Christmas Review / Weihnachtsrückblick

(Deutsch gibt’s weiter unten...)

Hello dearest sewing and knitting friends,

I wish all of you a happy, healthy and fabric-/yarn-filled New Year!

Let's start with a little holiday review, because I made crafty gifts, received crafty gifts and more.

An accidental gift I made for myself for my mom for my mom and my friend for my mom and my friend and my cousin was this hat (Autumn Leaves Slouchy Gotland Hat by Sue Blacker). I knit it a whopping four times before Christmas. I only meant to make one for myself, then my mom said she'd like one, then my friend... you get the gist.

(not me, my lovely model!)

It's a lovely pattern, fun and fast to knit and not too hard (I only made one mistake in the first hat and fixed that right away). I cast on one pattern repeat less and it still came out a tiny bit wide (fine for my big head though), so watch out for that if you knit one for yourself. I wear it all the time and have spied the other hats in action, too, so I call it a success. For details you can also have a look at my Ravelry pages here.

In the process I discovered that our local department store has a much better choice of knitting yarns than expected. That is especially good to know when repeatedly buying yet another two balls of yarn for yet another hat :-) !

Okay, hold your breath now: There hasn't just been knitting, there's also been sewing happening in this house! I made myself a (simple, comfortable) Christmas dress.

(fits better on me; I hope to add pictures on me later)

I'd originally bought the burgundy ponte fabric for last year's Christmas dress that never came to pass. This year I didn't have time for pattern copying and whatnot either, so I made a very rough rub-off of a RTW long-sleeve (right onto the fabric), eyeballed a couple of darts, roughly drafted a skirt from my measurements and yet another RTW piece, eyeballed the neckline, added a facing and called it a day.

This was real stunt sewing, and the funny thing is it worked! It's not a perfect dress by far, the bust darts are too high, the back darts are strange and there's some puckering in the side seam, but I like it, I wear it, so that's that.

Onto the gifts I received:

A lovely and generous person who knows me well but doesn't know a thing about sewing (and has no access to my pattern stash!) took himself to a magazine shop, went through all the sewing magazines there and decided to buy me an Ottobre subscription (all six issues! Ladies' and childrens'! Yay!) because „it seemed to be the best pattern magazine and most like your style“. Yup. Totally right. I think I may like the back story even better than the gift itself which is saying a lot, because I LOVE the gift!

My mom couldn't help but notice my slight Matryoshka obsession (ahem), so when a German home dec store had a sale of Matroshka-styled pieces right before Christmas she bought them for me. Now I have the prettiest sofa and breakfast table :-) !

My lovely friend gave all of us a voucher for hand-knit socks of our choosing, aaaah, choices!

And DS surprised me with the greatest gift ever: a sewing room! (Albeit doll-sized.) I think he remembered my joy when seeing this doll's house (as well as my oft-repeated sigh „if only I had a sewing room...“) so he made me one. Complete with dressmaking dummy, sewing machine and crocheted „fabric“ rolls.

What a handmade Christmas that was! I hope yours was filled with light, laughter and handmade goodness as well.

Happy knitting and sewing!

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Hallo, liebe LeserInnen,

erst mal ein frohes neues Jahr! Glück, Gesundheit und viel Zeit für Eure Hobbies wünsche ich Euch allen.

Ich hatte wunderbar handarbeitsreiche Weihnachten, mit selbstgemachten Geschenken auf beiden Seiten und viel Inspiration für dieses Jahr.

Kurz vor Weihnachten stricke ich mir diese Mütze (Autumn Leaves Slouchy Gotland Hat by Sue Blacker), die so viel Anklang fand, dass ich sie gleich drei Mal als Geschenk hinterherschob (-strickte). Glücklicherweise hat unser örtliches kleines Kaufhaus den Stricktrend entdeckt, und so konnte ich jede Woche wieder zwei schöne Knäuel für eine neue Mütze aussuchen, ohne groß rumfahren oder bestellen zu müssen.

Das Strickmuster (auf Englisch) kann ich empfehlen, ich habe mich kaum vertan, musste allerdings verkleinern – ich habe einen Musterrapport (8 Maschen) weniger angeschlagen, und das war noch reichlich. Meine Ravelry-Seite findet Ihr hier.

(nicht ich, aber ein tolles Model, oder?)

Und, haltet Euch fest, es wurde auch genäht in diesem Haushalt – ein Weihnachtskleid aus dem letztjährigen Stoff (Romanitjersey von Buttinette) ganz ohne Schnitt, dafür hatte ich nämlich keine Zeit. Ich habe mich ein bisschen an vorhandenen Kleidungsstücken (T-Shirt und Rock) orientiert und ansonsten nach Maßband und frei Schnauze gearbeitet. Schönheitsfehler inklusive, natürlich, ich trage es aber sehr gerne und werde bestimmt noch mal zum Romanit greifen. So gemütlich!

(mir passt es etwas besser)

Ganz wunderbare und überraschende Geschenke gab es auch, ein lieber, nähunkundiger Mensch hat aus allem, was der Zeitschriftenladen hergibt, die Ottobre herausgefiltert, mir ein Abo geschenkt und damit genau ins Schwarze getroffen.

Meine Mutter sah im örtlichen Dekoladen eine Matrjoschka-Aktion und hat an mich gedacht, warum wohl... ;-) Jetzt gibt’s Matrjoschkas auch auf der Couch und zum Frühstück.

Meine Freundin hat der ganzen Familie Sockengutscheine geschenkt. Das Stricken hat wohl nicht nur auf mich eine beruhigende Wirkung!

Und mein Sohn hat den Vogel abgeschossen und mir mein eigenes Nähzimmer geschenkt... als Puppenhaus. Ist das nicht toll? Mit Schneiderpuppe, Schaukelstuhl und selbstgehäkelten Stoffrollen. So ähnlich wie hier schon bewundert (und, ich sehe gerade, zu Weihnachten gewünscht, in 2011!).

Ich hoffe, Ihr hattet auch schöne Festtage und ein bisschen Zeit zum textilen Werkeln. Näht schön und strickt schön!

Merry Christmas (Dress)!

This is the sad state of my current Christmas dress.

What is taking me so long?

First, I resolved not to add to my to do-list by planning to sew another dress.

- As I've hinted before, knowing how to sew for me leads to delusions about having to DIY pretty much everything, especially during the Christmas season. I made decorations, photo calendars, a photo book, cards, gift tags, pillowcases, gingerbread houses, cookies, and we recorded a family Christmas tunes CD (complete with CD cover artwork). Phew. -

Then, I thought scrap that, after making all sorts of stuff for others I really deserve a dress for myself. I even found a suitable wool-mix crepe in our town's tiny, obscure, remnant-roll-filled fabric shop. And a real silk lining.

- When I asked about the fabric content of the crepe (I thought it felt like wool), the shop's little saleswoman cut off a small piece, whipped out her lighter, and made the famous burn test (that I'd never seen nor done). Wool with poly, she says. -

I really, really wanted to make the infamous tulip skirt dress from BurdaStyle 8-2009, but couldn't for the life of me find that magazine (which I have!). Time was slipping away from me, so I settled on BWOF 11-2008-112 and got started. I try to steal an hour here and there which might not be enough to finish by Thursday night (Christmas festivities commence early on Christmas Eve here in Germany).

What do you think, dear sewing friends?

Can I get the dress done?

And are you a creative specialist yourself (only sewing) or a jack-of-all-creative endeavors?

I would like to thank all of you, my readers whom I consider my sewing friends and who have made my year so enjoyable, and wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Sewing and a Happy New Year!

Hello everybody!

The holidays are behind us, but the decorations are still up, and I am only slowly coming to... Although I have been sewing (more than I thought, now I'm counting), the sewing machine has been mostly off the dining room table for quite some time now, and I am ready for sanity (sewing time!) to return.

Everything on my holiday sewing list has been checked off, thanks to my cousin who was our houseguest at Christmas and babysat the children a lot, and due to my letting the jacket take a back seat (the shell is finished; I "just" need to install buttonholes and lining).

First on my list was another Ottobre girls' tunic ( for the others, see here) for my best friend's daughter. My, I love that pattern! I tried to sew under cover, because I knew what would (and did) happen if DD saw the pink-and-red-rose fabric: she'd want one for herself.

Then, what better time to decide DS could use a new holiday outfit than December 22nd? The waistcoat and pants were finished on the 23rd, I'm proud to report.

And DS was really happy; no forcing dressing up on him, oh no. He grabbed his shirt, his bow tie, and the new clothes, and dressed up like a gentleman!

A few details: Both garments are made from a very fine corduroy, almost like velvet. The pants are fully lined in red-and-white gingham cotton, and the waistcoat in a dark blue poly lining (for the back, I also used the lining fabric.). For the pants, I used the Ottobre Pirate Jeans pattern I made these 3/4 summer jeans from. I cut on the back yoke and the waistband, essentially reducing four pattern parts to two parts. I used the back pocket pattern, but self-drafted (read: haphazardly cut out) a pocket with flap and velcro closing for the front. The waistcoat is an Ottobre pattern (6/2007 no. 20) as well. To save time, I left off the facings and fully lined it to the edges. I also just sewed on a strip of fabric in the back, instead of the traditional fastening with two fabric strips and D-rings. To finish it off, I used three maritime iron-on patches (boats and lighthouse). Fast and easy!

Third on my list was last year's Christmas dress UFO. I took a good long look at it, decided it could use a new zipper installation but I had nowhere near the time for it, so I finished the half-installed zipper, hemmed the lining, cleaned up the seams allowances, and - voila!?

Then I tried it on and found it a bit too wide, but didn't remember that at all... This was probably why I didn't finish it last year; I've gained a bit since then so the dress is alright now, but it would have been too loose last year. Funny, the things one remembers (or not). The pattern, which I omitted last time, is BWOF 11/2007 no. 107.

After the festitivities, there was another one - DD turned four! This couldn't pass without something homesewn, so I cranked out a tutu without a pattern. I'm not in love with it and I don't have a photo, but DD wears it, so that's that. I will say this much for children's costume sewing: The most worn garments (by far) I made last year are the witch and the angel costume. The children have a dressing-up box and take these out every couple of days.

We had a Christmas witch and a tree decorating angel this year:

Tonight is New Year's eve, and then we'll be done with parties for a while. I'm really itching to get back to normal now. Karen said it best, and I hope she doesn't mind me quoting her: I really, really like to stay home and make things!

I think I'll pass the sewing recap, but it was a very productive year for me, and blogging and your lovely comments made it so enjoyable. I wish all sewers and all readers a happy, healthy New Year with lots of sewing time!

Holiday Crafting OCD

Starting in late September, I sort of lose it. My focus. My "me time". My lists. Under more lists. Covered by lists-of-lists.

Here's why. I love the holiday season. I love crafting and baking. So I try to do it all. By myself, of course. Handmade, as much as possible.

Gifts for Christmas. Gifts for two children's birthdays. Gifts for three advent calendars. Gifts for St. Nicholas day. Giveaways for two childrens' birthday guests.

Handcrafted invitations for two children's birthday parties. Handcrafted invitations for our yearly advent cookie party. Handcrafted Christmas cards. Handcrafted decorations.

Baking for the cookie party (20 to 30 sorts.) Baking for two children's birthdays. Baking for Christmas.

To fill the empty minutes (let's not waste any time here) I have a cross stitch Christmas stocking calling my name.

I love the holidays. Such a wonderful time for relaxed family togetherness. Ahem. And I really do love this time. Could we just spread it out a little? Over... nine months, maybe? (Having a baby sure wasn't this much work!)

Anyone else out there suffer this Holiday OCD affliction? Tell me I'm not alone!

Parting shot:

I thought I'd wait until December to show my handmade advent calendars. But now seems more timely really; maybe someone can use them for inspiration. So here's the first of the bunch.