Friday, December 3, 2010

So it is Christmas time again...

I am not a huge fan of Christmas decorations. Don't get me wrong, I love entering other peoples homes decorated with candles and ornaments, but in my own home I get frustrated, it gets in my way: I have to move it all the time to wipe the table or to get some space for work. And those fresh pine branches has a tendency to start looking very sad and dusty in few days. I would rather treat myself with more fresh flowers and leave the pine outside... preferable with snow on them. But then there are the kids and of course we have to have a calender candle for countdown to the big eve. very stylized and simple things don't seem to look good here anymore. Somehow it makes our home look like we need to clear the floor for toys, the tables for yarn, fabrics and other rather colourful things. So for the decoration to blend in it has to have some of the same ( rather casual ) feeling...




So, I took a trip around the house and collected one of the old red tea tins from the kitchen, some toys from Seth's room, and some porcelain mushroom and plastic berries, I had bought a couple of days ago.

That's when I had the idea. Maybe after Christmas I should keep the decoration things inside the tea can for next year, and since I have one more of the tea cans I could make one for Seth and one for Dea and let them have some of their small toys or even a pacifier that they don't use anymore.Inside the tin could also be a little piece of paper telling the story about each of the things. If I do that the same way every year they might get that sentimental Christmas feeling about it, and isn't that what it is all about...

This year it has a spinning top bought for Seth on a holiday in Sweden, a little wooden tree from his railway set, a green pipe cleaner bought for making his
costume last years local spring feast (Shrovetide), and a little snowman that was part of a snowman bowling set (sic!!) that came as freebie with his weekly Donald Duck.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Taking a stroll...

During the pregnancy, one of the things I was looking so much forwards to, was taking a stroll with baby Dea. I have such good memories of walking with Seth. It really feels good after all these hours, I have spend during my pregnancy, lying on the coach with no energy and the constant nausea... I always bring coffee, or (since this is my second child and time is not plenty) get a coffee to go and lucky for me, a coffeeshop making the best café latte ( Illy ), is just around the corner. Very often the destination is the local library. Often I leave home in the morning and return mid afternoon. Once in a while John calls me... "is everything all right ?" he says ... Oh yes, I am more than fine... He still finds it hard to believe that anyone finds walking to be such a pleasure... Some of my friends might be quite surprised if they read this as I am known for getting a little irritated when the `"lets take a walk..." thing comes up. But it is not really true. I realize now that normally I walk a lot while working in the studio and I often have my coffee outside, so fresh air and physical activity fills plenty in my life.




The pram is from an old friend ( thank you Kirsten... ) who bought it back in the 80´s for her son . The fabric of the hood had very 80´s like pastel coloured flowers which was not really my thing, so when we had Seth, I painted it and treated it with leather grease. It was fine, but after 3 years of intense use, it was not any more in a good shape. The colour had faded and it even had a hole in the hood. And this is how my brain works... off course I will just make a new one... How difficult can it be...? I will just take it apart and figure out how it was made. When one starts a project like this, you take the first step ( which in this case involved my father and extremely many tools... ) and then there is really no way back. At the same time I had the nausea to deal with. During a week when the nausea was not too bad, I finished sewing the hood. Then time went by ( with me lying on the couch ) and finally two weeks before due day it was time to mount the hood to the pram...




That's when the trouble started... Lesson number one... When one starts a project of this kind, finish it when everything is fresh in your mind and you can actually remember how to put this thing together. ... my father helped me, but all the time we ran into problems, most of them dealing with how to fix the fabric to the table when we were working on it. All the time my belly got in the way, I got frustrated ( read hysteric ) and we quarreled like fathers and daughters can do. At the same time we cracked up in a big laugh, since the situation was rather bizar...

All in all we succeeded. The pram looks beautiful and gets lots of comments on our strolls, but I am happy I don't have to do it again...




Now it is time for a walk...

Monday, October 25, 2010

Meet Dea...




Here she is 3 weeks old, and tomorrow she will be 4 weeks old. In one way it seems as if she was born yesterday and in another it seems as if she has been with us all the time.

She was born the 28 th of September, 6 days later than expected. Her weight was 4040 g. and her length was 55 cm.

This first month has been hectic. All of us are trying to get accustomed to the new situation. It sure feels a lot different to get the second child than the first one. This little girl has a very different temperament than her big brother, and as a baby, she demands a lot more attention than Seth ever did... But she is just so wonderfull. I still remember that moment two days after giving birth to Seth, when I looked into his yes and fell completely in love. The same thing happened with Dea.

I have spend this first month trying to fix some of those things that weren't taken care of during my pregnancy... and believe me, that's a lot of boring and not quite bloggable stuff... But I have to tell you that life feels wonderfull again. For the last months of my pregnancy the hyperemisis got really bad again, but that is all history now, and the coffee tastes good again, I can cook and is no longer haunted by strange smells.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

My Christmas present...



Yes, I know this is a little late...

There are parts of my personality that is not concidered paticularly normal feminine features... one is : I don't know how to multitask... Once in a while I am incountered with a male person saying "you can do that you are a woman and multitasking is just your thing..." But no, I can't... I stick to one thing at a time, I focus and concentrate... Another is : I like gadgets. Not mobile phones ( They bore me crazy, and normally I have a hard time to remember to bring it with me, which is kind of the idea with a MOBILE phone ). But give some specific tool for the kitchen, my studio or even plain woodworking tools and I am thrilled.

This christmas I got an e-book reader... The kindle... And I was one happy girl. I spend hours reading the manual and testing and trying all kind of things. Now half a year later The things I partivularly like about this kindle is, that it has not a light screen. It uses the rather new technology called digital ink, which makes it possible to read outside in bright sunshine and also makes it very little powerconsuming ( It only uses pover when "turning pages" ). The result is this thin, cool to the touch 280 gram book, that can contain up to 1500 books. The digital ink, It is not (yet) in colour and therefor not particularly good to use for beautiful artbooks and other graphic heavy books, but for reading it is eminent and leaves you with a nice relaxed feeling of reading, that a computer just doesn't provide. But if you want to read about all its features, go check out Amazons Kindle website




I wanted to make a soft cover to protect my kindle, so I can have it in my bag and bring it with me everywhere. Some years ago I made a big piece of felted wool by knitting a big loose piece in Shetland wool on my knitting mashine. I washed it in the washing machine, and voila, I had the nicest thick piece of felt. I thouht that it would be great for this project. It was very easy and quick to make and I like the way the edges of the felt will soften over time. It has allready rounded the buttonhole to a nice teardrop shape. The big button is one I found secondhand and I sewed it to the cover with a thich warm yellow piece of cotton thread. I like the combination grey- yellow a lot. I made a tiny little bag for holding the cords and headphones ( I also use my Kindle for listening to podcasts...) I have made quite a few of these little bags, but seems never to have have eneough... I always make them with dobble fabrics, since it give it a not so floppy feeling. I always make the inner fabric white, since it just makes it a lot easyer so find the things inside than if the lining was dark. It has a dobble string system so opening and closing it is really easy.




These small, practical, pretty and nice-feeling solutions really make me happy and I am so glad, I finally got the time to treat my kindle with respect...

Monday, July 5, 2010

Getting ready for baby...

Since I got to know about Elizabeth Zimmerman, I simply just knew that if we were to have another baby, I would have to make Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jacket. I am certainly not the first to do that. This design has been knitted by so many people around the world numerous times since it came out in the sixties. It is a great pattern and I basically knitted it straight from the description, but after sewing it together I knitted some extra rib on the sleeves. The main reason for to why I did that is that the design is a a little short on the sleeves, and in my little family we produce tiny people with long legs and arms ( Johns genetics... ), but the other reason is that I wanted to be able to take the cuffs down and tie the ribbon, so these little hands will not get cold. Seriously gloves for babies ? ! ...that just doesn't work

This design is knitted in one piece and gives very pleasing stribes if using all different kind of scraps from the basket. If you want to see a lot of varieties on this design just try to google ( pictures... ) surprize jacket. I didn't wanted a multicoloured one because this cardigan might be all I have time to knit for this baby, so I wanted it simple so it can be worn easily with different kind of clothes.

I am very pleased with the combination of the orange and cream coloured yarn, it is perfect for either a boy or a girl. It was also a good feeling to use yarn from my stash...




We have started to have a little babytalk with Seth. This baby is not our first child, but it is the first time we get to have more that one kid around, and offcourse we are a little worried. Will Seth be jealous ? Will we be able to love this child as much as we love Seth. All those questions are not new to parents, and I am pretty sure we will tackle it all, maybe not perfectly, but absolutely just fine.

The rattle is going to be a gift from Seth to the baby...


Friday, July 2, 2010

Being a gardener...

No no, don't worry, this blog is not developing into a gardeners blog... I just have a few things to show you before moving on.

In the comments someone mentioned the word collection... and yes, I guess that's what it is all about. Finding those plants you are like getting to know them and their special needs.

Some of you might know that I grew up in a nursery, and of course I also did some work there. One of things I liked the most was seeding and making small cuttings. I still like that, and instead of going out to buy new plants the next season, I am harvesting seeds. At this moment the Pansy's are starting to look a bit worn out. I will cut them, put them outside and hope for them to bloom one more time in the fall. But first... harvesting seeds. Pansy's are not true from seeds so the ones I get next year might be a little different or a mixture of the colors, but that's part of the fun...




My dad showed me how to make these little seed envelopes out of small pieces of sandwich paper. I really like them. You can see the seeds through them and the sandwich paper has a nice crisp feeling to them. The person who invented these little wonders must have been some crazy Japanese gardener with an interest in origami, or at least that's my conclusion...




For collecting the seeds I have made some small bag in mesh that is pulled over the flower when it is starting to wither and secured with a little piece of wire. Then all I do is wait for the seeds to mature and collect into the little bag.




In the potting area, I would like to have a box containing all the tools I need, and of course the box should be beautiful and the tools nice and in good quality... So far I have made list of things I use, so I know what to wish for in a better quality and with more beauty




I have started to write notes down in my little garden book. I put in pictures and makes small plant portraits. It is really nice to look through and hopefully it will help me in planning the years to come in the studio garden and greenhouse

Last year I bought 3 Australian violets ( Viola hederacea ), and tried to take cutting from them, but it seems that the cutting where so moist that they withered away before the roots developed. My new attempt is to let them have the connection to the mother plant while the roots develope. To encourage them yo make roots have I secured them tight to the soil with little pieces of wire. I guess I am preparing for another child... The big question is : When to cut the umbilical cord...

Another thing I have done in my attempt to be a good gardener is to buy a propagator. With that I can give the little cuttings and seeds the ultimate environment for making roots and for sprouting. Like chilies that needs a very high temperature for in the soil to start sprouting.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Favorites from the greenhouse...

I have quite a few flowers in the greenhouse, but looking at all these flowers, I realise that it can be a bit too much, it seems that my preferences are going more in the direction of leaves and small flowers. But all in all a nice mix is wonderful



Another thing I have to consider is the maintenance level. The plants grow like crazy in the humid warm climate. Watering all these plants is quite a work, so a water post inside the greenhouse with a hose, is really necessary. Also the withered flowers need to be removed and the floor kept somehow clean from dead leaves, flowers and insects. It is a balance because it is still a greenhouse and to some extend it is okay with a little mess when you bring nature inside...




Living fairly north it is a wonderful feeling to see the speed of growth in the greenhouse. It is like having a little piece of the Mediterranean area, and makes me dream of experimenting with things like growing lemongrass, capers and ancho chilies (my favorite chili), but, let's see. Heat is not everything when it comes to growing, the amount of light is also an important factor. For some plants the length of the season here up north is too short to ripen the fruit.




When people asked me about what the greenhouse should be used for, I kind of tried to avoid answering, since I didn't really knew. That is not the entirely truth... I had lots of ideas but as with all other thing in my life, things tend to change, other idea pop up, some stays some don't, and in the end of the process I always have to conclude that it was best that it evolved slowly. I am at the start of the journey with this project, and still thinking, testing and rethinking it all. But at least it is a lot of fun...



At the end I have to thank you for the welcome back comments...what a nice feeling

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

I am back...

I could have called this post "How to survive hyperimesis gravidarum..." but I will not, since I find no point in telling you how hard the last 6 months has been for me - and to some extend still is. Seriously, all I want is to start actually looking forward to this baby, due the 22th September, and get my normal life back. But in the same sentimental way as the Oscars are received, I want to thank those nurses at the hospital for giving me intravenous re-hydration every Monday and Friday, and those women in the same situation, I have spend hours and hours with. There is nothing that helps more than talking to other people who really know what it is all about.



As you can probably figure out I haven't been making anything for a long time, but I have spend hours in the greenhouse, since during the spring the place was cool and calm. Some of the energy I could gather I did spend trying to make the place nice. The overall plan for the greenhouse is that it should have a sitting area, a water post, a small potting area, an espalier in the middle to create small areas within the big space, and of course shelves and tables with pots and plants. There is a door from the shop directly to the greenhouse and the plan is to have shelves with pots for sale there and maybe even other places in the greenhouse. The shelves will be of the same type as the ones in the shop so they will visually connect the two rooms. So you see there are lots of plans and also a lot of work that I cannot do at this moment...but it will come...




I bought a nice little bench from mandalay. Normally I find garden furniture used, but the last years it seem to have been more difficult to find any, and I have been in love with this bench for a while.

I thought that the greenhouse should be filled with flowers and not so many vegetables and fruits, but having spend many hours there I realize that I miss the aesthetics of vegetables. So one tomato plant and 18 basil plants have found their way into the greenhouse (I can't really eat basil now, but I am planning on a huge pesto production after the baby is born. Next year I will have a laurel bush, a peach tree, an almond tree and maybe even more. This year I bought a lemon tree, it lives in the greenhouse during early spring and fall, but stays outside during the summer.




The stove used to be in the studio, but now i have air conditioning there, so I moved it to the greenhouse. It is a really nice thing to fire it up on a cold evening.

It just started raining and I will go sit down in the greenhouse. There's nothing like hearing the rain falling on the glass roof...

Friday, January 22, 2010

Wardrobe analysis - part four; Skirts...

So she said... I will be back tomorrow with something about skirts... And there was silence...

Days went by, and all I can say is there is no way I can keep posting here until I fell a lot better. So to save you ( and to me honest myself mostly ) for all the complaining, I have decided to come back when I am a cheerfull pregnant lady. I am happy about the little one to come, but right now it is all about getting by... meaning no projects, no working since my doctor has put me on sick leave, which is really a good thing, no knitting, no surfing around blogs or even cooking ( simply because I just cant concentrate )... This is me, the most boring person in the world... I try to eat... then I sleep... maybe a little walk... watch some TV ( a total new thing in my life )... more sleep... well I guess, you got the picture.

Skirts are not my favorites. Somehow they have a way of twisting and getting all out of position. But the two types shown are some I really like. The wrap around skirt I make of secondhand round tablecloths. I will show you those sometime in the future. I also like a fairly narrow A-shape skirt with a waisband and buttons down the front and with pockets.

That's all for today ( and for a while )... see you on the other side...



Wardrobe analysis - part four; shirts, blouses and dresses

There is not going to be a lot of writing today... Even if shirts, blouses and dresses are some of the most significant pieces of clothing, they are also pretty easy to find. And then remember a dress is just a long blouse... isn't it ?

I would like to have good basic sewing patterns for generous fitted tops with no waist shaping, and also one for a fitted top, which leave me just enough room to make it comfortable to wear.

Once again I like a majority of long blouses and shirts and a few shorter ones. I like making personal pattern and I have especially found out that it suits me best with the waistline a little higher than normal, a wide neckline and no puffy sleeves...

All the sketches below are ment as inspiration for sewing and maybe even shopping...









Oh yes...I am pregnant... we are very happy, but I also have to underline that my last pregnancy was 7 months of nausea. I am still hoping this one will be different, even if it doesn't really look that way at the moment. I am trying to cope with it the best way I can by spending more time outside in the fresh air and eating little but often...

I will be back tomorrow with something about skirts...
Wardrobe analysis - part three; knitted pieces.


You know, I love to knit... I like knitting a lot of simple pieces and a few complicated ones. The reason for that is: I knit while watching movies and even in the dark while tucking Seth ( I have to admit, most of the times John does that... ) I do love real beautifull laces and other intrigate stitch patterns, I just don't have much time for such focus demanding knitting. There was a time when I did make really complicated and colourfull knitting, it was fun making, but I didn't really wear them that much. Now I actually produce knitted pieces for my wardrobe. Thinking I need long sweaters, I knit long sweaters. That is not going to make me the most adventurous knitter, but I get to wear these my own classics a lot. Not saying that I am not craving some fancy ponchoes, cape's or really cute hats, but I still have a gap in my esential knitted pieces, I intend to fill first.

The following type of knitted garments should fit in katagories, so the vest type could be poncho, capes, tight traditional vests or oversize long vest... But lets keep it simple...shall we ?

I find it extremely important, how knitted pieces fit. If the design of the cardigan is tight, then it actually has to end up fitting me tight... This I find is the most difficult part of knitting for yourself and is mainly the reason, I work in just one type of yarn ( at least for wool...) and therefor always have the same gauge. It is like having your personal sewing slope, you can alter down the road... I think after I have knitted a good part of the below listed sweaters and cardigans, it will be very easy for me to alter and combine my patterns...but we will see.



This is my favorite type of sweater. Long enough to cover my behind and with a deep ribbed boatneck. It is knitted in fine wool gauge 30, and is perfect for wearing at "in the house" temperature. I always have a fine cotton boatneck T-shirt and a top under. I like the look of the wide neck shoving the straps from the top.




In summertime the temperature goes a bit up and down. Then you are in the sun... very hot, so the cardi goes of... (Not my favorite spot by the way...normally you can find me under a parasol or tree) Then suddenly there is a wind blowing, in the wonderfull shade... and the cardi goes on... It certainly is a lot of work being in nature... I think the best cardi for this is cotton. For dresses I like the look of a short cardigan that has to fit tightly and I think the above look could be really nice. Currently I am testing cotton yarn. It has to be mashinewashable, fairly easy to knit and should not get out of shape or make these little dots all ower as bad cotton does. I think I have found it... I will tell you more about that another time.




Not much to say about this one. Just a normal cardigan. Not too tight and with a slight or even no waistshaping.




The vest: I like layering up with vest ( well in theory at least ). I think they are a very stylish way to mix without making the look to heavy. I don't really have any of these, so here is something for future projects.



Very thick woolen sweater, thigh lenght. Mainly for wearing in the studio at winter or under my raincoat on chilly days. OH YES... I see myself happily walking down the street with a baby stroller, smiling that way only newly mothers do when it is raining cats and dogs... Oh boy how annoying...



The thick long woolen cardigan. Mostly used as a jacket on chilly summer mornings or at spring or fall when it is not to cold.




And offcourse, all the assesories; hats, wristwarmers, legwarmers and mittens. Well, It will be nice to have a few of these to just give that detail. I am especially fond of the design for legwarmers I am currently working on.

Once again I have to say... it is time for coffe and white chocolate...

Oh-my... I guess I have a lot of knitting to do...

I Will be back tomorrow with something about shirts, blouses, and dresses...
Wardrobe analysis - part two; pants

Back when in highschool you just had to have one pair of jeans, lewis 501, a little to big and gathered in the waist with a nice leatherbelt. Then a pair of converse basketball shoes... Suddenly I remember my favorite knitted sweater, made by myself. Cream coloured cotton with the lyrics of Susanna Vega embroidered on it.

It's not like that anymore. I still love jeans, but I wear different types.

One thing I have never had, is a pair of black pants... I guess it just doesn't fit in.

Here is what I have figured out should be in my closet:



Jeans: Low or medium low waist. Straight legs. Light or medium blue wash. I always wear these with a blouse that ends at a little lower than the hips. I wear these with low laced up boots and even with a little cuff, or with gaucho- or high heel boots.

Light or medium coloured jeans can be a bit hard to find around here, and I just don't dare to buy them online. It is mostly during summertime I have succes in finding the right pair...



Jeans: Low or medium low waist, slight bootcut. Light or medium blue wash. These are the only type of pants, I wear with my waistline visible, and always with a simple belt in cognac coloured leather.




Jeans: Low or medium low waist. slim fit. Light or medium blue wash and one pair in dark blue. I like slim fit jeans with ballerina style shoes or low boots with legwarmers. The tops, I use for these type of jeans, are alway long, nearly a short dress, and often has a straight cut without a lot of waist shaping. I have to admit that there are few things I find less flattering than slim jeans showing waistline... The jeans have to be so narrow that they make a little ruffle around the ancle without sliding under the foot or shoe. These jeans are also the ones I use for tucking inside long boots.




Lounge pants...( by more atletic people than me, often called as yoga pants ) made of very soft cotton that should have a nice drape to it. These are mostly used for me when hanging around in the house just being really comfortable. Its my own pattern and they have a string combined with elastic at the waist. The elastic at the foot should have the excactly lenght; loose enough to fall around the ancle and tight enough to not slide under the foot. On cooler days in the summer, I sometimes use them under dresses, worn with flat sandals.




Slim pants: These are used just like the slim jeans. They are made of woven fabric in my own sewing pattern, and has a zipper in the back, and for comfort a little elastic in the sides. They make a bit of a ruffle around the ancle.




The experimental ones: Not a reality yet, but I have for a long time flirted with the thought of grey tweedy pants, maybe highwaisted and with wide and perhaps a bit short legs to go with my ballerina T strap shoes or low, laced up boots... A little Bonnie and clyde style... not quite sure yet. These defenetly call for a slim waistline, and since nothing like that is going to happen the next 7 months + this experiment has to wait...

I will be back tomorrow with something about knitted pieces. Goodnight...
Wardrobe analysis - part one; basics

Last new year I made the promise to be better dressed. I started out with the shoes and I did a lot of thinking and a litle bit of sewing and shopping. Back when I was single, my clothes consisted primarily of real warm and sturdy working clothes and then fancy party clothes. Then things changed; I met John, we had Seth and somehow my preferences has changed. We do go out once in a while, but very seldom to something that requires fancy dresses and such. I had a few hurdles to overcome, like solving the "I hate panties" problem...that one is fixed. And then there was the hole shoe thing,read about it here and here because we all know it starts with the shoes. There are still a couple of shoes I haven't told you about, but they will get their own posting... Then I had a problem of making my high heels look a bit more down dressed and keep my legs warmer... Got that one fixed too... more about that later.

So I guess it is all about finding my new style... I made this wardrobe analysis focusing on what I find comfortable and at the same time trying to catagorize type of clothes, so I would never end up missing some pair of shoes to go with it or the basics to wear with it. Somehow It wasn't so difficult. I guess it was all in my head; I just needed to get it down on paper, to make ends meet.

Offcourse I am influenzed by fashion, but I believe that what I have come up with is something I can use over a long period of time. For exemple, in the future the skirt may have a bit different cut, but in the whole plan it will still be that plain skirt with buttons.

I know it will be a long story, but I will divide it into five parts, posted the next five days.

I wish there would be more blogs about low key fashion, but I guess what people want to read about is not everyday greyness but the glamour and glitter of parties and high end metropol fashion...

I hope this will guide me when shopping, but also to specify what kind of sewing patterns I really need, or, maybe more important...what I don't need.

Offcourse colours are important , but they will not be the subject in these postings...




Underwear is really nothing fancy for me. I need long tops to use under t-shirts and, well, just about under everything. When I say long, I mean long... they have to be able to reach the point of my thighs, so when I wear them tucked in my pants they will not slip out everytime i move or bend over for some toy or whatever. They can be hard to find, but since I buy a lot of my basics through H&M I normally buy two identical tops and make one out of it by extending one with the lowest part of other. I have a sewing pattern for this type of top, but really I can't make it any better, so it is just to buy...

The little slipdress has a slight A-line and is used for wearing under dresses trough summer ( especially whiter ones). It is my own pattern and the shoulder straps are attached in the middle of the back to prevent it from sliding down. I make it in cotton jersey with 5 % elastan But I would definately consider making some in silk jersey. These I also use to sleep in and for those homedays where you don't want any guests.





Then there is all the T-shirts... what did people wear before T-shirts !... I only use v-necks and boat-necks, and ofcourse, short sleeve versions of both of them. I have yo say H&M once again. I know their fittings and they hold up pretty well in the wash. The boat-neck I normally just buy as a plain-neck T's and then just cut it the way I like it, leaving the raw edge, simply because I don't really mind it. I have good tested patterns for these, but mostly use it for special fabrics like silk jersey, or thin woolen jersey.

Stockings and socks. I like to have kneelong machine knitted thin cotton stocking when I am wearing jeans with long boots. I like the feeling of the cotton towards my legs and the lining of the boots. Ancle socks for working in the studio: They are cheap and easy to find and I fold them over the leggings, I am always wearing under my working pants. Thick woolen ancle socks ( well I do knit those myself ) for those cold days at home. Planning on some more colourfull ones using Elisabelt Zimmermans moccasin socks with retreatable soles. And real long thick ones for using inside rubberboots.




The "I hate panties" problem was solved last summer. Read more about it here




Leggings I don't really concider being pants. I have never liked them. When they are a bit short and worn with slippers, they look really cheap. In my wardrobe they are used for ekstra warmth under pants at winter or as stockings together with socks preferable in the same colour and with legwarmers to hide where the sock and leggings meet. I have my own pattern for leggings and normally make them in thin woolen jersey, I dye in the colour I want.

I will be back tomorrow with something about pants...

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Me and my watches...

When I met John something new entered my world: Vintage watches ! I had no idea anyone could have so many opinions or even words about watches. I am not completely taken over, but I certainly look at them in a different way. Another fun part is that we both wear our watches on the right hand, and that is even long before we met each other... strange, or just ment to be ?




And he wears gloves when driving (the watch here is neither vintage or his favorite brand Rolex, but a daily beater; a Omega)...




So It didn't take long before he gave me a Rolex Oyster Perpeyual Explorer. This is what the officia rolex site says about it: "Rolex Oyster Perpeyual Explorer made an auspicious debut in 1953, after Sir Edmund Hillary’s
successful ascent of Everest. Since then, these robust Oyster Perpetual
chronometers have demonstrated their dependability far and wide, defying the
most extreme conditions." I like the extreme condition part knowing that I can wear it at the studio without beeing worried that it is a nice thing. I always wear it with some piece of jewelry to give this toolwatch a feminine touch.




This is my other watch and a complelely different one. For me this is used as any other jewelry, but it is fully functional, even if I have to set the time and wind it every time I use it. I have it in a golden leatherband but I am looking for a sturdy silver necklace for it instead... why silver ? I just like the fact that it doesn't quite match.




I love technical drawings and have seen so many beautifull ones of watches but somehow today I had a hard time finding, so you just have to trust me on that one...but don't you love the airplane ?

Chronograph watches has the same aestetic quality as blueprints or technical drawings, so on my wishlist is a chronograph with a light coloured dial with telemeter and a cognac coloured leather ( strap )... - with white seaming.




I looked at a lot of chronographs today to kind of figure out what I like. I like the marine one for the colours and just because it is a bit funny. Some I liked for the thin red lines or hands. One I liked because it had a spiral. Another for its beautifull double line and the green togeter with the cream colour. But I also found out that I am not much for roman numerals, normal time markings are more my thing. If it is gold or steel was not so important. I kind of like both for this type of watches.




This last picture, I can't really remember where I found it ( So if it is yours, please let me know so I can credit ). I put it here because I would love to wear a piece of jewelry with the chronograph that somehow echoes the lines and forms of the watch.




Thats all for today. Time flies but now it is time to go...