Paris, continued

Friday afternoon tea... I don't have any interest in the dolls they were highlighting for this tea but someone asked me to go for her and paid for it so I went. These were the dolls for this event:

Ellowyn My Feet Hurt

Evangeline Belle Epoche

The rest of the afternoon was spent making new friends and the waiting for the event we really went for.. the Sybarite cocktail party. It was very dramatic. The entertainment was a fencing exhibition...

 

Next came what everyone was waiting for.. the special doll. She was worth the wait! She is called Fidele.

Isn't she gorgeous? The rest of the evening was spent down at the bar and at the hotel restaurant. We didn't get to bed till about 1:00 a.m.

Saturday: I was hoping for a nice day but it was ugly out... also this hotel is not in a very nice area and it is not suggested you walk around alone. Major activity for the day was the Luncheon that showcased the special Mattel Barbie doll. The food was as to be expected but the company was good. Here is the special Barbie doll... I plan to put it up on ebay soon. This is a limited edition of 375 worldwide and it is signed.

We made our fun for the rest of the day. We had an impromptu picnic in the lobby with some locals providing food and wine. The groups of people changed but it was always lively.

Sunday is the traditional sales day. There was supposed to be a limited edition (20) special Sybarite doll and salon outfits along with a traditional doll show... more about that in a bit. There was a mad dash for the Sybarite stuff and it was a real zoo... some people are really vicious. I did not get a doll and I was lucky and got the last outfit.
The rest of the room had an assortment of dolls both vintage and new. Seems like the latest craze in dolls are ones that resemble newborns. I hope I am not insulting anyone but I found them weird... in fact they made my skin crawl. They look so realistic that it was hard to know if they were real babies or dolls. They are very popular here.

My trip is drawing to a close and the only thing left is dinner tonight and packing up for my flight home in the morning.

 

Some Paris posts

I have been out of wifi range for a few days so these posts are not quite as timely as I might have wished. Hope you enjoy anyway.

Wednesday morning:
Arrived in Paris at the crack of dawn (literally) to crap weather... cold and dreary... headed to hotel and was lucky I could check in early. I crashed for 2 hours. This was Dania's first view out our window.

I was drooling as I walked by this store!

I decided to head over to Musee D'Orsy for the afternoon. The Paris Metro is so easy. I like that the museum is small and I love the impressionists.

Dania checking out the main hall.

I enjoyed seeing Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Sissley, Van Gogh, etc. Most of the exhibitions forbid photography.

Quay D'Orsay from the museum

 I am glad this was not my first trip to Paris because the weather was certainly a downer. By the time I got out of the museum in the late afternoon, the skies had opened up.

The flowers look so cheerful in the rain.

I had made a date  to meet some of the women from an online group who were also going to the doll show for dinner. After chatting for quite a bit we went out to eat... how we ended up at an Italian restaurant no one quite understood, but the food was decent if not memorable.

We went back to the hotel where 2 of the women were staying and stayed chatting till about midnight. I was brave and took the Metro back to my hotel. It really is perfectly safe.  Bed called to me!

Thursday:
Another cold day but at least the sun was shinning. I was meeting the ladies for lunch at La Dupree which is a wonderful confectionery/lunch spot. They are famous for their desserts and candies. It was a charming, typical French spot. I was getting good at getting around on the Metro! After lunch I window shopped at some of the rather expensive designer stores. I had no plans for dinner so stopped off at a local grocery store and picked up some stuff. I really hate eating out by myself so this was perfect... and an early night was called for.

Friday:
Of course today was much warmer and sunny... it was the first day of the doll show and I was going to be indoors most of the day!!! The adventure of the day was finding the new hotel. I told the doorman from the Marriott that I needed to go to Novotel Est. He did seem to understand as his English was impeccable.... somehow the cab driver heard Gare de L'est... not quite the same. After a driving tour of the city I arrived only to find out that my room which should have been ready, was not. Oh well. I had a tea to go to that afternoon and I had already dressed for it.

to be continued...

Bored

Dania and I are sitting in the United Club lounge waiting for our flight... only another 2 hours to go. This is the downside to traveling. I hate waiting in airports.....boring.

Will is getting to be a big boy

He is such a sweet natured child. I was very sad to leave this morning, although I tried to poison us all last night. We had leftovers of dinner I made on Saturday night and Robin and I both got sick last night from it. Pepto Bismal worked for her.... I think I lost 2 lbs. Headed to the airport this morning green. One cup of mint tea and a banana and I am heading in the right direction. So where am I going? Paris! To the Paris Fashion Doll Show. The girls insisted I go. ... so using hubby's mileage I am on my way. I am currently sitting in the Dulles airport with a 4+ hour layover before my flight this evening. Poor Dania got short shrift this trip. I decided She and Will would not hit it off so she never saw the light of day. She has 2 days of sightseeing ahead of her in Paris to make up for it.

I am going to try to blog (assuming I have free wifi) so if you want to follow along, I will do my best.

Constant motion!

Time for a new adventure!

Dania is the lucky girl who gets to go this time. First stop is New Jersey to visit Will where we will stay for a few days. Then we hop another plane to...well you will have to check back and find out!

Will is getting big!

Is he cute or what??

I think this warrents a post!

I miss watching this little guy as he advances. Can't believe he is 8 months already. Can't wait to see him again.

Still playing with dollies

Well, that is not entirely true... I have been thinking about my next fiber piece and gathering materials. But in the meantime I am having fun (as the title of this blog specifies) with my fashion dolls. They really are riveting but I think the most fun is photographing them. I need some fill light and will get to it eventually. Right now I am doing the best I can with what I have. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Yep, I have been AWOL....

I was hijacked.... by dolls! I suspect I needed a break from fiber but would not admit to it. The respite has been good for me and I hope in a bit I will get back to my fiber art but in the meantime I have been having a blast.
I discovered that there are Fashion dolls out there... not the usual Barbie dolls. These are 12" and 16" dolls with the most wonderful facial expressions and outfits to die for. I also found out there is a huge community of adult doll collectors out there as well... who knew! I am sorry I did not discover this years ago.
So, for your Christmas day enjoyment I am posting some pictures. Hope they bring a smile to your faces.


The first batch of pictures are of my 16" doll who I find mesmerizing: All these dolls are fully articulated.

 Lucy decided to help me out here and I decided not to crop her out.

This next batch are of the 12" dolls. The first scene happened by accident.. It is titled "A Bordello Christmas". I got a bit carried away :-).

 This next scene is waiting for their families to arrive... they had to clean up their act.. they look bored out of their minds.... no one opened the bubbly yet. One of my friends suggested an "after " picture but I haven't gotten there yet... maybe an after New Years Party picture!

Wishing you all a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, and anything else you celebrate this season. Hoping the new year brings health, joy, and wonderful experiences.

Sherryl, Lucy, Gigi, Freya, Larisa, Dania, Carmen, and Natalia.

And we are off again!

This time to San Francisco for a family wedding. In the meantime, Fiona decided she wanted a large family so we have adopted Freya. Phoebe seems to be pleased as well. We are hoping to check out Britex tomorrow so we can pick out some fabrics...we are going to have to sew some outfits as the family seems to be growing.

All good things must come to an end

Today is the last chance to pick up what I need and see the quilts I missed.

Please click on each photo for a larger picture..Blogsy does some funky stuff with them.

Annie Smith wanted her photo taken with Fiona and Phoebe by the SAQA desk where I did a lot of hanging out and working.

Here are some of the other quilts I liked very much:

This is Megan Farkas with her award winning quilt Sakura I: Hanaogi Views the Cherry Blossoms.

Susie Johnson, Preserve Nature,Preserve Self

Ellen Anne Eddy, Butterfly Garden

Here is a photo of my photo in the special exhibit

Fiona and Phoebe agree it is time to go home. They had a great time and met lots of wonderful people. Hope you enjoyed the trip with them.

Thursday at international quilt festival

Yikes, a cold front moved in overnight and it was cold and windy this morning. Good thing we didn't have to be outside long. We spent the first part of the morning looking at the gorgeous quilts. Here are both some winners and some I just liked.

TO SEE THE FULL PICTURE, CLICK ON IT.

This one is called Exposed by Jeanne Pfister

Tired by Teri McHale

Life in the city by Sheila Frampton-Cooper

Three Wee Figs by Daphne Greig

Maynard by David Taylor

Sharon Schamber with Phoebe in front of her prize winning quilt Crimson Promises. Sharon is sort of a neighbor of mine from Payson, AZ. She said it took her over 2000 hours to make this quilt.

Really "Wild" Flowers, Second Season by Sharon L Schlotzhauer

Refracted Lily by Gloria Hansen

Fiona, Phoebe, and me at the SAQA booth working.

At the end of the day there was a meet and greet at the SAQA booth and I got to meet some of the people I hear about and some of my friends from Facebook. It really was fun putting names to faces and making new friends. I think tomorrow Fiona and Phoebe will get to meet Jaime Fingal's girls.

Arrived in Houston

.....after about an hour delay..could have been worse. We checked into our hotel and had some lunch....we were starving! We then took the shuttle over to the convention center and got our passes for the show. I had forgotten how overwhelming it all is. Half the space is devoted to the quilt exhibits, the other half to vendors. I was already tired so I split my time between the two. I find I can only absorb just so many quilts at one time before they start to swim before me. For some reason I saw the ones which could not be photographed..I will do better next time. They are all stunning. Most of the ones I saw were very heavily stitched. ...something I still hate to do. I ran into several people I knew and also stopped off at the 12 x 12 booth and the SAQA booth where I will be volunteering for 2 hours Thursday and Friday. I really was pooped by then and decided to go back to the hotel before closing time . I also figured I would beat the mad dash to the bus. Even though it was early, the bus was full. Norma Schlager and her sister Ruth were on the bus and we decided to have a drink at the bar before going up to our rooms. I also ran into Marianne Williamson and she joined us. Fiona and Phoebe made their debut in the bar and garnered a bit of attention.

I promise to take pictures my next visit.

Houston, here we come!

We had to get up at the crack of dawn but it will be worth it...we are on our way to Houston for the international quilt festival. Fiona and Phoebe are looking forward to making new friends too. At the moment the flight is on time.
I will blog as I can.