Here are my upcoming craft shows for the 2013 holiday season. It's a great opportunity to do some Christmas shopping and maybe pick up a little something for yourself.

Handmade Harvest
Saturday, November 2nd, 2013 (9am to 3pm)
Almonte Old Town Hall
14 Bridge Street, Almonte

Sandy Hill's One & Only Arts+Craft Show
Sunday, November 17, 2013, (10 am to 4pm)
Sandy Hill Community Center
250 Somerset East, Ottawa

The Savoir Faire
Sunday, Nov 24, 2013 (10:30am to 4:30pm)
The Aydelu Centre
94 rue de Patrimoine, Aylmer, QC

Idle Hands Craft Sale Holiday Edition
Saturday, Dec 1, 2013
St. Anthony's Banquet Hall
523 St. Anthony's St. (off Preston St.), Ottawa

Lentil challenge

Last fall, I took a little break from my Etsy shop and sewing altogether. During my little break, I started cooking and baking more. A few weeks ago, I discovered there was a contest called the Lentil Recipe Revelations Challenge. The challenge was to come up with a tasty recipe that included lentils for a chance to win the grand prize of $1000 (that would buy a lot of fabric).

I would really appreciate if you could leave a comment on this blog and like my post on the Lentils facebook page.

So I challenged myself to create a recipe that was easy and tasty. I already cook with lentils once a week, usually in the form of a soup but with this week's warm weather, I decided to let spring inspire me.

Lentil and Asparagus Salad topped with Prosciutto Chips

1/2 cup dried green lentils
6-8 asparagus spears
5 thinly sliced prosciutto
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
S&P

Bring roughly 3 cups of water to a boil with lentils. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse, set aside. Meanwhile heat oven to 350F. Place prosciutto slices on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until crispy 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to soak up the excess oil from the prosciutto. Cut the asparagus in 2" pieces. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse with very cold water until completely cool. Pat dry.

Add the lentils and asparagus in a bowl and season with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Break the prosciutto chips and toss with salad.

As for my Etsy shop, it should be re-opening in a few weeks with some new spring styles. I'll be posting previews, fabric updates and more on Tangente's facebook page.

Fall 2011 Collection

Finally after a hot summer, the Tangente - Fall Collection (part 1) is here. Part 1 consists of basic separates (tops, tunics and skirts) in bamboo jersey. Part 2 will be ready in November and will include tops in organic cotton and a soft fleece jacket made from recycled water bottles.

Thank you to photographer, April, from Ahartphotography and model, Pascale, who had to endure a scorching hot day in long sleeve shirts and boots. You both did a fantastic job!

Here are my favourite styles of the new collection:

Elise top with Mona skirt

align="center"> Adeline top

Wrap around cardigan with short sleeves

Adara tunic

Behind the scenes: Fall 2011

Can you believe Fall is just around the corner? I sure can't, seems like summer just flew by.

This past weekend, I had the Fall 2011 (part 1) photoshoot in downtown Hull. The model had to wear long sleeve shirts, leggings, tall boots on one of the hottest days of the year. Modelling isn't has glamorous as it seems. lol!

Here are a few pictures I took while the photographer and model were working their magic. More details to come soon..

Photoshoot 2x

In April, Malorie from Ef magazine borrowed a few styles from Tangente's summer collection for a fashion shoot she was doing in the Byward Market. It was probably the most miserable day for a photoshoot (weather wise: 5C brrr!) but the pictures turned out fantastic. Here the model is wearing my Caryn dress in blue bamboo.


On Victoria Day, I went with my friends, Flora and Yvan, to do a little photoshoot around the former Mill Restaurant on Wellington st. It was a windy day but the area was practically deserted. They both did a fantastic job, don't you think?


I whipped up this top (above) a few days before the shoot. I've been hoarding storing small pieces of vintage cotton for a few years now. I'm glad I've been able to put them to good use.

Thanks again Flora and Yvan !!

Oscar + acupuncture

You may remember my blog post from last fall when Oscar suffered his 1st episode of IVDD (paralysis of his back legs caused by a herniated disk). At that time we opted for the surgery (not knowing we had other options). He made a full recovery and was back to his old self within a few weeks. A few days before Xmas, Oscar got up on his 2 hind legs to investigate the cat, that was perched on the couch, and unfortunately lost his footing. This little fall was the catalyst for his 2nd IVDD episode. This time around, we opted for acupuncture instead of surgery. Miraculously within 4 weeks, he was walking again with only a slight limp.

About 6 weeks ago, I left the dog alone for 10 minutes while I showered. When I came out of the shower, Oscar had a guilty look on his face. I thought maybe he had eaten cat food or maybe he had an accident in the house but I couldn't find any evidence. A few hours later, someone knocked on the door and he didn't even get up (usually he would go bonkers). I knew from that moment, he had another back injury. We started weekly acupuncture treatments once again but this time his progress is much slower. He has movement in his back legs but he's still unable to stand or walk. Despite this fact, he's still a pretty happy dog and can scoot in the kitchen at lightning speed when he hears a banana being peeled.

If he shows no progress within the next few weeks, we'll stop treatment and get him a cart (aka dog wheelchair) for his back legs. I've heard that once dogs get a cart, they no longer make an effort to walk so we're leaving this for the very last option. In the meantime, we have daily physio and acupressure exercises to do with him to help stimulate the nerve endings in his back legs.

I'll keep you all posted on his progress :)

Taking a nap under the covers




Oscar getting an electro acupuncture treatment.

Timber

Ottawa was struck with a wind storm on Thursday. We had wind gust around 90 km/h.

That's my house behind the tree. It looks like it's just taking a little nap on the power lines.

At least we still have electricity but the tree did manage to cause damage to our roof were the wires connect to the house. Today they came to remove the tree off the power line but now we have to hire a electrician, a tree removal company and possibly a roofer too. Argh!

Published

Last year I got the chance to write 2 dyi projects for an upcoming craft book. I had completely forgotten about it until I received this in the mail a few weeks ago: Here's a little sneak peak of my 2 projects:
window panels


scarf top

It's a great book with tons of fun projects. The Craft Challenge book is available online at Chapters or Amazon.

Speaking of Amazon, can you spot the bad translation ?

Spring/ Summer 2011

Wow, talk about being a delinquent blogger. My last post was 4 months ago, yikes! The fall was extremely busy for me. I received numerous requests from boutiques and many orders from my Etsy store. I tried to manage all of this while still working part-time and completing my Spring/ Summer line.

Finally by early March, my Spring line was completed I needed to plan the photoshoot. I found a new photographer, Van, and we scheduled the shoot at the National Bank/ Currency Museum after a recommendation by local blogger Andrea from A Peek Inside the Fishbowl. I had a last minute model cancellation but luckily Lydia was able to step in at the very last minute. She was so professional and polite, it's hard to believe she's only 16.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the shoot:


Alana top - bamboo jersey in celery


Eva top - bamboo jersey in black


Annabelle top - bamboo jersey in lavender


Caryn dress - bamboo jersey in blue

Fall stockists

It's been a busy few months for me. I don't think I've ever sewn so much in my entire life. I was able to send out fall stock to 3 new Canadian stockists, including one in Ottawa (Yay!). Not too bad considering I only finished my fall collection in early September. Learning from this experience, I'm trying to get a head start on my Spring collection. I've already started sourcing fabrics and drafting initial styles. Hopefully, a new collection will be ready in 2 months. In the meantime if you live close to one of these lovely shops, why stop by to check out their selection.

the Farm in North Bay just celebrated their Grand Opening

Fall Stockists:

Love Me Boutique
1539 Birmingham Street
Halifax, NS

Victoire
1282 Wellington st W
Ottawa, ON

Farm (pictured above)
154 Main st W
North Bay, Ontario

Snazzi Boutique
6356 N. Guilford Ave.
Indianapolis, IN

Poor Oscar... again

It's been a whirlwind of chaos this past month. The most stressful has to be Oscar's predicament. One morning he had trouble walking, we thought maybe it was like last time when he had a sore paw for a day. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Oscar had a ruptured disc in his back. His condition worsen over the course of a few days. In 48 hours, he went from having a limp to having his lower half paralysed. So the very next morning, Oscar went for emergency surgery to repair the disc and release some of the pressure on the spine that was causing the paralysis. Only a few hours later, I received news that the surgery went well and recovery was almost guaranteed. Now only a week and a half later, Oscar can walk and wag his tail like nothing ever happened. The biggest challenge now is to keep him quiet during the healing process.

Tangente F/W 2010 collection - part 2

Here's part 2 of the collection. I'm currently working on an order for a new stockist. Very exciting!

After I'm done, I'll be (finally) finishing a tutorial I've been working on for a while now. It's a great little project that recycles old cassettes. More to come...

Chelsey sleeveless tunic - $84

Victoria top - $80

Chelsey sleeveless dress - $100

Chelsey long sleeve top - $90

Laurel cocoon shrug - $76

Tangente F/W 2010 collection - part 1

After 5 weeks of intense pattern drafting, sewing and fittings, I finally have my Fall/Winter collection ready. I decided to name each piece after a street from my hometown. Actually some are variations of the name since my memory isn't that good. The complete collection is now available on my new official website and I will be listing them over the weekend in my Etsy shop.

Here are the first 5:

Calder top, $68

Moreno top, $75

Webster top, $90

Cecilia cocoon shrug, $60

Millie dress, $140

Fall photoshoot

Here's a little sneak peak of my fall collection. The photoshoot was this past Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't on our side. Throughout the afternoon, we got sprinkled by a few many rain showers. It didn't help that I had a cold and was feeling quite miserable. Even with a cold, the shoot was a lot of fun. Once again I collaborated with local photographer, Kristen Lunman. Our model, Shahnaz, did a fabulous job despite the crappy weather conditions. Even my boyfriend helped out by carrying the umbrella and a step stool for the photographer.

I'll be posting more pictures later this week and I'll be re-opening my Etsy store over the weekend. Stay tuned...

Location

A few weeks ago, I went scouting for a location to shoot my fall collection. I found a great spot in downtown Ottawa around an abandoned building. I was reviewing the pictures when I noticed the dog squatting in the corner. Poor Oscar is always pooping at the wrong place, wrong time.

So many plans, so little time

August is always a month with big plans. Right now I'm working on my fall collection. So far I have 2 long sleeve tops and 1 vest completed. I'm hoping the collection will have a total of 12 pieces with a few accessories by the end of the month. I also plan to launch my own website (off Etsy) later in the fall. Hopefully it will coincide with the release of my fall collection. Once the new website is open for business, I'll be sending a coupon to all those that have signed up to receive my newsletter. If you haven't signed up, there's still time. You just need to type your email here and follow the confirmation steps.

I've also joined the band wagon and made a fan page for Tangente. If you're on Facebook, you can "like" me over here.

I'm also hoping to post a few tutorials this month. One of tutorials is for a project I started a year ago!! Talk about procrastination.

Here's a little sneak peak of one of the new tops:

New photos are here

Not even a week after the photo shoot and I already have the pictures from last Friday. I couldn't be happier with the results. My only regret is not having it done sooner. Here a few of my favorites:





Photographer: Kristen Lunman
Model: Pascale LL

Photo shoot

Yesterday was my favorite day of the year. I finally had a photo shoot for my clothing line. Not just any photo shoot but a professional one. Kristen, a local photographer, contacted me last winter for a possible collaboration. Of course, I couldn't refuse. Fast forward to summer, where my only job was to find a model. Not as easy as it looks, especially when you're on a shoestring budget. Finally after weeks of searching with no luck, my "day job" co-worker mentions to me that my other co-worker, Pascale, models. Really! All this time, I had a model sitting 4 cubicles away.

Finally the big day.

I really had no idea what to expect. I had 2 dresses and 9 tops that needed to be photographed in 2 hours. Was that even possible? The Weather Network was forecasting showers in the afternoon. Would the shoot be canceled? I tossed and turned all night. I didn't help that the shoot was at my house (in the backyard) so I had to make sure the house was tidy and the lawn was cut.

The model shows up looking fabulous and the photographer is so nice and energetic that it's contagious. As soon as I saw the first outfit in the window of her digital camera, I knew these photos were going to be awesome. The weather was on our side and we were able to breeze through the 11 outfits in 2 hours.

Kristen primarily does wedding/ family photography. So if you're getting married in the Ottawa region, please check out her website. I really can't recommend her enough, she's such a professional.

Pascale is so gorgeous. She really has a natural talent for modeling. You can view more pictures on her portfolio site.

Stay tuned for the new pictures, I should have them by August.

July heat wave

I'm back from my mini Canada Day vacation at the cottage. As usual, it's was a great time. We had so many laughs. The weather was a bit chilly the first nights but it warmed up as the weekend progressed. It looks like we're having a heat wave this week. I'm working up a sweat just typing so I'll keep this post short and sweet.

Ready for a swimming lesson

Having a handle on the life jacket is not only for safety but for laughs too!

Tired from his swim

Usually Oscar isn't allowed on the couch but we made an exception at cottage

Oscar with his new friend, Gaia.