April In Paris

That's me, Theresa, posing yesterday in front of the magnolias at the Eiffel Tower in Paris! I'm on vacation in the City of Light, having left Cynthia in charge of our booth at the Online Needlework Show and the publication of our latest design. I'm hoping that if I buy her a really special present from Paris, she'll forgive me for leaving her with all of the work while I sample the food, wine and pleasures of a city we both love.

There are a couple of places in particular I will be visiting in the hopes of finding the perfect super duper present for Cynthia. Unlike our native New York, Paris has a superfluity of needlework shops and stitching resources. I guarantee that I will be visiting two of my favorite Parisian needlework shops in the next couple of days: Des Fils et Une Aiguille located near the Palais Royal/Louvre and Le Bonheur des Dames which can be found in the Viaduct Des Arts, underneath the Promenade des Plantes that inspired NYC's newly opened Hi-Line Park.

In the meantime, here's a photo of a shop I just discovered on Rue Dauphine on the Left Bank.

It specializes in infant and childrens clothing, all either hand-knit or embroidered, and it sells kits to make your own. You can see the words 'point de croix' (French for cross stitch) on the window if you look closely. I thought this was an inspired concept for a unique clothing/needlework shop, and the products on display in the window were exquisite! There was also a shop on the same street selling the sweetest smocked dresses for little girls -- and matching ones for their dolls! Handwork is clearly still prized in France as evidenced by these shops that specialize in such wonderful traditional needlearts surviving in the expensive St. Germain area .

Paris is always a source of great inspiration for me. Perhaps I'll even share some of those inspirations with you over the next few days.

A toute a l'heure!

Theresa