A wednesday surprise

Wednesday my sister kidnapped me for the evening. First we had dinner at her place and then we went out to take the bus to a for me unknown destination. Turned out she was treating me to a night at the movies! How sweet is that? We saw "Sherlock Holmes", that I've been wanting to see for ages.

I'm not sure it's supposed to be a comedy, but me and Kajsa sure laughed and giggled the whole movie, so for us it was a comedy. With a little bit of exitement, romance, pretty clothes and wonderful eye-candy in the shape och Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr.


In my early adolecence I was a huge fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I've read almost every Sherlock Holmes mystery there is. This new pair of Holmes-Watson was quite far from the novels, for those of you who haven't seen it: think The league of extrodinary gentlemen meets Jack Sparrow. Great fun and wonderful photage =)

One thing I found interesting was the combination of magic and technology. It brings to mind an earlier era when technology was new and it seemed possible anything could be done with it, when magic was seen as an extension of technique. I did like that they gave a logical explanation to almost everything in the end (I can ignore what they chosed not to explain), it feels very Conan Doyle.


Perhaps they felt the need to make Holmes a bit more lovebel, and thus set the movie in a time before the first novel. Downey's Holmes is not yet a morphine-adict, he's active (a boxer!) and he's still a bit interested in the world around him. Jude Law's Watson is far from Doyle's married, rounded, shy man. No, there's nothing rounded or a bit timid about him when he battles villains with superb fighting skills =)

I liked that they included Irene Adler, the only one that ever outsmarted Holmes and who we never get's to meet in the novels. Making her Holmes lost love actually makes sense, since the novels carries within them a tragic love story that's never really spoken of (if my memory serves me correct).


Not a movie that will change my life, but one that gave me incredible joy and fun for an evening, and one I'll see again in the future.

Have you seen the movie? Or read the novels? What did you think?

Love, Erika

Lace-mania

I det här inlägget berättade jag om min nya passion: knyppling! Det är ett otroligt kul hantverk där lite lingarn förvandlas till vacker spets. Jag har haft så mycket jag vill göra på sistonde, jag vill träna, sy, sticka, blogga, fota, baka, men ändå varje förmiddag före jobbet (min mest kreativa tid) så har idéerna forsat genom huvudet, jag har tittat på knyppeldynan på bordet, och på något vis hamnat där. Kan i och för sig bero på att solen äntligen är en regelbunden gäst på himlen, efter evigheter av gråhet. Ljuset är som synes på bilden nedan, lite kallt men klart och vackert. Så jag gör en kopp te, tittar ut genom fönstret och låter knypplingen och ljuset absorbera mig. Underbart!

In this post I spoke of my new passion: making lace! It's a really fun craft where some linen threads are transformed into beautiful lace. There's been so many things I want to do lately; I want to work out, sew, knit, blog, take pictures, bake, and yet every late morning before work (my most creative hours of the day) I've somehow found myself sitting by my lace pillow. It could be because the sun is finally a regular guest in the sky again, efter an eternity of grayness. The light is as you can see above, a little cold, but clear and beautiful. So I make myself a cup of tea, look out the window and let the lace weaving and light absorb me. Wonderful!


In my lace class, we start with nine practice laces (making about 10 cm or 4 1/2 inches of each), they hold the basics and teaches you how to read a pattern. The ones above are the first two.


A variation of the first lace, plus my current favorite for now: lace #3, wood anemone (vitsippa).


And where I'm now, in the middle of lace 4, "braid lace" (Flätspets). I haven't really gotten the hang of the braids when done to the left, so don't look too close =) Hopefully you'll see some of the lace, even with the needles still in (the needles aren't so close to each other in this lace, so it should work).

All for now!
Love, Erika

(P.S. Sorry if the mixing of languages is a bit confusing. It's just that some things I want to write in Swedish as well, it's about the forming of the words. But I promise that everything gets said in English as well! And sometimes only in English... =) )

Vintage for everyday

Last week I was going through all my outfit posts in an attempt to find the perfect dress for the work-party on Saturday, and I realised that I've mostley posted about "the special" outfits. Inspired by the discussion on Gertie's blog about what vintage style one applies for everyday wear (http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/02/im-done-done-i-tell-you.html), here come's some photos of my favorite vintage-inspired outfit and hair.


The hair is teased at the front and sides, and then folded in, pinned in place and harisprayed. The hair in the back is twisted into a knot at one side of the neck, and secured with a whole lot of hairpins. This was for dancing, so a bit more pins and spray were needed than for a day at town. It was all done in 20 minutes, without any preparation at all.



The skirt is a simple dirndl-skirt, just square pieces folded against a waistband, all made by me =) The shirt is from H&M, the shoes are my beloved dance shoes, and the belt is true vintage (my grandmother wore it in the 50s/60s). Sorry about the slightly rumpled look, I always remember after a couple of hours of dancing that I'd brought along my camera...


I know for some people this isn't really vintage, but for an everyday wear it's the perfect combination for me; something homesewn, something vintage, something modern =)


For me, wearing vintage means different things different days. If I save the full vintage garb (suspender belt, stockings, elaborate hairdo's, no modern RTW etc) for the special occasions, then those special occasions will feel more special becuase of my outfit. So that way I can chose to make an ordinary shopping day special by upping the outfit. I still feel pretty in my everyday wear, but then I can feel extra pretty when I chose to =)
Somehow I believe that while my oufit may not be period all the time, the intent of saving the extra effort and the best clothes for special occasions, is period.
What do you say? Do you wear period vintage (down to the underwear) everyday, or even at all? If you like to dress more vintage inspired, what pieces do you prefer to keep "genuine" vintage? (For me, it's definitley the accessories)
If you like to add vintage pieces to a more modern outfit, check out the guest post on Gerties blog by Sal from Already Pretty http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2010/02/guest-post-vintage-for-everyday-wear.html for some great tips on styling.
I'd love to hear your views and personal experiences on vintage for everyday wear!
Love, Erika

Introducing the sailor dress

Igår var det lindy hop live till Lars Enmarks publika styrka, en enastående liten grupp som då och då ärar oss med sin härliga jazz. Kvällen till ära invigde jag sjömansklänningen jag hittade på Beyond retro i somras. Den är självklart nånstans runt 70-tal, och var lite varm att dansa i, men det gjorde inget =) Dessutom så lade min syster pincurls på mig kvällen innan. Hennes första försök till pincurls, visst har hon klar talang?!

Yesterday there was Lindy hop Live to a local jazz band. Due to the fine occasion I introduced the sailor dress I found at Beyond Retro this summer. I think it's from the 70s, although it has a nice 40s touch, so unfortunatley it was a bit warm to dance in, but it didn't matter. I had a great time anyway! =) Also, my sister did a pincurl set on me before the dance. It was her very first attempt, she has quite a talent for it, doesn't she?!


Det var en härlig kväll, massa trevligt folk, bra dans och svänging musik. Dessutom så var jag faktiskt ledig! Jag jobbar ju nästan jämnt på något sätt under våra danskvällar, med salen, köket eller så har jag bakat till kvällen. Men nu har vi gjort ett schema så att man är ensam helt ansvarig för fikat vissa gånger, och vissa gånger helt ledig. Tror inte jag varit "gäst" på en swingkväll på 2,5 år, så var en konstig känsla... Men klart bra! =)
Lämnar er med en av mina favoritlåtar, som Lars Enmarks snällt nog spelade för oss igår.
Kram! / Erika

It was a lovely evening, lots of nice people, great dancing and swingin' music. Atop of that I was actually free for the evening! Usually I work in some capacity during our social nights, with tending the room, the kitchen and baking. But now we've made a scheduale so that one person is completley resoponsible for the kitchen (and everything that comes with it) at the time, and the rest are free. Last night was my first free night, and it was almost a bit strange. I haven't been a "guest" at a dance here in Umeå for 2,5 years. Strange to be free, but absoloutley nice! =)
I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs, that the band was kind enough to play for us last night.
Love, Erika

A hat, an alomst-dress, and dreams

Den här lilla saken är det senaste tillskottet till min lilla men växande hattsamling. Själva hatten är i sammet, med små fina veck mot nacken. Jag gissar på 50-tal, några andra gissningar?

This little thing is the latest addition to my small but growing hat collection. The hat itself is in velvet, with small creases towards the neck. I'm guessing 50s, any other ideas?


Bara för att visa att jag faktiskt gör något vid symaskinen, även om det går långsamt. Är klart osäker på hur pass bra den här blir, men har tänkt sy ihop den, och passar den inte så säljer/ger jag den till någon som den passar på =) Men är lite skeptisk, tyget är lite för styvt tycker jag. Kan mjukna med användning, men... hmm... Mer bilder, samt mönster och förebilder, kommer när den är färdig!
Just to show that I'm actually doing something on the sewing machine, even if it's a pretty slow process. I'm very unsure about how this one's gonna turn out, the fabric has a little bit too much body for my taste (but that could change with wear) and I'm not sure about the fit. Ah well, I'm going to finish it anyway, and if it doesn't fit, I'll find someone it does fit! =) More pictures later, when it's ready.

Jag gick till den lokala tygaffären för att köpa lite mer duktyg till swingkvällarna, och var hittade jag? 70% rea! Inte på allt såklart, men på de fantastiska, tunna ylletygerna jag längtasfullt kikat på hela vintern. Det var helt fel månad för tyginköp, framför allt av tyger som är mest aktuella till i höst, men jag kunde inte låta bli. Färgerna, vikten, fallet... jag är kär!
Ha en härlig helg! /Erika
So, I went to the local fabric shop to get some more material for the table cloths for social nights at the Lindy hop, and what did I find? 70% sale! Not on everything of course, but on the wonderful, thin, soft woolfabrics I've been eyeing all winter. Totally wrong month for fabricpurchases (esp as these are more for fall than spring) but I couldn't resist. The colours, the weight, the drape... I'm in love!
Have a lovely weekend! /Erika