Noialand Felt Cuteness

As I mentioned in some of my previous (very rare) posts, I still don't sew anything that would have to take me more than a couple of hours. It probably depends on the type of a worker/sewist I am - I need at least a couple of hours for myself to work on a project. I can't steal 30 minutes here and 20 minutes there to work on something. But since my Adam was born, my life has been pretty much like that - a couple of free minutes here and a half an hour there, so I didn't start to sew anything, that couldn't be finished veeery quickly. And since I am a very slow sewist (and have long been without any practice), even a simple top wouldn't fit the "quick project" category.

Having said that, I really miss sewing (and crafting), so in the past few weeks, I was trying to make at least something, even if it wasn't anything to wear. Which has finally brought me to the subject of this post (pheeeew :) - these cute felt dolls.

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon an Etsy shop called Noialand Patterns. It's a shop full of PDF patterns on how to make these completely adorable felt dolls. I've bought a handful of them, because I just couldn't resist and made a couple of them immediately. 

The wise owl is complete as you see it, as well as the little blue owl from this owl garland. The French bakery girl is still missing her shoes and a tray with some baked goods and the little snowman needs a hat to be complete, but I like the felt dolls so much, that I am showing them even like this. 

The felt creatures are all hand sewn and even though some of the hand sewing is quite elaborate (read time consuming), they are great fun to make. The good thing about projects like these is that even if I don't have a chance to start and finish them in a single sewing session, I don't have a problem with getting "into the project" again - I just pick it up and continue from where I last left.

If you are interested in dreamy and fairytale-like blogs, there is also a Noialand blog featuring the felt fairytale characters and many more cute things to look at. 

Since I am writing all these odes about these patterns, I need to say, that I am in no way affiliated with the Noialand patterns shop or its owner. I just think that the patterns are so cute, that it would be a shame not to let you know about them :)! 

Noialand Wise Owl

a French bakery girl - a snowman from a Christmas garland - an owl from an owl garland

I hope you all have a great year behind

 and an even better one ahead!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas time 2013

I hope everyone is having a very merry Christmas. This is just a quick post to say Happy Holidays! 

I have not started to work on any bigger sewing project so far, because I don't want to end up with yet another UFO as a result of a lack of time, but I do have something sewing related to write about, so let's meet here in a couple of days ;).

In the meantime, enjoy the holidays :)!

Zuzana

Happy Scary Halloween

I am a very lousy blogger lately, but my 9 months old son Adam has made the decision that it's about time to learn to walk (apparently, crawling and pure standing is not so much fun anymore), so I have to keep an eye on him for most of the time and don't have much spare time for a lot of "me" activities (like sewing and blogging). That's why I am writing at least this very short post - to say Happy Halloween, because even though I don't sew right now, I did not forget about all the lovely people who read and follow my blog. That's why I wish you all a

Happy Scary Halloween ;)!

Unfaithful (to Sewing)

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who reads and follows my blog, even though I have been such a lousy blogger recently. Even lousier than my lousy standard. So THANK YOU VERY MUCH for not giving up on me and my blog. I have to admit, that I would have the time to blog, only if there was something to blog about...

Do you know how you can find out that you really miss sewing? It's been months since I was able to sew at least a stitch on my sewing machine and the other day I just needed to repair something like two centimeters of a ripped seam on a pair of trousers and the couple of stitches on the sewing machine I made made me feel very happy :D. So that's how I can say that I really miss sewing...

My little son Adam is already six months old and I don't know where the time has gone. But that is a completely different story :).  

This blog is a blog about sewing, but because I did not make a single stitch on my sewing machine for ages (if you don't take into account the trousers I have just mentioned and I suppose you don't :), I did not write a post in ages either. It makes me feel somehow bad, but what I hate about the situation even more is the lack of a creative outlet I just need, to have a kind of a balance in my life. So I figured that until I get to my sewing machine I need to find another way to be creative. 

The last week we've been to a week-long vacation and I made a decision to finally learn to crochet. I have learned to knit as a child, but I couldn't learn to crochet if my life was dependent on it, even though my mum showed me how to do it as often as I asked - and it wasn't once... 

So I have bought the book First Crochet: Projects for Beginners from Lesley Stanfield, a couple of hooks and some wool and packed them into my suitcase together with my firm resolution to finally learn to crochet.

My first day ended up with three failed attempts to get the pattern right - as it was portrayed in the book, but I eventually got around it and here is the result so far - a future blanket, which is going to be finished some time around 2030 I guess, knowing the number of these squares (something between 400 and 475) I need to complete:

The squares are still far from perfect, but as a complete beginner I am quite happy with the results so far - I am sure the square number 475 will be just impeccable :).

I apologize to my readers that this is not a post about sewing, but crocheting. A book, a hook and some wool are much more portable than a sewing machine and I was only able to steal a half an hour here and there on our vacation to make this piece of a (fingers crossed) future blanket. 

I very much hope to get to sewing very soon. But I am not my own boss since Adam was born :), so I can just hope. On the other hand, I don't forget what I promise and because in the comments to the post about this Burda top I somehow promised to get and post some pictures of me wearing it, I will do that soon. 

Until then, happy sewing and thank you once again!

Mother's Day

Today was the first Mother's Day when I could call the day mine as well :). My little son Adam will be 4 months old this week and although the four months are not a time long enough to maybe fully understand what it means to be a mom, it definitely gives you an idea - it's a tough and underpaid job, which requires your full attention 24/7 - physically and emotionally. It doesn't sound like a good deal and sometimes it even doesn't feel like one, but at the end of the day, when you see your child getting smarter and happier day after day, you get your well deserved reward - a big toothless smile (or in my case, a very surprised face expression ;D).

March 2013

Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there :)!

Top - BWOF 4/2005 - 106 A

I haven't got around sewing yet (looking a little blamingly (and therefore a little ashamed) at my 11 weeks old son), so I am going to write about another piece of garment I made a long time ago.

It's not a spectacular piece of art or anything close to it, but I think it's worth mentioning, because this is a very easy to sew and easy to wear top. In fact, it's one of my favorite pieces I've made (which is not many, but still :)...

I've made this tunic-like top from a fabric I had at home for ages and I have no idea about its composition - it's multi-tone, with metallic threads going through it and it's got a nice drape.

 

The pattern I used is the number 106, view A from an old Burda World of Fashion magazine, namely from April 2005 and I think the pattern is pretty timeless.

There is not much to say about my work on this top. I serged (overlocked) the whole thing (with an off-white thread, because at that time I think I only had two colors at home - off-white and antracyt). 

I like wearing the top in summer, with a light camisole underneath to avoid unwanted body exposure :), because the V-neck and sleeves are cut quite widely. It's ideal with white linen pants for the ultimate easy-breezy summer comfort.

I can recommend this pattern to any sewing beginner for the ease of its construction, but in fact to anyone for its easy-to-wear character.


Now I hope I get to sewing (at least something) in a matter of weeks (depends on the little boss a.k.a. my son), because I've got myself a little (or not so little) helper and I can't wait to test it - whether it will work as I had imagined it... Hm hmm...

The helper will be introduced in the next post.

Until then, happy sewing to all :).

The Clothes That Make My Heart Skip a Beat

I've spent some time on the Style.com website to have a look at how the Spring 2013 trends are interpreted in collections of various fashion designers. Among the trends to keep an eye on this Spring are:

* graphic prints, including stripes
* neon colors
* exotic prints and textiles, often combined in patchwork looks and multilayer garments
* leather and leather details
* lingerie look, lace and transparent, sheer fabrics
* ruffles and flounces
* power suits

There are a couple of fashion collections that have caught my eye and I chose three I find amazing and I just couldn't NOT make a blog post about them :).

The first collection that makes my heart sing is the Zac Posen Spring 2013 RTW one. It is a masterpiece full of very feminine elements - beautiful dresses, light fabrics, floral patterns and shine and ruffles everywhere.

Badgley and Mischka Spring 2013 RTW - another fabulous collection in pale, muted colors, with a touch of metallic fabrics and lots of flowy materials. Very elegant and sophisticated. What's not to like...

The third collection I have to talk about is Gucci Spring 2013 RTW.  Again, very feminine, but unlike the first two collections mentioned, this one is in black, white and strong neon colors. The feminine puffy sleeves, flounces and flowy fabrics are in an interesting contrast with the strong colors and make the whole collection stand out from the crowd.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed the eye candy :).

Is there a trend or a fashion collection that keeps you inspired this Spring?