Liebster Award

July 10, 2013.Reading time 6 minutes.

Phew!

I handed in my dissertation yesterday and still can’t believe I’m free at last…after weeks and weeks of work. And finally I have time for unpacking my sewing machine. So what else happened since my last post?

– We moved houses! Not a good thing to do right before the dissertation deadline but that’s how thing are sometimes. There’s still chaos everywhere and all my sewing things are still in boxes. But I’m looking forward to decorating my new sewing space. Unpacking starts NOW!

– I finished #10 and #11 of my 27 Dresses Challenge! I will be posting some pictures in the next days (plus the tutorial on baby seams I promised you guys a while ago on Facebook!)

– Last but not least: I was nominated the Liebster Award by wonderful Danielle from Constantly Alice! I did not know her blog before, but I’m so glad I do now! Please do check it out, it’s totally worth it!

The nomination comes with a few rules:

You must answer the 11 questions set by the blogger who nominated you.
You yourself then pick 11 blogs who in turn have under 200 followers. You must then think of 11 questions for the blogs you have picked and also tell them.
Finally link back to the blog that nominated you.

I still haven’t picked the 11 blogs, but will do so in the next days. If you know any really cool blogs you want me to consider or if you want me to check out your own blog, please feel to post a link in the comments! It should have no more than 200 followers, to give the smaller or newly started blogs a chance to be seen by more people!

Here are Danielle’s questions:

1. What is your favorite song?

Oh, wow. Hardest question first? There are hundreds of songs I really love and I think which one of them is my favourite changes constantly depending on my mood and what music I listened to last. I love all sorts of music from rock to techno to classic to swing and jazz. Since I really can’t decide here’s a short list of the ones I can think of right now:

– ‘Italian Radio’ and ‘HRSA’ by Blue October (probably one of the best bands in the world!

– ‘Nouvelle chance’ by Pupkulies and Rebecca

– “Wish you’d hold that smile” by Minor Majority (great great great band!)

– “The dragster wave” by Ghinzu

– “May way” by Frank Sinatra (who doesn’t love this song?)

2. If you could only have one item, what would you pick?

My sewing machine!

3. Who has been your biggest influencer/mentor?

I think I don’t really have a “mentor”. I’ve been influenced by a lot of really great people over the last years. I think there are a lot of really good books that are very inspiring but the most inspiring people you meet in real life. Family, friends and sometime people you meet somewhere and only talk with for three minutes.

4. Favorite book?

Naw, can’t answer this question! The other lovelies in my shelves will be jealous! And I would probably end up giving you a list of a few hundred books, which I all consider the “best book in the world” 🙂

5. Favorite literary character? Why?

Man, these questions are mean. I’m a very, very indecisive person. I really love Elizabeth Bennet (I’m boring I know!), but this time I pick Momo. Read the book (Momo by Michael Ende) and you’ll know why!

6. Ice Cream or Cake?

Cake. It’s always been cake and it will always be cake. Seriously, how can ice cream be your favourite when there is cake?

7. Describe yourself in 4 words or less.

jack of all trades

(and may I add: master of none)

8. Favorite time of day or season? Why?

I love summer! I love being outside in the sun (preferably with a coffee).

9. Pepsi or Coke?

Neither. (It’s coffee!)

10. What movie character do you most identify with?

The only character that comes to my mind isn’t from a movie, but a series: Lorelai Gilmore (and not only is she a coffee junkie, but she can sew as well!)

11. Biggest blogging challenge?

My 27 Dresses Challenge which is more fun than hard work, actually. The hardest thing was probably making the decision to start a blog.

It feels so good to be blogging again. Can’t wait to run some fabric through my sewing machine!

I’m sorry if I haven’t replied to any of your comments during the last few weeks! Will do so pretty soon! xx

Moving! (Again!)

June 14, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

In case you’ve been wondering why it’s been a little quite around here lately…

…we’re moving! It’s exciting and annoying at the same time – I’m really looking forward to moving houses, but it’s always at the most inconvenient time possible. Same old, same old.

Well, this weekend I finally have to pack the last bits (including my lovely sewing machine – not happy about this!). Last term of uni (ever!) is also almost over, which means I’m basically drowning in work right now.

For all those reasons I might not be able to add new posts regularly over the next few weeks, but I won’t be gone completely. So make sure you check in every once in a while 🙂

See you on the other side!

xoxo

Summer Wrap Blouse

June 3, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com #9 of my 27 Dresses Challenge is done and ready for a trip to the park.

I finally realised that I seem to always sew dresses that are pretty, but which I almost never wear. Furthermore they tend to take several days to make (with all my unpicking…) and this often isn’t very motivating. That’s why I decided to sew something very casual, summery and which would be easy and quick to finish.
Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I rummaged through all my Burdastyle magazines and found this cute pattern of a summer wrap blouse. It’s in the Burda issue 4/2013, #120A (the black one). They also have the same blouse in white, but without the shirring on the sleeves (tie blouse #120B).

Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com

source: burdastyle.com

Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com After only taking small pains to style the last dress, this time I made an effort and styled the blouse in two different ways.

I think it looks best with a high waisted skirt, otherwise tummy shirts might look quite tacky.

The pattern was easy to work with and although the instructions aren’t the best, the pattern is sort of self-explanatory.

I used a slightly sheer black cotton. Not the best choice, since it crinkles the instant you touch it, but now I think it’s fine. a) I won’t need to press this blouse and b) it goes well with the casual cut I think.

Summer Blouse Burda 4/2013 #120A by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I covered the button myself using the same black cotton fabric.

5 tips for the weekend #7

June 1, 2013.Reading time 2 minutes.

Wow, it’s been ages since the last “5 tip for the weekend” post, I know. It’s back again!

Btw, I recently noticed that some of your comments ended up in my spam folder – now I keep checking it regularly before deleting the spam comments (although that’s totally annoying…), but in case your comment went missing before I started doing that – I’m sorry! I love all your lovely comments!!! Maybe I just need to get a better spam-filter.

#1 craft idea: paint some shoes!

#2 movie you should see

I’ve seen this movie more than once and love it. It’s not full of action and certainly not suspense-packed, since we know how it ends, but Audrey Tautou portrays Gabrielle Chanel’s life before she became famous as Coco Chanel in such a beautiful way. It’s a must see for all seamstresses out there!

If you’re not convinced yet, here’s the trailer.

#3 book you won’t regret reading

“The secret life of Marilyn Monroe” – J.R. Taraborrelli

I’ve just finished this book and can only recommend it. It’s one of the few well-researched books about her, sweeping a lot of wrong facts and rumors out of the way. I enjoyed reading it and found it to be the best Monroe biography so far.

#4 recipe to try on the weekend:

Sun-dried tomato cilantro hummus!

Doesn’t that look delicious? You can find the recipe at abeautifulmess.com.

#5 Play around with your camera and make a stop-motion short film!

It needs quite a bit concentration, but making a stop-motion short film is so much fun! It might be a challenge to get your children interested in this, but maybe you get them to make one of the process of tidying up their rooms 😉

This one made by some of my friends is absolutely adorable and inspiring:
(Watch out, their song will be stuck in your head all weekend 🙂 )

The Pursuit of Happiness from Martin Büttner on Vimeo.

Making a Tailor’s Ham and Sausage

May 29, 2013.Reading time 4 minutes.

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend (if you had one)! Did you use the long weekend for something crafty? Well, I did. Nothing too crazy, but I got a few projects done that had waited to be finished for a while.

I was sewing up a cute summer blouse and while desperately trying to press the darts into a nice shape, I thought I finally needed to tackle the tailor’s ham project I planned weeks ago.

I found a brilliant tutorial by Kristiann (the Victory Patterns lady!) who did a great guest post over at Tilly and the Buttons. Check out her site for the instructions and the patterns.

I did it a bit differently though, since I neither had sawdust nor thick cotton canvas lying around.

I basically used an old cheap Primark pillow and fabric scraps for the stuffing. Since I did not have cotton canvas, I used plain (muslin) cotton in two layers I basted together before sewing the darts. Using two layers creates the right thickness and makes the cotton sturdy enough.