Market Day

Here buying to our hearts content!

Quilt Market is the wholesale part of Festival. It is where your quilt shop owner comes to see the latest and greatest. I spent the day looking a new, or new to me stuff I find interesting, or that you might like. Here is some of what I found:
Fabric -  there will be lots of new stuff for us to indulge in!

One companies display!

Jason Yenter of In the Beginning showing some of his great fabrics to quilt shop owners!

Look for it in your local quilt shop.

Houston Quilt Festival Here I come

 

The boxes are shipped, I'm on the plane all ready to teach all of my classes! This is such a fun time for everyone who like to quilt! So much to see and do.

Setting up for all of us shoppers!

Workshops start on Monday - It's never too late to sign up, many of these workshops have a very short supply list! Here's the list--

Monday

Joining the Blocks: Quilt-As-You-Go Style

Learn to join pre-quilted blocks using several innovative techniques. Go home ready to make larger machine quilted quilts without all the work of trying to get it into your machine. The Quilt-As-You-Go method allows for more detailed quilting using a standard sewing machine since you're only quilting a small section at a time. 

Super Fast Binding and Piping!

Is binding the quilt your least favorite part? Tired of humdrum finishes? Come and learn piping and binding techniques to make your quilts stand out in a crowd. In class you will be making samples of finishing methods to take home and use on your own quilts. Bindings will never be boring again!

Tuesday

Paint Glorious Paint

Come play where the possibilities are endless and rules are few. Fabric paints enrich your projects before you begin sewing—or after. We will use stencils, rubber stamps and finger painting techniques to make ourselves look like a room full of Picassos. This is magic is waiting to happen!

Wednesday

A Fine Line: Creating the Quilting Design                            

Bring your unfinished quilt top to show the class and we will brainstorm ideas on how you might stitch through the layers to maximize your project’s beauty with the creative use of the quilted line. Discover the elements of award-winning quilting designs and how to apply them to your tops.

Thursday

Fun and Fancy; Make a Purse

Create stunning purses that can be finished in practically no time. Make your own in class, embellish it with trims, ribbons, buttons, bows, lace, fabric, found objects and then dive into the wonderful world of beads! Kit choices are: purple, blue and green. We will learn what beads to buy, how to sew them and how to make your own lavish beaded dangles and fringes.

Friday

Borders: The Final Chapter, featuring Pieced Borders

Pieced borders add something special! Bring your unfinished quilt top and we will explore clever ways to add grace, spontaneity, sophistication or any effect you desire. Solve the mystery of designing and sewing borders to fit your own quilt. We will look at potential sources of inspiration, fabric choices, and lots and lots of tips for success!

Joining the Blocks: Quilt-As-You-Go Style

Learn to join pre-quilted blocks using several innovative techniques. Go home ready to make larger machine quilted quilts without all the work of trying to get it into your machine. The Quilt-As-You-Go method allows for more detailed quilting using a standard sewing machine since you're only quilting a small section at a time.

Saturday

Joining the Blocks: Quilt-As-You-Go Style

Learn to join pre-quilted blocks using several innovative techniques. Go home ready to make larger machine quilted quilts without all the work of trying to get it into your machine. The Quilt-As-You-Go method allows for more detailed quilting using a standard sewing machine since you're only quilting a small section at a time. 

Beads are a Blast

Beads are a great addition to quilts and garments. Learn how to use beads to their best effect, what to look for when you shop, which tools are helpful, and how to place, sew and lock these little beauties onto the project you bring to class. We will also be making fancy fringes and dangles!

Sunday

Fantastic Fabric Foiling 

Bring your projects to life with instant (and permanent) glitz and shine. We will apply foil using a variety of adhesives and make use of a variety of ideas that make it easy. Traditional and non-traditional quilters will learn how to incorporate foil into real show-stoppers.

Saying Good Bye to the City of Light

Eiffel Tower

Paris was nicknamed the "City of Light" (not City of Lights) originally because it was a vast center of education and ideas during the Age of Enlightenment. In 1828, Paris began lighting the Champs-Elysées with gas lamps. It was the first city in Europe to do so, and so earned the nickname "La Ville-Lumière" or The City of Light.

We hired a taxi to show us the sights at night!

Arch de Triumph

Versailles

^{One of the most baffling aspects to the study of Versailles is the cost – how much Louis XIV and his successors spent on Versailles. Owing to the nature of the construction of Versailles and the evolution of the role of the palace, construction costs were essentially a private matter. Initially, Versailles was planned to be an occasional residence for Louis XIV and was referred to as the "king's house". Accordingly, much of the early funding for construction came from the king's own purse, funded by revenues received from his appanage as well as revenues from the province of New France (Canada), which, while part of France, was a private possession of the king and therefore exempt from the control of the Parliaments.}
 

 ^{Costs of restoration programs - The ravages of war and neglect over the centuries have left their mark on the palace and its park. Modern French governments of the post-World War II era have sought to repair these damages. They have on the whole been successful, but some of the more costly items, such as the vast array of fountains, have yet to be put back completely in service. As spectacular as they might seem now, they were even more extensive in the 18th century.}

<sup>The restoration initiatives launched by the Fifth Republic have proven to be perhaps more costly than the expenditures of the palace in the Ancien Régime. Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Gérald van der Kemp, the objective was to restore the palace to its state – or as close to it as possible – in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. Among the early projects was the repair of the roof over the Hall of Mirrors; the publicity campaign brought international attention to the plight of post-war Versailles and garnered much foreign money including a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

The French revived 18th-century weaving techniques so as to reproduce the silks used in the decoration of Versailles. The two greatest achievements of this initiative are seen today in wall hangings used in the restoration of the chambre de la reine in the grand appartement de reine and the chambre du roi in the appartement du roi. While the design used for the chambre du roi was, in fact, from a design that had been used during the Ancien Régime to decorate the chambre de la reine, it nevertheless represents a great achievement in the ongoing restoration at Versailles. Additionally, this project, which took over seven years to achieve, required several hundred kilograms of silver and gold to complete. 

Estimates of the amount spent to build Versailles are speculative. An estimate in 2000 placed the amount spent on Versailles during the Ancien Régime as $2 billion. This figure in all probability is an under-evaluation of the money spent on Versailles. France's Fifth Republic expenditures alone that have been directed to restoration and maintenance at Versailles undoubtedly surpass those of the Sun King.</sup>   

The Truth about Montmatre

Okay, I confess. I just happen to know that besides all the thing Montmarte is famous for, it is also home to great fabric shopping! And I did, fabric for shop.
 

How could I not like a store that greets me with these great tassels?

Or a sign that says "patchwork"?

There was a nice selection of expensive cotton.

And oh the ribbon!!!

It's everywhere!

But this on is probably my favorite. I think it would be so much fun to make clothes for these manikins!

Sacré-Cœur

I like to visit the Sacré-Cœur because it is a popular landmark, and because it is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. I didn't expect it to be quite the zoo it was!

Montmartre is a large hill, It's 130 metres high and gives its name to the surrounding district. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district. With a great view of the city!

The view and the zoo!

Les Puces flea market

Les Puces flea market in Paris is the largest of its kind in the world and is brimming with vintage and antique treasures. It covers seven hectares and is the largest antique market in the world, receiving between 120,000 to 180,000 visitors each weekend.

"Flea Market" is a literal translation of the French marché aux puces, an outdoor bazaar in Paris, France, named after those pesky little parasites of the order Siphonaptera (or "wingless bloodsucker") that infested the upholstery of old furniture brought out for sale."

Everything was for sale. High end stuff, every day things for the locals and everything in between.

My favorite!

I looked into everyone of those drawers and more.

I'm not sure what it is, but I loved it!

Including old cameras and French postcards.

I Walk a Lot when I'm in a city

Entrence to the Metro.

I like to walk around as much as my feet can handle. The plan was to go where I wanted then use my phone to map a route back to the apartment. Unfortunately unless I was hooked up to the internet, I could only text or use it to make calls. This meant I needed to pay attention, but I was willing.

 I couldn't figure out what this was all about, but the pictures were interesting.

1961, Modernity has no time for fully flounces and frills.

Looking across the Seine.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. So much has been written about Notre Dame but I found this construction time line interesting:
    1160 Maurice de Sully (named Bishop of Paris) orders the original cathedral demolished.
    1163 Cornerstone laid for Notre-Dame de Paris; construction begins.
    1182 Apse and choir completed.
    1196 Bishop Maurice de Sully dies.
    c.1200 Work begins on western facade.
    1208 Bishop Eudes de Sully dies. Nave vaults nearing completion.
    1225 Western facade completed.
    1250 Western towers and north rose window completed.
    c.1245–1260s Transepts remodelled in the Rayonnant style by Jean de Chelles then Pierre de Montreuil
    1250–1345 Remaining elements completed.

The windows were amazing.

Spectacular interior.

What can i say, I'm a quilter who is always looking at patterns!

Christ appears to the holy women.

I walked to the Île Saint-Louis, and stopped to hear this band. That is Notre Dame in the background.

The bus

So after all that looking, I didn't buy anything I'm ready to rest my feet. The 69 bus route travels an east-west route across Paris, starting at the Eiffel Tower and finishing at Père Lachaise cemetery before returning along a slightly different route.
Here are a few pictures of sights along the way.

Marche

When in Paris, one should do what the French do....shop. Why not start at an upmarket French department store, like the Galeries Lafayette?

Galeries Lafayette sells everything you could possibly want. From jewelry and accessories, handbags, shoes, women and men's designer clothing, children's clothing, home and house goods, furnishings and anything else you could imagine.

The 'Grand Magasin' (department store) officially opened in 1912. The most striking feature of the building is the monumental dome with colored glass and wrought iron, which was created by Chanut. The dome gave the building the nickname 'Magasin Coupole' (domed store). 








In December 2012, Christophe Adam opened L’Éclair de Génie, a creative concept that is as novel as it is indulgent. With a vast selection of eclairs to choose from but also a delicious variety of chocolate-based products, L’Eclair de Génie’s concept stores provide a truly unique, colourful and flavourful experience!

On To Paris

We took the TGV "high-speed train" to Paris. It is France's high-speed rail service, It would have taken us  almost 7 hours to drive for Provence to Paris, but on the high speed train at 175 mph it took us just 3 hours.

A very French apartment was waiting for us.

Including red roses!