More wrist warmers

Another gray Sunday. I slept until noon and spent most of the time watching movies or getting lost in the big black hole known as the world wide web. I am rather talented in bringing my browser to its virtual knees by opening multiple tabs without any mercy. However, this peculiar habit seems to reflect the state I am in most of the times - too many things to do, and the unwavering will to conquer them all at once.

Luckily I did manage to get something done last week, besides my mouthwatering pancakes for breakfast of course. I needed to take some pictures of my wrist warmers, and U. has been a wonderfully patient and pleasant model to get these done on a sunny afternoon last week. Only a few more bits and pieces and they can finally go into my shop, whose opening seems long overdue. But I wanted a few scarfs and cowls to accompany them, before it's all set and ready for your browsing eyes. Soon, soon!

100 Posts and a Giveaway

Here it is. The long-awaited blog post number 100. Let's celebrate! If you like, the oldfashioned way, with honking horns and a good glass of selfmade fruit punch. But since that kind of excitement is rather difficult to share virtually, I prepared something you may enjoy just as much, dear reader - a giveaway!

I've always adored giveaways on other blogs, and have found many wonderful and talented bloggers via links and recommendations. I couldn't wait to hold mine. So here's what's in store for you:

A pair of selfmade wrist warmers to keep your fingers snug and swift for all those craftsy projects during chilly hours. The floral fabric is quite cozy and consists of 10% wool, whereas the lining is made up of a very soft black viscose jersey. These can be worn inside out as well. There's a small label close to the wrist on the black side. Both fabrics are very elastic and will fit your wrists perfectly.

You'd like to win these? Here is what you must do:

1. leave a comment below this post
2. cross your fingers and wait until I announce the winner!

Easy, right?

I'll be holding this giveaway until the 29th of February and announce a winner on the 1st of March, using one of those random number generator thingies.

Good luck! <3

A creative day off

I'm having a day off on short notice, and enjoying it in the sewing room. Which is most of the time a real mess. My mom says it's a creative mess, though, and I like to mention this to surprise visitors, prior to any probable eyebrow raising when entering my craft room.

Did I show you my calendar for this year? It's filled with illustrations in the naive art style, which I adore so much. I once bought a painting from a street artist in Brazil, which had a rather inconvenient size for traveling. It was quite a struggle and left a few raw edges here and there, but I'd always do it again. There's just so much to see and explore in paintings of this style.

Another pair of wrist warmers is born, for a friend of a friend. I'm so moved that my creations are already arousing attention without me presenting them personally. These are very similar to the ones I sent to coco for the autumn gift swap. Which has received so much good feedback that I am already thinking about a handmade summer gift swap. You should definitely send me a mail if you'd already like to be part of the gift circle, but I'll also mention it again on my blog as soon as I can set proper dates.

Weekend is almost here, and so is our short trip to Amsterdam! I'm still yearning for your recommendations on what to see/do/eat there!

Have a lovely Thursday!

Furry wrist warmers

I am experimenting with new fabrics, probably due to the incredibly low temperatures outside. I used a 100% cotton fur, the kind you usually find your favourite teddy bear made of. It feels wonderfully warm around the wrist and keeps my fingers warm (at least in here).

I'll test-wear them today on my way to work, to see how the fabric behaves after a while. Wearing my items or giving them to friends for good feedback is essential to me. As a customer I'd be disappointed if the fabric of a loved item wears off, bleeds out after washing, or simply leaves threads and fluffs all over the place. So I'm trying to exhaust all possibilities.

Update

Yesterday I woke up to a winter wonderland and tried to capture it for you.

I've been a busy bee (that's why it's been so quiet here), anticipating every ray of light to make product pictures for the little shop (I finally decided to go with Etsy), trying to grow an avocado (it hasn't worked so far, and I've gone through a lot of tutorials to get it right this time), and drooling over my new polaroid cam which I purchased second hand (and which was of course a lot lot cheaper than the polaroid pictures I would have to load it with).

Next weekend I'll be going to Amsterdam for a one day trip only. So if you have any recommendations on what I should definitely see/try/taste/buy, I'd be so grateful if you left me a message.

I hope you're enjoying this late winter. We're having nearly -15°C here, but as long as the sun is shining and you've got a good cup of tea waiting for you, it's bearable.

Cowl neck and loop scarf

I knitted this scarf for D already over a year ago. And even though the wool is of such high quality and amazingly soft and warm it can't smooth out the characteristic most loop scarfs seem to have - they're just too lose around the neck to really keep you warm. I know, it's also a fashion thing, and of course you don't really need to stay toasty in spring or summer. But right now, with the first snow flakes falling in January, you'd want your neck well covered.

So I made another cowl for D, to go along with both, his knitted loop scarf and the wrist warmers I made recently. Now he can enjoy the subtle fashion statement a loop scarf might make, without having to suffer the biting cold. Combined pretty with practical - done!

A few bits of spring

Bought myself some tulips to brighten up the kitchen (which has finally been refurbished after a year living with quite a few flaws). The delicate rose color makes me long for spring, but it just started to snow today.

Mum left me some scraps of this beautiful jersey fabric, and I had to make use of it rightaway. A little collection of wrist warmers and cowl necks is growing, it's so adorable to flick through the different versions. I'll show them to you soon!

Christmas wishes

All the gifts are wrapped, my bags are packed, and Mada is (more or less) getting warm with the new company, Willy. He's my parent's cat. They are kindly providing a foster home, while I am spending a week in Denmark with my closest friends, a group of 12 people I mostly know from school times.

We've been to Sweden last year, and I'm really looking forward to cozy evenings in sweatpants, opening wine bottles at 3pm, and the most delicious culinary treats of our wonderful two (male!) chefs. I probably won't have any internet access up there. So therefor I am already wishing you a sweeping New Year's celebration, and that you may not worry too much about resolutions.

As for the autumn gift swap; thank you to all of you lovely giver's who joined this project despite of stressful times so close to Christmas. All your selfmade gifts are so inspiring, and I am really looking forward to future projects of this kind. I know, there are still a couple of presents on their way, but I'm sure they'll arrive any time soon! It's been a pleasure to watch the gifts popping up on your blogs. Here's a little summary of your handmade treasures (I'll add the last ones as soon as they've arrived);

Claudia's, Lisa's, Barbara's, Lotte's, Karolien's, Syl's, and mine.

Thanks again, and have a wonderful merry Christmas with your loved ones.
Much Love <3

Autumn swap and Christmas preparations

I had a day off today, so I had enough time to wrap and send the autumn swap gift to my gift buddy! Hope this one will make it through rushy Xmas delivery times.

Christmas is approaching with bounding strides. My dear friend I. sent me this adorable calendar, and it's such a pleasure to open a door each day. I finally put out these little handmade wooden fellas. They're made in the Erzgebirge, a mountain range in Germany, and part of a tradition for centuries. Each one of them is a little treasure. There's a bunch of this series, and every year I'm receiving another one as an addition.

Having them around always brings a true Christmas feeling. And old scratches on top of my book shelf look like trails from ice skaters...

Hope your Christmas preparations are coming along just fine!

In passing

Work is very demanding now before Christmas, so I try to spend every free minute in the sewing room, with a nice cup of coffee and all those dear fabrics. It's my haven, the place I can recharge my batteries best.

A few more wristwarmers are coming along nicely. And D. liked his ones so much that he asked for another pair. He'll have them for Saint Nicholas Day, hidden in his shoe in the morning. I went for a plainer version this time, to be easily combined - dark grey and black jersey. So cozy, you'd love the touch of these.

Toasty wrist warmers for him

I've made these wrist warmers for D, mainly because of his complaints about cold fingers while working on the computer. And as it is rather inconvenient to sit inside with a cozy mitten trying to hover the mouse over complicated snippets, I remembered that keeping your wrist warm does the job just as good. Maybe not when snow is upon us. But for now, he'll be safe.

This fabric was such an inspiration, it's amazingly soft and cozy. And the pattern just asked for this purpose. It's so rewarding to notice when I make something for someone in particular, and they put it on, it suits them even better than it did in my head. As if they have had it long before. I am generally inspired by particular people I make something for, rather than blindly creating something out of thin air (although I envy that aptitude so so much).

How do you get creative, I wonder? Do you start from scratch and think about who it might suit best along the way? Or are you inspired long before the actual result?

Knitting and thoughts on how to spoil you

Some knit on my lap. I've started with an ear warmer for my dear friend, who doesn't like to cover her chignon with a hat. So we found this beautiful baby alpaca wool and I've been using an old vintage pattern to make it that little more interesting.

I've also been working on some wrist warmers. I still had some leftover fabric scraps from my autumn dress. And as the pattern and colors are just so divine, I couldn't resist to make some accessories with those. It wasn't enough for a scarf, but it will be fine for a couple more of these cuffs. The ones I am wearing are lined with a soft brown jersey fabric, but I've also made some with dark grey. They're so cozy and such an eyecatcher, and if you like it a little plainer on some days, you could just turn them inside out.

Making these autumn cuffs gave me an idea, since I'd like to spread the love for handmade things (and adore giving and receiving gifts as much as anyone probably does).

What would you think about a handmade autumn gift swap? Whoever likes to enter the circle has to send something handmade to another person, and in the end everyone will get something selfmade and treasured from someone else! Kind of like a combination of having a one time penpal and a giveaway. It would be a lovely way to get to know more of you crafty people, who are always such an inspiration to me.

Let me know, dear silent readers, what you think about that idea.

Belated early Christmas

Every time a get a parcel from this lovely lady my day is definitely made already. In stressful times like these having a penpal really is something rare. We're both aware of the patience and discipline this passion demands, and so there are never any hard feelings if Christmas parcels tumble in around August or later. In fact, it seems to be even more joy to get to open all the little gifts on no special occasion. It's like you put a hold on Christmas, or just prepone it to your liking!

This parcel was a mixture of thoughtful supplies for my crafts, selfmade treasures from herself and other inspiring peeps, and something for my sweet tooth of course. See those lovely earrings? I favoured them ages ago on etsy, even forgot about it in the meantime, and she remembered. They're so lovely, and if you haven't already, you should definitely take a little side trip to her shop (she'll be back from holidays soon!).

It's been my day off today, and Mada is best at showing how I spent it. Mostly in bed watching awesome series like Downton Abbey (I am so addicted), enjoying some cocoa and simple pasta. Hope you were having a wonderful day?

Loop scarfs for loved ones

I somehow stumbled into November (or November happened upon me), and can't believe Christmas is actually almost there. Time to get ready for the coldest season. I've been making loop scarfs recently and am quite enjoying the results, as they're fairly easy to make and therefore so rewarding!

For her birthday I made A. one in rather funky colors (in remembrance and anticipation of our traditional New Year's holidays), lined with a cozy warm fleece fabric in blue. Of course we had to go outside and snap some pictures of it in the warm autumn sun. It's been spoiling us all weekend.

I assume autumn is pressing every button to make up for the rather weak and moody summer. Enjoy, until you'll have to go all onioning by putting on 3 tights and at least 2 cardigans! 

Belated Cotton Love

I had this post prepared such a long time ago. It was even before my harddisk died on me, and I am glad I had already uploaded this picture. I didn't want to post it too early, since I had planned to make one of these tote bags for my friend Syl for belayed Christmas (a habit we still pursue very much), and I wanted it to be a total surprise.

This bag is now about half a year old and my substitute for any handbag I had before. It's so practical, and always fits more than you think, without becoming a burden to your shoulders and back. I've been dreaming about making a few more of this style and open a little etsy shop. To share the love over handmade uniqueness.

So here's the original post:
"I'm a big fan of cotton tote bags. Not only does it keep my wastage of plastic bags to a minimum, it also adds to my individual style. After having tried out a few prototypes, I finally finished my first very own cotton bag.

Since the sourcing of darker shaded heavy cotton seems to be more difficult than I thought, I had to dye some beige cotton to get this brown color. I'm rather dissatisfied with the result, as it is quite blotchy. Hopefully I'll find a supplier of darker cotton or linen soon. Sadly Etsy is not the answer yet.

What I love most is the floral lining, which only peeks out a little if you're rummaging around for your things. I decided to go with the darker old rose ribbon, since it suits my scarf so well. But I'm planning to combine it with all kinds of colors, depending on the wearer and its wardrobe."

I've already made two more of these bags, always one of a kind. In the meantime I found a very solid brighter linen, substituting well for the brown shade. But I'm still hunting for a similar quality with darker shades since, well, these bags do live. And they will become a little blotchy and messy as you carry them around lovingly. But they'll always be unique.

A pouch for sunglasses and the problem with bulky corners

I forgot to post this pouch. These last days have been a little unorganized.

This pouch was made as a present to store some newly purchased sunglasses (or my own ones temporarily as seen above). I've been on a mission to minimize wrinkles on other's foreheads. You'll see me ironing those worry lines with my thumb whenever I catch someone overly concentrating. The kind of concentration that leads to obstinacy. Some peeps like to combine this with a little pouting. Sounds familiar?

I've heard that sunglasses help, at least with the wrinkles between the eyebrows issue. And they will give my thumb a little break.

The design is rather plain with only a little embroidery, since it's made for a guy. The inside is made of molton, a very soft fabric usually used in stage design. I love working with this material, it seems to float along by itself underneath my sewing machine. For the outside I used some plain and solid linen.

Even though there are tons of tutorials on these pouches, I feel like noone has really revealed the secret of the zipper corners in full detail yet. There are various ways. You could either cover the zipper with a small piece of fabric, as I did here, then shorten the zipper a little to reduce the bulk. Or you refrain from using any extra covering, but will have a little more bulk then with slightly rounded corners.

Maybe there's no real solution if you want to use lining. But I've seen some around with very pointy corners, so I am determined to discover the secret of those. And when I do, I will share with those of you who have been in the dark for so long as well (unless you know already and would love to share!).

Hope you're all having a good week!

Childhood thoughts and another gift

On my way back home I was favoured by fortune to ride in one of those old train wagons. They're very rare and replaced by the (in my eyes) rather charmless modern models. Even though this one is not the oldest version yet, it reminds me of my childhood and travelling long distances by train when visiting my grandparents. Grandpa came all the way from his hometown just to pick me up at the station where I was waiting with my parents. Once inside, I stood on the upholstered bench, wistfully in anticipation, and we both waved my parents goodbye. 

I must have been only 3 or 4 years old, but I still remember the smell of the brownish upholstery. And how I felt so wonderfully taken care of by my grandpa, who started cutting small pieces of apples for me with his pocket knife on those little foldout tables. I remember wondering about "Aschenputtel" (the german version of Cinderella), and if she really lived in Aschersleben, a little town our train always passed through. Even though grandpa is gone for many years now, I still wonder. In a more grownup and mature way, of course.

Back home I finished this little birthday gift for a friend of mine. A while back I made a cotton bag for her in a very similar design, and she fell in love with the anchor patterned linen. The zipper pouch fever has gotten me a few weeks ago and I've been through so many tutorials to get the hang of how to make these. They're so lovely to have for little bits and bobs and make such a wonderful present.

Sunny wedding and a gift

We were invited to a wonderfully relaxed wedding, celebrating with close family members and a few friends. A welcome change in stressful times. It was raining during the ceremony (which I heard brings good luck) and the sun peeked out as soon as we left the register office to head to the restaurant.

Loved the bride's dress and groom's tie.

Tried very hard to withstand the urge to lick my plate after every single course of the most delicious menu.

Had such pleasure to inaugurate my cam on this blessed occasion. 

For their wedding I gave them the little hat I have started a while back (and fortunately managed to finish on time), since the bride is expecting a baby girl. I'm so happy it was well received and am promised a picture on the little one as soon as it's born and grown into it.

Sunny sunday

Oh, such a sunny morning! I spent some time on the balcony looking after my tomato plants. They look terrible. As if all their energy went into providing me with so many delicious tomatoes, and now they're just totally worn out. I might have to find a foster home for them.

I also made another to do list. I have several scattered around the house, which I sometimes find after months. It's always amusing to browse through them, and still satisfying to strike off the things I managed to actually do. The leftovers make their way onto my current list. Like movies I really wanted to watch for ages. And musicians I never had the time to check out properly.

Here's another knitting project that's been occupying me for a while. I started rather feverishly with the smaller sleeves, and didn't think I would actually get this far. Now I'm out of wool.

The pattern is so adorable, reminds me of waffles. 
With powdered sugar and icecream. Mhmm...

Early autumn dress

It's been a little quiet on my blog front, I apologize. But do you know those times when you've got so many things at hand, you just don't know where to start?

Sometimes my creative vein is blocked. And then there are days when I take up three projects at once and literally run from one to the other. As if I needed more than two hands, and maybe another head even.

So here is one of my later quests. And I'll make every effort to share the other ones as well.

I found this adorable fabric a couple of days ago and instantly fell in love. I thought of making a cozy and practical dress. Something you can just pull on quickly while it still flatters your shape.

Since I had only 1,40m to work with (it was the last bit) I had to alter a pattern I made for another project, and insert some seams. But I think it still turned out beautifully. I know, you can't really see it too well there, but dusk was falling when I finished this dress, so it was the best shot I got. I promise I'll make some better pictures soon.

Some early autumn break music matches well with the seemingly ending summer and my new early autumn dress. 
Have a lovely weekend!