I find difficult to accept. My DH calls dead birds collateral damage or natural selection. Great. Sometimes, I think I should just keep my cats indoors...

Well, a post without a stitching pic on a stitcher's blog is kinda frustrating so here's one:

This is a design by Italian designer Renato Parolin, from the book "Amitiés Croisées" published at "les éditions de saxe". I have chosen this particular design named "we all are big" because of the text that went with it (and because I like it too...). It says that every life has a purpose, even the smallest, most insignificant one. This design is dedicated to those who suffer because they feel they're insignificant. I had to stitch it. I'm using DMC 3860 on 28 count cream linen. And I haven't stitched it for a couple of months...

And this is my amazing progress on LHN Autumn Harvest... Lol!

Pour mes lectrices françaises: je parlais du gros problème que me posent mes chats: ils sont chasseurs et ce matin, Luna m'a apporté une colombe décapitée Pas réveillée, au début quand j'ai ouvert la porte, je croyais qu'il avait neigé...Je sais que c'est une preuve d'amour et je sais aussi que je dois laisser mes chats sortir parce que je les ai recueillis affamés dans la rue, aussi ils ont goûté à la liberté. Donc voilà: c'est super les chats, j'adore -mais les oiseaux morts, j'ai du mal... Comme le dit mon mari, c'est de la sélection naturelle. Mais bon...

Après considérations brodesques avec un choix de modèle qui dit que chaque vie -même si elle parait insignifiante- est important et que donc, "nous sommes tous grands". Bien que proche du mètre 80, je me sens très petite... alors j'ai choisi de broder ça.

I had to share this touching pic with you: it's a German soldier playing with a kitty in Afghanistan. Just to show the beauty of life and love is everywhere.

Now's the time to answer questions. First of all, I haven't uploaded my pics on the puter yet so no photo of Sirius the bunny cat yet (will explain the surname in time).

Sharon, you're right, I had my house remodeled and I will try to post pics soon (same reason as above...).

Cathey: I love working with DMC's linen threads because the final waxed effect is really rewarding. And if you use a 28 count, it's OK to work with. I have another project with this linen thread on 32 count Belfast and it's a little trickier to use.

I won't finish this post without a big thank you to you who take the time to leave a comment here, and a Hi ya! to those who come and read this blog (Yeah! You! Lol!) without commenting. The counter (a simple one, I don't want to know who you are, I'm not spying on you, I would just hate to do that) says it and it makes me very happy that you visit this place.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Fall Moon - Lune d'Automne

2008-09-22T14:14:00.002+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

A quick post to give you a link towards this French blog: Lune d'automne.

Gencat -who owns this blog- has just issued a beautiful autumn freebie to make your fingers itch to stitch...

Gencat is also dear to me because she's a cat lover and -like Marcella- has spread the information about the deadly windows that killed my Salem this summer. This will sure help save many cat lives.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

A relieved sigh and some stitching

2008-09-19T12:09:00.005+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

First of all, thank you for your comments on my last post, they were very interesting and lifted my spirits. I needed that... This little project is a lot of fun too... [Gosh, it's difficult to use this mouse and keyboard with a playful babycat...] As you can see, it's far from finished but it's a fast stitch so I think it will be done by 31st October at the latest... Lol! It's called "A Spot of Halloween" and it's by Midnight Stitching... I'm stitching it on 14 count DMC aida but it's from their old range so I'm not too sure you can find this colour anymore. Well, as a matter of fact, it's an ugly colour, suitable just and only for Halloween projects. No regrets to have...

As the title says, this is a relieved sigh here: DS has been accepted very kindly by his former secondary school. In fact, they were happy to see him back for two reasons: the first one is that there weren't many children born around 1995 so classes had to be closed==>every pupil counts. The second one is that Corentin is a very very good pupil and that his results are very positive for the school. Besides, he's a discrete and kind guy, the sort of pupil teachers dream of having except for one thing: he is too shy really so he doesn't take part in discussions... You cannot have everything...

And here is my personal cherry on the cake. In France, from the age of 13, you can choose to follow a "European course". It consists in having two additional hours of English lessons every week: you can learn more subtleties of the English language, British civilization, practise your English speaking and have a trip to Britain or Scotland with your group... Though having two more hours a week is no big deal, DS had refused to follow this course, though he'd been selected in his college.

But I wasn't going to let Corentin "win". I told him that he could go back to his old school, but that he'd have to follow this European course, no discussion. He was so happy. "Anything you want mum, as long as I can go back". My... Can you imagine the energy I had to use on the boy and he just accepted like that?! LOL! There's always some positive outcome...

This is a Blackbird design called A New Love. I have changed the colours and used DMC linen threads: L223 and L779 I reckon. I have stitched it on a weird linen fabric: 36 count in one sense, and 32 in the other sense... Anyway, I wanted that antiquish effect that only uneven fabric and linen threads can have so I'm very happy with the result. I have stitched Hubby and I's initials and the year we got married.

With all the fuss around here lately, the explanations to give, the books to cover with plastic (again...), the notebooks lent by a classmate for only one evening and the copies we had to make and all... well... I needed a treat. A real one. So I went to this French site called Des Filles et une Aiguille and placed an order for this design by Little House Needleworks and the fabric recommended by the shop.

24 hours later, my order was here, together with a lovely thank you freebie and a very kind note. I'd like to recommend this online shop: they're extremely friendly, their shipping costs are low, even for international orders, they are fast and very serious, informing you about the processing of your order. If you want to make a try with French designers, they're for you. They have a nice range of American designers obviously. They also offer some French linen by Thieffry. Though it can't be compared to Zweigart's linens (the best for me), I must say that they are very beautiful, with a great range of colours, and a very interesting price. Try them, you won't be deceived.

I have made great progress on this design: B C D E I J K are stitched. Yesss! Lol!!! I just love it... It perfectly suits the autumn feeling we have here, and these colours are among my fav. The Thieffry tea linen is very beautiful and fits the DMC colours perfectly.

Well, gotta go and prepare my quiche for dinner.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers.

Lili

Making mistakes and acknowledging them

2008-09-16T13:36:00.008+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

As mothers and simple human beings, you have certainly made mistakes in educating your kids. You may be aware of some of them.

I know I have two big reproaches to make to my parents:

No matter how hard I tried, they wouldn't let me learn German but Spanish and Latin. Though I have started this language as an adult, learning it as a teenager would have made it much easier...

The second one is a major one: when I was eleven, I was sent to a private secondary school called the White Cross where I definitely was unable to fit in. Was it due to the many moves I had to endure as a child? Or to the peculiar personality of those millionaires' children who made me feel out of place? Was it them who didn't want me in or was I the one who didn't want to integrate for the hundredth time? I think it's a mixture of it all. This all led to phobia regarding everything school related (but not about learning, I've always loved learning) which -uncared for- made a lot for my present social phobia. Of course, other things counted but I'm not going to bother you with the dull story of my life.

Now, as an adult and mother, I have done something stupid with my own son -basically because I didn't feel strong enough to stand up and fight my DH last June. For two years, my son has been in a public secondary school. He was perfectly happy except for one problem of violence that I have reported in this blog in a post called "bullied". As we were unsatisfied with the absence of the English teacher (one complete term!!! and no replacement as the French Government keep cutting the education budgets -where does a country that doesn't bet on their future citizens go? That's a tough and valuable question...) and with the rise of violence, DH (more than I) decided to put Corentin in a private school. I was afraid he would have a hard time there and let DH know but he said that he'd also had a hard time at school. So what? Is that supposed to justify anything? I didn't fight and followed.

Corentin started in that school on the 4th of September. Exactly 12 days ago. Today, I have a wrecked son. He las lost all faith and trust in himself. He is sad, aggressive and even cries out of stress. His head, belly and back hurt all the time. He can't sleep anymore. He is feeling just like I did when at the White Cross where my parents left me for the seven years of my secondary studies. Seven years of moral pain and rejection. Seven years I have spent begging to leave the place and enter a public school...

I think twelve days is enough. I think we have to acknowledge our mistakes. This afternoon at 4:30, I will go to his former school and ask them to reintegrate Corentin. We've been wrong. I won't let this go on. I have every strength and courage for my children: take the phone, make an appointment and go to it. No matter how much it costs me and it does cost a lot.

Wish me luck.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers,

Lili

Beautiful pictures for a change

2008-09-12T13:50:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers,

First of all, thank you for the nice comments, I am very touched and happy, let me say...

Like many of you, I have the feeling that there's no such thing as a post with beautiful pictures. They're treats to read or just look at eventually.

As my projects tend to become slightly bigger than they used to be, I won't be able to use my scanner for some of them so I'll have to use my camera and show progress pics. Something I'm not used to (don't laugh! I'm a terrible pain with technologies, mind you... Lol!).

Fortunately, I still stitch small projects too so here are some of them.

JBW French Country Cat stitched on 28 count pearl grey linen with Carrie's Creations Blueberry Pie.

SanMan Originals freebie from Daisy Stitches. Stitched on 14 count blue marbled aida.

Unfortunately, the freebie is no longer on the web as it seems that Daisy Stitches have closed their shop. Such a pity...

Little Women : Quilting by Little House Needleworks and Crescent Colours

And of course, I haven't been able to resist these new packs by LHN and CC. This one is not finished yet but we're getting close. Actually, I wonder what's missing? Lol!!!

At first, I had wanted to stitch the four Little Women designs on the same fabric (28 count ivory linen) but I'm still unsure as the other three are quite different -in particular colours. Any opinions?

Actually, there are no finishes in this post. When they're should be... Have I got a problem with finishing? Definitely. This is due to a very nasty disease called startitis.

On the cat front, we have another protégé... I think I have a gift to find cats looking for a family (though, let's be clear, it's not difficult... It's a terrible problem that people don't have their cats neutered in order to avoid such sad things -though it costs...). We found him in Roman ruins in Vienne, France. His name is Sirius (Black) and -unfortunately- he looks very much like Salem except that he's more greyish. I wasn't going to leave him just because he looked like Salem, was I?

He's cute and nice and terribly active as he was about three months and a half when we found him. We collected as much information as we could because we didn't want to take him from someone (carelessness someone as he's too young to go out and he was clearly underfed and in poor health ). It appeared that cats have lots of babies that are left in these ruins. Reminds me of the cats in Rome, that have a special status: the law protects them.

Luna is very happy as she clearly must have missed Salem. Now she has a new mate and it's great to see them play and sleep together. I think that Sirius has taken Luna as some sort of substitute of his own mother. I'll post a pic of him soon.

Well, that was a long post, I'm too talkative, that's the problem...

Enjoy your week end and hugs to you all, stitchers!

Lili

THANK YOU!

2008-09-11T09:23:00.001+02:00

Hi Stitchers,

I have celebrated my 40th birthday a few days ago, and -quite expectedly-I have established some sort of balance of the last years.

A lot of things have happened, some have brought me much happiness like seeing my children grow up, adopting my cats, having my house extended...

And I have the most wonderful husband and the worst mil in the universe... Anyway, I haven't married her.

Some are worrying like my mother's brain tumor or my grandma's cancer.

Some were sad like losing my cat Salem, my gerbils Tama and Myrtle... My other grandma is dying these days.

Throughout all those events, my cross stitch projects have comforted me (seen the record of the Sisterhood of the travelling pattern btw? Have a look there, it's sweet Jennifer's blog. It's just great and we owe it all to Harmien. Thank you Harmien, you're the best).

In every aspect of life, my patterns have been chosen in connection with what happened in my personal life.

I just regret that patterns that reflect anger and revolt are so hard to find. There's a niche there, Ladies... Well, these should be small patterns as anger is not supposed to last forever. But you know, the kind of pattern that just takes a couple of evenings and helps you expell the bad feelings...

Instead, I have chosen patterns claiming for peace and these have worked quite well finally...

I have received the greatest support from you, Stitching Bloggers. At all times, good and bad, you've always been there.

In many aspects, blogging, sharing with you has been the most important event, the most inspiring activity, the most rewarding, the most comforting thing to do. Two posts ago, I had firmly decided that I would give up this blog. I was sick of life and I had been deceived in friendship -yes, Harmien, you were right but I hadn't analysed it at that time. I just couldn't cope anymore.

Then Salem died and I so needed to turn to you and I opened my heart in a way I had never done before. And you were there. Despite my "closing" my blog, despite my scarce comments on your blogs. Despite all my failings. You were there. You are there.

THANK YOU

I owe you so much. A big huge thank you is all I can display here but I hope you feel all the fondness and gratitude in there. I am quite frustrated that english is not my native language: it makes it hard for me to find the right words to express my feelings adecuately.

I would very much love to come back and share again with you. Do you think I can do that after officially closing this blog? Does it make sense? Let me know what you think...

And because I'm not only a stitcher but also a citizen of this world, I have a special thought for the victims of 9/11 and their loved ones.

Hugs to you all, stitchers.

Lili

CAT OWNERS, BEWARE OF WINDOWS!!!

2008-08-27T14:35:00.004+02:00

After Salem died in awful pains (see my in memoriam post), I did some research on the web regarding cats dead in what we call "fenêtres oscillo-battantes". Here's a picture to show what these windows are: they can be opened like that, or traditionally. The opening shown here is great when you want to open the doors but not let anybody enter the house through there.

I haven't found any article in English, may be because these windows are not common in English speaking countries. But here in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany (this is not an exhaustive list), these windows tend to be installed everywhere these days.

I want to tell everybody who owns a cat that these are deadly windows. Our vet had seen a cat dead like Salem just one week ago. There are many testimonies about cats that have tried to get out through the wide opening at the top of the window, and who have failed (obviously, this is a small opening) and been strangled while sliding down without any way to get out of there -just like Salem. They could only die. Even when found alive by their owners, they had suffered internal wounds that could not be healed.

This is a picture taken by a Dutch fireman (and this cat looks exactly like my Phoebe). On the same afternoon, this fireman had to make two interventions in the same building for cats stuck in these windows. For the cat you can see here, it has taken even longer to die than for those who get stuck in the neck and strangled. This one had to suffer internal wounds that killed her very very slowly.

I know these pictures and descriptions are shocking, but I just want the whole world to know. You know, my brother did know it could happen but he had never thought of telling me. Salem could be alive and kicking now if he had just told me. If I can save even one cat, and avoid the pain and guilt for his/her owner, this post will have been useful. Please tell people around you. This is vital for your cats and friends' cats -and for your friends.

THANK YOU!

IN MEMORIAM

2008-07-29T13:38:00.002+02:00

I know I said I would close this blog, and I don't know if someone will read this -but I need to confide.

Salem, our beloved cat, rescued from the street one year ago exactly, died this morning.

In awful conditions.

When I woke up -late, it was 11pm-, I went downstairs to have a cup of coffee. Fortunately, the kids hadn't come down before (we had guests last night). It was getting warm in there so I opened the door to the back garden and then turned around to open the window to the front garden. It was already half opened (you know, those windows that you can open just at the top, creating a triangle shape when you look from the side of the window). And Salem was there. Dead.

My silly baby cat had tried to get out through there -which is virtually impossible- and hanged himself. It happened between 8 am when DH left home and 11 am when I came downstairs. His body was rigid. He was obviously dead and I just couldn't take him off that murdering window, his head was stuck in there. I feared I would hurt him (I know, he was dead but I couldn't think right). So I called DH to help me and it seemed to take him ages to come home. Then he released him and we took him to the vet's for cremation. The vet said we were unlucky as this sort of accident with windows hardly ever happens. Is that true?

I swear to God that we have always taken very good care of all our cats. Yet, here's the sad record we have:

Garfield died in 1999 at the age of three, one year after we entered this house. Kidney disease.

Prune (Plum) died in 2000 at the age of one. Kidney disease.

For both cats, the vet said we'd had very bad luck as they had good vet food and treatment and all.

Then I wanted no more cats because it was too painful to lose them, and I felt there was some sort of curse on cats in this house. All those years, I have mourned my cats.

Later, in 2004, my brother found a lost cat, Phoebe, and had me adopt her. Phoebe gave me back some optimism, she brought tenderness and fun in this house. Again, we believed we could have some cats, that the curse was gone.

In 2006, we adopted Luna.

In 2007, it was Salem that we "rescued".

Now, I wonder. Do we rescue them or do we curse them to death at a young age in this house?

Two days ago, I looked in the garden and saw Salem asleep in the position that dead cats have when they're killed by cars and left on the side of roads. I had to wake him up to reassure myself. Now, it seems it was some foresight, doesn't it?

How do the kids take it?

Corentin, my big boy aged 12 is mourning. He and Salem had a very special relationship. Salem loved him more than all other humans. He spent most of his time in his room, he stroke his head to my DS's head. He was the only one for Salem. You can imagine the loss for our son.

Daphné is sad because she sees us sad. She's not very concerned with our animals -though she seems to have some special feelings for Luna.

How do the cats react?

They have seen it all, and so has my dog. My cats came to smell Salem while I was weeping with him in my arms for the last goodbye. The dog didn't react.

I know this will sound weird but the dog should have died first. He's almost 14 which is quite an age for a golden retriever. When my DD heard me cry, she thought it was Jam that had passed away. That would have been "normal". We expected it. We still do.

How do I take it?

Badly. I am sad and completely traumatized. I don't know if I will ever be able to look at that window without seeing Salem hanged there. It must have been so painful. And even if his death was "quite" quick, what sort of relief is that supposed to give us? What if I had come down earlier? What if I had sewn those curtains that would have hidden the opening?

We are supposed to go on holiday at the end of the week. At the very campsite where we found Salem last year in July. The very same place in the campsite. That will be a good reminder of Salem's death, of his sad fate. A good reminder that -perhaps- we should have left him there for a better fate.

You know what? Life sucks.

Lili

Blog closed

2008-06-23T21:41:00.003+02:00

Hi Stitchers,

This probably won't come as a surprise: I have decided to close this blog. I can't cope with this anymore.

Blogging has been a great adventure, and I have met wonderful people through the web.

I want to thank the nice stitchers who have left comments here, always so much appreciated.

I wish you all the happiest life and a great future.

Lili

Gone Fishing and chocolate paint

2008-05-23T14:38:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

First of all, I want to thank you for your comments that make me even happier as I'm not much on the web and hardly read or comment on your blogs at the moment... I miss you but life has priorities... I have spent a great part of my week painting brown windows white, it takes five layers... and still I'm not satisfied...

About a year ago, I have discovered Sheepish designs and wondered since why the designer wasn't better known. And a couple of months ago, can you imagine my disappointment when I read that Sheepish Designs was retiring? When I learnt the news, I tried to order the designs that I liked but it was too late: all I could get was Wabbit's Wonder.

Fortunately, I already had my Gone Fishing and Betsy...

Gone Fishing is one of those designs created in 1997, the good old times when designers did not make financial arrangements with special fiber manufacturers to make you buy special threads (which I'm fond of, but that are not very cheap compared to DMC threads -at least in the US as we get one skein of DMC for 1.70 dollar approx in France... I won't even mention the price of special fibers, it's a shame... I sure pity the French stitchers who don't buy on the web...).

Anyway, as I said, I'm fond of special threads so I have decided to replace some DMC references with overdyed fibers...

The blue house is Carrie's Threads Indigo instead of DMC 930, the brown path is Crescent Colours Cocoa Bean instead of DMC 840, the red dress is GAST pomegranate instead of DMC 3722. I might bring other changes but I don't know yet...

Now, what is this chocolate paint title about? I might as well have called it the chemist's apprenticeship... In our new living room, we had decided to paint the walls cream and beige. While the cream paint is a little pinkish (we can do with that), the supposed-to-be beige paint was flesh, think of pics of guts when making a coeloscopia... Even after drying... That just wouldn't do and it was sunday morning and our painting sunday was very very compromised. Not to mention the fine prospect of having to throw six liters of good paint in the bin...

Until I had this great idea: my brother had that chocolate paint left from his own home painting two months ago. We mixed about two liters of it with the six liters of guts paint and the result is a beautiful brownish DMC 3861... Let me tell you this: stitching has undoubtedly given me a strong sense of colour... Lol!!!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

No words to express this

2008-05-20T09:56:00.002+02:00

This is the foot of a Chinese little girl killed in her school by the earthquake.
And a bottle of water.
And a butterfly.
How are you feeling? No words can express the sadness and revolt in front of this catastrophe.

French designers: Tralala and Le Passé Composé

2008-05-05T10:15:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

First of all, I would like to thank you for your nice comments. I have been thinking of stopping this blog but then I think of the pleasure I have reading your comments, and how much I love reading your blogs and I feel guilty then because it's about sharing so if you share, why not me? So here I am again...

I also want to apologize: I comment a lot less than I used to, mainly because I'm very busy at the moment. All in all, I keep reading you so if you have a counter, some visits are mine...

Now, I'm going to anwer your questions about my house renovation (how sweet of you to ask!). I will post pics of the inside of the house when there's something to see. As the rooms are empty, it's difficult to figure it all out at the moment...

Here is how the front of the house looked last summer.

They are almost finished. There's only the electrician left and he's a cool guy. Very cool. Very very cool. Just don't push him... Lol! DH has great home cinema plans and the guy has a lot to do... This is how it looks now. We have multiplied the living room area by two so now we have 54 sq meters. How great! Now it's all about painting and covering the floor, we're doing it ourselves and it's a lot of work.

Anyway, I share DH's passion for cinema so I'm very happy with his plans all the more as I haven't been able to go to a cinema in the last two or three years. I must admit I don't really care about this extra wide screen as I always stitch in front of movies. It is impossible for me to just sit and watch something without anything in my hands. It used to be a knitting, now it's cross stitch, much better for my poor back...

Now, I would like to introduce you to a French designer for a change. It's ABC Bienvenue by Tralala and you can find a good choice of Corinne Rigaudeau's designs there (click on grilles and see the column createurs francais, Tralala is at the bottom of the page).

I haven't stitched much of it yet, but it's one of my many wips so I thought I might as well show it... The tree will be stunning, but you have to trust me on that for the moment... Lol!

I am using French overdyed threads (as advised) by Atalie. I use one strand on two threads of 32 count linen.

This finish is a design by another French designer called Le Passé Composé.

Marjorie Massey is some sort of "confidential" designer as you almost can't find her designs on the web or in shops, yet she is extremely famous among French stitchers. Normally, she should soon have a shop on the web but it's not ready yet... Personally, I have bought a few of her designs in an exhibition and I am sooo enjoying stitching them. The threads are simple DMC and the linen is 28 count.

And while we're at it, though I don't have a pic to show, go there and enjoy this lovely freebie/mystery sampler by French designer Anne les Petites Croix/Tournicoton. It's filled with special stitches and there are two colour versions. I'm stitching the red one on 32 count brown linen with great delight...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Sheep, peace and cherries

2008-04-23T15:08:00.000+02:00

Hi Stitchers!

Spring is a strange season. Last year, I felt the urge to stitch bunnies for the season. This year, I have a crush for sheep.

Here's Cherry Hill by Little House Needleworks. Actually, I have finished stitching it but my scan is not available at the moment. Though I had the threads in my growing collection of Crescent Colours, I have decided to jazz up the design using other colours. Here they are in case you're interested:

Dandelion stem now is Carrie's Theads Irish Kiss (light green)

Roasted Chestnut now is GAST Copper

Blushing beauty is Carrie's Threads Baby Pink

Cherry Tomato is Carrie'sThreads Passion

Weeping Willow is DMC 4045 (dark green. How I prefer names rather than figures for colours...).

I have stitched it on 28 count linen and will certainly turn it into a small pillow.

And here's Peace by Midsummer Night Musings from JCS can't remember the issue. I am also using other colours than advised (though close) on 28 count lugana and I love the result... Midsummer Night Musings are a strong favourite: her choice of colours and easy designs make Deborah Thorpe's designs a joy to stitch... She has a unique style.

Oh, and here's an unexpected face of peace:

Finally, because I just can't get enough of today's US designers:

A LHN Crescent Colours thread pack. A joy to stitch on the 32 count overdyed fabric supplied by Mary Kathryn. I will also turn it into a pillow with the backing fabric that she provides. I can never say how much I appreciate her service... Sometimes very late but it's not her fault!!! Last week, I have received an order placed 17th november 2007 and that Mary Kathryn sent 19th November... Yes: it took five months to arrive. Never get desperate... Of course, knowing/supposing that the threads had got "lost" in the post, I had re-ordered the threads from Mary Kathryn and I now have many many same Crescent Colours... Lol! I'm not complaining about that...

Hope you all have a springy weather and mind!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

In The Grey/Mist/Pink?

2008-03-28T17:00:00.001+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Thanks for the comments on my previous posts. You have certainly noticed that I'm very very little on the computer so I hardly comment on your blogs of course... I'm sorry about that. To make it short, I'm having a hard time with the workers around my house -and soon inside. My social phobia has reached a very high level and it affects every aspect of my life: taking the kids from school, -even blogging... Please, don't be angry to me, you are not responsible for anything, but good feelings of comfort. I'm just a waco...

I can't wait to have more room for my stitching (may be I will display it instead of living it all in boxes...). But the critical point is more about stash... Lol! And DH can't wait for his home cinema: large screen with a videoprojector and that sort of things. I don't really care about that as far as I'm concerned considering that I stitch in front of movies... Lol! All I need is a decent sound... which we already have. You know, the "kick in the ass" when you're sitting in your sofa? What a great feeling... LOL!

At the moment, from the stitching point of view,-which is why you're here!!!-, I tend to stitch pink... May be that's because I'm trying to make up for Daphné's lack of feminity? Lol!

This small design is called "In the Pink" and it's by Ewe and Eye and Friends, a new twist to Twisted Threads. Meaning the same designer has changed her name?

There are special stitches (simple and explained) and it's easy to change the colours if you want to as there are few. I will use the fabric you can see to turn this into a small pillow.

I have prepared other posts that are simply waiting for the scans of my -many- current projects... so hopefully you'll see other things pretty soon on this neglected blog...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

May your unfailing love be my comfort

2008-03-11T14:01:00.009+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Here's the design I felt the urge to stitch when I last had a breakdown. It's a Little House Needleworks / Crescent Colours pack. I have stitched it on 28 count cream linen. Not much creativity in there as I haven't chosen threads and all, but the message was essential then. It still is as a matter of fact.

I have been silent on the web for more than a week now. I have had a real nasty flu: stayed in bed for three days. I don't remember feeling that poorly for years!

Fortunately, I have received wonderful gifts that have really cheered me up : Angel San has stitched and sewn for me and -oh boy!-, she's sooo talented... I haven't taken pics of the wonder but I invite you to read her related post there. You'll see why I'm thrilled to bits...

Tessa , the ladybird fan has sent Daphné the most beautiful bilby plush with Easter chocolate and a lovely card (oooh! Tessa has drawn a heart, it means she loves me!!!") to help Daphné feel better and it works! It even works on her mum...

Margaret (whose posts are really missed... but fortunately, she's still on the web, her comments and emails prove it) has also sent me a cute card and a design that I have already started: it's the white cat by Bent Creek. I am changing the colours of flowers to have it more springy and I really love it!

The last two gifts arrived in my mail box yesterday, together with a thread order I had expected for six weeks. In spite of the presence of Easter chocolate, it felt like Xmas... That's really good for your mood. I think we all should have a stash order pending and chocolate near...

And I have also received the nicest mails and comments that Daphné and I have really enjoyed and I thank you all for your friendship and care.

Daphné is feeling better but we all are exhausted so I have ordered vitamin cocktails for all the family. I really feel that it will make life easier for everyone if we are a little more tonic, less tired thus more tolerant, less prone to useless, undefined, uncontrolled and unfair anger fits...

The house extension is on the right way for the moment. The workers have just told me that they won't come tomorrow morning -which means that, being a wednesday- the kids and I will be able to sleep late... Yummy!

Here's a pic of the front view. There are two small windows in the front and a large French Window at the rear, with lots of sun on that side. My fairy tale tree is a sophora japonica. There are very few around here.

Here's a view of the side of the house now. This is exposed west and we have designed the extension to keep the window (just under the one you see that's my bedroom window) so the room is filled with sunlight (when there is...) all afternoon. Basically, we bought this house on plans, and we had the choice between six of those. I picked this one after spending a whole day there to see how the sun fell on the ground... Lol! I didn't stitch then but light was already important... As you can see, we plan to have a chimney at some point too...

In a couple of weeks, I won't have the computer for a few days so I have decided to write posts in advance and program them: if it works, this blog will eventually be better "fed" than when I have free access to the puter and always procrastinate about making a post... I will still be able to use DH's laptop so comments will still be highly appreciated. Lol!!!

I'm a bit late in my sal and I'm trying to catch up... Flu and small wips are responsible, not I... Lol!!!

Well, which reminds me that I have things to stitch and late laundry so I'm off.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Miscellaneous on one on one stitching

2008-02-22T12:55:00.000+01:00

Hi stitchers!

I have two projects to show.

They're both freebies but you can't find the redwork on the web anymore. The designer is there and she still offers lots of beautiful designs.
I have stitched this redwork one on one on 25 count lugana with Carrie's Creations olde red. I have then turned it into a pillow for my aunt's new craft room. She was thrilled when she got it. I did use really beautiful fabric for the back and my mother was ecstatic about it. Not about the stitching. That's just how the relationship goes with my mother: she doesn't give a damn about my stitching, and thinks that I should spend more time cleaning and vacuuing... And then she complains that I don't stitch for her. Yup... My cats care more than she does...

This second project is a freebie by Mausimom that you can find there. It's called Mausimom's sampler. It's a wip as you can see and I really love it. I am stitching it on 32 count linen. I'm using Australian hand-dyed threads by Stitches and Spice: antique rose and Hannah's rose.

A few considerations:

First, I have found out that stitching with only one strand of overdyed thread is more tedious than when you use two strands: it produces lots of knots... and they're difficult to deal with compared with a simple DMC fiber. It's probably due to the treatment...

Second, somehow, I tend to prefer stitching one on one on 25 count rather than on 28 or higher because there comes a time when you don't see that you're stitching crosses anymore... On 25 count fabric, the crosses till show, they're neat. On higher count, well, I don't like it anymore. And it's not only because of the eye strain...

Poor Daphné... See this beautiful ape having a bath in a hot water spring? (probably to make up for the cold snowy weather...) Daphné also needs two baths like that a day, followed by careful application of chlorexidine and all. Yes: she has chicken pox... Together with a gastroenteritis and a rhinopharyngitis... Three illnesses at once! Happy winter holidays my love! Let's stay positive: our bathroom is heated... Lol!

Oh, and it's a bit late for Valentine's day but I have just seen that San man Originals has released this freebie! I love it!!!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Anne's sampler SAL part III

2008-02-15T12:41:00.004+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I hope you had a great Valentine's day. This year, I have discovered that it was not only to declare your love to your loved one but also to tell your friends how much you care. I had no idea but I can tell you that it's a great discovery and hopefully, I won't miss this opportunity next year...

It's already time to show my progress on this sampler. It's still a lot of fun to stitch...

I want to thank you for your kind comments about my last post. I'm aware it wasn't very clear and obviously desperate: an exact reflection of how I felt then. Things are on the mending, though you know how it is: you cannot undo things. but some misadventures can make you stronger and I guess/hope it will be the case.

I can say with certainty that your kind messages and support have helped me a lot. You just don't know how much...

So here's a big huge

THANK YOU

for your friendship, for being there and for sharing hope, love, wisdom and support.

This is a 4 my boys freebie that I had there. I have stitched it with Gentle Art Loose Threads (cheap packs without references that you can find at Stitching Bits and Bobs').

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Valentine stitching

2008-02-06T15:59:00.001+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I think it's the first time I stitch for Valentine's day. I have no idea why as I have never celebrated it, and just don't feel like doing so this year.

See that Elisabeth's designs that I have finished stitching lately? (thread missing). I believed in it when I stitched the message. Now I tend to think that marriage duplicates both family problems and social chores. And that Mr Perfect is just a vision of the mind, not a fact. Anyway, Mrs perfect doesn't exist either. Nor do perfect kids. I feel quite naive: I had to reach 39 years of age to realize that!!!

Here's a little freebie I have stitched with Carrie's Creations' Love Always (Lol!!!). It's by Corinne Rigaudeau of Tralala. It was a very pleasant project and I have started another Tralala project that I will show soon.

The kids are on holiday for two weeks now. No school, no social interactions, late mornings... not. No school indeed but we have started building an extension for our house that's getting a little... little. In the end, our living room will be twice as big (52 sq meters). In the meantime, we get pneumatic drills from 8 am (our neighbours love us!!!) and nice guys working here -but I just don't want to see anyone. Not even my kids. Not even Hubby. Social phobia is massively attacking...

That's one of those posts I shouldn't have written. I'm sorry.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Anne's sampler part II

2008-02-05T13:12:00.001+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Bonjour les Brodeuses!

A short post to show my progress on Anne's sampler. This time, I have decided to scan -in three times!!!- so you can see the stitching better, and the colour is also closer to reality. AND I have stretched the fabric in a hoop so I needn't iron it...

Un petit article pour vous montrer ma progression sur le sampler d'Anne. Cette fois, j'ai décidé de le scanner -en trois fois!!!- pour que vous puissiez mieux voir la broderie et la couleur qui est plus proche de la réalité. ET en plus, j'ai tendu le tissu dans un tambour comme ça, pas besoin de le repasser...

We're now heading to funnier things: our third objective is to start the animals. I have studied the design closely and decided to try and change a few things for other designs that Anne has offered in her Dictionary of samplers but not included in this sampler. I will explain in time.

On va passer aux choses sérieuses et commencer à broder les animaux. J'ai étudié le sampler de près et décidé d'essayer de substituer certains animaux par d'autres proposés par Anne dans son dictionnaire des symboles mais non inclus dans ce sampler. J'expliquerai tout ça quand on y sera.

DH has the flu and he's going to spend the week at home. I'm sorry he's ill but I must also admit that it feels good to have precious hours just the two of us, without the kids. Let's keep our fingers crossed that no one else catches it here (I will uncross my fingers to stitch, though).

Mon cher et tendre a la grippe et il est en arrêt pour une semaine. Je suis désolée qu'il soit malade mais je dois admettre que ça fait du bien de passer quelques heures précieuses ensemble, sans les enfants. Croisons les doigts et espérons que personne d'autre ne l'attrapera ici (mais, je vais les décroiser pour broder).

I have loads of things to show so I will make another post soon.

J'ai plein de trucs à montrer alors je ferai un autre article bientôt.

In the meantime, have a look at Isabelle Vautier's blog: Gorgeous Valentine stitching and you can change toi et moi for you and me easily... Check Maryse's blog too. Such talent in both designers...

D'ici là, allez voir le blog d'Isabelle Vautier; un projet de Saint Valentin magnifique... Allez aussi voir le blog de Maryse. Il y a tant de talent chez ces créatrices...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Bisous, les Brodeuses!

Lili

Anne's Sampler SAL: First part / SAL du Sampler d'Anne: Première partie

2008-01-24T22:30:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Bonjour les Brodeuses!

Sometimes, life's a bitch. Forgive me but that's true. And when it happens, I wish I could do like Phoebe and proclaim: "I don't wanna know". But it's not always possible. We have lost a member of my family to cancer (not my grandma but an aunt) last week -which explains the delay in this post. Danièle will be buried tomorrow.

Quelquefois, la vie ça craint. Désolée mais c'est vrai. Et quand ça arrive, je voudrais bien pouvoir faire comme Phoebe et proclamer bien haut que "j'veux pas l'savoir!". Mais ce n'est pas toujours possible. Le cancer nous a pris un membre de ma famille (pas ma grand-mère, une tante) la semaine dernière. Cela explique le retard de ce post. Danièle sera enterrée demain.

Here's my first part of Anne's sampler. I am stitching it with Dinky Dyes silk called Ruby, on 30 count cream linen. I'm using one strand of floss on two threads of fabric.. When I ordered my four skeins, I really thought that the colour would be red. It's not. It's pink. But I love that colour anyway, so I'm using these threads.

Voici ma première partie du sampler d'Anne. Je le brode avec de la soie Dinky Dyes couleur Ruby, sur du lin 11/12 fils. J'utilise un fil de soie sur deux fils de trame. Lorsque j'ai commandé les échevettes, je pensais que ce serait rouge (Ruby!!!). Eh ben non, c'est rose. Cela dit, j'aime bien cette couleur alors ça me va.

I had intended to stitch this sampler since it was released on the web, but I don't know if I would have ever started it without NathS who's running the sal. Thank you Nath! For those who haven't seen her blog yet, you gotta see it now! It's filled with wonders!!!

J'ai voulu broder ce sampler dès sa sortie sur le web, mais je ne sais pas si je l'aurais même commencé dans NathS qui gère le sal. Merci Nath! Pour celles qui n'ont pas encore vu son blog, allez-y maintenant! Il est bourré de merveilles!!!

And I wanted some special thread for it, something precious. So of course, I chose silk. I don't use it very often, but I love silk, I love the feel of it, its discrete shine (not so different from regular stranded cotton)... Oh and while we're at it, I wanted to say something about DMC's satin range. They say it's like silk. No way! It's much too glossy and waaay less pleasant to use.

Et je voulais utiliser un fil spécial, un fil précieux. Alors bien sûr, la soie s'imposait. Je n'en utilise pas souvent, mais j'adore broder avec de la soie, la sensation de la soie, sa brillance discrète (très proche du classique DMC finalement)... Oh, et tant qu'on y est, je voulais dire quelque chose sur la nouvelle gamme satin de DMC: ils disent que ça ressemble à de la soie. N'importe quoi! C'est bien trop brillant et infiniment moins agréable à utiliser.

Before I sign off, here's another link: Anne Les petites Croix also known as Tournicoton has a new freebie, the Stitcher's ABC. Its in French and in English. Check there:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/bienvenue.htm

Avant de vous laisser, je vous donne un autre lien: Anne Les Petittes croix aussi connue sous le nom de Tournicoton propose une nouvelle grille gratuite et c'est ici:

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/anne-les-petites-croix/bienvenue.htm

This French designer will offer a mystery sampler from mid-March 2008. In the meantime, don't hesitate to check her freebies (grilles gratuites) and her site too. There are a lot of patterns, in different styles, and they're great!

Cette créatrice française proposera un sampler mystère à partir de la Mi-Mars. En attendant, n'hésitez pas à aller voir son site et ses freebies: il y en a pour tous les goûts!

OK, wait for me Salem, I'm coming!

Bon, je vois ce qu'il me reste à faire: attends-moi, Salem! J'arrive!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Bisous les Brodeuses!

Lili

Sweet Little Berries by Little House Needleworks

2008-01-13T20:13:00.001+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

Bonjour les brodeuses!

Here's Sweet Little berries by LHN. I had this lovely little design from my personal Santa (DH), together with the Curly Q-Ewe by the same designer and a few other stitchy things too... You can never have enough stash. Enough lives either...

Voici Sweet Little Berries de LHN. C'est mon Père Noël perso (mon nômm!) qui me l'a offert avec Curly Q-Ewe du même designer et d'autres bricoles liées à la broderie... On n'a jamais trop de matériel brodesque. Jamais assez de vies non plus...

This is a special design: it is a complimentary pattern that you get for the purchase of the related Crescent Colours threads. I haven't seen it anywhere but there ( and I sure recommend Mary Kathryn's service) and it was love at first sight. I have really enjoyed stitching it, and it is related to fun moments as I have stitched it most of all while chatting with San while our men played video games together (a charming sight, mind you...).

Il s'agit d'une grille gratuite qu'on ne peut avoir qu'avec l'achat des fils Crescent Colours nécessaires à sa réalisation. Je ne l'ai vu que là (et je recommande Mary Kathryn pour son service et ses frais de port raisonnables) et ça a été le coup de foudre. Je me suis bien amusée à le broder, et il est lié à de bons souvenirs puisque je l'ai principalement brodé tout en discutant avec San pendant que nos zômms jouaient aux jeux vidéo (une vision charmante, si, si...).

I have stitched it on 28 count Zweigart lugana but I can't tell the name of the colour. I might frame it someday, and it will probably be a white frame. What do you think?

Il est brodé sur de la lugana 11 fils mais je ne connais pas la couleur. Je pourrais bien l'encadrer un jour, en blanc sûrement. Vous en pensez quoi?

I have received great answers about my previous post dedicated to the future of our stitching. I want to point out two special blogs I have discovered thanks to this post:

J'ai reçu des réponses intéressantes à propos de mon dernier post dédié à l'avenir de nos broderies. Je voudrais signaler deux blogs découverts grâce à ce post:

Teejay has a creative way of finishing -and in my opinion making sure that they don't end up in a bin- her stitching: she makes books with them, using scrapbooking techniques. It's amazing and you really gotta see it! I haven't made a link to the special pages dedicated to the scrapbooking, you just have to scroll down. That way, you can see her wips...

Teejay a une façon de finitionner très créative -et à mon avis, d'être sûre que ses broderies ne termineront pas à la poubelle: elle en fait de beaux livres en utilisant des techniques de scrapbooking. C'est épatant et il faut vraiment voir ça. Je n'ai pas fait de lien direct vers les posts concernés, ça vous permettra de voir ce qu'elle brode actuellement...

Debi has another idea. She's a historian and -as such- she does care about the future of our stitching. She has great ideas about the whole subject and I do think you should read them too.

Debi a une autre idée. Elle est historienne et, en tant que telle, elle se sent particulièrement concernée par l'avenir de nos broderies. Elle a de chouettes idées sur le sujet et je vous invite à la lire si vous parlez anglais. Et puis elle brode aussi...

I want to thank everyone of you for your answers on that matter, that really counts for me.

Je tiens à remercier chacune d'entre vous pour votre intervention sur ce sujet qui me tient à coeur.

My next post is for very soon: I will show my fist part of Anne's Sampler sal. That is, I just need to iron that fabric (yuk...), take that pic and it's an awful dull day, and upload it on my computer. That's almost mission impossible because I always use my scanner but this wip just won't fit... Lol!

Mon prochain post est pour très bientôt: je montrerai la première partie de mon Sampler d'Anne. Enfin, il faut juste que je le repasse (beurk!), que je fasse la photo et c'est un jour morose, et que je la transfère sur l'ordi. C'est presque mission impossible parce que j'utilise toujours mon scanner normalement mais là, ça va pas rentrer...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Bisous, les Brodeuses!

Lili

The future of our finished projects

2008-01-11T11:22:00.000+01:00

Hi stitchers!

Bonjour les brodeuses!

From now on, this blog will be written both in English and French. This is mainly due to the fact that I am taking part in French sals.

A compter de ce jour, ce blog sera rédigé en anglais et français, étant donné que je participe à des sals français.

I have just read one of San' s latest post. She expresses her concerns about her stitching. When she chooses a project, she asks herself what she will do with it, often ends up offering them; and finally her choices are often conditioned by these considerations.

Dans un de ses derniers posts, San évoque la destination de ses broderies. Lorsqu'elle choisit un projet, elle se demande ce qu'elle va en faire après (tableau, coussin...) et ses choix sont plus ou moins dictés par ces considérations.

In the past -and you can see it clearly when reading my older posts- I used to stitch only for gifts. Now, I only stitch for myself, hence the change in my choice of designs (also due to my being a fashion victim when it comes down to stitching). I never think of what to do with the finished piece: they mostly stay in beautiful boxes, and -sometimes- end up half sewn into pillows. I don't care: all the fun is in stitching for me.

Avant, je brodais principalement pour en faire des cadeaux. Maintenant, je ne brode que pour moi, d'où le changement de designs (aussi dû au fait que je suis une victime de la mode pour tout ce qui concerne la broderie). Je ne me demande pas ce que je vais faire avec mes broderies terminées: elles finiront dans une jolie boîte -ou bien elle seront cousues à moitié pour devenir des coussins qu'elle ne seront finalement jamais... Ca m'est égal, tout ce qui m'amuse, c'est broder.

The little project you can see here is one of the few exceptions: I have turned this little house -stitched one on one on 25 count white lugana- (a freebie by Maryse for 2007, I have removed the enjoy 2007 and placed hearts instead, don't ask why, lol!) into a scissor fob with the fabric you can see under and a white cord.

Le petit projet que vous voyez là est une exception: j'ai transformé ceette petite maison -brodée en 1/1 sur de la lugana 10 pts-(un freebie de Maryse pour accueillir l'année 2007 un peu transformé avec des coeurs, parce que j'adore les coeurs) en coussin à ciseaux avec le tissu en-dessous et une cordelette blanche.

Now, my biggest concern is not there. It is in the future of my stitching. I mean, whatever I say, I clearly think about the heirloom dimension of my stitching. I think that I cross stitch for my children, for my heirs. Sometimes, I fear that my stitching will end up thrown in a bin. It doesn't really matter actually as when I'm dead, I just won't give a damn. Yet, when I see these texts in samplers that say "when this you see, remember me", it makes me shiver. Both with fear and admiration. And envy.

Pour moi, la question de fond n'est pas dans la place sur le mur ou à qui ira le joli coussin (quoi que je me les pose aussi ces questions-là!!!). Non, mon problème à moi, c'est de savoir ce que deviendront mes broderies. Je pense à leur qualité d'"héritage" (heirloom est un terme difficile à traduire en français). Je pense que je brode pour mes enfants, pour les générations futures. Parfois, j'ai peur que mes broderies ne terminent dans une poubelle. En un sens, ce ne sera pas si grave: étant morte, qu'est-ce que ça pourrait bien me faire? Pourtant quand je vois dans des samplers des phrases qui disent (en anglais) "quand vour verrez ceci, pensez à moi", eh bien, j'en frissonne. De peur et d'admiration. Et d'envie.

And I'll tell you why I'm scared: I remember getting rid of very old white sheet from my grandmother's house. They were embroidered with initials of our family. They have ended in a big fire. This was caused by ignorance: there was no one then to see the wonderful heirloom they represented.

Et je vais vous dire pourquoi j'ai peur: lorsque nous avons débarrassé la maison de ma grand-mère quand elle est partie en maison de retraite (son choix), je me rappelle avoir jeté des draps anciens monogrammés aux initiales de notre famille. Ils ont fini en cendres. L'ignorance en est la cause: il n'y avait personne alors pour voir le trésor que cela pouvait représenter.

I remember throwing away the little embroidery that my mother in law made for my daughter's birth. That was caused by hatred. I would still do it.

Je me rappelle avoir jeté le petite broderie faite par ma belle-mère pour la naissance de ma fille. La haine en était la cause. Je le referais.

So what if I should inspire hatred or indifference and all the love and care invested into my stitching were to finish into ashes?

Alors voilà: et si je devais inspirer une haine ou une indifférence telles que tout l'amour et le soin que je mets dans mes broderies doivent en jour partir en cendres?

Wow... I have truly opened my stitcher's heart very wide here... I hope you have survived...

Là, j'ai vraiment étalé mon coeur de brodeuse bien à plat... J'espère que vous avez survécu...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Bisous, les brodeuses!

Lili

Euh... Lili

PS: I am often asked about the references of the heart that goes with my profile. It comes from a Mango book called Coeurs by Monique Bonnin.

PS: On me demande souvent les références du coeur qui accompagne mon profil, il vient d'un livre collection Mango intitulé Coeurs par Monique Bonnin.

PPS: The Prairie Schooler Xmas tree comes from a leaflet simply named "Christmas Trees". There are six different ones in the leaflet.

PPS: Le sapin Prairie Schooler vient d'un recueil intitulé "Christmas Trees", il y en a six différents dans ce leaflet.

French language and SALs

2008-01-04T11:55:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

As you know, my native language is French. It's a real chance as this is a difficult language and learning it as a second or third language is no piece of cake. I know: I have taught French to a few foreigners, with success in most cases conditioned by the amount of work my students were willing to provide...

I'm a good teacher but I don't like teaching. Mainly because I hate wasting my time on kids who think that the fact that mum and dad pay for individual lessons will excuse them from working...
And I'm a hard worker. Lol!

Anyway, this is not the subject of this post.

I have received quite a few requests for information concerning French sites and designers. It is true that French designers are very imaginative and have a special style -just like US designers have. I love both -but I prefer US ones...

I have decided to try and share as much information as possible about French designers in this blog. This will allow those of you who are interested to have access to them more easily.

For the first time last November, I have subscribed to a sal -based on a freebie- called Un trimestre ensemble -sal de la forêt. The designer is Catherine Deyts and here's a link to her site: there. If you have any questions, let me know. My first objective is done (see above), the second one is about to be done. I like the fact that this sal is not too demanding, leaving plenty of time to stitch other things in between.

Today, I have just subscribed to a second French sal -based on a freebie- called Sal du Sampler de Anne that will result in this:

Isn't it gorgeous? Anne is a designer also known as Tournicoton and she has a passion for traditional French samplers. All information here, let me know if you need any help.

For this one, I am fully aware that I'm biting more than I can chew but I have been craving on this project for months now -never finding the courage to start it. Now, this sal might make things more simple for me. That's what sals are for, they say... But the objectives will be ambitious... We'll see!

Considering how many wips I have (and only I know, better that way... Lol!), this is complete madness. But hey, you only live once (rats!!!)! Lol!!!

Gotta sign off and prepare lunch now...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Snowmen are not only for Xmas

2008-01-01T12:57:00.001+01:00

Soooo, I wanted to tell you -just in case you hadn't seen them yet- that two lovely snowmen freebies have just been released.

The first one -my favourite, I have already stitched it- is Angel San's snowman. You can find it here and it's the perfect scissors fob for the season (I have used The Drawn Thread's method to finish it). My version of San's snowman is on San's blog too.

Glory Bee have also released a cute snowman.

Enough to keep you busy for these winter months. Here in Northern France, white snow is a wish, not a fact...

I have always fought New Year's Resolutions, because I know I will never comply with them so it frees me from guilt... Lol! But here's one though, that you can check and remind me just in case: I have decided that my blog wasn't very beautiful compared to others. Let's face it: I'm not a computer whiz but I think I can have this blog more beautiful.

This is the second clipart image I include in my blog, it's easy and fun (never thought it was!). I'd like to add many more but I don't really know where to find them. Can anybody help? Key words to use or great sites? Thanks in advance!

I wrote my Happy New Year post this morning at 1am. During the night, I have thought of many things I wanted to say... So here it is:

May 2008 be nice to you, bring you and your loved ones health and peace and may you enjoy lots of simple happy moments. Every time I sit to stitch, I feel it gives another dimension to my life. I know it's the same for many of you and I hope that this sweet, healing feeling stays the same for all of us, and that it keeps us together (am I sounding pompous? Lol!).

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Happy 2008!!!

2008-01-01T01:10:00.001+01:00

Just to wish you a happy new year. You have made my 2007 so much more beautiful, you have filled it with friendship, love and beauty. Thank you. And let's go on sharing!!!

Big huge hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Gingham and stripes and to all a good night

2007-12-24T13:29:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I'm late to write this post... I wanted to wish you all a merry Christmas, but I'm afraid you'll read this after D-day... That's the story of my life: I'm always late. Lol!!!

It's almost Xmas Eve here... Daphné and I have just cooked a few dozen cookies, and DH is about to prepare the meal: crayfish and chanterelle... The mere thought of shelling these poor animals (bought dead and deep frozen -thank God) makes me shiver...

Here's a freebie by Waxing Moon that is no longer available on the net, -as far as I know... I made a big mistake in the green squares all around so added these big stars to hide them...

I think you all know this Lizzie Kate Santa... I have fallen in love with him, he is so cute with his pyjamas and the mouse and the hot chocolate before he goes to bed. Very close to my idea of Santa after he has given gifts to all the children of the world. He sure deserves a little rest...

I have used good old DMC for this design, because I think that bold colours suit him fine actually (We have watched "Love actually" for the fifth time yesterday night, such a nice Xmas movie, that always makes me feel like using the word "actually" more often... Lol!).

Confession: stitching all those stripes was quite boring... actually...

And here's one of those small projects that have distracted me from my Xmas stitching. It sums up my philosophy perfectly...

The bully boy hasn't disturbed my son again. Better not... Thank you for your support, I must confess we had a raw deal there...

Enough talking now. Enjoy your holiday time with your loved ones, Ladies!

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Bullied

2007-12-07T13:46:00.000+01:00

We live in a quiet suburb, and our children go to good schools.
Yet, some time ago, my daughter was bullied by a boy in her class who broke her nose.
Yesterday, it was my son's turn in the school yard. A kid his age (12) suddenly slapped him in the face for no reason: Corentin didn't even know him!!! Then he hit him with his fiests: in the cheek and in the belly. Corentin is a pacific boy. I'm not.
He had three "friends" with him and nobody helped him.
I am appalled. I am furious. I am a mummy tiger.
After telling the man in charge of security in the college, I was informed that it was not the first time for the bully boy to do things like that. So I went to the college at noon today and almost had the bully boy pee in his pants. I don't regret a single threat I have said to him. I only want him to leave my baby alone.
I just needed to share this with you. No stitching here. Just despair and exhaustion.

Christmas and Secret Santa

2007-12-05T13:36:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I'll keep it short, things are hectic here and I hardly have the time to blog at all...

Still, there's a little time for stitching and here are a few unfinished finishes...

The tree is from a Prairie Schooler leaflet that I have dug in a LNS. It had been there for ages, but for me it was such a treasure... The price was still in French francs! So it had been there since before 2002 when the euro was firmly established as the European currency... I have stitched it on Zweigart 18 count aida, as specified. I have changed the colours of the santa, though.

This heart is a freebie by the famous French designer Isabelle Vailly. You can find it here. I have stitched it on 40 count linen with Vikky Clayton silk, ref Dragon Blood. This thread is soooo beautiful... The high count of the linen was hard on my eyes but the result is worth it anyway. If I'm very very courageous, I will turn it into a heart to hang in my sil's Xmas tree.

Finally, this sweet little angel is a Rico kit that I have stitched for my aunt. She loves angels so it was the ideal gift for her. All in all, it was an easy stitch but I didn't like doing it. I have come to dislike stitching spots of different shades that take life only when you add the backstitch (that I hate doing). This is naturally pushing me towards US designers and monochromes.

Our house is almost ready for Xmas. I wasn't exactly thinking of doing it last week end but DH said it would be a cause of divorce if the tree wasn't set for next week. Lol! Imagine the guy I met 18 years ago who had no idea of what Xmas spirit could mean! He's even worse than me now! Lol!!! So, I said: OK, set the tree (I was sick with gastroenteritis) and so he did. I still have a couple of things to tidy before I can finish decorating. Daphné has been a huge help, although she was ill too (flu). Poor "baby"... She's always adorable even when sick...

I also have a secret Santa who has sent me some gorgeous overdyed thread from Belgium but I can't find out who she is? Seems I'm not the only one out there... Thank you secret Santa. Though I feel quite frustrated to not be able to thank her (I guess he's a she) personally, I feel this gesture is soooo like the real santa's...

Before, I sign off, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all the ladies who read and take time to comment on this blog. I know how your lives can be hectic at the moment, and your taking time to leave a nice message is highly appreciated. Welcome to my new readers and commenters, I'll manage to your blogs asap

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

Xmas gear

2007-11-14T17:49:00.000+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

I'm trying to beat my own record at posting: two in two days. You should expect a long silence afterwards. No, I don't think so because I'm in Xmas gear now. Countdown started...

And here's my first project from JCS 2007, that took only an evening to stitch: it's by Scandinavian Stitches, and I've changed all the threads (the design called for flower threads, certainly a treat, but I don't have any). The green is DMC 4045, which I strongly advise for those Xmas greens. The hearts are Needle necessities and the pot is WDW unknown reference. There should also be a star up there but I haven't figured out what to use yet. Or if there should be a star after all... It took only an evening to stitch.

My Bent creek red bird samper is also finished, and I have enjoyed every stitch of it too. The tree is also DMC 4045. No, DMC don't pay me. Proof:

DMC, if you read me, when will you offer a decent Xmas red in your colour variation range?!

Rant over.

I will turn this one into a banner, it should be fun and I think I'm motivated enough to do something with this one... I'll keep you informed.

Today was wednesday and the kids have been very very excited, always teasing each other. I find it odd that a twelve year old boy can turn seven years old so easily and so many times a day with his young sister... Lol!

Time to give Daphné a bath and pray that she relaxes enough to sleep early... And then, time to watch season two of Doctor Who, with David tennant. For the moment, we've watched two episodes with him and we're still used to Christopher Eccleston... Let's give Mr tennant some time...

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili

November

2007-11-13T17:28:00.001+01:00

Hi Stitchers!

While it's still time, I thought I should show you these two projects stitched this autumn.

The pumpkin sampler is from an old French mag called Ouvrages Broderie, that has -unfortunately- disappeared... There's a sampler for every season, so I might show the winter one someday... Hard to know really, as my number of wips is exponentially growing... As long as I have finishes, I should not worry... Finishings are another story... I love choosing the adecuate fabrics, and then never ever come to sew the pillows. Pathetic...

This second project is a freebie by Waxing Moon designs that you can find here. What fun to use my overdyed threads for it... I know, my pumpkin looks radioactive, but I love that colour...

I want to thank all of you for the good wishes sent for my grandma. As some of you may know, my blog is my secret garden: my family (apart from DH and kids) don't know I have one, and I've wanted it that way so I could always express freely. Yet, in this particular situation, I have told my grandma about this blog and that women in the whole world were praying for her. She was extremely touched, and I felt how lucky I was for this friendship we share, that was born around the same hobby.

At her age, my grandma will not be treated. The doctors say that cells don't develop fast and that it is not that crab that will kill her. Well, the tumor is 12 on 6 cm, and all I hope is that what the doctors say is true. I mean, anything but pain...

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. What's the point of being stronger? Don't ask...

The sunshine of my life -well, one of them- is begging for the computer now. So I will let DS have it.

Hugs to you all, Stitchers!

Lili