Pour les brodeuses, for those who love to embroider

I find many lovely examples of embroideries on my weekly hunt for stock for Histoires. From tiny cross stitched initials on old tea towels, to huge monograms on sheets, to jolly shelf trims and bold pillow covers. Some are simply marks of ownership, others celebrate marriages and family. Some are purely decorative, others are decorative but intended to conceal, what are to the French mind, ugly shelf edges and mantlepieces.

Fully worked embroidered panel with peacock design, probably intended to be a cushion cover 

Cross stitch intials embroidered onto linen damask serviettes

Large monogram initial from a hand loomed dowry sheet

Sheet with blue iris embroidery and monogram, circa 1950s.


They hark back to the days when generations of ladies would spend their evenings sewing and stitching. Before radio and television. Before the internet. I cannot look at a piece of old embroidery without thinking about the many hours it must have taken to make.

I had a very unusual find on Saturday. I acquired a number of unworked mid century embroidery patterns. They are all printed in soluble blue ink on natural linen. Simply embroider over the lines and then wash it to remove any ink showing.

This is shelf trim which has the original store label attached. It was sold by the meter and has a lovely pattern of birds perched on power lines, on branches and in flight. Ready to work in the colors of your choice

A really unusual large oval shaped pattern of Sainte Therese. This would probably have been framed once worked.

Sweet small pattern of 2 geese promenading with an umbrella or parasol. Lovely nursery decor

Yellow cotton printed with a pattern for a lingerie case. "Bonne Nuit" or good night. It has 3 folds so that it could be stitched up once embroidered to form the pouch to slip your lingerie and nightwear into.

A dresser scarf or table runner pattern with more birdies!

Another large oval shaped pattern "Sacre Coeur". Such an unusual religious theme again probably to be used as a cushion front or to be framed.


I know that there are still ladies (and men too) who love to embroider, who enjoy the hours of stitching. If this is you, why not consider one of these mid century patterns for your next project.

The steel is in... enfin

I've been lax about reporting on our progress but yesterday was another milestone for us.

The huge 8 meter long steel beam that has been in the garden for nearly 2 years is in place in the building.

For once I'm going to let the pictures do the talking

There were some tense moments!

A combination of muscular men and machine power lifted it into a horizontal position. Next to thread it through the opening in the stone wall at the front. Then carefully slide it along the specially constructed wood channel running through the building. Then rest it in position in the back wall of the building.

C'est facile n'est ce pas?

Nearly there!

IT'S IN

Here it is in all its glory

Next step is to remove the 2 remaining old wooden beams and the remainder of the floor.

Then floor construction in this building can begin :)

Facebook Giveaway

I'm so chuffed to have made 900 sales from Histoires on etsy that I'm doing my first giveaway on facebook.

The prize is 10 very romantic old French postcards.

Bonne Annee cards (Happy New Year), Paques (Easter) and Anniversaire (Birthday) cards, as well as humorous and romantic greeting cards.

9 of them are written on the back, one is blank

3 have the cutest kids on the front

2 are "femmes fleurs fantasie" - pretty French ladies with flowers offering best wishes

Lovely hand tinted landscapes and flowers

A lovely pack of old French paper ephemera from the early 20th century, from the 1910s to the 1950s.

To enter the giveaway draw go to my facebook page and click on the giveaway tab.

Bonne chance a tous !

Brandy & mince pi-keys

Christmas is on my mind now and the push to get inside the building before Christmas Day is a priority.

We've survived snow and torrential rain in the caravan but even so the lure of living indoors is getting stronger as we move towards the end of the year.

And we're making progress. Channels are being dug to take the drains for our microstation. This is massively exciting to us as it will mean au revoir to the WC chimique (chemical loo)

The mezzanine floor is in too. Just needs varnishing and the staircase fitting then it can be used as storage space.

Our bedroom is taking shape too. The ensuite and wardrobe walls are in. The electrics are complete and the heating / air conditioning unit is heating the space. A temporary shower is in too. Next step is to fit the oak flooring and fit the wardrobes. Then there's more finishing needed, filling, sanding and painting, and then we will move inside!

Looking forward to starting baking those mince pies 

Chestnut Festival treasure

My weekly trips to vide greniers to hunt for treasures to add to Histoires on etsy often throws up surprises.

Of course I hunt for items I love and I am always drawn to beautiful old linens

This rather unpromising heap of sheets and curtains yielded some beautiful unused hand embroidered metis dowry sheets

Art deco sheets with embroidered flowers, jours work, appliques and large central monograms. Better still there is a pair. Perfect for curtains or use as bedcovers.

These old suitcases had several old handmade aprons in them

Ordinarily, this would be the icing on the cake for me. But this particular vide grenier produced a massive surprise.

I picked up a small bundle of handwritten journals on a stall selling old magazines and paper ephemera. I didn't really closely look at them as I was distracted by a pair of friends, Paul and Sylvie, standing next to me raking through the Pokemon cards.

When I pulled them out the bag at home I was absolutely amazed by what I had bought

3 books of calculations and technical drawings

I searched for the date and found it on the large blue print at the back of the thickest journal

1925 and 1926. But what are all these pages of calculations and drawings about?

Looking at the blueprint I initially thought it was for a flying boat swing ride at a fairground.

In fact they are detailed techinal specifications for the Hanriot H-38 aircraft.

,

According to my research the Hanriot H-38 was an observational biplane, a "hydravion" or seaplane. Only 1 was ever built. This one H-38 crashed during early flights and no more were constructed.

Sadly I have no further information on this exciting find. I cannot account for how I was able to purchase these incredible documents at the Chestnut Festival (fete de la chataigne) in Dreuilhe, Ariege. I do not know if there was some family connection to the Hanriot company. Maybe these historic journals had been squirreled away by an aviation enthusiast years ago. Most likely they had been forgotten, gathering dust for many years in an attic and were hauled out to be sold by descendants who did not understand or appreciate their significance.

I will always be amazed by the rare, unusual and downright fascinating items I can find in a field of this corner of SW France. My Sundays combing vide greniers are never dull :)

Life of Pi-key

So we are, at last, installed at our restoration project 2 years after starting work. Actually, we're living in a caravan on the space which will eventually be our "uncovered terrace".

The pikey life is OK during this beautiful weather. I even have a washing up station set up where our summer kitchen will be

Laundry and comms are set up too

Alfresco dining is possible too

Work is continuing and we're hoping to move into part of the house soon. I think I might miss the pikey life :)