Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Seven in Paris and Finishing The Leftovers

Today we explored the Rodin Museum and saw beautiful sculptures and a few paintings by some great masters.

Young Woman in a Flowered Hat

The Kiss

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It was a lovely day for a walk outside in the Rodin Sculpture Garden where the gardens were in full bloom with flowers larger than I have ever seen.

Yes, there were sculptures in the garden.

Is this the pose you take when contemplating your next quilt project?

This sculpture is called The Thinker.

Or maybe it’s the pose you take when you just discover a mistake.

On our walk back from dinner we spied this itty bitty car. I’ve never seen one so small. Have you?

I am 5 feet 4 inches and tower over this car.

Some days we would stop at a pastry shop and pick up dessert. Here’s what we shared tonight.

 What I learned today…Mardi, April 22, 2014

1. The lilacs in full bloom in Paris smell better and look more brilliant than at home.
2. Chocolate ice cream tastes better in an outdoor café in the Rodin Sculpture Garden in Paris than at home.
3. I can start a conversation with anyone whether we speak the same language or not. This is not surprising to my husband. I sat down on a bench beside a French woman in the Rodin Museum. We talked with signs and expressions and a few words. She conveyed to me that her feet hurt and I acknowledged and I tried to express that the art work of Maplethorpe (special exhibit at the Rodin Museum that our husband’s were looking at) was not interesting to me but she liked it. We understood each other perfectly at least that is what I think. I also started a conversation with a woman from Britain and later her husband joined us and we visited for almost a half an hour. We will be leaving Paris soon and heading to London. This lady told us to plan to come back to England again and see more of the country side. She said, “Going only to London to get a flavor of England is like us going to New York to get a flavor of the United States.” I can see her point. It was interesting to talk with them and fun to listen to them talk. They probably thought the same.

Poodle Block Tips:

Now onto Part Sept (7) Prepping the Last of the Extra Pieces (You will find links to Parts 1-6 at the very end of this post.) We are nearing the finish line.

I like to refer to these pieces as the leftovers because by now you’ve used most of your pile of extra pieces so we need to something about those that are left over. In fact, after this part, all your extra pieces should be gone.

You will need the following pieces:

• Two 1.25″ x 2.75″ background rectangles
• One l.25″ x 2.75″ body rectangle
• One 1.25″ x 2″ body rectangle
• One 1.25″ body square
• One 1.25″ x 4.25″ body rectangle
• Eye
• Ear

So let’s lay them out and stitch them according to Sally’s tutorial for her Right Facing poodle tutorial on The Objects of Design or my picture below.

• Place the 1.25″ body square right sides together on the bottom of the 1.25″ x 2.75″ background piece. Flip that corner in the direction shown below. See Part (3) Prepping Those Furry Pieces if you need a refresher on how to do that.  Trim this piece to 1.25″ x 2.75″. This part will go up by the tail.
• Place the 1.25″ x 4.25″ body rectangle on the right side of the ear. Sew together using a 1/4″ seam and press towards the body rectangle. Trim to 3.5″ x 4.25″.
• Place the eye piece right sides together on the top of the 1.25″ x 2″ body rectangle and stitch a 1/4″ seam as shown below. Press towards the dark side. Trim to 1.25″ x 2.75″.
• Place the 1.25″ x 2.75″ background right sides together on the 1.25″ x 2.75″ body rectangle. Stitch 1/4″ seam down the long side. (The arrow in the picture indicates putting them right sides together.) Press towards the dark side. Trim to 2″ x 2.75″. This part becomes the front leg.

I finally found my Sewline pencil for marking lines. It was right where I store it, in the tool caddy. Now, why didn’t I look for it there before?

Now stand back and admire your hard work. All the pieces are prepped and we’ll be ready to assemble this sweet poodle block next time.

Coming soon: Part Huit (8) Some Assembly Required. This will complete the poodle block.

Announcement:  More Poodles Have Been Sighted Running Around My House!!

My knight in shining armor, ok. maybe not the knight below, but my husband

We saw much armor today as we also went to some military museums and saw where Napoleon was buried.

came in from the mail box a couple of days ago saying, “Woof, woof. Woof, woof” I knew that meant there must be poodle mail for me.

The boys have arrived from Canada with a sweet note from Velda, Granny Can Quilt.

Velda’s note says this one is Odie. He is a star in her heart. Look at that gorgeous star fabric.

She made him to commemorate her real poodle named Odie who only roamed around her house for two years but will remain in her heart forever.

Here’s Odie showing his ability to fit in with his human family by sitting all proper on the couch. This picture was taken by Granny Can Quilt and used with permission.

Here’s Tigg. He’s modeled after one of Velda’s poodles at home.

Tigg is a handsome fella (just look at that pose). He is the senior poodle in Velda’s house. This picture was taken by Granny Can Quilt and used with permission.

The guys came bearing gifts! Velda sent some 1.5″ strips for me to cut into squares for my postage stamp and a pink square for the cornerstone of this quilt.

Thanks, Velda!! These poodles are gorgeous and I will definitely make use of the strips. Your hard work is much appreciated!

What I Learned Today:

1. It’s nice to have technology that allows me to find quilting friends all over the world.
2. My husband caught me sneaking a taste of his favorite mint ice cream in the pic above. I had not seen that one before.

Question: Chocolate or Mint or____? I’ve always loved chocolate but strawberry is a favorite, too, when I splurge.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to read more about my journey or follow me, please visit my blog, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats. Thank you for visiting Bee Inspired.

Au Revoir

Karen, Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Here are the previous poodle posts just in case you need to catch up to figure out what is going on this month at Bee Inspired. We’ve all gone on vacation—don’t we wish—to Paris. Well, maybe at least in our minds and imaginations.

Tu-Na Quilts: All Aboard. Fasten Your Seatbelts. We’re Taking Off for… You will find the pattern link for the poodle block in this post as well as why I chose this block.

Tu-Na Travels: Day One in Paris which includes Part un (1): Pattern and Fabric Selection

Tu-Na Travels: Day Two in Paris and Poodle Block Cutting Tips which includes Part deux (2): Cutting and Anatomy Labeling

Tu-Na Travels: Day Three in Paris and Prepping Those Furry Pieces which includes Part trois (3): Prepping the Furry Accent Pieces (Foot poofs, Tail, and Ear) 

Tu-Na Travels: Day Four in Paris and Prepping the Poodle Body Parts which includes Part quatre (4) Prepping the Poodle Body Parts.

Tu-Na Travels: Day Five in Paris and Prepping the Background Pieces which includes Part Cinq (5) Prepping the Background Pieces.

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Six in Paris and Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch which includes Part Six (6) Building the Frame Around Our Pampered Pooch.