Paris in Summer...

I've been ignoring this little bit of the internet lately - ever since we got back from Europe in fact, and I have to be honest, I've enjoyed it. My priorities once we got back were mainly to do with catching up with work (having deadlines as soon as you return from holiday is not fun!) and *ahem* handing in my notice at my current work place (eek!). I have a shiney new job in the city now, just a 15minute bus ride away. No more 3 hour journeys to work and back each day!

Any way, onto Paris! Our apartment was truely parisienne, on the third floor of a beautiful old building complete with inner courtyard and basil planted window sill. What I loved most about Paris was that it was just so, well, Parisienne. Everything you think Paris should be, it is. People running around with freshly baked baguettes, brightly coloured flowers on window sills (even in the most run down of neighbourhoods) and patisseries on every street corner.

Our apartment building in Montmartre

We did all the toursity things - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Couer, Arc du Triomphe, the Louvre etc and also spent a day out at the Chateau de Versailles. And then David left for his conference in Normandy and I spent a week exploring Paris by myself. 

  

Eating my first pan au chocolat on the steps of the Sacre Couer on our first morning in Paris

 The Sacre Couer

I spent most of my time exploring Montmartre (except for a visit to a Miss Mona Lisa for the day at the Louvre) and went a little crazy at the fabric shops (okay, more like really crazy...). A quick tip if you are heading to Paris for fabric - go into the stores that say 'Coupons' in the shop names. These stores sell off cuts from their larger counter parts (I spent most of my time in the Marche' Saint-Pierre Coupons shop) of some of the most beautiful fabrics. Most of them are 3metres or longer and they are much cheaper than going into the main stores and buying off the bolt. It's also useful if your French isn't too hot as you just search through the piles (oh so many piles...), take your wares up to the counter and pay. No asking for specific lengths etc. The piles are also handily categorised - cotton, wool, polyester, silk...

I had to tone my fabric shopping down after a few days as it was so heavy I was worried I wouldn't be allowed it all onto the plane (I went for heavier weight cottons mostly). But I am really pleased with everything I found and have a few projects lined up - now I just need another holiday so I can find the time to sew them up!

I also went away with a few French fashion magazines ranging from the 30s-50s including some Marie Claire's. While I might not be able to read them, they are amazing for inspiration and you never know, I might even get around to scanning a couple in a little while.

I could go on and on... but next up, I'll post about London (I loved London the most, I really miss it!).

XX

Jen

Birthdays and Trips Away...

It was my birthday a few weeks ago now (May 28th) and David bought me this beautiful red and white stachel bag to celebrate. I've wanted a satchel bag for a really long time now and have been using it every day since. The Sail Boat necklace was also a gift from David for Christmas last year.

These photos were snapped just aftter my birthday - it was the one fine day amoungst what seemed like months of rain. But lucky for us it has finally decided to clear up just in time for us to do some ALL of our washing before we leave for Paris on Thursday night (!).

I made the circle skirt on my birthday weekend - yet another to add to my Parisian arsenal because they are just so practical and go with everything! Packing made easy I say. It's made with a thrifted cotton/wool knit blend and is fully lined with some lovely silver lining.

  

In other news, I got my greedy little mitts on Tasia's latest pattern, the Cambie Dress and I can't wait to sew it up when I get back. I've been really drawn to sweetheart necklines lately and this dress fits the bill perfectly. Have any of you made it up? Any fitting tips you care to share?

I'll hopefully be blogging brief snippets of our trip in between sightseeing in Paris and London with the help of David's ipad, so stay tuned...

XX

Jen

Paris or London Anyone?

Source: elegantlyeclectic.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I've had the great pleasure of meeting some lovely people through my blog and this year is hopefully  no exception!  I'm heading to Paris and London in just a few weeks time and was wondering if there was anyone out there that would like to meet up and talk sewing, vintage and fun things like that (and possibly take me to your amazing secret fabric/vintage/thrift shops - promise I won't tell!)

I'll have much more time in Paris to catch up with people, so if you are in Paris, near Paris or feel like jumping on the train to come and meet me in Paris, please let me know!

And if you have any recommendations of places to go or people to see, please also feel free to let me know, I'd really appreciate it :)

Look forward to meeting you,

Jen

With Jasmine in the Air...

Sorry I've been MIA again! I had a few health issues, namely my lower back. What ever I did to it meant that I was in excruciating pain for over a week and spent the better part of four days planted on the couch on my back.  It seems to have mostly healed now though thank goodness and I'm back to being able to sew.  You don't realise how much you use your back until you can't use it anymore!

I finished the Colette Patterns Jasmine blouse a few weeks ago - and incidently these photos are also from a few weeks ago too, it's not quite warm enough for bare legs and arms any more...

I made view 1 sans sleeves which I’ve been doing with most of my sewing lately.  I made a bias binding for the arm holes instead and really like the way it turned out - no sleeves has the benefit of using less fabric if you are trying to stash bust like me and don’t quite have enough (and cutting on the bias means you have to be a bit creative with your pattern laying if you only have a small amount). I made this Jasmine from a light cotton I had thrifted a few years ago back in NZ.

I did have a few small issues with the pattern, namely gaping at the front and back.  The front was easy enough to fix, but for some reason, no matter how much I shaved off the back, it still gapes a little (maybe this is just my bad computer slouching back?).  I’ve found the gaping to be less noticeable when the collar is sewn on.  I also ended up shaving off about 1cm from around the neckline - after seeing a few finished garments on other people’s blogs, it looked as though the blouse didn’t quite have the lovely wide neckline it looks like it does on the pattern front. But I think it actually turned out really nicely on mine.

I also cut a good 1inch off both sides of the blouse after cutting it to my size.  It was too big in the waist (and could still possibly be a little big) so I recommend cutting a size smaller in the waist if you want a more fitted look. I would also recommend making the ties longer if you do want to tie them in a bow, but I don't mind mine in just a small tie with the ends hanging down (looks good under a cardigan!).

Overall, I think this is a great pattern for beginners and especially for those wanting to learn about sewing on the bias. 

I also made the circle skirt from a thrifted blue-cottony type fabric from my stash, it's fully lined and I've worn it at least once per week since I finished it. I think if I had to pick a pattern that was 'me', circle skirts would be it. I can bash them out quickly and they are so comfy to wear and go with so much I already have in my wardrobe!  Next up is a light grey wool circle skirt.

Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Jen

Hermit...

I've been hermiting* lately. My weeks are spent head down, bum up at work and my weekends have been spent hiding away, catching up on sleep and ignoring anything I don't quite feel like doing. I think this is a combination of being too tired to do anything much and from not wanting to spend ANY money (do I hear Europe in 11 weeks? Weeeee...!).

Today however, marked the start of the long Easter weekend in which I will mostly sew, cook meals that take a whole day to prepare, watch TV and eat chocolate (aka be a productive chocolate-eating hermit).

And while Autumn has officially decended upon Sydney, the weather, as usual, is still lovely and warm. Perfect shorts weather infact. The wrap blouse is one I actually made back in 2010 from a vintage pattern that has never been worn on the blog! Oops.

In other news, I started doing an April Photo a Day on instagram (and then promptly forgot to keep taking photos on the second day, though I have started again now!). Are any of you on instagram? Let me know so I can start following you (I am jenniferlauren3 if you're interested) and I also started a Pinterest, because, you know, I need another way to waste time...

Hope you eat far too much chocolate this weekend :)

xx
Jen

*Is that even a word?

PS) And can you tell we changed the white balance half way through these photos and I couldn't be bothered editing them? Oh the difference one little button can make...

Making Pretty Dresses...

I've been in a sewing mood lately, it's been nice and very productive - I finished this dress about a week ago and have already started on my next.

I made this dress from a Japanese cotton lawn I bought in October-ish last year. I lined it fully with a white vintage cotton I had in my stash due to the lightness of the lawn - to give it more structure and so that I wouldn't have to wear a slip underneath for modesty if I didn't want to.

I made a few small changes to the pattern, I lined the sleeves with self-made bias binding instead of the facing the pattern came with, moved the side zip to the back (I have issues with side zips for some reason, they always come out bulky) and because there was no way I'd have enough fabric for the circle skirt called for, I used 1inch pleats on the skirt instead.

I loved making this dress and am already planning my next. I'm going to make the v neck a little wider at the shoulders and a little deeper - a little something like this...

+

XX
Jen

Happy Valentines...

Albeit a wee bit late..

I made David gluten dree red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, and David surprised me with 6 long stemmed red roses delivered to me at work with chocolates and a french lesson for two :)

xx
Jen