The sound of silence

This post as nothing to do with the folk song The Sounds of Silence created by the wellknown duo Simon and Garfunkel.

This post as neither to do with some zen paradox proposed by the master to their disciples.

In this post I want only share something very unusual : no plane in the sky around Paris from thuesday evening due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland (the CNN new here) no plane from or to northern Europe!

I never throuth the planes make such a noise! Nothing very big but a continuous small noise... When there are no planes : what unusual silence! We can ear very well the songs of the birds....

I will update this post with some other photos when the planes will be back.

Planing a birthday present for DD

What a bad photo! I should stop taking photo with my Iphone.

I make the sofa and the little table with my daughter few month ago for another doll.

I find these four dolls on ebay at a bargain price few weeks ago.

They are percfect for a five years old girl:

• Big enought (approx 14 cm, 5.5 inch, tall) to play with, smal enought to go on a adult pocket or in the mother's bag.
• Articulated enought to be nice to play with but not to much to be strong enought for a five years old child and a two years old baby not so far away.

So, perfect but they need a more complete wardrobe to play with: my daughter allays complain about the lack of clothes for her dolls. Considering the mess in my DD's room, perhaps a box to store all the set will be a nice idea to.

A little more planing about the box.

First, I don't have enought time to make and decorate a wood box. And my daughter could see it before her birthday. I guess a carton box will not be strong enought for her. In the end, a plastic box or perhaps a fabric bag will have less chance to be damaged.

A little more planing about the doll's wardrobe.

Each doll will have:

• A beach ensemble, a summer dress or summer ensemble and a summer hat.
• A coat or a cape, a winter suit or coordinate items and a winter hat.
• A cotton kimono or a bathrobe, a nightgrown and slippers.
• Some additionnal item such as dress, pant, skirt, top... Only if I have time to sew them!
• A suitcase to store all the set.

I am pretty sure I can find scrap or leftover fabrics in my stash to sew all of this. Considering the size of the dolls, I guess sewing all the clothes by hand will the best thing to do.

To be continued with few sketchs and fabrics ...

Sewing machine hiatus

Yesterday, my sewing machine went for a check-up.

It went not by itself, I carried it to the Singer shop in Paris with the help of my two children... Allays an expedition! A child, a baby in a stroller, a sewing machine and too much stairs in the Parisian "métro": forgott the chic parisian mother and think of a donkey instead and you will have the pict ;-)

No sewing machine: now it's time to plan and to be inspired ;-)

Some little projects that don't require a sewing machine can beging to.

First thing to do: writte down a list:

• Up-size the Burda pattern for my husband coat
• Design and realize the embroidery for my Marfy pink Spring coat
• Plan a birthday present for my DD
• Design a logo and define a concept for my etsy shop (too much planed and nothing done yet)
• Design and realize (when my sewing machine will be back) a complet project for my etsy shop
• Select coordinated fabrics and patterns (from my stash) for my summer wardrobe
• Determine what to modify and to add in the children (children grow to fast for me) summer wardrobe

As usual, too much than can be done, but who knows? So, stay tuned!

Somewhere over the rainbow

What we can see from my window last week: it was cloudy over the rainbow ;-)

DH took this photo just after showing the rainbow to the children. So the rainbow started to disappear and you can see only a little part of it...

It was just after one of those Spring showers we currently enjoy. I wonder when the Spring will come!

Another Easter thing

I needed something to put all that have to go in the trash when I sew: all those little threads and fabrics I cut during the sewing process. Something that I can put on the table when I sew.

With all the Easter things surrounding me, I decided a thread-trash hen can be what I was looking for (my husband has not yet decided if I am definitly mad or just a little ;-).

The image above shows my drawing and the final pattern.

Right now, I am not able to remember why I decided to add a secret pocket at the base of my thread-trash hen... But I did it (the two images above show the secret pocket before and after I finished the hen).

Then, the result.

I am not sure if I can keep this thread-trash hen for myself: my children claim it. They love the secret pocket (little fingers are perfect to go in) and the two sides of the hen -asleep or not- look hilarious to them...

Perhaps I will have to sew something else for me.

I am thinking of a tropical fish (you know these approx round-shaped fish), without a secret pocket if I want to keep it for me!

A not-so-quick vintage shirt for everydaywear

From this...

To this!

Meeting in Paris near The Opéra

Let us say you need to meet a friend in Paris near The Opéra. There are a lot of people in this area, where to meet and to be sure not to miss?

I will share with you a nice "point de rendez-vous".

I have been told about it by my grandmother and my mother, but it was my great grand mother who used this trick for the first time...

In front of the Opéra house (Palais Garnier or the wikipedia page) in Paris, there are a lot of statues. In particular a group on the right, made by the famous French sculptor Carpeau: La Danse (a better photo than mine on the wikipedia page).

In 1867, these naked women dancing around the Spirit of Dance, caused a big scandal, as you can imagine...

Actually, in front of the Opéra house is not the original masterpiece, but a copy. Anyway, it remains a nice place to meet people: large area to meet, and a precise spot to avoid missing your friend if it is crowded, which happens almost all the time!

Last, be careful to avoid a oh-so-common mistake: do not go to Opéra Bastille, which is located approximately on the other side of Paris!