Rain, rain, go away...

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I hope the weather has been better with you than it has been here. Lots of rain & high winds, not nice, & quite miserable! It's the sort of weather that makes you want to stay inside. Perhaps a good time to review & reorganise things but when it's so grey, it's hard to get motivated. However, looking through some of the stock cheered us up. Reminding us of warmer days to come, of spring flowers & lavender perfume filling the air.

wooden box, lavender heads, lavender bouquet, lavender field

enamel café pot, rose tablecloth, jar of roses, rose plate

main photo, small photos - all items from Petit Pica shop

Here's looking forward to seeing sunshine & spring blossom...

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

 

The last of the lavender....

© petit pica

The weather is definitely getting more autumnal now, chilly early mornings and evenings. So this weekend I decided it was high time I harvested that last of the lavender. To me, this signals summer is finally over; time to tidy up the garden ready for winter. I have to admit, I have put it off this year as I’m not particularly looking forward to the cold weather. We had an unusually cold winter last year so I’m hoping that this year will be milder.

Today is a very overcast, rainy day, ideal for keeping cosy in the house and stripping the lavender. Collecting the lavender is a job I really enjoy; it’s like an aromatherapy session. The perfume that comes from the basket is heavenly, and when I strip the steams, it can be quite heady. The oil seeps into hands so I can smell it for ages afterwards. It is time consuming and, as Kelly is away at the moment, I had to tackle the task alone. Not that I'm complaining, it's quite therapeutic.

© petit pica

The vintage lavender tin was a present from my daughter M, found at a vide grenier. For those that don’t know, these are a bit like car boot or yard sales. I love it’s design and kaleidoscope of colours. The Pip Studio plate was a present from Kelly. It’s normally on display in the Petit Pica attic but it proved ideal for pouring the lavender buds into the tin.

Of course, after all that “hard” work, a reward is needed - a cup of tea and macaroons. There were three of each but I couldn't resist eating one on the way back form the shop!  I LOVE these but I did limit myself to only two. As Kelly wasn't here to help me eat them, M finished them off when she came home from school.

© petit pica

We are very fortunate to have a patisserie/ chocolaterie shop in our local village. They make amazing cakes and chocolates. These macaroons are so crumbly on the outside and gooey inside. Really yummy! They have so many interesting flavours to choose from. Today I chose framboise/rose (raspberry/rose) and cassis/violet (blackcurrant/violet), my current favourites.

And what is this lavender for? It will be used in some items for the shop but you will have to wait a little while for the reveal.

À bientôt,