rose hip

ma pivoine...

...all the way from France, painted by ultra-talented Bridget; I've been pining over her work for quite a while now and I finally decided that I had to do something about all that pining... but which little masterpiece to choose from so many?!... After a lot of back and forth, I finally decided on this lovely "Pivoine et Papillon" or "Peony and Butterfly" miniature.

It now very happily graces my bedside table so I can start off my day admiring its simple beauty. The author of this lovely French blog pens that Bridget's work is "a little British" -- no doubt, but I also think it is very French in its most exquisite detail work... Take a look for yourself here and tell me it isn't easy resisting those scrumptious macarons!

ah, to be Irish...

 

...for the longest while now, I've had a real soft spot for all that is Irish; if you'd asked me in the last ten years what would be the country I would most like to visit, I would have immediately, without any hesitation, answered "Ireland". My Irish holiday is yet to happen, hopefully in the near future...

Now my children's school is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and to mark this very special milestone, the school put on a fabulous show last week filled with great dance, song, poetry and even a touch of the circus... Because the school is very multicultural, one of the acts showcased all the nationalities present in the school; it was probably the most touching moment of the entire show as children dressed in an incredible array of traditional costumes walked onto the stage... I know I had tears in my eyes!

When I first found out that my 6-year-old, Nicola, was to be part of this act, I thought it would be a perfect fit because I have five traditional Polish girl's costumes like these (one of them being my own when I was a little girl) lying around the house (just in case you're wondering what I'm doing with all these costumes, I should tell you that I am of Polish descent!). However, Nicola wasn't chosen for the Polish costume because, well you guessed it, there is a little girl at the school more authentically Polish! Nicola, on the other hand, was assigned to represent Ireland; my husband's maternal side of the family is Irish so my children are what you would call, one-quarter-Irish -- Yippee for the touch of Irish in my family!

Now, how was I to dress her? A quick search on the internet led me to rather complicated looking Riverdance-like dance costumes which I was not really into making at this point... However, a longer search led me to the Irish overdress and an Irish costume which wouldn't be too complicated to make started to take shape in my mind. Luckily, I found the loveliest green cotton velveteen in a gorgeous shade of green (remember, I LOVE green!) to make the overdress, some cheerful cotton for the skirt and, of course, a woolly clover... If any of you know more about traditional Irish costumes, I'd love to hear about it -- but, for now, here's my version:

 Irish clover,

Irish jig,

 



and Irish mischief!







Happy St. Patrick's Day!

blah...

...that pretty much sums up my last week -- I was spinning in a zillion directions, trying to finish and start things at the same time and, of course, I didn't get very far, only very frustrated... Happily this week, I'm in a better groove, taking things a little slower, working on finishing up a few patchwork coverlets like these which I first pieced together a few months ago... How about you?... are you starting on new project ideas in anticipation of spring and Easter?...

As you can see, I'm still adding to my heart pillow collection  -- I've given some away to my family, friends and, of course, as a blog giveaway... but they're still piling up around the house because I love making them. (I'm having visions of my house becoming like the Ikea ball room, except instead of balls, it would be filled with heart pillows!) I'm thinking that I just might just have to stock my empty Etsy shop with a few....

Last week, in the middle of my blahs,  my little chair-painting-pillow vignette above which is in my living room did put a smile on my face. The poppy painting (a thrift shop find) is one of my favorites; I zinged it up a little by panting its frame in that shade of green which I'm so in love with these days... I'm always looking for it when I'm buying  fabric, yarn, whatever.... but  I never see enough of it?!... Luckily for me, St Patrick's Day is just around the corner...

"I heart you" winners...

...the bowl,

...the shuffle,





...the first lucky pick,





...the second lucky pick,





{drum roll}



...and the winners!






Congratulations to Lavender Dreamer  and Kirsten from Ude På Landet!

Thank you for commenting so abundantly and appreciatively...WOW!.. I only wish I could send you all a heart! I love doing giveaways for many reasons, but especially because I get to "meet" so many more of you who take the time, in what I'm sure are very busy days, to check in on my blog... I have been away all last week (without internet), and now that I've settled back home, I'm relishing the thought of slowly going through all your comments and exploring all the new blogs that have come my way via this giveaway... Thank you from the bottom of my heart for encouraging me so ardently in all of my crafty pursuits!

Beata