Pretty purse

photo StTyl

photo StTyl

 Bourse with lovely embroidered vermiculated base.

Seen at the flea market today.

C'est la bonne heure

Carl Holsoe

Now is the best time when the lamp is lit -

All is so quiet and consoling tonight, 

In such silence you could hear even feathers fall.

Now is the best time when, gently

Comes the beloved  

Like a breeze, like smoke 

So softly, so slowly.

She says nothing at first – and I listen to her; 

And her soul that I hear clearly,  

I surprise shining forth 

So I kiss it on her eyes.

Now is the best time when the lamp is lit, 

When confessions of loving each other the lasting day 

Come forth from the bottom of our hearts, 

Come from their transparent depths to light.

C'est la bonne heure où la lampe s'allume
Tout est si calme et consolant, ce soir,
Et le silence est tel, que l'on entendrait choir 

Des plumes.

C'est la bonne heure où, doucement, 

S'en vient la bien-aimée,

Comme la brise ou la fumée,

Tout doucement, tout lentement.

Elle ne dit rien d'abord - et je l'écoute ;

Et son âme, que j'entends toute, 

Je la surprends luire et jaillir 

Et je la baise sur ses yeux.

C'est la bonne heure où la lampe s'allume,

Où les aveux

De s'être aimés le jour durant,

Du fond du coeur profond mais transparent, 

S'exhument.

Émile Verhaeren

Noël, Noël

warm wishes for a wonderful day

More Animals at Christmas

Reindeer 

(Stag)

ox and donkey

To light the way

from Emery et cie

Ox and donkey

                                           Acoustix77



Entre le boeuf et l'âne gris
Dort, dort, dort le petit fils
Mille anges divins, mille séraphins
Volent à l'entour de ce grand Dieu d'amour.


Between the ox and the gray donkey
Sleeps, sleeps, sleeps the little son
A thousand divine angels, a thousand seraphim 
Fly round this great God of love.

Dites, si c'était vrai

all photos Le style et la matière

This is the store front of a traiteur who sells many lovely delicacies in St Germain des près. The charm of the scene with ox and donkey is not without a lovely touch of wit provided by pretty little piggies who seem more interested in the food than the baby Jesus.

Poudroyer

Peter Ilsted 1910

The winter sun. You may have seen this painting many times before like me, but now I know there is a definite expression for this effect so prized by children and so anoying for housekeepers.

" le soleil qui poudroie..."

It says so right there in Perrault's La Barbe Bleue.
The tale is light years away from this image,
but words are a heady drug.
Powdering Sun, you make common dust anything but ordinary.

Remnants: sacred belt

Madonna of the sacred belt
Museum of Prato

According to tradition, the Virgin Mary gave her belt to Saint Thomas at the moment of her 

assumption to heaven. The belt is kept in the Sacro Cingolo chapel in the Basilica of Prato.

photo: voix de la russie

As reported in Bigbrowser Blog at Le Monde last week: more than 200 000 Russian pilgrims gathered before an Orthodox relic said to stimulate fertility and protect expectant mothers. 52 people were hospitilized after extensive waiting in weather well below freezing, said Russian authorities. The relic, the belt of the Blessed Virgin, is normally found in the Vatopedi monastary of Mont Athos, Greece where no women are allowed. The venerated textile is on a one month tour of 12 Russian cities. 

photo: topic-topos

This relic of  the Blessed Virgin's belt was presented to Geofroy I Boterel by the Patriarch of Jerusalem on his return from the Seventh Crusade in 1252. A mere 8 cm fragment of linen is today kept in the church of Ancenis of Quintin. It was once carried from house to house for the benefit of pregnant women -who often kept a snippet- until Louis XIII put an end to this practice in the 17th century.

Biehn in Morocco: Bain Textile

The African
all photos: Paul Biehn and Hans Sylvester

To think that Michel Biehn fans were sorry to see him give up his beautiful museum quality shop in
L'Isle -sur-la-Sorgue... 

The Caliph

yet his new incarnation as hotelier in Fez shows that he knows how to make the right moves.

The decorator/antique dealer specialized in textiles has combined his talents in a spectacular and very personal way at Le jardin des Biehn.

Persian room

The renovated palace includes a beautiful Andalusian garden, hammam, spa, restaurant as well as exhibits, concerts, sophrology relaxation sessions, cooking and yoga classes....

The Favorite

Michel Biehn used his tremendous collection of textiles and costumes to inspire the interior decoration throughout the hotel. Color palettes and exotic atmospheres are derived from mostly Islamic textiles. 

The Chinese

The Pasha

salon de repos

Circassian room

The atmosphere amounts to an artful and joyous textile bath.

Important note, Biehn's collection largely surpasses the needs of fitting out the hotel. There are changing exhibits in the gallery and - 

there's a boutique.

see also: NYTimes article

photos: Paul Biehn and Hans Sylvester Le jardin des Biehn

Thanksgivings past

When I was little there was a Charlie Brown special for every occasion and I was even allowed to watch them on school nights. I wonder if children still watch the little block head in the US.

Do you remember Happy Thanksgiving Charlie Brown? In it the great chef and organizer, Snoopy, prepares the dinner table for Peppermint Patti, Marci and Franklin who have invited themselves over for the day's feast. Before they partake in a less than traditional meal of popcorn, toast and jellybeans, 

there's a great scene where the resourceful beagle must wrestle with a chair 

when setting up a table for the feast in the garden.

The chair man lurks again.

It's time to get out our DVD. 

Can you get to old for Snoopy and Charlie Brown?

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

Simple

photo: Coté Maison

Sorbet curtains from Sonia Rykiel Maison

100% linen

Coté Maison

Gothic Lite

Photo: L'Exception

Ghost Letter print at Devastée Autome/Hiver 2012
by Ophelie Klere and Francois Alary

L'Exception

Nuts and bolts of wax resist

Vlisco

A comment from Renée reminded me that I had not explained the wax technique in my post, Wonderful Wax.

Vlisco

Wax fabrics are industrial products that were originally inspired by Javanese batik. The method of making them falls under the heading of resist dyeing techniques. As in printing, an engraved roller is used to apply pattern to the fabric, but in this case, it is melted wax that is rolled on to the surface. (Traditional batik calls for  a tjanting tool - a sort of pen filled with hot wax for drawing directly on the fabric.)

The fabric is then dyed and because the dye cannot be absorbed by the areas covered with wax, a negative pattern is created. The process of applying patterns of wax and dyeing can be repeated to make a design of several colors.

Vlisco

The Vlisco site explains :

The core element in Wax Print is of course the wax. Using two deep engraved copper rollers, with the mirror image of the design, the two sides of the cotton fabric are printed with a pattern of melted wax, hence the name Wax Print. The fact that the cloth is printed on both sides enables you to wear the product either side. This is the true sign of a quality wax print. Following this, the cloth is immersed in a bath of dye, often Indigo, that penetrates into the areas that are not covered with wax. After the wax as been washed off in varying stages, a negative image of the printed pattern remains on the cloth. This intricate wax printing process results in unique effects that makes the product so outstanding. In fact, not one single centimetre of fabric is identical to the other!

Vlisco

 I usually buy my "Wax Hollandais" at Toto where these fabrics are sold by weight, 

Vlisco

but much greater possibilities are offered on-line.

Vlisco

This post isn't an advertisement for Vlisco, but it's hard to resist the occassion to show more of their designs!

All these Op Art style patterns are from the new collection, Delicate Shades.

Thin as a pin and a stocking cap

all photos Le style et la matière

Pretty but prickly

 photo St Tyl

Appearing at the end of the 17th century, growing and trading of the chardon cardère or fuller's teasel counted as one of the essential activities of south Vaucluse and the northwest of the Bouches-du-Rhone until just after World War II. The Provencial teasel had a world wide reputation for quality and was exported all over - to the USA, Russia, and Japan.

photo St Tyl

Despite its French name, which translated literaly means 'carding thistle,'  the teasel never really was used to card wool but to modify the fabric's surface.  The purpose of carding is to untangle wool fibers before spinning; the 'carding thistle' was used to brush or nap a fabric after weaving, raising part of the weft fibers to make the cloth's surface soft and warm.

photo St Tyl

Weavers used the heads of teasels for centuries to make combs, then to cover the drums of brushing machines used for this important finishing operation.

photo St Tyl

After a long and lingering decline, teasel crops and trade in the region came to an end as recently as 1989.

Now mostly off duty - this pretty but prickly plant with a history can be seen growing wild throughout the countryside.

source: exhibit at the Musée Estrine, St Rémy-en-Provence

All veterans

all photos Le style et la matière

all photos Le style et la matière

église Notre-Dame, Semur-en-Auxois