SEWING FOR TWO

Sometimes I manage to surprise even myself with the amount of things I am able to get done at the same time. Or, in some (most) cases; the amount of things I manage to do when postponing something else that I actually should be doing.

So because organising my paperwork for my bookkeeper brings out the creative need in me instead, I sew a slipover for Dag -

A slipover pretty much the only thing I can come up with to sew him "just like that" as he is not a little girl I can sew dresses for  -he could have worn those kind of mini muumu-style baby/toddler dresses when he was smaller if I'd made him but I think he's beginning to be to old for such. So slipovers it shall be!

I made this for winter out of a warm stretchy soft fabric. Might try to give a pair of (simple) pants for him a go too!

As I was on it I also sew myself a skirt! I always had this cute-and-stupid idea of making matching mom-girl dresses if I had a girl but I can do it like this instead!


It is something of a 1/4-circle skirt -normally I always measure and do the circle-skirt maths, but because I was kind of in a hurry (=wanted to wear it straight away) and since the fabric is very stretchy and easy, I just measured it on me from one corner; how much I needed to get it to cover my behind. Then I sat down and cut the quarter of a circle straight on the fabric. I sew it together in the back and added a two small darts in the front and two in the back for a slimmer fit, and then attached a thick waistband afterwards.


I also added suspenders.


The suspenders can be attached or removed with small hooks for variation.


And now we are adorably silly and matching!

The fabric is from Eurokangas and my knit top is from KingLouie, shoes Frollein von Sofa. I've worn them all Christmas whenever we went somewhere.

TURQUOISE, CHECKS AND HEART-SHOES

I went to Christmas party which was an excellent opportunity to pop on my Heartbraker shoes. And as the theme of this fall-and winter- has been plaid I did not break it this time either! (In real life I actually have been wearing other clothing than checked_plaid only, even though it may seem hard to believe; they just did not make it here.) I put my bangs aside for the night with a couple of pins that my mother used to wear as a kid, they still keep hair in place very well.

The skirt is vintage and the top is self made from last summer. The shoes are by Frollein von Sofa and come in many colours and materials.

A HEART-SHAPED HAT

I've been making some illustrations for Frollein von Sofa to appear on her new site soon.
Here's a snippet of one.
Toodeli-do.

POM POMS AND ROLLS

Today we went to a glögg party (that would be mulled wine, glühwein and so on) as is the custom at this time of year. Because it's always fun to go a little funny I put on my pom pom brooch from Frollein von Sofa, which originally came as an accessory to a red turban of mine. I also made a hair do, which I feel I haven't in ages;  I've just been wearing my beret during the day and putting on hair pieces for all the shows I've done at night.

 
My hair has secretly been growing long enough to do almost anything with now. I had almost forgot how easy it was to roll it up into something nice, although for me, the biggest problem is seldom the back of my hair but the front - the last months I feel the hair around my far has been very odd and  not wanting to hang or fall nicely at all.

This hair do is a version of this rolled up-do with large pin curls, just rolled a little differently. It's a under ten minute do. (Or, it is if your hair is in the right mood and plays along so to say. Otherwise you might have to fetch a curling iron or so for easier rolling; curl each section together first and then roll and pin). No back combing or anything; you get some volume and height from the big rolls/curls you make.

The ear drops are vintage and the dress is Trashy Diva.

HEART BREAKERS

With the dark and wet weather that's been going on for some time I have to confess I really start longing for colder days, frozen streets and snow.

But most of all I'm longing for dry streets and warm sunny days again so I can strut around outside in my Heartbreakers shoes I got from Frollein von Sofa!

FOUR MORE THINGS

 Small unexpected "I had forgotten this existed"- surprises are always nice; it's COLD here now and I took out my Winter Jacket and  noticed the cherry brooch I had hung on it's collar. It's from Frollein von Sofa. I lost a cherry and half of a leaf last year but it's still cute n' kicking.

 I am totally terrible when it comes to getting certain things done; two years in a row I have had a bunch of blank Christmas cards and a bad consciousness as I have failed to send them in time, thinking I'd make them New Years' cards instead, or, alright, epiphany such, until the whole season is over and those damn cards are still on my table. This year the Finnish Mail offered me, as a blogger, the chance to get a set of custom stamps with the photo of my choice. So maybe these Dag stamps will be the kick in the behind I need to actually send some cards this year.

(You can order your own custom stamps here. For Finland only, of course.)

 I am not exactly a huge consumer of sentenced candles; (I'm not sure if I've ever bought any actually?) but today I bought a set of cinnamon and linen scented candles. Christmas, you know...

As you've seen before I think it's nice to put candles in different pots and pans; Mariskooli glass bowls gives a nice light and pretty shadows. Tea cups work well too, and tin pasty molds for example.

The weeks Eddi's older boys are with us I have learned to mostly cook separate meals for myself. There is no way in the world I could make them eat this quinoa-curry soy bits-kale-lettuce-zucchini risotto with fresh and sun dried tomatoes! (More due to the list or "new" look of ingredients than the taste I've noticed.) But I highly enjoyed MY dinner :)

LAST OF THE SUMMER WEDDINGS*

Yesterday we went to a wedding; a fellow burlesque lady was getting married!
And you know I like to dress up for weddings because that's when you get to be at your nicests.

 I wore a dress from Love Your Look.

 And a summer hat by my Berlin friend Frollerin von Sofa.

And our just-turned-two-months little Dag Evert Edison was very nice and calm the whole evening, regardless of all the dancing and singing and all the half naked ladies (as it tend to be at burlesque weddings at some point**) around him.


*) Not that we went to any other weddings this summer. But would we have gone, this would have been the last of them. You know, it's September next week already! Sniff.

**) Not that people just start throwing their clothes off after dinner or so. But most often there tend to be a dance number or two after dessert.

GORGEOUS PACKING IS HALF THE FUN pt.1

(Or, sort of at least :)

I opened up a box with a sea of confetti!


And with a straw hat inside! That will, I'm afraid, have to wait for the seasons to change a couple of times before I will be able to wear it, but hey; there is logic in buying a summer hat just in time for winter? Some sort of logic from some parts of the world at least, laet's say so.

And there was also another lovey hat among the confetti, but I think you will see more of that tomorrow.
At FST5's morning show 07:45 to be precise!

The hats are from Frolllein von Sofa.

SUNDAY; HATS, RAIN AND SUNFLOWERS

Today we went out for a croquet picnic in the park organized by the "Enchanting Hat Walk"-community; in other words, hats were mandatory.





I was hoping to be able to play croquet and go all "off with their heads!" as I felt my outfit entitled me to do so. (I also felt this is pretty much what most five year old girls in the world would want to look like at their birthday parties...)





But- the weather turned so bad we turned around pretty soon and went back home; the rainy day option of sitting in a cafe sipping champagne instead did not really suit the 5-and 10 olds in our party. (And as you can see the rain and humid air did not only ruin the plans, but also instantly ruined my fluffy curls, always as annoying.)





So the only sun we got were the sunflowers on our balcony.





(And just for the record, I love love love sunflowers!)





So it was just off with the princess clothes and on with the casual Sunday wear. I am getting older and what I earlier in my years would have referred to as more boring as I nowadays almost -or pretty much always actually- prefer less fluff and more plain. Well you know, that's the way it goes in the end I guess.



(By the way, that little olive tree of mine in the background looks pretty ridiculous. But it is still alive, so so far so good.)



The dress is an old one from Trashy Diva, the hat by Frollein von Sofa and the shoes my waterproof Melissas that sometimes are super comfy (like today) and other times not. Strange. My blouse is from Vivien of Holloway. Eddi pointed out today that it is actually a very nice one.

A TOUCH OF NEW LOOK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

Well here's something you haven't heard me say before (ha-ha):
I have a new pair of shoes! Pretty ones!

I love the fact that they make my feet look rather tiny. Not that they are big to start with, but I still kind of like it if they happen to apepar tiny.

I also have a giant rose.


Pretty similar to the black beret-outfit I did some time ago, but by changing the skirt one gets a totally different feel. This is loosely inspired by the New Look. Perhaps what I would have worn if I'd have been me sixty years ago exactly. And lived in, well, Paris perhaps.

I somewhere read someone saying you can't dress 'vintagy' unless you wear actual vintage or in some cases well done repro, but I claim that's not true - it's in the over all style and the details that the look lies; not the actual products. For me at least. Here I'm just wearing plain high street. But of course I'm not trying to be accurate or re-create an exact look; I seldom do, I only dress inspired by what I like.



The blouse is H&M (still haven't removed the zipper...), Skirt Zara, shoes from Next and betl from vivien of Holloway. The giant rose in made by Frollein von Sofa and the little beret is, as most of you know, by Molla Mills.

THE SUNDAY DRESS

I've been winterizing more of my summer dresses.

It's funny btw how a dress you were never really that interested in but bought as it happened to be on sale (that's the right consuming spirit, buy even if you don't care!) turns out to become your absolute favorite one. The cut is the Doris dress from Trashy Diva and it's just perfect, although it looks less interesting on the site.
(Well you can't see that much of it actually since it's "winterized" but anyway.)

The cherry brooch is by Frollein von Sofa.

FIVE IN ONE FANCY

I have a new knitted turban to keep my little head warm this winter.
(Or well, my head is actually pretty huge but little just sounds better said like that.)
With the pins that go along one can turn it into five totally different headpieces!

Made by the wonderful Frollein, who else :)

ARCHIPELAGO WEDDING / EARLY SIXTIES INSPIRED UPDO

I have to break that image of me as a cabbage head and save myself for future references in the internet. All the following images should be named ulrikabacherulrikabacherulrikabacher.jpg to be sure they are the ones to hit the search engine first.

Well anyway Eddi and I went to a wedding last weekend (yes there's been a lot of weddings this year, my friend asked if we've done anything else this summer) in the far-away archipelago. I had a pretty dress and a nasty flu with me and did this 'do inspired by the early sixties. Mad Men if you so like (I have to start watching that show!).

The hair do takes under ten minutes to make with pre-culred hair and the help of some Bumpits'. The pearl bow hair comb is from Frollein von Sofa.


I think had the nicest outfit I've worn this year so far, but as you really can't have your picture taken all the time I don't have any proper shots of that. The dress is trashy Diva however.

I don't smoke anymore btw. Only sometimes. Like when I have the flu because it helps, eh.