Tiramisu Progress

I'm getting really really close to finishing this band. I doubt I'll be able to work on it until next week, though. Soon.

Stash Away

More stash! Aren't you shocked? The top picture has the fabric I'm going to stitch something onto and make a valance for my living room, at the request of my husband. It's about two yards across unfolded. Patterns - three Les Bonheurs des Dames charts and a pretty heart that I'll do in overdyed thread. The magazines are both embroidery ones - Elena has other things besides cross stitch.

I bought the ribbons at a shop in Rouen that sells buttons, ribbons, and a small bit of floss. It's on the Rue de Gros Horologe and we passed it the first time we went to Rouen. I saw the wide bird ribbon in the window and longed for it. So when we went back to Rouen, I bought it and these four others. They have lots of gorgeous ribbons. i might go back on Monday, I'm not sure. A couple of these ribbons are rayon - the others are silk. Really big price difference. The bird ribbon's going to be the centerpiece of a purse like the one I just finished, for me!

Fecamp - Benedictine

If you've ever heard of the liqueur Benedictine or B&B, it's made in France, on the Norman coast. The town is an industrial port called Fecamp, and it's got an okay beach, along with the white cliffs to each side. It's about fifteen minutes from Etretat and makes a nice combined trip. The founder of the Benedictine company seems to have been one of those late Victorian eccentrics. He built a palace to use as his distillery. The original time clock's still in there. Anyway, this is the palace. It's gorgeous and really a weird place to function as a distillery.

In the palace itself there is a collection of archaeological items from the original Benedictine abbey in the town - sacked and torn down during the French Revolution. Lots of old keys, door plates, locks, and other things. There is also a small collection of medieval art originals and a gallery for contemporary art. When we were there Sunday, that gallery had about 50 or so pieces by Miro in it. Not my cup of tea.

As an incentive to go, they give you a sample at the end of the tour.

Crevecoeur

Despite history being all around them, the French don't tend to have a lot of re-enactors or ren faires. One of them takes place at Chateau Crevecoeur in August of every year. It's got everyone (plus visitors) caught up in a different storyline every year and things get crazy. The grounds are a medieval manor house and outer bailey restored by Schlumberger corporation (which has an exhibit in one of the barns about its history). There's a dovecote that still stinks of pigeons. A demonstration of how Norman architecture fits in with the surroundings and how it was done, including a lot of restoration footage, and the manor house itself. There's also a medieval music exhibit with real and restored instruments of the time. It's open April through October and worth the visit.

Something's Fishy

There were supposed to be two pictures for this post, but I can only find one of them. The other's of my sealife round robin. It's getting done - a fish from a French magazine. The seahorse is coming along at my bedside. It's what I'm going to take to work on the plane, since it's pretty easy. Maybe I'll even get close to finishing it then. The Strand wool that I'm working with isn't pilling, but it does twist a lot and fray slightly.

And Down the Stretch

I got the corner bit all done and am now doing the last of the three areas of this quarter. It should go quickly, if I work on it this week. It's my last full week in France and I'm really busy. I've also been working on the calendar round robin to finish it off and mail it before leaving here. Next week's busy too, and I'll have jet lag. I'll at least stitch on the plane.

French Flowers

I can't help taking pictures of flowers. I always say I'm going to use them for design one day. That day's getting close as I feel the urge to design bubbling up in me. All these pictures were taken here in France. The topiary swan, petunia, fuchsias and gallardia were taking at the Argentan lace musem. Very pretty grounds.

These sunflowers were taken at a florist's stall in Alencon.

These little blue flowers were sitting on the edge of the cliff in Etretat. You can see one of the cliffs and the sea behind them. The wild geranium was also taken there.

These daisies were growing in the herbal garden outside the Normandy Museum.

I had never seen this flower before and the French name didn't give me a clue. It's comfrey, which I'd heard of before. Anyway, I think it's pretty. It was growing in the herbal garden at Crevecoeur.