The Flowery Skirt

Clothes in art

2011-10-30T16:39:00.000+01:00

Troy Brauntuch, Untitled (Suit), 2008
Conté on cotton

Great news!!!

2011-10-29T19:31:00.002+02:00

I enrolled in the pattern making course at the Callegari Italian School for Fahion and Design here in Zagreb! It's a year long course and we will be drafting 70 patterns. The first class starts next Wednesday, yay! :-DDD

New machine!

2011-10-21T16:05:00.003+02:00

Look look!

Isn't it beautiful? It's a Singer 518. The web says Singer 518 Stylist. I couldn't determine the right year of release, but it's probably from the early seventies. Does anyone know?

It came with one flexy stitch disc and only one foot and it works perfectly! :-))))

Two muslins - blouses

2011-10-17T20:23:00.004+02:00

Both blouses are from Burda. I will post the details as soon as I have something more concrete to show.

This is the third fitting for this one. The first muslin was a disaster, but I kept going. now it looks pretty good. The blouse is long sleeved with a scarf tied around the neck and I have a dark blue viscose with small white flowers to use. It probably will not show the front gathers well. We shall see.

The next one is, ahem , to be recut one size bigger. I'm surprised. It's a size 40 and not fitting? Hmmm... Perhaps I should only redraft the front. This is a great basic pattern and I want to make it perfect because there are two nice floral satins waiting to be sewn up.

More to come.
Stay tuned!

Good night!

Clothes in art

2011-10-15T21:52:00.000+02:00

Clothes swap

Via

Crocheted shawl

2011-10-09T19:43:00.004+02:00

Three days ago I went out in short sleeves. Then it rained. In some regions it snowed!
Today we had to turn on the heating.
My brain can't get used to the cold, yet. Two days are too short of a time to get used to this kind of change.
How are the flowers in your garden coping? And you?

This week I chose a crochet intermezzo and made this beautiful shawl. Right on time for the chill! This nice purple wool has been waiting since last winter to be used. And in all truth it was only the high date that inspired me to crochet!

Oh, I know,I know. I could have styled it better...

I found this pattern on the web. I like the 3D quality of the petals.

Are you also thinking about curling up in something warm with a cup of tea and a cookie? With a nice movie to relax, perhaps? It is Sunday evening after all. Oh, by the way, yesterday we saw Midnight in Paris and it is absolutely wonderful! If you haven't seen this movie yet, do it as soon as you can! And, oh, the fashion! I have to see it again just to take a better look at those 20's dresses!

Clothes in art

2011-10-04T20:12:00.000+02:00

Vilhelm Hammershøi Young Girl Sewing (Anna Hammershøi) 1887

Oil on canvas

Via

Olive green outfit - top and skirt

2011-10-01T17:59:00.004+02:00

I have been quite productive in September and am very satisfied with the results. Also, I'm unusually sticking to my autumn/winter sewing plan. I have finished two more items!

The shirt that had to be refashioned. Enormous and with a shirt like insert.

I totally reconstructed it and also stitched up the flowery skirt to pair it with.

Look it has pockets!

Looks better tucked in or out?

A little detail of the button and hand stitched loop.

And now I should probably finally go and make that jacket and coat. Or two...

SSS'11 day 28-30

2011-10-01T17:49:00.004+02:00

So, September is gone and the SSS'11 challenge is over. I had really no problem to wear at least one me made or refashioned garment. The biggest challenge usually is ironing a pair of pants before running out. When this happens lazy me wears jeans instead. :-)

On to the last three outfits!

Me made top and me refashioned cardi, skirt and shoes.

Me made - skirt

Me made - top and pants

Wrapping it all up I learned one new thing. It seems that I have put on some weight...Ahem...
And I have a serious lack of jackets in the closet. Have to fix that as soon as possible.

Accessories for the sewing obsessed?

2011-09-30T14:19:00.005+02:00

Via

Are you one of them?
Then you certainly need these! :-DD

SSS'11 day 22-27

2011-09-29T14:39:00.000+02:00

Just a few more daysof SSS' 11!

Me made - top

Me made - dres and refashioned cardi
Two days of this! Just loove that dress!!

Me made - T-shirt

Me made - everything

Brown and stripey pants 3F Burda easy fashion F/S 2009

2011-09-27T20:00:00.005+02:00

It is so interesting how a different fabric affects a pattern. These pants had to be perfect as the orange ones, right?

But, noooo. What is that in the back??? This woolen blend is much heavier than linen and has much more drape. So there we have a waterfall under the behind. I'm curious to see what will happen after the test wear. It is still too hot to wear them, though.

And here we have some closeups.

I reused a zipper and buttons, lined the pockets with some matching vintage silk, and finished the facing with gold bias tape.
All in all I'm very pleased with the result. The pants are very comfortable as the fabric is a little bit stretchy. Now I'm curious what could happen if I chose another type of fabric. Like velvet, for instance? I'd love a pair of warm and orange pants for the winter!

Ciao!

Outfits

2011-09-25T20:50:00.004+02:00

The test wearing of the orange pants went very well. Too bad it is getting cold so I won't be able to wear them more.

Here we have two new garments from the autumn/winter sewing plan. Pants and cardigan!

Next up - a post about the above!

Have a nice evening everyone! :-))

Clothes in art

2011-09-24T23:12:00.000+02:00

Via

Orange linen pants 3F Burda easy fashion F/S 2009

2011-09-21T17:43:00.007+02:00

Those were the base of my perfect pants. But now I know many more things about adjustments and decided do it all over again to get another perfect pants pattern!

Voila the result!

Firstly, material notes: Linen from stash, old zipper, cotton scraps for facing and snaps for closure (since there were no matching buttons).

Secondly, what I did: Traced the pattern size 40 waist/42 hips of pants 3F Burda easy fashion F/S 2009. Made the alterations I wanted (swayback, scooped the crotch line and added the missing width to hips, "tall-ified" the pattern ,i.e. lengthened the body of pants and the part above the knee) without muslining. I just knew they would fit!

Oh, I also added back pockets.
The whole making process was quick and easy, except for topstitching. The machine simply didn't want to do it. I successfully topstitched only the pockets, after serial jamming I gave up.

Yay! Winner! Just have to scoop the back crotch line some more and make my fall pants!

Not that it's particularly visible, but should I have placed the back pocket lower?

Ciao!

SSS'11 day 14-21

2011-09-21T17:18:00.005+02:00

Two days of this outfit
Me made - refashioned skirt

Me made - skirt

Me made - dress

Me made - t-shirt, pants and refashioned cardigan

Me made - blouse

Me made - skirt and top

Me made - sweat pants, top and socks

It is getting colder outside...

Clothes in art

2011-09-21T14:04:00.001+02:00

Wire sculpture done by Leigh Pennebaker

Via

Purple flowers dress Burda 8/2011-125 - FESA 2011 garment No.1

2011-09-20T20:38:00.005+02:00

Another version of this great Burda 8/2011-125 dress pattern!

I used a flannelish woven fabric from stash. It is gray-brown with purple and magenta flowers.

This time I lengthened the sleeves, omitted the collar, closed the neckline a bit, added pocket and inserted the zipper on the side. Of course, since I never read the directions (which are in German and I don't understand it) I couldn't find the way to insert that zipper where the pocket is. It was illogical to me that it should be attached to the pocket, but it actually has to. And it is also quite easy to do. :-)

I want to make a couple more changes to the pattern and then make another version. I looove this pattern soo much!!!

We can count this as my first entry for the Fall Essentials Sew-Along 2011! But I still haven't found the Flickr password....

Happy sewing everyone!

Blouse Burda 7/2007-101 in green and pants Burda 7/2010-127 in blue

2011-09-16T21:51:00.005+02:00

Now, all three garments are done.

I wanted to make this blouse fit, but I'm not really happy with it. There is more to do on the shoulder back and sleeves. Perhaps another time.
Here is the pattern with all the alterations ( lengthened bodice, forward shoulder, narrow back):

And the blouse...Well, I guess it's the fabric. It looked so lovely but somehow I don't like it made up in this blouse.

Here it is with the blue corduroy high waisted pants:

Sigh...Just don't like it...I'm made for bright colors, don't you agree? This yellowgreen doesn't suit me at all. And the night dark pants..? So it happens that you like a fabric very much under the light in the shop, but then it doesn't do anything for you except emphasizing the black circles under your eyes. What do you do when something like this happens? Wear it anyway or let it go?

SSS'11 day 11,12,13

2011-09-13T20:29:00.003+02:00

Me made - top and skirt

Me made - refashioned skirt and top

Me made - pants

Dress Burda 8/2011-125 - part 3

2011-09-10T21:30:00.006+02:00

Finally the dress is done! With a couple more changes.

First, I wanted to lengthen the sleeves but the result was really ugly. Since I didn't like the above elbow length I shortened them. The pattern was supposed to have a side zipper, but I inserted it in the back. This change influenced the collar, which is now opened in the back. It looks nice, as well as the knotted front. :-)

I didn't line it because I planned to wear it with a slip.

Oh, I love this dress! I will make it again with longer sleeves.

Ciao! :-))

Dress Burda 8/2011-125 - part 2

2011-09-10T21:15:00.008+02:00

Here are the top pattern pieces with the alterations traced in red. I pinched the darts on the paper and then retraced all the pattern pieces before cutting.

And here it is! The first stage of the dress construction. I'm quite happy with the fit!

No creases! Well, it is also a knit so it drapes even better around the body. I want to learn how to achieve this every time!

I have to admit that the more I learn about fitting techniques the more I'm fascinated by the science and art of it.

Dress Burda 8/2011-125 - part 1

2011-09-10T20:39:00.010+02:00

It was love at first sight, what else can I say?
Ah, this dress..and it's a "tall" pattern...and I found the perfect fabric!

The fitting went through three stages. Here is the second. Some seams have already been taken in - the front seams, central back seam and the back seam for a swayback adjustment.

There was more to do with the upper part of the top.

This is the second muslin. The bottom was fine so I made only the top. As you can see I constructed the sleeves ( in a rather intuitive fashion), as I envisioned the dress to have 3/4 sleeves.

Quite a nice fit! Except for the pulling around the bra. More room had to be added there.

More in the next post.

SSS'11 day 8,9,10

2011-09-10T20:35:00.003+02:00

Me made - pants and top

Me made - refashioned dress

Me made - pants and top

Dress fit snippet

2011-09-09T13:43:00.002+02:00

SSS'11 day 6, 7

2011-09-07T23:11:00.003+02:00

Me made - dress refashion

Me made - skirt and top refashion

Question!

2011-09-06T14:55:00.003+02:00

I have cleaned up the sewing corner, and put aside a number of sewing magazines to give away. But there are quite a number of them, so this thought came to me...Would you barter with me?

Say, I'd love to have these books:
Fit for real people by Palmer and Alto
Fast fit by Sandra Betzina
Make your own patterns by Adele Margolis
Pattern Fitting with Confidence by Nancy Zieman

How many magazines (assorted Burda, La mia Boutique, Modellina) would be appropriate or would you like to trade for either of these books?

Anyone interested?

Self stitched September '11 days 4,5 and Winter Glasses Panna cotta

2011-09-05T20:30:00.010+02:00

What I wore yesterday:

Me-made - skirt, top and underwear

Today I wore a me-made skirt and underwear.

The last recipe in the The Artist's seasons 2011 project from CCS is here,finally!

Bicchieri Inverno or Winter Glasses

You will need:

1. Egg whites and sugar for the schaum

Basic ratio - 5 eggwhites, 250 gr sugar, juice from 1 lemon

2. Coconut flour

Basic recipe to make schoum :

Wisk 5 eggwhites with 100 gr sugar until firm.

Combine the remaining 150 gr of sugar with 0,5 dl water in a pan and cook until you get a thick syrup.

Pour the lemon juice and syrup in the eggwites and wisk until you get a smooth shiny cream.

Now add some coconut flour to the schoum, combine well and fill your panna cotta glasses. If you wish you can garnish with more coconut.

Enjoy! (Glasses slightly tilted due to snowstorm inside.. ;-))))

Green velvet skirt Burda 2/2011-107

2011-09-04T15:50:00.000+02:00

This is the second piece finished according to this plan. The corduroy pants are also done, but there are no photos yet.

The pattern is Burda 2/2011-107, the same as the Hommage a Carolina skirt. (But I cannot find the post..? Is it possible that I never blogged about it here???)

Errr, so here it is, the tablecloth refashion skirt + applique:

The second version is apple green velvet. I wanted to hem it with lace, but ended up liking this version better. I mean, not turned to the wrong side. I can always do that.

Now I just have to find, ahem, sew the right top to go with it. ;-)))

Self stitched September '11 days 2,3 and a plaid romantic skirt

2011-09-03T21:22:00.007+02:00

Three days into September, already?

Since I wore the same things these last two days, I figured one photo would be enough, so here I am in my around-the-house outfit. Me made items: pants, T-shirts and panties.

For the weekly "Plaid" challenge on The Sew Weekly I made this skirt.
Remember the fabric?

The plaid went from thrifted skirt to bottom of a discarded dress project to refashioned skirt. The coral red fabric comes from a scrap bag and the crocheted circle center of the rosette was made with remnants of embroidery thread. The zip and snap closure are from stash.

Gran's green dress refashion

2011-09-02T17:40:00.000+02:00

My grandmother's green dress from the 70s! Four sizes too big, I'm afraid...

I had to take it in - a lot, then shortened the sleeves, and changed the buttons. Oh, I felt lots of love and tenderness for her seeing every button sewed on with a different color thread. <3

Ciao!

First day of Self Stitched September '11 and Autumn Glasses

2011-09-01T21:05:00.013+02:00

August has been a very productive month for me (all due to allergie induced confinement :-( ). The list includes a new pair of pants (waiting to be lined), two blouses, lots of underwear, 5 refashioned skirts, a little girl's dress, 3 dress muslins and 2 blouse muslins. (Did I forget something?) I haven't blogged about some of them yet. I need to catch up with the posting part. But when you sew, you don't have time to blog, right? Hopefully September will prove to be as productive, if not more than that.

Today is the first day of Self Stitched September '11. Have you updated your wardrobe with self stitched garments? I'm quite settled when it comes to underwear! I will not be showing you that in the posts, though. Scroll a few post down if you are so curious.. :-))

The self stitched items of the day are my top, pants and undies. :-)
Aaand I need to find my Flickr password to join the group - fast!!!

I also finished my Four Seasons challenge! Here is the recipe for the Bicchieri Autunno or Autumn glasses:

Bicchieri Autunno or Autumn glasses

You will need:

1. Almonds and sugar for caramel

2. Egg yolks, sugar and wine for zabaione

basic ratio - 2 eggyolks, 2 spoonfull sugar, 1 dl wine ; to get a thicker crean add less wine

3. Some chocolate to garnish

And now the process:

Caramelize the sugar in a pan and add ground or chopped almonds to taste. When done pour onto a greased surface.

To make zabaione combine the eggyolks with sugar in a pot and wisk untill foamy, then add the wine.

Cook and wisk until the foamy cream thickens.

Crumble the caramel and add to your panna cotta glasses.

Then add the zabaione and garnish with some almonds and chocolate.

Enjoy! :-))

Right away would be best...

White skirt - refashioned!

2011-08-31T14:25:00.008+02:00

I said I had something in mind to do with the bottom of this dress, remember?
I refashioned it into a skirt! What do you say?

Now, the story goes like this: The fabric came from my mother's vintage stash. Since I already had something similar in white, which I liked more, I decided to dye this piece. The fabric came out of the process with no coloring at all, just a couple of stains. So much about the content of synthetic fibers. Disappointed, I then decided to use it to make a test garment. As you know, that experiment didn't work either. But I had this brilliant idea of embellishing the whole skirt with ribbons of remnants of white fabrics! A closer look:

First I took the remnant pieces of white fabric and cut them into 2,5 cm wide ribbons, then I sewed them freely onto the skirt with a straight stitch. I started at the bottom and randomly applied piece after piece. I love how this skirt refashion turned out! :-) Fraying edges included!

Ciao!

P.S.
I named her Dottie White, heeeee! :-DD

Clothes in art

2011-08-30T19:35:00.001+02:00

Window shopping

Via

Little dress

2011-08-29T19:19:00.001+02:00

From the UFO pile. :-)
Finished with ruffled elastic, button at the back neckline and handmade flower brooch.

Ciao!

Clothes in art

2011-08-27T15:03:00.003+02:00

Bloomers

Via

Two more dress muslins

2011-08-27T10:34:00.008+02:00

And now there are no more dress muslins on the UFO pile! I'm almost done with it,haha!!!

This is a dress that ended up being a line matching exercise. Not too bad, but I'm absolutely not that thrilled with it to make all the alterations needed to make it perfect. The pattern is Burda 6/1995-114. I'm going to reuse the skirt piece to make a bag. Or let it remain a skirt?

To make this one I combined a top and a skirt pattern that are a good fit. And it is visible on this muslin. The thing I don't like is the dark color on top and white on the bottom. Somehow I'm not comfortable with this combination.
This one also proves (once again) that soft and flared skirts are a much better choice for my shape. With fitted tops. No questions about that.
So this dress is not going to be finished either, but I have plans for the skirt... :-)))

Have a nice Saturday!

Diamonds and colors

2011-08-26T21:51:00.002+02:00

One piece maxi skirt from La mia Boutique

Blouse Burda 7/2007-101

2011-08-25T21:33:00.001+02:00

Another project from the UFO pile. Very old. From the time I used pattern as they were. Without adjustments. You may not see it, but I can feel the pattern needs adjustments!

Blose Burda 7/2007-101 I Like!

The fabric I used were remnants from a dress project for a friend. Including holes and discoloring. I had to implement the usual magic and chemistry to cut the pattern pieces out. But you know I love that!

So nice, both the pattern and fabric! Why did it stay on the ufo pile for such a long time you wonder?
Here's why - I scorched the back piece with the iron! I don't know what kind of fabric this is, but it behaves strangely. Like organza, I'd say.
I was soooo very close to throwing the whole thing away! :-(

Nice...meh...

Then I dug it out in my big UFO busting spree. With rather satisfying results! :-)

The hole got mended. I ironed a little piece of interfacing on the back and then applied this piece of lace on the right side.

Finished! Or maybe not. I should probably apply some lace to the front. For balance. As a design element. Yes, let's put it this way,hehe. Otherwise people might think I just used lace as a patch to conceal a flaw..! :-)

Good night everyone!

Wrap top Burda Nahen Leicht und Schnell 1/96 -207

2011-08-24T08:11:00.000+02:00

Wrap top Burda Nahen Leicht und Schnell 1/96 -207

I like!!

Sleeveless wrap blouse -from the UFO pile - finished! Yay! :-)

I used remnants (triangles!) of this beautiful satin I got from someone. But whom? Can't remember... Anyway, there was enough fabric only for the pattern pieces. I remember that. No leftovers for the bands and bias binding. So I had to buy some bias tape to finish it. Well worth it! The pattern needs adjustments, though... Will work on that! I like it a lot!

One thing I noticed, can someone, please, enlighten me about it, is that the openings for the tie strings are located slightly below the waist. Why is that? Shouldn't they be at waist height if you want to tie the blouse properly?

Dress La mia Boutique 5/2000-18 - Details

2011-08-23T00:43:00.001+02:00

As promised, here is the line drawing of the Red flowers dress La mia Boutique 5/2000-18 :

I like it a lot and will probably make another, but this time with a slit in the back of the skirt. As this is an absolute zen dress! It gets you focused on your steps and makes you slow down - because you can't make long steps no matter what. Perfect for a peaceful stroll. :-))

The pattern doesn't call for it, but I inserted snaps in the front and a side zipper for easier manipulation. See the arrows? It is not so clear, sorry. And the casing for the back strings with the cute little bow.

And now - more pics - just for fun!

Oh, have you noticed? New haircut! :-)))

Ciao!

Headbands

2011-08-23T00:40:00.000+02:00

More items from the UFO pile finished!

I've been making lots of stuff lately, haven't I? So, how's that, you may wonder. After all it is still summer and we should spend as much time as possible outside, right? Well, not me. This is the time of my worst allergie (to a certain plant) so I'm barricaded inside and...sew. Not so bad after all... :-))

Ciao!

A sewing plan?

2011-08-22T13:55:00.000+02:00

It is known far and wide that I'm a disaster at planning. It simply (almost) never works. Unless it is something truly exciting. Why? It's in my nature. Simple really. I change my mind or something else gets my attention. :-) I'm quite OK and used to it. It only adds up to the UFO pile!

So what's the plan, you ask? Destashing!

Dark blue corduroy - high waisted pants
Green with blue dots viscose - shirt with bow ( this fabric is new)
Green velvet - high waisted skirt

For a change :-) the pants and skirt have already been cut out. :-) I still haven't decided which pattern to use for the shirt, I traced a couple of them. We shall see how the muslins turn out. When I get to them. After some more UFOs...

Planning any autumn sewing yet?

Bread of the week and...

2011-08-21T14:39:00.001+02:00

...more panties, haha!

That's it for the time being! There are more UFO panties but I ran out of elastic...:-)

To change the subject, here's this week's batch of bread:

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

More underwear

2011-08-20T09:23:00.000+02:00

Six UFOs finished, yay! :-)

A set

2011-08-19T13:20:00.001+02:00

Two more FOs!
Scraps of fabric, bias elastic and a piece of elastic lace.

Underwear!

2011-08-18T21:48:00.000+02:00

Yes yes, I'm working on my UFOs! There is still a number (!)of them...

But four less than yesterday :-)

FOs - Panties!
Knit scraps, old t-shirts, fold-over elastic and a piece of elastic lace.

Zip top

2011-08-18T20:57:00.005+02:00

Destashing a bit!

To make this top I used a piece of doubleknit fabric and an old zipper.

Gray and orange. Sporty look :-)

Have a good night!

Upside down cake with peaches

2011-08-14T19:49:00.003+02:00

Sweet, moist and soft. Mmmmmmmmyum!

I adapted this recipe.

Sewing related art

2011-08-14T13:40:00.004+02:00

Antoine Raspal, The Couturier's Workshop, Arles, 1760

Via the wonderful The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide to the 18th Century blog.

New fabrics

2011-08-13T14:21:00.004+02:00

Bought this year:

Cotton, viscose, blends ( I love the houses!) for dresses and shirts

Linen (the white is embroidered) for pants and dresses

Orange wool and blend knits for pants, dresses and cardigans

At least, this is the general plan...

Pasta alla Norma

2011-08-13T14:16:00.000+02:00

Pasta with tomato sauce, fried aubergines and fresh basilico.

Red flowers dress

2011-08-11T18:50:00.000+02:00

I forgot to post these pictures!
The dress was finished about a month ago.
The pattern is from La mia Boutique. A very nice design with fitted bodice and balloon skirt.

I had barely enough of this narrow width cotton print fabric for the pattern. It was gifted to me by my friend M, and it is lightwaight and soft but crisp enough to keep the shape.

I will take photos of some details and will also post the line drawing because the design is truly lovely.

Have a nice and creative day!
Ciao!
Ba

Little rant

2011-08-11T09:31:00.002+02:00

In short:

1. Got back from 1 (rainy) + 1 (partially cloudy) weeks of vacation (mostly working) :-(
2. Caught a cold :-(
3. The computer died - again, and it was impossible to resuscitate it :-(

Sigh, I think I need a few days of rest in the sun...

So, please, forgive my absence! I truly hope you are having a summery summer and that all is well wherever you are.

On the bright side - there are new shoes and fabrics, and plans for autumn sewing!

Will be back in a minute.
Ciao!

Self-Stitched-Sept '11

2011-08-04T21:01:00.001+02:00

I, Barbara of http://floweryskirt.blogspot.com/, sign up as a participant of Self-Stitched-Sept '11.
I endeavour to wear at least one self-stitched,made,refashioned or altered thing or garment each day for the duration of September 2011'

Want to join the fun? Click here:

http://sozowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com/2011/08/self-stitched-sept-11-join-me.html

Vacation, sewing and the weather

2011-07-31T23:14:00.004+02:00

Hello friends!
Just checking in for a moment to say hello!

Right now I'm on vacation. Well, sort of, because when I go home (to see my parents) it's - going home, not on vacation. :-) The upside is the beach at a 100 m distance. :-) Only, the weather is not cooperating this summer. I have to sleep with a blanket on my bed!! The temperatures are in the 20s (sometimes lower) and it's the end of July!! Not to mention the clouds and rain and storms... Oh, poor turists, they finally got to the Adriatic, only to experience torrential rain and cold.

Today was wonderful, though. And since circumstances are forcing me to stay a couple more days, I hope to get to sunbath and relax properly before going back to Zagreb. Also, someone please remind me to take my sunglasses off! (You know the racoon look,eh?)

Did I mention that I brought my sewing machine? :-D

Yeah, I promised Grandma to sew something for her. I made her two dresses and a blouse. Another blouse has to be recut as the pattern is too loose. Several aprons are in the making. She promptly wore the blose to church.
Oh, she was so funny while I was sewing! At times I would ask her to try a garment on and then she would walk like a model across the living room forth and back. We had some loughs! And I loved seeing her happy. But there are no photos, unfortunately.

Then, my little niece wanted some clothes for a doll. Of course, I obliged. :-) And we had a lot of fun making them. She was very curious about the sewing machine and its parts, and accessories. (Asking a billion times when is the skirt, or blouse, or hat going to be finished, hehe.) She had fun cutting the thread on the corner cutter and counting the needles in their little boxes. At one point she also wanted to sit on my lap while I was sewing. She looked really really interested, so much so that at moments it was hard to keep her fingers off some part of the machine or presser foot. I had to raise my voice a couple of times to avoid accidents. :-(
All in all a fun adventure. :-) For her and for me. Who knows, she may want to learn to sew some day. What do you think?

So, the week went by in a blink. Luckily, it rained most of the time, hehe.

I hope you are having more luck with the weather and chances to wear the cute summer dresses you stitced up! Maybe I will be able to do so in August.

Ciao!

P.S.
Something completely different

by Carmen Casanova

Four seasons panna cotta - Summer Glass recipe

2011-07-20T11:36:00.003+02:00

The second project in the Four seasons project from CCS is here!

Bicchieri Estate or Summer Glasses

You will need:

Cherry jam ( I used homemade)

Panna cotta

Whipped cream

1. Put 1-2 spoonfull of cherry jam in the glasses

Then pour in some panna cotta and let cool (best overnight).

2. Whipp the cream and add some jelly from the jam (no fruit), mix well to get a pink tint you like.

Add the cream to the glasses and form a flower shape with a spoon (or any other utensil you prefer).

Decorate with a leaf and some more jam jelly.

Done!

They have this dusty, wavy, icecreamish look of summer. I like it!

Yummm!!!

Sewing related art

2011-07-13T22:53:00.003+02:00

By Zhang Wanying.

Via the fantastic The art room plant.

Test garments - part 2

2011-07-11T21:03:00.000+02:00

Two tops....

Dress Burda 5/2000-131 FO

2011-07-08T10:44:00.004+02:00

Remember this dress? And the swayback issue?
I took the time to unpick the zipper and do the adjustment.

It's not perfect, but much better.

And I loooveee it!!!

Test garments - part 1

2011-07-08T10:31:00.013+02:00

As you know, my UFO pile is biiiiig. As well as my unwanted fabrics stash. And most of the UFOs are muslins.
Lately, I've been diligently working to make them smaller. :-))
Proof:

Pattern: Burda 5/2004-115
I like it a lot.

The pattern asks for a knit (which I used to sew this dress last year) but I was curious to see how it would work with a woven fabric. I used two pieces of not so nice fabrics from stash.
I only lengthened the pattern before sewing the muslin. The top is nice. The bottom piece needs alterations. The obvious and usual swayback alteration (so, why don't I do it right away???) and , how strange, some fabric needs to be taken from the front, as well. Then, the back of the skirt needs to be lengthened.

Sigh.. I don't know. This could remain an UFO until I put my new dress form on a proper stand. Or forever. We shall see. I'm not so easily discouraged, but really not in the mood to finish this dress right now.

Pattern: Burda 12/2008-121
Just...bleh. It's in the trash now. I used remnants to make the muslin, so no damage done. I kept the bottom pieces of the pattern, though. They could be used to make a skirt.

Pattern: Burda 6/2003-108
This is the best dress pattern ever, as I am concerned.
I made some basic alterations and used this yellow silk (that used to be curtains) to make the muslin (if wearable could be a nightgown..?).
A couple of issues emerged.

The front was good, but pulled on the sides near the bust. Then I noticed why! How come? Because I'm not particularly gifted in that area, hehe!? This was easy to change on the pattern. The pulling on the left foto is due to my posture. Also, I had to scoop the front armscy a bit.

The back surplus issue got resolved with a little help from Z. He is really getting into pinning, hehe!
Now the pattern is ready for some faboulous fabric!
I'm really looking forward to sewing this one.

More UFOs info in the next post.
Ciaoo!
Have a nice weekend!
Finally it is hot hot hot and I can wear my pretty dresses, yay! :-)))

Four seasons panna cotta - Spring Glass recipe

2011-07-07T11:47:00.013+02:00

Back at CCS I joined a group challenge called The Artist's seasons 2011.
And decided to make some cake. First I thought about pies/crostatas, but then I opted for panna cotta.
Here is the Spring Glass or Bicchiere primavera creation (copy paste from CCS method :-) ):

Bicchieri Primavera or Spring Glasses

You will need:

For the lemon cream:

2 lemons

150 gr sugar

3 eggs

50 gr butter

For the panna cotta:

0,5 l cream

1 vanilla bean

10 gr gelatine ( I used unflavored granulated prepared with 4 spoons of cold water)

For the caramelized orange and sauce:

1 cup sugar

0,5 cup water

1 orange

1 lemon

First you make the lemon cream.

You can use any other citrus you prefer.

Zest and juice the lemons.

In a metal bowl wisk together 1 egg+2 egg yolks and the sugar until light.

Add lemon juice and stir.

Cook on bain marie (double boiler; over until boiling water) until thick. It takes about 10 minutes. When the cream thickens, add a pinch of lemon zest (or more if you want a stronger taste) and cook a bit more to release the flavour.

Remove the bowl and add the sliced butter. Stir until melted and well combined. You wil get a smooth, thick cream.

Let cool.

The cream can be made a day in advance.

Basic panna cotta method:

Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds.

Combine in a saucepan the liquid cream, sugar, seeds and bean.

Prepare the gelatine. (You can use the type you prefer)

Place the sacepan on the stove and bring to boil. Remove the vanilla bean and cook for a couple more minutes.

Remove from the heath and add the gelatine. Stir until well combined.

Put the panna cotta into cups, glasses, or any other container or mold while it is still hot because it thickens and hardens as it cools down.

After it cools at room temperature refrigerate it for 4 hours.

To remove panna cotta from a mold insert the mold in very hot water (the outer layer will melt) and then turn onto a plate.

Caramelized oranges and caramel sauce.

In a pan combine water and sugar and stir well. Put on stove on low heat to melt the sugar.

Wash the orange, slice it crosswise into 0,5 cm slices and then cut away the peel.

Put the slices into the pan and cook. The liquid should simmer.

Turn the slices over a couple of times.

When the caramel sauce is very thick and the orange slices "transparent". Take out the slices and put them on a piece of backing paper or oiled surface to cool.

Juice the lemon and add the juice to the caramel sauce, stir until well combined. Remove pan from the stove.

Now, to recap:

1. make the lemon cream

2. make caramelized oranges and caramel- lemon sauce

3. make panna cotta

How to assemble the Bicchieri Primavera:

1. Pour hot caramel sauce into glasses (while it is still liquid)

Let cool for a while in a cold place an meanwhile make the panna cotta.

2. Add the lemon cream.

When I inserted the lemon cream the sauce was still warm but thicker, so I got the "sinking" look of the cream into the sauce.

3. Pour hot panna cotta into the glasses carefully.

4. Let cool and refrigerate overnight.

5. Decorate with caramelized orange slices and melissa (or mint) leaves.

YUMMMM!!!

A little postcard from the fridge ad a note...

I think I should have used less gelatine. I wish the panna cotta was softer.

But you can try and adjust according to taste.

:-)))

Anyone wants to try?

All packed up!

2011-07-06T19:32:00.004+02:00

Hmmm...Going somewhere? What do you say?

I'm ready to fly!
The spaceship is hovering above! See?

Taking off!!!

Adventure! Weeeeeeeee....

The nightgown to top refashion - Burda 12/2005-111

2011-07-03T20:16:00.005+02:00

Another UFO down!

I realised that most of the UFOs on the pile are actually muslins. Which is a rather good news since I don't have to finish them completely. Unless they are wearable. Or I want to. There are several dress patterns I really want to get right, but that's for another day...

The after: top Burda 12/2005-111 (without the band and slightly lengthened).

I find it lovely. But the fabric is too crisp for this pattern. The front should drape softly,and here it sticks out if you don't flatten it down with your hand. Ah, well.. Next time I'll use some silk. Maybe even make a dress.

This is the before:

Coming back soon with a fun fun post!

I hope your weekend was fun and relaxing!

Ciao!

Chiffon dress based on Burda 2/2008-119

2011-07-02T11:25:00.006+02:00

Whipped this out incredibly fast!

I had no idea what to do with this fabric. Well, I bought it to sew a maxi skirt but I just had a lightbulb moment during the construction of the top from the previous post. A simple pattern like this is the perfect base for a gorgeous fabric, isn't it?

The dress has a slight 60's feel to it, and looks also great worn with a skinny belt(my mother's).

One less piece of fabric in the stash, one gorgeous dress inside the closed. And something to wear with the golden sandals... :-))
I wish it was warmer autside! Where is summer?? I still wear socks!

If you have some extra sun warmth around, pleeease, send it our way!

Hugs
Barbara

A couple of test garments - top Burda 2/2008-119 and shrug La mia Boutique 5/2009-5

2011-07-02T08:24:00.004+02:00

Hello everyone!
Sorry to be missing, but, as you already know, I've had some technical issues lately...
The good thing is one can actually make something instead of browsing around the web.

Two of the finished objects:

The shrug pattern La mia Boutique 5/2009-5 was extremely small. I couldn't believe it. I had to redraft it all over based on a fitting t-shirt pattern. The second muslin (you can see in the above picture) works fine. I bought some yellow knit to make the real one. :-)

The top is the lovely Burda 2/2008-119. I wanted to make it for a long time. Here you can see the first muslin where I only lengthened the pattern. It is just fine like this. I don't think I will be altering it any more.

Both fabrics (three actually...) are from stash. You can call these "ugly fabrics" project really, hehe. Z says he likes the African fabric. I think those colors don't suit me, but both garments are actually wearable, and they are also coordinated (accidentaly). Work well with jeans.

So, I have less fabric in the stash and many things to show you. What I don't have is the camera...I took some pictures while I had it last night, though. Thus, you'll have to forgive the bad quality of the pics. :-)

Ciao!

Yet again...

2011-06-27T21:19:00.001+02:00

My computer died...
Everything is lost...:-(((
Boohooo...:-(((

Purple and dots dress refashion

2011-06-17T11:19:00.000+02:00

From this:

My friend E's late grandmother's dress.

To this!!!!:

Loooveeee!!!!

E kindly gifted me with some of her grandmother's dresses. A couple of them I liked a lot (this one and a green one), while I took a few others to learn something about the construction. In fact, they were all handmade. I didn't find out who the seamstress was, though.

To refashion this dress I unpicked the side seams and sleeves, eyeballed the position of a dress pattern upon the dress pieces stretched on the floor and cut. There are times when one wants to have the dress - now! You know what I mean, right? :-) Then I sewed the side seams together and then(!) Z fitted it on me!!! He kindly agreed to help me. :-) Haha! So cute! It was his first time and he was very, very, very careful and excited. And he also did a great job, didn't he? I don't mind the wobbliness of the front. It was a plus size dress after all.

So, due to this method of refashion, the dress has two pairs of totally unrelated bust darts and back darts. The fabric is some sort of syntethic knit so there was no need for a zipper. And I used golden bias tape to finish the armscyes. From stash.

Finished in a minute! Or, as we say it here (literally translated)- finished while you say cookie! :-)

I'm sure this little number will be worn a lot. As soon as I shave my legs and get a bit of suntan. :-PP :-DD

Have you sewn something you loooove lately?

Have a good night!

Still working on it

2011-06-15T20:09:00.008+02:00

So, what do you think?

The sleeves were too flapflap wingy. This is better!

And as the dress was too plain I just had to embellish it. I used some of the crocheted circles from recycled embroidery yarn I have a full box of. In complementary colors. I made so many of those circles there will be many more garments embellished with them! :-)

The dress is not finished yet but I love it already! Even though it was not planned to be worn out. You know I love bright colors, but this dress looks so...I don't know...fairytail-ish historical, doesn't it?

And here I spot yet another issue to be addressed!

It looks like the slight swayback adjustment isn't enough. Now I'm wondering... What if I unpick the zip and take the surplus fabric in? One more horizontal seam would not ruin the dress, right? It would look like a back midriff, right? Any thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

A Burda dress...muslin

2011-06-15T19:33:00.008+02:00

Leafing through some of my sewing magazines I got totally inspired by a balloon dress. Then immediately dug up three patterns. One of them is this one from Burda. Another one, that totally thrills me, is from La mia Boutique. The third, also a Burda, is very cute but will wait a minute before I finish these two. :-) More details coming...

So..
The alterations made: lengthened top and slight swayback adjustment.
Fabric: two pieces of fabric from stash, gold and brown with some shine. Almost no remnants left. :-)

I cut a size 40 (hips 42) and it was too big, and somehow too high at the neck. Never encountered this problem before. And haate the sleeves!

After the first few alterations on the dress I still wasn't happy how it looked so I changed few more things: changed the sleeves for cape sleeves and inserted elastic in the hem where the pattern called for a string.

And the neckline will be round...

I'll show you the almost done dress in a minute! :-)

Orange brooch

2011-06-14T18:38:00.003+02:00

Everything reused :-)

Sunday race and Monday outfit

2011-06-13T22:16:00.004+02:00

Yesterday we headed into town to see the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Well, half of it really. It was too hot so we went on to get ice cream. :-)
It was fun!
Here you can see few of the participants "speeding" down the hill in their handmade vehicles.

I loved the Barakuda team. Awesome construction and very fast! Unfortunately not pictured here. They won the race! :-)

And now for something completely different...my outfit of the day:

Top: thrifted
Skirt: me-made

Good night!

Dress Burda 6/2003-108 muslin

2011-06-13T11:16:00.002+02:00

Rescue from the UFO pile! Poor one, sitting there for a whole year...

The pattern: Burda 6/2003-108
I only lengthened the pattern pieces.

The front shows some pulling on the sides, see? The side view shows pulling in the middle. That means that the back is too short, right?

Obvious sway back alteration needed in the back! Undergarment to conceal underwear needed also! :-)

The dress doesn't look good enough to be worn around town, but is passable as a very light comfy summer house dress. Sigh...I like the fabric so much! Sigh...

But the dress pattern is great, don't you think? Only two pieces, flattering for my body shape and I can think of a million refashions already! :-)

And now, let's alter that pattern.

Have s nice and creative Monday!

Outfit of the day

2011-06-11T12:50:00.004+02:00

Yesterday:

Top: me-made
Jacket: thrifted
Jeans: Levis
Shoes: me-refashioned
Bag: birthday gift

So, you see I advanced technologically. Got to love the tripod and remote! :-D
Still have to learn how to use them properly. And practice with the camera.
(Hire a makeup artist and light technicians...)

I had some fun taking different pics:

Of course... The jump!

Heeeee :-))))

Household creativity

2011-06-10T22:08:00.008+02:00

Raspberries

Jam!

Lots of jam!

Mmmmmmm....

Crossover top refashion

2011-06-09T10:40:00.005+02:00

Grandma gave me this one. It was enormous and had to be taken in a lot on both sides.

I did a stupid thing, though. Forgot to leave extra space for the hips, ehh... So it pulls up.

Fortunately it is a summer top! :-DDD

T-shirt refashion

2011-06-09T10:09:00.005+02:00

Two finished objects from the UFO-refashion pile!

1. Simple basic white T-shirt

The pattern used is ..... I lengthened it 2.5 cm and did a slight sway back alteration but it looks like in need of some more, right? And also the shoulders need to be moved forward a bit.

Two different fabrics (shirts) were used for this one. Pique for the body, and plain knit for the sleeves and inserts. I used the front of the refashioned T to make the back because there was a big oval label I couldn't get rid of. So I used it to my advantage to design something nice.

Revers applique and tiny pearls on the right shoulder!

2. Pika-chu!

This one was refashioned from one ooold shirt of my brother's. So fun! I love the little lightning monster!

The pattern used is ..... in which I altered the sleeves to make them slightly puffed.

The back looks better than in the previous example. Let's see what happens when I wash them.

So, which patterns did I say I used???? Eh?? Can't even find them right now....Hmmmm...

Pants Burda 7/2010-127

2011-06-08T14:29:00.007+02:00

Yes, these! I wanted to make them since the moment I saw them. The most obvious reason being a "tall" pattern. I was anxious to see how they would fit.

I cut a size 84, at the waist 80, and used this lovely colorful bouret (discounted :-)) silk I bought around Christmas, having in mind a spring pair of pants.

The fit is great! Isn't it?

There are just a couple of things, though... The side seams are sticking out due to the interfacing used to secure them and need to be stitched down. It was too heavy, I suppose.

Aaand, they shrinked some more in the wash!!! Argh! Do natural fabrics do that all the time? Because if they do it's better never to wash them again. There is some length left in the cuff, but what about the width?

Anyhow, I love wearing them! :-)))) And will make them again. For sure.

Ciao!

Hello!

2011-06-06T22:15:00.002+02:00

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all doing great!

Thanks to all that occasionally stopped by while I was absent!

And now, I shall resume where I left off last time.

So...

There hasn't been much sewing going on around here in the last months, but last week I sewed as if I was obsessed! I took up some UFOs and sewed from stash.

This dress was my second attempt to subtraction cutting. I made it in January. I used fabric from stash that I wouldn't have used otherwise. It ended up being my carnival dress. I was a flower garden, with accent on lilies of the valley. :-D
I made the loosely appliqued leaves from remnants of the same green fabric and flowers from egg cartons painted white, and attached them with embroidery floss to the dress and hat.

I imagined the striped fabric to be an aerial view of the flower fields in Netherlands...:-)

I don't love those colors, but will try this technique again with fabric I actually like, because I really like the result!

Have a nice and creative time!

B

The easiest way to make socks - how to

2010-10-17T16:07:00.005+02:00

When you don't know what to do with a spare pair of sweater sleeves...make easy socks!

The good thing is that the cuff is already done.

So, place a sock you usually use over the sleeve and trace around it. You can see that my yellow sock is folded . That is because I wanted my blue sock to be short to the ankle. You can choose the length you prefer.

Cut around the traced line and use the piece to cut the other sock.

Sew or serge around... and you are done! Takes about 10 minutes. :-)

Easy peasy, hehe. And cosy warm. :-D

Hello! and some stuff...

2010-10-15T21:35:00.014+02:00

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since my last post, hasn't it?

Thanks to all of you who stopped by while I was absent and kindly commented, and thanks to all my new followers! :-)))

I have started making stuff again lately, after this and that, and today I want to share the following:

Green cotton top - wearable muslin
I used a pattern found around the house while cleaning, traced and cut out but never used. It's a La Mia Boutique pattern. Who knows from which issue. The fabric were some remnants I got from Grandma. There are plenty of those pieces for more muslins. Because, honestly, I can't see myself in this color...

Colorful skirt - dress refashion
I so loved the dress used to make this skirt! Wore it and wore it and wore it for years. It was long sleeved and floor length. The fabric is a Missoni knit. I just cut it at waist level and adjusted on myself to fit. I have to think of something to do with the rest of the dress. Make a bolero perhaps, or a purse...

Detail of the fabrics:

This scarf is my first knitting project for this winter. Nice and lacey.
The yellow wool yarn is veeery old. It was first used to make a sweater in highschool. After that I reused it to make another sweater in the 90s. And now...I guess it has been used for the last time. Because the wool has lost the softness throughout the years of wearing and washing. And I have other stuff to reuse and recycle, hehe. :-))

Coming back tomorrow with the simplest way to make socks.
Good night!

Quote

2010-09-05T19:14:00.001+02:00

"Being an artist means ceasing to take seriously that very serious person we are when we are not an artist. "
José Ortega y Gasset ( Spanish essayist and philosopher, 1883-1955)

Another brooch

2010-09-04T18:21:00.006+02:00

I like this one even more than the one I made a few days ago!

All the material was reused.

Oh, I love being creative again! I still have a bit of trouble breathing and headacke, but I think the injection I got did magic for me! I'm looking forward to fall without allergies.

Do you know?

2010-09-03T18:49:00.001+02:00

Hello everyone!

2010-09-02T20:17:00.000+02:00

Hi!
Looks like I moved to Blogger successfuly! :-D

This is the first post on the NEW Flowery Skirt blog. I brought over here several old blogposts, in no particular order, that I thought would be of more interest to you, my dear friends and readers. All the contet from the old blog will be still available at the address

http://floweryskirt.typepad.com/the_flowery_skirt/.

Thanks for visiting and come by again soon!

Barbara

Fiber brooch

2010-09-02T20:10:00.001+02:00

Today's creation:

One small and one big refashion

2010-09-02T20:08:00.001+02:00

Yay!

I certainly accomplished something today as well! Four items taken off the Reuse/Recycle/Refashion pile. All the notion were also reused.

The garments were also WIPs and UFOs, though.

An old boyfriend's shirt became baby pajamas:

And for the big refashion three pieces were used to make one:

I can happily go to sleep now.

Good night!

Bikin details

2010-09-02T19:50:00.004+02:00

Just keep in mind that this was my first try and don't expect something spectacular, ok?

So, I finally got around to using the elastic foot on my serger. It was rather easy. Just some tweaking to get the tension right and there was a seam I liked!

Here you can see the front and back of the seam. First, I serged on the elastic (on the wrong side!) and then turned it in and finished with a three step zigzag on the right side.

The top - just triangles and straps. For the triangles I used my old swimsuit. Traced around and added seam allowances - 1 cm at the sides and 1,5 cm for the bottom where the strap goes.

These are the basic pattern pieces used. For the bottom I deconstructed an old pair of panties. After inspecting the swimsuits I own I discovered they had only two pieces, i.e., the front and gusset were cut as one single piece. Although you need the gusset pattern to cut the lining piece in cotton.

Wonky bottom...

I added 1 cm seam allowance everywhere except at the sides because I decided to give it some interest with the circle strap closure.

The sides were turned in 1,5 cm to allow the straps through.

The gusset was sewn in at the front-back seam and left loose on the other side. That's also a method discovered after inspecting my old swimsuits. They are all different so I encourage you to take some time and see what you can learn from the things you already own.

Since the fabric used for this test project were cotton knit scraps it will not be used for swimming. I hate having wet things on.

Yesterday I decided on the next pattern to try. This time I will use lycra remnants and another top (bra) shape. I don't have much to show off and those little triangles make me even flatter. :-(

I'll try to document all the steps so I can share them and, hopefully, help someone. Maybe even using the sewing machine only. For those who don't own a serger.

Ciao until then!

If I was a doll or The croqui

2010-09-02T19:50:00.003+02:00

Z took a bunch of photos of me in my underwear. I just wanted "the real thing", no shape wear, no clothes. To see the little cushions in all their glory. After all, I never see myself like that, especially not from behind. And Z had some laughs! Oh man, am I that large??? :-)) Well, that's how it is. And now I have a simple yet effective way to work with it! And plan and create.

I'm not showing you the basic photos. It wouldn't be appropriate here. But here are my little B dolls!

Barefoot and in heels. The photos were taken with my hair up, which was a lucky coincidence. You'll see why later. Maybe we should also take some photos in more stylish poses. Even though I think that these can truthfully tell how a garment will suit you.

They remind me of a toy I had when I was little, with interchangeable parts with which you were able to print girls in different clothes and then color them. I loved that. Now I can do it - with myself!

Like this, for example:

Why don't you draw your own fashion croqui? It's fantastic! You can analyze your body shape, see what styles suit you, and also try new haircuts! What a discovery! Anybody thinking "Why haven't I thought of this earlier?"

Just go to "Adonising" for the instructions on how to draw and to dress your croqui!

Thanks ELMO!

There will be more talk about body shapes and clothes styles, soon. :-)))

The other orange polkadot shirt

2010-09-02T19:46:00.001+02:00

As always, using remnants - orange polkadot knit and some white from a small pareo.

The pattern is, again, Burda 5/2009 -103A. I changed the long sleeves with more flared small cap sleeves.

Actually, this shirt was finished a few days ago. Still, I was looking at it and was not satisfied. Something was missing.

I tried this and that, and the only thing that seemed to work was this doily. What do you think?

It's just pinned on. Looks lovely to me.

Should I sew it on?

How to - Reuse the leftover thread in your serger

2010-09-02T19:45:00.002+02:00

Many of you that own a serger must have thought of a way to reuse the remnants of the previous thread after you've re-threaded your serger, right? If you didn't, here is a way to do it:

1. Attach the new thread (black) to the previous one (white)

2. Divide the upper thread from the lower

3. Pull out the upper threads by pulling them towards the back (NOT towards the front like in this picture) so that the thread can easily slide through the needles. One thread broke here. Occasionally it does break, if the knot struggles to pass through the eye of the needle.

4. Pull the lower threads out from underneath the foot

5. Cut the the threads after you've pulled out some of the new thread

6. Cut away the knots. Well done! You got yourself some completely useful thread to sew or baste with! In the pic you can see my reused thread spool (also reused). :-)

Orange slippers

2010-09-02T19:44:00.002+02:00

Much cuter than the last pair ! Still have to work on them, though. The elastic is not keeping them up properly. I'll have to insert it in a different manner on the next pair.

Blue socks tutorial

2010-09-02T19:42:00.001+02:00

Hello, dear readers! How are you today?

It was ironing day around here and while I was at it I took this pair of old and worn out socks to throw away. Then the obvious caught my attention! Why not deconstruct them and get a pattern? And also actually sew a pair of socks with a heel?

Here's how I did it:

1. Cut an old cozy sock around the fold and at the heel seam.

2. Find a piece of knit to refashion/reuse/recycle.

You can see I also matched the hems of the sock and fabric. This one used to be a skirt.

3. I cut the fabric directly around the sock pieces (did not make a paper pattern first) with a margin of 5 mm to serge. Of course, you can hand sew or machine sew them.

4. Pin together the heel pieces right sides in and serge.

Here you can see a serged heel and one turned to the right side.

5.On the long upper part of the sock mark the position to match the heel seam on both sides. I snipped the fabric a bit (over the yellow pin head).

6. Pin the pieces together right sides in and serge.

7. Ups! This pattern seems to have a problem. The heel seam falls under my heel! Which means the old socks were actually too short. Will have to adjust the paper pattern a bit (when I make it) to resolve this little issue.

8. Otherwise, it's a nice little sock.

Ehm, socks! :-)

Quick and easy project. Takes 15 minutes to complete.

Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!

Have a nice and cozy evening wearing your new socks!

Fusilli with dried tomatoes

2010-09-02T19:40:00.001+02:00

Dried tomatoes are a Sicilian invention. They found the way to preserve the tomatoes for the winter months when there was food shortage. So when you visit this sunny island you make sure to bring some home with you. As we did. And pine nuts, too.

Today I made up this recipe (for three). I just went with what I had at hand having in mind what I saw in Sicilia. It is very quick and easy. You can almost literally prepare the sauce while the pasta cooks. Not really liquid as a sauce, but I couldn't think of another word to describe this. Help me if you can, please, to improve my English! Thanks!

One small onion, a clove of garlic, a hand full of pine nuts, some parsley and celery

One chicken breast cut into strips

12 pieces of dried tomatoes

To soften the tomatoes you have to cook them in boiling water for 3 min

Above you can see: left - diced goat cheese (in Sicilia they would probably use sheep cheese or ricotta), center - drained and chopped tomatoes, right - chopped celery, parsley, garlic and pine nuts

Stew the onion and lightly salted meat. Add salt sparingly because the tomatoes and cheese are already salty. When done add all the other ingredients. I also added pepper and a pinch of curcuma. If the sauce is too dry add more olive oil.

Cook the fusilli (or any other pasta you prefer)
Add the sauce

Buon appetito!

Very tasty and unusual. Great with a sip of good white wine. :-)

And, can you think of a nice name for this recipe? I just didn't want to call it "Fusilli alla Siciliana"...

Earrings

2010-09-02T19:39:00.001+02:00

I made these at J's house. Whenever I go to her place I come home with something new! And a girl can never have too many earrings. :-)

Yes, it is always better to create in company.

Pumpkin jam and Puff pastry roll with pumpkin and almond filling

2010-09-02T19:37:00.000+02:00

I got a nice pumpkin from my mother and since the jam making adventure was successful last year I wanted to try again.I made jam, puff pastry rolls, gnocchi and a crostata.

How to make pumpkin jam:

Cut the pumpkin in slices, peel them and clean from seeds

I got about 1200 gr of pumpkin flesh for the jam and left two slices aside for gnocchi

Grate the pumpkin and put in a large pot with a pinch of salt

Cover the pot and let the pumpkin cook in its own juice

Stir from time to time

When the liquid has almost evaporated add half the weight of the pumpkin of sugar (if you want it sweeter add more)

Stir often

Cook until it thickens

Done!

Puff pastry roll with pumpkin and almond filling:

Peel and grind 200 gr (or more, to taste) almonds

Roll out the puff pastry

Spread the pumpkin jam evenly

Sprinkle with ground almonds

Roll, put in a baking tray, and add some butter on top

Bake 45 min at 180C until golden brown.

Sprinkle with sugar

Serve and enjoy

Pumpkin crostata with mascarpone cream

2010-09-02T19:35:00.000+02:00

For the shortbread dough ( pasta frolla):

250 gr flour

125 gr butter

pinch of salt

lemon peel

little cold water

Spread:

Pumpkin jam

Cream topping:

125 gr mascarpone cheese

2 egg yolks

2 spoons sugar

lemon peel

Mix the ingredients quickly with your hands, add enough cold water to make a soft dough and let sit inside the fridge for 30 min wrapped in plastic foil.

Roll the dough and transfer it into a cake mold. Pierce the dough several times with a fork. With the leftover dough form a cylinder to decorate the edge of the cake.

Spread the pumpkin jam evenly over the dough and bake for 45 min at 190C.

Combine the yolks ,sugar and lemon peel in a bowl until white and frothy. Add the mascarpone and mix well. Top the crostata with the cream.

Enjoy!

For a bit of fun...Mr Pumpkin

Home made knitting needles

2010-09-02T19:34:00.000+02:00

Recently E and I went looking for knitting needles of a bigger size. The diameter we had in mind was 10 mm or more. They were hard to find, I tell you. The only pair we found was quite expensive. 80 kn for a pair of pointed sticks? Well, I can make them myself! Why not? It's worth to try, isn't it?

So, I explained what I wanted to do to Z, we went to Bauhaus and bought for wooden sticks 1 m long. After a bit of handiwork involving a grinder, saw and abrasive paper.. voila' - my new needles!

Four pairs for the price of one bought pair.

The pencil is for measure. The sizes - 12 mm, 14 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm.

The thinnest ones were made of beech wood, the others of pine wood. I didn't think it would be necessary but a coat of varnish has to be applied.

I tried them right away! Isn't this beautiful? The knit is sooo soft, and also quick to make.

The only thing to figure out is the way to prevent stitches to slip off the needles. I thought about gluing beads to the edge of the needles, or wooden discs slightly larger then the needles to the end. Maybe it isn't necessary to do anything since they are long 50 cm. Quite enough for scarves. What if I want to knit a blanket? Uhm, I have to think of something nice...

Do you think I could carve out a crochet needle? I had that crazy thought...

Apple cake recipe

2010-09-02T19:33:00.000+02:00

I owe a recipe to Maggie! Here it is directly from the cook book. My only cook book in English, heh!

Wholemeal Apple Round ( from The Hamlyn New All Colour Cookbook)

You will need:

1 medium cooking apple

225 gr / 8 oz wholemeal flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

50 gr / 2 oz butter or margarine

50 gr / 2 oz soft brown sugar

about 150 ml / 1/4 paint milk

For the glaze:

a little milk

1 teaspoon demerara sugar

Peel, core and finely chop the apple. Put the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl. Rub in the butter or margarine, then stir in the sugar and chopped apple. Add the milk and mix to form a soft but not sticky dough.

Roll out on a floured surface to a 5mm / 1/4 inch thick round. Place on a greased baking tray and mark into eight wedges. Brush the top with milk and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake at 200C / 400F / gas 6 for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with butter.

Ok, my cake was based on this recipe. I used Integral flour and diced the apples. Also, I think there was too much milk so the dough was sticky and I couldn't roll it out. Because of the flour, I guess. Well, it didn't look like in the cookbook picture but was tasty anyway!

I hope you get better results! Let me know.

My first mittens

2010-09-02T19:31:00.000+02:00

A few days ago I went searching around the net for glove patterns to see if there is something nice and easy to make to keep my poor fingers warm. Yesterday E infected me with the fingerless mittens bug (hm, I see crocheting ahead). Today? It's SNOWING!!! Oh, and a sweater felted while washing, so...inevitably, I made a pair of mittens.

I chose this pattern.

This sweater was a refashion to begin with. Now that it shrank it's perfect for practicing. Just the thing I needed.

Here's how I made the mittens. Since the colors in the photos are so neutral that it's not really clear I hope you can see everything anyway. I guess I should have used contrasting thread.

I adjusted the pattern to fit my hand and divided the front and back to be able to get two equal mittens because the front of the sweater had braids.

Then I pinned the thumb part to the back part. What you see is the wrong side of the fabric. First you pin the thumb all around right sides facing (you can see how to place them on the right side), then you pin the rest of the thumb part to the back part right sides facing (as shown on the left).

I serged these pieces together. Not a simple task. The curve on the thumb is too small to get a nice and even stitch. I had to correct it by hand. Next time I'm going to simply sew them together.

This is how it looked from the right side.

After that I pinned the back and front right sides facing and serged.

Looking wonky from the wrong side.

Looking wonky from the right side. :-)

Looking better after being ironed.

The cuffs turned inside and basted.

Sewed with a double needle.

And the finished mittens.

Very light and comfortable, indeed!

Of course, the whole thing wouldn't pass without a bit of embellishment. :-))))

Notes to self for next time: Elongate a bit the upper part of the body, add elastic to the cuff or make a ribbed cuff, use bright colored knit.