Joyeaux 1er Mai or Happy May 1st

Happy May 1st everyone or as they say in France, Joyeaux 1er Mai!  Since I have French relatives I thought I'd share a May 1st tradition with you.  I find this tradition to be so sweet, not only in sentiment but also in fragrance!

On the 1st of May folks give muguet or lily-of-the-valley to those who hold a special place in their hearts with wishes of "bon heur" or "good luck" in the coming year.

Another related tradition was started back around 1900.  If a man was not near his loved ones on May 1st he would send a lily-of-the-valley postcard instead of the actual sprig of flowers.  How sweet is that?!

In France, there are vendors that set up little stands and sell sprigs of muguet all over the place on May 1st.  It's the only day they can do so without a permit since it is also Labor Day.  I can only imagine the perfume of muguet in the air today all over France!  Ah...what a sweet smell.

Lily-of-the-valley are one of my very favorite flowers.  I just love those dainty little bell shaped blossoms and their heavenly sweet scent!  I've even been known to wear muguet perfume.  A word of caution though to folks with pets and small children, these sweet plants are said to be poisonous if ingested so just smell them, okay? 

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To keep this post stitch related, I went wandering around the internet and found a some lily-of-the-valley freebies for your stitching pleasure!

• Echevette offers us this petite freebie!


• AlarTTex offers her Fleurs de Mai Freebie 43.  (Go to the middle of the page under the picture and click on the icon next to the word Grille.  It will open a zip file you must download to get the chart.)


• Gazette94 still has her charts up on her blog and this one is one of my very favorites for May!

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I'll leave you today with a wish for happiness and good luck in the coming year!  Thanks for visiting with me today. 

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

An Unexpected Gift

It's funny how a simple conversation with someone can spark a connection.  I was sharing my love of stitching with a colleague a while back and she told me she used to stitch back in the 80s.   Ever since that conversation she always askes me what I'm working on and wants to see my lunchtime stitching projects.

This is what she brought me the other day!  I was so surprised she would just give something like this away.  However, imagine my surprise when I opened it and found this inside!

It's her whole project complete with fabric, floss, q-snaps and the book!  I still can't believe she just gave this to me and didn't want it anymore. I think it made her feel good that I was so thrilled to have it.   I am one lucky girl!

Here's the book that was tucked inside one of the pockets.  The copyright says 1980!  This is one technique I haven't actually tried yet.  I've heard folks sigh and groan when the word hardanger is mentioned.  LOL!  Still, I'm curious enough to give it a go.  I'll try anything once dontach know.

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Tonight the Tiara Club is having a stitch-in.  I'm looking forward to hanging out with my peeps and laughing till our sides hurt which is usually the case with that group.  We can be quite naughty when we all get together.

Also, I want to thank everyone for all your lovely comments on my last post.  It felt like hugs kept coming to my inbox!  You really know how to make a person's day.  I really appreciate all your sweetness.

I hope everyone has a great stitchy weekend.  Thank you for visiting with me today.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Carre d' Abeilles by Jardin Prive...DONE!!!

Bottom

Sides A-G & H-M

Pins gifted to me by my buddy Pam S.!

Sides N-U & V-Z

Top

Design: Carre d' Abeilles

Designer: Jardin Prive

Fabric: 40 ct. Cream

Floss: DMC as charted

Started: 1/1/12

Finished: 4/20/12

Completed: 4/24/12

I'm so thrilled to share this finish with you today!  As you can see from the dates, this was my January 1st start.  It took me a bit longer than it probably should have due to several unexpected events in my life this year.  However, I was determined to keep at it until it was done and I'm so happy I did.

I fell in love with this one the minute I saw it and knew it was one I just HAD to stitch!  I got lucky last fall when I visited The Strawberry Sampler that they had the pattern!  I was over the moon when I saw it there that day.

This is a French chart and most all of the instructions are written in French.  I was able to figure out the backstitch colors and the finishing without too much trouble.  Thank goodness I read French better than I speak it! 

This is the second mattress style finish for me and I really like the way this one went together. I can definitely foresee myself doing this finish again!

You'll notice in the picture there are little backstitched letters just outside the main backstitches.  Those are there to aide in putting it together!  I wasn't going to stitch them but decided that the designer put them on the chart for a reason so I went with it.  I'm so glad I did!  They made the finishing so easy!

You'll also notice that sides H-M and V-Z are oriented vertically instead of horizontally like the other two sides.  I didn't understand that upon first glance.  Turns out the designer's reasoning is that not all fabrics are woven the same vertically and horizontally so by stitching them this way you get even tension when putting the pieces together.

It reminded me of the "grain" on quilt fabric.  It really does make a difference in quilting and I get where this designer is coming from for that reason.  I wonder if this person has a quilting/sewing background?  Hmmm...thoughts to ponder!

I stuffed this one with quite a few layers of quilt batting and used a really stiff interfacing to make sure the sides didn't bow out but would stay fairly crisp.  I think it worked like a charm!

Overall, this is probably one of the most enjoyable stitches I've done in a while.  I love the little bee skep and the shading on the bees.  I also love the pinks and greens together...one of my favorite color combinations.  I will definitely stitch more from Jardin Prive given the opportunity.

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On an unrelated note, I received an unexpected stitching related gift from a colleague today I want to share but I'll save it for another day! Stay tuned!

Thanks to all for stopping by today and welcome to my new followers.  You all just make my day with your visits.  Truly!

More later,

The Inspired Stitcher

TUSAL and Stash

April's ORTs

Well here we are at TUSAL time again.  I've got myself a respectable pile of ORTs this month!  It's proof that I have been stitching and quite a lot at that too.

There are some ORTs in the pile from a project I'm dying to share with you but I can't just yet.  I know you are going to love it as much as I do though when you see it.  Oh the suspense!  Stay tuned!

My LNS

Today I had a bunch of errands to run in the city.  Since I was sick last week, there were several things I had to postpone doing until I felt better so today was the day.  I ran by the LNS to pick up a couple things I needed and of course, several things I didn't but couldn't live with out.  LOL!

New Stash

No trip to the LNS is complete unless I spend some time pawing through the Free Box.  It looked like it had been thinned out since my last visit back in February but I still found some goodies.

Free Box Stash

I also popped into JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby looking for something in particular but didn't find it.  However, I did find a few other things that just had to come home with me.  Funny how that happened!

Actually, I had a couple coupons for JoAnn's and hit the jackpot in Hobby Lobby's clearance aisle.  Love when that happens.  I did decide to go ahead and pick up more of the greens for my EMS Sampler SAL since I'm sure I'll end up needing them eventually.  Thank goodness I chose to do that sampler with the called for DMC!

I'll leave you today with this picture I snapped outside the post office early this morning!  This bush was just bursting with blooms.  I couldn't resist stopping to smell a few.  I don't ever remember roses blooming in mid-April!  Ah, life's simple pleasures!

Hope your weekend is off to a good start so far!  Thanks for stopping by to visit with me.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

BAP Update

It's been a while since I posted a BAP update so I thought I'd share my progress with you today.  I don't know about you but I love seeing people's before and after progress pics so here is where we last left off in February.

February progress pic

Before I got sick I got caught up through the March assignment! I spent a marathon evening getting the top border stitched and then started on the blue flower spray below it. 

March's progress

Since I was on a roll I just kept on with it and finished up April's assignment too!

April's assignment fini!!!!

So far the top border is my favorite part of the design. It is just so dainty and the colors are gorgeous!  I'm so glad I chose to work this on 40 ct. as it really shows off the design's delicate shading so well and is such a joy to work on! I couldn't be happier with my choice!

Close-up of the "April corner"

Now that I'm completely across the top, I can tell you that it measures right close to 14 1/2 inches across. This size suits me perfectly too as I didn't want it to be huge and it isn't!  It's just exactly what I wanted it to be!

Just for fun I thought you might like to see my floss box for this project.  Yes, all 51 of those colors are in this design and there will most likely be more added as the project progresses!  I'm fairly certain I'll need to buy more of the greens before I'm done even though I'm using just one thread over two.

Can I just say again that I really love this design?!  I fell in love with it the minute I first saw it and I love it more and more as I work on it!  I can't wait to stitch May's assignment!

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Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I really appreciate the time you take out of your day to visit with me and leave a comment.  I hope you are having a good week so far!

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher

Secret Stitcher

Hi all!  I'm back among the living.  Did you miss me?  I got hit pretty hard with about four different illnesses all at once last week.  Needless to say I'm so glad to be somewhat back to normal today.

While I was sick the mailman brought me a sweet Easter package from my Secret Stitcher!  It really made my day once I was well enough to open it and enjoy what was inside.

Just look at those cute bee shaped eggs!  Have you ever seen such cuteness?!  I also love the Plum Street chart too.  I can't imagine where she's finding all these month themed note pads either!  I'm going to be so set for note pads by the end of the year.  Thank you so much Secret Stitcher!

Well, as you can imagine after being off the grid for well over a week I've got tons of catching up to do so today's post is a short one.  I did manage to get some stitching done toward the end of the week and am super pleased with the progress.  I'll show that to you next time!

Thanks for visiting and I hope you all have a great week!  Be well!

The Inspired Stitcher

Eastertide Reflections

This week has been a strage week for me.  We lost a colleague suddenly earlier this week and we've all been in a funk ever since. Today was the memorial.

I think this loss has particularly hit me since it's not been all that long ago I personally experienced two losses a month apart.  I know all too well what this family is feeling right now.  My heart breaks for them.

Last night I went to a lecture where the speaker was talking about what it was like to grow up behind the Iron Curtain.  His perspective on childhood as someone who grew up on the "red side" during the Cold War really struck a chord with me.

He really made me reflect on the things I take for granted like where I live and where I work.  I never thought either of these things were all that special until now.  I've always had access to books, been able to speak freely and enjoy the freedoms that come with living here.  Both the lecture and the loss have really made me reflect on life.

So this Easter season I'll be reflecting on thankfulness.   I'm thankful for my ability to create without censorship and to be able to share it openly with others.  I'm thankful for the encouragement, friendships and support I've found through stitching.  Most of all, I'm thankful for family and freedom.

I hope you have a Happy Easter and get to spend time with those you love this weekend!  Thanks for stopping by today.

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher