The last Hurrah

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Leaving France was not be complete without one last trip to Brittany. We have friends who rent a house every year in a small town on the coast. This year we were asked to join them. Nothing like laying in bed and hearing waves crashing on the shore nearby. If you have not been, Brittany is beautiful! Even in the winter. Yes, there is nasty rain at times, but when the sun comes out a walk on the beach is a wonderful experience.

The house came with a Christmas tree, provided by the friends staying there, which was a treat for me as Christmas trees and I only had fleeting moments together this year with the move going on. At the rental house the tree was real and smelled so good! Our friends had bought some ornaments specifically for me. When I saw them my mind started dissecting them. I have been playing with felt lately.

They are cute, but I could have fun with that design and I bet I could make them cuter. In the mean time while they wait to be dissected, here they are on the windowsill of the new apartment. So far they look too good there to take either of them apart.

While walking on the beach, I was introduced to something called "Sea Glass". "Sea Glass" is new to me. It is, essentially, glass garbage that has been polished by the ocean and deposited on the beach for pick up. Searching for the glass turned out to be a good reason for a walk on the beach rain or shine.

There were also many shells to  be picked up and small thin shale rocks. They look like little chalkboards to me.

Of course there was a trip to a brocante that had hit or miss hours. Wow, talk about junk! Just amazing the stuff in there. I am sure no inventory of contents in the building to speak of. Some of the stuff I am sure has been there for years. 

Proof in point, I found vintage lace. Those of you following the last blog have seen this picture.

As usual, it smelled musty...Musty, now that was an understatement! No visible mold, but the smell was enough to clog sinuses for days. They were escorted in well sealed plastic bags to the new home and there they were shown to the washer. As I was getting them ready for the washer I found an old price tag on lightest, almost white piece.  (The lower left rolled piece in the picture) 

The price tag said 460F/ 5 meters. A little research shows that the French Franc(FRF) is obsolete and was replaced by the Euro (EUR) on 1 January 1999. At that time, one EUR was equivalent to 6.55957 FRF. So in 1999 they wanted 70.13 EUR for that piece. In USD with a 1.2 exchange rate(the official beginning exchange rate in 1999), that comes out to roughly $84. 

70.13 EUR/$84, that is a bit expensive and not at all what I paid for it. Discounts comes with sitting in a brocante for at least 16 years with no takers.

So far, a small bit of the lace on the lower right has been used. In my purse I carry a notebook to write notes such as which train gets me to where I want to go or the address of a potential fabric shop.  the notebook has a cardboard cover and won't last long the way it is, so I covered it. I had a second small notebook so I cut out enough for two. Here is the picture of the second one, the one that will be given away on February 15th.  Pen/Pencil not included.

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Alright, what about the rest of that lace? Well, these two are in the process of being cut up. I found a  dress from the early 1900s I fell in love with the top portion on Pinterest.

Stand by, it will be a couple weeks but it is coming.

These have been paired up. Again, Inspiration on Pinterest. This one will take a bit. I am searching for buttons and I am toying with stamping fabric.

 

It might become something and then again, maybe not.