Well, not much ( in case anyone wondered). For the past few weeks I've spent several days away from home on business trips each week, and I haven't been exactly full of energy.
I worked a bit on Chandrakala's dress, but it's not finished yet. I haven't felt much like sewing. I started a knitted doll, but my favorite part is done - the actual knitting - and now I have to find some courage for the nitty gritty stuff - making up, stuffing, embroidering a face.

During my travels, I of course went to Ladurée and was able to grab the Valentine boxes.

The box with the hearts inside actually says "I love you" when you remove the lid. I jumped out of my skin when I opened the box the first time.

I also bought stuff, ribbons, trims, materials for hats, dresses and jewelry (all doll scale of course). I managed a visit to Mokuba, where I can rarely shop because they close at six pm and are closed on week-ends.

Pink and blue, I know, I'm very predictable...
And La Droguerie, I went just before closing time, and for once didn't have to wait for hours until I was served.

I also taught Puni how to do needlepoint, and she's very good at it. I thought that for weeks if not months she would come to me each time she had to start a new row, but at the end of the first evening, she was already doing everything by herself, including threading in the wool tails on the back of the canvas.
This week Puni is on holiday and attending the leasure center every day. Yesterday she learned there would be a masked ball today and was as excited as a flea. Last night she decided to make a mask on a stick. She made a drawing of the shape she wanted, I googled "mardi gras mask", made her choose an image, printed it to size, let her trace it on card stock and cut it. She painted it herself, glued sequins on it and taped it to a stick (I sacrificed one of the sticks from the fabric turning tube set on my craft table, which I never use anyway, as I always turn fabric with a hemostat). Then I glued a few pink craft feathers which I had ordered long ago with the idea to use them for hats but which I had never touched, and glued an identical mask shape on the other side to make the mask look neat from both sides. It would have been a nice touch to wrap the stick in ribbon, but it was already bedtime by then.
I'm surprised at how crafty Puni is. She got the idea to make the mask herself and knew exactly what she wanted all along. She's 100 times handier than I was at her age, who knows, maybe she'll be a great crafter when she's grown up? I also congratulated myself on having all the materials available at home, the sequins and the feathers, and told myself it is not every home that would be able to make a mask at a moment's notice in the evening, when the shops are closed. On the other hand, maybe it is, maybe whatever you have in your house, you can always use your imagination and turn what's at hand to use.


These photos were taken after the ball, so the mask is a bit the worse for wear, just like Puni's Donkey Skin costume complete with sun-colored dress, the effect being somewhat spoiled with chocolate stains...

February was also the month the spring issue of MCI hit the newsstands, which I had completely forgotten, until I spotted it in a train station in Paris.

Nice mag, but there isn't anything in it I intend to make, so if you want it, please leave a comment and I'll draw a name (if any) next Monday.
I've started replying to the comments left since my last post, very late I know, sorry!