Diptych Me :: day 4

#7 - ?


orange clothes hanger
bottle cleaning brush



#8 - Orange


clementine
felted bead

Diptych Me :: day 3

#5 - Stiches


my new Clark's pumps (very comfortable, but/because they size big)
Japanese fabric bought quite a while ago, still debating what to use it for...



#6 - Spiky Softness


dandelion (only picture not taken last weekend)
detail of a bottle cleaning brush

Diptych Me :: day 2

#3: Green Curves


clementine leaf



#4: Cylindrical White


piece of chalk
cardboard roll

Diptych me :: day 1

#1 - Softly Folded


tulips, my favorite flowers
two-colored felt, from "l'entrée des fournisseurs"



#2 - Eye Candy


Candy: Haribo's Dragibus
Felted beads in a Bonne Maman jam jar

Diptych Me Week

Hey, // Between the Lines // has a face!! - I shot this self-portrait at the "Parc de la Vilette", last September. Huge mirrors were posted at intervals in between trees and I couldn't resist taking this picture, a one-shot diptych me, while the girls were running up and down the hill behind me. Next time, I might take a bottle of vinegar and a squeegee to have those mirrors cleaned first...

We had a fun and relaxing weekend - the perfect start to our Fall break.
Fall break, already?! I can't believe the girls have been in school for about two months now. It feels like yesterday, that first day of school, the getting the school supplies ready in time...

To kick off our Fall break, we went to see "Le Petit Nicolas" on Sunday, a second viewing for M., who already saw it with a friend. And she liked it even better the second time, she told me. I was a bit hesitant. Isn't the book usually better than the movie? Would it hold for this one too? But the truth needs to be said: this movie is a little gem, really! An absolutely great cast - especially the kids are wonderful - filmed with a great feel for detail (if you like anything from the 50's and 60's you'll just love it), faithful to the spirit of the books, funny, sweet, charming... Everything was just perfect! I don't know if the movie will be released overseas, but if so, I highly recommend it. I wouldn't mind to go see it a second time myself, to be honest.

So, what else is up for Fall break? We plan on leaving to the coast somewhere this week. Getting some fresh air. I really long for the beach, the wind, the long walks - with our jackets on most likely, and our boots - the red cheeks and hot chocolate when we get back.
Besides all of the above, the seaside also means... no computer! No distracted mom, for a change! But, this time not having an internet connection, won't mean I'm leaving this place behind not being taken care of. I made my homework, that is! As you might remember, I got myself a macro lens some time ago. The lens that kept me home for about a week, just to get it delivered. Due to circumstances, I didn't get to really test it, however, except for that one time. But I did test it last weekend. I didn't limit myself to its macro use. It's a perfect prime lens as well. I took pictures of lots and lots of things. Things that I had laying around the house. Little treasures as it turns out. And while I was shooting most of my Saturday afternoon away, sitting on my knees in our bedroom with just a piece of white paper and the natural light falling through the window, I came up with a plan for the week to come. A "Diptych Me Week"! Turns out that everything I was taking pictures of could be matched up with something else (and as I went on and on, I made sure it could, somehow).
And that's what I'm having ready for you this week, 12 diptychs spread out over six posts, starting on Wednesday. So, stay tuned for this one!
I really had fun doing it and I hope you'll enjoy these sets as much as I do...

So for now, I'm wishing you all a wonderful week and an absolutely fun and happy Halloween!!

Cheers!

P.

And the winner is...

RosaMaría said...

felicidades Pascale!!! i like your photos! in every post! they are so beautiful and i want to see more!!! i love your post about paris and your tutorials!! thanks for sharing!!!
October 21, 2009 4:52 AM

Felicidades, Rosa-Maria!! I'll get in touch with you by e-mail to collect your details for sending off your prize!

And many thanks to everyone who entered this giveaway!! I so much enjoyed reading all those sweet comments! I've read them and re-read them. I'll make sure to remember these, whenever I start doubting again about what exactly I'm doing or have one of those blog off-days...
Many, many thanks!
And congratulations to Rosa-Maria!

Note: I forgot to add little H. was so kind to let me use the chestnuts she collected on one of our walks as well as her little Halloween bucket. Big sister M. held the bucket and made sure little H. had her eyes closed. It was a random drawing for sure, as little H. kept on stirring, tossing and turning the chestnuts before taking out the lucky number... My sweet little helpers...

Impressions of the Fall

M.'s favorite in this series...

Wow! It's been really fun reading all those sweet comments on my last post and the one before that. That and the fact that my last tutorial was featured at One Pretty Thing, Whip Up and CraftGossip makes that I must have grown at least a couple of inches from happiness... Thank you so much, everyone!

Today I wanted to share some fall pictures with you, now that I finally figured out how to make diptychs in Photoshop Elements 7.0 (I accidentally bought a French version - not easy when all I'm used to is software with the interface in English).

We made a long walk last weekend, which took us from the "Allée des Cygnes", a little isle in the Seine, not too far from where we live, all the way up to Eiffel Tower and the Champ the Mars, and back home again after having some hot chocolate. Unlike the last couple of days, where it's been mostly gray and raining, last weekend we had the most gorgeous fall weather. I just love those sunny autumn days where all you need is a jacket and a pair of sun glasses.
No way we'd spend all day staying inside.

No way I'd leave the house without my camera...

Oh, and before I sign off for the week: Today's also my dad's birthday. He's turning 66. Gelukkige Verjaardag, Papa!

Wishing you a wonderful and hopefully sunny weekend! Make sure to check in on Monday as I'll announce the winner of the Blog Anniversary Giveaway! Make sure to sign up if you didn't do so already!



Double cheers,

P.



Lace-trimmed blue skies... (no tweaking with saturation levels, nor filters - that's the sky we had...)



I don't particular like pigeons - flying rats, as we say - but this one was nice enough to sit still and pose... I kind of like its feet.




Bench and Seine, in perfect harmony...

Blog anniversary... and a giveaway!!

I can hardly believe it myself but today is // Between the lines //'s first anniversary. One year, 12 months, 365 days, and with today's post included, 182 posts!! Really, I never thought it would last that long...

So, to celebrate this special day and to say thanks to all of you who kept me going, today, there's a small giveaway, which includes:

- an A5 sketch book
- two cahiers d'écolier SEYES on recycled paper - now that I know what it is, a cahier SEYES, I'm happy to offer you a couple
- 5 postcards, from my Back-to-School series (printed at MOO's - did I tell you yet? MOO is great!) with matching black enveloppes
- a little card board binder, to keep the postcards and envelopes in

All you need to do, is leave a comment with what you liked most on this blog, what you'd like to see more of (or less), which one was your favorite post over the past year,... Any comment that can help me improve this blog is welcomed! You can do so until Sunday, October 25th, midnight CET (Paris, that is). The winner will be announced on Monday.

Thank you to ALL OF YOU for a year of fun and creativity and for keeping me inspired!!

What a journey it's been... Thanks!

A new tutorial, at last ...

I'd been planning on this tutorial for quite a while, but somehow never came to it... But here it is at last!

Some of you might remember my linen shopping bag with my signature leather squares from a wile ago. You also might remember how I said I found an elegant way to line the bag and piece things together with no more seams than needed. No cutting and sewing of the handles separately with this bag!

It's quite possible it's been described elsewhere (and better) already. In that case I apologize. I didn't check, I didn't Google it - I just wanted to find out on my own. More than the sewing as such, I like to find out how things are made, how I can put things together in a simple, yet effective way. Sewing is a mental process to me. It's all about techniques, and seeing through whatever I try to make. That probably explains why I don't like to make the exact same thing twice. Also, I like things to be as minimal as possible. Whatever can be left out I leave out. So, I actually felt quite pleased with myself when I figured this one out.

But enough bla-bla - here, at last, finally, a little how-to for lining that bag, keeping it all in one piece...


You'll need:

- two types of fabric, one for the outer bag (in my case oatmeal colored linen - what else...?) and one for the lining
- thread, pins, safety pin...
- sewing machine
- iron


1. Pattern




This is a sketch of the upper part of the bag - just to give you an idea. Feel free to use it. Just print it with 0 margins to its full size and add a rectangular to obtain the full size bag pattern. Alternatively, you could trace a bag you already have (which is actually what I did to obtain this one).

2. Cutting the fabric

Cut out the pattern twice from each fabric, so you obtain four identical pieces.

3. Take one of each fabric and pin the handles together, right sides facing. Sew the curved parts, but leaving the handles open at the very top (so you sew the two side curves and the middle U-curve).


4. Make small cuts around the curved edges, perpendicularly to the seam. This will result in a smooth curved edge when turning the fabric.



5. Attach a safety pin to the top of one of the handles an turn it inside out by sliding the pin inwards.



Next, with an iron press flat, shaping the handle.



6. Using the safety pin again, insert the handle you just turned and pressed flat into the other handle making sure outer fabric is facing outer fabric, and lining is facing lining, like shown in the pictures, and pull it all the way up, through the handle, and out again.





7. Secure by stitching back and forth a couple of times.



Remove the safety pin and pull the handle out again. It should look like this.



With the iron, now press the other side as well. You'll get something which looks like this:



8. Repeat with the other set of fabric and lining.

9. Fold open each set and put both sets on top of each other, right sides facing and lining facing lining, outer fabric facing outer fabric. Stitch the side and bottom seams together now, but leaving a small opening in the lining somewhere to turn inside out. Sorry, I have no pictures of this part - I knew I forgot something... But I'm sure you can figure this one out!

10. Turn the bag inside out through the opening you left, shape and iron flat all seams. Close the opening in the lining... and done!



As you can tell from the picture, I finished my bag slightly differently than described in steps 9 and 10, in adding a rectangular (leather) bottom and making the bag slightly wider. The description does correspond however to the bag in my earlier post.
In terms of bag shape and size the possibilities are of course endless.
All I wanted to show with this tutorial, is how to line a bag in a very simple way. I hope I made myself somewhat clear. If not, let me know!

So now, I'm the happy owner of a new shopping bag, which matches last winter's boots perfectly.
I'm ready for the new season!


This post is dedicated to my grandmother. She was incredibly good at sewing and never sent me to the store without a shopping bag...


Please note, this tutorials is intended for personal use only. Therefore, do not reproduce, sell or commercialize in any form without permission. Thanks for understanding!

A new tutorial in the making....

I've been working on something today.
And the good news is: I love how it turned out!
The even better news is: I'll whip a tutorial together!
There are still a couple of pictures missing. But I think I should be able to have my act together by Monday the latest. So, make sure to come back. If you like tutorials, that is!

Also, there might be a little suprise next Wednesday...

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Cheers,

P.

Flower girl

This is a picture my grandma kept with her. It shows my cousin and me at the wedding of one of my uncles. I'm the little blond girl on the left. My guess is we were aged 4 at that time. It's the one and only time I was a flower girl. My parents told me I cried for the entire ceremony because I was scared of the photographer's flash. I must have erased that part from my memory... I do recall, however, how my little pinkie got stuck between a car door at some point. It seems like I cried a lot that day...

Aren't the dresses we wear lovely? I remember that dress in every detail: it was a long dress, slightly pink, and the fabric was some sort of cotton, with little bumps or "air pockets". I'm sure there's a standard name for that type of fabric. My mom made mine and my grandmother made my cousin's. I love the short puffed sleeves and the "Claudine" collar. After the wedding we both continued wearing it as short dresses.

When M. saw this picture last weekend, she laughed and said: "H. looks exactly like you! She has the same lips!" It's true. When I put this photograph next to pictures of little H. at that age, we sure have a lot in common.
"Elle est sa mère crachée", as they say in French...

Fun with clay

I'm slowly getting back to our usual life. Yesterday morning we took the kids to a concert, which was only partly fun but still nice. And then in the afternoon we played with clay.

I just love it and find it very relaxing. The way it feels, the kneading, the way you can shape it, the way you can smooth it out with just the use of your fingertips... My last experience with clay was the pottery class I took way back in California. I had been wanting to do this for the longest time and then I found a class not too far from where we lived. It's actually at that pottery class I realized I was pregnant: the spinning of the wheel right under my eyes made me feel sick to my stomach, something it didn't before. A couple of days later I took the test (I felt sick to my stomach even without looking at a whirling wheel by then) and - yes! - I was pregnant, of little H. that is... I didn't get much further than making a couple of crooked bowls, which I still have. The "health hazard" signs in our classroom, however, got me all worried so I quit and unfortunately I never returned to pottery. Anyway, that's a long time ago - she turned six last July.

So last week - while I was waiting for my camera to get cleaned - I ended up at the crafts store and bought some clay. The kids had asked for it several times. They like it as much as I do, and now I found some that doesn't need any baking.

Now, before I continue - there's a lot of sidestepping today - a quick word about my camera, so maybe you won't make the same stupid mistake I made. The sensor of my camera had been collecting dust for some time now. It's unavoidable with a DSLR, and changing lenses or taking pictures on a sandy beach certainly doesn't help. The dust only showed up at long exposures, but it started to bother me. So, one night - it was really late, I should have been in bed - I decided to deal with it. I tested the canned dry air spray a couple of times on my hand, to make sure only air would come out. Everything worked fine. I opened the camera, locked up the mirror and sprayed. All that came out were tiny wet droplets which landed right onto the sensor. Result: a sensor with the dust still there and on top of that droplet marks all over the place, which showed up with even "not so long" exposure times! I freaked out, to be honest. I thought I'd ruined the camera. I checked the many online forums - should have done that first. They all said the same: don't use canned air unless you want to ruin the sensor... The thing is, you have to hold the can perfectly straight to make sure you get a stream of dry air coming out. Something I clearly didn't do, focused as I was on the camera in my other hand.

Luckily, the next day I ran into a neighbor who happens to be a professional photographer. When I told him about what had happened he said there was nothing to worry about. I simply had to get one of those sensor swab kits and that would do the trick. He added he did stupid things all the time with his cameras. Does he really, I wondered? Or was he just trying to be nice, seeing the state I was in? Anyway, since I had messed up once already I decided to take the camera to the Nikon repair shop I found a referral for online. They took care of it for just about 30 EUR, which is less than what the kit would have cost me or, worse case scenario, a new sensor. And it took them only about half an hour - just the time to get some clay at the crafts store. So, unless you know you'll be able to hold the can perfectly upright, don't use it. That's my lesson learned. Next time, I'll stick to the soft brush and bulb method - no more canned dry air for me...



But back to our clay business. Little H. had the highest turn over, though she joined in last. I love the little frame she did and the face with spiky hair. Both girls made a peace sign (inspired by Obama's Nobel-prize? I'm not sure.) And M. loves Paris that's clear... And I tried something "organic" (left photo at the top, don't take this too seriously, LOL), inspired by an sculptor-ceramist I saw on TV and whose name I forgot unfortunately.
Clearly, I have more talent for photography, but I don't care! It was a very relaxing moment of fun with my girls. We'll do this again for sure...

Goodbye...

My grandma passed away last night at the age of 95.
All there's left now are the sweet memories.
We'll pick our star tonight and say goodbye...

Thank you all for your sweet thoughts and comforting words the last couple of days.
They meant a lot to us, my parents included.
Thanks!

My Grandma

I didn't feel like posting today but I'm doing so anyway. Just so you know. I announced a giveaway and a tutorial, but right now I'm not feeling up to it.
My grandma is not doing well. She's 95 and has been in a nursing home for about a year. Until then she lived on her own, which is quite amazing if you just think of it. She's always been a strong woman and that's how I'll remember her. But now she's tired and it looks like we'll be loosing her soon...

New lens

My new lens has finally arrived. Early Friday night, after another day of waiting and being stuck at home. And only thanks to the alertness of our "gardien", who caught the delivery service guy on his way out... with the package still under his arm! I wasn't even happy at first when I finally was holding the box, that's how stressful the week had been. I think I'll never order "important" stuff online again. Sure it saved me some money, but given the stress, the endless and numerous phone calls and e-mail messages I sent, it wasn't really worth it.




But now I'm the h a p p y owner of a macro lens! I took some test shots last night. It will take me some time to get used to, but it sure looks promising. The detail you get is just amazing!! I've been photographing everything within reach that fitted in the light box! Like this tiny ball of thin cotton rope.

Poppies

After seeing the nice flower and plant pictures in this Flickr group, I all of a sudden remembered the poppy pictures I took last summer in K.'s parents garden after a shower. The missing link. All I had to do was to turn them in black and white to get this. I hope you like them as much as I do... Here's some music to go with it: Gymnopédie n°1 by Eric Satie...

I'm wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Cheers,

P.

PS: There's a giveaway and a tutorial in the planning...

Vivre la ville...

It's been a bit of a frustrating week, to say the least. A week of waiting. A week of things not happening.

About three weeks ago I ordered a macro lens (YES!). The order was supposed to get here somewhere mid last week (YES!). But somehow, the package delivery service messed up - completely! (I won't say which one as I want the delivery still to take place, but its a three letter word, it doesn't start with "U" and it rhymes with hell). They didn't mess up once, but twice... so far. I won't give you the boring details, but it got me really upset.

Tired of the waiting and tired of being angry, I fled the house this afternoon. And I had a great and relaxing afternoon! I still needed to pick-up some frames I ordered, to frame some of my abstracts (a special order from K. - he wants some of my abstracts for his office at work!) and since the store is in the Centre Pompidou area, that's exactly where I ended up: le Centre Pompidou. I didn't visit the museum this time, but just walked around the area and took some pictures. It's amazing what that camera does with me. In an instant, all the anger from a week of waiting for nothing was gone. A couple of clicks and I was a different person. A much nicer person...A much happier person... A much more relaxed person... Some people might not like that area because it's always crowded but I just love it. There's always something going on there, always something to discover or rediscover.

The RATP (public transport company) is celebrating it's 60th anniversary and for the occasion erected a wall in front of the Centre Pompidou, with running headlines...

So, now that my batteries are reloaded, I'm ready for another day of waiting. Tomorrow, they said. For sure, they said... I keep my fingers crossed they won't be sending Godot again...



Note: To end on a positive note - the good thing about the waiting and the being stuck at home is that I went through a stack of un-ironed laundry. K. has now a two week set of freshly ironed shirts!! He won't believe his eyes!