CHICKPEA SEWING STUDIO

Alexandria

 

 

 

National Gallery of Art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An unbelievable morning spent alone strolling the corridors of the National Gallery of Art. It was an emotional experience, so much beauty to leave behind at the end of the visit. If you feel so inclined more pictures are available on my Flickr feed, link to the right.

Eyes Wide Open

 

 

 

First Night in DC, we were invited to take a flash tour of the memorials at night.

Well worth braving the cold for. Our legs are tired from the incessant walking but our eyes are still wide open.

We're off!

We are leaving tonight for France, Brittany to be precise. I am so excited to see my family again... it's been too long. Sometimes I wonder what could possess me to move away so very far. It's a feeling most acute when my cousins have babies. I do long for proximity then.

While looking for pictures for this post I found this very unlikely Flickr set of the park where my father lives and where I grew up for a few years as a child. The white house is where we are staying, it's surrounded by the ocean ( cold, cold ocean!). If you keep the windows open you hear the waves all night.

Since my smaller NIKON is in the shop I will have to lug around the big guns... That means more photos to bring back and share.

Off to finish those huge suitcases and see you in a month!

edited:

I wanted to add this song here, it's one of my favorites and I want to try and memorize it on the plane. I like singing Finn lullabies that are just ours. This is another one I croon.

 

We are finally going!

Thomas and I have been married ten years and to celebrate this milestone we have been planning a really good trip for a while. The time has come and tonight we will be boarding a red eye to Atlanta where we will find another plane, destination: Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. We are staying seven nights and Finn will be attending 'the school at the beach' aka 'Petit Club Med'. Even though this really our honey moon after the fact we feel strongly about taking our kid with us. Childhood is for making the best of memories and we hope to give Finn plenty of those. In fact, the reason we are going to this resorts is because it is the only one that accept children under 4. It is supposed to be brilliant for the kiddos.

I am all packed, got sprayed a color at least ten times darker than my natural blotchy self and painted my toe nails blue, lets roll! Well almost, the camera charger that was safely in my hands for just a brief instant is now hopelessly lost and I thought of something else. Why not make a Kiva loan to help a small group of Dominican women before I go. I love Kiva and have been lending for years, in fact this was my 20th loan. You don't have to be rich at all to participate because all the loans are limited to $25. I almost always choose women in the beauty or garment industry all over the world. Even here in the US. Here is a picture of the group:

I am taking myself offline for the entire week, no cell phones, no ipad, no blog!

Portland, Here I come (again)

Tomorrow will be an early rise for my dad and I as we are leaving child and husband behind for a Pacific Northwest adventure.

We are stopping first in Pendelton, then two day in Portland with friends. On Sunday we will head up to Aberdeen and then Olympia to visit the rain forest. The next night will spent in Seatle. Then it's back home again with a last stop in Boise.

I would love to ear any advice anyone might have for things to do, see and veggie food to eat.

I am already planning on the Pendelton Mills, Veganopolis in Portland as well as Cargo and Bolt. But nothing more so far...

Ideas anyone?

 

Free Pattern to come...

I have a few patterns that are about to be posted at the Sewing Republic very soon and I can't help myself but share a sneak peek with you:

I made those little trays out of a free Moda bag picked-up at Quilt Market when it was in Portland. That trip was truly memorable, I met Denise Schmidt, Amy Butler, Heather Ross, Anna Maria Horner etc... and actually got to really talk with some of them. Denise seemed pretty shy but nice while Heather was very comfortable talking to total strangers and very friendly. It doesn't hurt that Portland is the place for me. As in "This is the place!"

(wink)

a little home-sick...

We are on the last leg of our trip before coming back to Paris for a few days, staying at my mom's country house. Life is rustic, sweet and a little wet! I can't complain but I do miss my computer and the ease of wifi, or WeeFee as they pronounce it here!

Off we go!

We are packed (mostly), burdened in suitcases like camels, and very very excited!
I can barely keep myself from jumping in place while madly cleaning the house. I can't stand to leave a dirty house behind and yet I always come back to one. The cats, in an act of revenge, make sure of it.

I am bringing lots of yarn and knitting WIPs to make up for the lack of sewing. Knitting is the perfect travel craft for me, it keeps my hands busy.

The Springtime Bandit is still in the making, going well thanks to numerous lifelines I keep threading into it. I started the edge chart yesterday and bought T-pins today to block it when it's done. I was told this article about blocking is excellent, after reading it I must agree, it could be the definite word!

I don't think that I will be gone from the blog too long, I plan on posting some pics of beautiful Brittany very soon!

Las Vegas, Baby!

picture from here.

Tomorrow, at 5 am, I will be driving the papa-prius all the way to Fabulous Las Vegas for a weekend of fun, picture taking and exploration. The real purpose of this trip is to visit the Neon Boneyard museum. If you don't know what it is, check out this Flickr Group. In fact I discovered the Boneyard from a post on Flickr blog a little while ago. I knew right away this would be my choice destination for a weekend escapade. I hope I am right! it sure is a lot of driving...