Winner, Blankets and Threads!!!

Sorry that I’m a few days late to announce the winner of my Paris souvenir giveaway, things were a bit busy these past few days. So without further ado, Vickie is the lucky winner of this giveaway!!!! Congratulations, Vickie~ I’ll e-mail you for your address.

I also made some baby blankets for my friends who are going to be new moms~One is having a boy and the other a girl!! So excited for them!!!! You would think after having quite a few rounds of practice I have finally got a hang of this, but this time I ran into some trouble with the little bird fabric. Apparently the sot did not gave me a square cut, so I almost didn’t have enough fabric!! after a few try I finally got it to work. I’ll have to remember to ask for a square cut next time when I’m in the store.

Pattern: Sew Much Ado "Ric Rac Receiving Blanket" 
Size: 40” x 40” & 36” x 36”
Completion Date: 04-11-2012

Michaels had a 30% off all purchase coupon this past Saturday, and I wanted to take full advantage of it, so I went and did a crazy thing – I bought all the DMC thread that I did not have!!! The poor girl that helped me at check out had her work cut out for her, since they had to scan each and every one of them, not to mention I froze up their machine because it exceeded the total limit so she had to void that transaction and start all over again!!!!! I felt sooo guilty making her do all that work, don’t think I’ll show up in that store anytime soon…

Thank you all for your lovely comments in my last post, may you all have a wonderful evening~~

I’m Back with Something Fun!!!

Hello my darling friends~ I’m back from Paris!!!! It was amazing!!!! There is soooo much to see in Paris, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Musee d’Orsay, Notre-Dame, and Versailles were just a few. Our legs were so sore from all the walking, but it was totally worth it!!! I can see why so many people love going to Paris, it is a city full of culture and so alive, and their food is amazingly delicious~

While I was planning the trip, I discovered that the tapestries of “The Lady and the Unicorn” (French: La Dame à la licorne) is on display in the Musée de Cluny. I first known these tapestries from the novel “The Lady and the Unicorn” by Tracy Chevalier, and it is one of my favorite novels, so I had to go see these tapestries in person. Let me tell you, they are magnificent!!! I was so moved by them. It made me want to read the novel all over again~

Thanks to Jennifer for her tips and a book I found that had a list of craft stores in Paris, I even managed to visit some local needlepoint shops. It was a wonderful treasure hunt, I found so many wonderful charms and ribbons and trims, and of course I had to get a pair of Sajou scissors!!! I did not get as much charts as I expect. It’s not that I didn’t find things I like, in the contrary, I fell in love with so many of them!!! But because most of the shops carry kits instead of just charts, the cost is quite expansive. I had to cut back but still managed to take home with me two charts, a kit and a wonderful book~

Here’s a list of the shops I went just in case anyone is planning to go to Paris in the future. A note to remember, all stores are closed on Sunday, and most of them open late and close early, so be sure to check the hours before you go:

• Des Fils et Une Aiguille ♥♥♥♥♥
  1 rue Chabanais 75002 Paris
  Metro: Pyramides (M7, M14); close to Palais Royal
  Hours: 11am~7pm; closed Sun., 12/31, 3 weeks in August
  Web: www.desfilsetuneaiguille.com
  
  This is an awesome needlepoint/craft shop~ It is very much like a needlepoint shop in the US, filled with lots of kits, trims, ribbons, threads, fabrics and charms. It also carries a variety of Sajou products. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful. Totally worth a visit if you are in the area!!

• Le Bonheur des Dames ♥♥♥♥♥
  Le Viaduc des Arts - 17, Avenue Daumesnil 75012 Paris
  

  Métro: Ledru Rollin (M8); close to the Place de la Bastille and the Marais
  R.E.R: Gare de Lyon
  Hours: 10:30AM ~ 7PM; closed Sun. 
  Web: www.bonheur-des-dames.biz/boutique_us/liste_rayons.cfm?code_lg=lg_us
  
  This is a wonderful cross stitch shop with a lot of patterns, kits, fabric, threads, and books. They also have all kinds of linen and Aida strip fabrics for bell pulls and such. This is the biggest shop I’ve been to while I was in Paris, and their own Le Bonheur des Dames patterns are all so gorgeous!!!! Almost all their patterns are in complete kits, so it includes all the threads, fabric, charms and needle. Although the staff do not speak much English (as of most of the  other shops here in Paris), they are really friendly. This is a must see if you ever go to Paris~
  

• Le Bonheur des Dames 2 ♥♥♥
  8 Passage Verdeau 75009 Paris
  Metro: Grands Boulevards (M8, M9)
  Hours: Mon. 11:30AM ~ 2:00PM and 2:00PM ~ 7:00 PM;Tue. to Sat. 10:30AM ~ 2:00PM and 2:30PM ~ 7:00PM; closed Sun.
  Web: www.bonheur-des-dames.biz/boutique_us/liste_rayons.cfm?code_lg=lg_us
  
  This is a small branch located in Passage Verdeau, and is much smaller then the Viaduct shop, carries mainly Le Bonheur des Dames kits. Our hotel was only 3 minutes walk away, so even though I have been to the  Viaduct already, I couldn’t resist to stop by this one as well~

• Au Fil des Jours ♥♥♥♥
  2 rue Fremicourt 75015 Paris
  Metro: Ave. Emile Zola (M10)
  Hours: Tue. Fri. Sat. 10am~7pm; Wed. Thu. 2:30pm~7pm; closed Sun. Mon., second week in August
  
  This small shop is located right across the street of the Metro station. Although it’s small, it carries all the necessities to stitch~ Trims, buttons, charms, charts, you name it, they have it. This shop also carries a small amount of Sajou products.
  
• La Croix et la Maniere ♥♥
  36 rue Faidherbe 75011 Paris
  Merto: Charonne (M9) is closer, or Faidherbe-Chaligny (M8)
  Hours: 12pm~7pm; closed Sun., Mon., and August
  Web: www.lacroixetlamaniere.com/
  
  This is the shop of Monique Lyonnet. Many linen products can be found here, and a wide variety of linen kits, interesting buttons and trims. It is a bit more expansive then other shops, but the quality is undeniable.
  
• Entrée des Fournisseurs ♥♥♥♥
  8 rue des Francs Bourgeois 75003 Paris
  Metro: St. Paul (M1)
  Hours: Mon. 2pm~7pm; Tue~Sat. 10:30am~7pm; closed Sun, and third week of August
  Web: www.entreedesfournisseurs.fr
  
  This is a wonderful craft shop is located in the courtyard of #8 rue des Francs Bourgeois. It is filled with an incredible array of ribbons, trims, buttons, and fabrics!!! There are so many things to choose from that you definitely won’t  leave empty handed~ The staff speak a little English and are extremely helpful~

• La Droguerie ♥♥♥
  9 et 11 rue du Jour 75001 Paris
  Metro: Les Halles (M4)
  Hours: Mon. 2pm~6:45pm; Tue~Sat 10:30am~6:45pm; closed Sun
  Web: www.ladroguerie.com
  
  This is another wonderful craft shop that is locaed right next to Eglise St. Eustache. The minute you step into the shop, you are drawn to the colorful yarns, ribbons, buttons, beads, fabrics… you name it, they have it!!! This shop is sooo busy that you’ll have to wait for a while for someone to help you, so be sure to grab a staff to help you while you can.
  

• Le Comptoir ♥♥
  26 reu Cadet 75009 Paris
  Metro: Cadet (M7)
  Hours: Mon 12pm~7pm; Tue.~Sat. 11am~7pm; closed sun.
  Web: lecomptoir.canalblog.com/
  This is a little shop filled from floor to ceiling with tons of yarn!!! It is a knitter’s haven~ It also carries a small amount of stitching/sewing goods.

I did not have a chance to go to the following stores Jennifer recommended, but I still would like to list it here for your information:

• le Bon Marche Department Store
  24 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris, France
  Hours: Mon-Wed & Fri 10am ~ 8pm , Thu & Sat 10am ~ 9pm, closed Sun.
  Metro: Sevres Babylone (M10,M12), nearest to the Musee D'orsay
  Web: www.lebonmarche.fr
  According to Jennifer, this is an upscale department store with a sewing department on the second floor (double check). It has a fabulous variety of Sajou products, Liberty of London fabric, yarn department, cross stitch fabric and charts. She also found DMC thread on a spool here, which was really interesting.

• BHV Department Store
  52 Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France
  Hours: Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri. 9:30 am ~ 7:30 p.m. Wed. 9:30 am ~ 9:00 pm, Sat. 9:30 am ~ 8:00 pm; closed Sun.
  Metro: Hotel de Ville (M1,M11), right across from Hotel de Ville de Paris
  Web: http://www.bhv.fr/
  This is a huge department store that has a much of everything in it.The second floor has a huge craft/art section, as well as a book department. There are excellent books here with cross stitch and embroidery patterns, as well as quilting books.They also have a huge inventory of Japanese craft books.

Thank you for reading this long post this far, and now for something fun~ If you would like some of the treasures I brought back from Paris, please say so in the comment of this post. I will put together a package and pick a winner on Easter Day April 8. Good luck, and thanks for visiting~~~

And the Winner is….

Congratulations Deborah!!!! You are the winner of my blogoversary giveaway!!! I will send you an e-mail for your mailing information~~

Elijah has been a great blog hopping companion~ He has enjoyed reading your blogs as much as I did!!!

I will be back with some stitching update later in the week. Thanks for visiting~~

Sneak Peak~

I have finished making the gift for my Blogoversary giveaway this week~~ Although I can’t tell you what it is yet, this is what was left in my trash bin~ See all the threads I ripped out? I ran into trouble with the binding again!!!! Can’t remember how many times I had ripped it out and redid it, but I finally got a result that I can live with. I hope you like fall colors!!!! If you would like to enter for the giveaway, you can still leave a comment on my earlier post, and I will draw a name on 9/26 evening.

I went to JoAnn’s the other day, on the intention of picking up some threads, but ended up bring home some fabrics with me as well. I’m on the look out of gathering cute baby girl fabrics, cause I’m going to be an aunt!!!!! Mind you I have no idea what I will be doing with these fabrics yet, but hey, that is not important, right?  ;-)

Fall has definitely arrived, I can feel it in the air~ How about you?

Winners!!!

Hello my darling friends~ Sorry I’m a day late but here are the recipients of my blogoversary giveaway:

The pink pouch will go to Daisy and the blue one will go to Edige!!! 

 

I also have noticed that I have reached over 100 followers now!!!!! Wow!!!! Thanks for everyone who commented and visited my blog~~ You guys are the best!!! 

DH and I went hiking the other day. The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing. Here is a little snapshot from that day~~

Thank you so much for visiting, and I’ll be back with more soon!!!

The Goods!!

After a few days of hard work, things are finally back to order. So now I can show you the things I brought home with me – a whole bunch of zippers, different types of buttons, some quilting utilities, and very cute fabrics!!! I just love the prints on them!! So adorable!!!!

A dear friend took me shopping at the fabric district in Taipei and I was so surprised to see so many different types of fabrics. It is very different from what we used to see here, but equally awesome!!! I was so mesmerized by all the fabrics that I totally forgot to take a picture!!!! I actually wanted to do more shopping before I come back but all my days were booked… Total bummer!!

I did managed to pick up these two little pouches for a giveaway, though, simply because I feel like sharing this lovely vacation with all of you!! I will also include some of the treasures I brought back as well.

So, since my blogoversary is in two weeks, you will have till August 24 to enter if you would like to adopt one of them home. Simply leave a comment on this post and I will draw 2 winners on the 24th. Good luck, and thanks for visiting~~

And The Prize Goes To……

#28 – Natalija!!!!!! (Selected by Random.org)

A big thank you to everyone who visited my little corner and all the warm comments I’ve received!!! I’m glad that so many of you liked what I have made~~~

Now for my stitching update~~ A dear friend of mine just had a baby boy and I wanted to make something special for them. After searching high and low for a suitable chart, I couldn’t find anything that I love 100%, so I decided to turn a picture that I love very much into a chart, and revised it a little bit to personalize it. The original picture is a poster designed by Yuko Lau, who designs the cutest children posters!!! I thought this one would be perfect for my friend cause she painted the baby’s room blue and green with a jungle theme~~ Can you tell what kind of animal I am stitching? ;-)

When I went swimming the other day, I saw this plant popping out the planter by the pool, and was so surprised!!! Maybe someone had left a piece of strawberry in the planter and it just grew out all by itself!! How cute~~~

Speaking of swimming, I think I need to jump into the pool to cool down again. It is soooo hot here recently!!!

August

I know I have not been posting for a while, but that is because I’m working on this little piece and wanted to get it done as soon as possible!! Why the rush? Well, because I’m making this a giveaway to celebrate my very first blogoversary!!!

Pattern: Shepherd’s Bush “August”
Thread: DMC & WDW cotton floss
Fabric: 28ct Zweigart Quaker in Cream
Pinkeep Size: 3” x 4.5”
Finishing Date: 08-14-2009

Can you believe it’s almost one year since my very first post? Not only that, it’s also one year since I first started to cross stitch!! I have met so many wonderful people through cross stitch and blogging, and I just want to say thank you for all your friendship and support!!!

I chose this SB design and finished it as a pinkeep to mark this very special month. I love all the colors and details, and the meaning of August being the month of celebrating for your fruits of labor, just like blogging and cross stitching!!! I had a lot of fun making this, and hope you all will like it, too!!

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post and you’re in!! You’re not obligated to mention this giveaway on your blog, but if you did it will be greatly appreciated~ The entry ends 8/31, and I will draw the winner soon after that. Remember to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you~~ Good luck everyone!!! And thanks for participating!!!

It’s Growing~

Yup, my little Wisteria House is definitely growing~ Although it was almost a week late, I’ve finally finished panel 3 and moving on to the final panel!!! All the backstitching is really a lot of work, but I’m loving how it turned out~ Now here is a front door you can knock on!!

Another thing that is growing right now is the tomato plant on my patio~ This is my first time ever trying to grow tomato and I have to say the weather here in southern California is just too perfect, plants just grow like crazy even with little care!!! Here is the very first tomato that appeared about a month ago -

And here it is a month later -

It like doubled in size!!! For a while I was quite worried that I would only have that one fruit, but this past week it suddenly is popping up little fruits everywhere!!! Now I think I have like 10 tomato on this plant, and 10 more on the other plant. So happy~

Now if they could just turn red……

If you haven’t noticed, there are some wonderful giveaways going around. First off, Yuko is giving away two fabulous pinkeeps, and then Melissa is giving away a bundle of stash~~ These giveaways will go on till the end of next week, so be sure to hop over and enter before it ends!!

I’m sure most of you have already know about the fabulous Mary Wigham SAL that is going on all over the world!!! I just love this sampler and is thinking about stitching it. But I want to finish what I have on hand first plus I need some time to think about what fabric and threads I want to use, so I’ll just sit back for a while and watch what different versions all you wonderful stitchers have come up with to help me make my decision.

Well, that’s it for now~~ Wish you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

A Fabulous Giveaway and More Progress

Ok, people, you have to go check out this beautiful quilt that Elizabeth is giving away!!!! It is absolutely gorgeous!!!! You have till 5/18 to enter, and don’t forget to check out her other amazing quilts while you are there~~

As for my progress on the little 3D house, this is what I’ve done through the week…

I didn’t think it would take me so much time to stitch one section, but when actually working on it, I found that there is so much going on in just one little section!! And the color coded chart didn’t help, either, I had to look very closely to make sure I did it right.

None the less, I’m loving how it is turning out~ It just might take me longer to finish it up!! You guys will just have to bear with me through this process!! ^^

Have a great weekend~~

Slow Progress and a Whole New World~~

Can it be Thursday already?! Things are just being crazy around here lately…… Don’t have too much to show, since I’ve only managed to finish the corners of my 3D house project, and the other piece I’m working on is a gift~ Well, it is what it is!! Here’s what I’ve done so far on the house……

I’ve also discovered the wonderful world of public library!!!! If you want to save some money in this economy but still would like to work on fabulous projects, go check out your local library!!!! Look at all these wonderful books I found in our library here!!! They might not be the latest and finest, but there sure are some interesting ideas~~ It’s a great way to check out a book before buying it, too!!

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Here are a couple more wonderful giveaways for everyone~ Simone is offering a wonderful grab bag giveaway to celebrate her blogoversary!!!! Also, Steph is offering a $100 gift certificate!! Both entry ends on May 9, so you still have a couple days left to enter~~ Be sure to check their wonderful work out as well!!!!

Have fun everyone~~~

Fabrics Giveaway and New Challenge…

Isn’t April the Giveaway month or what?! Daffycat is offering giveaways on fabrics she dyed herself!!!! You may enter until May 4th~~ Good luck everyone~~

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As for the challenge, well, I found this wonderful book in the library filled with many interesting 3D cross stitch projects!!!

I couldn’t resist to try making one of these beautiful houses, so I got all the material ready the other day.

 

I don’t think the stitching part will be very difficult, but am worrying a little bit about the assembling part. We’ll just have to see how it goes…. I’ll keep you all posted~~

For Emma~

A childhood friend of mine just had her first baby at the beginning of this month. I was soooo happy for her, and to celebrate this very special occasion, I made this little pillow for her daughter – Emma!!

Pattern: Plum Street Samplers "Hare’s Easter" Revised
Thread: DMC cotton floss
Fabric: 18ct oatmeal aida by Regency Mills
Stitched Size: 4.25" x 4.25"
Pillow Size: 8” x 12”
Finishing Date: 04-21-2009

When I first see this lovely design from Plum Street Samplers, I knew I had to stitch it!!! Although this design is for Easter, I thought it still would be suitable for this occasion, since Easter is all about life and birth~ So I left off the wording at the bottom and added Emma’s birthday to personalize it.

I actually finished stitching it a while ago, but was busy and didn’t have a chance to finish it until this Tuesday. I’m pretty sure my dear friend is super busy right now and won’t have time to check my blog, so I think it’s safe to show you all first~ I plan to mail it out with other goodies tomorrow so it can be there for Emma’s first month celebration~ I just love how it turned out, and I hope my friend will love it, too~~

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Valerie is celebrating her 4th blogaversary!!!! She is hosting a special giveaway of this event~~ Please visit her blog before May 1st to join!!! Good luck everyone~