La Pomme

Spring and We're Moving

2011-05-20T02:11:00.000-07:00

We announced it a few months back, and we're doing it now: La Pomme Home, it's our new blog with a spanking new address, www.lapommehome.com. Follow us there!

10 Percent Off Everything!

2011-04-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am off and away.

Say yey! As announced, I'm off for a break to Africa from 9 April to 4 May, but La Pomme will remain open. Shipping will be delayed (your orders will begin shipping on the first week of May), but it will be your chance to get 10 percent off anything you buy at the shop. So both you and I get to have fun :)

Just type in the coupon code "vacationhey" when you checkout your purchases at the online shop and your discount will be automatically applied.

If you have any questions, send me a message through the shop. It may take me some time to respond, as I won't have access to the Internet all the time, but I will get back to you.

See you soon!

Moving

2011-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Movement seems to be the word to describe life these days. For one thing, my sister and I are working on La Pomme's new blog home, and should be launching that real soon. I promise - no, I swear! - that when that is launched I will be blogging so much more regularly that I am doing at the moment.

For another, husband, baby, and I are going to Africa for a few weeks to take a break from our normal hustle and bustle. We plan to do some serious chilling out, stay in places where there's no TV and no Internet connection, and just listen to the silence. Well, that, and wailing of the baby who, advanced as she was in walking and in growing teeth, has continued in her precocious ways and has hit her terrible twos many many months too early :)

Anyway. Let me make an announcement and say that if you've been wanting to get anything at the shop, please do so by 7 April so that I can ship your purchases off to you right away. Purchases made after this date will begin shipping in the first week of May.

Here are some new things we've stocked at the shop:

Vintage horn instruments.

Beer and lemonade bottles.

Carpenter's wooden vise to use as bookcases.

Reclaimed Postal Bags

2011-03-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

Here are new photos of the vintage postal bags I made for my Reclaimed line. Two of them are still available at the shop.

Reclaimed Pillowcases

2011-03-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

These pillowcases are recycled from vintage French ticking fabric. This kind of sturdy cotton was in the past used extensively in France to make mattresses. I found these pieces at various flea markets here in the south.

The idea for Reclaimed pillowcases came from seeing how my mother-in-law meticulously mended her children's clothes. Jeans were patched and re-patched at the knees. Holes in shirts were camouflaged with fabric of similar print. It spoke to me of love, frugality, and a natural environmental awareness.

Vintage "toile à matelas," or ticking fabric is quite popular in France now. Many crafters use them to make bags and scented sachets. Most, however, look for fabric in almost-pristine condition. Lengths that have too many holes or that are stained are ignored. And yet these pieces to me are somehow more interesting than their fresher counterparts. They have lived - if we can apply the term to inanimate objects - and are not afraid to show it.

I have taken the tattered and stained vintage ticking I have collected, and mended them, repairing holes and patching over major stains. The original mending I found on them, those made by previous owners, I have left intact. Some stains I left alone - proud marks of the fabric's history.

You can find these pillowcases at the Reclaimed section of the shop.

Reclaimed Pincushions

2011-03-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

The first pieces of my spring collection, these are now at the shop.

Recycled Vintage Postal Bags

2011-03-06T04:58:00.000-08:00

From my new collection, Reclaimed. Soon at the shop.

Boat on a Linen River

2011-02-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

Today I'm wishing to escape to somewhere far away...

A Bientot, Apples, Pears, and Angels

2011-02-16T10:10:00.001-08:00

I'm also a writer. It's not something I talk a lot about here on this blog, but I write speculative fiction, some of which have gotten published in magazines and book anthologies; and in 2009 I published a book of essays. To continue calling myself a writer, however, I have got to write. In 2010, all that I had published were stuff that I had written in the years before. I am disappointed with myself.

I have decided to make time for words, and that means having to give up a bit of my sewing.

My much-loved plush apples and pears, as well as my lavender sachets and scented angels, will be available at the shop only until ~~27 February~~ 5 March. After the 5th, I will only be accepting orders for them for weddings. Individuals who want to order them for their homes should do so before 27 February, or wait until September when they will be put back in stock, in time for the holidays.

Something to look forward to: End of February, I will begin putting up online pieces from Reclaimed, my new collection of functional home accessories made 100-percent from recycled fabric. Think mended and tattered made hip :) The bags, cushion covers, tea towels, and scented sachets in this collection will be all ready to ship.

March I'll be hunkering down in front of the computer, and I swear I'm going to be writing or else cut my fingers off! Wish me luck.

As a way to say "A bientot, see you soon," to my plush fruits and angels, here I am dedicating to them one of my stories. It's called "The Sewing Project," and you can find it by clicking here.

Valentine Night Sewing

2011-02-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

Celebrating Valentine's day is just not our thing, so tonight, while the husband watches a film, I plan to finish sewing up the pincushions made from scraps of fabric that I stamped for past projects. They're for my new collection, coming soon at the shop. As you can see from the photo, the collection is called Reclaimed.
To all those who are celebrating V-day, enjoy and be sure to exchange plenty of kisses!

Uhmmm, Excuse Me....

2011-02-14T03:11:00.000-08:00

... but I've realized - thanks to people much smarter than I am - that changing blogs right now, to the Wordpress address I mentioned in my previous post, would be a foolish thing to do because I had already bought a domain name, and this domain name can very well be the address of my new blog. So my sister is working on that (because I really am a techie-idiot), and we'll be launching the new blog under my very own domain name really soon. Meanwhile I am staying put and blogging right here. Really sorry for the confusion; I can be a real flake sometimes.

Everything else I said holds true, however. Starting now I'll be blogging mainly about my sewing and vintage-hunting, with the occasional "oh-look-what-inspired-me-recently" post. Things more personal you can find in my personal Facebook page. Fans of Provenciana, the book published in 2009 from the blog I wrote of the same name, should go to Facebook too. I'll be posting wacky new essays there soon. (I'm flaky, but trying oh-so-hard to organize my online life now!)

In the meanwhile, go take a look at some of this weekend's vintage finds which I'll be listing in the shop soon:

Antique pharmacy bottles
(Hey, these sold as I was writing this post-yippee!)

Old tin boxes

A dame-jeanne

We're Moving!

2011-01-27T01:39:00.000-08:00

Reorganizing things, and because I've been wanting a change, I am now blogging over at French Objects. This new blog will be more about stories about and photos of vintage finds and my sewn creations. I'm writing it together with the hubby. Personal life stuff (for those not yet sick and tired of my never-ending photos of Lilou and Pierre, for example :D) will now be posted at my Facebook account (my personal account, and not the sad, neglected fan page). See you over at French Objects then! It is still very new, I'm still building it, but you can already read a first post, which is about this:

Vintage Finds

2011-01-17T02:43:00.000-08:00

It's grey Monday here in the south of France, but the weekend was all bright sun and blue skies, perfect weather for going to the puces and brocantes, where we found a lot of the battered, decayed, and falling-apart-but-strangely-beautiful objects that I love. Some of them will be put up for sale at the shop this week, but some I'm keeping, like a box of old natural twine and a rusty old cup:

Work and Play

2011-01-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

I'm sewing new things, and it feels very good! In the mornings when my husband takes care of Lilou for a couple of hours, I almost run to the mobile home that we have transformed into my work space so I can get at it, that's how excited I am.

I've been making pillow cases, table napkins, pincushions, lavender bags (of course!), and even tote bags. All from recycled vintage fabric, washed and mended, and given new life. This is a peek at what it all kind of looks like:

I can remember when the seed for this new collection was planted in my head; it was about seven years ago when my husband unearthed a few of his old jeans from when he was still a teenager. The jeans had been patched and mended all over by my mother-in-law, a French country housewife. I was struck by how it spoke of frugality and of a great respect for the continued usefulness of objects, so different from the throwaway culture that I had been immersed in. Also: I kept thinking that the sewing and patching looked so artistic somehow. I know I kept a piece of one of those old jeans somewhere... I will post a photo as soon as I find it.

When I'm not working, I'm forcing myself to go out and go for walks with the little one, despite the often -bad weather. Being cooped up indoors for too long makes me cranky, I find. Here is a photo I took two days ago. In the distance you can see my mobile home work space.

Had My Cake and Ate It Too

2011-01-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday. My husband took me out to dinner at a restaurant we've been wanting to try for the longest time while mom-in-law looked after the baby. There were flowers, champagne, a great cake, and gifts to open. I have this thing about my birthdays, you know, something I carry over from childhood, that they never get celebrated because everybody is all celebrated out just after the holidays; so when that beautiful chocolate cake came out of the kitchen complete with those sparkly little candle thingies, I was a very happy girl.

Afterwards, I thought about sitting down to write some resolutions, but life is just too intense at the moment. I don't have much quiet time for the kind of thinking resolutions-making demand. So I'll let those go for now, and just live life as it comes.

P.S. As I write this, I am working into that cake so that it has gotten much smaller than how it looks in the picture. Burp.

On My Work Table

2011-01-05T12:35:00.000-08:00

Ragged edges, vintage white cotton, winter light, a found skeleton key - a peek at what I'm currently up to.

Gardening in Winter

2011-01-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

I am working on a new collection, which will be ready in February. I am concentrating on making functional pieces, and on using materials found and reclaimed. My goal is to not use anything new in the making of these objects, except for thread. The process is a lot more organic than usual; I have always been drawn to the imperfections and particularities that I find in vintage fabric, a hole or a stain maybe, so I am letting these holes and stains be, leaving them in as part of the finished object.

With my head up there in the air, in a creative cloud somewhere, I thought I'd share with you my recent discovery for greening up my interiors these winter months - aerial plants. At a Christmas market, I happened upon a vendor from Montpellier selling them. They're not exactly cheap, from 4€ to 12€ a piece, so I got just three. Then I installed them on dry branches, and hung them up on a white wall. Here is how they look:

Thankful

2010-12-31T17:01:00.000-08:00

The husband has a very bad cold, the baby has a stomach flu, and I have a fever, not a very good way to end 2010 and start 2011, but still I remind myself to be thankful.

Thankful, first of all, for that it is very rare for any of us to get sick -- so this is just us paying our dues to the universe, I tell myself -- and most of all for that 2010 was, all in all, a good year, the year when we concretized certain plans and when we had interesting projects begin.

I also tell myself to remember to be thankful simply for that we are together, the three of us; that my husband and I, by happy accident or divine destiny, call it what you will, found each other, and that Lilou, our shared "grand amour" then found us.

To welcome the new year in, we had planned to cook up a storm. To fill up shells with cut-up oysters, salmon, and apples; mini glasses with crabs and grapefruit; Asian soup spoons with scallops and litchis, but we didn't have the energy. We then thought abut booking at a restaurant, but it only took us two minutes to decide that that was a very very bad idea. So to celebrate while having to stay cooped up at home away from the partying crowd of healthy people, I cooked us some spicy soup filled with shrimps, clams, and coconut milk, and spiked with lime juice. Nothing can beat it for declogging plugged-up nostrils, I tell you! And after you finish your bowl, you're just thankful that the fire in your throat has ceased and that your eyes have stopped tearing up :)
Happy brand-new year, readers and friends! Remember to hug those you hold near and dear.

Photos of Lilou in a Tutu, on Christmas Day

2010-12-27T12:38:00.001-08:00

And one with Mama who, amidst all the gift-wrapping and Christmas-lunch-entrée-making, dressed all in black because she didn't have time to think of what else to wear!
I hope that the holidays are treating you nice! Mine is going along just fine.

P.S. Lilou's strange haircut courtesy of her Papa who, saying that Lilou looked like a Playmobile toy with her bangs cut straight across, decided that Lilou would look so much better with her ears showing. So he took a pair of scissors... and transformed her from Playmobile character to monk from the Middle Ages. Sigh.

Holiday Sale

2010-12-23T16:50:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I thought you'd like to know that I'm having a little sale over at the shop of some vintage goods and overstock of some apples and pears, including a couple of sets of these Peace, Joy, and Bounty Apples from my Autumn-Winter 2010 collection. All holiday-themed pieces will be removed from the shop at year's end, so if you've been eyeing these, it's the time to get them! The sale is happening here.

Feels Like Christmas

2010-12-21T13:22:00.001-08:00

I finally had time to do some Christmas decorating - say yey! After my 16-month-old spring roll made the Christmas tree in one of the village cafés come crashing down (yes, she is that kind of toddler), I decided to skip the tree in the house, and concentrate on decorating in areas high enough that she can't reach.

Here's a shot of the fireplace, which we dressed up with the branches I saved from the weeping willow that was felled by a storm this autumn; a bird by Abby Glassenberg, some of my own plush fruits, and cute little animal ornaments made from polymer clay by Heartshaped Creations. There are also vintage objects - my collection of vintage white ceramic horses; keys, a pocketwatch, and two miniature copper cups. I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out.

I'm excited for Christmas day to come, because then my husband and I get to give out the presents we chose, most of which were made by local artists and artisans. That which I am most excited about is the wooden rocking horse we got spring roll Lilou, who loves riding horses on carousels. The horse she'll be getting is painted white, and looks really pretty. And the box it comes in is bigger than she is! I'll post pictures when the wrapping paper has been cleared away.

I hope you're all swinging into the Christmas spirit. It took me time, but I definitely am in a holiday mood now!

Hello There

2010-12-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

One of the commandments I live by is "Thou shalt not whine," but I shall have to break it this time to explain why I disappeared so long here on the blog, and permit myself to scream, "November was horrible!!!"

The horrible-ness involved the loss of a babysitter, the loss of Internet connection at home for almost three weeks (long story), the loss of electricity for a couple of days (we had our new old house rewired), the loss of hot water for the same number of days (due to the electrician making a mistake in his rewiring), and the crashing of my computer just as November was about to end. All these led to me almost losing my marbles, because it had to happen just when Christmas orders were due, and also when suddenly the vintage goods sections of the shop started doing really really well.

Picture me elbow-deep in cardboard boxes packing vintage orders in the mornings, when the husband takes care of the baby, and then sewing up apples, pears, and lavender bags at night, when the house was quiet and everybody was asleep, sometimes until three in the morning!

To say that it has been hectic would be an understatement.

But now - big sigh of relief here - life is back in order, and we even had time to take a small break last weekend. We stole off for an unplanned little getaway in Marseille, where we happened upon a carousel near the old port, and I snapped this photo of my two loves:

I'm back blogging, for real now.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

I Disappeared

2010-11-14T01:32:00.000-08:00

And I'm still not here! I am currently stuck in the Middle Ages, with no Internet connection at home (long story). It will be at least a week before things get fixed, so until then, this blog will be sleeping...

P.S. To those who joined the giveaway in the post below, I promise to pick a winner as soon as I'm back in modern days and have the Internet humming.

Guessing Game Monday

2010-10-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

What is this thing I have in my hand?

One of the things I absolutely love about vintage-hunting is happening upon some quirky piece of history, which is what happened the other weekend, when I found this old device in the market in Carnon. What do you think it is? And no, this is not yet listed in the vintage section of the shop, so there are no clues there :D

Get researching on Google, or invent an answer, but tell me what you think this machine is and do it quick! I'll pick a random winner by Friday. The winner gets one of my Golden Apples.

And, you must know by now that I love to laugh, so whoever manages to make me laugh out loud with an invented answer will get a consolation prize. If you can pass the word around about this giveaway, I'll be happy. Thanks!

Morning Rant

2010-10-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

Part of breakfast today was an apple. An apple that I peeled because apples appeared somewhere on a list of "dangerous foods" because apparently they're now sprayed with so much pesticide that we're advised to peel the skin off to reduce the risk of all those horrible things pesticides can do to us. This is a sorry state we're in, isn't it? For doesn't half the joy of eating an apple lie in biting right down on the skin and hearing that ka-rruuunch in your ears as you tear off a piece of the fruit and then chew it (more ka-rruunch here), skin, meat, and all?

"Then buy organic," I hear some of you saying. Yes, I do, but this yellow apple variety that I particularly like does not appear in the organic section of my supermarket, only the Granny Apples do, and they are just too tart for me in the mornings (sorry,Granny). I am not going to go ranting and raving here at the food industry and the surreality of the way we humans now nourish ourselves, I am just whining about how I can't have a decent apple in the morning, how I can't eat my apple the way it should be eaten, skin and all.

My Afternoon, in a Picture

2010-10-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reasons I love being able to work from home.

A Malicious Wind and Reworking My Apples and Pears

2010-10-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

Our weeping willow tree died, did I tell you? I think on Twitter I did. It was a couple of weeks ago, when the Mistral came blowing down on us and wreaked the havoc it normally does. I have ceased getting headaches every time that wind comes, but I still don't like it. I think there is something just a tad bit evil about the Mistral...

Anyway, killed our weeping willow it did, made it break its trunk down near the roots. It is one of those weeping willows with curly branches, if you know the variety, a saule pleureur tortueux. It is a beautiful tree. Was. Was a beautiful tree.

Most of it will be for the fireplace this winter, but those branches are just too graceful to not do anything with. I took some for myself, and plan to do many things with them, like cover them with lace and make fabric flowers to attach to them.

I've also taken some to make twigs for my reworked Pearfect Pears and Apples of My Eye. These new versions of two of my classic fruits are prettier, I think, and more affordable; my homage to an innocent tree felled by a bad, bad wind. I hope you like them.

What's Cooking?

2010-10-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

Or rather, who is cooking?

Oh , yes, this is another thing to add to my current creative obsessions. I have always liked cooking - I am an unhappy girl if I don't have my hot, home-cooked meal at night - but lately, and I must admit it started from having watched a few episodes of Masterchef and thinking "I wanna join this cooking show!", I have been taken by the idea that I must improve my techniques and widen my culinary repertoire.

So Saturday, the husband came home with a gift for me, a tome of a recipe book called Saveurs de France, and Sunday morning I was hunting for ingredients. Now, I had never really followed recipes before, having learned to cook by picking up bits and pieces of technique here and there, so Sunday night was a whole new experience in measuring out orange juice in deciliters and butter in grams for me.

The result was - and I am not just tooting my own horn here, I swear - quite good! Husband says he thinks now that the recipe book is actually a gift for him. Cheeky man.

Here then, in pictures, are last night's Legumes Confits Aux Olives et Au Roquefort or Vegetables Confit (how do we say this in English?!) in Olives and Roquefort Cheese, which I chose because I never knew that vegetables and roquefort mixed,

and Magret de Canard Sauce à l'Orange or Duck Breast in Orange Sauce, which was served with white rice.

Recipe books rock, I now think. They make you discover combinations of flavors you had never tried before. Quite exciting. Tonight, after a dinner of something a little more ordinary, I'm going to plunge back into that recipe book to see what I'll cook up next.

On the Way to the Post Office, I Saw This

2010-10-07T03:11:00.001-07:00

Because of all the things that I need to do and the multitude of tasks I often have to leave undone, I sometimes forget - no, I often forget - to look. Just look.

I realized this yesterday, when on my to the post office, I decided I had had enough of contemplating pavement and saw this. Everyday, ordinary beauty, that's for sure, but beauty nonetheless.

Look. Another thing to put on my to-do list.

Apple Season Again

2010-10-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

This is what I am currently working on:And this is what I received in the mail from Sonia, winner of my Alphabet Apple giveaway. She drew the apple on a thank-you card, and I am so delighted that I have decided to frame the card and hang it on our hallway. Sonia is a happy discovery for me. When I want to procrastinate, I've been going to her blog to look at her beautiful photos, and I have put on my to-do list to, when I find the time, read through her natural-dyeing blog. I made experiments with natural dyeing years ago, using linden leaves and some berries, and this blog is making me want to try it again. I hope you enjoy discovering Sonia's works as much as I am.

Photography Confession

2010-10-02T01:26:00.000-07:00

Part of the reason I have been filling the shop with vintage goods is a strange one: I have been bitten by the photography bug! (Another part of the reason is that since my early 20s I've thought that owning a vintage shop was a very cool job, and another part is a business decision that I'll be talking about another day.)

Taking photos for the shop has never really been one my favorite things to do. It was just a necessity, so I put my apples and pears in a lightbox, clicked on the camera button, and considered my job done. Now, things have changed. The other night, I put myself to sleep thinking of the perfect way to style vintage music sheets; and last night I was up until 2 a.m. editing photos, and this after a particularly trying day with a very cranky still-sick-and-at-the-same-time sprouting-a-tooth spring roll!

I think it is this mysterious beauty I have always found in old objects that is pushing me to improve my photography skills. I want to convey this warm kind of tingly excitement that feels itchy in the chest (do you ever get that?) that I get whenever I find a vintage object I love.

I want to take photography courses! I want to learn some Photoshop! I want to learn to style for magazines! And I know this is also just me having trouble controlling my creative exuberance :D

With this post are photos of vintage objects that, because of their form, I found particularly hard to photograph. You're welcome to tell me what you think.

My Weekend Epiphany

2010-09-27T03:02:00.000-07:00

It was quite calm, this weekend of mine. We stayed home for the most part, as for the first time ever in her 12 and a half months on this planet, the spring roll got sick. Nothing major, just a cold, but still, we decided to keep her in.

Saturday afternoon, the spring roll was bored, so I strapped her into her bike (the kind that maman pushes from behind), and we took a walk. We ran into an acquaintance that I had not seen for a very long time. During our brief talk, she let drop that that night she was going to party at this very hip, very in club. I knew from the way she slipped that detail in when it had no connection at all to what we had been talking about, and also from knowing that she was just the kind of girl for whom these things are important, that it was her way of letting me know that she herself was now also very hip and very in.

On the walk back home, pushing the spring roll who was happily chanting "do-doh-doh," I remembered when I was also a bit like that. Just a bit, I swear, but because of my job and perhaps my youth, to a certain extent I also defined myself by where I got invited to and by who I hung out with when I got there. I felt very glad that I had left all that way behind.

Here then, in pictures, is a little summary of my not-at-all hip weekend existence:

Real pears, not just fabric-and-stuffing ones,
do occasionally make an appearance in my life.

A troubled nap for the sick little girl.

I spent a couple of hours taking photos of our latest vintage finds.

The old-bread basket needs emptying, yes it does...

Photos of Old Bottles

2010-09-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

Old medicine bottles are among my absolute favorite vintage things to find. There is something infinitely mysterious and just a little bit menacing about them, I think. They aren't easy to photograph, though, especially the clear glass ones, which take in so much light.

Some of these bottles are still at available at the Vintage Home section of the shop.

Yesterday's Work

2010-09-18T03:15:00.001-07:00

Friday was a good day.

I managed to sew a few cotton bags that I'll use for packaging my Autumn-Winter Collection.

I sent off the latest of my La Couturière, "The Seamstress," vintage sewing boxes with all kinds of notions I find in vintage fairs and flea markets. I am happy that these boxes are popular at the shop because I really take great pleasure in putting them together. This last one I finished off with an extra doily, and it reminded me of Star of the East's urchin jewelry.

Then to end my precious few working hours, I finished a bunch of Yoda Pears, which make me smile every time I look at them. I think they look fun and cool and modern. And they can be found here.
Now I think I'll relax, tonight invent a chicken recipe using rosemary (because I have four big bushes and I have to do something with all that herb!) and maybe visit the car boot sale at the Boudres quartier of our village tomorrow to see if I can find anything interesting for our vintage goods section. Have a fun and creative weekend, everyone!

Photos of Home (and a giveaway - again!)

2010-09-16T02:03:00.000-07:00

We're advancing a little bit more in decorating the little home in the country we moved into three months ago - yey! While going through photos I've been taking of our interiors, I realized that our home actually looks like my shop - lots of whites and browns, lots of light, and an obvious love of empty space. Most of the photos you see here is actually for our vintage goods. So when you go to La Pomme, it's actually like you're visiting our home, and that's nice isn't it?

I take a break from all the serious wood-and-linen thing we have going on by going for unexpected décor pieces, like one of my own plush pears and a bird from Abby Glassenberg on top of the fireplace. Still in very restrained colors, yes, I know.

I'm specially happy because this past week, our bench was delivered. We had it made by an artisan I met at our village's weekly vintage market. His name is Patrick Gilles (and as soon as I find his calling card, I'll post a link to his website here), and he makes wonderful furniture from recycled wood. Our bench is made from a combination of an African hardwood and beechwood, and with its inclined back rest and polished edges, has got to be the most comfortable bench I have ever had the pleasure to sit on!

And just to show that we are not entirely color-free, here is Lilou's play area, a curtained-off part of the living room. The rug is from Ikea (and it seems like every little girl I know has one), and Mr. Ugly Cow (my name for him) was a gift from a cousin.

About the giveaway: Ravenhill's lovely Emily - whose way with colors I covet! - is hosting a giveaway to celebrate the launch of my Autumn-Winter Collection over at her blog. Click here to join.

And the Winner Is...

2010-09-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

... Sonia!

Last night, I put all your names in a bowl and drew the winner. You're the lucky girl, Sonia. Congratulations on winning the Alphabet Apple. (I can't access your blog, though, so if you can get in touch with me here with your e-mail address that would be great.)

It was lots fun reading about your school memories, everyone. Thank you for participating, and see you at the next giveaway.

Back to School Giveaway

2010-09-10T01:19:00.000-07:00

I used to love going back to school because the smell of my new books and notebooks made me happy; but hated it, too, because it meant waking up at dawn to get to my classes on time. Until now the memory makes me want to crawl back under the covers and hide from my alarm clock!

Wave your hands up in the air if you're done with the back-to-school rush and say "Whew!" While the not-so-little-anymore spring roll is still too little to be packing her school bag, I can imagine what it must be like to go through the whole business of changing from slow summer days to active school ones. I know many of you out there are just now having the time to breathe from all the September activity, so I thought I'd help you relax with a little weekend giveaway. Just because.

Tell me why you love OR why you hate going back to school and you can win the Alphabet Apple above.

If you've been to school, are still going to school, have kids who go school, or a family member you're helping through school, you're welcome to join. Tell me your love or hate school thoughts in the comments section. This giveaway is not going to last long! I'll pick a random winner on Monday.

Taming my Creativity

2010-08-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

In this post I said that the reason I am now working on themed collections is that I don't anymore have the luxury of time enough to constantly create new things, but I am finding that having to put my mind to working on a fixed theme has another effect, aside from that of saving me precious time, and one that I am equally glad for.

I talked about it in my Etsy Featured Seller interview back in 2008, and up till now I still feel that I need to tame my creative exuberance, because while it helps me come up with some crazy-loveliness, I have to admit that it also leads to me making some downright ugly things too.

The sense of having certain mental controls is also comforting somehow, it focuses my energies. This path is interesting.

Happy Birthday, Lilou

2010-08-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

I hope you had fun at the party, you funny, lovely, fearless little girl! I'm looking forward to all the laughing and hugging (as well as a bit of crying, I am sure), that you, Papa, and I are going to share this second year together.

And for friends who will complain if I don't post more pics of the spring roll, here are some from her birthday party yesterday:

Cake!

No, I didn't talk to her friend's mom about matching outfits, it just happened,
right down to their exactly-the-same green ruffled underpants!

And there goes the ruffled underpants.

We seemed to have had a thing for funny head pieces yesterday...

Autumn-Winter Collection 2010

2010-08-23T03:51:00.000-07:00

My new collection is live at the shop! The theme for Autumn and Winter 2010 is "Peace, Joy and Bounty." These are my wishes for you this season, because who doesn't need these three elements in their lives right now.

I'm using a lot of French vintage ticking fabric. I really like how this material is from days long gone yet still looks so modern and clean. Aside from the more common brown-and-white ticking, I've managed to find rarer red-and-white varieties. They've become apples (what else?), as you'll see below.

As always, I am using scents, this time not just lavender, but also cloves and star anise. If you can smell my work room these days! It reminds me of a luxe day spa. Ahh, if only there was a masseuse waiting for me there to give me a great massage... but I am going off-tangent here, so back to my collection. Here are a few pieces, if you want to have a look:

Mini White Apples holiday ornaments, scented with cloves and anise.

Red Plush Apples, made from vintage French ticking fabric and scented with lavender.

Joy Pears, curvier cousins of my popular Love Pears.

All the pieces in this collection will be packaged in gift bags recycled from old blankets, and will look something like this.

You know where to go to find them! Over at the shop here.

Suggested Activity for a Summer Day

2010-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

When life gives you lemons...

... take two or three of them, chunk these in a plastic bin full of water, and go fishing!

At least that was what we did at a recent weekend barbecue over here. And, nope, it wasn't a party just for kids. Lots of fun guaranteed, although those lemons are a hard bunch to catch with your teeth. Try it and tell me how you did.

Where To, Part 2

2010-08-13T03:22:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking more about my post of yesterday, and realized that while the income would of course be welcome, my dilemma is not about that. It is, as I already said in the comments section, a sense that I may be neglecting something important here, that I may be letting an opportunity pass.

That, plus my upbringing and my A-type personality. It had been drilled into my head since I was little that I have to make something of myself; and I had always been one to not let interesting prospects pass.

Then again, right now my little girl is the no. 1 most interesting thing in the world to me.

Ah! All these issues, when I had promised myself to just enjoy what remains of summer!

At least one of the things that I have settled in my head is that from now on I will work with collections. You see, before I had thrived on the excitement of producing something new for the shop all the time, all year round. This way I came up with lots of crazy-lovely things, like my teacup terrariums and boxed universes. Now, I simply don't have the time, so it will have be a fixed set of products launched every three or four months. Every now and then, count on my restless nature to push me to come up with some random crazy-loveliness, but this will now be the exception rather than the rule.

I've been working on my Autumn-Winter collection these past few days. I'm using lots vintage French ticking fabric, and using new herbal concoctions -- think lavender mixed with cloves and star anise. I love how it spells both sweet and spicy at the same time. Here's a peek into my work space (Edited, of course, so you don't see all the mess, because one thing I really don't have time for is cleaning my sewing room!):

Where To?

2010-08-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

I was going to tell you all about my fun but exhausting weekend which involved, among many other things, a suprise birthday party for my stepdaughter (That's us in a pear-eating contest above.), but reading Dana's blog post today, and the link to the blog post by Enhabiten and the NY Times article found there, got me sidetracked, thinking of where I am with my business.

I started La Pomme in 2007, but back then it was just a hobby, and I only really managed to put together a cohesive product line some time in 2008. Then 2009 came, and it was crazy! Orders started coming in that I could barely keep up with, and it became apparent that La Pomme could be a viable business.

But then our little girl was on the way. We had decided in 2008 to have her, as I was in my late 30s and waiting any longer seemed foolish. So at the same time that La Pomme was kicking off, she was starting to kick around in my belly too.

When Lilou was born last August, spending as much time as I could with my first baby was the only real choice for me, however this doesn't mean that I didn't find it difficult and frustrating having to put the brakes on a promising business start.

These days, I kind of coast along, content on earning minimum wage, giving myself a pat on the back when I can manage to send off an order of 50 Inspiration Apples given a lead time of a month, when once upon a time I could do more than a hundred apples in a week!

My baby is turning one very soon, though, and I am beginning to re-think things. Do I continue to coast, or do I rev up the business engine? Am I ready to do that, and accept all the stress that goes with it?

It's August

2010-08-01T02:58:00.000-07:00

I just realized that it's the first day of August. Imagine that.

This month, late this month, Lilou turns one. How fast time flies. I remember this same day last year I was wobbling about, feeling so heavy and tired all the time, ceaselessly telling her, "Baby, baby, please come out now." I was so impatient.

Now she's here, and every day she changes a little bit. Just yesterday she finally started saying "Papa" after weeks and weeks of playing with "Mama." This morning, perhaps feeling lazy and thinking a shortcut would do no harm, she was going, "MaPa."

When I look at her I often find myself trying to memorize the details -- how the folds in her thighs wobble as she takes her first steps, how she often forgets to stretch out her left leg before going down her red plastic slide; how she pouts and blows bubbles to clamp her mouth shut, to tell us she doesn't want to eat anymore. I memorize them for later, when these would all be but memories. I know that I could take the video camera and press the record button, but often, the time it takes to get up and get the gadget, the moment is over, gone forever.

The Bride and The Groom Apples

2010-08-01T02:18:00.001-07:00

A custom work, for Victoria and Herve's wedding. I made The Bride Apple as part of my interrupted An Apple a Day project. Then Victoria asked me to make her a Groom Apple to match, in grey. It was an interesting experience, as it took me a while to figure out how to make an apple that was masculine, and at the same time matched the very feminine Bride apple. I came up with a Groom wearing necktie and boutonnière.

Summertime

2010-07-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

It has been busy, as summers always are over here, not frenetic-and-all-over-the-place busy, but rather the more agreeable stop-and-study-the-details kind.

We've been doing things like try to save the insects that have been disastrously doing laps in the swimming pool.

And attempting to catch sight of the trio of huppes that call the trees around here home.

There have also been the occasional green-frog photo opportunities; although those have gotten rarer now that it's so hot.

What of the house? We have left the decorating for after the summer, so the kitchen is only just a little better-looking than in this photo, taken a few weeks ago, after we finished opening up the wall that made the kitchen such a dark place.

Except for the apples and pears I have been sewing for a few weddings, not many new things have been coming out of my sewing room. I have started pillows of a completely different kind, pillows woven from dreams, and no I am not being lyrical here, that is the plain truth, but I will tell you about them some other time, when summer is over and we've had our fill of insects, frogs, and birds.

P.S. If you want a whiff of what summer smells like over here where we live, you can go check out my Big Lavender Bag Sale over here.

This Blog is What?

2010-07-18T01:46:00.000-07:00

It started quite some time ago. I'd look at this blog and feel a certain disappointment. I had let it become just a place where I post pictures of stuff -- stuff I make, stuff I sell, stuff I buy. Once upon a time, I had a blog where I was more open about the things that was going on in my head, and talked about stuff that affected me. That blog excited me so much more, and I remember I'd daily be making mental notes about everyday occurences that I wanted to share with my readers. That blog touched people enough that it was eventually made into a book.

With this blog, I think that from the beginning I felt a certain hesitation. Since it was linked to my online shop, to my business, I was afraid of getting too personal, of appearing unprofessional.

This blog, I think, is up for an overhaul.

Reworked Vintage

2010-07-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

More new things I've been working on: vintage keys and pocketwatches made into ornaments. I like the feeling of transforming the old and forgotten into the pretty and functional. They will be in the shop soon.

New Things at the Shop

2010-07-13T03:31:00.000-07:00

Bounty, a set of six handstamped lavender sachets perfect as wedding favors.

And the Yoda Pears, handwritten with Yoda's famous quote, which Mayabird reminded me of.

******

Les nouveautés à la boutique...

Bounty, une série de six sachets de lavande imprimés à la main, parfaits pour les mariages.

Les Poires de Yoda, ecrites avec la fameuse citation de Yoda, dont Mayabird me rappelait .

My Latest Etsy Purchase

2010-07-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

Oh, yes, I don't just sell my creations over at Etsy, I give the love back and buy all sorts of superb things from other sellers over there.

My latest discovery is artist Jennifer Schell, who makes custom portraits. My husband likes comic books and loves the spring roll, so I thought combining the two would make a great birthday present for him. And I was right, he loved the illustration Jennifer made from a photo I sent her.

Although he did say, "But you should have told me! I would have shaved!" Vain man :)

******

Je ne fait pas que vendre mes créations sur Etsy, j'achète également toutes sortes de jolies choses qu'on trouve là-bas.

Ma dernière découverte est l'artiste Jennifer Schell avec ses portraits personnalisés. Mon mari aime les bandes dessinées et adore notre petit nem, alors j'ai pensé que la combinaison des deux ferait un bon cadeau d'anniversaire pour lui. Et j'avais raison, il trouve magnifique l'oeuvre de Jennifer, une illustration faite à partir d'une photo que je lui ai envoyé.

Bien qu'il a dit, "Mais tu aurais dû me le dire! Je m'aurais rasé!" Vaniteux, mon homme!

Yes, They Can Be Trained ;)

2010-07-08T05:58:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my husband and I love going to vintage fairs and flea markets on the weekends, although we always end up getting very different things. He goes for stuff like WW2 cigarette lighters and Ricard pastis glasses, while I pick through old glass bottles, floral teacups, and miniscule porcelain dolls. He rolls his eyes at what he thinks are my too-girly bricabrac; I do the same at his too-practical, too-manly finds.

Then last weekend, after disappearing for a few minutes amidst the summer throng while we were at a nearby flea market, he reappeared holding two small things in his hand. These:

A really lovely leather sewing kit and a precious copper needle holder. "I think you'll love these," he said.

I quickly glanced at his other hand to check that he wasn't clutching some big ugly object like another World War 2 helmet (a purchase he made two years ago that still makes me shudder). Nope, nothing. Just my kinds of girly, romantic, beautiful things.

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus, they say. But it seems that, at least for these two extraterrestrials living together, in flea markets they will meet.

This gorgeousness is now part of my latest La Couturière, "the seamstress," a pack of basic needs for the vintage lover who also loves to sew. Click here to see.

******

P.S. Il me faut aller coudre quelques fleurs maintenant. Ce soir la traduction française, okay?

Yippeeee! (or, we survived the moving!)

2010-07-02T02:52:00.000-07:00

It was stressful, and the decorating is not finished yet, but we have done with the moving! And because I am still too tired to talk too much at the moment, I'll let pictures tell you how our little family is taking a break from all the things we still have to do to make our new little house in the country a home, and is just hanging out for the moment, enjoying the beginning of summer.

P.S. Thank you, Patricia, for the first three photos!

******

Il a été stressant, et on a pas tout à fait fini de décorer la nouvelle maison, mais le déménagement est fait! Comme je suis toujours trop fatiguée même pour bavarder, je laisse quelques photos vous dire comment notre petite famille se repose, en oubliant pour le moment les milliers de petites choses qu'il nous reste toujours à faire, et profite du début de l'été.

P.S. Merci, Patricia, pour les trois premières photos!

Where Am I?

2010-05-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

Not around here much, obviously. Sorry for the absence, but we've been moving! We're still in the same village in the south of France, but in much better quarters. With the spring roll about to walk and already wreaking havoc while at it, the move is necessary. After we've finished breaking down a kitchen wall and repainting everything, I'll be right back with the shelved Apple a Day Project and lots of new stuff. Meanwhile, here's a sort-of artsy photo to make sure you don't forget us :)

******

Où suis-je?

Pas ici bien évidemment. Désolée pour l'absence, mais nous déménageons! Nous sommes toujours dans le même village dans le sud, mais dans des locaux beaucoup mieux. Avec le petit nem sur le point de marcher et déjà une tornade, ce changement est nécessaire. Après nous avons cassé un mur de la cuisine et tout repeindre, je serai bientôt de retour avec mon projet Apple a Day et des tas de nouveaux trucs. En attendant, voici une photo un peu "artsy" pour s'assurer que vous ne nous oubliez pas :)

Vintage Finds

2010-05-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Boxes and vials. Teacups and mini pails. This weekend's outings proved fruitful. Here are just some of delightful objects we will be listing at the vintage shop starting today.

******

Les boîtes et les flacons. Des tasses et des petits seaux. Voici quelques trouvailles de ce week-end. Ils vont être dans la boutique vintage à partir d'aujourd'hui.

Today's Apple (finally on time!)

2010-05-07T09:26:00.001-07:00

She is Dawn, the apple fairy who most loves to travel. In her suitcase she keeps an emergency supply of travel means -- a car and a boat. You never know with ash clouds, is her motto. When all else fails, she resorts to teleportation (done with a toss of her coin and a shake of a red bead), although this kind of gives her the creeps, and she really most prefers first class on a jet plane.

This fairy is named after the woman who gave me the pink fabric from which the apple is made, Dawn of La Touchables. Since an Apple a Day is an experiment in extending my creative reach, I decided that this was going to be one of those rare instances that I don't go for white or black or monochrome, and let myself be influenced by Dawn's genius for rich colors.

The apply fairy, as well as yesterday's alphabet apple, will soon be available at the shop.

A is for...

2010-05-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

...apple, of course!

As promised, the stamped-all-over apple that I made yesterday is here today.

The idea came from these vintage pencils that I've had forever. I always thought they'd make nice apple stems. On the apple, all the letters of the alphabet are stamped, from A to Z.

What do you think?

Yesterday's Apple

2010-05-06T11:50:00.000-07:00

For yesterday's Apple a Day project, I made the Bride. She will be in the shop soon.

Today's apple is still drying (lots of stamping there!). You will see her tomorrow.

******

Hier, pour mon projet, j'ai fait La Mariée. Elle sera bientôt dans la boutique.

La pomme d'aujourd'hui est toujours en train de sécher. (Je l'ai imprimée à la main.) Vous la verrez demain.

An Apple a Day for the Month of May

2010-05-04T02:38:00.000-07:00

If an apple a day is supposed to keep the doctor away, then I'm willing to try it out!

For the month of May, I am undertaking a personal project called An Apple a Day, where each weekday I'll try to create a new version of my popular plush apple. This is medicine for that little malady I have of going off in too many creative directions all at once, something I talked about a long time ago in my Featured Seller interview at Etsy, but with which I struggle up till now.

Making a different apple every day will, I hope, strengthen my creative discipline, and at the same time help me explore a form that I know so well -- perhaps too well now that I've made around 700 of my white Inspiration Apples!

Kicking off the Apple a Day project is The Peacock, a lovely little diva made from silk and a feather. She is doing her show over here.

******

Il y a une expression anglaise, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Une pomme par jour est censé éloigner le médecin. Si c'est vrai, alors je suis prête à essayer!

Pour le mois de mai, chaque jour de semaine, je vais créer une nouvelle version de ma pomme blanche. Dans cette façon, j'essaie de me soigner de cette maladie créative dont je souffre, la tendance de m'éparpiller. J'ai parlé de cette tendance il y a longtemps dans mon interview sur Etsy, mais je lutte contre elle jusqu'à présent.

Avec ce projet, j'espère renforcer ma discipline créative, et en même temps m'aider à explorer une forme que je connais si bien, peut-être trop bien maintenant que j'ai fait environ 700 de mes pommes blanches!

Le project The Apple a Day commence avec Le Paon, une jolie petite diva en soie et plume. Elle fait son show ici.

Vintage Tidbits

2010-05-02T00:24:00.000-07:00

First there was one.

And now there are two.

I inherited the first ceramic horse from my husband's grandmother, who passed away last year. Nobody in the family could explain to me the significance of the white beauty, which became mine when I was asked to come choose a few mementos of the lady who was an avid crochet artist when I met her in her 80s, but who was a seamstress who ran a very successful dress shop in these parts when she was young. (I soooo wanted to choose her vintage Singer sewing machine, but decided I shouldn't be a greedy girl!)

Then yesterday we went to a vide-greniers or flea market in Beauvoisin ("Beautiful Neighbor," when translated -- a great name for a town, I think.), and there met a lady who was selling a ceramic horse, almost identical to mine but on the petite side.

She explained to me that these horses are good-luck symbols specially appreciated here in this region where we live, where the lives of many people revolve around bulls and horses. There is even a breed of horse named after this place, the Camargue. You're supposed to collect seven, one horse to give you luck for every day of the week.

I guess that means I have five more horses to go!

P.S I joined my first swap, yes I did! I've always thought that swaps were a fun idea but never got around to joining one. Then I read about Kellie's Love Vintage Package Exchange a few weeks ago. Hey, I told myself, I love vintage, adore making nice packages, and admire Kellie's rice babies, especially since my own baby is a rice kind of baby herself. (Okay, half rice, half bread-with-cheese, to be more accurate.) I decided it was time to jump in. I'm excited! I'll give you a peek into my package when it's done; I plan to fill this little box with trinkets my swap partner might enjoy.

******

J'ai hérité le premier cheval en céramique de la grand-mère de mon mari, qui est décédé l'an dernier. Personne dans la famille pouvait m'expliquer la signification de l'article, qui est devenu le mien quand on m'a demandé de venir choisir quelques souvenirs de la dame qui était un artiste passionné de crochet quand je l'ai rencontré octogénaire, mais jeune était une couturière qui tenait un superbe magasin de robe. (Comme j'ai désiré sa machine à coudre vintage, mais décidé que je ne doit pas être une fille gourmande!)

Puis, hier, nous sommes allés au vide-grenier de Beauvoisin (Quel joli nom pour une ville!), et y avons rencontré une dame qui vendait un cheval presque identique au mien, mais plus petit.

Elle m'a expliqué que ces chevaux sont des portes-bonheur particulièrement apprécié ici, dans cette région où la vie de nombreuses personnes tournent autour de taureaux et de chevaux. Il y a même une race de cheval nommé d'après cet endroit, la Camargue. Vous êtes censé recueillir sept, un cheval pour chaque jour de la semaine. J'ai cinq chevaux de plus à trouver!

P.S Je participe a mon premier "swap"! J'ai toujours pensé que ces échanges sont géniaux, mais jamais eu le temps de me joindre à un. Puis il y a quelques semaines, j'ai vu Kellie's Love Vintage Package Exchange. Je me suis dit, j'aime vintage, adore faire des jolis paquets, et admire les "rice babies" de Kellie, surtout parce que mon propre bébé est une sorte de "rice baby." (Okay, moitié riz, moitié pain avec du fromage, pour être plus précis.) J'ai décidé qu'il était temps! Je suis très excité! J'ai l'intention de remplir cette boîte avec beaucoup de jolies choses. Je vais vous donner un coup d'oeil quand mon "Vintage Package" est fait.

Still Apple Season

2010-04-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am always thrilled by good feedback in my shop, but what makes me more excited is good feedback sent with great photos, like what I received yesterday! In Johanna's home in Finland, you can now find a set of my Inspiration Apples.

Look closer, and you'll see that she had me custom-make them with her own choice of words on the leaves.

For more of Johanna's wonderful photos, like this one of her in her white kitchen (Doesn't it look like a picture straight from the pages of a home magazine?), you can ogle her Flickr stream here.

******

Je suis toujours ravie de recevoir les évaluations positives dans ma boutique, mais ce qui me rend encore plus heureuse est une évaluation positive envoyée avec des belles photos, comme ce que j'ai reçu hier! Dans la maison de Johanna en Finlande, vous pouvez maintenant trouver mes pommes blanches.

Regardez de plus près, et vous verrez qu'elle m'avait demandé de les faire avec son propre choix de mots écrit sur les feuilles.

Vous pouvez vous régaler en regardant plus des photos prises par Johanna, comme celle de sa jolie cuisine blanche (On dirait une de ces photos de rêve qu'on trouve dans un magazine de déco, n'est-ce pas?), dans sa galerie Flickr ici.

I Love You Sale

2010-04-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

If you love a good bargain like I do, you might want to check out my Sale Section. These two herbal cushions are selling at more than 30-percent off their original prices. Hurry!!! :D

******

Ces deux coussins en solde ici. Allez-y, vite!

Vintage Fabric Love

2010-04-20T11:04:00.000-07:00

Reading the blog of other people who sew, I have to admit that I feel really out of it when they talk about their favorite fabric designers, as most of these talented people are unknown to me.

As most of you already know, my favorite places to shop for fabric are vintage fairs and thrift stores. I look for color, for texture, but most of all for that certain something that is very hard to explain to non-lovers of the secondhand. It is not a designer's style that speaks to me, but a certain feeling, a tug at my creative heartstrings, that tells me that a piece of fabric has a story to tell. A story that I will never know but will have a wonderful time imagining in my work room as I cut up the skirt or jacket or even pillowcase I had found and make of it something else.

This afternoon, I took the lining of an old velvet jacket

and made of it a forbidden fruit.

A few days ago, I cut up a very old, very delicate, and very beautiful embroidered silk panel that I had been saving forever

and made apples and pears.

These will soon be available at the shop.

******

En lisant des blogs d'autres personnes qui couds, je me sens souvent déconnectée quand ils parlent de leurs designers de tissu préférés, comme la plupart de ces gens talentueux me sont inconnues.

Mes endroits préférés pour acheter des tissus sont des brocantes et des friperies. Je cherche la couleur, la texture, mais surtout ce petit quelque chose qui est très difficile d'expliquer aux gens qui ne sont pas fans de vieilleries. Ce n'est pas le style d'un créateur qui me parle, mais un certain sentiment, quelque chose qui me dit qu'un morceau de tissu a une histoire à me raconter. Une histoire que je vais me régaler d'imaginer dans mon atelier pendant que je coupe la jupe ou la veste ou même le taie d'oreiller que j'avais trouvé et en faire autre chose.

Cet après-midi, j'ai pris la doublure d'une vieille veste de velours et en a fait un fruit défendu.

Il y a quelques jours, j'ai enfin sorti un très vieux, très délicat, et très beau panneau de soie que j'ai gardé dans mon placard pendant très longtemps, pour en faire des pommes et des poires.

Ceux-ci seront bientôt disponibles à la boutique.

Hello, Pink Ladies

2010-04-14T21:52:00.001-07:00

Give them a bite over here.

*******

Mordez-les ici.

Playing Some More

2010-04-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

I am still on my little technicolor trip; my Inspiration Apples get a makeover with a lot of embroidery and green felt leaves. The fabric is an embroidered cotton panel I picked up at a vintage market a year ago. They're over here at the shop.

******

Toujours en train de jouer avec les couleurs, je donne une sorte de relooking à mes Inspiration Apples avec de tissu brodé que j'ai trouvé dans un marché aux puces i l y a un. Elles sont ici dans la boutique.

And They Are Done!

2010-04-06T12:40:00.001-07:00

In the shop here, here, and here.

******

Et voila! Dans la boutique ici, ici, et la.

Work in Progress

2010-04-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

Remember this post? Well I've made up my mind and will be letting those colors into my embroidered illustrations. Here's a peek at my work table this afternoon. These birds will be in the shop soon.

******

Rappelez-vous de ce post? Eh bien, j'ai decidé de laisser entrer les couleurs dans mes illustrations brodées. Voici un coup d'oeil à mon atelier cet après-midi. Ces oiseaux seront bientôt dans la boutique.

Warmer Days and Pillows

2010-04-02T00:53:00.000-07:00

Suddenly, spring means so much more than my garden is going to start blooming! Warmer days mean the spring roll can be taken to the swimming pool, that she can be dressed in lighter clothes and discover the joy of wiggling toes and shaking feet, that we can go hiking in the forests where I'll let her in on the pleasures of smelling rosemary and thyme, and, when we're tired, we'll spread a blanket down on the grass and stare at the clouds while going gee-gee-ga-ga-doo.

Inspired by this fantastic season, full of the promise of good times spent outdoors, I've started to make pillows with more colors, a more sweet feel. They are in in the shop if you want to see.

******

Maintenant, pour moi le printemps signifie beaucoup plus que le plaisir du jardinage. Ces beaux jours, on peut commencer d'aller à la piscine avec le petit nem. A la maison, on va l'habiller en tenue plus légère, et elle découvrira la joie de se tortillant les orteils et se secouant les pieds. Pendant les randonnées dans les forêts, je vais lui faire découvrir les plaisirs olfactifs qui se cachent dans les tiges de romarin et de thym. Quand nous sommes fatigués, nous allons étendre une couverture sur l'herbe et regarder les nuages dans le ciel, tout en chantant gee-gee-ga-ga-doo.

Inspiré par cette saison fantastique, plein de la promesse de bons moments passés en plein air, j'ai commencé à faire des coussins plus colorés, donnant une sensation plus douce. Ils sont dans la boutique, si vous voulez voir.

An Alice in Wonderland Kind of Zine

2010-03-30T03:41:00.000-07:00

It must be Johnny Depp who made me do it! Finally a new zine, my alternative version to the famous Alice's adventures. It's in the shop if you want a copy.

What Really Happened

She never did wake up;
the lied.

Her days since then were spent
waiting for her painful heart to explode
from all the stretching out
and shrinking back down;

being gnawed and bitten until bloody
by the grin of the Cheshire cat
who one day forgot
his malevolent smile behind;

and convincing the March Hare
that eating flies at tea is no good.
They should at least
rinse the cruddy cups out.

The worst was being trapped
inside the dirty old Rabbit's house,
where she would be forced to
wear a flimsy maid's costume
and play a sick part.

More than a century later, old Alice
was as mad as the Hatter and very tired.
Finally laying her head down on the block,
she waited merrily for the executioner's ax.

******

Ah, si seulement mon français est assez bon pour pouvoir traduire ma dernière petite nouvelle, une version alternative de Alice au Pays des Merveilles, qu'on peut lire dans mes nouveaux zines. Mais peut-être votre anglais est meilleur que mon français? Cliquez ici pour trouver les zines.

Before, After

2010-03-26T14:01:00.001-07:00

Our very first picture together, taken in January 2009:

Our latest picture together, taken last Tuesday:

Stop the clock, she's growing up too fast!

******

La première image, c'est notre première photo ensemble, prise en Janvier 2009.

La deuxième, c'est notre dernière photo ensemble, prise mardi dernier.

Arrêtez l'horloge, elle grandit trop vite!

Colors

2010-03-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

I've been playing in the sewing room! I tried a version of a technique that I remember when I took a basic drawing class when I was in my teens. The teacher told us to not lift pencil from paper as we drew, to force us to conquer our hesitations, if I remember right. I wanted to see how it would turn out if I applied that to my sewing-machine drawings. I also abandoned making a rough sketch on the fabric before sewing. I just went at it. Then I took a cue from Abby Glassenberg's blog post about using color, and brought out the paints and brushes. I'm thinking I could frame these in embroidery hoops, like in the last photo.

What do you think?

******

Je joue! J'ai essayé une version d'une technique que j'ai appris pendant un cours de dessin dans mon adolescence. Le professeur nous a dit de ne pas lever crayon de papier, pour nous forcer à la conquête de nos hésitations, si j'ai bonne mémoire. Je voulais voir comment cela se passerait avec mes dessins faits avec une machine à coudre. Je n'ai pas fait un croquis sur le tissu. J'ai foncé! Puis je me suis inspirée par le blog post de Abby Glassenberg sur l'utilisation de la couleur. Je pense que je pourrait encadrer ceux-ci avec des tambour à broder.

Que pensez-vous?

Vote for Me!

2010-03-22T06:55:00.001-07:00

It's Euro Week over at Etsy land, meaning the site is promoting Europe-based sellers this week, and they've even put together a Voter filled with all kinds of goodies from over here. My Mushrooms pillow is included. If you're loving it, can I ask that you give it your vote by clicking here ? Thanks!

******

C'est Euro Week à Etsy! Le site promeut les boutiques qui se trouvent en Europe. Ils ont même mis ensemble un Voter rempli de toutes sortes de bonnes choses d'ici. Mon coussin Coprin Noir est inclus. Si vous aimer, puis-je demander que vous lui donnez votre vote en cliquant ici? Merci!

Well, Hello There!

2010-03-17T00:56:00.000-07:00

It's been two weeks since I've last been here, sorry about that. I guess I was in the end-of-winter doldrums, mad at the weather for literally blowing hot one day, cold the next; so I had not much energy to do things. It even snowed here in the south of France last week! Nobody can remember the last time that happened here in March...

Finally though, this week it seems that the sun is determined to stay. It was hot enough that I was walking around in just a T-shirt and jeans yesterday. To celebrate the warmer days, I thought I'd share some good news I got at the beginning of the year.

My handmade books were featured in Little Thing, a gorgeously artsy magazine distributed in major Chinese cities. I really regret not having enough time to make more of my books, but I am certain that this is something I'll come back to one day soon.

And, closer to home, my shop was featured as one of artist Claire Rougerie's recommended addresses in the January-February issue of Marie Claire Idées. Quite a thrill, because not only am I regular reader of the Marie Claire, I am also a big fan of Claire's!

Promise I'll begin posting here regularly again, so see you soon!

Guess What?

2010-02-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

More birds, that's what! Toying with the idea of making plush objects that double as decorative throw pillows, I came up with this flock. They're starting to fly into the shop.

******

Piou, piou! Jouet et coussin à la fois, une autre volée d'oiseaux arrive à la boutique. Suivez-les par ici.

In the Shop

2010-02-19T13:21:00.000-08:00

Maybe I'm spending too much time on Twitter, or eating too many sweets. Whatever it is, on my sewing machine these days, I am going tweet tweet tweet!

These colorful mini frames are in the shop:

And so is this:

And this:

*******

Il y a quelques jeux de mots qu'on peut pas vraiment traduire... Pour faire simple, ces petites choses sont dans la boutique!

Lock and Key

2010-02-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share a photo I took this last week for the vintage shop. Only one of these padlocks is still left unsold. It seems people like keeping things under lock and key...

******

Je veux seulement partager une photo que j'ai prise pour la boutique vintage. Un seul de ces cadenas reste encore invendu. Il semble que les gens aiment garder les choses sous les verrous...

New Harvest

2010-01-28T02:14:00.000-08:00

One of my nicest customer recently came back to the shop , and asked if I could custom-make her Inspiration Apples with embroidery on them. I liked the idea so much that I also did a set of embroidered pears. They're called The Kindness Pears. Another reason I'm infatuated with them is that I think that I've succeeded in making representations of the smaller, more charming Anjou and Bartlett pear varieties, and not my regular Bosc-inspired ones.

I'm thinking of making more of these, and embroidering them with all kinds of inspirational words. What do you think? And if you'd like to suggest special words or short quotes, I'd love to hear them.

By the way, these pears are now listed in the shop.

******

Un de mes clients les plus sympathiques m'avait demandé de faire des pommes -- mes Inspiration Apples -- brodées à la main. J'ai tellement adoré l'idée que j'ai décidé de faire la même chose pour quelques poires. Je les appelle "Kindness Pears." Une autre raison pour laquelle je les adore, c'est je crois avoir réussi à faire des poires qui ressemblent aux plus petites variétés Anjou et Bartlett. Ca change aux Boscs qui m'inspirent régulièrement.

J'ai envie de faire plus de celles-ci, brodées avec des mots différents, intéressants, même magiques. Que pensez-vous? Et si vous avez des mots et des citations à suggérer, je vais aimer les entendre ici.

Les Kindness Pears sont dans la boutique, par ici.

The Poppies, Part 2

2010-01-25T02:23:00.000-08:00

I just found out yesterday that my shop is nominated in another category at The Poppies, this time for Favorite Handmade Housewares. Can I abuse your kindness just one more time and ask for you to vote for La Pomme? Voting is done here: Favorite Handmade Housewares. Thank you!

******

Je viens de découvrir que ma boutique est nominée dans un autre catégorie à The Poppies, cette fois-ci pour Favorite Handmade Housewares. Puis-je m'abuser de votre gentillesse et vous demander encore une fois à voter pour La Pomme? C'est par ici: Favorite Handmade Housewares. Merci!

Help Me Not Be a Loser!

2010-01-21T01:16:00.000-08:00

At The Poppies, that is. It's a new awards ceremony being run by the Canadian blog Poppytalk, and I'm nominated in the Favorite Crafter category. Jan and Earl of Poppytalk say it's supposed to be fun, and I'm sure happy to be nominated with the likes of Astulabee, Dottie Angel, and Cathy Cullis, along with many other talented men and women. That, however doesn't mean that I am not mortified at the thought of landing in the bottom three!!!

So if you love me, please vote for me over here: Favorite Crafter Category.

******

Excusez-moi, la traduction en français est en retard...

J'ai dit que j'ai été nominé à The Poppies. C'est une nouvelle remise des prix, géré par le blog canadien Poppytalk. Jan et Earl de Poppytalk disent que c'est censé être amusant. Certes je suis contente d'être nominéé avec des gens comme Astulabee, Dottie Angel, Cathy Cullis, et des nombreux autres hommes et femmes de talent. Au même temps, je suis mortifiée à l'idée de débarquer dans les trois dernières places!

Donc, si vous m'aimez, votez pour moi ici: Favorite Crafter Category. Merci!

My Latest Favorite Photo

2010-01-20T02:14:00.000-08:00

I've decided to give in, take part in the grand tradition of young moms everywhere, and irritate you with photos and yet even more photos of my little one.

The spring roll and I, taken by my friend Emeline after lunch last weekend.

P.S. And, yes, another thing I've given in to: the call of cute hairclips clipping nothing much but adding lots of cuteness!

******

J'ai décidé de céder, de prendre part à la grande tradition de jeunes mamans, et vous irriter avec des photos et encore plus des photos de ma petite.

Le petit nem et moi, photo prise par ma copine Emeline le week-end dernier.

P.S. Et, oui, j'ai aussi cédé à l'appel des barrettes qui ne servent à absolument rien (elle n'a pas assez de cheveux!) sauf à faire joli!

It's All About Love...

2010-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

At Poppytalk Handmade's Wedding and Valentine's Market, which opens today. My table is here, if you want to look.

I always like checking out the Poppytalk vendors, because almost always I discover something new, like Corrieberry Pie's I Love You Necklace. Sweet! And don't you think she takes just the most wonderful photos?

******

C'est tout à propos de l'amour au marché de Poppytalk Handmade, qui s'ouvre aujourd'hui. Ma table est ici, si vous souhaitez regarder.

J'adore surfer les tables des vendeurs de Poppytalk, parce que je découvre presque toujours quelque chose de nouveau, comme ce collier I Love You de Corrieberry Pie. Chouette! Et je crois qu'elle prenne des photos vraiment merveilleuses!

Embroidering

2010-01-12T02:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I last made any new embroidered collage pillows, and this when it's a style that I really want to explore, not just abandon after a few tries as I've been known to do. Imagine the possibilities -- not just pillows but also curtains, quilts, pillowcases, lampshades! The problem was that I changed sewing machines, and the new one came just with four bobbins, bobbins that proved difficult to find in sewing crafts stores. I found myself momentarily giving up this style that I had just so recently fallen in love with, or else I would have been spending half my sewing time winding and unwinding thread to get all the different colors I needed.

Thankfully, my mother-in-law's best friend knew where to go to find the precious bobbins, and bought me a dozen. The woman is really a sweetheart. Now that the bobbin problem is solved, here I am embroidering like crazy!

An owl

A cuckoo bird

A swallow

A crow

*****

Ca fait un moment que je n'ai fait aucun oreillers brodés, et cela quand il s'agit d'un style que je veux vraiment explorer et de ne pas abandonner après seulement quelques essais comme j'ai l'habitude à faire. Imaginez les possibilités - pas seulement des oreillers, mais aussi des rideaux, couettes, taies d'oreillers, abats-jours! Le problème, c'est que j'ai acheté une nouvelle machine à coudre qui est venue seulement avec quatre canettes, canettes qui ont été difficiles à trouver dans les merceries. J'ai du arrêter à faire de la broderie, sinon j'aurais passé la moitié de mon temps à enroulement et de déroulement du fil pour obtenir toutes les couleurs différentes dont j'avais besoin.

Heureusement, la meilleure amie de ma belle-mère savait où aller pour trouver les canettes , et m'a acheté une douzaine. Vraiment sympa, cette femme. Maintenant que le problème est résolu, je brode comme une folle!

Christmas was a blur...

2010-01-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

... and New Year's Eve was sleepy. Today, my birthday, will be all about lasagna and chocolate cake -- two of my personal essential food groups.

I did make a few resolutions, one of the most important being to wake up every day a good hour and a half before husband and baby to get some writing done. While I did launch a book of non-fiction essays in 2009, it makes me wince to realize that the two short stories I managed to get published early last year were both written in the years preceding. For someone who spent the 12 years she did writing newspaper and magazine articles, but silently wishing she were writing fiction instead, I let myself get derailed by life, love, business, and baby too easily, I think. Wish me luck with listening to the alarm clock!

Another resolution is to start blogging in French. Now this scares me, because while I speak the language pretty fluently, writing is an entirely different matter. Perfectionist that I am, I am already hitting myself on the head for the many mistakes I'm sure I'll commit. Ah, well. More good luck wishes, please.

******

Noel est trop vite fini et le réveillon était mou. Aujourd'hui, mon anniversaire, est tout à propos des lasagnes et un gâteau au chocolat - miam!

J'ai fait quelques résolutions, l'un des plus important est de se réveiller chaque jour une heure et demie avant mari et bébé pour pouvoir écrire. J'ai lancé une collection d'essais en 2009, mais j'ai honte d'avouer que les deux nouvelles que j'ai réussi à faire publier début de l'année dernière ont été écrites dans les années précédentes. Je me suis laissée déconcentré par la vie, l'amour, les affaires, et le bébé trop facilement, je pense. Souhaitez moi bonne chance d'écouter le réveil!

Une autre résolution est de commencer à bloguer en français. Cela me fait peur. Je parle la langue assez couramment, mais écrire, c'est autre chose! Perfectionniste, je suis déjà en train de me frapper la tête pour les erreurs nombreuses que je vais certainement commettre. Encore une fois, souhaitez moi bonne chance...

Dolly and the Wolf Trap

2009-12-22T02:23:00.000-08:00

She may be an occasionally infuriating, princess kind of a cat -- refuses to eat from her bowl unless it is full; insists on sleeping on our bed, under the covers, tucked in between legs, and leaves with a disdainful look thrown in our direction if we so much as move an inch; runs all over us early in the morning to make sure we wake up -- but Dolly is our second little girl, Lilou's furry elder sister (weird as that makes as sound), and has been with us since she was two months old, five years ago.

Being a princess, she has her fixed habits. One of these habits being that at five p.m. we stick our head out the door, meowl three times or five, and there she comes running from wherever she's been terrorizing field mice, to come home and stay in until she demands to be let out again the following morning.

One evening last week, we meowled until we were hoarse, and no spot of black came gliding down the dirt road. Husband and I were worried, but trying not to show it, reminding each other of that time, a year ago, when she wouldn't come home until midnight. At 10 o'clock, we decided to go out meowling one more time, and from the neighbor's lot we heard a weak meowling back.

A scrambling over wire fence and lots of tumbling over garden machinery later, we found her: the princess had her left paw bitten by a fox trap, left by our neighbor, we later learned, to catch a gigantic rat that had been eating the eggs in his chicken coop.

I wanted to file a complaint against him, as these traps are illegal, but opted for the diplomatic way and instead had him give me his word that from now on he'll only be using humane cages. Husband even borrowed these from the mayor's office for him. But you can bet neighbor is never seeing his wicked fox trap ever again (I hid it next to my washing machine).

The princess had no bones brokens (lucky kitty!), but walked with a limp and was confined indoors for a week. Today is her first day outdoors. I think I'll be sticking my head out the door and meowling every hour or so to make sure she's okay.

For Mitsy

2009-12-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

Because she loved this.

Because she's retiring as EST's Secret Santa organizer.

Because she finally revealed her secret.

Because, as Kaja says, it's Christmas.

And because I just plain like her a lot!

I made this for Mitsy of ArtMind, a second sales fairy who will be on her way to Belgium by the weekend.

May she bring you lots of luck, Mitsy!

Feels Like Christmas

2009-12-16T00:15:00.000-08:00

Having a three-month-old baby to take care of, my husband and I tend to make of it seven-day work weeks, putting in hours on the weekeend just to be able to catch up on work that didn't get done during the week. One of the results: It's not feeling like Christmas around here yet. No decorations up, no holiday cheer in the air.

And then Saturday came, and I received this small plastic packet from Sweden. Hmmm, I didn't order anything online recently, I thought. Opening the package I found inside a cheery red dress from Kaja Design that I had hearted on Etsy a while back. For the little spring roll, it said on the tag.

Baby in her Kaja original.

Kaja and I have never met, only bump into each other occasionally on the European Street Team forum threads, and there she was sending my baby a gift. Just because it was Christmas, Kaja said. (And such a Christmassy gift it was -- a red dress with white stars all over!) I was very very touched.

So the following day, I decided that we were going to slow down and feel the holidays. We went to a nice restaurant for lunch, and in the afternoon went to eat crêpes and meet up with friends. This week, at least some Christmas decoration is definitely going up.

At an afternoon crêpes party, the spring roll,
her girl friend, and the dads.

Many many thanks for the holiday reminder, Kaja!

November Almost Over

2009-11-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

I've had very busy days, but thankfully now things are quiet. The making and the writing and the moving and the shaking will start again soon, but today I am just enjoying the calm. And looking at the pictures of little objects I made recently:

And Another Bird

2009-11-08T01:41:00.001-08:00

Lydia the Lilou Bird likes gingham. She's in the shop now.

P.S. I've been forgetting to say that if you would like to sign up for my mailing list and receive news of my shops and even discount coupons, there's now a button on the left of this blog where you can type in your e-mail address and -- voila! -- you've opted in.

Making Swans

2009-11-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

This little thing is in the shop right now.

Weekend Playtime: the EST sales fairy

2009-11-01T03:13:00.000-08:00

Having a baby, developing a business, and trying to write makes life very hectic these days. I have the great luck to have a husband who runs his own business and has organized his days so he can take care of our little girl in the mornings; and a mother-in-law who's more than happy to babysit in the afternoons if I need to get more work done. Still, we all know what they say about making life all about work and not playing.

Part of my plan for surviving -- maybe even fluorishing -- in this time is take an hour or two on a Sunday morning, go into my workroom, and make anything I feel like, not an order from a client, nor even necessarily anything I'll put up for sale, just something that will let the creative juices flow.

Since yesterday, when I found out about it through Mitsy, I've been excited about the idea of participating in the European Street Team's Sales Fairy game. To participate, you have to be a member of the EST, be able to catch and buy a sales fairy made by another member, then make one and put it up for sale. I waited till late afternoon to get Mitsy's fairy, but unfortunately missed it. Never someone known for her patience, for this weekend's playtime, I went ahead and made a fairy! Now to keep my fingers crossed that I can catch one so that I can pass on the love.

Here's the Apple Sales Fairy in close-up:

A full shot:

And then our fairy's little box, filled with buttons, beads, a piece of string, a paper boat, bits and bobs that caught her eye and make up her fairy dust.

Boo! (Sort of)

2009-10-31T03:58:00.000-07:00

Today, the little spring roll is disguised as some sort of jester in knits, so we decided that a photo would be a nice way to greet you all, "Happy Halloween!"

And, because you're not getting a proper Halloween if there's no blood and gore, here's my husband, who fell off his motorcyle, while doing it had a runaway bull (there are many in these parts) steal his helmet away, so that when he hit the ground his forehead cracked on the pavement, opening the skin and a bit of flesh, and there was blood all over!

I'm kidding, of course.

Although that was a little bit like the story he told me when he came home looking like the photo above. For a full 10 minutes I was sort of believing him (he's a gifted storyteller, my guy), until he gave up on it and started laughing. A group of makeup artists who work in cinema special effects apparently came to our village, and, like a little boy, Pierre lined up to get this fake cut. I'm feeling a little foolish and a lot gullible, but I have to say those makeup artists know their business!

How about you, how are you disguising yourselves this Halloween?

This and That

2009-10-30T01:37:00.001-07:00

An Internet connection that for a few days made like I was back in the dark ages of dial-up prevented me from posting anything new here, but I've got some news.

First, it's open! The thing my husband and I are up, that I talked about in the blog post below, is La Pomme Vintage -- a shop of the vintage goodies we've accumulated as a result of our shared love for on the weekends going to the "brocantes" or vintage markets around here in the south where we live.

What you'll find there is a mix of the useful things that my husband Pierre picks up ("manly" things, I call them), and the more fanciful things that always draw me -- and that my husband often has a hard time understanding. ("But what will you do with them?" he asks. "Something. Nothing. Uhm, I'm not sure," I vaguely answer.)

We don't have a proper banner yet, but I've been so happy with the photos we've been taking that I couldn't resist and went ahead and put a few products up. What do you think?

And because managing three shops is not something I can do, my books, zines, and artworks in La Pomme Stories are being moved to my main shop, La Pomme. If you're a fan of my stories, that's where you want to go from now on.

Oh, and remember my failure of a giveaway? I picked a winner -- Apryl Lowe from England -- and a runner-up. The runner-up was for all the girls who were sending me entries to the giveaway through e-mail, comments on my blog, and through Twitter -- everywhere except where they should have, which was my Facebook fan page! I have a fondness for people who don't follow rules, though, so I decided to send one of these rebel girls one of my plush boat ornaments. Something similar to the photo above is sailing off to Miss Chicago as I type. Congratulations, Apryl and Steph!

Uhm, what else? Well the baby's sleeping through the night, and that's wonderful. And I've given in to that urge Ira used to talk about and have developed this compulsion to buy all kinds of clothes for my little girl, dresses, stockings, jackets, bonnets, and scarves, even if I must admit that she seems just as happy in her pyjamas. My latest purchase are these sneakers, which of course has the husband exclaiming, "But she's not even walking yet!"

Sigh. Men know nothing, do they?

Look!

2009-10-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are up to something.

Can you guess what it is?

Here's a last clue:

I'm excited about this! Coming very soon...

Giveaway Update

2009-10-15T23:23:00.001-07:00

My Facebook fan page giveaway is officially a failure :D Seems nobody likes puns, so I'm changing the rules. Go to the page to see!

Fish Be With You

2009-10-15T01:21:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I was in a wacky mood and during my studio playtime made these fishes, which in my mind would make really funny Christmas ornaments for hanging on your tree. In the spirit of the holidays, I'm giving one away. To play, you've got to be a fan of my Facebook page here. The game plays until next Thursday, 22 October.

If you really really can't wait to have one :) I've made some of them available at my shop.

Monday Workday

2009-10-12T00:39:00.000-07:00

Because my baby loves her sleep, I've been able to make flowers.

These are my favorites; the one on top and the pink at the bottom were made from vintage pillowcases I found at the Arles flea market.

Oh, and there are a couple of boats too.

They're all going straight to their new owner in a country far, far away.

To Australia, With Love

2009-10-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Finally -- well, for a few days now actually -- I have Love Pears all ready for residents of Australia, whose strict quarantine laws have prevented me from sending certain of my products there. These fruities have stems made from fabric-covered wire instead of licorice. And you can find them over at my shop here.

I'm Still Sewing

2009-10-04T02:59:00.001-07:00

As I not very elegantly Twittered a few days ago, as a new mom I'm discovering that babies may be very cute, but oh boy do they fart a lot!

They also seem to have a special liking for vomiting milk all over their moms just after mom has showered, is smelling of vanilla and almonds, and has, for the first time in a week of wearing pyjamas and nightshirts, managed to put on a pretty dress.

And there she is, my adorable bundle of gas and spit-ups.

******

Maternal mishaps notwithstanding, I am managing to get some work done. I know I'm supposed to take a break, but after a couple of weeks of forced bed rest, getting in front of my sewing machine actually feels like a vacation.

At the hospital, mother-in-law brought me a magazine showing these gorgeously patchworked pillows, and so I remembered to dig out and finish some pieces I started some months ago. These pillows are now available at the shop.

P.S. I've made no secret of adoring Abby Glassenberg, and I have even more appreciation for her now that I completely understand why she calls her shop While She Naps. Motherhood gives you focus, I'm finding out. Once that baby is off dozing, you run and get going to get done all that you need to do. You never know at what minute she'll wake up hungry and start wailing for the cow -- and that means you.

La Pomme on Elle Italia

2009-09-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

And on non-hatchling related news, my Inspiration Apples are featured in this month's edition of Elle Italia. Pretty cool, I think! Thank you to Benedetta Rossi for including La Pomme in her article on the resurgence of handmade.

P.S. If anyone has a copy they've finished reading and want to send me, I'd be very grateful.

Crack...

2009-09-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

... and the egg finally hatched! Look what we found hiding there:

As payback, it seems, for an almost problem-free pregnancy, labor was complicated. Twelve hours after delivery, I was bleeding and bleeding and then bleeding some more. Something to do with a uterus that got lazy and just would not contract. They had to go in there and fix me up. It was scary, and it was freaky. (It was also the first time I was ever under general anesthesia, and oh boy that ketamine is wacky stuff. If I took some regularly, I doubt the shop would be looking the same.) Husband was crying, I was mad at the midwives and doctors because I wanted them to stop pricking me with needles and poking me everywhere already. In the end, everything turned out fine. I just have to, for a while, not do anything too physical and eat lots of meat at mealtimes. So last night husband and I sneaked a quick trip to the restaurant for plates of steak tartare.

And the hatchling? Well, we call her "notre petit nem" (which, it has been pointed out to me, sounds so much better than its English equivalent, "our little spring roll"), and she is doing just fine:

More Swans

2009-08-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

I found two embroidered silk panels at my village's weekend vintage market last month. They're so fragile that even delicate hand-washing brought on a few tears, and I had to stitch them very very carefully.

A few cuttings have found their way into swan wedding cake toppers, now available at my shop.

***

And as I wait for the hatching, can I whine and say that I am feeling quite edgy and uncomfortable these days? I want to do 101 things, but really only have the energy for the 1 in that...

I try to count my blessings -- a mother-in-law who almost every day comes over with cooked dinners; a relatively easy pregnancy, all things considered; a husband who holds my hands when I am going through one of my dramatic fits and installed brand-new airconditioning when he realized we were going to have one of those infernal southern France canicular summers, and; a nose that, contrary to all the old wives' tales I've heard, did NOT expand -- but when even walking longish distances has become difficult (when I used to climb mountains, dammit!), my inner hag just really wants to stomp her feet and say, "Enough is enough!"

Please, little Lilou, can you decide to come out now? I promise Mama will be nice.