A Stitch In Time....

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Stitching has been on our minds a lot recently. Sewing hearts and sachets for the shop got us thinking of all the other women over the years who have sewn and embroidered linen. How many pricked fingers? Thankfully not ending up like sleeping beauty, although who wouldn't want to be kissed awake by a handsome prince!

Looking at some of the linens in our shop you can to see they are a labour of love.

Hours & hours spent perfecting the patterns and making such beautiful stitches.

Cross-stitch is a fairly simple stitch in comparison to others but one of our favourites.

The beauty is in it's simplicity, like lots of little kisses!

This tablecloth must have taken ages. It's so lovely, hundreds of stitches and the choice of colours, carried over in the 12 matching serviettes. This was obviously made for a large family. French meals times tend to be a family affair but this cloth was probably kept for special occasions. Imagine eating your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal on a table laid with this!
This would make a wonderful present too.

Cross-stitch is a favourite of the French too. Here are a couple of books from the petit pica bookcase. Made in France is a good example of how you can combine traditional stitches with a modern twist to make unique pieces for your home.

There are some great projects, like a very pretty marriage sampler.

The other book is Encyclopedia of Needlework by Thérèse de Dillmont. Originally published in French, this was a common book for a young French girl to own to learn all types of handiwork. This is the English version and it's fascinating. Although there is no publish date, the inscription is dated 1914 & when it was published 750,000 copies had been sold in English, French, German & Italian; it is still available today.

Perhaps the original owner used it to make items for her beau who was serving at the front?

There are wonderful sections like "Embroidery upon white stuff" & "How to transpose and repeat patterns by means of two mirrors". Unfortunately this copy is a bit fragile so not practical for everyday use but luckily there is a free e-book available here.

We will be adding some newly acquired vintage embroidery linens to the shop soon. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to keep up-to-date with the new additions. 

Lauren Bacall by Louise Dahl-Wolf (source)

See we're in good company! Love that sewing box!

Á bientôt,

Have a heart….

What do you get if you mix linen, gingham, lace, ribbon & buttons with a soupçon of lavender?

Give up? Why it’s easy…Petit Pica hearts & lavender gift sachets!

très jolie, n'est pas?

Last week was spent making a selection of these for the shop. We have lots of vintage lace & trims so it was really difficult to choose. There was lots of sighing to be heard in the Petit Pica atelier as we got carried away with all the vintage loveliness & not concentrating on the job in hand!

The hearts are made from a mixture of French linen, cotton gingham & vintage lace. These fabrics are often used to decorate French country homes. Each heart is finished with a vintage mother-of-pearl button.  The idea for the flower was taken from one of our vintage throws.

They are great for Christmas, hung from the tree or complimenting your other decorations. But they are not just for Christmas......they also look lovely all year round. Perhaps on a dresser, on hooks or door knobs; the perfect accessory to bring the French country look to your home. 

 Remember the lavender we picked a few weeks ago?  

 

This has been used in the lavender gift sachets. The scent is heavenly & they make the perfect complement with a gift voucher or card. Just slip the card under the lace & you have two presents in one! So much nicer than receiving just an envelope.

The vintage broderie anglaise lace has a lovely row of hearts on each side so perfect to give to someone you love. The ribbon trim is particularly one of our favourites as it has roses running through it. 

We have been very busy bees this week, as well as lots of sewing, we've also found time to photograph new items for the shop. Lots of goodies for Christmas.

Petit Pica Shop

Do you like the montage? Just a few linens that will be added to the shop this week. Lots of the items are great for the Christmas table or as presents. We are very tempted to keep the large blue striped & red check tablecloths for our Christmas tables but thought it was only fair to share with you!

It seems that hearts have been the theme for everything this week. See the pumpkin used to make the roasted pumpkin and thyme soup with Gruyère cheese .....

This delicious recipe perfect to take the chill off the Autumn days. It comes from Rick Stein's book "French Odyssey" which has some lovely recipes. By-the-way, that's not Pernod in the bottle, it's olive oil! These old water bottles make great oil & vinegar dispensers.

Á bientôt,

Find the book here