Samedi, Janvier, 12

We all slept in until about 9, caught up on some much needed rest. Sewing is hard work, especially when you have some 9 hour days. But I love it! We decided to head to the Champs Elysees and check out some more shops that we hadn’t gotten to before. We took some pictures of the Arc de Triomphe in the daylight. Then we headed shopping. We went into Louis Vuitton again, Lancel, and Kusmi Tea. After eating our lunch at a restaurant on the Champs Elysees we went shopping at Disney, Massimo Dutti, and Zara. I picked up a really cute black short sleeve top from Massimo Dutti. I also picked up a keychain from the Disney store. As we were finishing up our shopping we found this amazing patisserie called Laduree. One of the girls had heard that they have the best macaroons in Paris. We all went inside and bought a few macaroons. I bought a large, coffee flavored macaroon. It was delicious! I really want to bring some macaroons back with me. We decided to head home and relax a little before going out again in the evening. After Kate and I ate dinner, Christy decided to go with us to the Eiffel Tower and see the light show. We headed out at about 7:45 p.m. on the way there I finally got all of my postcards sent out. We took the bus and the metro to get to the Eiffel Tower. We got on a train that was only going halfway to where we needed to go and so we had to wait another 10 minutes for the next train. We made it to the Eiffel Tower with about 15-20 minutes to spare. We took pictures and walked around  it to get a better view when the light show started. The light show lasted for about 5 minutes. It was so hard to capture the beauty of the moment and all of the lights with a camera but I tried. Christy still needed to eat supper so we all decided to go out. We went to a restaurant called Le Petit Pont which is right across the Seine from Notre Dame. Kate and I had our dessert while Christy ate her supper. I had a Chocolat Leigois which was Chocolate ice cream in a cone with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, an orange slice, and a slice of kiwi. The dessert came to the table with a sparkler stuck in the orange slice. The dessert was delicious! When we were close to finishing our dinner the young man from the table next to us asked us (Kate in particular) if we would do something for him. They must have been played truth or dare at their table because he asked if she would kiss him on the cheek. She told him no, that she was already married. By the time we got back to the apartment it was about 11p.m. So far this is the latest we have stayed out.

By the Arc de Triomphe.

Laduree.

Look at all of the sweets :) YUM!!!

My coffee macaroon from Laduree.

The Eiffel Tower all lit up during one of the light shows.

My Chocolat Leigois.

Vendredi, Janvier, 11

Our first couture project went from 9-12. Our professor Brigitte taught us how to make a welt pocket. Making the welt pocket was very similar to making a bound buttonhole. We had an hour for lunch and then we went back to class from 1-4. In the second class our professor Muriel taught us how to hand pick a zipper into a bias cut fabric. After getting out of class we decided to head to BHV to look around a little more. All of the sales started on the 9th and run until the end of January. I bought a belt that was 50% off. Tomorrow our 3 day weekend starts!

The beginning of my welt pocket.

Juedi, Janvier, 10

Our shibori dying class began at 9a.m. this morning. The professor, Sharon, is a really nice lady from the U.S. She flies to Paris twice a year to teach the students at PAA shibori dying. The technique that she taught us this morning was called Arashi. This afternoon we had an hour and a half for lunch. Kate wanted to have a sandwich from a bakery around the corner and I decided to have tomato soup. I picked up a pistachio macaroon for dessert after my lunch. It was delicious!!! The class at 1:30 was with the same professor but she taught us how to nuno felt. We made a reversible collar. After getting back from class at 4:30 I worked on my hat design. Kate and I headed to the laundromat since we couldn’t figure out how the one in the apartment works. After we were finished there we headed back to the apartment and then went to the grocery store to pick up food for the next week. We cooked some pizzas because it was getting late. After getting back from the store Kate realized that I had picked up a six pack of seltzer water instead of regular water oops. Only one of the four girls in the apartment likes it so I guess she can have it all :) I did drink some of it mixed in with orange juice, it doesn’t taste as bad that way. Tomorrow we work on some couture projects! 

The original color of my scarf.

 After wrapping it on the bottle.

After discharging the color. 

Almost finished, it just needs to dry.

My pistachio macaroon!

One side of my nuno felted collar.

The other side of my collar.

Here's how it would be worn.

Mercredi, Janvier, 9

Class started today at 9a.m. and we learned 3 different smocking techniques and also 4 different beading techniques. Our professor Anne Bizet is French but speaks English so we didn’t need a translator in class. Our schedule was changed this morning in class. The original plan for the afternoon was to work on smocking and in the last two hours of class we would go to the Sacre Coeur and then go to the fabric district and look around. The new schedule for the afternoon was to go right to the Sacre Coeur and then have the rest of the time to go fabric shopping. After eating lunch, Kate and I headed to the ATM to withdraw some money and then to the PAA where we were meeting. We left the school at about 1:15p.m. and too the bus which went right past Sacre Coeur. We took the elevator up the side of the hill to get to Sacre Coeur. The view from the hill was amazing! I could see a lot of Paris even though it was misting outside. The interior of the Sacre Coeur was beautiful! We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. We also went into another church that has been there since the 12th Century. We were allowed to take pictures inside of that one and it was just as amazing! Right across from the church there is a square where many painters sit and paint pictures of the city and the people. It was really neat! It had started raining a little harder so we decided to take the elevator down again instead of the stairs. The whole group met up at the bottom of the hill and Anne showed us where the fabric, yarn, and accessory(buttons, ribbon etc.) stores were located. We were given about an hour and 45 minutes to look around then we could meet up and head back home. Kate and I went into the Chatmaille yarn store and I bought a really neat thick wool yarn. Many of the yarns that are sold here are the same ones that you would be able to find in the U.S. We also went into several other fabric stores two of them had several floors. The fabrics they have here are amazing! We headed back to the apartments at 5:30. We stopped at the boulangerie/patisserie right next door to pick up some bread to go with supper. We made tortellini for supper. I also picked up a framboise for dessert. I’ve been working on my knitted hat design all this evening. Tomorrow we do shibori dying all day. 

The fashion design students at Sacre Coeur.

They city of Paris and I. 

The three smocking techniques I learned.

The cathedral from the 12th century.

My Framboise.

An amazing fabric store!

My super bulky yarn.

Mardi, Janvier, 8

Today we had an introduction to some of the Paris museums. We started out for the bus at about 9:15a.m. and headed towards the Musee D’Orsay. The Musee D’Orsay is in what used to be an old train station. The interior of the building was beautiful. I wish I could have taken pictures but they didn’t allow you to take pictures in either of the museums that we went to. There were many beautiful paintings in the Musee D’Orsay. I saw some by Degas, Van Gogh, Gaugain, Renoir, and Monet. After our tour was over we headed to an area nearby that had several restaurants. On the way over we happened upon a photo shoot with a model in a wedding gown, the model, gown, and scenery were gorgeous. After eating lunch, several of the girls and I headed to the bookstore in Les Art Decoratif Museum. There were some really neat books on fashion on the bookstore. We went through the Fashioning Fashion exhibit from Los Angeles County Museum of Art that is in Paris until April. The clothing in the exhibit was from 1700-1915. I got some great ideas from the clothing in the museum. After our tour, one of the professors suggested that we head over to the fabric district since it was nearby. Two professors and five student all walked over to the fabric district. It was chilly outside and it was probably about a 10-15 minute walk to get there. We walked past so many bakeries on the way there...every time I look in one of those windows my mouth starts watering. Walking through the fabric district was amazing!!! Almost every window you look into has bolts and bolts of fabric stand against the walls or piled on shelves. We went into the Fabric store call General Diff, which had been recommended to us by someone from PAA. The owner of General Diff buys the fabric from the couture houses after they are finished with that season.  The shop seemed small when you walked in but it also had a downstairs and next door upstairs. Many of the prices were very reasonable. The owner lead us upstairs where the expensive fabrics were kept. Some of the fabrics that we saw were from Hermes, Lanvin, or Chanel. I loved being able to touch some of the fabrics from the couture shows. There was one fabric that was 200 Euros per meter, but he told us that it wasn’t expensive because to buy it at the regular price it would have been 2000 Euros. At that rate we would be getting a deal! I found a beautiful black mohair for 100 Euros per meter. I might have to go back and buy just half a meter to use for a small part of a garment :) After going into a shop like that I wish that I could just live in a fabric store :D Hopefully on our free weekend some of the girls will be going back there. I did buy some fabric. I came away with 3 meters of a gray wool with stripes of sparkle in it for 12 Euros. Not a bad deal!!! As the owner was cutting my fabric he was telling me that he has clients from all over the world, he started listing several countries. I definitely believe him! Before we left the shop he said that he had a gift for all of us, he went upstairs and came back with pieces of black lace. He told us that the lace was from Lanvin’s 2012 collection. I can’t wait to use my piece :) We headed back to the apartment and had couscous for supper. Tomorrow we get to learn smocking! 

The Louvre from afar, we get to go to it next week.

The amazing fabric store we went to.

Another fabric store!

Lundi, Janvier, 7

This was the last morning of working on the half bustiers. Class started again at 9 and our Professor (Sandi) told us that we would have to be in the afternoon class. I was kinda bummed because I had hoped to explore the city a little bit more. After about 10 minutes she said that there had been a change of plans and that if we felt that we needed it we could take the afternoon off to rest and look around. We didn’t have a translator in class today because today was her first day interning at Chanel. But class went fairly smoothly. I was able to finish my half bustier and also sew some pleats on it using the Madame Gres techniques. After doing that I have decided that I want to use that technique on one of the dresses that I make. We were fed more chocolate and cookies again today, I swear they are trying to fatten us up :D Sandi told Madame Picco and Martine that we weren’t allowed to have food or drinks in our classrooms at home. They said that they usually don’t allow food in the classrooms either but it was a special occasion so they were letting us snack. We were let out of class at 1p.m. and had the rest of the afternoon off. I had seen this really neat resale shop on several of the tours we had taken of Paris and I really wanted to check it out. It was right by the Bastille. We gathered a group of 12 girls that wanted to check the shop out and we decided to meet at 3 and head over. I found the directions which would have been a 45 minute walk but because we took the bus it only took about 20 minutes max. Well there must be 2 Come on Eileen stores in Paris because the one that we went to wasn’t the one I wanted to find. They had really neat clothes and most of them were designer names. I found a Chanel petticoat for 100 Euros, a Christian Dior leather pencil skirt for about 120 Euros, 2 Louis Vuitton purses and a pair of shoes for 700 Euros :/ I had fun just looking! After looking around in that store we split up and the 8 people in my group decided that we wanted to go to the Champs Elysees. We took the metro and got off on the stop that was halfway down the Champs Elysees. We walked underneath the Arc de Triomphe and took some pictures. It was getting to be about 6:30 so we decided to split up for dinner. Half wanted to go to Mcdonalds and my group decided to go to Bistro Romain. My meal was amazing!!! I had Prawns and Mediterranean Scallops with Pesto and Chocolate Macchiato. I splurged a little for this meal but it was well worth it and I would definitely go back again. After the meal we walked around a little bit and went into Louis Vuitton, Zara, and Morgan. After window shopping, we decided to head home at about 8:30. We took the RER on the way back and made it home to running water!!! 

My Supper.

Look! I'm holding up the Arc de Triomphe.

My half bustier.

My dessert.

The Louis Vuitton store.

The restaurant we ate at-Bistro Romain.

Dimanche, Janvier, 6

We started out at 9 a.m. and continued working on our half bustiers. The chocolate was brought out by 10 that morning. We kept working at it until noon and then they gave us 15 minutes extra for our lunch break so we didn’t have to be back until 1:15 p.m. Kate and I decided to make some hard boiled eggs. We didn’t get them done in time for lunch, but we saved them to have with supper. We headed back to school and then didn’t even start class until about 1:30. I got quite a ways on my half bustier in the afternoon. I had to wait for a while because there were some students that were lagging behind, so I used that time to write some of the postcards that I need to send. Tomorrow if we are able, we hopefully will get out of the afternoon class and have some time to relax and enjoy the city. Kate, Christy, and I went to the Catholic Church down the road because they had a evening service. The service was in french so I wasn’t able to understand much if any of the service. We headed back to the apartment and I worked on my knitting design for class. I think I’ve finally figured out a little bit of what I want to make. I am really enjoying the process of figuring out how to design a knit pattern. I finished writing my postcards before heading to bed.

All 25 of them :)