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...

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...

Seths' anorak...

I find it very hard to find outerware for children. Normally they are loaded with way too many details, little prints, a ton of zippers and on top of that they are way to thick for our climate. I just want it simple, and I wanted a big pocket in the front for gloves so they won't get lost. Back in September when I started looking for a jacket for Seth, I just couldn't find one, so I had to get back to the sewing machine and make one. Now I am pretty happy because next year I don't have to spend hours trying to find one, I will just make it, which in the end is probably just as time consuming, but a lot more fun and definitely more satisfying.




I pair it with a big chunky sweater beneath for ekstra warmt, and the plan is that he can wear it this spring as a light jacket without the chunky sweater or just with a lighter one.




I made a zipper in the side so it would make it easyer for him to take it on and of. At the zipper I attached a little pool ball (number 2) once part of a keyring. Anoraks are not the easiest jacket for someone who has just turned 3 and started kindergarten, but it just looks so good. You see it is not always about beeing practical... looks count you know... Smiley




Oh yes the boots... can't make those. But I was so lucky, I found RAP leatherboots in cognac with a goretex lining, so no cold and wet feet. A size 27... he grows fast.




The alarm just bipped... bread in the oven, gotta go. See you...

Late Christmas gifts...

My parents Christmas gift this year was two sturdy pillows for using when reading in bed. Well, that's not the hole truth... On Christmas evening I gave them their gifts. Inside their package was a book ( for my mother a biography and for my father a book about growing and eating tomatoes ) and a little plasticbag filled with foam chips and a little card with an explanation...




That's not how it should have been. No, of course there should have been two finished pillows size 90 cm by 50 cm and two white sheets for each of them. But you see, I am always surpriced, Christmas month is not really a month, it is just 3 weeks... did you know that... so, I guess I was late and the pillows was finished today not more than 4 hours ago... so this is really breaking news, and not just the historic crafts journal that you have tuned into.




I am not that crazy about soft floppy bedlinen. I like the stiff hotel kind of bedlinen, all shiny and cool with the folding marks still showing. Maybe I am just getting old... It seems I have never really payd that much attention to mattresses pillows and stuff like that... I am also very konservative since I really only like white bedlinen, maybe even with initials but that would probably crash severely with the rest of our lifestyle.




The rest of the day was used helping my mother mending some of her clothes, a bit of altering and putting new elastic in her overalls. The ones she practically lives in during the summer, when she gets up at 6 am and goes straight to the garden. You see she doesn't do any sewing, she can't knit, but she makes the best puff pastry in the world.

I started making my own clothes when I was 13. I basically learned it by following the same principle as reading a manual. I bougth Burda patterns. They had this great magazine for petites. I am 163 cm and the patterns were for 160 cm but they had very small sizes and I was rather skinny. I just blindly followed every single instruktion without having any clue about the big picture. Sometimes it ended happily and other times, well...

My grandmother was very good on sewing and helped me a bit, but I wasn't really keen about getting help. I thougt it slowed down the process way too much. I wasn't so patient back then. My father also helped me a bit. I especially remember that time when I had just cut all the pieces for a pair of pastel yellow pants with big pockets, only to realize that I had cut the pocket out from the one of the pieces for the legs. I could get very hysteric and even cry. my mother was rather frustrated not knowing how she could help me and usually asked my father to try help. I don't quite remember how he solved the particular situation, but he did and he was always very good in trying to make me calm down and find the solution myself. Writing this I see that is in fact a pattern I have seen in my adult life... Not that I am proud of it. But what the heck, we all stay as kids to our parents, no matter how old we get.

John's cardigan...

Does anyone remember this... For a while I tried to forget it, but eventually I knew that I had to get back to the battlefield. This cardigan has really given me a lot of trouble. Nothing wrong with the pattern... Just me getting too involved, but I am also a succer for a big difficult equation, so I knew it was just going to be me with the yarn, knitting my way through it all, testing, redoing, testing again, thinking "Now I got it !"... "No, I didnt... one more time..."



Now it is all done and I am rather proud to say... Yes it took me a while but I didn't stop before both John and I thought it was perfect...




Can you believe it... This little knitting project has been lying around for half of Seths life. He is so used to it that it has become part of his play. The knitted cables are in Seths little fantasy-world destined to be roads for his cars to drive on.



You cannot call me impatient, but I am happy now when it finally is finished.


I just realized that I am not really well equiped for the fast tempo of life we live. What can I say... I Like knitting with a gauge 30 stitches on 10 cm, I think every piece of clothing should have hand embroided initials like the ones shown here and I just bought a loom at a fleemarket because wouldn't it be nice with handmade dishtowels...

I am of to make coffee and have a bit of white chocolate... have a great evening !

A new year...

Once in a while my life feels like tons of little threads waiting to be joined into that beautifull strand of yarn. I start all these projects at the same time having the end result very clear in my head. But when the big picture, the finished project is a rather big one there is a flipside to it, one can get lost. I don't get completely lost but let's just say the room gets a bit dark and I have a hard time finding my way around it.



That's how this year has been for me. I have spend a lot of time building the greenhouse, and fully finishing the shop interior, and at the same time I have put a lot of energy into trying to simplify the practical part of our life, and finding a balance between work and family. Inbetween all this I have tried to steal some time to do a bit creative work in the studio. Now the threads are coming together and everything is a bit lighter and I am happy to say: I see the light...

November passed, December passed... What happened to Christmas? Well... We had a very nice Christmas, very mellow and warm.

I have a lot to show you, so if you wonder about fall pictures or even summerpictures on this blog the following month, here is the reason: This next month I have decided to show you all the things I never got to write about last year. No, it will not be the breaking news, but I need to show it all and to zero it all and not stay in the past...

Are you with me ?

A new year... a fresh calender... In my case three of them... One in my bag for private stuff, one at the studio for workrelated things and one in my kitchen for planning meals.

A fresh breeze into the clutter free apartment liberated from the sometimes strangeling cozyness of Christmas... and cleaning...

Yes cleaning... No I don't really like it but it certainly helps when you have beautifull brushes around doesn't it ?



The brushes are handmade by blind people
The dusting brush is nearly 1 meter long and it is great when you have a high ceiling...

Oh yes, at last but not least:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you...