blue pencil skirt

After trying out all these new (to me) patterns I felt confident enough to venture into drafting stuff myself again. I have this black high-waisted pencil skirt which fits me great. It was actually a hand-me-down from my mom, but I always get compliments on it when I wear it. I don’t wear much black and it’s getting a bit snug aynway (I guess my body’s starting to tell me I’m not eighteen anymore), so I wanted to try and copy it. Using this tutorial as a guide I traced the pattern onto paper and added the darts back in. And yes, I completely forgot to take photos of these steps or of the finished pattern.
I used the same blue flannel as for the Salme cropped blazer, which means I can wear them together as an ensemble.

It has two darts at the back and four at the front. Dark blue is really impossible to photograph. I lined it to prevent the flannel sticking to the tights and hand-picked the zipper (tutorial here). Making it up as I went along I got quite creative with the lining and the finishes.


It closes with both hooks and eyes and buttons with thread loops. The buttons were added as an afterthought, because the hooks kept coming undone but now I love the look and will definitely do buttons again for the next skirt. The buttons are just covered in fabric like this and there’s a great tutorial for simple thread loops over here.

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by the lake

A day could not possibly go wrong waking up to light like this



For all our technology, the difference a sunny day makes…

happy blue

The unintentional theme in yesterday’s pictures.


Though blue is the thing farthest from me this week. Do you know that feeling of just being deliriously happy without cause in totally random moments? Of suddenly being so full of happiness you feel giddy and almost like starting to cry? So far 2011 has been full of that (ok, 2011 is only a week old but so far so good).

I don’t think I realized how much 2010 weighed me down until it was over. I am ready for a new year, new plans, new challenges, new garden, new job and a newfound lightness when many stray threads are finally coming together.

It is raining and I love it, I love to be rid of all the ice on the roads, I love the patterns on the streets at night. I love that 10°C feels wonderfully warm and I love the change in the air that ever so slightly hints at spring and green and sun.

weekend trips

Now that I am working full time as well (I was pretty much the last one of my friends to join the club), weekends are all the more important and valued and anticipated.
How are there never enough hours to the day to do all the things jumbled together in my head?

Trips to the thrift store are becoming a regular weekend feature and while our boyfriends/husbands are still asleep, my friend and I set out early for a day of shopping and visiting and discovering.

This weekend’s trip was a great success again but that deserves its own post and so I’ll keep you waiting a little longer to show off my purchases.
We went by some friends who I’ve photographed before and who have recently gotten an adorable and tiny little kitty. Meet Lilli:

I couldn’t believe how much their puppy had grown in a few short weeks! But dog and kitty get on extremely well, even sharing a basket to sleep in!

handmade blue shirt

Ever since I bought Cal Patch’s Book on how to draft patterns I have been totally hooked. There’s quite a few things I want to show off but since this is newest and I took pretty photos of it today, here’s my new blue shirt:

It was sewn again on my Great-grandma’s trusty treadle. The blue fabric is the same clearance fabric I made the skirt of (and I still have lots left), so I could experiment a little with the pattern and some pleating.
The buttons are vintage from the flea market. I am especially proud of the bias tape finish at the neckline because the last time I tried it it didn’t work and I am glad it did this time 🙂

The buttonholes are by hand, as always.
Here’s a pic of me wearing it. I decided to tuck it in since I feel it is a bit big on me otherwise (though I might be imagining that, I don’t usually wear loose fitting clothing).

And a back shot. The pleating is actually straight (not crooked like it appears in the photo) and I wore it all day today, so that’s why it’s all crinkly.

I am totally on a roll sewing clothing at the moment, I even went ahead and did some serious splurging on nice fabrics (as in, buying nice soft 100% cotton fabrics at a price I can absolutely not afford). But oh, can you imagine the tunic style tops and Peter Pan collar shirts? I sure can!

scandinavia quilt

My dad’s birthday was on Sunday, so I can finally blog the quilt I made him. Last year I wasn’t home for his birthday and then my sewing machine got broken and he only got something small for christmas, so really this quilt covers two birthdays and one christmas 😉
While I love bright, sunshiny colors and the look of patchwork I know my dad definitely likes a more subdued look and scandinavian colours. So when I found this red pinstriped linen blend I knew it was perfect. The backing is a plain dark blue and the plaid binding connects the two colours and livens it all up a bit (I think).

I had originally planned to machine quilt it but it just didn’t work at all with my treadle…no chance without a walking foot. So I sat down to cried a bit and then I picked myself back up and started handquilting. Inspired by Anna Maria Horners new post I did big stitches with embroidery floss (3 strands if anyone wants to know the particulars).
And then I looked at it and the bold, rough quilting looked just perfect for the overall look I wanted to achieve. I think I will do handquilting with embroidery floss from now on on all of my quilts…I love the look of it and it is nice and quick work.

Not that quick though…so when I found out I only had two and a half days to complete it (due to my dad being away on business the whole week until his birthday) I went into panic mode and spend those days quilting and sewing. I never would have believed it but in those two days I got it basted, quilted, bound, washed and dried (though I had to drive over to my mom’s to use her dryer).

Except for sewing the binding on on one side the whole quilt is entirely handsewn and I am pretty darn proud of it. Thankfully my dad loves it so it was definitely worth it.

Want to know one of my guilty sewing-secrets? I never use a hoop for embroidery or quilting…when I learned it I didn’t have one and when I finally bought one it drove me crazy and didn’t work for me at all. So I just stretch the fabric tight with my hands while quilting.
This picture actually has the truest colours for the lovely red fabric (and it was at the beginning of the handquilting…a few hours on my fingers looked considerably more covered in band aid).