Venus

You know I was not satisfied with this: Arlee suggested a Venus. Which sounds good. Here she is... OK very primitive :-) At least, I've tried :-) So you guess, although I like the idea, I'm not yet satisfied (with me), but never mind, it was fun trying.

Spring!

Thank you all for your kind comments about my weekend projects. You know they mean a lot to me!
Nikkipolani asked about my garden. Well, I've been very lazy with gardening. Not all my fault: this year we have had a real winter, with snow and a lot of rain. The rainy days seemed to have a favour for weekends, so I spent very little time outside. But with several long weekends coming, things are going to change.
I've just toured the garden to see what has to be done. Answer: cleaning! Hence the weeds you will see in the pictures. Nonetheless, there are a few signs that spring is coming.
First, it is not yet dark, I even need my sun glasses to drive home :-)

Although I had been lazy, I managed to prune the roses at Xmas, so the snow did not damage them. They are getting themselves ready for the show:
Day lillies are eager to come out too:

just as bulbs:

and the Xmas rose loved the snow! Last year, it could not decide when to bloom. No hesitation this year:

When I arrive home, there is a nice scent to welcome me:

So, unless it is very cold, next Friday will be devoted to the garden!

Finished ... or not?

This weekend is a cool one. No on-line course to work on, no repairman to wait for, no travel to do. Perfect to tidy up things and show you some!
First a necklace we made at the shop, before Xmas. Not worn yet but longing to come out.

An little UFO: a wild woman, needed only a few beads to get ready for the picture.

Not an UFO, since it was started last Wednesday at the shop. A nice little purse, this one is quite simple. Deserves to get a bit wilder though.

This one is a true UFO. This is a project taken fro Quilting Arts issue December/January 2008. At the shop, we decided to do it as a scissors keeper. But none of us has been smart enough to check that we had enlarged the pattern enough for scissors to fit in... Of course, scissors are much larger... And now, though I'm pleased with it so far, I don't know how to finish it, and what to do with it. Any idea will be welcome...

I hope you enjoy your Sunday as much as I do!

Comments on Textile Experiments

Thank you all for your comments! Do not hesitate to go to this site, they have amazing stuff, and they are both so nice and gifted!
I feel very proud of myself: within this year, beside this course, I've learnt how to keep a sketchbook with Sharon, and more important, I do use it :-), Those samples and some more are now in a sketchbook, and I'm going to write down my own comments on those pieces, for future use. This course was so rich that I really needed to make notes to go on with my experiments. And writing things before doing them do highlight possible problems and save time on the whole.

The weekend is nearly here, I'm going to get rid of a few UFO!
Enjoy yourselves

Back from the big town!

I've spent the weekend in Paris!
Friday was dedicated to my sister and to Aiguille en Fête, a big show for stitchers and quilters. The weather was awful, cold and snowy, but my sister and I did not mind, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.
Here are my purchases, stuff by Oliver Twist, just in case, a box of perle thread from South Africa, a book about whitework, a felted belt, and some yarn by Habu textiles. I'm very curious about them, the grey one contains stainless steel...

The show was crowded, and outside it was very cold and grey, so no pictures of my sister and me. Shhhh.

On the Saturday, my sister was home, and Emilie and I walked in Paris. The weather was much better. We were wondering where we were going to have dinner. In fact, the answer has been quite simple: we collapsed on the couch!
On Sunday, before I left, we had our revenge, in a Cuban restaurant, full of spices and delicious scents.

I don't know what she is thinking of, but I like this picture: Short before we had to left, musicians arrived and sung and danced the salsa. It was very hard to go back to the station, I would have spent the afternoon listening to them.

Textile experiments

I've been following the on-line course by Carol McFee & Lynda Monk from http://www.fibreinform.com/

Here are some of my experiments.

Since they come from an on-line course, I won't explain the process. If you have the opportunity, don't hesitate, take that course, it is really good!

Notebook

Look at what I've just received from my sister: A lovely note book, with my name on it, and cats and birds... Thank you so much, Mano!

Why birds?

You already know two of my assistants, but there are three more. They have breakfast with me every morning, while the cats are in the garden, or in my bed.

Yesterday, the girls were really cute, so I had to make a picture. The boy has nothing to do with all this girlie stuff, he was on my other shoulder. The yellow one likes toasts, while the cinnamon one (in front) likes tea...

Helping Hand Award

Rosemary of Rosemary'Blog Spot has surprised me with an Helping Hand Award!

This award is meant to encourage and uplift others in the blogging world.

Here is how it works;

select 10 bloggers,

5 you consider your Helping Hand

and then Pay it Forward to 5 additional new bloggers, in support and encouragement for their efforts.

My helping hands would be:

JoWynn, for her support, and her embroidery skills,

Wurzel, for her friendship and beautiful garden,

Nikkipolani, for her food, cats and taste for good life

Lisa, for Luna and her beautiful garden

Kerri, for the colors she puts in our life

My Pay Forward would be:

Aiyana, who makes me discover cactii

The Ginger Darlings, because I love their word,

Neki, always full of good idea,

Annica, who inspires me for embroidery,

Arlee who pushes me behind my comfort zone.

There would be many more candidates, very difficult to make a choice...

Valencia, City of Arts and Sciences

The last pictures from Valencia.

Some random pictures. The buildings seem to be covered with ceramics. The effect of sun, water and ceramics is wonderful.