Dreaming of...

Picnics! and Quilts!

(see more lovely photos like this one here.)

And sun-shiny outdoor adventures!

And all of those wonderful things that come along with Spring! Hooray Sunshine! You are magnificent today.

My manifesto so far...

*Photo Credit: Erica Parker (http://ericaparker.wordpress.com/)

Manifesto for Making

1. Love and live by the beauty in the details.

2. Making and baking go hand in hand.

3. Don’t seek out the moments or make excuses to take breaks; let them find you. It’s more fun that way.

4. Love what you do and do it well. “Your God-given purpose will always coincide with someone’s need. You will always be excellent at what you are truly passionate about. People are always willing to pay for what they need if it is truly excellent.”

5. Money isn’t everything. “The riches of personal fulfillment easily compensate for the lack of material reward when one is living a life of purpose.”

6. Never second-guess yourself or your work. But don’t settle for something when you are genuinely feeling unresolved.

7. Stretch your mind, heart, and hands through continuous learning. You never know what process(es) you might love next.

8. Surprise people with fun little handmade gifts.

9. Drink coffee. Out of cute mugs. Lots of times and lots of it.

10. Never stop collecting. Ideas. Images. Objects. Materials. You name it, take hold of them.

11. “Sewing is easy. Sewing is profitable. Sewing is Fun. Be Patient. Be Persistent. Keep Trying. Perseverance Pays.”

12. Embrace the past and the individuals that lived it. There is much to be learned from it. And from them.

13. Be quick to recognize the needs of others. Serve them. And don’t think twice about helping. This is what you were created for.

14. Find joy in every circumstance. In every broken needle. In every incorrectly sewn seam. There are lessons to be learned, and laughter to be found.

15. People (both creative and non-creative alike) understand and appreciate color and texture. Or at least want to. And if they don’t, make them. Use this to your advantage and combine them brilliantly!

16. When the creative process is flowing, don’t stop!

17. Make the things you want to make. Then find little ways to make them even better!

18. You don’t have to forsake the cuteness or the sweetness to find the toughness. Just the same, you don’t have to remove the toughness to hold on to the cuteness. It’s not necessarily about cuteness vs. toughness. It’s about cuteness and sweetness with adamancy.

Dear Nana, I've got bad news...

There are no starbucks here. None. Not one. (Although I did look it up and there are apparently 40 stores in Paris.) And even if you do want a cup of coffee, most likely you have to sit and drink it at the cafe. The concept of "To-Go" doesn't really exist here,

which is unfortunate when you have to decide between really wanting a cup of coffee and wanting to keep shopping/sight seeing (especially when you're on a time schedule).

While we were in Nimes last weekend we stopped at this little cafe for a bite to eat and I wanted a coffee really bad. I ordered a cafe au lait (coffee with steamed milk). I was thrilled when I recieved this cup of coffee. Here's why: Up until this point all the coffees that have been brought out to me have been either in tiny little coffee cups or in a regular sized cup but less than half full (I'm being pessimistic I realize, but its the truth). What I do order is normally very good. Of course, not as good as a white mocha! And probably only "very good" in comparison to the burnt tasting "diner coffee"-as Janelle calls it, that's provided here on campus. I end up finishing it very quickly and it never seems to be enough to satisfy. The cup of coffee that they brought out to me was in a good sized coffee mug and was also totally full. I was SO happy and the coffee was really good! It even came with one of those tasty biscof cookies. yum!

While we were sitting there finishing up our lunch (We sat outside), I noticed these two women walk away from the cafe with these little red to-go cups. I got really excited for a second but didn't want to get my hopes up. I thought surely it HAD to be coffee in those cups. And I wanted one. For all I knew this may have been my only chance for a to-go cup of coffee while in France. I asked the woman in my poor French if they had the cafe creme "to-go" She said "Oui!" and I excitedly told her I would like one of those s'il vous plait! (She probably thought I was crazy. But I didn't care.)

It was an exciting day for coffee. I walked away from that cafe a very happy girl, proud of what I had discovered. But still, there are no Starbucks nonetheless. And even if their were, It probably wouldn't be as good as it is in the States.

St. Remy and Les Olivades

The other day all the fibers girls went on a field trip to Les Olivades and the town of St. Remy. Les Olivades is the last local printing facility left to print traditional provencal fabrics. The experience was amazing. There were beautiful, beautiful fabrics. Lot's of interesting machinery. Ton's of screens. And giant printing tables that seemed to go on and on for eternity. 

Here's what I got to see:

This woman was our tour guide at Les Olivades. 

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This was one of the screens that they use to print the fabrics. It was bigger than me! 

(P.S. Look daddy! I finally got the zipper put into my feedsack skirt and I looooved wearing it so much!)

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This is their giant washing machine. 

And here are those printing tables that never seemed to end. Luckily they were printing some yardage that day and we were able to watch the process. We could have probably stayed and watched them print all day!

Beautiful fabrics everywhere you looked.

Sweet little printed scarves from their showroom. It's funny but these reminded me of my screen printing final...(the image that I used above as the header for my blog was also a screen print I did this summer!)

After Les Olivades we went and wandered around the cute little town of St. Remy. Janelle, Erica, Melissa, and I ate sandwiches at a cute cafe, enjoyed ice cream, and bought chocolates from the most amazing little chocolate store in the world! 

It was a great day. The best day yet.

This is where I live!

This is the view of the town of Lacoste from the valley below. I live somewhere in there!

This is the entrance to our sweet little dorm room/ home away from home. There are eight of us living in the house (two to a room for the most part) and surprisingly enough the two shower bathroom hasn't been a problem at all. It's such a great group of us! We have so much fun together...Lots of movie watching. Lots of chatting. and lots of late night dancing!

This is my bed.  I brought my strip quilt with me that I made in art quilt spring quarter and I am so happy that I did! I love having it here with me and It's also much nicer to look at than the horrible hot pink and purple comforters that were on our beds when we got here. We have our little room decorated all cute and it's slowly feeling like more of a place that I can call my own than a dreary stone walled cave.

This is the Boulangerie (our library) and It's one of my most favorite little spots here on "campus" It's really cozy and very close to my "home" which is just right down that little alley way to the left!

We went on a little nature hike to explore the area with Pam and the following are pictures of what we saw:

Imagine millions of these tiny tiny snails stuck to the plants all over an open field. There were little white dots for miles.

This interesting little plant is called a teasel.

 

I just thought these little flowers were too precious. 

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Thats all for now. Isn't it so beautiful!

Isle Sur La Sourge.

On our third day here we woke bright and early and the wonderful Pamela Wiley took us (the fibers girls!) to the antique market of Isle Sur La Sourge. Lucky for us it happens ever Sunday! I was still feeling kind of weird about where I was (meaning not at home or in Savannah....In fact, very far away from both!) but seeing all of those treasures and beautiful antiques perked me right up! We saw some lovely trims, ribbons, and textiles and lots of other beautiful little trinkets. I could hardly contain my excitement. I'm looking forward to the many, many visits we take to Isle Sur La Sourge! I haven't bought anything YET, but here is some of what I "oooohed" and "aahhhhed" over!

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These two were quite the characters and you couldn't help but love them both. I could tell they wanted to come home with me really bad.

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This was the most content little pup I've ever seen. He was perfectly satisfied just snuggled up in his basket. Too cute. 

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On to the next adventure.

Ugh. I feel like I am skipping so much about London (And it truly was SO wonderful!). But in order to stay on top of things I am going to move straight to Lacoste. Not being able to update the blog while in London has put me a little behind and the internet here is pretty iffy as well. BUT We're here! We got to Marseille just fine and the meet up with the rest of the group was easy. It was pouring down rain when we got here and it even hailed on us once we got to the village. It was all very exciting. After the rain calmed we checked in and were given our room keys. I will be living with a group of incredible fibers girls and we've already been enjoying it so much. Once it stopped raining the sun began to peak through the clouds and we got to see the most gorgeous rainbow over the valley below. 

The view here is absolutely incredible. It almost seems unreal. The past couple of days have consisted of getting settled and adjusted, visiting markets, and exploring the village. There's something new to discover every day!

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exploring the Pont Julien on the way back from the market at Apt(another town close by). 

here's a little glimpse of what I walk through every day. 

another view of the valley below.

I hope that this quick little post gives you somewhat of an idea of where I'm living. Although I can hardly believe it myself sometimes! I will post some images of my room and such later. The food has been surprisingly tasty. Unbelievably better than the SCAD cafe food in Savannah! Classes start  tomorrow but not quite for me...I have both of my classes on Tuesday/ Thursday. One from 9-12 and the other from 1-4. Keep following along with me on this little adventure. Much more to come!