A little bag

Yesterday was a most satisfactory day. Many items of my to-do list have been crossed. I like this feeling of having achieved my goals, whatever they are.
I've had made this embroidery some months ago, just because I found it cute. And yesterday, I thought it would made a nice bag for another niece. I made it very simple, as you can see. I hope she will enjoy it.

he strikes are over, the trains are on time again, so there was no problem to post all my parcels today. And I was lucky enough to go to the desk of the nice man at the post office. He is always patient, smiling, and tries to find the best solution for sending parcels abroad. What more would you ask for?
The weather cannot decide between sunny and rainy, nor between cold and mild. I had a surprise this morning went I went through the garden. In September, I have cleaned a bed. I was rather pleased to have removed all weeds. But with the recent rain, in just two days, this bed has turned green with tiny sprouts of weeds... I just had to laugh at the sigh.

I wish you all a very pleasant day!

Vegetables finished

To my daughters: don't read this post!

I've finished them at last. My first intend was to make one single wallhanging, but:

• I have two daughters,


• the backgrounds did not fit together.

So I've made two wall hangings. They will make two Xmas gifts, among others. The good thing is that they are small enough for my daughters to take them home, and to hang them in their small flats.

I've started packing my XMas gift this morning.
This one will find a new home at my sister's

It is from a pattern by Beth Ferrier, from Applewood Farm publications. I made sure the cats were away while this quilt was been photographed. But Choupette must have a sixth sense. She appeared out of nowhere at that precise moment...

And this one will be for her daughter:
It was a model by Magic Patch, dedicated to FME beginners, and it was indeed my first try at FME.

The parcels are ready, but I hesitate to bring them to the post office. The mail was on strike one day this week, and the trains have been for about one week, and this strike is not over yet. So I'm afraid the mail cannot be forwarded properly. I'll have some postcards ready tonight too, but with the same question, shall I post them or wait? I'll listen to the news, and will see if I have mail today.

TAST and other...

This is my sampler for TAST week46.

This stitch is fun to do, but I just cannot get it regular. Have to try again and again, because I do like it.

Speaking of TAST, Sharon is trying to set up a new challenge for new year. If you are interested, read her post and leave a comment to tell what you would like to do.

I'm so glad my GTS post has brought 10 comments already.

Regarding the weather, I'm like Sisah, I cannot believe it was winter until yesterday. On Sunday, the temperature dropped to -2°C, and this morning, at the same time, it was back to 12°C... I'm in the living room, with the French window open and the heating is off...

Regarding the lavender, well this plant is at home here. So no wonder it is that big. Although it is a English one, not a French one.

Thanks for the comments on the amaryllis. As it is a bulb I have purchased this year, no wonder it is that big. I've just started those of previous years, I don't know what they'll produce.

I've managed to make a "studio" from a spare bedroom. At the beginning, it was quite nice, with a lot of space to work on. But then, my daughters have changed flats, and left quite a lot of boxes in that room (in my bedroom too). Besides, I've been working on several textile projects recently, and did not take the time to put the fabrics away properly, so there was no space left on my table. And weird furry fabrics had appeared in my stash:

Since I need to find fabrics for XMas cards, it seemed the right time to do some cleaning. At the same time, I've reorganized the boxes my daughters left. I'm very pleased with myself and with the result. Plenty of free space, and fabrics back in their boxes. How long will that stay that way?

Amaryllis

Thank you for your kind comments about the weathers.

It is both unusual and usual.

I mean, in this part of France, the weather is mainly beautiful. But we have the Mistral, a wind that blows from the North, that can reach 100 km/hm and over. It is very cold, even in summer. But it rarely cuts the power off. And when it is blowing, the shy is bright blue, with no cloud. So it was a surprise to see the clouds gathering by noon, and the snow falling, and that densely. On the other hand, although snow is rare here, it is not unusual that it falls in November. It will stay for a couple a days, and then we don't see any for the rest of the winter.

This time it did not even reach my garden, and when I went back to the office on Friday, it was gone there too. The cold has remained though, but it is much colder in the rest of France than here. I have worked in my garden yesterday, and in the sun, it was quite pleasant.

Thursday was really a crazy day: it is very dry, and a forest was burning while the snow was falling. I think the firemen were happy that the snow had replaced the Mistral. The fire did not last.

Green Thumb Sunday

Anyway, there is not much left in the garden.

The yucca is still doing its best:

You might like the lavender. It is doing great, certainly it did not realize winter is here...
And inside, this is the amaryllis I had bought in September, in Marseille. Two stems on the same bulb, isn't it gorgeous? It is so big that I had to tie it to another plant to prevent it from falling.

JoinAs the Garden Grows for more information.

I wish you all a nice weekend.

Weather

I always tell you I live in a sunny and dry area. I've taken those pictures this afternoon through my office window. The white dots are snow flakes, huge snowflakes! Have you seen that Annica?
It has been snowing for two hours when I left my office, and it was going on.
I have a 30 minutes drive, about 30 km (20 miles). When I arrived home, the soil was dry. It is cold and cloudy, but no snow nor rain, at least yet.

And this morning, the wind was so strong that there was a power cut-off, just as I was going to shower. Had to find clothes as I could. Make-up and brushing had to wait until I reached the office. And as I came home tonight, lights were on almost everywhere... But that meant that the power was back, which is good news.

TAST, Vegetables, Misc.

For the TAST stitch of this week, I'm a bit lazy and will post a picture from the PLOS course I have attended with Sharon. My excuse is XMas frenzy. :-) Anyway, this is the third from the top.

Regarding that XMas frenzy, this is the squash. Not an easy one, due to the curved seams, but still fun to make. One broccoli to do, and then I 'll assemble the wall hanging with all those vegetables. Must be ready for XMas. I think it will be pretty in a kitchen.

As many of you have pointed, Assistant 1 named Choupette, the one that is sitting, is ready to take all the credit. Osiris does not mind as long as she gets all the love she wants.

Thank you also for the compliment on the rose. It is not the most beautiful in the world, not even of the year in my garden, but I was surprise by its size at this time of the year.

Have a nice week all!

Maryvonne's blog

I would like to introduce you to a friend's blog. It is in French, but with many pictures dealing about mail art, scrap booking and also drawing and painting. Don't hesitate to visit Maryvonne.

Maryvonne also left a comment on my blog, recommending to visit Barbara Schneider .

I hope you'll enjoy visiting both.