Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day 8 in Paris and Assembling the Poodle

We started the day early as our museum pass was about to expire and we still had more things to see. Here’s a few of the highlights of the day.

I thought street performers were found only in New York. This one amazed me since I thought he was a sculpture.

We visited Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame Cathedral, and a modern art museum. I’m not sure where I found my energy to keep going day after day.

About 1/5 of the stained glass windows were covered with scaffolding on the inside of the building; they were being cleaned and restored, if needed. Even so, the place was magnificent. There are 1,113 stained glass windows with each one depicting a different story from the Bible. Next time I go, I’m taking a pair of binoculars to see them closer.

We stopped for some crepes at a cute little Creperie right outside the modern art museum.

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In the modern art museum, we saw art works by Matisse, Picasso, and others. Here’s just a sampling. Click on each pic for more info. There were some really nice pieces as well as some that were, well, interesting.

Portrait de Greta Prozor by Henri Matisse

Le guitariste by Picasso

 

La Toilette (Femme au miroir) by Spiegel

La liseuse by Picasso

And some that were really off the wall.

 

Yes, that’s a chair hanging on the wall. There was another one: a fold-up bag chair but I figured you all know what one looks like .

 

What I learned today…Mercredi April 23, 2014

1. French onion soup tastes much better in France than at home.
2. How to eat a real French crepe: First, eat some of the extra filling. Second, spread the remaining filling. Third, roll it up. Fourth, cut it in half to share with husband knowing he’s doing the same with his.
3. Six consecutive days of a Paris museum pass was a lot to do. We visited the Louvre twice, the d’Orsay, Rodin, modern art museum, Notre Dame, St. Chappel, Notre Dame Crypt Archeological museum, d’Orangie, Invalides, Army museum, Napoleon’s tomb, Arc of Triomph, and Palace at Versailles. I think we got our money’s worth. There were only 47 other museums listed on our pass that we didn’t get to. We tried our best.
4. Shoe shopping in Paris should be easy; every other store in the Chalet and Les Halies sections are shoes stores. Good to know if I need to buy more shoes.
5. The half-size dishwasher in our furnished apartment is just the right size.

Poodle Block Tips:

Now onto Part Huit (8) Some Assembly Required. This will complete the poodle block. (You will find links to Parts 1-7 at the very end of this post.)

Using Sally’s tutorial for her right facing poodle found here on The Objects of Design or my tips below, let’s begin arranging the pieces. Think of it as putting a puzzle together. Hint: Use a large flat tray, design board or cutting mat that you can move closer to your machine, unless you need lots of exercise.

I will begin assembling this pooch one row at a time. Let’s think of it as a row by row. A picture follows each row description. If you laid out the frame already, you’ve already got some pieces in place. I’ve enlarged the labels only in that specific row to further help you. Be prepared to be amazed and amused as your playful puppy begins to grow right before your eyes, kind of like they do in real life.

Row 1: Top left corner, top of head, top right corner

Row 2: Tail, Extra tail piece made in part 7, Above back, Ear, Eye, Nose

 

We’re using one of the unlabeled pieces from part 7.

 

Row 3: Behind rear under tail, Body, Chest

Row 4: Lower left middle, Under Belly, extra front leg piece made in part 7

Here’s the other unlabeled piece that was made in part 7.

 

Row 5: Bottom left corner, Foot poof, Bottom middle, Foot poof

Extras to add: Add the Right side under muzzle piece to the right side of the block and the two pieces labeled Foot to the bottom of each Foot poof

That should be all of your pieces. Now the fun begins; bringing life to this little fella by using needle and thread.

 

You might be scratching your head, hopefully with your hand and not your foot, and wondering where to begin. There’s a logical sequence that makes it come together quickly. Just follow the pictures below and the list of seams to sew in order and you’ll be well on your way to petting this playful pup. The red numbers on the pictures below correspond to the number of the seam that you will be sewing. I’ve listed it out here for you too. Start with number 1.

Hints to remember: Check the two pieces that you will be sewing to see if you’ll be sewing two flip triangles or seams on top of each other (it will get a bit bulky). If so, just flip one to the other direction. Doing so will also help you nest those seams tight. But it’s not the end of the world if it just doesn’t work out; don’t go ripping it all apart to make it lay down. Just say, “I did my best” and let it roll over you.

The First Seams (Sew right sides together 1/4″ scant seam allowance for all the seams, press to the side—I found that most pieces had a natural tendency to lay to one side or the other)

1. Top left corner onto Top of head
2. Top of head to Top right corner
3. Eye to Nose
4. Chest to Ear
5. Extra piece to Under belly
6. Foot to Foot Poof
7. Foot to Foot poof
8. Lower left middle to Behind rear under tail
9. Extra piece to Tail
10. Above back to Body

Now let’s see what we’ve got!

You can see there is progress as there are less labels. I keep at least one label on each section while sewing so I don’t get confused.

 

We are getting closer to done with each seam and this little guy will be ready to play.

Next seams to sew: The numbers correspond to the seams in the picture below.

1. Nose to Right under muzzle
2. Right foot poof section to Bottom middle
3. Bottom left corner to left foot poof section
4. Tail section to Behind rear under tail
5. Back/Body section to Ear section

Now let’s take a look at what we have.

 

 

Just a few more seams to sew.

1. Left foot section to the right foot section.
2. Under belly section to Above back/body section.

Now your pampered pooch should be looking something like this:

 

Just four more seams and he/she will be begging for treats.

Sew the last four seams:

1. Tail section to Body
2. Feet section to the body section.
3. Muzzle section (that would be his mouth/eye/nose section) to the body.
4. For goodness sake, sew on the top of his head so you can pet him!

Voilà! Meet Cherise, my newest, darling, little poodle. She’s not only playful and perky but she’s also a little bit on the wild side. I caught her hanging out with the boys: Marcel, Odie, and Tigg. I’ll have to sew her in the middle of the quilt so she doesn’t escape.

 

This is a 14″ unfinished block which will finish to 13.5.” Mine was right on probably due to my squaring up each of the pieces while prepping them and watching that scant 1/4″ seam.

 

What I Learned Today:

1. Writing this specific post was very difficult. I kept getting the pictures mixed up. Let me know if you have questions or if I’ve made a mistake.
2. When taking pictures of lots of pieces, make sure there is space between each piece so they can be seen as separate units and not a mess.
3. I learned how to use more features in the photo editor program, Paint. It was a real time-saver or I would have had to remake this block. Maybe, someday, I’ll show you the bloopers.
4. I’ve run out of days to post this month. I’m heading to the lake tomorrow and I won’t be back for a week.  To my American readers, have a Happy Fourth of July! To all of my other readers, have a Happy Day!
5. No more poodles arrived today. I’ll post when they show up.
6. Homemade macaroons taste wonderful. I will be sharing about that experience when some of those poodles arrive.

Question: If you were to give a French poodle a name, what would it be?

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

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.

Tu-Na Travels and Quilts: Day Seven in Paris and Finishing the Leftovers which includes Part Sept (7) Prepping the Last of the Extra Pieces.

Linking to Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? and Finished or Not Friday.