Saturday cast-on. Not with this one though. Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

First signs of Spring? Zebrina pendula

Botanical embroidery project: chamelaucium

The second botanical embroidery project has been completed. This time I decided to embroider some wax flowers. Since purchasing a few branches a couple of months ago, I've been haunted by this flower that I've never heard off before.

As I said on instagram, this plant might be one of my favourites. I'm a sucker for tiny flowers like gypsophila and heather. I buy them, or get them in the woods, keep them in vases for a while and then press them. But I haven't got the chance to get a neat result with chemelaucium yet. I've only been able to preserve this flower in photograph and in memory, so I thought that I should give a try to embroidery, and capture its subtiles shades of pink with thread.

With the #botanicalembroideryproject, I'm trying to use colorful threads, a needle and some fabric to recreate a plant or a flower that I associate with a specific place or moment in my life. In a few years, I hope to have a wall filled with different botanical memories from places that I've visited & beautiful moments of my everyday life.

Waterlily

I’m beyond words to explain how I love this pattern, and how this tee turned out.
I’m trying not to wear it everyday, but it goes with everything so well, including my Canopy.

I have more yarn coming it’s way for another Waterlily..

Yarn crush: Hole&Sons

Almost a year ago, I started following an Instagramer who's feed has inspired me over and over. Everyday I was virtually travelling to the Isle of Purbeck in England, following Benjamin's steps in the glorious country. In the Summer, I remember that he posted countless pictures of his flock of sheeps, peacefully resting in the pasture. And I told myself a couple of times "How wonderful would it be to be able to touch these sheeps, and ... wait...yarn?" And later last year, Benjamin announced that the fleece has been sent to a mill to be proceded, and that the precious yarn will be available shortly after.

I don't remember being so impatient in my life before - or maybe when I was still a toddler, and I knew that the next day I will go to Disneyland. That's how excited I was. Instagram is such a great resssource in that way. It's almost like if I knew these sheeps, and I actually spent time in this part of England for almost a calendar year.

In January the yarn still hasn't reach the shop, and my hope of getting a teeny tiny skein was slowly fading away. One morning, as I was drinking a cup of coffee innocently and refreshing my instagram feed, the cup in one hand and my phone in the other, I almost split out my first sip when I saw Karen Templer's picture of hers, grabbing one of these skeins, and a bag full of them beside her. "What?" She then announced that she's been very lucky to get her hands on the yarn, because it sold out very quickly. "How? Where?" Then she redirected us to Sue's feed who actually announced the release of the yarn a couple of days before. I immediately "subscribed"! She then sent me a message, telling me that the yarn would be available the next day.

So the next day, I set the alarm clock at 6am. From 6.05am until maybe 8am, I've been refreshing the Etsy page fanatically. But my efforts and determination paid! When the skeins were finally available, I made sure to place a couple of them in my cart, just to make sure that they wouldn't sold out before I decided which color to get. A week later these beauties arrived.

I already have a project in mind for these two skeins, but at the moment, I will keep them preciously, close to my heart.

Did you get some of that yarn too? #Hole&sonsyarn

Matcha Latte

I discovered a passion for tea while I was living in China. I visited so many teahouses, trying one green tea after the other, and the taste was never the same.

But it's only when I came back in France that I tried my first cup of matcha. And it's been love a first sip. The following recipe is very easy, and it's a favourite of mine, perfect for long Sunday afternoons.

For one serving:

• 1/4 cup of boiling of water
• 3/4 cup of soy milk (almond milk works very well too)
• 1 teaspoon of matcha powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Boil the water, at the same time sift the powder gentling in a cup. Add the boiling water very slowly, wisking the paste. Add sugar. Bring the milk to a boil, whipping the top to make foam. Gently pour the milk over the green tea, the the foam. And voilà!