trip to Lucketts Christmas house 2021

This year again we went to the Lucketts Christmas Design House!And just like last year, we had to buy tickets,but it was quite worth it:we went just after Thanksgiving,and it finally put me in the mood to decorate the house....which is happening slowly.

As usual, there were great wall papers, beautiful décor,

and perfect accessories!

I am a huge blue room person so this blue deer paper was so good!

And so was this moody bedroom:

A lot more masculine feel than most of the house,great blues and green with cold accent.
I have seen lately a lot of people using dried orange slices,but I like the use of the whole orange with cloves

it makes me want to try to do something like that too!

There were of course a lot of beautifully decorated trees,

like this one with more pastel colors:

Every room has its tree, and fireplace/mantel perfectly decorated:

those metal trees were very neat, lot of debates about bringing some home!

I really enjoyed this bedroom, very girly and pinky,

quite different from my style,

but so lovely!

It seems so soft and plushy, and that wallpaper!

There were also more traditional red and green decor,

with a lot of white added.

While the rooms are all perfectly decorated,there are a couple of vignettes that are just perfect,like this stylist deer (love deer!)and this little votive holder with the chalet scene:

So what did I bring home?a golden squirrel holding an acorn(I have quite a collection of squirrel, deer and mushroom,there are worse things! 😜)an old fashion blue Santawho is going to be on the mantel,and a beautiful scarf (present for a friend)
but more importantlyI came home in much better spirit,ready to play with ornaments, wreathsand light!

Happy Day!

a snowy Christmas tree skirt

I sewed a new Christmas tree skirt!

It is so whimsical and fun,

 trees and houses in the snow:

I made it for my sister who did not want too much red or green,

so lot of blue and pink!

The pattern is Yule tide Christmas tree skirt from Tied with a Ribbon,pretty easy to make, lot of raw edge appliques, so quite doable.
I mostly followed the directions, especially for the tree panel,with the reverse applique stars

but I realized my white and gold fabric was visible under the blue fabric,

so I did some regular applique on the house panel:

I also decided to stitch each panel on batting, 

skipping the quilting part later.

It worked well, making it easy to quilt.

I just stitched each panel to its friend,

trimming the batting at the seam to avoid any bulk.

Then I placed it on top the backing

and just stitched along the seams of each panel.

And finally I bound it with some candy cane print (cut on the bias)

I chose a more traditional print for the backing,

in case my sister decides to embrace red and green for Christmas next year!

I look forward to seeing some pictures with her tree,it will probably be better than this glass tree!

Here are some Christmas tree skirt I made previously:

Soft and fluffy skirt

Quilted tree skirt


Happy sewing!

picking chestnuts

Earlier in the fall, I went chestnut "hunting" in Brittany!

It requires walking under chestnuts tree and some good gloves!

It was a little too early in the season,

but we were able to gather quite a few:

We didn't roast them

(as I have previously done in the past: here),

but instead removed their hard shells

and boiled them with some salt.

The boiled chestnuts have to be eaten warm,

as it is easiest to pill the last skin before eating them.

It is a little messy, and fun and delicious!

And with a glass of cool hard cider it is perfect!

I hope I will be able to find some at the grocery store for Christmas,

other wise I know I can always find the candied version 

and make more Buche de Noel aux marrons:

Another version that can easily be found is those little bags of ready to eat roasted chestnuts,

they are ok, not quite like the fresh ones but better than nothing!

And I enjoy eating them with Beaujolais Nouveau!

(Here for last year Beaujolais nouveau celebration!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

A few linen pumpkin coasters

While blogs and Instagram are full of Christmas things,I am still in fall and pumpkins mood.After all pumpkins are a big part of Thanksgiving,and I am ready to celebrate it in a couple weeks.

So I made a few linen pumpkin coasters!They are inspired by Minki Kim's work,she has a great tutorial on you tube,quite easy to follow.I am a fan of her work, and have both of her books,I made a lot of sew illustrated projects!

I kept my pumpkins quite simple,

just linen and little hand embroidery:

and some fall print for the back:

I changed the embroidery a little between each one:

still, all very simple.I gave them all away, so I need to make one more for me!

I will leave you with one more fall picture,as my backyard is at its best:

Happy sewing!

fall embroidery

Lately I've had a really good time doing some cross stitching,

it is one of the easiest form of embroidery.

And this little fall cabin turned out super cute!

It feels like the perfect place to spend a weekend or some vacations...

The pattern is from this new book:

'Montagne au fil des saisons" by Veronique Enginger,

one of my favorite designers 

(she works also under les brodeuses parisiennes!)

More embroideries will come from this book,

so many cute winter/Christmas themes!

Right now, this little fall scene is taking a good spot on the mantel,

with a few pumpkins, acorns and leaves.

Happy stitching!