Rêve d'amour

Love is a story well kept in every family. Whether it sparkled briefly and was forgotten, or kept burning for years, there is always a symbol of love in every generation. Love has always been a statement of life, a testament, unbreakable in storming times. 

The family stories are shared from mouth to mouth, some written and sacredly kept romantic letters. It is a teaching moment for everyone. Sometimes, love is so distant, sometimes it is dreamt only, but always so deep and unexplored - one lifetime is never enough to experience it all.

I found this pattern in an old French magazine and it was accompanied by a touching family love story.  It is Isabelle, who talks about her Mamy's love. After her grand-mother passed away, Isabelle found the meaning of true love in the drawers of an old cabinet. Some very preciously kept letters described a story of her grand-parents love, despite the fact they had been separated for sixty years.

These vintage designs and Chinese symbols made me think of a dear friend, who I accidentally found  a year and a half ago. Not only the design of the pouch touched my heart, it inspired me to make a gift to my friend, who lives a world-distance away. There is a distance that the feet can not walk but the heart jumps in a moment and reaches the furthest corners of the world.

I made this pouch for Lina - the designer behind HAORI. Her creations have always amazed me. She has a certain touch to the thread, incorporated in her fabric - always weaving the tiniest details that make her fabric special. I hesitate every time I cut into her fabric. And when I do, I make sure I don't waste anything. I fill a very pink box with the cut outs :)) Weird, I know, but it makes me feel good about preserving the dreams and love behind Lina's designs.

There are four different side pockets on this pouch. I stitched in mono-colour in a DMC thread matching the fabric used. And the fabric is no other but the latest double-sided yarn-dyed, designed by Lina. The vintage look and the colours are perfect for the story I have read by Isabelle. The fabric compliments nicely the cross-stitched design. The bias binding on the top edge adds a little extra colour but keeps me grounded to the old blue. I just love the combination!

HAORI makes my life more beautiful and helps me look back and hold on to the beautiful things from the past. I have a favourite Bulgarian author, whose writing shapes a big part of my character today. She says: "You don't have a past, if you don't have a memory! And you don't have a future, without a past!" Our life is a streamline - we live it in one breath-taking. We are so busy that we are barely present in our own life. We don't have time to remember... This is very sad to me. I don't want to miss anything from life, and that includes the life before me. I take the opportunity of living in the era of informatics to learn more about the past generations. And I believe that helps me shape the future  more calmly.

"Love" and "Dream" Chinese symbols simply describe why we all do what we do. Inspiration comes only from the soul and what we feel. And the feeling is always the most beautiful one.

Thank you, Lina, for the beautiful friendship, you gifted me with!
♥ Ivelina

Mouse Rollcake Bag

It is a family story, I have to admit... - a curse and a blessing, a story, that probably many families go through - to have a taste of the unknown and fall in love with it forever. That is what happened seven years ago, when we first set a foot in Disney World. With the presumption that we are doing this heroic act for the kids and kids only, that we would accompany them, only carrying the heavy backpack under the non-merciful Floridian sun in March, we sacrificed ten days of our yearly vacation allowance and went on a difficult trip of pure suffer to Disney World.  The things that we assume in life and that win our hearts forever...

What happened after our first visit in the resort is... we all caught a severe incurable fever of Disney love. A year later, we went back, a year afterwords, we decided to own a little piece of it, and now it is like a home of ours, that we go to every year, and in 2017 - even twice :)

My daughter decided on the first day of our first visit that she will work for Disney one day. A dream, that six years later is proving to be a real thing and not a dream any more. She is so excited to go there for the whole summer, I thing she is living through the longest days of her life now with the countdown. I am as excited as she is, but also a mom-worrysome. In my attempt to support her beyond her expectation, I decided to send her with something unique and heart-made. 

Minki's  Rollcake Bag seemed a perfect item to make. My love for Minki is old and fire-tested - I have been inspired by her in so many ways - she stitches her life and describes it in the most beautiful way with her creations. Her pattern for the Rollcake is perfect for my design of vintage Mickey Mouse logo. I like the idea of a round bag - it is like my love for my daughter - without end. This little and compact bag is quite generous in volume. You could find the pattern here.

The fabric of my choice is the never disappointing me Haori cotton. 

For Mr. Walt Disney, it all started with a mouse. My Mouse of a kind started with shoes - as unique as they could be, evolving through the years...

I wish my daughter to experience many beautiful things - even more than she anticipated. And to create so many wonderful memories earning her ears :)

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." W. Disney