As you know, I went to Paris with the French Needle in May. What you don't know is that I've never actually bought anything from the French Needle. I was never a customer of the shop. The only reason I even found out about the trip is because I signed up for their newsletter. At some point, the French Needle was hosting a giveaway for a pair of M. Roulot's scissors (if you don't know the scissor man read about him here).
I would occasionally go thru the shop website to look at their products but never committed. It always comes down to shipping cost. For some ridiculous reason, it's really hard to get decent shipping cost to Canada. I don't have anything against the shops, as prices are set by the postal office, but a minimum shipping cost of 15$ for a paper pattern doesn't make sense to me. It feels like I'm always venting about shipping costs :(
In any case, I now have a friend who makes trips to the US at least once a month, so I've been kind of going on a spending spree. A few weeks ago, I made my first purchase with the French Needle.
I first took the opportunity to get the Hélène Le Berre Ribboned Panel pattern I've been wanting.
What really pushed me was this metalwork feather called Swan. The design is by Helen Richman of The Bluebird Embroidery. The first time I saw it was on the RSN website and has been on my pinterest board since 2015. Lisa posted the kit on Instagram on the weekend and I was trying to decide if I wanted to get it or not. The very next day Mary Corbet posts a notice about the kit and I knew if I didn't move, it will be sold out.
Obviously the kit is now sold out and is actually on back-order till October. The kit is only 39$ and comes with everything to stitch it. Look at that fabulous shiny fabric! I'm looking forward to opening up those little pouches and seeing what's inside. Small pouches means the check purls are all pre-cut for us, which is nice for beginners.
I've actually already placed another order with the French Needle, but I won't get it for a while as it won't ship in time for my friend to bring it back to Canada. While we were in France, I mentioned to Lisa that I was looking for Marie-Thérèse Saint-Aubin's book Pivoines. I've always regretted not buying her books when they were available. Lisa had promised to keep a look out and let me know if she ever found a copy. In fact she found four, and I quickly placed my order to make sure to get one. I'll post pictures once I get my hands on it :)
I would occasionally go thru the shop website to look at their products but never committed. It always comes down to shipping cost. For some ridiculous reason, it's really hard to get decent shipping cost to Canada. I don't have anything against the shops, as prices are set by the postal office, but a minimum shipping cost of 15$ for a paper pattern doesn't make sense to me. It feels like I'm always venting about shipping costs :(
In any case, I now have a friend who makes trips to the US at least once a month, so I've been kind of going on a spending spree. A few weeks ago, I made my first purchase with the French Needle.
I first took the opportunity to get the Hélène Le Berre Ribboned Panel pattern I've been wanting.
What really pushed me was this metalwork feather called Swan. The design is by Helen Richman of The Bluebird Embroidery. The first time I saw it was on the RSN website and has been on my pinterest board since 2015. Lisa posted the kit on Instagram on the weekend and I was trying to decide if I wanted to get it or not. The very next day Mary Corbet posts a notice about the kit and I knew if I didn't move, it will be sold out.
Obviously the kit is now sold out and is actually on back-order till October. The kit is only 39$ and comes with everything to stitch it. Look at that fabulous shiny fabric! I'm looking forward to opening up those little pouches and seeing what's inside. Small pouches means the check purls are all pre-cut for us, which is nice for beginners.
In order to qualify for free shipping I needed to add one more thing and I chose this pincushion kit by Mary Jo Hiney Designs. It's really cute and comes in two colorways, I went with the vintage blues. The kit comes with velvet fabric and ribbons hand-dyed by Mary Jo as well as the beads and trimmings to decorate it.
I've actually already placed another order with the French Needle, but I won't get it for a while as it won't ship in time for my friend to bring it back to Canada. While we were in France, I mentioned to Lisa that I was looking for Marie-Thérèse Saint-Aubin's book Pivoines. I've always regretted not buying her books when they were available. Lisa had promised to keep a look out and let me know if she ever found a copy. In fact she found four, and I quickly placed my order to make sure to get one. I'll post pictures once I get my hands on it :)
Beautiful stash Dima! Love the feather kit, I so admire projects like that, but don't have the time or patience right now myself. I look forward to seeing you work on these!
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful and I'm so glad you've figured out a way to purchase them. Shipping really is a killer, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteLooks like some wonderful new projects!
ReplyDeletePostage is the thing we always end up noticing, in our new global marketplace, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely stash. Postage is a killer though. The US seem to charge a lot more than the UK do too.
ReplyDeleteYou always find the most interesting kits and charts. Love reading your creative adventures. I think we have pretty much the same taste....
ReplyDeletexxx