skirt design - croquis

 So the next step of the designing process is the croquis. The class recommends using a photo to use as a base, so I had my husband take a handful of photos of me. I've got front, diagonal, and back views, but I'm starting with just the front view. I might have him retake some pictures - the forward leg screws with perspective and makes it harder to draw on it. Suddenly I understand why so many clothes-showing photos have the leg to the *side* not forward, but this is a detail I hadn't really noticed until I started looking... One then traces the outline of the body onto paper.

skirt design - inspiration

So it turns out that learning to make clothes that fit me is not the easiest thing to do. After a lot of frustration with commercial patterns, I tried taking in-person classes locally in patternmaking. While it was super helpful, the particular instructor I chose doesn't really work from blocks/slopers like I'd hoped. Instead, she drafts to measurements using the patternmaking method she was trained in (which of course involves some 'standard' measurements) and then adds design before fitting. I've got an excellent trouser pattern now, plus I got help in fitting a half dozen other patterns/designs, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I want to learn how to use a sloper or block to both make my own patterns and to adapt commercial patterns more easily to me.

Halifax Hoodie review

I actually finished this sweatshirt like, a month or more ago, but didn't get around to pictures til today.  Lovely weather at the park today! (finally! it's been cold and drizzly/rainy/cloudy up til last week...)

photo tutorial: Fully lined pyramid bag with tab and zip stop

So in my last post (October! So long ago!), I talked about pyramid bags and why I thought the tutorials I could find were not ideal. I thought about it for a while, and have figured out how to do a fully lined, no raw seam showing, folded zipper pyramid bag with a zip stop and a pull tab. It is possible to put in a top tab as well, but I didn't here. I mention how in the cutting instructions. This is a bit of a fiddly/tricky construction, but it's not all that difficult, and I really think it's worth taking the extra time to get the result I wanted.

sewing: pyramid bags

I decided I wanted to try making some dice bags, maybe even sell them. However, selling them requires bags to sell, which meant, finding some bag types I can make.

I decided to try making pyramid bags - maybe I'll make a big one for a knitting bag sometime; they seem to be quite popular. All three bags have fusible fleece fused to the outer fabric, and quilted in straight lines lengthwise at ~2.5cm intervals.

cemetary

(post written in May 2019 as I finally get around to finishing these posts)

The morning of our last day was spent at the famous Pere Lachaise cemetary which was close to where we were staying.

medieval things

(post written in May 2019... because I'm a slacker and didn't get it done earlier.)

We went to the Musée de Cluny, which is an excellent museum of the middle ages.

musée marmottan

(post written in July 2018 as I sort through old photos and discover I never finished the Paris trip).

I mysteriously have almost no photos of this day. I think maybe I decided to just look at things and not photograph it all? Based on a couple of blurry pictures, it looks like we went to the Musée Marmottan Monet.

They have a bit of an eclectic collection - medieval illuminated letters (most of which look to have been cut out of larger pages, which is too bad), the personal collection of art, furniture, decor of Mr Maromottan (in whose house the museum is located), various impressionist works, as well as a collection of Monet pieces that had been kept in the family - the feel of these pieces is a bit different from what one often sees in more famous works. Luckily for me, the website of the museum has many photos of the artwork on display, so it's ok that I didn't take pictures.

The only photo I have from the interior of the museum.

They also had a Pisarro exhibit, which was really interesting, though crowded (we were in the last days of the exhibit).

That is also the day we went to Les Halles and stopped at Muji.

petit palais, sacre coeur

(post written July 2018 as I sort through photos and discover I hadn't quite finished writing up the Paris trip...)

Looks like it was raining in the morning.

We went to the Petit Palais in the morning and looked at art in a cool building.

The front door of the Petit Palais

 Emile Gallé, ~1878. Vase decorated with Chrysanthemums and Praying Mantis. Enamelled glass.

Eugène Feuillâtre, ~1912. Vase "La Mer." Translucent enamel over copper.

Greek vases

The Grand Palais across the street

Lunch was at Angelina... again...

And then we discovered that next door to Angelina, there is a bookstore... one that carries English books. How we missed it after passing by so many times, I don't know...

The weather cleared up, so we headed towards le Sacré Coeur.

We walked up the front stairs (and stopped for a bit for a snack and drinks at a café with a brilliant view of the building)...

We enjoyed the view from the top...

The building itself, both outside and in (though I don't think we went up to the top, I think it was too late in the day? I don't remember).

We went around the corner to take a look at the other church, St Pierre de Montmartre.

Then we walked down the side stairs...

Dinner was with friends at an Ethiopian restaurant. Giant (I think the plate was a foot and a half across) flat soft crepe-ish thing, with various foods. Tear off a piece, scoop up whichever glop you wanted, eat with your fingers. Quite tasty.

weird and wonderful colors and shapes

The Natural History Museum in Paris is a collection of associated museums (they're not apparently actually one entity; you have to pay separate to get into each section, though there is a discount for having been to another). They consist of a large garden with buildings around the perimeter, plus a zoo. Of course, in February, the gardens are perhaps not at their best.

fancy

Last time we were in Paris, the closest we got to Le Palais Garnier was across the street. This time, I insisted we go in, since I'd heard it was interesting. We expected to spend maybe half an hour or an hour... we were there the whole morning.

shiny gold

We went to Versailles without much of a plan. We knew, because I'd looked it up beforehand, that there was some kind of equestrian performance, and that tours existed.

history and height

arrival in paris

(It is now the beginning of April, and I am finally getting to writing up our trip to Paris - I've backdated the posts.)

This time, we decided to fly to Paris, instead of taking the train. This was not a bad idea. We took the RER and metro into the city, and when we emerged, the first thing both of us did was be tourists.

december

December brought a number of things.

Arles

A few weeks ago, I was with some friends, and the conversation turned towards things in the general region that should be seen/done/visited. My contribution to this, as always, was the flamingos of the Camargue - a good three-plus hour drive to the east of Toulouse, but I think it's worth it to see wild flamingos. I mentioned to one of my friends that maybe G's parents would let us stay with them to allow us to go on a field trip. I asked G, who asked his parents, and after a bit of discussion, a date was set.

food we have consumed

Just a roundup of some of the tasty things we've eaten in January.

CHEZ MARCEL

We've decided that we need to eat out more, and one place we discovered (thanks to a recommendation on Ravelry, and a test run with G's parents a few months ago) is Chez Marcel. They're pretty much a lunch place - open late morning til 8pm most days - and very tasty. It might be our new favorite restaurant. The decor is nice, the plating is quite attractive, the food is usually a little creative and very tasty. The sides tend to be the same on all the dishes, but it's neat to see how they go differently with each main dish.

My appetizer - something with salmon with shrimp on top

G's appetizer - 3 vegetable soup with goose rilletes

My lunch - filet of bream on polenta

G's lunch - pork loin and something else tasty

The "gourmande" that came with the café gourmand. Lemon meringue pie, a chocolate cream thing on a cookie type thing with strawberry, a canelé, and strawberry bits with cookie crumbles and whipped cream

MEAT PIE

I made a meat pie. I added frozen carrots and peas because I could. It was tasty. I'm really becoming a fan of the lard/butter crust I've been playing with lately.

Pie.

Blurry cut pie. It was less blurry in real life.

G's BIRTHDAY

St Aubin's Sunday market has a butcher that sells the most flavorful chicken you have ever tasted. Also, tasty rabbit, duck, and a bit of turkey. We decided to splurge on their pre-made rabbit roasts - one with Italian herbs and one with Chorizo, if I recall. G asked for apple-thingies for dessert; I made mini apple-blueberry pies. With fun shapes cut out for the top. Camille helped with setting the table.

FRIENDS VISIT

At the end of January, we had G's friends L&E with children W&I over for snacks and hanging out and stuff. I may have gone a little crazy. Lemon bars, blueberry muffin-loafcake, Great-Granny's spongecake as cupcakes with frosting, and chocolate chip cookies. Apparently, frosting isn't a thing that the French do, to the point that I apparently kind of blew E's mind with the idea. The kids liked the cookies. The grownups liked the lemon bars. I actually kinda liked all of it.