Very foggy and therefore really wet. That's what it was around the Lac des Pises, on May 10th. As we never get fog in Montpellier (too dry for that), fog feels as special & magical as snow, for us. (don't laugh) I have lots of photos from that day, I'll be sharing them over the next few days. view from our hotel room in L'Espérou, in the morning around the lake mesmirizing, isn't it ah yes, wet it sure was ! I felt so energized, with all that moisture ! (and it was cold too !) this is U (9 in August) We always love to go back there when we go to Mont Aigoual for a couple of days. It never fails. Here is a video (NOT made by me, I precise !), which is so very beautiful. It's a bit long, but you can always fast forward a bit, and enjoy morning foggy views from where it is. ox S Continue reading

I've worked on this pouch several days in a row. I started three months ago by embroidering the yellow feather (with silk thread dyed with immortelle flowers). I knew it'd take me somewhere. Last week I picked it up once again, cutting the piece of avocado skins dyed linen, and cutting it in half, thinking of making a zipped pouch with it. I embroidered two more feathers, one with phillyrea angustifolia dyed silk thread, and the other with prickly juniper dyed silk thread. The rest came naturally, running stitches here, crosses there, and finally I felt the urge to embroider some text too. SPREADING MY WINGS AT LAST Once again, I will try to read between the lines, and I hope this pouch is one of the firsts of many embroidered pieces, in the form of zipped pouches or not. It is lined with a soft, organic cotton twill, and can hold pencils, markers, phone, medicines or whatever you fancy. More details in the shop itself. Thank you for stopping by ! Have a great week ahead ! ox S Continue reading

Mont Aigoual - May 9th-10th // part three Arboretum de la Foux wasn't this tree pretty amazing ? It looked like twirling ! I noticed this little one, and observed it crazy iridescent colors ! (it wasn't dead, I precise) P found a heart shaped piece of tree bark, how sweet ! (I kept it & it's part of my nature treasures now) such grace I found this leaf particularly interesting as I thought it looked like pleated grey velvet fabric I take so much joy taking photos in nature, and so much joy in documenting our trips here. I hope you also enjoy the photos. More to come this coming week. I shall be adding a special zipped pouch tomorrow to the shop. I'll be away from home most of the day so I'll be blogging about it & listing it at my return. Hand embroidered on both faces, with naturally dyed silk threads, on naturally dyed linen, and lined with organic cotton twill. If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen glimpses of it. I hope you've had a lovely weekend. We've had March weather, which is super unusual. (rain, wind, sun, wind, rain, and chilly) This coming week is supposed to be sunny but not warm, and I'll take it with open arms, it'll be too hot soon enough. xo S Continue reading

Mont Aigoual - May 9th-10th // part deux Arboretum de la Foux The arboretum was created 1900-1910 for experimental introduction of foreign species into France. Scientific efforts ceased in 1963, and it has subsequently been maintained for educational purposes by the Office national des forêts. The site is on a southwest slope between 900 and 1500 meters altitude in an environment very conducive to forest vegetation; some trees reach heights that are records for Europe. more photos from the arboretum on Monday ox S PS : if you want to help Kathreen Ricketson's children, this is the post telling how to do. I donated with Paypal. Continue reading

Yesterday afternoon, when checking FB (making a pause while embroidering), I got to know about a very sad news. Something devastating, and which left me speechless at first. I was learning about the passing of Kathreen Ricketson, founder of the well known blog Whip Up, in which I (along a hanfdul of close friends, and hundreds & hundreds of other crafters) had be featured. Her husband also passed away, making of this very sad event, a real tragedy, and I can't even imagine what their two children are going through right now. If at some point (and I hope it will happen) something is organized in order to bring some financial help to their children, I'll let you know here, and of course I will be part of it, that's the least I can do in memory of such a generous, encouraging, kind & amazing person that Kathreen was. This is a huge loss for the crafting (makers & bloggers) community. My heart goes to their children, and to their family. Life is so fragile. This is a tough reminder. Love your way. xo S PS : if you want to know what happened, here is an article about it. Continue reading

On this very gray day, let me share the first photos of our two day trip to the Mont Aigoual (May 9-10th) We left on a relatively warm day, and as we drove up the mountain, it got cooler & cooler. And as we arrived on top, it was foggy. We never have any fog, down in Montpellier, way too dry for this. We enjoyed it very much, as well as another typical characteristic of Mont Aigoual ... ... there were still snow patches on top of the Aigoual, which was highly enjoyable for snow deprived people like us !! Spring does take its time over there, and everything is so much late compared to Montpellier, despite the fact that it is not that very far away ! There were small (wild) daffodils just about everywhere, such a beautiful sight to see ! And what takes the cake is the view you get from there ... On the photo below, you can see the Mediterranean sea, in the very far background. Can you see it ? Back soon with more photos ! Have a wonderful day ! xo S Continue reading

I was going to show you the "Deviate" small zipped pouch I made with yesterday's embroidery, but it sold shortly after I listed it. You can still see it here though. So instead, here's a new palette for the Color Inspiration series, today with a crowned flower : Plantago lanceolata. Have a great middle of the week. U is recovering from an unplanned tooth extraction yesterday evening, my poor baby. He's on the mend though, and was a champ all the way. (so proud) ox S Continue reading

This past weekend, besides preparing the shop update that happened yesterday (photos, listings etc), I also cut all the lining (in organic cotton twill) for the many pouches that have been dyed (some in linen, some in wool). I had a left over piece of Sicilian sumac dyed linen (actually a "big" pouch front, and I didn't have the back, I must have miscalculated), so I decided to cut it in half, and make a small zipped pouch with it. Then, I grabbed a needle & naturally dyed silk threads, and this, people, hadn't happened in a long time. I think the last time was when I embroidered the yellow feather (of which I still haven't made a thing, but it will come), which was three months ago (oh my, already). And then, I let the needle & colors guide me. Humble stitches, nothing really fancy, but I like it like that. In life, not much is actually fancy, isn't it ? I love my embroideries to be a reflection of something real. In that spirit, I embroidered rows of running stitches with immortelle dyed silk thread, then perpendicularly, rows of running stitches made with avocado dyed silk thread. Some stitches crossed, making of "-", some "+", which felt darn good (mentally). I looked at it, wondered where I shall go now. This is actually my main problem. I suffer constantly of the artist's block (of the blank page). Not by lack of inspiration but by fear of making something wrong, ugly or stupid. I know it sounds silly, but that's the sad reality. I've been working on this inside my mind, but it takes a whole deal of time to (re-)build self-confidence, specially creatively speaking. But. I started something. Then undid it because it didn't seem right. Started something else, which felt natural. There we go. Still with running stitches, made of onion dyed silk thread, I started embroidering parallel stitches, and ... then ... started ... deviating. Stitching, for me, has to have a meaning. And these ones had a meaning for me. I tried to read between the lines. I'm not sure the embroidery is all done (it might be), but so far, what I've learnt personally is : I need to DEVIATE. Deviate from what I usually do. Deviate from what I usually think. Think outside the box. This may sound natural for some of you (of the creative type), but it doesn't for me. I'm no rebel & I used to be a perfectionnist. I come from far away in this area ! Stitching has happened to be like a creative therapy, for me. And I try to learn my lessons. xo S Continue reading

Happy new week, ladies ! I have just added to the shop, 5 sets of linen (outside fabric) buckets, as well as one set of Liberty of London, in pastel shades. Aren't they all summery & fresh ? Talking about fresh, I've discovered (totally at random) a Toronto based trio, which I find refreshing & adorable. They're the Good Lovelies, maybe you know them already. In case you didn't, here's a video of one of their songs from the album of the same name (Good Lovelies) Aren't they lovely indeed ? Off to make of this week a good one ! :) Take care ! ox S Continue reading

I ... um ... kind of forgot to autopost blog posts while I was away ... wooopsie ! Nevermind, I'm back, tired but super happy, with a trillion photos to share over the next week(s ?). But I wanted to share the last photos from two weeks ago (already, oh my), first. The last two days we've almost gone from summer to winter to summer ... kind of destabilizing, but very refreshing for sure ! Looking forward to share all those photos with you ! In the meantime I'll be working on the next shop updates. Have a wonderful weekend everyone ! ox S Continue reading

I have been much productive today, and managed to sew 5 sets of 2 reversible linen buckets. (had made one yesterday), they will go to the shop next week, maybe earlier if possible. You can see a preview here on IG. I really wanted to have things done today as we'll be away tomorrow & on Friday on a short trip in local (small) mountains, to make a break. I'll probably auto-post blog posts, maybe a Color Inspiration palette. In the meantime, here are more photos from two weeks ago. Seeds. Of imagination. I love SO much taking photos of nature, and I hope you like to see them here as much as I love taking them. So much inspiration everywhere ! : : : : The shop will stay open while I'm away. All the SOLO wall organizers were marked down, Crafter's Kits too, and the shop is chockfull of naturally dyed (or tie-dyed or dip dyed) cotton or linen scarves, really perfect for spring (or autumn, depending where you live !). There are also 13 sets of reversible buckets to choose from, before I add new ones next week. ox S Continue reading