Day 14: Giverny/Paris

I'm the worst! It's been 2 whole years since my vacation. 2 YEARS! But let's close out 2014 by finishing up with this final recap.

On the last full day of my stay in Paris, I woke up an hour late with a nasty head cold, but I dragged my ass of bed and down to the train station. First on the agenda: visit the Village of Giverny to see Monet's Gardens. Which was to be followed by catching the sunset from the top of the Eiffel Tower. 

Thinking that I had plenty of time, I made a quick stop at Poilane. The interwebs had told me that this was THE BEST bakery in all of Paris. It conveniently just happened to be down the street from my apartment. 

If you are planning on visiting the Eiffel Tower, buy tickets ahead of time. I made the dumbass mistake of just showing up. I stood in line FOREVER. And, only made it part way up. In my defense, all the signage at the base said that the top was closed. But what they didn't tell you is that you buy tickets to get access to the 2nd viewing deck. And once on the deck, there is a ticket booth where you can purchase tickets to go up to the very top. Just save yourself the time and hassle and purchase ahead of time. 

Monet's house in the background.

The famous lily pond.

The bridge.

Gorgeous blooms.

Perfect dahlia.

Colorful ivy in the village.

Gateau millasson (french flan).

See, "closed." Maybe I misread it?

View from the 2nd balcony.

Dear Paris, I love you.

In 2005, I sat at the end of the green and took pictures of the tower with my Minolta Dimage X.

Truth: I'm huddled behind a bus stop trying to get this shot.

And that my friends, is the conclusion of my 2012 European adventures. 

Previously:
Day 13: Paris
Day 12: Paris
Day 11: Versailles
Day 10: Edinburgh/Paris
Day 9: Edinburgh
Day 8: London/Edinburgh
Day 7: London
Day 6: London
Day 5: London/Greenwich
Day 4: London
Day 3: London
Day 2: Cambridge/London
Day 1: London
Day 1: London - prefunc

*All photos taken by me with Nikon D7000.
**Don't steal my photos. It's not nice and makes you an asshat.

Hello Kitty Quilt

Hello Kitty Baby Quilt

approximately 35"x44"

Top - wall hanging panel purchased from Fat Quarter Shop (no longer available).

Back -  Free Spirit Voile in Rose Pink purchased from Hawthorne Threads.

Binding - unknown cotton from my own collection.

Filled with 100% cotton batting.

Machine sewn with 100% cotton thread.

Machine washable (cool wash, tumble dry low).

This was my first try at whole cloth quilting. I'm not going to lie, I'm a big fan. Not having to piece the top together made the job go a whole lot faster. Although, really, I just ended up using the time to draw in the diagonal quilt lines. And even then I screwed it up. Luckily, I caught it before I started quilting. 

Technically, the quilt top is not considered quilt shop quality material (read: not soft). To balance it, I chose a voile which is  silky and soft. I love this stuff. Hey Free Spirit, please re-release the voile in Sky. Thank you! For the binding, I was able to pull a print directly from my stash (woohoo for making more room). I think it was a Riley Blake print I purchased from Pick Your Plum eyons ago. It was a subtle teal with green dots, a perfect complement to the green already in the quilt top.