Paris

First things first..... These are some pictures of the 2 1/2 days we spent in Paris.  What can I say? Paris is everything it was imagined to be.  THIS is a city that actually lives up to it's hype.   Beautiful, ancient, modern, stylish.

This is Notre Dame.  It was beautiful on a bright, brisk day.  Did we go in? No.  The lines were 1000's deep with the overflow of the lines waiting on a football field set of bleachers.  It was the 850th anniversary of the cathedral.  850. Imagine.  No hunchbacks were spotted. There weren't any obsessed policemen searching for escaped bread thieves either, I am happy to report.  About 100 yards away from where I took this photo is the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore.  The oldest book store in Paris.  It was a tiny labyrinth of stone paved rooms stacked floor to ceiling with books. Almost all in English. It is definitely a tourist destination, and a great one.

Just around the corner from this (okay, around several maze like streets and lanes and cul de sacs) is the famous quilt shop of Paris - Le Rouvray

It was tiny, perfect, and completely French.  

You could walk for days in the Latin Quarter where all the above are.  You probably WOULD walk for days if you didn't have a map or helpful Parisians to direct you.  I will have to re-watch Midnight In Paris - the recent movie about magical happenings in this lovely city.  If I remember correctly - all the magic happened while getting lost in the Latin Quarter.  It was charming.  Bring a compass.

More later,

Laurie

Heading Home

Polly and I are in Charles DeGaulle airport waiting for our flights home. We had a grand time, in spite of spotty Internet connections. I'll be posting more once I get home and can upload my photos from my camera. Also, it will be nice to get back to a keyboard with all the letters in the right places:)

If you placed a Pre-order of the book - they are already on the way to the states. They will be wrapped and shipped immediately upon arrival. Much more later! We have so much to tell you all.

Laurie

In Just A Few Hours......

In just a few hours, Polly and I will be on the plane to here........

View from the Shangri La Hotel in Paris

No, this isn't our hotel, but we are staying in a lovely place.  I mean, how could it not be?

We will have a few, very short days in Paris before we head to Nantes.

Nantes is a picturesque port town.

We hope to see the Elephant.  Yes, it walks through the city of Nantes.  How lovely is that?

But as soon as we wake up in the morning, if you know Polly and I..... know that we will be on our way to someplace like this for some cafe latte and cafe noir and yummy pastries.

Du Pain et des Idees

Can't lie...... we are pretty excited!  This little post is also to remind anyone who places an order in the next week that it won't be filled until May 1st - when we get back.  Downloads of course, will be immediate - just like now.

Au revoir

Laurie  

Quilts and Rugs!

This is the cover of our new book.....

We haven't gotten our hands on it - we will a week from today when we are in France.  This will be debuted at the Pour l'Amour du Fil show in Nantes.  Quiltmania took our projects and our directions and ran with this.   So, having the contents, and layouts, and photos as a surprise - well, it will be exciting.

This is what we do know.... it's 184 pages and contains 20 projects - 10 each from Polly and I.  There are a few classic patterns of ours that never made it into publication, a couple of reprints and over a dozen brand new projects. We think you will like them.

I'll post pictures of some of the projects that are in Nantes on display - next week.

Until then, you can place a pre-order on this book.  This will help us know how many to include in the initial shipment from France.  All pre-orders will be autographed by Polly and I.

Now, I'm going back to checking my list of things to pack.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Laurie

A Cautionary Tale

So, I'll tell you a little story about my life the past month.  You know I've been working on the quilts for  Midwinter Reds and things were a bit harried here.  The quilts are done now and I've posted about them this past week.  Thanks for saying such nice things about them.

Anyway, on to the story..... About a month ago when I was immersed in these projects and running lots of errands, I walked into my dining room from the kitchen after putting away groceries.  I suddenly had a stabbing pain in my thigh.  Not horrible, but kind of an "ouch".  It felt like a bee sting, or being stuck by a pin.  I felt my leg and felt nothing.  The pain went away and I didn't think about it again until I took a shower the next day.

There was a huge bruise on my thigh and a hard lump underneath the bruise.  Hmmmm.  It didn't hurt, but was a bit tender on the bruise.  So, I did what anyone would do - I googled  "stinging pain, hard lump" and watched what came up.  The online search pointed to several things, but it seemed to suggest a spider bite.

All the symptoms fit.  I never found a spider the day before, but what else could it be?  The bruise faded a bit, but the lump got bigger.  9 days later I went to the doctor to see what could be happening.  Basically, I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to lose my leg.  The Doctor was reassuring and said it wasn't any bug bite.  She thought it was a "spontaneous eruption of a blood vessel".  Hmmmmm, this didn't sound too good.  I would prefer a spider bite.  She said to not worry and just watch it. So I did.  The bruise faded completely, but the lump was still there and it seemed to change shape from a round lump into a hard, sharp point.

Fast forward to this afternoon.  I walked into the doorjamb and my leg brushed up against the door.  The lump broke open and started to bleed.  While bandaging the "lump" I noticed a piece of metal.  I pulled.  Yep, you guessed it.  A needle.  A 2" long, straw needle.  Super long and thin and perfect for applique - and also for plunging into cellulite riddled flesh, I discovered.

After a quick call to the Doctor to confirm I had a recent tetanus shot (I have!), I washed it and bandaged it.  Did you know that after 1 month in your leg a needle will get rusty?  The eye of the needle actually rusted shut.  (Have I ruined your dinner yet?)

Anyway - all is good.  The leg doesn't have any symptoms of infection or inflammation.  It looks like I'll probably be keeping the leg.  Gibby is pleased about that.

Seriously, I have always agonized over "lost" needles.  Especially with pets in the house.  Who would have thought this could have happened though.  Lesson of the day - keep track of those needles.

As to HOW it happened?  All we can figure is that it somehow got stuck in my jeans and was there for quite awhile before it decided to impale me.

All is well here.  Bill asked if it hurt.  It didn't.  Really.  But then again, the Detroit Tigers had just hit 3 home runs.  I was kind of numb.  Here is the miserable little piece of metal for proof.

Keep Stitching!

Laurie

Back By Popular Demand

Some of you may remember this rug - and quilt.  The rug appeared in our book Everyday Folk Art (in blue and creams).  It lives on the wall at Polly's home and has been in several magazines.  The accompanying quilt was with our first fabric collection with Moda Fabrics - the Nantucket collection.

The quilt pattern was out of print and we have had requests on it.  We knew it would be a great pattern for our Midwinter Reds fabric collections - so here it is again - in just a little bit bigger size.

Nantucket - 67 1/2" x 67 1/2"

I just finished sewing on the binding today.  Yeah!

The pattern is available on our website now as a download.  Tell you favorite shop owners that it will be available from United Notions/Moda Fabrics in a week or so.  

For all you rug hookers..... Polly says she will have kits for the Nantucket rug at the end of May.  The linens are being drawn up now and when we are back from France, Polly will start constructing the kits.  We'll let all of you know as soon as they are ready.

Laurie