Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Lavender Cushions

 

Lavender Cushions

 

After ten years the handmade cushions smell as fresh as the lavender fields that surround Provence. Francoise, an antique dealer in Isle sur la Sorgue made them using antique French toile de Jouy.

I have several of them: Textile Hoarder that I am.

 

 

 

Lavender Cushions

This one has a little tear, no fault of its own. I am very careful with it so that the lavender does spill out. Of course I could sew it, though it humors me as the tear is exactly where the watering can (image) is watering.

Strange potato head that I am.

 

Lavender Cushions

 

The other day when our friends Gary and Ching were staying in our apartment in Paris, Gary noted that I have a thing for images/paintings/textiles/papers… with faces on them. 

I know that weird fact about me.

Guess how many "faces" are in Paris? 

Over fifty.

And you do not want to know how many "faces" are in our home in Provence.

Too many.

 

Lavender Cushions

Make me feel normal please.

Comments

12 responses to “Lavender Cushions”

  1. g

    love this post those lavender cushions are so precious-I adore and admire and aspire to your normal-normal is a fluid concept – the eye of an artist the soul of a poet and a joyful generous loving heart WHAT A WONDERFUL NORMAL YOU ARE!!

    Reply
  2. Kristin

    The lavender cushions are wonderful – love the spout “leaking” a few buds! Faces, faces always faces….they put so much life into everything in a room…what is their story? Fun to use that wonder question as a starting off point.. write a bit of poetry or prose…Faces are a very, very good thing.

    Reply
  3. Carroll

    Faces are my favorite, to paint myself and to collect from others…

    Reply
  4. Dawn

    I love the lavender cushions also! Does the dealer have a website that those interested can purchase them from? You can never have too many faces!

    Reply
  5. S/E

    Simply lovely! I hope I find some while were are there….S/E

    Reply
  6. Tongue in Cheek

    No, but the name of her shop is Francine’s. Usually they are of monograms and or solids, as toiles such as the ones above are harder to find.

    Reply
  7. Tongue in Cheek

    Go to Francine’s in Isle sur la Sorgue.

    Reply
  8. Marilyn

    Well we all have our own idiosyncrasies don’t we? I don’t think I have many faces except I do have quite a few family pictures on my dining room walls. I always love toile, but don’t seem to have any at the moment. When I first married I had a silk dress with gold toile print, I loved the dress.

    Reply
  9. Jennifer Phillipps

    You are as normal as all the people who read your blog each day – me being one of them……love the pillows and love the faces! Cheers from NZ

    Reply
  10. jackie

    I am afraid I cannot make you feel normal, but I can give you company. I have a few pieces of very old toile that I bought from a dealer in the UK. I once described them as “one of the things I would grab and take if my house were on fire…” The person I was talking to had a look on her face that told me she thought I was nuts. Like she thought maybe I should grab important papers or money or something, anything more than a few tattered pieces of 200 year old toile. She just didn’t get it.

    Reply
  11. Darien Reece

    I wouldn’t worry about too many faces – you are celebrating life
    my thing is birds…
    Always love your posts – I’m a great fan
    Darien

    Reply
  12. S/E

    Maybe you’ll take us there in October……S/E in Tacoma!!!

    Reply

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