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Hi everyone.
My grandma is dying.
She is my role model in many more ways than sewing.

She was deeply Christian and would probably be grateful that people pray for her, if she could realize.

I may not find it in me to reply to emails or comment on blogs for a while...
Thank you for understanding.

Inspiration

Vicki tagged me to list five blog entries that inspired me last week. What an honour! I'm not usually good at "memes" - listing personal things and favourites off the top of my head is just not my thing; but that one is different, and suits me very well. It's so easy to think of 5 blog entries that inspired me - the only difficulty is stopping at five. Thanks, Vicki!

Here is my top 5 pick from last week's blogging goodness (but there were so many more...):
- Summerset's blog is a daily inspiration, but last week I kept coming back to that particular entry. It also helped me with my Vogue 2902 dress, as there is a similar waist stay.
- Vicki's blog itself comes topmost in my list of inspiring blogs. Last week, I particularly delighted in this entry where she talked about her craft books collection, and what joy they are for her (they're a joy for me, too!). Vicki also shared an exquisite tea-themed quilt at the end of this entry.
- Gigi at the Sewing Divas came up with a superb tutorial on how to add bra cups to a halter dress. I'll definitely be using that technique soon, it's a great answer to the bra strap problems of those halter/strapless dresses, which is why I've never sewn (or worn) any. Thanks, Gigi!
- Karen's Shepherd's Bush bellpull and her whole bellpull wall were probably my favourite stitchy eye candy of the week.
- One of the joys of Etsy is discovering new blogs. Last week, I found the lovely, fresh Norththreads blog.

I would love to think of 5 people to tag, but I have a train to catch! I hope some of you take up the challenge and share what inspired you last week. :)

Have a great week, everyone! I'll be back in a few days.

A Walk at the Père Lachaise

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good week. Glad to hear those in Northern America are finally enjoying some spring weather!

Today is a major election day in France. After voting very early this morning, Seb and I walked to the Père Lachaise cemetery. I'd never been there, which is a shame, as I've now realized it's only half an hour's walk from our flat.
The early hour and people being busy with their citizens' duties made for an unusually quiet place. The Père Lachaise is one of the most visited sights in Paris - this morning, however it was almost empty. The traffic noise did not reach this haven - all we could hear were the birds singing. (The tourists started to arrive as we were leaving, around noon...)

I just wanted to share with you some of my favourite moments in this lovely morning.

This lane appeared as a natural nave,
with the trees meeting above our heads as a vault.


I couldn't go to the Père Lachaise and miss her...


Chiselled alabaster flowers


A few natural beauties
(I miss having flowers so much!)




Chocolat, the cat of the place

You can find more pictures in my album (which is finally up to date, more or less!).

~*~

I shan't be online most of next week (which unfortunately does not mean I'll be on holidays)... This means I'll be missing out on all your blogs! I'll be back soon, though. I promise.
The boutique remains open; I'll ship any new order next Friday. I added a new section dear to my heart this week - baby treats! To make some room for those, there's a sale on the purses. (Etsy is down right now, but should be back up within minutes!)
Thanks again to those of you who have been kind enough to trust me and place a few orders! It's been such a pleasure - it's been a wonderful experience for me.

After lots of hand-sewing, I'm almost done with my Vogue dress, to my delight. It is turning out very pretty, and I've absolutely loved making that dress. (I think I'll miss working on it!) All it needs now is finishing the inside belt, making the outside belt, and hemming, but I'll do that when I'm back.

Now to go watch the first election results...

Have a lovely week, everyone!

A Vogue Dress for Spring Summer (Spring?)

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a nice weekend, and that our friends in North America are safe from the icky storms and dreadful weather. My heart goes out to all those in pain after yesterday's nightmare.

I'm almost ashamed to confess that we seem to have gone straight from (very mild) winter to summer, here. I've never seen this - it feels like late June, not mid-April! It's actually too hot to wear spring dresses: the Floraison and the Aubergine dresses are back in the closet, along with a cute little black number I haven't shown you yet (doesn't fit on the dressform and Seb is too busy to take pictures). I'm wearing my sweet little skirts instead.
This is all very nice... but if April feels like late June, how will July be?
All in all, I wish we had a few degrees less, and our North-American friends had a few more!

This weekend, in between other things and walks in the sun with Seb, I started working on the Vintage Vogue 2902 dress. I made the bodice and its lining, as well as the combined yoke and straps, which are lined, too. (I lined them with white cotton cretonne (not sure cretonne means the same in English, though).

Wanna see?

The picture was taken yesterday afternoon, and the yoke/straps were simply laid onto the bodice to give you an idea - I hadn't sewn them on yet. Yesterday night, I started hand-sewing the yoke's bottom edge to the bodice (using a slipstitch), while we watched 2 episodes of E.R. I wasn't quite done by bedtime.
Then, I'll slipstitch the upper edge of the bodice to the yoke's lining, from the inside. My, it's like combining sewing and embroidery in one go - and I certainly don't mind that!

As you can see, I decided to cut the yoke and straps in the same fabric. I had a fabric whose colour would have made a great contrast (it matches the lavender gray in the print), but whose quality and grain wouldn't have looked good against that fine Liberty lawn. I'll be using it for the belt, though. I could have made it in white, too but it was, well - too white. After auditioning all three choices, Seb and I both thought it was best not to have a contrast. That print is so wonderful - it seemed better to stick with it!

The opening on the left side is for the zipper (this way, you can see the lining!). I read on patternreview.com that the pattern's instructions for a lapped zipper are faulty, so I'm going to put an invisible zipper. That's always my first choice anyway.

I am truly enjoying working on that dress and taking it one step at a time, to make sure it turns out fine. That Liberty lawn is pure bliss to handle and look at while sewing, and the more progress I make, the happier I am with the fabric and pattern combination.

The pattern is very well drafted, but the instructions are somewhat unclear at points. Since the construction is different from usual dresses, it would help sometimes to have a few more details, or clearer (or more) pictures. I had to unpick a few seams several times - once, I confess, due to my own silly mistake (I assembled the yoke and straps in the wrong order), but twice due to the pattern's muddled phrasing.
I believe the most challenging is over now. Besides, I do love all the construction details - for instance, they have you make an inside waist stay with a hook-and-eye closure. I'm enjoying it all!

~*~

As per my friend Sylvie's request - here's my desktop wallpaper:

Nope, we haven't got over yet how sweet our Miss Cutie is...
Have you?

Thank you for all your encouraging and comforting comments!

What a long week

Hi everyone!
Thank you for the nice *and helpful* feedback about the new look. I'm glad you like it, too!

I've been incredibly tired this week, and as a result have felt low in spirits, as well. Or is it the other way around? Or - are the physical and mental weariness feeding each other... Hard to tell. We definitely need a holiday (the last time we had more than a weekend off was last July), but that just can't happen right now.

I did manage to add a few goodies to the Etsy shop this week... I really love making those little treats, and I *heart* the spirit on Etsy!

Oh, and a book came in the mail that did make me smile: Crafting Springtime Gifts, by Tone Finnanger.

The stuff in there is adorable without falling into the cutesy, and it could make gifts for babies as well as for grown-ups, I think. I didn't have any fabric in brown or beiges, though, so I just had my first tea-dying experiment so I can have fun with the book soon. Tea-dying turned out to be ridiculously easy, and the fabric came out just as I wanted it.

More on that some other day!

Today, I wanted to show you my almost finished square for the bourse tutorial:

Morning Berries, by LHN. Stitched with DMC linen threads.

~*~

Hopefully I'll muster up enough energy this weekend to get started on the Vintage Vogue 2902 dress. A review on patternreview.com says it's tricky, so it looks like it will require extra care! The dress is so lovely though - well worth the effort, don't you think? I'll have to see if there are more reviews online.
Oh, and I might have to make a crinoline for that one, as I'm making it in lawn, which doesn't have much body. We'll see!

Wishing you all a refreshing weekend!

Freshening it up a bit

Hi all!
If you've visited my blog over the last hour or so, you must have noticed some stuff going around! I used my lunch hour to finally revamp my blog for spring. Those of you who have known my blog for a while are probably aware that I like to warm it up for winter, and use my favourite shades of blue for spring. I've been having the changes in mind for a few weeks now, and after seeing my sewing buddy Claire's new banner, I decided it was high time I took the plunge myself!

Hope you like it - there will probably be some more tweaking in the days to come. Is the font size OK for you? If you find anything that is not working quite right, it would be super kind to leave a comment about it (and to mention the browser you're using. I use Firefox).

Talk to you soon!

Morning Berries

Hi everyone!
I mentioned my new stitching project yesterday, but didn't show a picture, and I realized this might have been a little frustrating for you...

So here's my progress on LHN's Morning Berries.

Stitched on 28-ct Calico evenweave
with DMC linen threads (don't have Crescent Colors)

It doesn't look like much, and I thought the tree would be finished by now... The truth is, I stitched all the leaves in the train back to Paris yesterday afternoon, only to realize last evening that the whole right part was off by a couple of stitches... Ack! That's what chatting non-stop with a friendly seat neighbour does to you! ;)
I unpicked all the leaves on the right part and re-stitched them last night, along with the trunk. Barring a new mishap, the other berries and bunnies should stitch up rather quickly. I love that design, it was a perfect start on an Easter day!
I'm not sure I'll stitch the "berries" next to each bunny. They look like blue carrots to me, which is weird! Has anyone stitched those and wondered?

Hope everyone is having a lovely day - I need to work extra hard today to make up for taking yesterday off, but it was totally worth it as it meant more time with Robin - having one's hair, nose, glasses and necklace pulled by a beaming little guy of a nephew is priceless, isn't it!

Oh, and look what my sweet Seb brought me form the bakery on Saturday!

I haven't managed to bite into it yet... It is way too pretty!

New season, new projects

Hi friends! I hope you all had/are having a wonderful weekend, were you celebrating Easter or not

The Easter Vigil went well. I was very nervous at first, but I felt "carried", so it seems my nervousness didn't show after all and my voice was OK (at least, that is what people told me - boy did I feel overwhelmed with their kindness at the end of the celebration!). Thank you for your support! The whole celebration (it lasted 3 hours) was beautiful and made me so happy.

Yesterday morning, I took the train to Lille to spend some time with my family. We celebrated my brother's birthday. I cannot say I came home to Paris perfectly happy though - my father's health has us very worried. He's smoked since he was 14 and he is now 56. He now constantly has colds, which turn into bronchitis, and his emphysema is getting worse and worse. You should think that with 2 of his children being doctors, and all of us being so concerned, and a beautiful grandson now, he'd know better! :(

Anyway - we did have a good time together. Robin has grown so much, and he is such a happy baby! He's laughing all the time. He'll be 5 months next Sunday.

He was seated right next to me at the table... Let us say I didn't eat much of the Sunday lunch - I was too busy with him ;)

By the way, I realized most of you may think spontaneously that Robin is pronounced with the in pronounced like the English preposition, "in". It's actually pronounced with the typically French nazalised sound that you find in the French "copain" (friend), and which you don't have in English. Robin est mon copain rhymes.

~*~

A new season (be it meteorological, or spiritual), is conducive to new projects, right? Especially when Easter coincides with the true arrival of spring, as it has over France.

I just started a design for the bourse tutorial that will be held next month on the Focus on Finishing blog. I managed to stitch in the train! That hadn't happened in a long time. I'm stitching the top part of LHN's Morning Berries (the tree and bunnies, which will be a square piece), and it is very sweet. I plan on stitching more of it tonight.

My other new project is a sewing one (again!). One of the liberty fabrics I bought in London in January is being prewashed right now. It is a beautiful flowery lawn, in my favourite tones:

I have decided to make the Vogue 2902 dress with it. You see, yesterday evening, I showed my Dad the new Vogue 2960 that was released last week, and he said I should definitely make that one, too. There was a 60% sale on sewingpatterns.com and he got it for me as an early birthday gift. How sweet is that! I can't wait to receive it, and this is why I decided to get cracking on my other Vintage Vogue pattern.

~*~

Speaking of birthdays... This made me realize that my birthday was not so far away. Just in case any of you were considering sending me anything - not that I am expecting anything at all, it would be sheer arrogance, but better be safe than sorry ;) - I have a favour to ask. I would really like none of my friends to send me anything this year. Please, don't take this the wrong way. You know I have resigned myself not to send birthday gifts this year - it just wasn't realistic anymore. I would feel terrible receiving something while I'm not able to send anything for birthdays. I really mean it - I don't need any gift to feel blessed in my friends! True friendship doesn't need any gifties, so please don't send me anything. My friends make me happy throughout the year, not just on my birthday

Hope you have a lovely, sunny, happy week.

The Aubergine Dress

Hi everyone. Thank you so very much for your wonderful comments to the previous post... as well as for the kind emails... I treasure them so much. Thank you!

On Thursday evening, I finished the dress I might wear at church tonight, and shall wear at my parents' on Sunday. I'm not sure yet whether I'll wear it tonight, as it might be a bit chilly by the time the Easter Vigil begins (9 pm). I'll be one of the two cantors at the Vigil, and you can't sing right if you're shivering! I wore it at church yesterday evening, and it was colder in the church than outdoors.

I didn't think the Floraison dress would be quite right for church. It is gorgeous, and I love it (and thank you for telling me you loved it too! ), but I don't want to be too conspicuous, you know? Besides, although the neckline was raised a fair bit as compared to the original pattern, it remains pretty sassy, and I don't think I'd be comfortable, wearing this in front of a whole congregation.
You may remember I got New Look 6429 a few weeks ago. I decided to use that pattern, along with a very dark mauve jersey I bought a couple of weeks ago. I love the colour because it is just as classy as black, yet more original than black. (it's close to DMC 3802, antique mauve v. dark, for you stitching friends!)

*Pattern*
My, that pattern runs large! I was warned by some reviews at patternreview.com, so I made it in the smallest size. I still had to take another 1.5 cm off each side, and then some. This is good news for plus sizes: even though the pattern goes up to a size 18, it will probably fit sizes 20-22, as well.
Apart from that, and as many of the ladies at patternreview.com acknowledged, too, the design of this dress is original and classy, especially for a cheap New Look pattern. There are no side seams, which is a nice change and gives a flowing figure.

*Alterations*
Besides the aforementioned fitting alterations, I altered the neckline and bodice. First, I raised the neckline (again!), and I raised it more than on the Floraison dress. Second, I used another one of Ann's great tips, this time to elasticize the neckline. That means even though this is a (mock) wrap dress, the wrapped bodice can absolutely not gap - it will stay snugly wrapped against my chest.
Once I did that, and tried the dress on, I realized I needed to take in the top bodice parts a bit more so that the elastic would be taut, instead of rippling. (I just wanted to take in the elasticized top edge, not the whole bodice).
Another thing is, the drapé didn't look quite right to me, partly because it started a bit too low, partly because altering the neckline so it wouldn't ripple had, well, ripple effects on the gathered part. I ripped that part at least six times (which is not funny, on that type of fabric, and with an elastic seam!), but still it wasn't quite right. It was OK, I guess, but not perfect, and I knew I wouldn't wear the dress if it wasn't.

I almost gave up, then took a deep breath on Thursday night, made myself some herbal tea and put Cecilia Bartoli on (ah, she always helps!). Then I totally undid the seams on that side (you have 3 layers there: side part, right gathered bodice, and left bodice, which sits underneath the right bodice in real life, and is therefore over the gathered part when the dress is inside out). I flipped the left bodice over to see the gathers and basted the whole thing by hand, rearranging the drapé as I really wanted it. Once I was sure it worked, I sewed it one last time, and it finally looked fine.

As you can see, the back construction is interesting as well.
(the spot at the bottom of the dress was on the camera lens)

~*~

I also added a reversible Toile de Jouy tote to the boutique:

Two styles in one tote!
I plan on adding more goodies today.

~*~

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend.
It means so much to me, singing on the Easter Vigil tonight. I was baptised during the Easter Vigil 9 years ago (can it really be nine years?). I just hope the emotion won't mess up my voice! My singing friend Cathy told me bananas would help me control my nervousness. Thanks, Cathy!

I'll be spending Sunday and Monday at my parents', celebrating my brother's birthday and playing with my nephew Robin. Can't wait!

Have a great weekend everyone.