The web, specially Swap-bot, has brought me wonderful human beings, people with hearts the size of the sun. I am pretty sure that if I was ever in need I would have their helping hands through the hardest of times. This is exactly what Jeni‘s friends are doing for her at this very moment: giving their loving support to her and her little one.

Please, take a moment or two to learn how you too can contribute.

Let’s all be Jeni’s friends and hold her hand at this time of her life.

Say hello to my first real embroidery project! Yay!!! Innit cute?

I say “real” because I did embroider my initials on my passport case a while ago, but I didn’t use embroidery floss and I am not really sure of the boundaries which define what is or isn’t embroidery.

I tell you that I love it! It is so addictive! I did – of course – get entangled in floss, cussed a couple of times (captured on video here, although Kerrin took the sound off) and – obviously – chose the wrong fabric to start embroiderying with (a flimsy Ikea tea towel which gave me odd-looking stitches when I entered one strand of fabric too far or too short and left hoop marks I doubt will come off). But it was so very delightful to sit on the sofa and stitch the hours away! It took me two days on and off to finish this, but I suspect it was because I did not want it to end, since I was having so much fun!

I am not sure what I am going to do with this tea towel, but I certainly ain’t gonna use it in the kitchen! Ain’t no Schwartz chicken seasoning gonna stain my cute little tea towel! Not this first one anyway!

My teacher was Jenny Hart in the form of her Sublime Stitching book. The iron-on patterns I used on this first project came from it, which is a to-the-point yet thorough beginners’ book. I certainly recommend it if you are thinking of taking up embroidery. She also sells starter kits with absolutely everything you’ll need at Sublime Stitching. And I am positive the tea towel she offers is not a mutant evil my-way-or-the-weird-stitch-highway tea towel like the one I got!

I am already thinking of some desings of my own, although I will stick around with Jenny’s for a while until I can get the hang of all of these stitches. I don’t know how impaired will that sound, but I still cannot make a decent stem stitch! It is so hard for me to make even diagonal stitches! Mind-boggling, I tell ya!

I know you have probably heard of these very talented ladies, but if you didn’t and would like to see some real embroidery delights – not my messy budget-flossed first attempt – do visit their floss realms:

* Floresita at Things I’ve Made;
* Rachel at Average Jane Crafter;
* Amy at Early Special Bird.

I know!!!!! I DON’T have a sewing machine yet!!! Dang!!!

But, once more, I was lured by the possibilities which these two marvelous patterns hold within their little packets*. Oh, how I NEED a sewing machine!

This is the one Kerrin and I really really want. Ain’t I lucky? My future husband sews!

We have so many great projects brewing in our minds and it is very annoying not being able to realize them. My hands are itching! It doesn’t help that I left all my crafting gear back at home (my three suitcases were absolutely packed with winter clothes).

We are lucky to have some time to go through a thinking process though, while ideas mature and paths become clear. I think I should be more grateful and enjoy the process a bit more, instead of being so damn agitated!

* my wedding dress for the civil ceremony might just be one of these cuties! Shhhhh! ;-D

PS: I almost forgot! The two patterns above were bought at Etsy’s Inkandescence.

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I can never really remember how I came across some of the amazing blogs I read almost every day and online stores whose products I covet greedily. One link leads to another and I end up bumping into beautiful works as well as great life narratives. I believe you can tell by the number of links I have here on the right! Here are some sites and/or products I’ve had the pleasure of bumping into lately:

• Happy Zombie – Her posts get me laughing so loud I end up with major belly ache! Great workout for the abs! If you’ve never visited her blog, just go there! Go, go, go!
• Jonathan Avery – lovely stuff for home. Shabby-expensive-chic, but very beautiful nonetheless!
• GreenGate – I almost cried going through their catalog. Seriously!
• Hollabee – yummy gorgeous fabric!
• The Mocka Dunk Mug – my milk and Oreos at night simply NEED this posh accessory!
• Redrubyrose – adorable clutches!
• Madisongre – adorable huge bags!
• Keepcalmandcarryon – a must-have travelling gear.
• Fillipa K-muggen – utterly gorgeous coffee and tea cups.
• Recycled glass night set – so cute! Reminds me so much of my mom!

The BBC Drama in office at the moment is Lark Rise to Candleford and, I tell ya, what a piece of good drama! Every episode leaves me completely baffled by great performances by Julia Sawalha, Linda Basset (who, God knows why, makes me cry when she smiles) and an amazing cast.

I cannot compliment costume designer Phoebe De Gaye enough for the unbelievable wardrobe these men and especially women had the privilege to wear. I would do anything for that grey uniform-like dress Dorcas Lane wears from time to time. Oh, those matching buttons kill me!!!! Lady Adelaide’s dresses – every single one of them – are likewise breathtaking. There are two things that I love more than anything in the clothes-making world: pleats and lace. So you pretty much get the extent of my utter infatuation with those beautifully-designed garments. I tell ya, the glorious Janet Arnold would be proud! I urge Ms. De Gaye to publish a book with the patterns for those amazing costumes, enabling commoners like myself to walk around dressed all lah-dee-dah!

Back to the plot, it’s not a heavily sad drama like Bleak House, although I’ve shed my tears – obviously*. It’s light but enlightening at the same time, do you know what I mean? It always ends with an uplifting message, which leaves me happy and comforted as well as completely desperate to watch the next one. It is a marvelous piece of work and I wish it somehow become an Eastenders of period drama (God forgive me for the comparison), running regularly.

For those who are not in the UK, it goes a little something like this:

“Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town, Candleford, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm-workers, craftsmen and gentry at the end of the 19th Century. This world is seen through the eyes of a teenage girl, Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan – Sugar Rush, Torchwood) as she leaves Lark Rise to start a new life under the wing of the independent and effervescent Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha – Hornblower, Pride And Prejudice) who is post-mistress at the local post office in Candleford.” (taken from the BBC webpage)

It is simply lovely! Don’t miss it if you have a chance!

By the way, Olivia Grant – who plays Lady Adelaide – was born in 1983. She is 2 years (yes, TWO!) younger than me! How can that be? Oh, I am blaming the costumes… Or perhaps I just look agressively younger than my own age… Or perhaps I simply would like to think that I don’t look my own age… Oh, God, I am feeling a headache coming!

* I cry when Kerrin does his Orville impersonation, singing “I wish I could fly”, so it’s not exactly a hard thing to see around here…

On more materialistic topics:

- I got myself 8m of this, because it is GOR-GEH-OUS and I wanted some FOR-EH-VAH! It is going straight into my collection! I am addicted to trim, I cannot stress this enough!

- It took me ages to post this, but some time ago I bought my first few yards of Amy Butler fabric!YAY! I always drooled over her prints and I still cannot believe I own some. I got them from Five Valleys Fabric and I thouroughly recommend Kirsty Thomson’s shop! The prices are great and the shipping is fast.

- I ordered these two lovely patterns at Etsy’s PatternShop yesterday. “When/How will you be making these?”, you ask?! Of course, it would help if I had a sewing machine. It would even be more helpful if I actually knew how to use one! But my day is coming soon and the moment I get back home for those 3-4 months waiting for my Fiance Visa to come through I’ll start attending a sewing class. Surely, it will take me 4-5 years until I am experienced enough to pull those two through, but I simply could not leave them there! They are so me! They were chanting the wanna-be-dressmaker mermaid song! So hypnotic! I-HAD-TO…

I found a lovely designer for the dress here, but with prices starting at £995 I am not sure it will do for our small civil wedding. Next year perhaps, when the big party comes along! Hmmmm, not sure yet…The dresses are so lovely… Make sure you check collections/catwalks/autumn-winter 2007-8. Amazing!

Monique Lhuillier also drives me insane with her wedding dresses! Oh, I know… They are TOO expensive for us – not exactly part of the hoy-polloy-ascott-invitee-people, if you know what I mean… but a girl can dream!

Not much crafting going on around here these days, which is driving me crazy! I have 800-900 feeds a day of delicious crafty goodies and all I can do is drool at the moment!

There are only two good things about heading back:
1) Lots of family-hugging;
2) Getting back to my craft room.

I’ll craft my “missing Kerrin heartache” away until we meet again… It is indeed a long road we have ahead of us.

“Orgulho e Preconceito” (2005) estava passando na TV a cabo e eu, obviamente, não podia perder! Eu não poderia ser mais óbvia, certo? Em vez de Barthes, Chomsky ou qualquer escritor russo, eu sou uma fã de Jane Austen! Você nunca poderia imaginar, certo? ;-D

Essa adaptação de 2005 não é a coisa mais maravilhosa do mundo, mas é bastante interessante. Ao contrário de meio mundo, eu adoro adaptações. Adoro – menos Romeo + Juliet do Baz Luhrmann, porque aí já é querer demais da minha pobre alma!

Essa cena quase final de “Orgulho e Preconceito” é uma coisa de louco. Ver o Mr. Darcy se aproximando, trazendo com ele o nascer do sol é uma coisa fora do normal de linda. E essa música! Nossa Senhora! É de fazer qualquer um (provavelmente, uma) se derreter! O filme me ganhou aí.

Eu sou fanzoca da versão da BBC de 1995. Assisto uma vez por mês *todos* os DVDs pelo menos! Se você quiser ver a mesma cena acima na versão inglesa, linda, perfeita, com Jennifer Ehle e Colin Firth, clique aqui para conferir! Super merece 3 minutos do seu tempo!

E eu não sabia que havia um final diferente para a versão 2005 exibida apenas nos cinemas norte-americanos! Vi somente hoje no YouTube! Adorei! Vejam abaixo o ultra-romântico e recém-descoberto final:

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The answer is so *me* that it hurts, but you may not know yours truly here so I’ll provide you with a tip:

“Pride and Prejudice” (2005) was on today and I, obviously, could not miss it! Could I be any more obvious? Instead of Barthes, Chomsky or any Russian writer, I am an Austen girl. You would never have guessed it, right? ;-D

This 2005 adaptation is not the most amazing thing in the world, but is very interesting. As opposed to half of the world, I love adaptations. Love them – apart from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, because *that* is too much for my poor soul!

That almost final scene of P&P is insanely beautiful. Seeing Mr. Darcy coming closer, bringing with him sunrise itself is something beyond beautiful. And that song! Good God! That song makes anyone melt away! The film won me right there.

I am a big fan of BBC’s 1995 adaptation. I watch *every* DVD at least once a month! If you want to see the same scene I posted above in the British, beautiful and perfect version, with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, click here please. It soooo worth 3 minutes of your time!

I did not know that there was a different ending on the 2005 version made especially for North-American audiences! I saw it only today on YouTube! Loved it! Below is the ultra-romantic newly discovered ending:

has

got

to

be

kidding

me

!

PS: A little homage to my fiancé!

PPS: Nem precisa de tradução, né? ;-D

Essa estética adorável me lembra o estilo provençal. O que, curiosamente – para mim de qualquer forma! -, não está muito longe da verdade. Meu noivo – que viveu no Japão – diz que os japoneses apreciam a França mais do que qualquer outro país, justificando o tal “espírito francês” que eu vejo emanar desse movimento. Tenho certeza de que todo mundo sabia disso, mas eu nunca nem ouvi falar dessa tal apreciação.

Esse espírito Zakka tem algo de reconfortante, tranqüilo. É como um retorno a uma vida mais simples. E eu adoro isso – que a deusa das urbanas e cariocas não me escute!

Aqui vão alguns sites que existem só para me impressionar! Vivo pulando de link em link por horas a fio!

• Anano Café
• Atelier Akiko
• Aranzi Net
• Tar-tan
• Maminka
• Ripple
• Salvia
• chocoA
• Rakuten Zácca
• Modern Craft
• Sweet Heart
• Kitty-craft
• Shop Zakka-Zakka
• Jade
• Le musée
• Le duvet doux

No meio desse frenesi todo, eu fiz uma wishlist gigante na Amazon Japão. No momento, nem dá para pensar nisso, porque a taxa de envio é caríssima, mesmo lá para a Inglaterra. Bleh!

Se você conhece mais sites e não se incomoda em partilhar com essa novata em assuntos Zakka, por favor, deixe um comentário!

Ah! Também visite esse post da super talentosa Jenny B! Esses blogs escandinavos são tão perfeito que é difícil acreditar na existência desses paraísos de contos-de-fada! Como a Jenny, eu tive que fazer uma pasta no meu Google Reader só para esses blogs! Merecem? Merecem!!

E se é para escolher um favorito, gostaria que minha vida fosse florida assim!

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Lately, I (and half of the world, apparently) have been very interested on Japanese craft items associated with the Zakka movement. I know. I am probably 5 years late!

This lovely aesthetic reminds me of the Provence style. Which, curiously – to me anyway! –, is not something very far from the truth. My fiancé – who lived in Japan – says that the Japanese appreciate France more than any other place, thus the reigning “frenchness” I feel emanating from this movement. I am sure everyone knew about this, but I never even heard of that appreciation before.

This whole Zakka spirit has something of soothing, calming. It is like a journey to a simpler kind of life. And – may the goddess of city girls from Rio not listen – I love it.

Here are some websites I’ve been mesmerized, going from link to link for hours and hours and hours:

• Anano Café
• Atelier Akiko
• Aranzi Net
• Tar-tan
• Maminka
• Ripple
• Salvia
• chocoA
• Rakuten Zácca
• Modern Craft
• Sweet Heart
• Kitty-craft
• Shop Zakka-Zakka
• Jade
• Le musée
• Le duvet doux

Amidst all this frenzy, I made a huge wishlist at Amazon Japan. One day, maybe, as shipping rates are so inconveniently expensive. Bleh!

If you know any more websites and wouldn’t mind sharing with this inexperienced Zakka enthusiast, please, leave a comment to spread the happiness!

Also, do drop by this post by the amazingly talented Jenny B. These Scandinavian blogs are so incredible that it’s hard to believe these fairytale heavens really exist! Like Jenny, I had to make a folder just for these blogs on my Google Reader!

And if I should be so bold as to choose a favorite, I wish my life bloomed in such beautiful images such as these ones!

E agora esta história das escolas Waldorf! Inacreditável! Se eu contar, você não vai acreditar!

Estava com minha mãe almoçando, quando encontrei minha terapeuta. Tive alta há um ano e tenho verdadeira paixão por ela. Uma mulher iluminada (não é à toa que se chama Luzia), que não é adepta do cinismo usual ou das rígidas linhas de pensamento dos demais terapeutas. Pelo contrário, é uma alma das mais cristãs.

Conversamos um pouco e ela sugeriu que eu adquirisse alguns livros sobre Antroposofia. Já havíamos falado sobre esta filosofia durante minha terapia, mas nunca há fundo. Interessei-me e comecei a pesquisar, juntamente com meu noivo (ele navega de lá, eu navego de cá!) sobre o assunto. Nesta noite, estava checando minha extensa lista de feeds maravilhosos e trombo com um post da Ella do Little Red Caboose sobre escolas Waldorf.

Waldorf, Waldorf, Waldorf… Onde vi esse nome hoje? No site sobre Antroposofia !!! Inacreditável! Pesquisamos mais um pouco após ler o post de Ella e devo-lhe dizer que nunca vi um sistema educacional que nos agradasse tanto. Uma luz no fim do túnel, literalmente. Não somos nem um pouco favoráveis ao sistema educacional da Inglaterra e sempre que falamos sobre filhos, esse é o ponto no qual geralmente paramos, desolados. Escolas particulares são muito caras, escolas públicas são uma zona, homeschooling na Inglaterra não é lá muito endossado.

Deixei um comentário no Little Red Caboose, falando da surpresa que Kerrin e eu tivemos e pedindo mais informações. Ella foi um doce e respondeu de forma tão maravilhosa que suas palavras pareciam, na realidade, emanar de dentro de nós dois (eu sei, sou uma dramática! São 26 anos lendo romances!)

Pesquisamos instituições perto de nós e esperamos que, em breve, as escolas Waldorf sejam em maior número na Inglaterra! Quem sabe quando as meninas estiverem em idade escolar já tenhamos acesso ainda mais fácil a elas! Na casa ao lado, talvez!! Hahahahaha! Posso sonhar, não?

Mas as coincidências não param por aí! Estava fazendo as unhas nesta terça e li uma matéria sobre a escritora brasileira Gurdun Bukhard, que – olhem bem – trabalha com temas da Antroposofia, especialmente Terapia Biográfica, a qual eu pude experenciar há alguns anos.

Você acredita nisso tudo?! O que é a vida, não?

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You know when you feel those butterflies in your stomach? And you cannot stop smiling? So many good things have been happening! God!

And now this story with the Waldorf schools comes about! Unbelievable! If I tell ya, you ain’t gonna believe me!

I was having lunch with my mother, when I ran into my therapist. I finished my therapy a year ago and I truly owe a lot to Luzia. She is an enlightened woman (no wonder she is called Luzia, the one who shines), who is not into the usual cynicism or strict lines of thought like other therapists. On the contrary, she is a true Christian soul.

We talked a bit and she suggested that I got myself some Anthroposophy books. We had previously talked about this philosophy during my therapy, but never got in too deep. I was truly interested after we talked and started to research a bit when I got home, alongside my fiancé (he surfs there, I surf here!). That same night, I was checking my long list of wonderful feeds when I bumped into a post from Ella, at Little Red Caboose about Waldorf schools.

Waldorf, Waldorf, Waldorf… Where did I see this name today? At the Anthroposophy site, of course!!! Unbelievable!! We did some more research after reading Ella’s post and, let me tell ya, I never saw an educational system that pleased us both so much. A light at the end of the tunnel, I must say. We are not one bit in favor of the educational system in England and every time we talk about kids, this is the point where we usually stop, desolated by our lack of choices. Private schools are too expensive, public schools are a mess, homeschooling is not exactly usual in England.

I left a comment at Little Red Caboose, talking about the surprise Kerrin and I had and asking her for a bit more of info. Ella was so sweet and answered in such a wonderful way that her words seemed to come from within us both (I know, I am a drama queen! 26 years reading romance novels do that to ya!)

We researched for schools near us and hope that soon Waldorf schools are in larger number in England! Who knows, when the girls are of school age we might even have easier access to them! Next door, perhaps!! Hahahaha! A girl can dream!!

But the coincidences don’t end there! I was at the nail parlor this Tuesday and read this story on a woman’s magazine about Brazilian writer Gudrun Burkhard who works with themes concerning Anthroposophy, especially Biographical Therapy, which I undertook some years ago.

Can you believe all this? Incredible!

Mês passado, comprei feltro em novas cores. Antes, tinha apenas rosinha, marrom e verde musgo. Comprei vermelho, roxo e azul bebê. Usei bastante o vermelho e o azul, mas o roxo tinha ficado de lado, tadinho! E logo o roxo, cor que eu tanto amo! Lembrei-me deste maravilhoso galão que ganhei da generosa Terry F., querida amiga minha do Swap-bot, e não podia deixar de usá-lo também!

Então, esta aí em cima é minha primeira carteira! Fiquei muito feliz com o resultado e já estou anotando algumas modificações necessárias para as próximas produções. Acho que se tivesse feito na máquina de costura teria sido imensamente mais fácil finalizar a borda decorativa (tecido interno + sianinha + feltro) de forma “clean”, com uma costura só, mas nem sei se isso é possível! Hahahaha! Realmente, não sei nada dessas coisas!

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Sew, sew, sew! Lately, I have been in a sewing mode! I have no idea what came upon me, since I have never sewn before in my life! I have been learning through what I see on so many websites ran by formidable artists. Inspiration can be found all over the place! This plethora of links on the right side of this page clearly shows what I am talking about! And I thank them all!

Last month I bought felt in new colors. Before I only had it in baby pink, brown and dark green. I got it in red, purple and baby blue. I used a lot of red and blue, but purple was yet to be used, poor thing! And purple of all colors – for I love it so very much! I recalled this adorable trim I got from the generous Terry F., a dear friend of mine from Swap-bot, and I couldn’t not use it either!

So, that up there is my first wallet ever! I was very pleased with the result and am already taking note of some alterations needed for forthcoming productions. I think that if I had used a sewing machine it would have been immensely easier to finish the decoration border (inner fabric + ricrac + felt) in a “cleaner” fashion, on one go, but I don’t even know if that is possible either! Hahahaha! I really know nothing about sewing!