In Fabric Shopping Heaven

I'm back from vacation in California now, and I enjoyed it a lot, hiking in the Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks, but the fabric shopping has also been a very nice part of it!

I originally intended to only buy some silk organza. You cannot get it anywhere around here (at least I don't know any place you can get it). So, as I would have to order it at some US-online shop anyway, I thought it might be practical to buy it instead when I get there.

I spent some time in San Francisco, and it turned out that there was a really good fabric shop right in the center and near our hotel which should sell it, so I went there. In the end, I visited this shop three times: on my first day (it was the first thing I did there!), and then again twice on my last day (there was some tiny little space left in my suitcase, you know...). I liked Britex Fabrics so much, I felt like being in fabric shopping heaven!

And I've never seen such a big fabric shop before. There are four floors, each of them stuffed with the most beautiful fabrics. I wanted to buy almost everything they had, but unfortunately, this is not possible if you have little space in your suitcase and a limited budget to spend.

But, apart from the six yards of silk organza, I bought some nice fashion fabrics.

First, there is a nice Missoni knit fabric, which will certainly be a challenge to sew it up, especially as I still don't have enough experience with knit fabrics. But look at those colors! Isn't the fabric irresistible?

Then, I bought a wool knit fabric with a very interesting pattern:

What looks like circles at first glance is in fact the skirts of dancing women, view from top. This fabric is not so much the colors I usually wear, but I couldn't resist the fanciful pattern and the light, but warm and cozy wool fabric. It will make a great dress or top for the swiss winter!

 I also bought two cotton voiles, which will have to wait until next summer to be sewn up into dresses or blouses. I really like the colors and patterns!

I will not be starting right away with one of those fabrics, still thinking about the perfect patterns for them, and in case of the Missoni knit, I'll wait until I have more experience to sew it. Either that, ore more courage! But the nice thing about bringing fabric from vacations is that whenever you wear the garment/accessory you made from the fabric, you are thinking yourself back to vacation. That makes it garments with a special bonus "relaxing feature", don't you think?

Fabricoholic Confession

I'm now diagnosed as a fabricoholic, officially. How I know?

Marina posted a list of 10 signs that you are a Fabricoholic on her blog, Frabjous Couture. When I read the list, I felt being catched, but I also had to laugh out loud. Although it's not a real surprise, I found it amazing that some of the "little tricks" are more common than I thought. 

I totally say yes to eight of the following statements:

• The first place where you go after receiving your paycheck is a fabric store
• Fabric store employees know you by name
• You have a special discount in at least one fabric store
• You hide your fabric purchases from your family
• You run out of storage space for your fabrics 
• You have a secret stash place
• You bought the same fabric more than twice because you lost an overview of what you have
• You are a big fan of sewing blogger meetups (aka fabric shopping sprees)
• Your adrenaline skyrockets just from browsing online fabric stores. 
• Parting with fabric (even if you are never going to use it) makes you feel sick. 

Unfortunately, there are no sewing blogger meetups around here, so this point does not match. And I already did buy the same fabric more than twice, but only because I liked it so much and not due to loss of overview of what I have. 

If you recognize yourself, too, then you should visit Marina's blog to join Fabricoholics Anonymous (FA)!

Tape Measure Madness

Do you buy a new tape measure from time to time? I was told to do so, because tape measures appear to stretch with time and use. Of course it's very important in sewing to take proper measurements with a reliable tape measure, and my actual tape measure was already quite old, so I went to my local Bernina store to buy a new one. I didn't know before that there exist several qualities of tape measures, but when the saleswoman asked me if I wanted to have "a normal one, a good one or a very good one" I certainly asked her for the best!
The one she gave me then was an inconspicuous yellow one. But she told me that it will not stretch out at all and that it was calibrated (what ever that means for a tape measure).

Then I was curious about if my old tape measure had stretched out, and I decided to check that. (A little bit afraid that my hip circumference might be even more than I thought so far, with my stretched out tape measure.)

So, at home, I laid my two tape measures next to each other on the dining table.

The yellow one on the right side is the new, calibrated, non-stretchy one, and the one on the left side with alternating red-white-green colors is my old one.

I put the 1cm marks as the "starting points" next to each other.

Now see what it looked like at the 50cm marks (yellow: new tape measure; red-white: old tape measure):

And at the 100cm marks:

This is what the ends of the tapes looked like:

What happened? Did my old tape measure shrink instead of stretching out? Or can the companies who produce those tapes just print an estimated measuring scale onto their products? (That would make some sense to the calibration of certain measurement tapes, though.) I have to say that I'm quite surprised by this result. (On second thought, I'm also glad to know that my hip circumference is in fact smaller than I thought so far. Of course that will not make a whole size or something, neither change anything in my body proportions.)

Did you have a similar experience already? I want to encourage everybody who has several tape measures to compare them!


Other than that, I got another award!

I got it from Sonia of La pequna aprendiz, thank you Sonia! And I hand it on to KC of The Sewcratic Method, who always makes me laugh when I'm reading her blog posts! (I am quite glad that I can give her an award at all, as she seems to have all of them already - well deserved, of course!)

Another Award!

I was given the Versatile Blogger Award by Sonia of La pequena aprendiz! (I know that there should be a wave on the "n" of pequena, but I can't find it on my swiss keyboard!)
Thank you very much, Sonia! I love reading your blog, although I have to read it with the help of Google translate, as I don't know any Spanish. From time to time I try to figure out the translation without any help, only with my rudimental knowledge of French, though. It's amazing how that works!

The rules are:


1. Thank the person who gave the award and link back to them in your post.


Thank you again, Sonia! I'm happy that you like my blog!


2. Share 7 things about yourself.


- I hate sports
- I like baking (and eating!) cakes
- I care too much wether people like me or not
- I feel lost when I have no internet
- I don't like the color red (I made an exception for my red dots summer dress, so far it's the only one!)
- I like when it's raining
- My favorite food is a slice of bread with honey, I could eat that every time of the day (although there is a lot of other food that I really like)

3. Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.



The most difficult part! I would like to nominate all the blogs I know since I appreciate them all, but a lot of the blogs that I follow already got it, and I'm not sure if a blogger can (or want) to get the award several times! I'm even not sure if there are any bloggers who don't want to get any awards...


So, my nominees are:


http://kolouri.com/sewing/
http://chanelno6.blogspot.ch/
http://sewingandso.blogspot.ch/
http://sewinggalaxy.blogspot.ch/
http://strugglesewsastraightseam.wordpress.com/
http://paulineguillet.blogspot.ch/


And now I'm off for the next two weeks, most of the time without internet connection so I will not be able to blog anything. I'll peek in from time to time, though, and am always happy to read any comments of you!

Being Awarded

The day started really nice when I woke up one day last week and got an email that I was awarded with the Sunshine Award!

I got it from KC from "The Sewcratic Method", who always commented so nicely on my photos in the MMM-12 Flickr group. She is sewing nice garments which suit and fit her so well, and I love her writing style, she often makes me laugh when I'm reading her blog! Thank you so much, KC, both for giving me the award and for your blogging!

The Sunshine Award comes with questions to answer:

Favourite Animal: In general: penguins. And anteaters. I always have to see those two when visiting a zoo. But I would really love to have a cat of my own, only right now it is not possible, unfortunately. But I know for sure that one day I'll have one!

Favourite Number: I really don't have any favorite number. I'm bad with numbers, anyway.

Favourite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Coke. Although I don't drink it a lot, but I love it. And I hate coffee!

Facebook or Twitter: I didn't figure out how Twitter works so far, so therefore: Facebook. I though sometimes have the impression that I didn't figure out Facebook, either.

My Passion: Apart from sewing? Books!

Getting or Giving Presents: I love getting presents!

Favourite Pattern: Does it count if I say that all my vintage, easy-bought patterns are my favourites? I probably will not use them all, but from time to time I do, and I also like looking at them.

Favourite Day of the Week: Saturday! This is when week-end starts, and it is the day with every opportunity, as I can go to Zurich for some shopping or stay at home or do anything I want.

Favourite Flower: Probably the orchid I inherited from my grand-mother. When she passed away, my mother gave me the orchid to care for, so I always feel like getting in touch with my grandmother when I water the plant.

Favourite Celebrity Role Model: Difficult question. I do have role models, people I admire for their characters or personalities, but they are no celebrities. For me the life of celebrities is so far away from mine, and I also suspect that they might be totally different in private than in public life.

Now I have to pass the award along, and to whom is the most difficult question of all of those. I decided to give the award to Gillian of "Crafting a Rainbow", who taught me some japanese words throughout Me-Made-May'12 (which I almost all forgot) and who finally dares to go for fabric shopping in self-made garments!

New Sewing Toys

After one year of thinking about it, I finally did it: I bought a serger! I am not sure if it is called overlocker or serger, my dictionary says that one expression is American and the other one British English...

In the shop where I bought it they told me that it is really called a "cover locker", because it can not only make those overlock seams but also do cover stitches (those which are often used to hem t-shirts) and chain stitches. Anyway, I don't care so much what it is called like, I am happy to have it!
So, my dear sewing machine, and my dear new cover locker, please be nice to each other and work well together!

Now I have two sewing machines on my table, and I am glad that I still have enough space to do the rest of the work like pinning, hand sewing,...  For tracing patterns and cutting out fabrics I put both machines from the table onto the floor, though.
My first project I did with the new machine was two pair of pants, which I finished yesterday, I hope to show the to you later!

The second investment I made is a small book:

It is mainly a bunch of cards with Pantone color combinations, and a more or less pathetic name and description for each combination.

But why is it useful in sewing? Just imagine the following situation: I'm making a garment, like most of the time from a plain colored fabric, and I think it can use a little extra to spice it up, something like some piping, or buttons, or topstitching in a contrasting color. But which color should I choose? I'm not a creative person (I'm just copying what I like from others, more or less), and I don't have such a thing like a "natural feeling for colors". So, as I am unsure about my color choices, I tend to combine everything with rather neutral colors like black or white or taupe, which works well but is still a bit boring. But from now on, I can open my Pantone booklet, look for the color I'm using for my garment, and see what other colors will go with it harmonically! How good is that? I have to admit that this is only theory so far, I didn't get into described situation yet since I own this book. Apart from that, it is also nice to just leafing through the book and looking at all those nice color sheets!

The Aizenkobo Workshop and Dress

What is the best souvenir for a home seamstress when she travels abroad? Fabric, of course!
So when a dream came true and I traveled to Japan last year, I brought some fabric. A very special fabric.
I visited the Aizenkobo indgo dyeing workshop in Kyoto, where Mr. Utsuki dyes mainly cotton fabrics with indigo colors. He uses traditional japanese methods to do so, and there is a lot of handwork and time involved to get those gorgeous patterns on the fabrics.

Here you can see Mr. Utsuki with his indigo barrel:

Even if you cannot see the potential when looking at those barrels, Mr. Utsuki makes the most awesome patterns on fabrics, with very detailed and small lines. The fabrics also have a typical indigo smell which is pleasant, and according to what Mr. Utsuki told me the indigo also keeps the mosquitos away in summer.

So I chose a fabric with a nice pattern, which was a tough job as they were all so beautiful. Just selecting more fabric was not an option, as this was by far the most expensive fabric I've ever bought. And by that I mean not too expensive concerning all the hard work and lots of time that are involved in making such a fabric.

What was also wonderful to see was the old japanese house where the workshop is located. I just love old japanese houses!

So, what did I make up from the precious fabric I bought?

I made a dress, of course, as dresses are my preferred sort of garment, and I made it a summer dress, because the fabric is really perfect for that (remember the mosquito thing) and it will be worn a lot.

Did you notice my japanese shoes to go with it?

Making the dress was quite a challenge, though, for two reasons. First, it was more difficult to find a style that goes well with the diagonal pattern design of the fabric. Second, the fabric is made up as a traditional kimono fabric, which means it is only 39 cm (about 15") wide.
So after lots of thinking I made the bodice with V-stripes from a self-drafted bodice pattern. The skirt is four parts of the fabric sewn together to a rectangle and gathered at the waist. The midriff was necessary because I didn't have enough fabric to cut the whole bodice parts, but I think it is also nice with the horizontal stripes. I ran quite short on fabric, though, so the stripes are not matched on the sides (but who cares?).

I am really happy with this dress, as it is comfortable, easy to wear, perfect for summer and also the best souvenir I could bring from Japan. As you can see, the dress is also great for playing with little nieces!

You can read a good article about the Aizenkobo workshop here: http://www.akasamedia.com/arts-culture/AizenKoboANA.htm. Just in case you are planning a travel to Japan, too!

Preparing for Me-Made-May'12

As I signed up for Me-Made-May'12, I thought it would be a good idea to tidy up my wardrobe, which was in a terrible mess. I was sure it may be too difficult to overlook my self-made garments to chose.

Oh! What a terrible mess!

I took me almost the whole morning, but I like it much better now.

Looks a lot better!

There is a bunch of garments that have to go (self-made ones included). Either they became too small (too much chocolate, ahem), or they don't reflect my personal style anymore, and two or three of them were even never worn. What on earth was I thinking when I bought them??

They make space for new self-made garments!

In the back of the wardrobe I found something nice: a pair of dark blue gabardine trousers, one of the very first garments I ever made about six years ago! I wore them a lot at that time, but now they are a bit tight around the hips, and too short. I keep them for sentimental reasons, though.

One of my very first garments!

I was frightened when I put all my self-made, season appropriate tops together: there are only seven pieces, and one of them was never worn since I made it in 2005! I can see now that may will be a very hard month... But I also think that this is one of the goals of taking part in this challenge, to see what I need more of in my closet...

So today I am starting my own sewing blog...

I am surprised myself because usually I don't like writing very much, especially in English, and I comment very rarely on other blogs and it takes me forever to post my finished projects on burdastyle.com  (in fact I have a lot of finished projects which I never posted just because I am too lazy). But then I signed up for Me-Made-May '12, and browsing through the list of participants I thought "Oh, everybody has their owns blogs, and I don't", and started thinking wether I should try my luck with an own blog. Probably there will be less text and more photos... I will see how it goes.


I named the blog after my sewing room, which is usually quite messed up, so my family calls it my "cave". Luckily, in contrary to an untidy Neandertaler's cave, I have a lot of sunlight in my room! You can get an impression on the (unfortunately blurry) photo below: I love that I have my computer and my sewing machine side to side, so I can just switch easily from sewing to reading sewing blogs and vice versa!

Me at my computer, with my sewing machine and a lot of sewing and non-sewing related stuff on the table