Une journée à Cambridge

C'était le samedi de Pâques...ça parait déjà très loin...!
On a usé les semelles de nos chaussures dans cette très belle et grande ville.

Un peu tristes de voir que tout fermait à 16h, en plus weekend de Pâques (j'ai même rencontrer le lapin :D ) , il y a donc beaucoup d'endroits que nous n'avons pas pu visiter, mais disons que c'était un repérage et que la prochaine fois on fera certaines visites en priorité :)

C'est une ville magnifique, très vivante, avec une architecture souvent impressionnante, il y a partout des choses à voir et à admirer , trop de choses à visiter, trop de choses à prendre en photo...mais on en prend plein les yeux ;)

Peut être que la prochaine fois nous aurons le temps de faire une balade en barque ;)
Nous n'avons pas pu visiter le collège principal qui était ouvert uniquement jusqu'à l'heure où on est arrivé !
Mais on a pu profiter de la fin d'après midi pour faire une grande (très grande !) balade à l'arrière de tout les collèges, le long de la rivière Cam et c'est vraiment superbe !

Par endroit on se serait cru dans Le Cercle des Poètes Disparus !! ;)
On peut marcher des centaines de mètres sans ne rien croiser d'autre que de la verdure, des champs entre les rues commençantes ou les collèges, et au printemps c'est vraiment très beau !

Une ville universitaire très différente d'Oxford que nous avions faite l'an dernier.
Bref il faudra vraiment qu'on y retourne :D
Beaucoup de photos pour ce post...les dernières faites par Super Moitié avec son appareil de compète puisqu'il est tombé et s'est cassé au sol =(
A très vite pour des croix !
xxx

On Saturday just before Easter we went to Cambridge (UK) to celebrate our birthdays :D
Last year we went to Oxford and even if  Cambridge is also a town full of Universities and with a stunning architecture, both are very different and really deserve to be visited.

We finally don't know if it was a good choice to go there on the Easter weekend, as many places were then closed to visitors but even if everything had been opened we wouldn't have time to visit everything !
There are too many places to be seen, to be visited and everything closes at 4PM !
Next time we go (because we will definitely go back there !) we know what to visit first ;)

Numerous colleges, museums, the famous market place, even a craft market...it's such a big and beautiful town !
Incredible to walk hundreds of meters without seeing a house or a shop, only fields and verdant spaces !
There was a place with cows, no fences, cows in town !!
I also met the Easter bunny :D
He was offering yummy chocolates in a shopping street....isn't he handsome ? :D

 
We couldn't visit the principal and most famous college but at the end of the afternoon we had a fantastic (a long...very long...) walk along the Backs, along the Cam river, from where you can see all the colleges. It was wonderful !

 
Everywhere you look there's something beautiful to be seen !
We really had a great day. 
Sometimes I really felt as if I was in the Dead Poets Society :D

We really have to go back, to visit more and see some parts of the town we couldn't visit.
I can't say I prefer Cambridge or Oxford because they are very different, I found Cambridge was more full of life than Oxford , old and new are more mixed.
Look at this guy singing a Bob Dylan song in a bin just in front of an old cemetery ! :D

I hope I haven't been too annoying with all my pictures :D
I really had to share that special day with you !
Obviously the last pictures done by Hubby with his big camera as it felt on the ground and broke down =(

I'll be back soon with some stitches...I stitched like a crazy one those last days :D
Before leaving... a special picture for Kaye ;)
xxx

Lapin de Pâques...en retard !

Déjà presque une semaine ! J'espère que tout le monde a passé de Joyeuse Pâques !
Nous oui :)
La semaine prochaine je ferai un petit post sur notre (excellente) journée à Cambridge ...mais avant, un petit lapin de Pâques, en retard ici mais qui avait été terminé à temps pour décorer pour l'occasion.

Une fois de plus une grille de Maja !

N'est elle pas trop mignonne ? :)
Super moitié me l'a terminée en petit ornement plat en feutrine. au final je pense qu'elle restera jusqu'à la fin du printemps avec nous...
Il va d'ailleurs falloir un peu penser à remplir l'étagère de saison pour l'été, mais je sèche un peu...

Quelques jours après mon anniversaire, un petit paquet emballé avec soins était arrivé d’Angleterre.
June m'a gâtée avec plein de petits cadeaux, merci encore June ;)

Peu de temps avant mon anniversaire aussi, Mii me faisait découvrir une jolie boutique sur le net,
Le Comptoir des Fées.
Plus qu'une boutique, une véritable caverne d'Ali Baba !!!
Quelle ne fut pas ma surprise de constater qu'en fait cette boutique n'est même pas à 20 kilomètres de la maison, et que le jour même de mon anniversaire il y avait une journée portes ouvertes !!!
Qu'est ce qu'on fait patron ? Ben on y va !! :D

Je suis revenue avec de jolies toiles de lin, des diagrammes et des boutons...et il a fallu que je me croque les doigts pour pas rapporter plus :)
Merci Super Moitié et Maman pour ces superbes cadeaux d'anniversaire ;)
Le petit bouton cerise est déjà utilisé...je vous montre sur quoi très bientôt
Bon weekend
xxx

I hope everybody had a great Easter... we had !!
I'll be back next week with pictures of our wonderful day in Cambridge, but first I have to show you some stitches and gifts I received for my birthday...
Did I already told you I have been spoilt rotten ? :D 
For Easter decorations, I made that cute bunny from Maja at SnowFlower Diaries.
I totally succumbed to this lovely design and Super Hubby finished it as a felt egg.
I'm late to show it here today but it was really ready before Easter ;)

Isn't it the cutest Easter ornament ? ;)
I love it. I think that finally it will stay on the seasonal shelf until Summer !
Summer...I have to think about pieces to decorate the shelf for Summer ! But for the moment I must admit I have no idea....

A few days after my birthday, gifts continue to arrive !! 
June sent me a very beautifully wrapped parcel full of wonderful goodies.
I absolutely love everything but my heart goes to the tape measure and the pen ;)
Did I tell you I collect beautiful pens ???
I love pens more than shoes or handbags ;)

 
Thank you so very much sweet June for your present. I know your house is like a beehive those days but you thought of me and it really touched my heart. Thank you.

Then, some times ago, Mii made us discovered on her blog a beautiful online shop, named 
Le Comptoir des Fées. 
I put a permanent link to that shop in my sidebar. It's a real Ali Baba's cave !!!
And what a good surprise to discover that the 'shop' was only at about 20 kilometres from home and that on the very day of my birthday there was an open doors day !!!
Wooooow ! As Super Mario would say 'let's goooo'  ;)
We stayed more than 2 hours there and believe me,  to make a choice has been very very difficult !
But I finally came back with some supplies offered by Hubby and Mum as birthday gifts.
Thank you so much :)

 
Beautiful pieces of linen, buttons that hubby will paint, and some big charts that will keep me busy for a while :D
We want to decorate our stairway with frames of different types and sizes...and those pieces will be the beginning.
A big project that I'm impatient to start...
I already used the cherry button to decorate something but I'll show you another time.
Have a great weekend
xxx

Echange de Pâques

Pour Pâques, qui approche maintenant à grands pas...Mii avait organisé un échange.
Les échanges c'est toujours extra alors forcément je me suis inscrite :)
Maintenant que le lapin de Pâques a livré les colis je peux vous montrer ce que j'ai fait et ce que j'ai reçu.
Ma partenaire mystère était Michelle en Afrique du Sud :)

J'avais choisi ce petit poussin, une grille gratuite de Laura, disponible ici --> Passione Ricamo.
Super Moitié m'en a fait une petite pendouille en feutrine, et puis j'avais rassemblé quelques cadeaux pour que l'échange soit complet....avec biensur du chocolat de Pâques !

 J'ai d'ailleurs eu peur que le fameux lapin à la clochette arrive version puzzle mais non, tout s'est bien passé !
Le petit hérisson sur la photo est un mètre ruban (il est dans son nez) que Michelle a beaucoup aimé :)

Et puis c'est Mii elle même qui était mon lapin de Pâques secret :D
Et croyez moi,  il a été généreux le Lapin de Pâques !!!

J'ai été plus que gâtée (encore !!) avec d'une part ce très beau rouleau de Printemps (il ne se mange pas celui là)  et puis ruban, boutons, tissu...du délicieux chocolat (et il en reste, même si tout est là depuis environ 15 jours :D !) du violet, des papillons....et 3 superbes grilles dont une avec les moutons sur laquelle j'avais complètement flashé !!
Mille mercis encore Mii , la plus anglaises de mes amies françaises ;)
Boofle a raison c'est le plus chouette des Pâques !
A bientôt
xxx

 

Easter is very close now.... 
To celebrate that special day, Mii had organised an Egg'change to which of course I couldn't resist :)
It's always so much fun.
As the Easter bunny has delivered my parcels I can show you what I've done and what I received.
My secret partner was Michelle in South Africa.
I chose to stitch her that cute chick from Laura , at Passione Ricamo, you can follow the link to find the freebie and discover or re discover a very beautiful blog full of lovely designs made by the very talented Laura.
Super half finished the stitching as a felt ornament , turquoise blue being Michelle favourite colour ;)

I gathered the gifts you saw on the 2nd picture , the hedgehog has a tape in his nose ;)
And of course Easter chocolates ! I was very anxious for the bunny...I thought he would arrive as a jigsaw or a soup but everything went well and he safely arrived :)
I know that to eat him you must break it but it's not the same pleasure ;)

By the way, sorry Michelle , I wrote your name in the French way on the parcel ;)
Then, my secret Easter bunny was Mii herself :D
Believe me, once again I've been spoilt rotten !!!!!

A superb note book , fabric, ribbon, buttons, delicious chocolates...purple, butterflies...WOW !
The stitched piece was this beautiful Spring roll, of course this one can't be eaten but it's really perfect on the seasonal shelf ! 
I have to take it into picture again, it's so full now :)
Look at this perfect piece with a cute butterfly in place of the dot on the i of Spring. Lovely...

And it's not finished !
To complete that already incredible parcel, Mii added charts, lovely one, (Chicks is even a mini kit ! ) included that one from CHN , Sheep in the Meadow, which has been on my wish list for long and that I totally love :D

Isn't Boofle right ?? It's the Best Easter Ever :D
Once again, thank you so much Mii for this crazy parcel that literally sent me to the moon :D

Before leaving...a very warm welcome to my new followers 
I'll be back very soon, I have many things to show you :)
xxx

Il était une fois...

...Quatre petits lapins, et leurs noms étaient Flopsaut, Trotsaut, Queue de Coton et Pierre.

J'ai toujours beaucoup aimé le conte Pierre Lapin de Beatrix Potter  et encore plus les illustrations , voir que même je les adoooore ;)
Quand Nia a annoncé qu'elle était enceinte j'ai tout de suite pensé à ce petit lapin pour mon cadeau de naissance...fille ou garçon, personne ne peut résister à ces adorables dessins !
J'ai brodé sur un plaid dit 'Afghan' que j'ai terminé en couverture comme pour Anna il y a environ deux ans.
Commencé en octobre, terminé en février après environ 120h de travail....le résultat et mon histoire de Pierre lapin racontée en broderie sont en images ci dessous ....

Pour info....Jeannot Lapin c'est un cousin de Pierre :)
La maman de Pierre et le papa de Jeannot étaient frère et sœur.  D'ailleurs, Jeannot épousera une des sœurs de Pierre et ensemble ils auront plein de petits lapins ;)
Mais celui à la veste bleue, c'est bien Pierre....
A bientôt
xxx

Once upon a time, there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail and Peter.

They lived with their Mother in a sand-bank, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree.

 'Now my dears' said old Mrs Rabbit one morning, 'you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don't go into Mr McGregor's garden. Your father had an accident there, he was put in a pie by Mrs McGregor. Now run along and don't get into mischief, I'm going out'

(...) Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton Tail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries. But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr McGregor's garden and squeezed under the gate !

First he ate some lettuces and some French beans, and then ate some radishes. And then, feeling rather sick, he went to look for some parsley.

 But round the end of a cucumber frame, whom should he meet but Mr McGregor !

Mr McGregor  was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he jumped up and ran after Peter, waving a rake and calling out 'STOP THIEF' !

 Peter (...) rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate. 

He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages and the other shoe amongst the potatoes.

 (...) unfortunately he ran into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket.

It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, 

quite new !

 

 (...) leaving his jacket behind him (...) he rushed into a tool-shed and jumped into a can.  It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in, if it had not had so much water in it !

  Mr McGregor was quite sure Peter was somewhere in  the tool-shed. 

(...) Presently Peter sneezed 'Kertyschoo' ! Mr McGregor was after him on no time.

Peter jumped out of a window, that was too small for Mr MacGregor and he was too tired of running after Peter, he went back to his work.

Peter sat down to rest. Also he was very damp with sitting in that can. (...)

An old mouse was running, carrying peas and beans to her family in the wood. Peter asked her the way to the gate.  But she had such a large pea in her mouth that she could not answer, she only shook her head at him. Peter began to cry.

 Then he tried to find his way straight across the garden. (...) He started running as fast as he could go, along a straight walk behind some black-currant bushes. (...) He slipped underneath the gate and was safe at last in the wood, outside the garden !

Mr McGregor hung up the little jacket and the shoes for a scarecrow to frighten the blackbirds. 

Peter never stopped running till he got home to the big fir-tree.

He was so tired that he flopped down on the nice soft sand on the floor of the rabbit hole and shut his eyes. His mother was busy cooking, she wondered what he had done with his clothes ! 

It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight !

I'm sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening.

His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea, and she gave a dose of it to Peter.

'one table spoonful to be taken at bed-time'

But Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton Tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper.

 

* The End *

Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

*** 

To Lourenço, with all my love 

May you have a long life full of love, health, joy and funny adventures just like Peter Rabbit :D

xxx

'My' story of Peter Rabbit in stitches...
Afghan plaid , stitched 1 thread over 1

Fleece at the back 

Designs picked from the book 'le monde de Beatrix Potter'

Started October 2013 - Finished March 2014 
And obviously made out of love for a cute little man 

***