Paris and London Birthday Trip - Paris City Tour and Birthday Dinner at the Moulin Rouge

Gardens Luxembourg

Day 3 - My Special Day and Celebration  (very long post)

I was so excited to be maybe to travel to Paris for my very special day.  For two years, I planned this event.  Dinner and show at Moulin Rouge was a must do on my actual birthday.  But before our spectacular evening at Moulin Rouge, we went on a Paris City Tour all arranged by Darlene Jones and Gate 1 Travel Agency.  We toured by bus being able to get off and on at various location.  The tour included a drive along Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.  We were able to view the Eiffel Tower (from many angles and locations. Lol), the Latin Quarter, and the lively Opera District.  The Paris City Tour gave us an opportunity to preview Paris.    

Below are a few pictures that I took along the way.  

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Bazar de L Hotel Deville Paris

L'acteur Grec

Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris ( rebuilding)

Part II - My Birthday Celebration at Moulin Rouge

I was excited to celebrate at the Moulin Rouge.  Everyone was dressed to the nine, at my request. Lol  I wanted everyone to "sparkle".  We all wore something sequined.  I made a ruby sequined, stretch velvet dress.  The pattern that I used is Simplicity S9820.  I made a day dress early June using the same pattern.  So this was easy.  The only challenge that I had was with the sequin.  Here are some photos of the evening.  I will post more on the pattern project review next.  This is just to continue the posts on my Birthday celebration to Paris and London.  

Photos from Moulin Rouge - birthday celebration.

Stay Tune!

C

Paris and London Birthday Trip - La Galerie Dior

Day 2 - Minutes after we arrived at our hotel, we set out to see the spectacular Christian Dior collection at La Galerie Dior. The exhibit was massive. There are so many beautiful things to see. These are only a few things that I was able to remember to take a picture of. It included everything from hats, shoes, perfume, gowns, and much, much more. It was all inspiring and captivating.

I loved every moment of it. It would have been very easy for me to "linger" well beyond my welcome. Lol 

If you plan to visit La Galerie Dior, make your reservation before coming to Paris. The tickets are by appointment. There is a steady stream of guests waiting to get in. We arrived early but still had to wait until our appointed time. Tickets are under 16 Euros. Go to their website to reserve your visit.

Thanks,

C

Paris and London Birthday Trip

I'm back home from Paris and London celebrating my 62nd birthday! Me and 9 fabulous ladies traveled to Europe to celebrate at the Moulin Rouge Theater and other fantastic places.

Over the next few days, I will share some highlights from one of my greatest birthdays.  So, here I am pretending to hold the Eiffel Tower. Lol

Stay tuned!

C

Getting Back To Blogging

I can't believe how quickly the time has past.  The entire summer gone just like that.  I hate that I haven't gotten better with posting my adventures on a consistent basis.  These days, many 2000 bloggers are moving towards creating videos on YouTube or TikTok.  It's another way to entertain, teach, and inspire.  I'm not there yet.  So for now I'll keep trying to post on blogger.  

It been a great summer.  I have lots of posts and sewing projects to share.  This weekend I'll probably start with a few of my simpler projects and a few tutorials.

Happy Sewing!

C

Simplicity S9894 Is Finally Done!

 

It is so gratifying when you've finally completed something that you've been working on for a while.  This corset/bustier style top took two muslins and two fashion fabric tops to get it right.  And I love the way it turned out. 

So today I want to give my final pattern review with all the changes that went into making this top.  BTW- the skirt was a piece of cake.

There are two posts already published.  Links to each follows:

Notes on a Pattern Simplicity S9894  - This post basically gives some insight on the pattern and my first attempt at the FBA.

Notes on a Pattern Simplicity S9894-Part II - Continues with working on the fit of the corset top.  I  provided illustrations on how I made additional adjustments to suit my taste.

After the second post, I continued tweaking the fit of the corset top.  I took some time and several putting on and taking off until I got the fit just right.  I suspect anyone wanting to try this top will have to go through a similar process.  With that said, me get to the other details.

Pattern Description:   Cropped corset top with bust cups has underwire for support.  Skirt has a slightly lowered waist and offered in two length variations.  Top and skirt both have size zippers.  Top has separate pattern pieces pattern for B, C, and D cups sizes for Miss and C, D, and DD cup sizes for Women.

Pattern Sizing:  Sizes 10-18 and 20W- 28W.  I used size 18 with lots of modifications for the corset and size 16 for the skirt.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Yes, it did, except for the width of the straps.  I made mine twice the width.

Were the instructions easy to follow?  The instructions were typical, and there was nothing confusing in them.  Easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?  I wanted to try this corset type top.  It reminds me of a long-line bra.  And bra making is something I want to try.  This top seemed to be a good way to practice bra making.  The skirt pattern design is a common pattern design that I probably have in at least a dozen pattern that I own.  

I didn't really have any dislikes.  

Fabric Used:  It was a gift to me some time ago.  And I thought this pattern would be great for it.  A linen fabric with embroidered polka-dots on it.  I love working with natural fabrics.  So easy to handle.  But this one presented a little challenge with the polka-dots.  The embroidery was raised and sometimes got caught in the machine.  But overall, the fabric was okay to work with.  

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: 

 

• FBA - See previous posts for details on making the FBA adjustment.  There was more tweaks to make here and there to get the right fit.
• I raised the neckline and added a few inches to the hem of the corset.
• I doubled the width of the straps.
• No underwire inserted. The corset fit just fine without it.
• For the skirt, I lengthen the short version by eight inches. 
• Because I had limited fabric left, I made a straight waistband about 2.5 inches wide doubled.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  Of course.  I did a lot of adjusting.  I will certainly sew the corset top again.  And I do recommend it to others.  Make a muslin or two. Lol  

Conclusion: I am so pleased with the results of this outfit.  It turned out very well.  I hope to make it again soon.

Happy Sewing!

C