Weekly musings

Perfumes i wore were Eau de Lancaster, Meet Me On The Corner, Tea Rose, Batucada, Fiore dell´Onda, Scherrer, What I did on my holidays and Aromatics Elixir

We did not too much cooking that week, but had a salad with smoked trout, a vietnamese rice noodle salat with veggie mince and sunday i made a huge pot of persian beef stew with rhubarb and saffron (Khoresht-e-rivas). I had many leftovers to freeze for lunch at work, so that is always a plus.

I did 120km bike commuting this week plus two times to the gym, so i am really proud of myself. I also finally sewed a cardigan in frenchy terry fabric, that was on my list for more than two years. Its the Harper Cardigan from Sinclair pattern, a free pattern too, so that is a plus. And it fits really nice. A great item to trow over, when it gets a bit chilly. I think i will make another in a plain color to combine with my other clothes. And i played some minigolf with a friend, great fun, but the course was terrible to play…

Sinclair Harper Cardigan

Sincla

Weekly musings

This weeks scents were Womanity, Batucada, Gucci No3, Eau de Lancaster, Aromatics Elixir (which seems to get my signature scent), Dryad, which was perfect for a rainy early autumn day and Meet Me On The Corner.

Cutting on leopard print shorts and a wearable muslin of the Anning Dress

On my plate this week was lentil soup, Tiramisu (that i ate too much of, but it was good! a coworker made it…), sausage salad, pasta alla Norma, tomato and mozzarella salad, minestrone from all the veggies in the frigde and a Poulet au Riz, from a french cookbook,

I biked to work thrice this week, so i put in another 135km. Friday we had a summer party at work outside on the roof terrace with a barbecue catering, and i was totally stuffed afterwards. Saturday i spent watching the last parts of Stranger Things and have now begun The Sandman.

I finally finished my first try at the Marilla Walker Anning Dress, but this one came out a bit big. I did a Full Bust adjustment for my measurements, but this is really roomy. Next time i either do a size smaller or simply use the B-Cup drafted front. I would like to make one for winter in a fine blue needlecord.

Weekly diary

I did not have time to blog last week, but this week i made time again. Soo…

Perfumes worn were Scherrer EdT, Pour La Belle, Cafe Tuberosa, Mitsouko EdT (finally a Mitsouko i can love), Empreinte, Tea Rose, Lovely Sheer and Roma for a sunny sunday.

Views from my week, Gemista, Snoopy boxers, bikewear in progress and some selfmade bikewear i wore this week

On my plate this weeks cooking was a bit erratic. Some asparagus frittata, cole slaw with pulled pork, gnocchi with chard, pancakes with herbed quark and a big greek gemista with bellpeppers and rice.

I biked to work three times this week, so 135km in total. I was quite exhausted after this weeks biking, i even rode on friday in the rain and felt quite proud of me… But it helps with getting fitter and loosing some more weight (and gasoline is very expensive too at this time, so its a win in all categories).

I also took some time for sewing. I promised my boyfriend some new boxer shorts and he chose a Snoopy print! So i gladly (and with some silent giggles) i ordered Snoopy fabric and finished the first two boxer shorts plus one in checkered jersey. I have three more to finish, but this is at least a fun project. I am always happy, if i can sew something for him, but mostly he is content with his wardrobe.

I also made another set of biking clothes, this time a spring set of long leggings and a longsleeved shirt in turquoise and grey leopard fabric. If i knew that activewear is so easy to sew i would have started this much earlier! I can really recommend Activstoffe.de in Berlin, they have a great selection of quality fabric, mostly fashion industry remnants for a great price. In all i sewed three sets of bikewear (shirt and leggings) for a whopping 80Euro in fabric, and there is some left to do more…

Sewing sportswear- finally!

Since my friend Petra gifted me a book about Sewing Activewear i contemplated on sewing my own sports clothes, especially because most of the bike clothes do not really fit me. it seems, that every woman on a bike has to be very slim and small-busted. Most of the ready-to-wear things often do not even come in my size, which is really frustrating. And mostly i have problems to fit my D-cup sized bust into normal clothes.

I started with the basic pattern of Melissa Fehrs „Sewing Activewear“ book and first did a muslin of some leftover swim fabric, some bike shorts and a longer legging. As this all went well and without problems i ordered some interesting fabrics from a German seller called „Extremtextil“. I bought a very nice and thick stretch with merino plus some thinner fabrics for summer shirts and shorts.

As i wanted a raglan top, because this fits often better in the shoulders i finally bought the „Surf to Summit Top“ from Fehrtrade plus the Rouleur leggings for biking base clothes. The leggings were made from the base pattern of the book. For the top i first made a muslin with a thin t-shirt fabric to wear under it, then i finally cut into my good warm fabric.

Basic leggings and the Surf to Summit top plus my trusty ebike

I printed out the pattern at home and had no trouble to assemble it, all fit perfectly. Also the sewing of the different parts is really easy and the pieces fit together well. There were enough notches for putting together and the sewing part took maybe an hours time. Instructions were good, with text and pictures and easy to understand.

The only thing that i changed was the collar opening. I thought about inserting a zipper, but with the bulky fabric i did not like the idea after sewing a mockup on a fabric scrap. So i just cut the front part not on the fold, sewed it together leaving a slit and did a contrasting collar lining, that i folded under and stitched in by hand.

All things considered i am quite content with my new bike clothes. The sizing of the pattern is a bit on the looser side, so if you want it tightfitting, maybe size a bit down. I did cut a size M, although i am a 14US or a 16UK size, so even a bit more curvy ladys have the chance to make nice fitting workout clothes with Fehrtrades patterns. Plus- Melissa seems to be a really nice person too. I had a problem with my order and she sorted it out in just a few hours (on Easter weekend!).

My psychedelic wearable muslin of the basic leggings

Weekly diary and Easter holidays

Thankfully this week was a shorter one because of the holidays. The weather got nicer every day, so i wore more fresh and springlike scents. Starting with Sens & Bois, Pour La Belle, Womanity, my special mix of Tea Rose and Coriandre ( you should try this, soo good), Chypre Siam, Scherrer and Doe in the Snow

Views from a very long walk around Ludwigsburg

On my plate I had pasta with turkey-tomato-sauce, lots of leftovers from the freezer, a Falafelburger on our long walk plus icecream and a burger with fish fingers and salad. Saturday was pasta again, this time with shrimps, miso butter and bottarga. Sunday we ate lots of braided easter bread with ham and hardboiled eggs plus persian celery-beef ragout with lots of parsley and mint.

This time we stayed at home over the easter holidays, so we just relaxed, watched videos, took some walks. The long walk on Good Friday was nearly 18km, so i was really exhausted and went to bed very early. I also took some time sewing some sleep shorts from a green seersucker fabric and finally started with my bike-clothes in earnest. I also managed to bike twice that week to work, which is not a bad thing, because this means nearly 90km biked!

Morning view on my bike commute, cold, but sunny

Weekly diary

This weeks perfumes were a bit of a mixed bit, because the weather was very april-like. It started with warm weather, so out came Patou Joy and Cabotine, then it got really cold and it started to snow on saturday, so my cold-weather scents got an outing. It was Sens & Bois, Fourreau Noir, Dzing!, Vanille Absolument, Calligraphy Saffron and Theo Fennel.

Blossoms in spring with and without snow

As i had time at home, because of a bad case of laryngitis i could not really speak at all and therefore could not go to work, i had more time to cook. Thankfully i felt not bad or sick, just lost my voice and was not allowed to speak. This was something my boyfriend found really funny, i am sure he enjoyed the silence!

On my plate i had bulgur patties with broccoli, a greek Avgolemono-chicken soup, a soup with Maultaschen plus an old-fashioned potato soup with sausages. I made some Japchae, greek filled bellpeppers with rice and miso noodles with broccoli and salmon for sundays lunch.

I also spent some time at my sewing machine and made a long warm bike leggins from some very nice polar stretch with merino, which i hope will keep me warm on my bike. I also finally tackled the Metra Blazer from Lovenotions in some pinstriped ponte, that came out very nice and also made a matching skirt. No pictures yet, but i will post some later..

Weekly diary

Perfumes of this week were Vol de Nuit EdT (I am still not overwhelmed), Scherrer One Love, Vintage Shalimar, Reve d’ Ossian, Friday a layering of Occur and Musks Khoublai Khan. Saturday I wore Botrytis and Sunday was lots of Theo Fennel.

Lentil dhal with the trimmings and the first finished sock

On my plate I had lots of leftovers and cold meals for dinner. A coworker made a great lentil dhal with freshly baked Naan and raita for lunch. Friday I had oven baked Hokkaido pumpkin with Miso butter. We made a huge pork cutlet, that weight over 700g with Fennel and gnocchi on Saturday and had slow-cooked pulled turkey with Pasta for Sunday dinner with leftovers for the next day.

This week I managed to go for a long walk four times, once with a friend, the other times with my boyfriend. This gives us time to relax and to chat. At home we are much too often absorbed in the internet etc, so we try to take walks on most evenings.

I finished the first sock for the boyfriend and also finished my Hope dress from Style Arc patterns plus a new Raglan shirt with big pink dots.

Usually I am not much into pink, but as my hair is rapidly going white, I must admit, that this color looks nice on me and lends me some color. Sadly I look washed out in my beloved black, if I don’t put on makeup and a bright lipstick. Things always change, so maybe I will embrace this new colorstory.

Weekly diary

Perfume this week was Dryad, Tea Rose, Elephant, Untitled L Eau, Camelia Chinois (still try to thunk this bottle) and Fils de Dieu. The NST community project was backup bottles, so I wore Covet a d Aromatics Elixir. I could have worn L Air de Rien or Theo Fennel, but it was too warm for them.

On my plate I had a lot of different foods. A salad with borlotti beans, bulgur and bell peppers. Greek avgolemono soup with rice. Sausage salad with kimchi, green bean salad with Miso and roast sesame. I made pasta with zucchini sauce, zucchini fritters and chickpea cutlets (from post punk kitchen blog). We ate out in a Greek beer garden on the Neckar River and have gyros and salad. Sunday was korean pork belly with rice and kimchi plus a Asian cucumber salad.

We did another bike tour on the Neckar bike route, but this time we rode home another route, which was a bit hilly. I managed most of the inclines, but had to walk my bike on two steeper hills. Still not totally fit, my heartrate goes up too fast.

Sunday was sent on finally making the taxes, which I hate. Although I always get a good amount of money back, so I dont know why I procrastinate. Well, it’s done now and I have time until next summer.

I also bought some new sewing patterns, because I want to try making a swimsuit. This will be interesting.

Weekly diary

I missed last week, but this week I am back to the blog

Perfumes of this week were Eau de Lancaster, Aromatics Elixir twice, Chanel No5 L Eau, Memoire D Une Odeur, Scherrer, Terracotta and Batucada for a hot summer evening.

I made lots of asparagus, because it’s near the end of the season, so I made quiche, baked asparagus with meatballs and asparagus en vinaigrette with fried salmon. I made a bavarian sausage salad and added kohlrabi kimchi to it, which was an instant hit with my boyfriend. Plus lots of Hummus and cold sandwiches. And not to forget a nice bottle of wine on our balcony.

I finally finished my second bra, after tweaking the pattern a bit for a better fit and now I am quite content. I think there will be more bra sewing in the future. The next one will be with a bit of lace.

I also made a summer linnen and rayon sack dress, the Adeline from Style Arc. I cut a size 16 and it came together nicely. Plus I did some cutting for another dress and a Denim jacket from scraps and some old jeans of my boyfriend.

The next week we are on staycation holidays, but we will visit a friend and hopefully do some cycling along the Neckar River.

Weekly diary

It finally got warmer here, so I wore more spring scents. Monday started with Meet Me On The Corner, I wore Scherrer EdT and finally ordered a big bottle, because it’s really cheap. Pour La Belle and Empreinte. On my day off it was Cristalle Eau Verte and Friday Aromatics Elixir. Saturday I wore Lovely Sheer for garden work and sunday was 6 sprays of Roma.

Homemade pizza

We ate some leftovers this week, but had Kimchi pancakes and homemade pizza. My boyfriend made a bavarian sausage salad and I cooked a big batch of chicken in pickling spices. Sunday was linguine with lemon, garlic and asparagus and semolina pudding for dessert.

I finally finished the Pinup Girls Classic Bra on Saturday. It was easier to make, than I thought and although the fit is not perfect, it is absolutely wearable. Maybe I will use other wires next time to improve the fit.

I used the video workshop on Craftsy, which made the sewing a lot easier, because I could see, what I had to do. Totally can recommend it. In all, it was a fun sewing experience.

Weekly diary

Perfumes this week were mostly more of the chypre kind, because they are great for spring. So I wore Orange Sanguine, Amazone, Scherrer, Azurée. Friday was spring flowers day on NST, so I wore Cabotine. Saturday was grey and cold, so I put on Absolue pour le Soir and sunday was Untitled and later I wore Cabochard

I did a lot of cooking this week, so we had beef cheeks I need wine sauce, Vietnamese summer rolls with omelet. I made salmon with fresh spinach and gnocchi, a cream of broccoli soup and a Udon noodle soup with shrimp, cabbage and miso. Later oven baked chicken legs with aubergine and sunday a kimchi spaetzle bake with cheese and fried onions.

This week I took my new Brompton out for my first commute, that finally worked out okay after encountering a dead end because of works and a much belated train because of problems with electricity. Still it was nice to finally get to cycle again. I am still not fit, after my Covid infection, but it got a bit better in the last two weeks.

And because it’s MeMadeMay, I started another project with the Stacker jacket, a design from Papercut Patterns. It’s coming along nicely, hope to finish it tomorrow.

Sewing underwear

I made two jersey boxer briefs for my boyfriend in the last days. This is the John boxer briefs pattern from Pattydoo, and I have made them before. They fit really well and are quite easy to make.

You need just half a meter of jersey and some elastic. The front of the briefs is lined, so it does not scratch the skin.

This time I also sewed them on request, because he really likes to wear them. Sadly he did not want to pose in them, so I have no pic how they look worn…

Weekly diary

Perfumewise I started the week with Zagorsk and Covet. I am on the last drops of Tommy The Girl, but it’s still not thunked. Wednesday I wore L Air de Rien, Friday a combination of Rose Flash plus Coriandre to make the rose less jam like. Saturday was lots of Roma, because it’s such a no brainer for me. Sunday started with Eau de Lancaster and later What I did on my holidays.

Easter cookies, the old shoe factory, the grain mill I shop at and a new Rivermont dress I made

On my plate I had pasta with spinach and Gorgonzola, homemade burgers, marinated pan-Asian chicken legs with cauliflower, sausages with savoy and spaetzle and on Sunday I made Seelen, a svabian bread roll, Persian rhubarb Ragout and a cake for tea.

Svabian Seelen, which means Souls

I did a lot of sewing and cutting out fabric and finished a dress from Nina Lee patterns, the Mayfair dress, that I plan to wear to work tomorrow

Mayfair dress

Weekly diary

This week the NST project was Absinth, so I wore some absinthe related scents like Niki de Saint Phalle, Chypre Mousse, Jil Sander No4 and Memoir Woman. I also wore Evoke, Perles de Lalique, Cabochard, Dzing, Ambre de Merveilles and tested Lebretons Grimoire today. I like cumin, but this was a bit much.

Kuku with broad beans and a Denim jacket

We did cook a bit and made pasta con le sarde with saffron and raisins, some homemade pizza. Saturday was Kuku, a sort of persian frittata with broad beans and parsley and today I am still in the process of making pork shanks with a nice crust plus savoy and potatoes.

I finally nearly finished a denim jacket that I started last summer. The pattern is from Itch to Stich and it’s the Atenas jacket. Now it only needs some buttons and I need warmer temperatures to wear it….

And I got new summer ballerinas. I think this color is a neutral, goes with everything! And very comfy too.

Weekly statistics

Getragen/Worn: Fils de Dieu de Riz et des Agrumes, Camelia Chinois, Eau de Merveilles Bleue, Jicky, Dune pour Homme, White Musk, SJP Lovely Sheer

Gegessen und gekocht/Cooked and eaten: Risotto mit grünem Spargel, Pizza mit Kapern und Sardellen, Hummus, Johannisbeermuffins mit Eierlikör, Linseneintopf mit Rhabarber, eine riesige Platte beim nachbarschaftlichen Griechen. We had Asparagus Risotto, homemade Pizza with capers and Anchovis, Hummus, a lentil soup with rhubarb, i made redcurrant muffins and we were dining out at our local greek and ate a huge meat platter.

Gelesen/Gesehen: Deep Space Nine, immer noch. Audiobook Stein und Flöte von Bemmann, nur was für Märchenfreunde, da ein bisschen langatmig. Still watching Deep Space Nine on Netflix. On Audiobook is Stone and Flute from Hans Bemmann.

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Im Garten wurde der Kirschbaum beschnitten und aus den Kirschen haben wir eine Maische für Schnaps angesetzt. 120l Kirschen gepflückt! Ein bisschen Jahrestag feiern auf dem Balkon mit Cremant von Herrn Mullenbach aus Niedermohrschwihr. Und der Lenox-Shirtdress wurde fertig! Und es passt….

We had our cherry tree cut, because it was much too big and then plucked 120l of cherries to make cherry spirits. A litte feast on the balcony for our anniversary with a lovely cremant from Mullenbach. And i finally finished the Lenox shirtdress. It fits!

 

 

Kirschenstoff

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Zum Nähen wollte ich schon seit ewigen Zeiten wieder anfangen, aber nun habe ich es wirklich geschafft etwas vernünftiges zu produzieren. Mein zweiter Kleiderschnitt, den ich getestet habe, war von Cashmerette patterns – der Pembroke-Dress. Eigentlich weitgehend ein gering tailliertes T-Shirtkleid mit grossem rundem Ausschnitt und angenähten Gürtelteilen, die vorne gebunden werden.

Den Schnitt habe ich als pdf-Datei gekauft und zum Plotten geschickt, weil ich keine Lust habe über 50 Seiten zusammenzukleben. Die Anleitung war gut geschrieben, die Schnitt-Teile haben ebenfalls gut zusammengepasst. Lediglich die vorgeschlagene Art des Halsbündchens habe ich nochmal abgetrennt und anders aufgenäht.

Cashmerette bietet zudem den Schnitt in verschiedenen Cup-Grössen an, was vor allem für Frauen mit mehr Oberweite praktisch ist und hat sich generell auf grössere Grössen spezialisiert. Bei mir wurde es die kleinste angebotene Grösse in Cup C bis D.

Alles in allem bin ich mit dem Kleid recht zufrieden, vor allem weil es auch noch eine Rollkragen- und eine Tunikavariante davon gibt, so dass man das Kleid mit langen Ärmeln auch für den Winter nähen kann. Nur Taschen fehlen mir noch, dann wäre es perfekt.

Aus dem Rest vom Stoff gab es sogar noch ein Kindershirt, das verschenke ich dann bei Gelegenheit an meine Nachbarin.

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Finally i found the time to start sewing again, so after some experimenting, i ordered the Cashmerette Pembroke pattern. Its a Shirtdress with a scooped neck and ties, which are knotted in the front, to give a more fitted look. 

The instructions were clear enough, the only thing i had to rip out was the neckband. I redid it with a different technique and it looks okay now. I am pleased with the outcome of the dress and think i can wear this a lot. There is a funnel neck and tunic variation of the dress too, so this could also be made suitable for winter. The only thing it lacks are pockets. I even had enough fabric left to sew a tiny children shirt, which will be a gift for my neighbour.