See, there’s this liqueur I really like, called Ramazzotti. Italien spicy stuff, and of course I’ve never been able to get it here in Sweden. In our family, it’s lovingly called Rambazamba.

This week I got a letter from home which is always good, and in this was this. And at first I thought, oh yay, quadratisch praktisch gut and all that (which is the commercial slogan of Ritter Sport in Germany) and since it was red and I know my chocolate I thought it was marcipan (see?). Only when I looked again a few minutes later, I saw this:

And I went all OH MY GOD IT’S RAMBAZAMBA CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, in bold and capslock.

I also had to immediately make a pic to send it to Bouncy Haired Girl to go OMFG IT’S RAMB – you get the idea.

I’m so amazed that I haven’t even tried to taste it yet. Because look! Rambazamba chocolate! Letters from home make me happy.

(By the way, trivia for the day – my favourite’s nougat. Guess what colour that one has? Yah, I know, I’m so predictable.)

Anyway.

Doing a bit better today, I decided to stay home from work yesterday. Did a fair bit of stitching on Dragon Luck, which I will update when the next row is done. I also finally did the beading on Heart Beaded Biscornu. I don’t know – it looks alright, but I just don’t know how to bead really. If that makes any sense. This was the first time I’d done it. It’s okay for something pretty lying in a basket, but it doesn’t feel stable at all. Guess I will gave to find someone to tell me about proper technique. Yes, that’s a hint, ladies!

There are a few other new pics in the album where you can see it from other perspectives, too.

But really, I was all excited because I have never done anything but cards or pictures. Why? Because I’m scared of all finishes. I can’t sew, I never learnt, I can’t knit or crochet or anything, and I’m hopelessly intimidated by all this pretty stuff that waits to get messed up by me.

The thing is that I’ve been wanting to make biscornus and needlerolls about since I saw Rene’s famous basket for the first time. It’s a basket full of prettiness, and I want one! So obviously I had no choice but to try.

I ordered some beautiful fabrics from Polstitches for the L&L SAL later this spring (it is absolutely gorgeous, I can’t wait to start!) and while I was at it, I ordered their Heart Beaded Biscornu.

I adore Dragon Floss, it was a joy to work with. Also, I was a bit scared of the Kreinik, because I have lately worked with DMC Metallics and found them dreadful. Very pretty looking, but awful to work with – and I got a bit afraid that I would mess up my Celtic Spring later, what with all the metallic in the dress.

The biscornu uses Kreinik too, and I was so happy to find that it works much better for me than the DMC. Is that a common thing or did I do something wrong with the DMC? I used Thread Heaven on both of them and I stitch with gold plated needles, and I found the Kreinik so much smoother and easier to work with.

Anyway, the stitching went easy enough:

I started with the frame.

 

Then I added the borders of small hearts and after that the big hearts and the petals in the middle:

   

Then there came the sparkly stuff:

 

 

After that was done (it was so much fun and looked so pretty!) I did the underside:

 

 

To add to the Things I Had Never Done Before This: Algerian Eyelets! Wanna see my first golden very blurry one? Course you do.

 

And after hours of sewing and swearing (more swearing than sewing probably) and going into the fabric store saying, “Hi, I’m looking for the bu – WHOA!” (cue Eva finding a Wall of Buttons) and telling the shoplady “I need stuff to put in my biscornu!” while bouncing up and down, and shoplady going something like “Allllllll right, you very crazy woman, take your filling and buttons and get out of here while I smile and nod at you benignly” and stuffing stuff into my biscornu and sewing it shut and sewing the buttons on and going “Meh!” and opening one side again and putting in three times as much stuffing -

WHOA, look, a BISCORNU! *points proudly*

 

 

I haven’t done all the beading yet (have to ask the smart ILCS ladies about it cause it’s just another Thing I’ve Never Done Before But Will To Have Pretty Things To Put In A Basket Or Somewhere) but I’m so thrilled with it! It’s sitting right here next to me and I still don’t quite get I’ve made something this pretty.

And yes, I’m not normally nuts, I just didn’t get much sleep tonight. Really. *shifty eyes* Going to bed now  

Because I’m stitching my first biscornu and thought, oh, this is quite small, surely it can’t take all that long.

I shall go to sleep now and sew it tomorrow. And spam you with pretty biscornu pics.