The Happiness of Ladies

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Heather

Hello, stitchy friends! It’s been two weeks since my trip to Paris, and I am still mentally working through everything I was lucky enough to see. The Eiffel Tower, of course, and Versailles (the Hall of Mirrors is beyond breathtaking), the Louvre, and so much more. But, one of my favourite stops was a charming little needlework shop in Paris, tucked away in a shopping arcade called Passage Verdeau (built in 1847).

A view of Passage Verdeau.

Le Bonheur des Dames is just delightful, full of designs by Cécile Vessière, as well as a few other treasures including hand-carved wooden birds.

The exterior of Le Bonheur des Dames.

The walls are covered with stitched samples, and the shelves are full of cross stitch and embroidery kits.

Stitched samples on the wall at Le Bonheur des Dames.

I thoroughly enjoyed looking at everything and picking out a few very special kits to stitch. I would have loved to buy, well honestly, one of everything, but luggage space was very tight for this trip and I visited on our first day in Paris. Thankfully, the shop does offer mail order, so I can always order what I’d like at a later date.

Interior of Le Bonheur des Dames.

The ladies working in the shop were friendly, although I will admit I didn’t speak much since I am embarrassed of my truly awful French. (We take French for several years in grade school here in Canada, but that along with practice in Duolingo just means I can read French not speak it with any skill. I speak better Japanese then French, which is a little embarrassing!)

In addition to all the unique kits, the shop also has a large range of Clover sewing accessories and some very beautiful scissors. They also carry DMC floss, stitching books, and stitchable fabrics like jar covers and towels.

The shop is easy to spot in the shopping arcade as there is a mannequin of a lady atop the awning. The lady is part of their logo, and is featured on their website and their business card as well.

Le Bonheur des Dames is most definitely worth a visit if you are needleworker visiting Paris. Be sure to save room in your luggage for all the treasure you will find there. And, if you happen like like ramen, I also recommend checking out Neko Ramen right next door.

Mural outside of Neko Ramen, Paris.

Le Bonheur des Dames
8 Pass. Verdeau 75009
Paris, France

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged

First Spring is Like a Ghost

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Heather

Happy March, stitchy friends! It has been a little bit of a busy month, but I’m surviving. We spent almost two weeks in Europe earlier this month (Switzerland and France), and after our return home I had to deal with all sorts of sinus weirdness (never fly with weird sinuses, especially five flights close-ish together), but I’m finally doing well enough again to get by.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to visit Sajou while in Versailles, but I did visit an absolutely lovely store called Le Bonheur de Dames in Paris. I’ll share a little bit about it in a day or two, once I find all my photos.

Today I’m sharing the March ghost from Living on the Rainbow’s A Year with Ghosts.

March Ghost from A Year With Ghosts

I live in Southern Ontario, just a tiny bit north of Toronto. Spring birds have started to make their return, but the snow is still hanging around. In fact, there is a light covering of snow over my backyard right now. But, it will be 14C on Sunday. We like to joke about First Spring, Second Winter, Second Spring, etc. We’ve had First Spring already and right now is Second Winter. I suspect we may still eke out Third Winter this year given how the plants look. But who knows!

I’m hard at work stitching another design which I hope will be finished and ready to share by the weekend. After that, well, my stash feels like it is endless, so who knows.

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A Ghostly Valentine

Posted on March 1, 2025 by Heather

Hello, my wonderful crafty friends! I didn’t expect to disappear for so long again, but February was a difficult month. I don’t do well in the cold and dark, and with world events being what they are, I sort of just hibernated, crafted, and read books.

Speaking of which, here is my lovely little ghost from Living On The Rainbow’s A Year With Ghosts.

February Ghost from A Year With Ghosts

So, that’s two ghosts down (and two months of 2025 over with!).

A Year With Ghosts January and February

I think these little ghost are just adorable. But, I do need to be more careful when stitching. I accidentally stitched the February ghost in white because I was sure I knew what colour he was. Of course the ghosts are actually off white. I had to pick him out, which is quite difficult on black fabric. I’m using a magnifier and light, and there is a white sofa just behind my frame that helps me see the holes, but it was still a challenge.

I was clearly in a ghostly mood in February as I made these cards to a Valentine Tarot card exchange.

Ghoul-entine Cards

I used an image from Creative Fabrica for the ghost and edited it a little bit in Cricut Design Space and then cut the ghosts from thick vellum using my Cricut Maker 3. Aren’t they cute?

March will hopefully be a much happier month. If I’m lucky, I will be visiting Sajou in Versailles shortly! I’d love to buy a pair of scissors there, but the Euro to Canadian dollars exchange rate is not good. We shall see, I suppose.

2 Comments | Posted in Card Making, Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Embroidered Rose

Posted on January 28, 2025 by Heather

Hello, crafty friends! I think that my love of counted needlework is very well known by anyone who stops by my blog. I love cross stitch and canvaswork, and I’ve even been known to do needlepoint once in a blue moon. I love having a clear pattern and a little grid to follow, but every once in a while it is good to get out of your comfort zone.

Embroidered rose necklace

Embroidered rose necklace

The other day I dove into this little embroidery kit and stitched up this cute necklace. It look about 30 minutes to complete the stitching. It’s just simple satin stitch and woven wheel roses. I changed out the french knots for colonial knots, but they look the same.

The kit came from Amazon (a gift) and the quality of it was fine. The included thread feels silky, but it developed a fuzzy halo very quickly.

Finishing up this quick project almost makes me want to tackle a larger embroidery project again… almost, but not quite. lol!

1 Comment | Posted in Hand Embroidery | Tagged ,

Antique Skulls

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Heather

Hello, my crafty friends! Boy, this year is off to an interesting start, isn’t it? I’m Canadian, but I know that what affects a neighbour can soon affect you… Like many (most?) people, my mental health is taking a bit of a beating. I’m so grateful the comfort I find in my stitching, podcasts, games, and books.

A Study in Skulls cross stitch design on purple fabric.

A Study in Skulls, designed by The Stitch Crypt

I completed A Study in Skulls from The Stitch Crypt last week. The designer was kind enough to chart out a 13-hour clock for me so I could add just a hint of the Haunted Mansion to the design. (Sorry for the small image size. Click to embiggen. I haven’t update my blog theme in many years, but it’s in the works!)

I otherwise stitched the design as charted, but the dye from the purple fabric ran and discoloured all the light coloured threads. I tried all the tricks, but nothing was able to remove the dye. Ultimately, it is okay because it has given the piece an antique-y look that doesn’t change the design significantly.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a piece of hand-dyed fabric run so badly. I purchased this piece about a decade ago, from someone who’s fabric I love and use all the time. This was a misdyed piece, so I’m wondering if the final setting set was accidentally forgotten.

More stitching and more cards to come! But no politics here. While I’m aware of what is happening in the world and I’ll be doing what I can in my small corner of the world to ensure everyone stays safe and protected, my blog is a sanctuary away from that. We all need small places to rest our mind quietly before returning to the fray.

3 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

A Year with Ghosts

Posted on January 16, 2025 by Heather

Every year I tell myself that I am going to focus on stitching things for myself. I’m not get involved with another mystery SAL that I may not like once it is done. And, just about every year I stitch another SAL… What can I say, FOMO is real even in the stitching world. This year is going to be different! I’m doing a solo SAL, just for me, from a pattern that is already complete.

A portion of a cross stitch design featuring a ghost wearing a hat and scarf putting a carrot nose on a snowman.

January from A Year with Ghosts, designed by Living on the Rainbow

Each month this year I’ll be stitching a section of A Year with Ghosts from Living on the Rainbow. I’m using 27 count black Linda evenweave (it was on sale…) with DMC and Kreinik #4 braid as charted. There is a chance I’ll replace some of the #4 braid with Petite Treasure Braid, as I’d like to use what I’ve got in my stash if possible.

Surprisingly, I’m not having a difficult time stitching on black fabric. I’ve switched to using a Daylight Company floor stand instead of stitching in hand. (My old shoulder injury combined with hand pain from aging and a newer elbow issue means stitching in hand isn’t very comfortable anymore.) I also use a Daylight Company light with a magnifier, which has made the process much easier on my eyes. I think there may be a few more projects on black fabric in my future.

Are you taking part in any SALs this year? I mean, I don’t need another one but I but I’d still love to hear about them. (Do I need another one? Maybe…)

I also wanted to mention that I’ve moved from Instagram to Bluesky. You can find me at stitchinglotus.bsky.social.

5 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Craft Roulette #249

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Heather

Hello again, crafty friends! It’s going to take me a little while to get back into the habit of regular posts since it hasn’t been part of my routine for so long. But, I’m working on it! (I’ve also been a little under the weather, as per usual for me in the winter…)

Today I wanted to share one of my favourite new hobbies: card making! I started card making back in 2019, though I took a big pause for the disaster that was most of 2020. In early 2023 I discovered a funn (two n) YouTube game show called Craft Roulette, hosted by Mary Gunn. It’s “the ultimate paper crafting, card making, game show challenge”, where Mary spins a wheel to choose four creative parameters for making a card. She and a guest create their projects live, and viewers (nicknamed the Chatter Box) are invited to participate and submit their own cards to the Craft Roulette website.

A zoyfold greeting card featuring a green and grey haunted house on a background for green and grey.

Entry for Craft Roulette 249

This is the card I created for Episode 249. The parameters were:
Project – zoyfold card
Colours – elegant
Element – front door
Random – three circles

This is far from the best card I’ve ever made, but I really enjoy the challenge of ruminating on the required parameters and searching through my stash to see what I have that will work. For this challenge, I made a Halloween card using a stamp set from Scrapbook.com and paper from Michaels. I snuck in the three circles by using pearl embellishments.

I know needleworkers aren’t always keen on looking at papercrafts, but I do promise to share lots cross stitch soon. I love to keep busy making things, and I also have a large backlog of things to share.

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