My New Fitting Assistant

At last I've got a dress form. I have been thinking of buying it since I started sewing because I believe it will help a lot and improve the quality of my sewing and let me make items that fit better. It is a dress/trouser form, so it allows to fit not only dresses, jackets and skirts but also trousers.

I wish I had it when sewing this jacket and struggling with the sleeves.

Bella Italia (Burda Magazine 2/2011, Jacket #108)

This weekend I finished the Cropped Jacket from La Dolce Vita section of February issue of Burda magazine and watched a new movie Certified Copy (Copie Conforme) where action takes place in beautiful  Tuscany.

The movie is about a couple's relationship. I expected to see a French romantic film but in reality I would rate it almost as art-house cinema. It is difficult both because half of the movie we see a couple trying to sort out difficult relationships and also because the film director Abbas Kiarostami doesn't disclose the real past of the characters and finish the film unexpectadly abrupt. It is very thought provoking movie, gives a lot of things to think about but it is not an easy show. I would say that it is even discouraging. Juliette Binoche won the 2010 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance.

Another Italian thing makes me feel more positive. As I mentioned (in this post) one of the things I was going to make was the cropped jacket. The same day I bought the magazine I came across this fabric and it immediately clicked together with the jacket pattern.

So here is the result.

For me as a beginner the pattern was challenging and though it has more detailed instructions than usual I had to refer to my sewing books several times.But I learnt a lot from this pattern.

I was planning to make a matching pencil skirt with godet from the same issue but I changed my plans because this fabric has no stretch in it. I still keep  in plans matching skirt but will use another pattern.

Melange Beret

The pattern is #61 Kitty from Verena magazine Winter 2010.

It took me three attempts to get the look I am satisfied with. First I followed the pattern description precisely and the result was good but good for the teenager. Actually the pattern is from the teenager's section of the magazine, so no wonder. It looked 'almost' like this one, falling on my back and shoulders.

I unraveled it and made it again this time using needles #3. It was too small. Finally I used only needles #3,5 and knitted exactly 28 rows of square pattern for the main part. Now I feel more comfortable with it.
For the scarf I used the same pattern and remainders of three different yarns in different shades of blue. I would recommend this pattern for the scarf because it looks equally good both on right and wrong sides.

Musing on Natural Gas Commercial

I came across this natural gas commercial and I like it so much. I am not going to discuss pros and cons of burning natural gas. I see in this commercial how with our knitting and other needlework we warm our homes and families, make our loved ones feel comfortable and cozy because we put warmth of our hearts and our love in what we do. I think the crew made amazing creative work.

Winter Song about Spring (Burda Moden Magazine 2/2011)

This is a beautiful waltz "Dialog by the Christmas Tree" from the old Russian movie Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears. The movie won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. At the bottom of the page is the full text of the song in Russian.

After buying the Burda Moden magazine 2/2011 issue several days ago and with current February temperatures going down to -24C (and the forecast for the weekend is -28 C *gosh!*), I can't get rid of this song. I highlighted the words that I've been humming for several days already.

- Чем же всё это окончится? -How all this will end?
- Будет апрель. - It will be April.
- Будет апрель, вы уверены? - Will it be April, are you sure?
- Да, я уверен. -Yes, I am sure.
- Что же из этого следует? - What does that mean?
- Следует жить, - That we should live,
  Шить сарафаны и легкие платья из ситца.  Sew sundresses and light chintz dresses.
- Вы полагаете, всё это будет носиться? - Do you think all these will be worn?
- Я полагаю, что всё это следует шить! - I believe that all these should be sewn!

After many disappointing issues of Burda Moden magazine last year I finally got the issue that I really enjoy and want to sew 4 (!!) patterns from. All of them come from "Italian" pages. So here are my sewing spring-ish and summer-ish dreams...

First one is a fitted jaket.

#2 - matching pencil skirt.

#3 - Dress with gathered A-line skirt

#4 - Summer Coat (still need to think it over, not sure that 3/4 sleeves are practical in our climate).

Well, all these scares me a little bit, the plans look too ambitious but I can't keep dreaming ...

Here is the text of the song:

- Что происходит на свете?
- А просто зима.
- Просто зима, полагаете вы?
- Полагаю.
Я ведь и сам, как умею, следы пролагаю,
Я ведь и сам, как умею, следы пролагаю,
В ваши уснувшие ранней порою дома.
- Что же со всем этим будет?
- А будет январь.
- Будет январь, вы считаете?
- Да я считаю.
Я ведь давно эту белую книгу читаю,
Я ведь давно эту белую книгу читаю,
Этот с картинками вьюги старинный букварь.
- Чем же всё это окончится?
- Будет апрель.
- Будет апрель, вы уверены?
- Да, я уверен.
Я уже слышал, и слух этот вами проверен,
Я уже слышал, и слух этот вами проверен,
Будто бы в роще сегодня звенела свирель.
- Что же из этого следует?
- Следует жить,
Шить сарафаны и легкие платья из ситца.
- Вы полагаете, всё это будет носиться?
- Вы полагаете, всё это будет носиться?
- Я полагаю, что всё это следует шить!
Следует шить, ибо сколько зиме не кружить,
Не долговечна её кабала и опала,
Так разрешите же в честь новогоднего бала,
Так разрешите же в честь новогоднего бала,
Руку на танец, сударыня, вам предложить.
Месяц - серебряный шар со свечою внутри,
И карнавальные маски по кругу, по кругу,
Вальс начинается, дайте ж сударыня руку,
Вальс начинается, дайте ж сударыня руку,
И раз-два-три, раз-два-три, раз-два-три, раз-два-три.

Ikea Pillow #2

Here comes the second pillow-case made from the Ikea fabric. It is not that loud as the first one , more neutral, to keep balance.

As I only learn to sew the first learning book that I bought was Learn to Sew by Chris Jefferys ( "Азбука шитья" ). It really contains very basic technics that a total beginner like myself could learn and try to apply making very simple designs. The book has very detailed instructions and big clear photographs of essential sewing operations. I always wanted to make two pillow-cases suggested in this book.

   

So I combined both designs in the next Ikea pillow-case.



Front side



Back side

And this is not the end of my romance with Ikea textiles!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was my first cross-stitch project. The design was from a very old issue of Burda Moden magazine. Later I found out that originally it was Wiehler Gobelin design . I still like it very much, it is so sentimental old-fashioned Victorian style symbol. I could imagine Jane Austen's characters making something like this.

Happy Valentine's Day!