Some Cuisine. And a fun pic.

Up to now, no "cuisine"-labelled post had been published on this blog. Consider it done, even if the cook involved here is not yours truly.
Here is what I have now been seeing for a few weeks in  the windows of a bakery, not far from my home :

Sorry for the crappy phone picture. But to the point, now.
As you all know, Easter was a few weeks ago. And at the same time, here in France, we are in the process of voting for a new President. And this baker had the idea of decorating his window with racing chocolate eggs (you can't see their bodies behind the "Arrivée" sign, but yes, they're chocolate eggs!), each of them standing for one of the candidates...now, it's a bit of a pity I did'nt take the pic last week, when the 8 other candidates were "still in the race"...but still, it's fun, isn't it?
And who will the last one be? We'll know it on the 6th of May...and when we get there, don't forget to vote!

NB : I just posted this picture because I thought it was fun. If anybody wants to discuss politics, please don't do it there. There's plenty of specialized forums where you can do just that.
As I said before, this is NOT a politics blogs.

On my to-sew list…

 What I already have :

•  Butterick’s4790 « Getaway Dress » - I read online that the pattern, « as-is », did not fit as well as suggested on the cover illustration, so I will use the instructions provided on this blog. My fabric will be a small cherries print on white cotton, I already have some red buttons and have yet to find some bias tape to finish it ;
• A crinoline to wear under the aforementioned dress – I am actually in the process of making it these days, using Gertie’stutorial which she re-posted a little while ago! I am using some burgundy Bemberg lining I already have, plus some synthetic organza in the same shade (which is a pain in the butt to work with by the way). I first followed the tutorial faithfully but I've decided yesterday that I needed to change some things...Anyway, once it's finished (and it should be soon, or so I hope), I think you might see how it looks.
• Colette Pattern’s free Madeleine bloomers. I’d like to make these in black or white eyelet cotton – to begin with.
•  I also want to make myself another Crepe, in this fabric…

• And I’d like to make the full-skirt version of Simplicity 7275, in this fabric. 

I’d make it as a summer dress and trade the lining for facings, which would make it easier to wear in the summer.

• Colette Patterns (yes, them again !) Ceylon, which I plan to make in a lightweight, pale blue denim with red piping (and red buttons).
• BurdaStyle’s Kasia skirt - though I don’t know yet which fabric I’m going to use.
• I also have an important length (4 meters if my memory’s good !) of a thick, black, textured fabric (some wool blend I think), with which I wanted to do a ¾ circle skirt, but I finally shied away from the projet because I think I would have felt dramatically overdressed going to work in a New Look-ish skirt. Instead, I think I’ll turn it into a wintery version of Colette Pattern’s Peony dress.
• I also downloaded Vivat Veritas’s free ½ circle, scallopped-waistband skirt, but I think I wont' make it right now.
• I also plan to make another Simplicity 7275 view C (yes, another, as this pattern was my first-completed - though not yet blogged - sewing project)…but I want to make it in black and red houndstooth fabric, and I would add cap sleeves and a peter pan collar. Oh, and I’d make the collar and the bow belt (and perhaps some bias finish for the sleeves) in black vinyl or faux leather. Now that would be wicked, wouldn’t it ? (Haha, just kidding. Maybe I won't do that until I've acquired these skills, and it maight take somme time.)

·         Aaaand last but not least, I got the Colette SewingHandbook as a Christmas present ! So that makes me 5 more patterns to try. 

Phew, now that’s one long post. Looks like I have lots on my plate, too, especially for someone who took 4 months to finish her first dress and 3 for the second. Dunno how long it will take me to do all this ! Will it be over at the end of this year ? Just wait and see… 

But wait this post isn’t over yet. Told you about what I already had, but not about what I’d like to have :

• Basically, everything by Colette Patterns (except from the Clovers and lady Grey – I should exercise first because I tackle such projects)…and to think they have released new patterns …I can already hear my bank account protesting (but wait, my birthday is in hardly more than 1 months now, so maybe it’s not going to suffer that much ?)
• Sewaholic’s Lonsdale dress. Love.

·         And that’s all for the moment. (And that’s enough, I think.) And you? How do you manage your to-sew list?

Gimme some Rock'n'roll - Introducing : Las Vargas

Hi everyone, let's share some music, shall we?
I'd like to introduce to you a band I like very much, and on top of that they're from my city! Here is Las Vargas!
This is one of my favorites...

As far as I know, they've only been doing covers for the moment...but they're really good at what they're doing.
And worth seeing live, too! So if you get the occasion, don't hesitate!

xx

1st blogged sewing project! (and 2nd completed, but more on that later. Maybe)

Styling, from head to feet (and apart from the dress, which is detailed further in this post) :

Hair flowers, one from Claire’s, the other (a tiger orchid) from www.paradirama.com

Necklace and bamboo tiles, Hawaiian-themed bracelet : www.paradirama.com

Ring-watch : Claire’s

Shoes : Siesta, from the Miss L Fire S/S 12 collection

Handbag : Black Roses, bought from Rock à Gogo in Nantes, but is going to pieces and seriously needs to be replaced.

Pattern : Colette Patterns Crepe.

Fabric : Alexander Henry’s black « Corazones » cotton fabric for the skirt, plus some plain black cotton for the top (from my local fabric store – because I didn’t have enough of the latter to make the whole dress in it) and red microfiber for the waist ties. Plus some fusible interfacing.

Notions : none, as this dress has no closures to sew.

Any difficulties ? None whatsoever, though I was at first daunted by how many patterns pieces there were ! But it all went allright, and on the whole I’m quite pleased with the result. I made 2 muslins. After I did the 1st I incidentally fell over Gertie's Crepe Sew-Along posts...and found out the back of the bodice was gaping. So I made a 2nd, and used these measures for the finished dress.

I just stupidly screwed up the easisest part – the hem – because my sewing machine started fooling around. I finally succeeded in sewing my hem but did a really poor job of it…but hey, seam-rippers are our best friends, aren’t they ? Nothing there that cannot be fixed I think.

Wear again ? A soon as the hem is fixed, yes I will! And maybe I should do some sort of finish on the inner seams, which are currently just zig-zag stitched to prevent them from fraying.

Make again ? Totally, I already have fabric ideas to make another one. More on that in the next post. 

And now a view of the back :