Vintage Tea Party

I got this book by my Mom. She stumbled over it in a catalog and thought I might like it. When she told me about it, I read some reviews at Amazon and was sure that this book may be nice to look at, but otherwise senseless. I have to say this is not fully true, but also not really wrong. I think I could spend hours only browsing through this book and look at all the wonderful pictures. The recipes and craft ideas are nice, but nothing for everyday life. Maybe if I one day decide to throw a huge tea party (which I probably never do) this book could come in handy. Otherwise it is great to look at and maybe for the people who really love to make something unusual. Nonetheless I like this book. I appreciate all the work that went into it. It has a wide range of topics, not only recipes and craft ideas, but also beauty tips. It´s a great book if you like everything British and vintage.

40s Darling

May I present you my vintage 40s suit? I bought it at Etsy. I simply love everything about it, especially the color and the cut. A colleague at work was really amazed by it. She could not believe it was so old.
In the photos I wear it with my vintage fur stole and hat. Also found at Etsy.

Japanese Embroidery Books

I just love the embroidery designs of Hiroko Ishii. I bought the first book (the one on the right) some time ago and fell imediately in love. Now I discovered there was a second volume and I had to have this.

In both books are really cute motifs. The themes are very different. There are flowers, animals and of course the little cute people. One of my favorite motifs are a row of girls with glasses and the little hula girl in the photo. I did not use any of these yet, but hopefully will do in the future. And if not, it´s also nice to only look through these books.

40s Starlet

When I saw this pattern (Simplicity 9969) at Ebay I had to have it. Then came a bit of a delay, because the fabric I ordered arrived not for a whole month. I canceled this order and bought this colorful fabric (the original one was black with flowers). But I think I am happy it went this way, because with this color the dress is a great eyecatcher.

Sewing this was very easy. I really love Simplicity patterns. Only one thing was not so nice described, but I figured it out. The pattern is not 100 percent historic correct, having a back zipper. But I can live with this. I wore this dress to Easter when we visited the Waldenburg Castle. It was so much fun to wear a dress like this in a real historic background (ok maybe the time is a bit off, but it could have worked, because the castle was used as a hospital after war). Don´t you think this fireplace is awesome?

Jamie Oliver

I promised a review about the two cookbooks I got for Easter. They are both by Jamie Oliver. To be honest only a short while ago I always said I never want to have one of his books. I saw the his show when it was new in Germany. I really liked how he cooked, but could never imagine to make the recipes myself. This changed when some weeks ago my boyfriend watched one of his shows and everything was so different than I remembered. Easy recipes and not the normal half bottle of olive oil.

So I read some reviews at Amazon and decided on these two books to wish for Easter. And after I looked them through I was delighted. There were a lot of reciped I liked and they all sounded as if I could make them (I am a noob in the kitchen, hope to change that).

This was the menu I fell in love with

This week we tested the first recipe and it was delicious. It came not out as wanted but that is not Jamie´s fault, because we had no time to make it properly (we went to the cinema this evening to see "Iron Sky", really nice movie). Next week I will try my hands at some more things from the books. Maybe if I remember I will take pictures and post them here.

What´s on my sewing table

Floral Madness

Ever since I saw a similar dress at another blog, I wanted to make one. Especially after I saw this fabric in the store. I simply love the back view. The pattern was not so easy to get. I hunted for hours for another one with such a back view, but it was nowhere to be found. Then I found this Simplicity pattern (4984) from the 60s and had to have it.

Maybe you remember this dress I made last year.

It was such a huge fail. It did not fit me in the least. The only thing I liked was the back. Here it is on my puppet.

I tried to fix it, but this was a catastrophe. I am so happy I had enough fabric left over to try my new 60s pattern and make a complete new skirt. The top I made out of the old dress. The sewing was easy. Only the pleats and the zipper were a bit difficult. Overall I am so satisfied with this dress and want to wear it more. If only the weather would be better.

I already finished and wear it to the bookfair in March, but did not take photos then. Fortunately I got some nice ones at our Easter weekend.

(The dress reminds me of some from Mad Men, hence the title)

Easter Impressions

The Easter weekend I spent with my parents and my boyfriend in Waldenburg. Unfortunately it was really cold almost all the time. Nonetheless Sunday we visited the Waldenburg castle. It´s a really great place with a lot of styles. The entrance hall reminded me so much of Downton Abbey and the library was breathtaking. The best was that you were allowed to take photos.

After that we visited the city museum with a strange collection of curiosities. In the afternoon we took a walk in the park near our hotel.

Monday we visited a castle near Chemnitz on our way home. It´s called Water Castle because it is surronded by, ehm, yeah, water. The weather was a bit better, but still chilly.

It was a really nice weekend and I had so much fun with my parents. Sometimes I really miss to have them around.

I hope you all had a nice Easter weekend.

Easter Presents

This year I wanted to give only selfmade things for Easter. After I discovered these pendants at Etsy I had to make some for my Mom and my Grandma. My Mom liked her black and white one very much. I hope my Grandma will like hers too.

For my Dad I tried to make Whiskey Chocolate. Unfortunately it did not work out as I want it, but I hope at least it will taste okay.

I got two cookbooks from my parents, both from Jamie Oliver. I will write more about them in a future post. We had a nice weekend together. More photos will follow soon.

What´s on my sewing table

New Patterns

I just couldn´t resist these cuties from the 1930s. Isn´t the blouse adorable. And you can also see the garters for my planned garter belt.

Stitch Swap

Wild Olive hosted a Stitch Swap last month. I know I had to participate. It was so difficult to choose a motif. It had to be a 4'' hoop, so the choice was a bit limited. My swap partners favorites were mustard, turquoise, vintage and flowers. I wanted to use as much as possible from my stash and suprinsingly I only had to buy a new hoop. I choose a motif by SoSeptember, because I really like her style and it has such a vintage feeling. Don´t you think this little birdie is just adorable? I really like the outcome. I even found some matching ribbon, fabric and trim to decorate the hoop.

Sent it on Friday and now I only hope my swap partner will like it. Till now I did not receive anything, but of course I show it to you, when it arrives. I am really curios to get it.