How I messed up the Ishihara Birthday cake...

So this year I even managed to make a cake for the best husband of all. And because he has a red-green-colourblindness and I am just a little bit mean, I wanted to make an Ishihara cake for him. Like this - with smarties...

Only I ran out of orange and green so I made it all colourful and even people with normal colourvision can't see the number. Brilliant, eh? :)

Here's the recipe though, the cake was delicious:
Original Recipe in German on Chefkoch.de: https://www.chefkoch.de/rezepte/1030221208238044/Schwarzer-Kirschkuchen.html

English translation

Black Cherry Cake
Recipe for 26-28cm round baking tray

Zutaten

250 g	granulated or caster sugar
125 g	flour
125 g	ground hazelnuts
150 g	chocolate chips
2 TL	baking powder
1 TL	cinnamon
4	eggs
ca 500g	dark cherries from glass
125 g	butter
	Butterfor the tray if needed

Preheat the oven to 180°C
Mix soft butter and sugar und whisk "fluffy". Add the eggs and whisk in.
Add the rest of the ingredients, bake for about 1 hrs. If necessary, cover the cake with some tin foil.

Seasonal table December 2018

Yaaayy, it only took me a week to publish the seasonal able, which also underwent quite a lot of changes in that time. We have our Mini-nativity scene (including 3 kings) on it already, and through the desert of stones and candles they find heir way to the crib - each Sunday of Advent a little closer. The candle holders are swedish traditional wooden ones called "kulljusstakar" and it just makes me feel really christmassy, when I see them. One day, I will also find myself a nice Dalahorse, but that's for another Christmas.

The Eugene Grasse "Belle Jardinière" Postcard for December

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and ... Modern Slavery

From Guardian

So, Black Friday, Cyber Monday are over of sorts and we are ready to enter the mad Christmas shopping time. Hunting for the best price and all that.

Have you ever wondered, how it is possible, that goods that were luxury only twenty years ago are now available for a good, cheap price? (Because it seems only cheap is good , if you listen to the ads...). How can we get giant shrimps from all the way across the globe to next to nothing? Because the price is paid for you by the workers on the fishing trailers. By the men and women who are sewing you cheap jeans, harvest the cheap cotton. In other words - we are taking it out of the poor. We (the Western industrial countries) are responsible for the effect or our consumerism.

If you want to know more about it, have a look around the web - there is plenty of information around. Or have a look here: https://www.walkfreefoundation.org/

And what about Christmas? How about giving less in numbers but more in quality. Maybe homemade? Or made in your own country? You can get lovely second hand items. Or just ask your partner, if they have a wish and help them fulfill it. We all don't need this stuff, that's just standing around, cluttering our space and minds.

November 2018 seasonal table

October goes November...

OK, I know, this is the October table picture - BUT November looks nearly the same.
Only 1. no dahlia 2. no lavender 3. the novembre grasset card. I ust so much liked those little girls, that I couldn't remove them. :) I promise some change for christmas, though! :)

In the flow...

I found this on google search, no idea who made it... 

Something I've been doing for years (on and off) which I've never really blogged about is Yoga. I've done a few Yoga classes when I was travelling in Asia in 2007 and am mainly doing yoga at home. I enjoy the meditative flow of a good yoga program (I am using DVD's mainly) and sometimes have a look on Youtube for more inspiration or for more information on technique.

I am quite busy with working full time and 2 kids and a husband who I like to spend time with. And a few other hobbies... So I found I usually manage 15-20mins Yoga nearly every day, but 30 mins and more is a bit complicated. I usually manage that only once a week on a day off (if I don't have any other appointments or plans...). I dare say that for a lot of people that work full time, finding the actual time after a full days work, is the biggest problem.


So, after trying out a few DVD's, I thought, I'd share my experiences.

My main "go-to" DVD is Ursula Karven "Yoga Everday". It contains 7 practises, one for each day of the week. They are all about 15mins long and address a different topic (twisting, forward bends, balance etc) which I enjoy. I really like the diversity and the fact, that I can usually fit 15 mins yoga  into my day. Sometimes I do 2 practises. I have a DVD in German, the explanations are good, as far as I can see they show the Asanas quite well. I think this DVD is suitable for beginners as well as more advanced beginners as a nice "quickie".

Another DVD I really like is the Kino MacGregor "Ashtanga for Beginners". She offers a tutorial with details on the most important asanas, 3 Practises, each about 20mins long. And a "core practise" that is really challenging (feels like mixture between pilates and yoga). The 3 practises are made to built up on each other, so Practise one is for advanced beginners and if you've mastered that one you can continue. It looks a bit like a "best of" of the Ashtanga yoga primary series. She's talking a lot, but she's also giving an abundance of information to guide you through the practise and help you perform the asanas correctly. She gives examples for simplifying the asanas but builts up throughout the practise to show the "proper" positions. I personally like the abundance of information she gives, but it's a lot of talking.

I also started the "Yoga Del Mar" by Ursula Karven, I find it good, but it is a little longer than the above mentionned DVDs, so I hardly find the time to do it. But if you like a aprox. 45min power yoga session, this is good. there are two versions, one for beginners, one for advanced.

Another DVD by Ursula Karven "Core Yoga" is a very very gentle program. It's also several 20mins sessions and focusses on the core, it also includes a soft pilates practise. In my opinion, this is good for complete beginners, it is really gentle, but does built up. If you feel very stiff and have never done yoga, I'd say this is good and if you feel comfortable and at ease with this programm, continue to the "Yoga Everyday".

Pure beauty and strenght and more of a "wow, this is possible?!" than a DVD I could actually every follow as a practise, is David Swenson's "Ashtanga Primary Series". Just wow.

I strongly recommend Kino McGregors Youtube Channel, you can watch her perform the 1-4th Ashtanga series beautifully, strong and graceful and she offers great tutorials and yoga flows for all levels. https://www.youtube.com/user/KinoYoga/

And now a DVD I didn't enjoy, because for my taste the flow was much too fast. Ursula Karven and Ralph Bauer "Power Yoga". The DVD itself is good, the music is nice, there are several people performing the yoga, from beginner to expert so you can see different levels and find your own way to get through the power yoga session. My main point of criticism is the incredible speed with which they go through the asanas. Explanations are short but precise but even on the lowest level of difficulty I felt rushed through the program (and strained my shoulder...). So maybe if you play it on half speed, it's ok, otherwise I find it too fast. But maybe that's just me. The choice of asanas is good.

A good read (7)

Marshall Rosenberg

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

A good read (6)

Detlef Kantowsky

Buddhismus

(German Version)

Autumn window transparent

I made this little girl with a kite Window Transparent about a month ago... and while hanging on the window it sort of curled up a bit, hence the blurry background. It kind of suits the stormy weather in the picture, so I didn't do anything about it. After autumn, I will store it in a big book, so next year it will be flatttened. :)

I took the inspiration from the book "Mit farbigen Transparenten durch das Jahr" by Marion Kronshage und Sylvia Schwartz.

A good read (5)

Damien Keown

Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction

Seasonal table October 2018

Yay, after 3 months of not posting a table (although we DID have them), I finally managed to take a picture of this months seasonal table. It's a little wild, but I like it.

The glass candle light is made by my smaller daughter, the lavender is the last from our garden, the little doll on the left is made by me just this week. The dahlia was brought home by my older daughter after school and the little autumn girl is a purchase from Etsy. Just look for KatjasBlumenkinder. She's got lovely little figures for all seasons and likes (and no, I don't get anything from her to say this, I just think she's a very talented lady).

And of course Grasset's postcard for Octobre:

Tiny doll "Flora"

I've been up to quite a lot in the past months, only I didn't manage to take pictures... shame on me...

It only 11 months to finally make this little doll - she's called Flora, she's about 13cms tall and made on a metal wire frame, so she's quite bendy and great to play with. The girls are already mothing her, so I'm curious how long she will last.

Because of the flowery dress we've called her "Flora".

I made her following the wonderful instructions by Cristina Cevales-Labonde in her book "Biegepüppchen selbstgemacht" (German).

I can really recommend the book, she gives really good instructions and tons of inspiration for making little dolls. What I thought was really touching was the loving way she wrote about the little dolls in the pictures that she describes, they all have names!

I can't get no satisfaction - I need more challenges... apparently...

We are weighing more than coffee over here!

I don't seem to get enough of challenges...

After officially stopping the Make and Mend challenge in June and lots of "life" happening, we decided it was time to do something for our physical wellbeing.  As well as intensifying my yoga. (I'm one of those people with a dvd at home... I just don't make it to the gym, but I love doing yoga at home... even the kids join in sometimes.. it's a good exercise in concentration for them). I am trying to do yoga every day now (even late at night...), we also joined the weightwatchers program. Just to make this clear: I don't get their programm for free or any other sort of payment. this is just my own opinion.

I do know quite a bit about nutrition and healthy eating (in theory...), but I find their system SO clever... it's not just about the calories, it's actually the value of food's health translated into points. Super easy. So, I've set my challenge to get to 52 kilos (I'm 159cms small). I've started at 57 kg (20.9.18), so it's 5 kilos. I am well within my BMI, so I don't really need to loose weight. Mostly, this is about changing to a healthy diet. Because - healthy lifestyle...

COOL STUFF!

Week 1 (24.9.) - still 57 kilos. I managed to stay within the recommended points. Am I too  impatient?
Week 2 (1.10.) - 56,7kg - I don't think this counts.
Week 3 (08.10.) 55,2 kgs - wow, how did that happen? Our fruit intake has tripled... and we've got a little problem with fruit flies, which seem to be trying to compete with us for bananas...
Week  6 (29.10.) 54,7kg - yeah!
Week 7 (5.11.)  56,0kgs - what?! (but success on the yoga level - now I manage to do "the Crow"  (Bakasana) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmTrSGBvaoE (Yoga with Kino MacGregor)
Week 9 (19.11.): 54.6 - better again. I can really recommend the weightwatchers program - the recipes are really yummy, and it works EASY!
week 11 (5.12.): 54,1kgs - getting there... (shoulder strained... no crow for a while... did chaturanga dandasana and downwardfacing dog slightly wrong, so biceps tendon got annoyed... remember to twist your shoulders/upper arms outward!)
week 12 (12.12.): 53,6kg - (and I did have Christmas cookies last week...)
week 15 (02.1.19): 53 kg yay! (shoulder is good again, too!)
week 17 (14.1.): 53,8kg (oooh, is this post-christmas-birthday-new year blubber?)
week 20 (4.2.19): 52,8kgs, getting there! (celebrated with pancakes and a piece of cake today...)
week 22 (17.2.19): 52,3kgs, getting closer...

A good read! (4)

Another good read (despite being a bit cynical)

Sapiens: A brief history of humankind (by Yuval Noah Harari)

*

A Dirndl for a little lady

Our oldest daughter is starting school this autumn, so I wanted to make something special for her for the occasion. I've been planning to make this Dirndl for her for months and managed to make one for Little Miss No 2 already, so making this one was easier.

The sizing is very precise, I cut a size 98 in width and a size 116 in length for her (according to the size chart) and it fits just right, but not one centimeter too much. The blouse runs a bit tight, especially when you make it to pull it over the head, I had to let out all of the seam allowance. And it only just fits...

If I made it for her again, I would probably go up one size (both Dirndl and blouse) - luckily she didn't have a growth spurt just before school started.

All in all the pattern is really good, if you keep in mind, that it runs rather tight, it's super. The instructions are really good, lots of photographs. It's not a supertraditional way of making a Dirndl, but it's as close as you get if you want to finish the dress in a reasonable amount of time.

The pattern is from https://mondbresal.blogspot.com/
The fabrics (pink and blue) are from here https://www.stoffe-hemmers.de/
The fabric for the blouse used to be a bedsheet and the litte trim is from the local arts and crafts shop.

I had a little bit of fabric leftover, so I made a Mini Dirndl for the Nora Doll, too. :) I used a dress from the Mariengold oh girl! book and winged the apron. It was a really nice quick and easy project. I will try and post a picture of the dress for the doll soon.


________________________
Cost
ePattern: 8,50 Euros
Fabric and notions: 30,00 Euros

Premade Pattern vs Self-draft pattern

When I started drafting patterns, I thought something like "wow, this is so cool, I can now draft EVERYTHING I would like to sew/wear". And while in theory, that is true, the reality of it is a little different.

I am not a seamstress. I need instructions. I can now draft patterns (a little), I can put them together somehow and I understand a lot better now, what changes are neccessary to make them fit better. (Which is why starting to draft patterns and making lots of toiles is a great way to get to know your physiognomy and fit issues and how to solve them)

But I lack the actual sewing skills. There are so many ways to put garments together and to construct them - I don't even know where to get all of that information. Even my Vogue sewingbook, despite being very full of information, didn't really give me the answer how to construct a garment.

And that's when Premade patterns are really good. If you have a premade pattern from a company that gives lots of help and hints on constructing the garment, you can go further from that. (I really like the instructions from closet case patterns, scroop patterns and ottobre design, just to name a few)- I love learning from them and getting to know their methods of assembling clothes. The little tricks and good shortcuts. And hints, where you really should not take a shortcut...

I've now drafted a few garments for myself, but for me, the advantage of a premade pattern are clearly the instructions.

Funny enough, I only understood what "a good fit" is, when I got into my little bit of 18th century sewing. If the bodice crumples over the stays, it is just not good. That's not the way it is supposed to be. If the stays are uncomfortable - they don't fit. It took me quite a while to get from historical clothing to modern sewing ... but now I am enjoying even more to make my every-day self-made wardrobe. The way I want. Not what fashion magazines tell me to wear. And RTW that doesn't fit anyway.

I can only encourage everyone out there to do a bit of pattern drafting (e.g. a basic pencil skirt and a basic bodice) and then after understanding your bodyshape - go for indie patterns!

Knickerrrrrs!! (and a horse)

there is absolutely no way I show you my bottom in self made undies.
Have a look at this cutie instead. 

Hi guys, as you can see, I am going from one project to the next in no time. From Ginger Jeans to knickerrrss!! The steep... erm.. difference in complexity makes me laugh. My crazy patterns make me laugh, too. I've got very happy underwear now (fabric remains from nearly every knit project I've ever made...) Is there anything better? :)

I used this pattern from "So, Zo...", it's free and comes with easy instructions. Perfect.

Pattern: http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.de/2012/12/free-downloadable-pdf-pattern-pants_4.html
Instructions: http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.de/2010/08/how-to-construct-undies-with-serger-and.html

As far as I know there is also a free pattydoo pattern but I've not tried that.

It is fun.
I've played a bit with pattern designs, because I wanted to try out 1. enclose the gusset and 2. have a bit of a leg, too, which all works fine.

The good thing about cutting the gusset piece extra is the even more economic use of fabric. And it  also looks neater.

I can strongy recommend making knickers. It is a brilliant project to use up knit jersey scraps, is very satisfying (because quick) and hey, any complaints about fitting knickers EVER heard? No. See. Make knickers. Even if they don't fit, they won't be worse than storebought AND you can improve the pattern.

With the first few pairs I made a few mistakes: Because I feared the waistband would be too tight (and didn't trust the elastic and my sewing skills), I didn't stretch the elastic enough so some of them sort of roll away from by lower back. Which looks stupid. I also used a slightly too wide binding.I've used 19mm width first, which is just a tad too wide. The second batch was made with 14mm wide FOE (fold over elastic) and that is just perfect.

A good read! (3)

"The Mirror World of Melody Blake" - by Gavin Extence

We're all unique - Beauty and Drama

Found on Google.de

Quite a while ago now, I've posted about my endeavours to draft a pattern for a jersey shirt and make the adjustments necessary to find the perfect pattern for my shape. I also included a bit on why normal t-shirts/clothes don't fit me really well. I also made jeans, that fit me well, but didn't trust the pattern I graded, because it looked so curvy... And when in shops, I try on beautiful things - just to look at myself in disbelief, and see how they don't fit. Or how jeans are uncomfortable and don't fit.

So I thought I'd write a bit about off the rack clothing. And body shapes. Basically, if you don't have the measurements that the manufacturer uses to make these clothes, they are not going to fit you perfectly well. And whose body is exactly what the manufacturers make things for?

When designing a garment, manufacturers also take into account how to get the maximum amount of shirts or jeans or whatever else from the given amount of fabric, to cut economical, to make it "sort-of-fit" a majority. So basically we are walking around in garments, that just "sort-of" fit. And that might sacrifice fit and design to a more econamical use of fabric.

And because that's all we get out there, we don't even notice the difference. Just sometimes a manufacturer will have measurements that approximate our own a bit more while another one caters more for another shape. Or it is just chance. I don't know.

I find getting clothes that fit me, really difficult. Jeans are a nightmare. Shirts acceptable but a good fit is different, they usually crawl up. Dresses are usually too long in themselves and if the top fits the hip usually doesn't or the waist is where my hip is, ...

Anyway, I found these sizing charts (international) really interesting, which also explain, why most clothes can't fit. Because a sizing chart for a whole nation - how likely is that going to fit me?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_sizes


Even if you buy a pattern, you will find, you will have to make a lot of adjustments to achieve a good fit. So why not draft a pattern from scratch, which is at least as close to you own body as it can get and then work on those base patterns until they are perfect. You will learn about your body, about how clothes are constructed and understanding this will make it easier to alterate patterns and/or clothing in the future to make them fit better.

Let me tell you a bit about my own unique body shape.

I am small. I have slim shoulders, a slim chest, smallish boobs, a very slim waist and relatively wide hips and a round bum. I have a sway back and a little bit of a belly (which is due to the fact that I have two gorgeous daughter and my waist circumference in pregnancy was more than 100cms, I am still in awe, how the body manages all those changes!). I have slightly sloping shoulders (which I noticed gets a lot better when I do yoga regularly...)
I have a relatively high waist, an upper body that is slightly on the short side (I suppose being smaller, it's the normal length...), and thus a relatively long hip. I also have strong calfs. And small feet.

In numbers (all in centimeters, just the important ones)
I am 159cms tall.
shoulder width 10cm
Bust 86
Underbust 72
waist 66
hips 102
hip point 27
shoe size EU 35-36  (very important measurement for sewing...) :)

If you compare this to Standard German clothes ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_sizes#Germanic_sizes_(DE/AT/NL/SE/DK)
I am all over the size chart, from 36 to 42 (although I should say 18-22, because I need short sizes)  (US size 6 and 10 - but standard measurement differ here...). Drama. Nothing fits, of course not.

Since I started making clothes, I've come more and more to the point, where I found it was SO much more comfortable to make my own clothes. Yes, it is rather costly (or is it? how much would you have to spend on made-to-measure clothes these days...), yes, it takes a lot of time... but I enjoy the process and I enjoy the result. It feels like a full circle, I started making my first "own" clothes in 2001 (dress up) - made my wedding dress - continued with historical clothes, got more into fitting and clothes constructions - until I've finally arrived at making "modern" clothes for every day life.

It is such an enjoyable thing to make and wear clothes, that really fit. That are just completely "me".

Liberate yourself from Minimalist Thinking!

Photo by Catherine McMahon on Unsplash

2 years of Make and Mend and "active Minimalism" are over. And while I really enjoyed the conscious decision-making and reflecting on purchases and researching consumerism and its critique, it is now time to say good-bye to this challenge. Why? Because living a challenge the whole time makes it less enjoyable. I don't want to force myself into something the whole time. I've done it for 2 years and now I want to see, whether I've learnt to live it.

The thing about my ban on consumerism and "just shopping" is - it is still "there" in my mind. And frankly speaking - I've had enough of it now. Because I have too many more things to do and see now. I haven't got time for this whole shopping stuff any more.

Thinking about Minimalism is still thinking about stuff! How mad is that?!

So now it is "goodbye Minimalism" and "welcome life" !

My "loud" Twister dress

t's asymmetrical, it's loud, it's weird, it's as comfy as pyjamas and I couldn't care less what other people think about it, because THIS is the most comfortable dress EVER!

I'm in a bit of a sewing frenzy at the moment... I am amazed, how many project are suddenly coming together without any stress. And I am grateful for the joy it is giving me.

My latest project is the burdastyle.com twister dress. It is a free pattern by apfelbluete, who is also the host of the brilliant sewinggalaxy blog

UPDATE: Since Burda has remade their homepage, the pattern has unfortunately disappeared. Which is a real shame. I do not own the rights to the patterns, so I do not want to put them online, however as long as sewinggalaxy (see above) is up, you might want to try to contact the lady who put the pattern online originally. 

Here is the link to the free burdastyle pattern she provides in size 34-40
Neon Twister Dress Burdastyle.com
And the link to the full-figured version, also free
Twister Dress Plus Size Burdastyle.com

It takes absolutely no time to put the dress together. It uses a minimal amount of fabric (1,2m length x1,4m width) and anyting goes, as long as it is stretchy. I've bought some fabric on ebay which turned out to be wonderfully soft to wear and also great to work with. It is 95% cotton and 5% elasthan. I chose a fabric I usually wouldn't go for... my husband calls it a "loud" pattern - I agree. But somehow it works for me for this dress. In fact it is so incredibly comfortable, that it might be my favourite pattern of the year. I am already dreaming of another one with a supernova-space inspired pattern.... or just black with glittery stars? Or electric sparks or something like that? Oh my goodness, imagine this in sequins... gasp.... *love*- I think I am starting to hyperventilate here... 😍

I didn't make many changes to the pattern. I've cut a size 40 and lengthened it a bit (about 5cms) and I made the right sleeve tighter. Other than that I followed instructions. Including washing and drying the fabric it took me 2 days. The cutting and sewing was about 1 hour.

I think I was trying to run away half through taking pictures... 

______________________________
Cost: 
total: 20 Euros
Pattern: free downloadable pdf, paper, printer
fabric: 1,3m Jersey 19,50 Euros
notions: all in stock

The End of my Second Year of Make And Mend

Finding the middle way. 

So my second year of Make And Mend is over.

I will now officially stop the challenge for myself. It was a superb exercise that came at the right time in my life to make some thorough changes. But now as I've not had such a hard time to stick to the make and mend challenge rules but am really living it (at least most of the time), it must be time to let go of the strict rules. Which I already did. 

The challenge was meant to be an extreme way to help finding the middle way (I really recommend looking into this buddhist concept) in times, where overconsumption is the rule rather than the exception. To some people it comes natural to live outside this pattern, some have been brought up this way. Some are forced due to financial reasons to change (some don't and go unhappy or run up debts...), some choose a different way because they see that happiness does not lie in shopping trips and money.

For me, it was a combination of a lot of factors and I am happy that 2 years of Make and Mend worked. Sometimes I still find it hard to resist something "pretty". But then again... that's normal. The 2 years of consciously not spending on "luxury" items (or at least trying to) were good for me. Now it is time to live the new attitude that I think I have acquired. To also consciously give in and buy the "pretty thing" every now and again. Not as a rule. To appreciate that luxury. Theoretically even those pretty things should have some sense and not just be "stuff" that will be thrown away. I am curious what the next year will bring.

But before this new year starts, here is a review of the past 12 months.

We have spend quite a lot on the garden and DIY stuff (because we like to make things also with the children) and this year of "make and mend" was also the year of unexpected bills. So. But having the car fixed was definitely cheaper than buying a new one. :)

* this star indicates items, that were not necessary at all. I could have been stricter on myself.

What I bought for myself

- pack of 6 knickers

- pack of 6 pairs of socks (socks seem to disappear...)
- pack of 3 pairs of socks (where HAVE those other socks gone?!)

- 4x make-up/foundation (it's really amazing, how much make up/foundation I bought this year...), one of them the wrong colour - FAIL -

- 1 tub of loose powder (replaced empty one)

- 2 mascara (replaced empty ones)
- 3 eyeliner (replacement of empty eyeliner, 2 of them smudged so badly, I had to throw them away - FAIL-)

- 2 eye shadow tubs (replacement of empties, shell colour and brown, both matte)
- 2 new lipsticks (replaced empties)

- 2 pure linen jersey shirts dark blue*

- 3 cotton tank tops black*

- 1 pair of black leather boots (christmas present)* 

- 1 knitted waistcoat (sooo cosy...)*

- 2 bandeau bras (which turned out to be uncomfortable...) . -FAIL - *

- 3 wire bras*
- 4 triangle bras*
- 2 eyeshadow palletes* (rarely used but very very nice)

Handcraft connected

- a book on knitting (kate davies "yokes") (second hand) and 3 of her knitting patterns via ravelry download

- a crocheting pattern for a red riding hood cape, multisize (ebook)

- a book on making waldorf dolls (ebook) #

- a book on making bendable dolls (with wire inside) (second hand)

- a book on making lanterns (second hand) #

- a book on making christmas decoration (second hand) #

- christmas window transparents shapes to trace (pdf) 

- a book on making window transparents (pictures) #

- a book on window transparents (rosettes)

- 2 books on festivities and traditions throughout the year (one of them second hand) #

- 1 book on games and ideas for children's birthdays (second hand)  #

- a magazine on Dirndl making (with patterns, modern Bavarian style)
- Dirndl pattern for kids # 

- a book on Dirndlmaking (with pattern drawings, 1980s Vienna/Austrian style, second hand)

- padding material for tailors dummy #
- 5 burdastyle download patterns (trousers and winter coat)
- ginger jeans pattern with flare extension pack #
- morgan jeans pattern
- vintage hat cones in a private sale
- a single hob (for millinery) #

Decoration/stuff*

- 4 packs incense (nag champa and goloka)

- 4 tiny vases and a normal sized one

- 2 pieces of minerals

- 2 postcard sets (eugene grasset, la belle jardiniere and Elsa Beskow calender cards)

What I made for myself (clothing)

- black ruffles skirt (material from stash)
- Otari hoodie (new material)
- self-drafted t-shirt with enormous amount of sheep on it (material from stash)
- Ginger Jeans (new material)
- Twister dress (new material)
- knickers (stash material)

What I mended

- Jeans (2x)

- tights (2x)

- woollen pullover that the moths had a go at... tiny holes though... barely visible after mending. :)

- 2 children's pullovers and trousers and leggings (repeatedly...)

- Curtains (ok, I just shortened those)

- lengthened sailor trousers, I had hemmed them just a tad too short.. that was a quick fix!
- ballet trikot for Child 1
- lengthened Child 1 trousers
- shortened straps from tank tops (had them for years... very embaressing...)

What I made otherwise

- Gretl witch as a present

- little lavender heart as a present

- Dirk the dragon (again, I wasn't happy with the first version) by lalylala

- Baby waldorf-like doll with clothes present (for KiTa)

- Waldorf-like  dolls with clothes for my children (Nora for Little miss No 1 and Aurélie for Little Miss No 2) and baby dolls also - because they begged me and I couldn't say "no" and loved the fact that they wanted something Mommy-made, and clothes for those dolls, of course

- Another proper Waldorf-like doll (40cms) for the darling daughter of a wonderful friend (the doll is called Alina now)

- Whitework embroidery picture

- lined african wall hanging (Fabric from Africa, present from my minimalist husband) :)

- lots of paper stars and paper lanterns (for us and for the kindergarten christmas market sale)

- window transparents (winter 2x, 1x christmas)

- dungarees for Child 1

- Ileana Dress for Child 1

- Vroni Dirndl for Child 

What went (from my stuff)

I sorted out a few more T-Shirts and vest tops, a light Pullover, a hooded sweater jacket, a dress, 2 skirts, 3 pairs of trousers that I never wore and/or made me feel uncomfortable when wearing (due to poor fit). They went to the Charity Shop.  One shirt I threw away - the fabric was so thin and had lots of holes it was beyond repair and even to thin to be suitable to be a cloth. Also some old socks went that were beyond repair, too. I do mend holes, but don't have many. They just go totally thin underneath and at the heel and then see through and then have had it. And some socks just seem to disappear.

What's to come:

I already know that two of my winter coats will have to go soon. One of them has holes at the armholes/wrists from wearing it so much - which makes me a bit sad because I really really like this coat. And the other one does not have the holes yet, but is about to go that way. Might still make another winter. I am thinking about copying the pattern of that favourite coat and making one myself. Also 15 years ago I have seen a coat with a really cute cut (that I didn't buy...), which I am thinking about making. It was of a red "salt and pepper" sort of patterned wool. Tweed or so.  With really interesting tiny arrow shaped pleats on the back. Cute. 

Both of my jeans (I own 2 pairs) are on the way out. I am mending them, but they are overall just on the way out. So making jeans myself really was necessairy (and I did - see my ginger jeans!)

Conclusion Make and Mend II:

I did buy quite a lot of things for myself, mostly books on DIY and sewing. I try to get them second hand. The DIY things go on my "max 20 Euros/month budget" because it is so easy to get carried away with DIY supplies. I didn't use that budget for the jeans patterns though (I think that's called cheating....).

I was surprised how much make-up/foundation I bought. 1 of them turned out to be the wrong shade (it looked ok in the shop, but seems to turn darker the longer i wear it... might be good for summer ... i bought it in February...). They discontinued my favourite make up (nude magique, eau de teint by l'oréal), which is a real shame, that stuff was perfect as far as I am concerned. texture and colour and all. Of course I don't HAVE to wear make up, nobody does, so those expenses are argueable. 

As for the other things (the ones with the *), I have totally good reasons for them. Or excuses, which ever way you look at it. :) Like the boots were my christmas + birthday present together (we don't buy each other big gifts), and the woolly vest (hand knitted, pure wool) was half price and soooo cute and practical. And I've always wanted pure linen jersey shirts and found those as a bargain. Our summer 2017 was really hot with nearly 40°Celsius, so I thought it was a really good idea. What about those bras... yeah, well, I go carried away... I've found them mainly on ebay for just a fraction of the original price (like 50-70% off) and I just couldn't resist. I tried. I've left them sit there for weeks. The prices got even better. And then my resistance crumbled and crumbled and broke. French lace for 15 Euros including postage...

I've worn everything I bought a lot already, so nothing of it is just sitting in the wardrobe waiting for better times. (Apart from those ill fitting bandeau bras/boob tubes or whatever they are called..., which are ok though every now and again under slightly see through shirts...)

Quite a bit of money this year went into the new household (like gardening stuff, we've never had a garden before... and you just don't get all plants as a present... but we are taking it easy here,  the garden will grow in size and number of plants with each year). And things breaking (car, teeth).

And curtains (including curtain rails... it took me a year to give in to my husbands suggestion to install curtains...). Parasols also for the kids protection (which I think is a reasonable thing...) - oh, and we bought a small charcoal grill. Brilliant investment. 

Arts and crafts take up quite a bit of our budget, but we think it is worth it. We also take pride in using up whatever we can find in the cellar (or the bin...), like paper, cardboard, ... but sometimes you just need the real deal. :) 

I am officially ending the "make and mend challenge" for myself now. As you can see from the list, I wasn't horribly strict this year. Actually I think I was shopping quite a lot. Mostly books and bras. What a combination... 

Good luck to all of us to find the middle way!!

* these items are a "PLUS", not at all totally necessairy.

# means "I made something from that"

- FAIL - well... money gone out of the window I'd say...

June 2018 seasonal table

Maybe it is a bit "cool", bit with outside temperatures of nearly 30° Celsius, this is refreshing. I've had a real go at the peppermint that is taking over our garden and took a few stems to put them on the table. Now the room is filled with nice refreshing scent of peppermint. :) I still haven't managed to get a piece of fabric the right colour but I like it the way it is.

The June picture of Grasset's "La Belle Jardinière" is lovely light and summery, too.

Have a wonderful month of June, wherever you are!

Free 1961 Pattern drafting book!

I've come another great resource for drafting patterns. I was actually looking for ways people adjusted Ginger Jeans, when I came across this blog Kat Makes and she's doing a lot of great stuff and despite the fact that she has a completely different shape to me, I found lots of really cool stuff on her page. So check her out.

She's also drafting her own patterns and is using this free(!) and downloadable resource, which I recommend. It has the same sort of feel my "Dorothy Moore" book has, but is so much easer to access. :)

Pattern drafting and grading (by Michael Rohr, 1961)


Enjoy!!

Embrace!

I have watched this documetary on arte.tv a couple of weeks ago and I found it was beautiful.

English: https://bodyimagemovement.com/embrace-the-documentary/
German: http://www.embrace-derfilm.de/#home

Ginger Jeans - I did it!

I can't quite believe it myself, I made jeans!

And they fit. 

After a long long time of contemplating, of procrastinating and fretting about fabrics, my sewing skills and the "oomph" of my machine - my existing 2 pairs of jeans were slowly but surely falling apart. And despite my best efforts of mending them repeatedly...  it was time to face the fact: I need new jeans.

First I actually went to town and looked at jeans. Tried some. And got annoyed. I want low to just-mid rise flared jeans. Not too much "use" on them. Not too thin. Indigo blue. Really dark. This is not in fashion at the moment. I tried everything that was proclaimed to be my size. I even tried the very fashionable high waist skinny jeans - which sort of went up to my rib cage, were too long, to tight and just "uuhhrgh". It was a very very very frustrating experience.

And then I bought the much acclaimed Ginger Jeans pattern (with Flared Jeans extension pack) by Closet Case Patterns. 

I followed the instructions of the sewalong https://Closetcasepatterns.com/ginger-jeans-sewalong/

and it all went together fine. Surprisingly, the jeans are a little on the widish side... I am not entirely sure, why. I might have lost some weight (hm... how likely is that... hm...), the fabric has a poor recovery (doesn't seem like it, but who knows...), the pattern runs slightly wide (possible and most likely), I was taking my measurements too loosely (possible), I didn't cut close enough to the pattern, added some width while copying... I did notice this after basting them, so I used a more generous seam allowance (instead of 5/8" I used 6/8, but it's still a bit wide in the bottom and back thigh, especially after wearing them for a few days)

Anyhow - the jeans fit. They fit well enough for me. I have no issues with the crotch, no issues with matching, they don't twist and they are super comfy.  - it was a real WOW experience. Also my machine didn't buckle up once and sewed through up to 8 layers of jeans like butter (I did use a jeans needle though). 

What do I think of the pattern? - I LOVE IT! - 

The size is accurate, not supertight, but I didn't aim for that. The instructions are superclear, the sewalong is great and the possibilities for variations are SO vast. Heather also gives lots of instructions on fitting, in case you do have frown or smile lines. Or whatever other issues occur.

If you want to make jeans - make these! 

What I really liked was the precision of the pattern. Notches match, clear instructions, no blahblah and - if she says low rise it means low rise. Precision this is. 

I admit, I was VERY sceptical. My experience with sewing trousers is very limited to say the least. My confidence wasn't very big and because of my unique shape, I only anticipated problems. 

Just to give you an idea: My waist is a size 6 in her pattern, while my hip is a size 12 (although I would probably go down a size in the hip with the next pair... ). And in addition to this big waist-hip ratio, I have a sway back. And I am smaller that "standard women" (whatever that is... have never met one). 

I followed her fitting/grading instructions in the sewalong and the resulting pattern looked - curvy. I stuck with it bravely, because I thought - I calculated this, I followed instructions, it MUST work. And it did. The only thing I had to adjust was the waistband - which gaped. Like it always does. I could have cut a new waistband, but I took a shortcut (because I wanted to finish the jeans and going back to cutting fabric felt like a backstep... and I was lazy and impatient...). I made two darts in the waistband inside, clipped the excess fabric and transferred the changes to the pattern waistband. For next time. Yes, there will definitely be a next time. I might even use contrasting topstiching. :) 

I also really like her suggestions about the "insides" - coloured serger thread, nice fabric for the pockets - turned not inside the pockets but in a way you can actually SEE it when putting on the jeans. Yes, that makes me feel good. Talking about a serger. I own one - I didn't use it. I just zigzagged everything. I was plainly too lazy to put up the machine. 

The biggest challenge for me (sewing wise...) was the topstitching. Who would have thought that sewing two completely parallel lines is SO difficult. My husband giving me a glass of red wine with the sewing boosted my mood, but I wasn't sure about the topstitching skills... As I noticed later, it didn't do any harm, my parallelity the next day without wine looked exactly the same. I might have to practise that a little more and continue using toned down topstitch thread. :) 

My other issues are (and none of them have anything to do with the pattern fit...): the blue of the fabric. It is a little too blue. And even. I am not used to that. I might try and find some real indigo jeans fabric. Also the front pockets are quite wide. Which is ok in a way, because I CAN put my entire hand in it in case I have nothing else to do. But I think I would make them a tiny bit narrower next time. I also have the idea to copy the coin pocket my "nearly fallen apart jeans" - it's a small single welt pocket in the pocket lining -very cute). Other ideas for next time include more belt loops (I don't even own a belt...) and back pocket designs. My back pocket is plain, but I have this idea about an ECG or a WonderWoman logo thing. I would also move them up a tiny little bit. But maybe with making the next pair tighter, I won't need that. I might also try the mid-waist and high waist version with those shaping pockets. Maybe I could even try skinny jeans (the last time I wore skinny jeans was in 1999). I also had this GREAT pair of jeans (that also fell apart...) with add on front pockets that were square... I think I have a picture of me wearing them somewhere... but only a front view...) . ideas, ideas, ideas... why is sewing jeans so addictive? 

Finally, here are my Ginger Flares! Brand new! First time!

Ready?

I've casually put my hand in that pocket, so nobody has a chance to evaluate the fit.
You just have to believe me it's good. :) 

Posing naturally, this is what I do with walls on a normal day.
At least I didn't have to worry about my expression this way...
You can also see the jeans are a bit wide on the hip and leg after a couple of days of wearing them.
I don't mind, this is what my jeans usually look like. :) 

On the left you can see the adjustment darts for sway back I made on the waistband back.
And on the right my beautiful happy lining, which used to be a pillow case. :) 

_____________

Cost

Pattern: 17 euros

Print in Copyshop A0: 40 Euros (I wanted to try it out...very comfortable, but expensive.)

rivets 5,50

Buttons 4,70

Fabric - Stretch Jeans (97% cotton, 3% elasthane) 40 Euros

Yarn (sewing and topstitch) 4+3 = 7 Euros

jeans zip 3 Euros

I am planning the next pair already... :)

Books are for reading - S. Basile (2)

Salvatore Basile

"Die wundersame Reise eines verlorenen Gegenstand" (The strange journey of a lost item)

At the moment only available in German and Italian, but a good read. It would make such a lovely film. Watch out for the English translation, it's a good read. 

May seasonal table 2018

I am always amazed what the camera thinks is the center of the picture... sorry...

I can hardly believe it myself, I've managed to change the table, take a picture AND blog about it all on the same day. The explanation: I've got a week off work and it is a public holiday and good weather, so the kids can run around in the garden a lot. :)

The lilacs are from a bush around the corner and the smell is wonderful - not too overwhelming but lightly noticeable. The piece of bark has been on the table a lot already, the bird last month, too, and the mountain crystal was a contribution of the kids.
I've still not managed to restore this little cabinet (the wooden veneer at the bottom is coming off slightly, because a previous owner seems to have stored it with its feet in the water...) and there are some more dents I have to see to... at some point...

This month's Eugene  Grasset card, from "La belle jardinière"

Whatever happened to Minimalism and me?

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

It's been quite a while since my last post on Minimalism. 

To say the truth - I think I've said about everything what Minimalism means to me. 

And to tell you even more truths: I am still working on it. I am still working on myself. And it is still hard at times. 

I am still trying to find the best way, the middle way. The Make and Mend Challenge really helped me (and so did having to live on a much tighter budget for a year). But I also have to say, being back in the "normal" way of life, with our "normal" budget, it is so incredibly easy to fall back into old patterns. 

But the most important thing is, that I live my life more conscious, more aware and I think a lot truer to myself than I did about 15 years ago. Or even 4 years ago. 

Whatever the stress, whatever the challenge. 

KISS.