blue butterfly

For me the best antidote to nuisance is to get my mind 
and my hands busy doing something that makes me happy.  
I started to play with scraps of fabrics and hand-sewn 
them together, embroidered and knotted it here and there,
as soon as I started to stitch my moodiness disappeared!

This seat pad is called "blue butterfly". 
The butterfly has been identified by different cultures as the symbol 
of the metamorphosis, the restlessness of the mind, 
major change in the course of one's own life, personality or way of thinking, 
it is the symbol of free of expression. 
I thought it's perfect to symbolize my feelings and state of mind
I like the name the ancient Greeks gave it to it: ‘psyche’.

On a more mundane note, the cushion will be for sale in my next 
shop update, I can't tell you right now when it will be, 
since here we are experiencing a second round of flu! 
this year hit us really badly.

Also please excuse my English, is not my first language 
and though I've been livng here for more than a decade I 
still find it a not so straightforward language,
sure you'll excuse me and understand me, thank you :)

Thank you for your support, it really gives me energy!

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minä perhonen 13s/s collection

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a monarch butterfly emerging from chrysalis

ready to go

A pile of little parcels.

from Lisboa

More snail mail today! It's from Catarina.
she gave me directions on how to find her in case I'd like to visit 
I would love a trip to Lisboa very much, thank you Catarina.

Bichos da Matos

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Lisbon Story

a long lost cousin

Hello there,

The wonderful gift that this blog brought to me is the connection 
to like minded people, lovely real people that often live far away 
from where I live, and that connection in some cases has become friendship.

Not only that, but thanks to these incredible web of connections 
we discovered that our mouse has a long lost cousin!  
The not anymore long lost cousin was so kind to send these lovely handmade
 things for our mouse house! We are making some to send it to her too. 
Well, the truth is that us mums are making all the props for the little houses, 
it's becoming quite an obsession lately but I enjoy it so much that 
I don't mind to stay up late to work on them; it reminds me of when 
I worked as a prop designer in theatres and it fuels my imagination 
on that dream home that seems a mirage to me!

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I'd like to thank you for your response in my previous post, 
it's nice to connect and know what you think, 
I didn't do it to "pressure" you, sorry if  someone felt that way. 
I asked your opinion because I sense that the way readers connect 
to blogs is changing. Perhaps there's too much information, noise, repetitiveness. 
Perhaps we are too used to the fact that bloggers will keep blogging 
no matter what, either to share inspirations, to promote themselves or to sell products,
hence we don't see the point to connect; perhaps we just don't feel that connection.
I don't know, there are many reasons why one don't feel like stop by and say hello.
I understand and accept that, only I always bear in mind that behind a blog
there's a human being who work hard (and often for free) 
to make that post. 

Thank you Xenia, and thank you all!

Eau de Nil  

today

Random images of my cloths, crochet, crockery in my cupboard, 
snail mail received today from an island in the Mediterranean sea 
(waiting for A to open it, then I will show it to you too), 

Lately I've seen around the web quite few blog posts about 
the lack of comments and feedback from readers.

I think that if bloggers stop blogging then many other 
social media will be affected too, take Pinterest for example, 
where all those pins come from? Isn't it just nice to leave 
some words and show some love and gratitude? 
What do you think? I dread to ask, since most of the time I get no answers! ;^)

 

Have a good start of the week.

first finish what you have unfinished

After the snow, the ice, now the rain and gales,
definitely after 13 years in England I learnt a lot about the weather.

A loop scarf I finished. I have many things half done, 
I decided that is time to finish the unfinished. 
My mum often gave me this sound advice: 
'first finish what you have unfinished'.

The pilea Jo gave me is not a baby any more, 
she's growing and looks happy.

The quilt is almost finished, 
it has a little M embroidered because is a custom order.

I've started to work on another one.

new quilt

A quilt I'm making, almost done, hence the lack of posts lately. 
I'm halfway through since it needs to be layered and then quilted. 
The picture quality is poor, it's a mix of poor light, 
my computer screen which is matt, and the fact that 
I still don't know how to use my digital camera in manual mode.
well, in any mode really. I posted other images of the quilt here.

The doll is from Mieke 

I'm glad the snow is gone and, most of all, the ice has melted, 
it's a bit warmer and I can't wait for Spring.

Have a good Monday.

for the mouse house

The restoration and decoration of the mouse house, 
the mouse house to be precise, has started. 
I've been making few more pieces. 
A asked me to make a basket to hold the magazines 
she made out of cuttings. It came out so cute that 
she asked for another one. 
This mouse house has proven to be the best toy 
I made for her, it gives me the chance to get her used 
to a certain natural style! also it's almost
four years that we are playing with it 
and so far we are never tired to do, undo and redo.

Another great little house found via Xenia

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my tumblr I keep posting inspirations found around the web.

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 the house boat of Valerie Mazerat.

winter stuff

It's quite cold and all look frozen outside, even people.

I wish I could  go on hibernation! instead, I'm baking, 
I made orange marmalade.  
I'm stitching a linen quilt, I'm making new stuff for knots and 
I'm knitting mittens.

We went to London and our friends took us to the new Unpackaged shop.
I think most of the groceries should be like that, 
unless they sell beautiful packaging made of cardboard, paper, glass and aluminium.

In one of these random pictures there's a corner of Anita's dolls house, 
as she says these days (for almost everything) "I wouldn't mind to... live in a house like that!". 
I made the mattresses to use either as a sofa or spares when 
all the lovely animals come to visit the little mouse that lives there.
I think after 4 years the house needs to be redecorate and modernised a bit.

this doll house

snapshots around the house

 

back + the winner of the fourth giveaway

Hello there, it's seems ages since my last post. 
I wish I could say we are back from Italy as we planned,
instead we are back from two weeks of flu, and it hit me 
really hard this time, so hard that we couldn't get on the plane.

Surely not a brilliant way to end a year (2012 has brought 
us many health concerns, flu aside) neither a great beginning, 
but I don't complaint, we are fine after all.

I started the year doing what it seems I like the best 
these days: de-cluttering! I feel overwhelmed and overpowered 
by the amount of stuff we/I tend to accumulate, most of it is 
there for the dust or to stay unworn forever forgotten in a draw 
or cupboard. From hoarder I'm becoming an almost minimalist! 
We also got rid of the TV, finally! We never had a TV before 
our daugther, then when I was expecting I wanted one. 
It feels such a relief without television! I started to read 
more books and listen to  music as I used to do. 
If we want to watch a film we have a subscription to those 
"rent a dvd on-line companies". Now, next to go it might be 
the sofa (which by the way is falling apart), but it seems 
I have to wait a bit before we took that step, some resistance at home.

On another note, my plants are doing fine, except for the
first one you see in the picture. I forgot the name and it seems 
that is shrinking, I tried to move it around the house, 
to give her more water, less water etc but nothing seems to work, 
it is alive but not kicking. any suggestions? 
do you know which plant is this?

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Hannna (number 16), you are the winner of the fourth give-away!
 please, send me your address.
Thank you all for playing and for the good wishes!

Cheers to 2013
finger crossed it will be a nicer year.