DIY Peter Pan collar

So I did this Peter Pan collar today. It's detachable and closes with a hook in the back. I felt that something was missing so I added this little anchor button that I got from my mum's stash a while ago. I did one before but without interfacing and I have to say that it makes all the difference. Will definitely be making more of these! 

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Cat eyes

How to Be a Girl: Cat Eyes By Magic! from The Hairpin on Vimeo.

So a friend of mine just posted this on Facebook and since I'm absolutely useless at putting on eyeliner whenever I try to be a bit fancy, this is definitely something I'm gonna try out! Pin It

Vintage finds (and a carpet and a branch)

While driving home the other day, we came across a thrift store close to Pavia. It didn't look very promising from the outside and the first floor of the store didn't do anything to raise my pulse. It was crammed with junk, not even vintage junk mind you, but cheap, ugly mass produced things for the house plus some very kitschy Christmas decorations (I have to admit that I tried to convince A that we should get a hideous garland, but it was an absolute no-go). Knowing that sometimes the crappiest stores are where you make the best finds, I continued upstairs and there it was: an entire room filled with vintage clothes and shoes. As we started going through the racks, I realized that this is the place I've been looking for in Italy. The prices were close to nothing, there were some pretty great stuff and I will absolutely go back there as often as I can. I picked up this beautiful hand crocheted cardigan in the picture above for 3 EUR. It's in an amazing condition and someone even bothered to sew in an extra button in case I'd lose one. How sweet?! It has some really great details and the fit and colour is perfect! Could not be happier with this one. The leather bag in the pic is another vintage treasure I found at a Mercatopoli outside of Bergamo. I think it's a camera bag but it's great for everything; it's even big enough to function as a weekend bag if you pack lightly.

I also got this pleated wool skirt for a few euros. It was a bit big in the waist, but I just moved some buttons around and now it fits like a glove. I'm wearing it right now and it's so warm and comfortable! I really like pleated skirts, but I do feel that they need some careful styling unless you want to look like a possibly naughty catholic school girl. Being 30 going on 31, I kind of feel that those days are gone.

This is another piece I picked up but this one is giving me a bit of a headache. It's a never-been-used skirt from Benetton and I got it for a great price but it was a bit big in the waist. I decided to go for it anyway and make some alterations to make it fit. I didn't count on the lining being such a bitch though, and in the process of fixing it, I managed to break a needle on my overlock. I replaced it but it's now making terrible, heart breaking noises and since I just had it serviced, I'm a bit worried that I might have caused some permanent damage. Oh crap. 

Andrea's mum had the latest issue of Casa Facile at home, and as I flicked through it I came across some beautiful pictures of a living room, where the family had hung a tree branch to which small paper ornaments were attached. It was such a great idea and I couldn't get it out of my mind so when I found this branch in the country house garden, I decided to do something similar. Problem is, now I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. I know I want it to hang in our bed room since I'm trying to fix it up a bit, and I want to add some colour to it but how? What material? I guess I'll just have to think about it for a while. 

Oh the joys of having a puppy! We used to have a fluffy, red carpet in our living room but when Charlie was even smaller than she is now, she kept confusing the carpet for grass, i.e it became her favourite inside pee spot. Not nice. We kept trying to clean it but gave up a few weeks ago. Instead, we picked up this grey carpet at IKEA. It's really soft and nice, although a bit too silvery in a certain light. Charlie gives it the thumbs up though, she's crazy for all things soft and fluffy and cosy. I guess that's where her deep love for Golden retrievers come from. 

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Right up my alley

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A very DIY Christmas

Needless to say, I won't be over decorating our flat with Christmas stuff, but there are a few crafts out there that I really like. This felt garland from The Purlbee for example - super simple and cute.

This magnetic Advent calendar from Twig and Thistle is another big favourite.

These glass ornaments (picture from here) are incredible - I especially love the little bird. 

Have you come across any good ideas?

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Christmas

I am not, nor have I ever been, a big Christmas fan. There is something about the holidays that makes my stress level rise and I always feel that I just want it done and over with. Sure, the food is great, I love seeing my family but all the expectations and the buzz around it usually makes me wanna crawl under a stone. Since leaving Sweden, this has started to change a little bit. I guess that traditions might become a bit more important when you're away from home. When we lived in Berlin, we used to take our friends to the Swedish Christmas market to stock up on Glögg (mulled wine - what we drink all through December), pick-and-choose sweets, saffron buns and other typical Christmas treats. Yesterday, when driving home from Andrea's parents, we stopped by IKEA in Milan to to get some small stuff for the house and to get some delicacies from their food shop. Now, to call what IKEA has in their shop delicacies might be to be a bit too kind - they recently stopped selling Swedish brands and launched their own IKEA line of products - but it is, nonetheless, a great place to get the most necessary stuff. I went home with some cheese, ginger bread cookies, Glögg and a mix of almonds/raisins. I also got the Advent star for our small kitchen window. I thought that this was a universal Christmas decoration, but I have yet to see it in Italy or Germany. Back home, you would see these stars in practically every window, and they make a cosy, warm light. 

Anyways. This year, I'm looking forward to Christmas. We will be in London with my mum, my brothers with girlfriends and the most important people ever: my niece and nephew. The last two Christmases I've spent without my little monkeys, so I'm so happy that I get to be with them this time. I will also get to celebrate St. Lucia! Apparently, a restaurant here in Bergamo will be hosting a Swedish Lucia celebration and only disease or death will keep me away from that. December might not be so bad after all. 

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Oh deer, oh deer

So we're back home after having spent some time at Andrea's parents. It was really relaxing and I always feel so pampered whenever I see his family. They make sure I'm warm and fed and they're just the sweetest people you could ever imagine. These little fellows are not so bad either. They live on the grounds belonging to the family country house and they are just so adorable! They're a bit shy around me, but whenever Andreas grandfather shows up, they'll eat straight out of his hand. Such beautiful creatures. 

It's usually pretty foggy in the area so it's hard to really capture the beauty, but believe me if I say that this view is more spectacular in real life.

Charlie was a happy lady, running around free as a bird without a care in the world (as if she usually has any).

Made a new friend. 

Chew chew chew. 

 

Now it's back to reality and I have a bunch of projects planned for this week. I'm planning to sew a Peter Pan collar, using this excellent tutorial, to start on a dress and to continue on some knitting projects. Last but not least, I'm gonna fix up my little craft space which is in desperate need of organization. Should be a good week! 

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DIY twist and twirl bow skirt

Here it is, my new skirt. In the end I gave up on blind stitching and went for a normal hem. The shape of the skirt made it a bit too tricky, and I have a feeling that blind stitch would worker better on a straighter piece. Next time! As always, there are a few things I wish I would've done differently, but I'm trying to not be so critical and to keep in mind that this is the reality of hand made stuff. If you want you're things done perfectly, you buy them. DIY pieces will always have flaws, but along with flaws come charm. 

I realize that this very rich blue might be a bit much for some people, but me, I love it (as a matter of fact, I'm wearing tights and a cardigan in this exact colour right now). A few years ago, I was almost exclusively wearing black. Black, black, black and a pinch of grey and white. I dressed like this for almost two years, and then one day I woke up and was completely sick of black. I started wearing plenty of colours and have kept doing so. I still don't really like all black outfits. I can wear black jeans or a black dress, but if I do, I want some colour to go with it. I think that black can look really smart and elegant on certain occasions, and definitely on certain people, but I feel extremely pale and dull in black. Swedish fashion, as tasteful as it may be, is often very minimalistic and it used be dominated by dark colours. I'm very happy to see that many of our more prominent fashion designers have started adding a touch of colour to their creations.

Hm. Yeah, it's pretty obvious looking at these pictures that I could've spent some more time ironing the skirt, but hey, who has time to iron when you can twirl?!

Have a lovely Saturday!

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Blog love: Honey Kennedy

It's a mystery that it took me so long to discover Honey Kennedy. This blog is a true feast for the eyes and Jen's taste is absolutely impeccable. Everything, from the photos to the design to the writing, is so well thought through and just incredibly delightful. This is going to be one of my absolute favourites, I know it. Go see for yourself and don't forget to show her some love!

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Saturday bliss

Picture by Irene Suchocki.

Oh Saturdays. Even though I no longer have a 9 to 5 job, there's still something special about waking up on a Saturday. The possibilities seem endless and the light is a little bit kinder, softer. Today we're going to a flea market a few kilometers away. I'm pretty excited about it, since I've been wanting to go there since we first moved here. The market is on during the last weekend of the month and we somehow managed to miss it every single time. Vintage and second hand is a tricky business in Italy. We've found some amazing things on internet for no money at all, but at the same time the few vintage shops that I've been to have been ridiculously pricey. For me, vintage and second hand should always be cheap. I'm not prepared to pay an arm and a leg for an old dress - not because it's not worth the money, but rather because it takes away the fun and excitement of making a great find. 

Tomorrow we're going to Andrea's home village to see his folks and meet their new dog. We're going to spend Christmas in London with my family and Charlie will be hanging out at the family country house with some dog pals. In other words; we need to make sure that she will behave like a lady around the new guy. I always enjoy going to see Andrea's parents, not only because they're lovely and the food is amazing, but also because I really like the village and its surroundings. It's hilly, green with plenty of vineyards and farms and no matter what time of year, it's really gorgeous. Andrea's family owns a small food shop and we always end up leaving loaded with cheese, salumi (for Andrea only) and all kinds of delicious stuff. 

Alright, better go make myself some breakfast. It's a sunny day and I can't wait to get out!

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Blog love: Schwurlie

I just stumbled across this blog, and oh do I ever so much wish that there were more posts to read! This young lady is very generous with her tutorials and blogs about her sewing. However, what really caught my eye are the posts where she reconstructs old pieces of clothing and creates something completely new and fresh. I love the concept of recycling and considering the amount of clothes my bf has but never wears, her tutorials might come in handy in a very near future. If you're interested in sewing, head over to Kate's blog and show her some love!  

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Keep calm

Via Etsy.

The skirt I'm making is slowly transforming from pieces of fabric into something wearable. The only thing left to fix, is the dreaded hem. I decided to blind stitch it using my Singer and let me tell you, it's a nightmare. I've never done blind stitching before, but when done correctly it looks really great. It's just not working for me. Learning from my many sewing mistakes (just go for it! don't measure! who needs pins? ironing is boring!), I've been test stitching on several scraps of fabric but when trying to stitch the real deal, it's a completely different matter. In moments like these, I really miss my mum. She's truly a wizard with all things hand made and crafted. Me and my older brothers used to wear the stuff she made as kids - this was the 70's/80's and velour was hot hot HOT I tell you. Anyways. If she was here right now, I'm sure she would've adjusted her glasses, taken a deep breath and just fixed it. Oh mothers. They're pretty great.

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Turtleduvs

Today I'm sewing a skirt in royal blue while listening to this: Duvchi - Turtleduvs (Boeoes Kaelstigen Remix) by Emotion. I love the original as well but this dreamy little remix number by Swedish hipsters Boeoes Kaelstigen suits my mood and mind perfectly right now. Pin It

Snapshots

Caught red handed.

The suitcase we found in Novegro the other day.

Oven mit by Pollaz.

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DIY Patchwork blanket

A few months ago, I started on this patchwork blanket. I had never done anything similar but always wanted one, so I thought I'd simply give it a go. I cut what felt like a million squares, washed them, ironed them, added some embroidery to some, sewed them all together and then, in the middle of all this, my overlock went kaputt and started making stitches unknown to man. Needless to say, this kind of put a damper on the entire project, so this blanket has been lying around unfinished for months. Since my overlock is now working properly, I decided to finish it. It's definitely not the straightest or the most perfect blanket I've seen, but it truly is 100% hand made and there is so much work and love behind it, I almost don't care about the imperfections. 

Charlie is also very happy with it - she claims it gives the bed room that extra umpf, whatever that means. 

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Pinterest

Linda at Volang gave me an invite to Pinterest (thank you!) so today I've been pinning away! I'm Easyheart of course! 

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Small Saturday adventure

Earlier this week, Andrea asked me if I wanted to come to this huge outdoor market for vintage bikes and motorcycles. Without really expecting too much, I said I'd come. Early yesterday morning, we packed ourselves, a friend and a not-so-content-and-still-very-sleepy Charlie in our car and went to Novegro. Luckily, for me, it turned out that there were more to it than just things on wheels. Yay! Many sellers had cleaned out their storage spaces and brought along other items they wanted to get rid of. This picnic basket for example, in top condition.









Charlie was a pretty good trooper and tagged along as best as she could. Plenty of sellers told her what a beautiful dog she is and cuddled with her. One even gave her a piece of bread (obvious favourite).

This little guy had a huge fan base. I bet his owners sold lots of stuff.

I have a thing for old maps and globes - I wanted this badly but have really nowhere to put it. We have a huge school map over Europe in our living room and maybe adding this would be a bit overkill. 

One of these beauties got to come home with us. 

Charlie saw this rocking horse that she found very suspicious. What kind of freak dog is this? And why is it so still? A butt sniff was alright though. 

Oh my. I love, LOVE cheese. Like seriously romantically love it. Me and Andrea (who hates cheese) used to toy with the idea of me opening up a small Swedish cheese stand at a Farmer's market in Berlin and become the cheesebassador of Sweden. 

After a few hours, our feet were cold and we were super tired. Me and Charlie fell asleep in a little pile in the car on the way home. It was such a nice market though, and I will be happy to go back next year.

As for now, I'm gonna crash on the couch and gather energy for the upcoming week. Andrea's family visited us today and brought lots of sweets and yummy stuff. Maybe I will treat myself to a little piece of Fontina that Andrea's mom gave me. Yes, I think I will. Have a lovely Sunday evening!

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