FO: Brattleboro Hat

Oh, it's time for the return of the masses of Paris! I've grown fond of having the city practically to myself in the cold dark winter, but, alas, it is not meant to be. The soundtrack of my life now consists of the daily parades of people awkwardly banging along with their wheely-suitcases dragging along the cobblestones. Alas, I live in a good Paris neighborhood with nary a tourist attraction within a kilometer, so it's only when I veture out of the neighborhood that I realize what a crazy lovely place Paris is to visit. And everyone does.

I can't hide, so I join them. A very chill Saturday, picnicking on the Trocadero. People watching and watching the tchotchke vendors occasionally getting chased across the plaza from a rather elderly cop that had no chance at all of catching them.

I also had a total freakout meltdown at how flithy my camera was. It wasn't the lens, but one of the internal mirrors somehow got coated in dust, but I didn't notice until I got home and loaded the pictures up. I suffer no more as I found a nice camera shop that humored my french and cleaned her up like new.

Yet another quick like a bunny, easy as pie hat.

This one is from the book, "New England Knits", which has a pretty good assortment of warm woolies that are slightly more fabulous than anything you could possibly purchase at LL Bean. Since it seems to be still winter-like almost everywhere that I have friends, I'm sure it will get some use.

The hat is made by starting a rib band until it fits around your head, then picking up stitches along the top and working in moss stitch before decreasing for the crown. The pattern calls for working buttons, but I couldn't be bothered and just sewed them into place.

Easy, cute, warm. Another good gift to send off. I love making hats for gifts because I can throw them in an envelope and ship them flat, which cost about half the price with international shipping being what it is.

Musée des Arts et Métiers: old cool stuff.

I keep thinking I've seen all the museums here. It seems like all I've been doing all winter is hit the halls and galleries of Paris. I joke, but it is true: it's always good museums weather in Paris.

This time, a place I've passed dozens of times on my way to Frenchie, but never bothered to take a second look: Musée des Arts et Métiers.

I really didn't even know what it was all about. Turns out, they have quite an impressive collection of Industrial advancements and technology. Ancient astronomy and navigation tools, lots of early machinery and engines. Really interesting stuff, even if you aren't into watch parts and pistons. It was well curated and presented. Totally worth an gander on a rainy afternoon.

This is one of the three of the original casts of Lady Liberty, which sits right out front of a really interesting gothic church- what used to be St-Martin-des-Champs.

A lot of these tools of science were really well-made parlor games for the rich. Come on over, drink some bubbly and watch me do a science!

And, of course, some of the objects were much more practical.

They had rooms full of looms!

A gigantic circular knitting machine, with the work full of moth noms:

An early flying-machine:

Most impressive was the interior of St-Martin-des-Champs.

It was old- consecrated in 1135- and considered the first gothic style church in Paris. It's primary architect was Montreuil- the same man who built the exquisite St Chapel, St Denis, and the chapel at St Vinncennes.

It's beautifully restored and filled with simple stained glass, and the perfect place to hang up your antique airplane collection.

It's also the perfect place to hang a Foucault Pendulum.

The original was once here, but an unfortunate snapping of the string destroyed it (and a bit of the church floor). This is a replica of the original. You can stand there and watch as the earth turns beneath your feet.

It's fantastic, right? A really nice repurposing of an ancient building.

Back outside, a confusing bit of blue sky, lovely afternoon low sun, pouring rain and the occasional clap of thunder.

Hiroshige

It's closed now, but there was a really interesting exhibit at the Pinacotheque. I had stopped by the museum with intentions to go a few times, but I was totally discouraged at the size of the line. It's a small museum (I saw a Soutine exhibit there last spring) and the single cashier at the ticket booth is rather unhurried, so the line can stretch well down the block. The sheltering effects of the lobby only accommodates a couple people, so you better be dressed for a long outdoor wait. Oh, and don't even try to convince me to buy tickets in advance on line. I've tried so many times in France- from movies to museums- and I've had things go wrong each time, and getting refunds when things go wrong here is not a cakewalk.



So the reason why this exhibit was so crowded was because it was a joint Van Gogh and Hiroshige exhibit. Hiroshige, despite his influence, has never been part of a major exhibit in France- you will know him best from his "Great Wave" and views of Mount Fuji. He is Van Gogh's main influence and they had a lot of interesting parales between the two of them.



Apparently, Van Gogh wasn't just inspired by being in the South of France in Arles, but he actually thought of himself to be in Japan.





















So, the Van Gogh portion had some beautiful works, but the Hiroshige was a bit of a crowded mess. His works were small, delicate affairs, and they were all set well back in glass display cases, leaving people to crowd in front of each one with their foreheads pressed against the glass in a grand smudge-fest that made it hard to see anything.


But still. What could be seen: They were amazing.

Hiroshige's main theme was travel. His delicate Ukiyo-e woodblock prints were astoundingly realistic and creative. His scenes of travelers embarking from Edo to Kyoto were touching, surprisingly modern depictions.

 






  








All images are from either WikiCommons or http://www.hiroshige.org.uk/.  Photos are a big no-no in La Pinacotheque.

Fantastic, right?