MOONSTITCHES

Notebookcovermania

 

They could be my new needlebooks... can't stop making them!
Thank you all for your nice comments on my last post!!! I was really happy to see you seem to like these covers just like me. I love them mostly because they are so great to touch. The different textures like the slightly itchy wool, the ramie, the felt peas... truely an experience! And because they are also so much fun to make and because Kelli-O asked, I wrote a little tutorial. If you have any questions about my instructions, just ask!

Have a wonderful day!

counting beans and eating them

I am not much of a bean counter but I am trying to bring some order into my life and, after tidying up my studio, want to start a housekeeping book. When thinking of that kind of book the German term "Erbsenzaehlen" comes to my mind, which means "counting beans" but is in German actually "counting peas". This circumstance comes in handy since that big tidying up project of my crafting area left me without my good scissors (yes, still missed!!!) and now peas are the only vegetables I can cut without difficulties by simply using my paper puncher... so my much beloved stamped tags are all German this time, because if I would have done it in English and written "counting beans" it would have seemed I couldn't discern peas from beans because my peas obviously aren't beans...

By the way, I favour these tags because I have no choice: No printer, no Gocco (yet!), just this set of stamps. A printer needs space, paper, ink... produces lots of prints which have to be stored somewhere. Our place is better off without a printer...

From counting beans/peas/Bohnen/Erbsen/ to eating/essen them... the second notebook is for collecting recipes.

I used another shade of my herring bone wools which perfectly matches the grey-ish tone of the ramie. The fabric is ironed on stabilizing interfacing, sewn together with a blanket stitch  A single pea on the back side...

 

This first adventure in making fabric covers for notebooks was a very instructive one. In future I rather tend to sew the covers slightly bigger sized then ending up on an odyssey through numerous shops on the search for fitting notebooks...

More pictures here!

Trains and Typhoons

Punctual as a Japanese train last Friday a typhoon hit our area just in time bring us the greatest blue skies for celebrating Taiiku no Hi, the Sports day. Due to the frequent typhoons we had some awful rainy weeks here which caused a lot of paper clay-ing (results to be shown later, no pictures yet) and which made me sit on this certain baby quilt (nicht gucken, Susi!!!) for more than one week and wait for proper light to take pictures before I can send it off to my sister. Dagny's first Undokai took place on Sunday and seemed to be big fun for the kids. They had been preparing that day for weeks, practicing diligently parades and dances and were happy to finally have their big day.
I got sunburnt. And we both were very exhausted and went to bed early that day, slept 13 hours in a row. To be honest, I was glad I as a parent wasn't too much involved into the games as I always had difficulties in doing something in a group. Maybe I am just lacking a special fun-gene here... but after all I am only a sour German who can't do Karaoke.

When the blanket I have been speaking of finally arrives at my sister's I'll show you the whole beauty. It's not perfect but I am very happy how it turned out. Quite simple with a few very "me" cute details. But you'll see when it's time. I have been crafting a lot lately, making an apron for me, a very nice neighbour, too,  and for you, and you and maybe you (no pictures yet) and two book covers for two note books which now seem to be too big to fit in (I DID take measures!!!)... Therefore I am off to the kitchen now, washing the dishes quickly, and then I'll try to find new/smaller notebooks in Machida, which is away a three-stations-ride from my place and which by the way very soon will be  a city with an Okadaya again! I am so much looking forward to this fact.  There had been a big dying of craft stores in Machida over the last year (after Yuzawaya had been coming to town) and I am happy at least one shop is returning to try to contribute to our happiness again.

I'll be back soon. Have a great day!

Edit: It appears Typepad generously adds a "/" to the address of that Undokai site... it's not working this way, but I don't know how to create a link without that slash... so please just delete it in your browser when trying to get to the referred page.
Edit#2: Obviously managed to get rid of this unwanted slash...

Simple Pleasures

Last week while I was flipping through the new issue of Marche I felt a sudden impulse to crochet. Crocheting really isn't my thing but I was so hooked by that coaster/pot cloth that I somehow had to overcome my aversion to create something similar.
It took me quite some rows to notice that my piece was getting narrower as I was progressing. I tried to avoid whatever that caused this effect and after another few weird looking rows I finally got it...

Combined with that gorgeous vintage linen from Karin my favourite coaster yarn (very itchy, not good for anything else) looks so fresh!

As I saw the result my long loved gooseberry jar came to my mind. And as I dug it out of my kitchen cabinet I thought it would be just perfect for those Swedish Pepparkakor Originals we are lucky to be able to purchase since this summer... Another of my Swedish favourites is this gooseberry jam. Yes, gooseberries again... I like this fruit. Freshly picked, nicely drawn or as sweet marmelade.

Or spoken out loud. Doesn't the word gooseberry just sound good?

Finally I have to make two admissions.

Two months ago I signed up for Wardrobe Refashion and took the Two-Months-Pledge. With best intentions to remake at least that kimono overcoat I thrifted some months ago. I didn't find the time for it and made nothing that was even remotely connectable with refashionating.

The same with my big plans for a knitted sweater... after frogging my first trial I never got back to my 30 beautiful skeins of soft Merino. Too bad.

Now I simply will try a hat for me, using this yummy wool which is being featured in the new Marche (ISBN4-529-04303-7) and really too lovely to resist once you met it personally...

I will now go to bed. Again it's almost three and I see another challenging wake-up-procedure approaching. Dagny and I are alone this week and I suddenly find myself like going to school again. Always too late. Getting us ready to go every morning without any help is not so easy. My daughter is such an "Morgenmuffel" - doesn't want to get up, is very grumpy, doesn't eat, drink... And I am just too tired  to start the whole wake up drama one hour earlier. Good night!

#FFA000

Shades of orange.

Today Dagny brought a new word home from Kindergarten: kabocha.

This is the Japanese word for pumpkin. Which I know as Kuerbis. Dagny did not because we haven't been talking much about pumpkins yet. But of course, it's Halloween soon and the Japanese happily jumped on that wagon and suddenly orange pumpkins are everywhere and obviously they have been discussed in Kindergarten today.

I wonder if Dagny will think of a pumpkin always as kabocha when growing up and hopefully speaking German  fluently.

Other shades of orange seen in our neighbourhood:

I started trying new recipes since Dagny entered Kindergarten. These extra hours for me sometimes give room for thinking beyond just stomach filling dishes - for inspiration I bought an issue of Orange Page.