Books, shoes and tights

Today is national shopping day, also known as payday =) I of course felt I had to do my part (it's all about keeping the economy rolling, you see...) and here's what's new in the house:

Sewing books! These were mailorder, of course, but I timed it so I'd get them and the invoice this week =) The Fabric sewing guide is one of the best sewing books I've read. I originally checked it out at the local library, but soon realised this was a keeper. And now I have my very own! It's a great reference book, although I'm not sure I'd recommend it for beginners. It might be good if this is not the first sewing book you see the inside of. However, if you're an intermediate sewist looking for books to take you to next level, any of Claire Shaeffers books are worth looking into.

The Trouser sewing book is perfect! It shows all the tricky techniques, provides pictures of sample trouser's (loooved the vintage custom ones from 1932), and it even comes with a dvd where the author demonstrates the techniques. I will definatley buy the shirtmaking book by the same author.

I haven't had the need to consult the serger guide yet, but from browsing through it I'd say it looks promising. We'll see how it holds up when trouble arises with my overlock =)

Shoes! And no, they're not pretty. They are not supposed to be pretty, it's not their mission in life. They are however supposed to protect my feet from water and the pavement, and with gore-tex and super-cushioning they're just the right pair for getting the job done. No more sore feet! No more wet socks! You see, my old walking shoes were working on overtime... =) From Gå och löp-kliniken.

Just stacking up on knitted goods for fall/winter. A new cardigan is always nice, and I loved this colour. Then I went a bit crazy on the thights (didn't even know one could do that)... There was an offer, "3 for 2", which I took as a sign that it really was time to throw away the old tights that has to be worn with ancle socks to cover the holes in the heels (my old winter boots ate heels).
I cleaned out the underwear drawer not so long ago, thinking I'd sew new. That hasn't happened, so I've been washing a lot lately =) 3 pairs of knickers for 100 SEK (approx 11 euro), made of organic cotton, seemed like a great solution. If they fit, maybe I'll get a couple more boxes...
All this was from Lindex.

The weekend is about to start, and I'm off to a medieval dance event. I'll be teaching some, I'm hoping to learn a new dance as well, and I'm giving a lecture on SCA and how to behave during court and banquet. Oh dear, maybe I should actually prepare that lecture? Promise to take lots of pictures! If any of them are good, I'll post them next week ; )

Have a great weekend!
Love, Erika

Playtime for the kids

Last weekend I went to Luleå to visit Malin, Johannes, their daughter Alva and baby son Milo. They moved to Luleå in January, and I miss them so very, very much. At a dance-night recently I missed them like crazy and I decided I had to see them. Now! =)
It's a 4,5 hour train-ride so I sewed together the trouser-toile I'd failed to sew the evening prior used the time to hand baste the new toile for Johannes trousers. I love travelling by train!

One of the delightful things about spending time with kids is that in the pretense of playing with them, one can forget about acting one's age and enjoy good ol' fashioned playtime. Like swinging. In a swing, not on a dancefloor. Can't remember the last time I did that!

I love the look of Malin in this picture - like a shepherd guiding the lamb =)

Johannes found a contraption one could swing back and forth, using the whole body. After the photo was taken we all climbed up and got the pole moving =) 

A tradional slide-ride is a must, and it was apparently much better with daddy making a tunnel at the end. Alva deemed me and Malin too short to make good tunnels...

The hat also wanted to take a slide ride. We know this to be true since Alva said so =)

And adorable little Milo slept through the entire thing.

The rest of the weekend I played with Alva, cuddled Milo, drank tea, ate food and just sat around talking. A wonderfully relaxed and relaxing time! Now that I've discovered it's fairly easy to quick-visit them, I plan to go to Luleå a bit more often.

Thanks for a great weekend, Malin and Johannes!

Love, Erika

Challenges and projects

In June I participated in MeMadeJune, an internet challenge run by Zoe, where I pledged to wear one me-made item every day. I actually finished it, but I didn't have time to document, so I'm afraid you're just going to have to take my word for it =) Now another challenge is running: Self Stitched September began yesterday. I very much wanted to participate this time around as well, but I feel that I haven't filled up the gaps in my homesewn wardrobe I discovered in June, and I will instead focus on sewing.

So what did I learn from MMJ? First, that taking daily pictures are time-consuming and a big challenge in itself. If I didn't want my living room as a backdrop for every single outfit I had to find photo spots outdoors. Not a huge problem, but a time-thief... It was fun, though! I discovered lots of nice little photo-places in my near surroundings, places otherwise never would have occured to me.

Second, that I have some huge gaps:
-Tops and blouses, and not just of the homemade version. I just simply have too little variation in that departement.
- Comfy clothes to wear around the house
-Work-out wear
-Outerwear

It also wouldn't hurt to have a few more dresses, both for winter and for summer. My plan is to sew soft jersey dresses to slouch around at home in during winter, and be comfy in all summer.

But is there a plan to rectify these gaps, you might wonder? Indeed there is! But then I always have plans... I sometimes fear that I actually prefer dreaming of sewing while fabric-hoarding to real sewing =) One reason why I'm so slow in finishing projects is that sewing is just one of my favorite hobbies, and dancing takes a lot of time and energy. Not to mention the full time job and the 3 times a week gym-work out ordered by the doctor (Literally. Or at least ordered by the physical therapist the doctor sent me to.).
My current projects, and why they are not finished, sort of sums up the other reasons so few things are proclaimed ready. A small list:

My late, paternal grandmother's dressing robe. The only visible flaw that needed fixing up was the lining. I could have just patched it, and it would have been done. But anything worth doing is worth doing well... So I'm inserting a new lining and finishing all the robe's selvedges.

Time consuming, but the robe is 65 years old, and with a little love I will be able to wear it for many more years.

A holk-sleeve blouse with a fit I'm far from happy with. Just look at those awful strainlines from the shoulder!

Also the blouse is a bit snug around the hips. I'm tricky to fit, and anything meant for my upperbody takes more than one toile. I need to make a new toile for this pattern before I cut into this beautiful pure silk:

I love, love, love this fabric, and I'm comfortable cutting into it since I know where to get more (a much more important factor for me than the price, which was quite dear). But I still want a pattern I belive in before I start cutting.


Johanne's pants (no pictures yet). Men's wear + pants, need I say more? I'm tossing the old pattern out and am making a new pattern and toile. When attempting garments that are outside my skill-zone I learn things, but it does not make for fast sewing. Fun, though =)

Then there are of course the eternal projects, but these are the one's I'm actively working on right now. What about you, do you whip out a new garment in an evening? Do you frequently think "Who's going to know? Let's sew!"? Or do you lose yourself in the quest for perfection until nothing is ever proclaimed ready, and none of your creations has your full approval? Or do you manage to balance the fine line inbetween?

Have a great weekend!
Love, Erika

A very special house-guest

This is the 5th and last post about My Summer. Want to read the rest? Then feel free to check out the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th post as well  =)

For the last part of my vacation I had a very special house-guest: my grandmother came to visit! It's the first time since I moved out that has happened (not that she hasn't wanted to, but I live quite far away, and she's older and a bit nervous about travelling alone). We had a splendid week visiting the tourist attractions, enjoying the wonderful summer weather, picking berries and shopping.

Here we are at the Museum of Västerbotten, which has both indoors and outdoors exhibitions.

This is a traditional house of the people native to northern Sweden (Samer).

Lunch in the open, by the lake of Nydala. Why is it that food always taste best when eaten outside?

It was a fairly long walk so it was a good thing the hot weather had calmed down to just being warm and nice. =)

Last might of her visit she treated me to dinner onboard. By the docks, but nontheless =)

Then her week here suddenly came to an end, and so also my vacation. She went home, I went to work. It's ok, though =) I've had a long, nice vacation, and actually feel rested and full of energy. This is the first time I've taken my four weeks all in a row, and I really think it made a difference. During three weeks I have time to travel and rest, but not to re-coup. That's what the fourth week is for, I've just realised =)

Hope you've all had a great summer!
Love, Erika

Stockholm, a haircut and The Armory

This is part four of My Summer. Want to read it chronological? Then check out part 1, part 2 and part 3 =)

Whenever I'm in southern Sweden it's a must to stop by Stockholm to visit friends and family. They sort of expect it, and I always look forward to it. Unfortunatley that makes most of my Stockholm-visits short and hurried, with everything planned by the hour. So this year I decided to take my time, and after Herräng I spent 1,5 week in my old hometown. It was great to not just see everyone, but to have the luxury to see them one-on-one. There was lots of tea, cakes, ice-cream and good food...

Lunch with my aunt at Café Sture

Dessert at my grandmother's. She bakes the prettiest cakes! And so tasty...

I love her appartement, it's not huge but it's filled with countless old treasures. Everywhere you look there's something to admire!

After-lunch ice-cream with the siblings (aka Joakim and Kajsa). We went out for lunch, just the three of us. It's quite rare that we meet just us "children", which is a shame since we always have so much fun together. This time it was gran's idea, and she actually treated us to the lunch. Wasn't that sweet and thoughtful?

Fika with grandmother, 'cause of course we got some quality time just the two of us! We went to a nice café by Hötorget. The lemon pie was to die for...

These last two photos was taken the day I and my grandmother hit the second hand-market at Hötorget and I found this pretty set:

I got the hotplate (not sure that's the correct word, but it looks like a tray and it keeps the food warm during dinner) and one of the serving dishes (the one on the left), gran effortlessly haggled the pair down to half the price =) And the hotplate works!

After the market we met up with Kajsa and saw the exhibition "Royal vintage" at Livrustkammaren (the armory, a museum in Stockholm castle). They showed pieces from the royal wardrobes, 1900- today, only Swedish designers. The bulk of it was from 40s-60s, so right up my alley! I highly recommend this exhibition for anyone going to Stockholm. I'm not sure one is allowed to take pictures there, but this dress was just too beautiful to resist:

And of course I did not use a flash. I so want to make something based on this dress! But it will have to rest for a while, I do not need any more projects...

As you might have noticed, something happened with my hair during this week... I've had a haircut! My wonderful hairdresser Sarah from Retroella moved to Stockholm 6 months ago, and I had a chance to visit her in her new salon. It was so beautiful! And she cut my hair short. I finally took the leap, figuring I'm not doing anything truly important this fall and it will grow out till Christmas anyway. Cutting it short has been on my mind ever since this post, and now I've done it! Feels great! When something is on your mind for over a year, it's time to just do it =)
Here it's been set in pincurls. I like it, but a surprise was that short hair is so much warmer than long! Who could have guessed? Long hair is so easy to get out of the way, a fast braid or a messy bun and heat is not an issue. However, jackets are easier this way. And hoods! It's fun to experiment with a new hairstyle =)

That rounds up my travels for this summer!

Love
/Erika