tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21109865368254478942024-02-07T07:01:15.974+01:00A Most Peculiar MademoiselleUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-64224816458987868402018-02-22T13:17:00.000+01:002018-02-22T13:17:00.582+01:00New BlogI have moved the blog, and at the same time changed the name slightly. The content of this blog will gradually be taken down, but links to these posts at the new blog will be provided. You're welcome to follow me at <i><b><a href="https://peculiarseamstress.blog/">A Most Peculiar Seamstress</a></b></i>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-68084026082054638192018-01-19T19:03:00.001+01:002018-02-09T14:55:53.099+01:00Historical Disney - Ariel<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: calibri light, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">The blog has moved, and this post can now be found here: https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2018/01/19/historical-disney-ariel/</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-89363417521847494602018-01-05T14:36:00.000+01:002018-02-09T18:20:38.983+01:00A Plaid Skirt<span style="font-family: "calibri light" , sans-serif;">The blog has moved, and this post can now be found here:<br />https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2018/01/05/a-plaid-skirt/</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-67748570730137220092017-12-16T20:47:00.001+01:002018-02-09T18:20:19.364+01:00Paper Star Ornaments and a Free Printable<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: calibri light, sans-serif;">The blog has moved and this post can now be found here:<br />https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2017/12/16/paper-star-ornaments-and-a-free-printable/</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-45824519316970146382017-12-11T19:40:00.001+01:002018-02-09T20:33:35.151+01:00The Eagle's Ravenclaw Scarf<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: calibri light, sans-serif;">The blog has moved and this post can now be found here:<br />https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2017/12/11/the-eagles-ravenclaw-scarf/</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-17010294765613794352017-12-06T21:35:00.001+01:002018-08-05T12:04:55.550+02:00Onion Shaped Paper Ornaments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">The blog has moved; this post can now be found <a href="https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2017/12/06/onion-shaped-paper-ornaments/">HERE</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-17972737464111527352017-08-11T16:11:00.001+02:002018-08-04T21:37:18.990+02:00Baby Quilt III<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: times new roman, serif;">The blog has moved;this post can now be found <a href="https://peculiarseamstress.blog/2017/08/11/baby-quilt-iii/">HERE</a>.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-25161718430167228572017-06-28T22:45:00.000+02:002017-07-16T17:50:39.613+02:00Making an 1840's Straw Bonnet<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">About eleven years ago, when I lived in my
first flat, I picked up a straw hat in a charity shop, stitched with cotton thread. I’m afraid I don’t
have a picture of how it looked, but imagine something closely akin to a “dixie
cup” sailors cap. I realised that when unfolded it would form a good base for a
19</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> century bonnet, but I didn’t yet know if I wanted an
Empire/Regency one or an 1840’s one. So, like many other “someday I’m going to
make something really nice from this” items, it ended up in my stash. I took it
out from time to time, but never felt brave enough to get started.</span></div>
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And then I had an event coming up, the opening of an exhibition of women’s
fashion from the 18<sup>th</sup> century to today. I was, with some others,
invited to the opening and asked to come in clothing from any of the periods
represented in the exhibition. I decided on the <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2014/12/1840s-maternity-dress.html">1840’s maternity dress</a> I made three years ago. The dress is nice, but
I felt I needed a bonnet to look properly attired, so I finally got to work on transforming the straw hat into a bonnet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">First I unpicked the stitches holding the straw
braid for a few feet, so I could use that to edge the finished bonnet with. You can see the crease where the brim was originally folded upwards.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CVbnPWuuENhKjIHymDEcp-55CmVJm_E8C656lkipHvPPdxLhtZwpjjbds9sCnDBQlZjWsUPPTQjtRVDu8-JyfhtghCx6dbk3K9GoIz0npJyPR4uf0ibzxtoZojKjj4G4GGChiN2sIS8/s1600/WIP+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6CVbnPWuuENhKjIHymDEcp-55CmVJm_E8C656lkipHvPPdxLhtZwpjjbds9sCnDBQlZjWsUPPTQjtRVDu8-JyfhtghCx6dbk3K9GoIz0npJyPR4uf0ibzxtoZojKjj4G4GGChiN2sIS8/s320/WIP+1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Then I dunked the bonnet in water to make it less brittle and cut out a
piece for the neck. I had a plan for the cut-off pieces of braid, but later I
thought I should have curved the brim down towards the chin instead of cutting
it straight. You live and learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXnwgiB5gNN0GTmQ7dUOuQJxhETaqUSbDTivA0Yyz3yWD7djZywiuH-wrE-KIihTDBV-OSoaFY9eMlFuaHLBids6lxGXz80FBIqULwpW1mDFjX3O4OWurSlR8RouuMWnN9tWmgTLSH9o/s1600/WIP+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXnwgiB5gNN0GTmQ7dUOuQJxhETaqUSbDTivA0Yyz3yWD7djZywiuH-wrE-KIihTDBV-OSoaFY9eMlFuaHLBids6lxGXz80FBIqULwpW1mDFjX3O4OWurSlR8RouuMWnN9tWmgTLSH9o/s320/WIP+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The pieces of braid just mentioned I used to
make a sort of bavolet at the neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfBo_3afIAWIXf3btZS7jMwaSu08kRW5ewYggch0Rlox48sILloBOO1qKMOD8afr1WYBpYdX9RqqYvDvavjNkoZmm0HdMEmlrKgZvWxls68i6b_Yt8-PiculMzN63lF4JI0pJQEsgcgw/s1600/WIP+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfBo_3afIAWIXf3btZS7jMwaSu08kRW5ewYggch0Rlox48sILloBOO1qKMOD8afr1WYBpYdX9RqqYvDvavjNkoZmm0HdMEmlrKgZvWxls68i6b_Yt8-PiculMzN63lF4JI0pJQEsgcgw/s320/WIP+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">When the shape of the bonnet was what I wanted
it to I started stitching the braid I removed previously to the edge. It turned
out I didn’t have quite enough, so I took another braid I had in my stash for
the inside. I stitched them both on simultaneously, making sure the straw was wet
the whole time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKA9K7JPgXWz6CW3zmuH63zScCPEhz9LcZNNKG5W4zEf_1MEJNo1xsAA8yKCEy7tTDEEWxwAfIWd11FrTjGurHKJBr9t9GVDInvriri6lGFZeQHBde-wddOHsBoQy-la3K2okxIRhz4g/s1600/WIP+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKA9K7JPgXWz6CW3zmuH63zScCPEhz9LcZNNKG5W4zEf_1MEJNo1xsAA8yKCEy7tTDEEWxwAfIWd11FrTjGurHKJBr9t9GVDInvriri6lGFZeQHBde-wddOHsBoQy-la3K2okxIRhz4g/s320/WIP+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">This is how the bonnet looked when I’d
finished the sewing, but before blocking. I shaped it while wet and set it to
dry, with a pot of honey at the bottom of the crown to make it flatter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHF7FtCpGB5QnNkdZsoFVVEu4SLyPrJ84YXSR0q_I6dxfm7tn9LPVO6Bc4MRsU4uxhwzp-03U4YY4uGktH4TlcCgh1-uyhT_o0BgUOr9U6s8CrXlB6Z7HDvy-UlBqopuZGogU1Dbmalc/s1600/Halmbahytt+f%25C3%25A4rdigsydd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHF7FtCpGB5QnNkdZsoFVVEu4SLyPrJ84YXSR0q_I6dxfm7tn9LPVO6Bc4MRsU4uxhwzp-03U4YY4uGktH4TlcCgh1-uyhT_o0BgUOr9U6s8CrXlB6Z7HDvy-UlBqopuZGogU1Dbmalc/s320/Halmbahytt+f%25C3%25A4rdigsydd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Then it was time for trimming. This was an
all-stash project, so I picked out a scrap of green silk dupioni. Taffeta would
have been better, and taffeta ribbons best of all, but I didn’t have any. I hemmed strips of the silk for ties and
trim. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I wasn’t quite happy with the straw bavolet, so decided to cover it with
a silk one that I gathered to the proper length using whipped gathers.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyD4e7BhIsfrsxYJPAkY9Hd55FRMoMtrhoasIoqojGu7KlWeevWEK932TZCPkxUGgpoHlFFbTDbdGjrbQy5qavNGsyIRmZjHyNP8ZObVKh4_sE4-z9fyEffQabBIOA6XJFfDn-GDP5DY/s1600/Straw+bonnet+WIP+bavolet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="999" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcyD4e7BhIsfrsxYJPAkY9Hd55FRMoMtrhoasIoqojGu7KlWeevWEK932TZCPkxUGgpoHlFFbTDbdGjrbQy5qavNGsyIRmZjHyNP8ZObVKh4_sE4-z9fyEffQabBIOA6XJFfDn-GDP5DY/s320/Straw+bonnet+WIP+bavolet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I wrapped a long strip of silk round the bonnet,
arranging artful creases here and there. Silk ties were also attached.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6tS-w7lhOHmA8KWWHBfY1bBP-45FCmQ3mFWCwrnumveD-fDAIpbz365PiYzcIZXwA7xqYK3MTQZienv3IXhTj-8-W6CFzUcQU0Ie12gixjcZzpfnRqt8iJD6RpELBi99mfi34pJFvuU/s1600/Silk+trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM6tS-w7lhOHmA8KWWHBfY1bBP-45FCmQ3mFWCwrnumveD-fDAIpbz365PiYzcIZXwA7xqYK3MTQZienv3IXhTj-8-W6CFzUcQU0Ie12gixjcZzpfnRqt8iJD6RpELBi99mfi34pJFvuU/s320/Silk+trim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The silk was attached with very untidy
stitches on the inside, as seen in period bonnets. Makes it easy to change the
trim if wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORsAU0lnWRwqEUrfrpv0-EXJTnGEHq9wYiU_dxitFVVF-OWlSF-Y9FKcLmoKpkLwAW4cGm_PJ89c_o10FR2ERdQ_Q6vkaO3WvokGCXEu4P3ff7n5bmHHmTE6oz2pBXQcuJnYpY5gTGgM/s1600/Stitches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgORsAU0lnWRwqEUrfrpv0-EXJTnGEHq9wYiU_dxitFVVF-OWlSF-Y9FKcLmoKpkLwAW4cGm_PJ89c_o10FR2ERdQ_Q6vkaO3WvokGCXEu4P3ff7n5bmHHmTE6oz2pBXQcuJnYpY5gTGgM/s320/Stitches.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Then I was a bit unsure if I should leave it
as was – after all, it looked very pretty that way – or add ostrich plumes. As
I was dressing as a close to middle aged, married bourgeoise woman, I decided
more was more in this case. I had some ostrich feathers that had fallen out of
my feather duster and been saved for a moment like this. I picked out four, and
stitched them together two-and-two with silk thread to make them fuller. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWmDtDP2A98h7x5YIf-qVP54VherjwaNnMBvbodio08S4I-VyAebqmdKNVOgUBSdfgIMMTD0NNsoc4RMgZ9jHndhFGQKPiIN0mr8esWh4eOwzoX_o2zYWUrZ44ep0_8YbU1LviQ_ZQgw/s1600/Plumes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFWmDtDP2A98h7x5YIf-qVP54VherjwaNnMBvbodio08S4I-VyAebqmdKNVOgUBSdfgIMMTD0NNsoc4RMgZ9jHndhFGQKPiIN0mr8esWh4eOwzoX_o2zYWUrZ44ep0_8YbU1LviQ_ZQgw/s320/Plumes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Then I attached them to the bonnet, again using
long stitches on the inside. They turned out looking pleasantly fluffy, adding
just the right oomph to the bonnet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGUBNSkuSsBgTf0Y8ngAsLMZQqFh5AgD-mrkF-gqh-0xHdekggsd4ZGgnEd_Sf5vtr3JCzDdHn8DZIYyPb9sKalFWbTaPJfy2hxHgTHioTKZkK91IdOOx5lES-LjvJV1AQvfei3hgYZ0/s1600/Straw+Bonnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijGUBNSkuSsBgTf0Y8ngAsLMZQqFh5AgD-mrkF-gqh-0xHdekggsd4ZGgnEd_Sf5vtr3JCzDdHn8DZIYyPb9sKalFWbTaPJfy2hxHgTHioTKZkK91IdOOx5lES-LjvJV1AQvfei3hgYZ0/s320/Straw+Bonnet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">But the bonnet snagged my hair, so after
consulting knowledgeable people I made a half lining using a thin cotton
fabric. Not the most historically accurate fabric for this, but it had to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gbBGzew3Ig06ozZFjqynz_R-FwVdrCXaPuVhz0CRjwE57C_uK4T2RByh9FPQIlaTuT8sRABrzsKtnSrrGyusGeISjL_BTUT1d1R4RyM4p938zBTa8q9hjIHN3-AkyDB_JEkJJFEqlo0/s1600/Lining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gbBGzew3Ig06ozZFjqynz_R-FwVdrCXaPuVhz0CRjwE57C_uK4T2RByh9FPQIlaTuT8sRABrzsKtnSrrGyusGeISjL_BTUT1d1R4RyM4p938zBTa8q9hjIHN3-AkyDB_JEkJJFEqlo0/s320/Lining.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">And that was that, all finished. I hadn’t added cheek ruffles to the inside, so I wore a <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/07/1840s-cap-lace-trimmed-and-starched.html">cap</a> under the bonnet instead to give a similar effect. It might
be an old-fashioned thing to do for the 1840’s, but it looked nice enough. I
felt very Cranford.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZiloJ_TO_EhNczQKyJG-zgcZsldiBzhMXs4VcakvwbEOMw36doT7HJQed32U-e8SEUrzQs7-kY2AvLwUL1aaKDoSeLhLm8SZ8rSJRdPvdRl6rGQbfEI4C8eI28MxZeoP6T2JxHWudfI/s1600/Frills.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZiloJ_TO_EhNczQKyJG-zgcZsldiBzhMXs4VcakvwbEOMw36doT7HJQed32U-e8SEUrzQs7-kY2AvLwUL1aaKDoSeLhLm8SZ8rSJRdPvdRl6rGQbfEI4C8eI28MxZeoP6T2JxHWudfI/s320/Frills.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">But woe! I wasn’t quite happy with the size!
1840’s bonnets usually hide the profile completely from view when seen from
the side, and mine doesn’t. It annoys me no end, even though I love how the bonnet turned out over all. So disappointing…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOevj-LJIhUQa27APclUGTgNCNOyaIT_ipWTBail1VNTT7H9JIdYlr75vGRpWGmYmSfW7y4QEJbjF1fvYqilss2UUj4SLNBW4fqHtFvsLUy1YmryOM7La5TSKlQOqJ55Ed2v5qFa9z8ms/s1600/Profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="749" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOevj-LJIhUQa27APclUGTgNCNOyaIT_ipWTBail1VNTT7H9JIdYlr75vGRpWGmYmSfW7y4QEJbjF1fvYqilss2UUj4SLNBW4fqHtFvsLUy1YmryOM7La5TSKlQOqJ55Ed2v5qFa9z8ms/s320/Profile.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Maybe I’ll just sell it - without the plumes it would look lovely on a girl - and try again.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Sources:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.se/sarnoldsdotter/1840s-womens-bonnets/">My Pinterest board of extant 1840's bonnets.</a></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-43230521243354813242017-06-16T12:57:00.000+02:002017-07-16T17:49:20.685+02:00Early 19th century Swedish Farmwife’s Everyday Dress<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Back in April I attended an event held at the
<a href="https://fredriksdal.se/">open air museum of Fredriksdal</a>. It focused on Swedish civilians and soldiers ca
1800-10. We got to live in the houses, cook in the fireplaces, even sleep in
the beds. I didn’t do the latter, as the weather was cold and windy, I’m having a bit of a tough pregnancy, and
to top it off, had just had pneumonia. I thought it safer to sleep in my own
warm bed, and just stayed the one day, but still had a good time. The event,
which was rather small and intimate, still attracted participants from the
whole country, and even a few from Norway. Fredriksdal is located in the county of Skåne
(Scania) and most of the houses are from there, so those women in attendance who, like me, are from this part of the
country, chose to dress according to the local fashion, which in this case
meant folk costumes, still in daily use at the time. Our feast day clothes
wouldn’t do, so we tried to tone it down for an everyday look. Trickier than
you might think, as very little evidence remains as to what was worn then. When
it comes to the fancy clothes, much is known, but as usual, no one really cared to
document what people wore when working in the kitchen garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0qP6tk-Nkr7EbgLZQXQOkkPMaecwoGdhsOD3S69S0Q1B4aRfCGgMEr23zs3Y3Les3NpuH_Rwlf8dxrmTtPoYILy3JuDAg_adP_-1k9SzZHBId5qz8HLmoZYwMbY6NPL8hV4o0OgShyc/s1600/Vardag+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="749" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF0qP6tk-Nkr7EbgLZQXQOkkPMaecwoGdhsOD3S69S0Q1B4aRfCGgMEr23zs3Y3Les3NpuH_Rwlf8dxrmTtPoYILy3JuDAg_adP_-1k9SzZHBId5qz8HLmoZYwMbY6NPL8hV4o0OgShyc/s320/Vardag+8.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I made a brown wool skirt for the occasion,
which I intend to also use as a petticoat for my fancy folk costume. Brown wool
skirts from my parish are mentioned in estate inventories, but are far from as common as the usual
blue and green, or the reasonably common black. I had a suitable fulled, twill woven
wool at home though, so it had to do, even if it was brown. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">It is constructed from straight panels. My fabric
was 150 cm wide, but as the extant skirts I know of are usually made from
narrower widths I cut my panels in half, and stitched them back up again,
making four narrow ones in total, and a width of close to 3 metres. The hem was
faced with a strip of unbleached linen. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbO8-Bc4afmaYaWaJ96_1iBz5p5IgfnFcDLYCtsNrluUuNQy1xZ64pQ_CN4Ft62GJIZfYHGkWyxXCgLSiYd9WJ2innm2799LCIGsq-dtRCpkVQDN7V_Mu3n_M4UrMtlEQdJR2AmXj_FqY/s1600/Hem+Facing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbO8-Bc4afmaYaWaJ96_1iBz5p5IgfnFcDLYCtsNrluUuNQy1xZ64pQ_CN4Ft62GJIZfYHGkWyxXCgLSiYd9WJ2innm2799LCIGsq-dtRCpkVQDN7V_Mu3n_M4UrMtlEQdJR2AmXj_FqY/s320/Hem+Facing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">The skirt is smooth in front, as seen in extant skirts, and has the fullness taken in by stroked gathers at the sides and back, that are secured with rows of stitches, seen only from the inside. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJ8QhCzFHazQwp5NMSaux3YXe8qOJWnRwNil_w0m99BQikYpV3S13I8Gz9zBKlaVqWfN_Tn2bC3OAx9rA6lBEbRc4A_BouLRyaqUI9nEUitEpz1cz8lU0_4QcRXhePJ5SkQ72qruZA2E/s1600/Waistband+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="999" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJ8QhCzFHazQwp5NMSaux3YXe8qOJWnRwNil_w0m99BQikYpV3S13I8Gz9zBKlaVqWfN_Tn2bC3OAx9rA6lBEbRc4A_BouLRyaqUI9nEUitEpz1cz8lU0_4QcRXhePJ5SkQ72qruZA2E/s320/Waistband+inside.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />It closes by a sturdy brass hook and eye half way to the left side. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMl_N2__ZWZz83yRml3Yai_xROYXNjat38E2f69zXF3PEMtD4barRh0hrP-Jsluf4HW49wbbUcmB6nVro8QCoD2ZnJQBOJxa8D1rPamsFMVmlhG4SJxvmdL29FcHFktRYXgvGZLFfmik/s1600/Closure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqMl_N2__ZWZz83yRml3Yai_xROYXNjat38E2f69zXF3PEMtD4barRh0hrP-Jsluf4HW49wbbUcmB6nVro8QCoD2ZnJQBOJxa8D1rPamsFMVmlhG4SJxvmdL29FcHFktRYXgvGZLFfmik/s320/Closure.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I don’t know how they did about pockets – in some
mid-19<sup>th</sup> century folk costume skirts there are stitched in pockets, like in modern
skirts of the time, but for earlier decades I’m unsure if they wore loose pockets
or not. I left a slit open in the right side seam anyway, so if need be I can
tie a pocket round my waist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfrG9P1Zh9H_q_nhhXo0d8uo4S554mYA1Lk76wtDN2-RX0y3863rpA1PMAHLHbEDwi3ChgXj_l8DhF161A3qVY3jg13SkJI1sfl3P2SH64myZdkHb2eo5ZJcJ62kNA1MiWUKpXrNS5eQ/s1600/Pocket+slit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfrG9P1Zh9H_q_nhhXo0d8uo4S554mYA1Lk76wtDN2-RX0y3863rpA1PMAHLHbEDwi3ChgXj_l8DhF161A3qVY3jg13SkJI1sfl3P2SH64myZdkHb2eo5ZJcJ62kNA1MiWUKpXrNS5eQ/s320/Pocket+slit.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">In the end the brown skirt ended up used as a
petticoat at the event, as I decided I wanted two skirts for warmth, and wore
my usual <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2010/06/skirt-and-apron.html">blue skirt </a>on top. In the period manner I flipped the blue skirt up over my shoulders to keep out the wind every now and then, so I didn't make the brown one in vain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I also made a new bodice. I intend for
it to be trimmed with blue silk ribbons, and replace my old fancy <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2010/06/folk-costume-bodice.html">silk bodice</a> as
that one has become rather too small. For the event I used it untrimmed though.
It’s made from fine brushed wool, lined with unbleached linen, and closes in front with three pairs of brass
hooks and eyes, but most of the closure is hidden beneath the skirt. The wide opening would
be held by buckles and a chain for best, but for everyday was likely left as
was. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxv1qY_4s-SVWrd_naR4lIR2PMoTkEgykVc2Fxw2n1hRHWM5Rf0WFHND1vJiFT5iEAcCkKQxkEPvJtUw_Yny7GnL7DZypB4NKT0rFNZDmTZFo5RSyZafDxHnUPTxHaxpPhNjXjAfe6Gs/s1600/Bodice+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxv1qY_4s-SVWrd_naR4lIR2PMoTkEgykVc2Fxw2n1hRHWM5Rf0WFHND1vJiFT5iEAcCkKQxkEPvJtUw_Yny7GnL7DZypB4NKT0rFNZDmTZFo5RSyZafDxHnUPTxHaxpPhNjXjAfe6Gs/s320/Bodice+front.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">At the bottom of the bodice a rather thick, padded linen roll is stitched, on
which the skirts rest. Having a full figure was considered attractive by the
country folk at this time and place, and you do feel rather important in an "I break for nobody" kind of way when you
come walking along the road in all your matronly fullness, especially when you wear several wool skirts on top of each other. It's far from what is considered an attractive figure today, which make rather few people recreate it as close to the originals as I try to, but go the more 'inspired' route. I'll post more detailed pictures of the bodice when it's trimmed and have the buckles attached.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">As for the apron, I didn’t want to use my
fancy one, as I expected to cook and do greasy dishes – a good decision it
turned out. Instead I whipped one up from a piece of cotton fabric that I had
intended to purge from stash. It’s not perfectly period, the fabric isn't quite right and it's much too narrow, but woven stripes were
popular, and the fabric had a sort of washed out, sun bleached, worn look to it that
I thought would do for everyday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGmpz-DABKPYzDGmmoKTtsO-5aMUB0npDIzRnFyb_UXlOj81iBpM2TEn-MCLSziUbDMJJUj-kasOdF-k8bt_9a6h_4W6gaRgnzOLQjhdmcHL65Bt7FZShSyj60f9BQ4YLWlmeCkusLWw/s1600/Vardag+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="749" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGmpz-DABKPYzDGmmoKTtsO-5aMUB0npDIzRnFyb_UXlOj81iBpM2TEn-MCLSziUbDMJJUj-kasOdF-k8bt_9a6h_4W6gaRgnzOLQjhdmcHL65Bt7FZShSyj60f9BQ4YLWlmeCkusLWw/s320/Vardag+1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I never got any decent pictures of myself from
the actual event (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/anno1808uplands/posts/1716788575288856">though I can be seen in a couple of these</a>), so I took proper pictures the other day. The weather is a lot warmer now
than in April, so I could ditch the knitted <i><a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2010/07/finished-spedetroja.html">spedetröja</a></i> I had to wear to the event, despite it feeling too fancy. For the pictures I wore the bodice and skirt over
just an unbleached linen shift (for an everyday shift I’m not sure if it should have a collar
or not...), and accessorised it with the ever present apron and head kerchief. As the temperature is pleasant I went without stockings or any form of shoes. I want a pair of
wooden clogs, but all in good time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbwLVmO8sHv0StDlTpw-Su6cfcUQo8WY2XCtMi7L3Ucm8gVNjyPLeSvmx6iEGrTELwkCVUjFyktJbmefwbFuM2wjTp2GbLtkqCFiuNuVc91CnVva1XYftDNZKb7JDq36ex-V5hCXZx-M/s1600/Vardag+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCbwLVmO8sHv0StDlTpw-Su6cfcUQo8WY2XCtMi7L3Ucm8gVNjyPLeSvmx6iEGrTELwkCVUjFyktJbmefwbFuM2wjTp2GbLtkqCFiuNuVc91CnVva1XYftDNZKb7JDq36ex-V5hCXZx-M/s320/Vardag+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The outfit might have been a little later than
the event called for, as most of the sources I base it off are from Ca 1825-50,
and I generally aim for the 1830’s-40’s in my fancy version of the folk costume,
but ah well. I’m still not quite sure how historically accurate this outfit is,
but at the very least I think it's plausible and believable. I may have to revise it in
future, but then we always do, don’t we?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Sources:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.se/sarnoldsdotter/kvinnodr%C3%A4kten-oxie-h%C3%A4rad-sk%C3%A5ne/">My Pinterest board of extant clothing and period images from the area. Mostly fancy versions.</a><br /><i>Allmogedräkten i Oxie härad</i>, (1978) by Helge Andersson.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-2438195104875610692017-06-14T20:15:00.002+02:002017-06-14T20:22:06.407+02:00Petticoat Makeover, Part Two<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">When preparing for an outing in 1840’s attire,
I realised I didn’t have the number of petticoats I wanted. That is, I could
have had an acceptable number, if one wasn’t way too short, the result of a
previous makeover. Ooops. Thinking about extant mid-19<sup>th</sup> century Swedish
petticoats, I decided to give it a second makeover. <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2014/01/a-petticoat-makeover.html">You can see the before(s) here.</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGukdZtwPjnh2sTj12kqs9E8hFEFhmF0NkYLP2hKyike3RMJbV7sNRoqzS5QHttiup0bw1R7AREdgDg4zFUFlVRwe_jIB3ii599dV0RANMbbcgIiBl8E5ufkyiXHhZpH7-4UQzVEcH26U/s1600/Petticoat+extention.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGukdZtwPjnh2sTj12kqs9E8hFEFhmF0NkYLP2hKyike3RMJbV7sNRoqzS5QHttiup0bw1R7AREdgDg4zFUFlVRwe_jIB3ii599dV0RANMbbcgIiBl8E5ufkyiXHhZpH7-4UQzVEcH26U/s320/Petticoat+extention.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I looked through my stash and found a sturdy
cotton bobbin lace that was long enough to go around the hem. I whip stitched
this in place. I then took a piece of cotton fabric of the same quality as the
petticoat, cut a wide strip that I folded in half, seam allowances inside, and whip
stitched this to the lace, as seen in the picture below.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeE4Vp_-HemgataiFX7RqlFUVmenZmIxe0sY9huos4JKFHCTi15Da-3oHzTlRsqWWSJ2ePSCBTfN2LL_i2YPCDjkcYsDZPYGrNlfPylkqhY8ALud7laEslGhyhV1aD_4fB9MA3yH4a24/s1600/Whip+stitching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeE4Vp_-HemgataiFX7RqlFUVmenZmIxe0sY9huos4JKFHCTi15Da-3oHzTlRsqWWSJ2ePSCBTfN2LL_i2YPCDjkcYsDZPYGrNlfPylkqhY8ALud7laEslGhyhV1aD_4fB9MA3yH4a24/s320/Whip+stitching.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">And just like that I had a petticoat of a
proper length that I <i>really</i> like the look of. Pretty white petticoats
are one of the main things that attracted me to the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century
when I was a girl, and I confess I still like them a lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgjjPuK7tk5aK3Viiwo4jZs3jxiDYA1SQ_8O9mcrFuN-9_pdu3RWix8HfPywAfStYWm1LJ9RFY6Msy0Q-KZNhV4ZXD0LRzxUtFTtkTKSxoXfimRt6yxEmjGj3E68e0nXXyiOYCXWWwko/s1600/Petticoat+trim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgjjPuK7tk5aK3Viiwo4jZs3jxiDYA1SQ_8O9mcrFuN-9_pdu3RWix8HfPywAfStYWm1LJ9RFY6Msy0Q-KZNhV4ZXD0LRzxUtFTtkTKSxoXfimRt6yxEmjGj3E68e0nXXyiOYCXWWwko/s320/Petticoat+trim.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Like most Swedish mid-19<sup>th</sup> century petticoats,
mine closes with tapes in the back. That may not seem as secure as buttons, but
I’ll tell you one great advantage: if you’re pregnant and feel like you don’t
really need any additional girth over your bump, you can put the petticoats on
back to front and the plackets can open over said bump, putting a lot less
fabric there, letting the fullness go in the back instead, where it's much more wanted. The tapes will make sure you’re able to wear the petticoats no
matter what your current size. Of course, this only work for about 1830-1865, when petticoats were pretty similar all the way round. And speaking of pregnancy adjustments to your
skirt supports; you might want to use a slightly fuller <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2014/07/1840s-skirt-improver.html">bum pad</a> to somewhat balance your
rear to your currently prominent front. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2EXIm9-AVJeAqlqREiAkO9zv8-dNxc_jrkfnAUmonGBVj7WxrNK_dkFjLU_74iveF1cAY_WA4j4bBITu3zKz7Owj4h6z_OSkKSef1lsKwDOxksoIO1eoSZNielCzE1rN1JRde5SlGVg/s1600/Petticoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx2EXIm9-AVJeAqlqREiAkO9zv8-dNxc_jrkfnAUmonGBVj7WxrNK_dkFjLU_74iveF1cAY_WA4j4bBITu3zKz7Owj4h6z_OSkKSef1lsKwDOxksoIO1eoSZNielCzE1rN1JRde5SlGVg/s320/Petticoat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The three petticoats I wore to the event (<a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2013/05/corded-petticoat.html">one corded</a>, one plain and this tucked one with lace insertion, the first two
starched) did a decent job of supporting my skirts, but I still think I need
more to get proper oomph... One can never have too many petticoats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-26027223673108579912017-06-13T11:34:00.000+02:002017-06-13T11:34:03.772+02:001840's Knitted Garters<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I felt the need to make myself a pair of
suitable garters for my 1840’s outfit. I had raided my closet and cut down a
pair of too small white cotton tights to make a pair of over knee stockings (a
budget variety, if you like me can’t afford reproductions – just make sure to
stitch the tops, so they don’t unravel), but like their 19<sup>th</sup> century
counterparts, they wouldn’t stay up on their own. I felt like knitting and knowing I had come across knitted garters in the mid-19th century before, I went
to the internet to see what I could dig up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37WKn7EoXzhxDSN37tIl-hc0tKyS3uWrOE6TcEk8BbIIkOO3lWmvDV1zvP8_65LTOr13EsRS-26o-NUWevF6DB3gL_uLmW5VhGO-aNYtR217X6TN1xGQn07WmhwYgkrwgYWAj35MPxqA/s1600/Garters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37WKn7EoXzhxDSN37tIl-hc0tKyS3uWrOE6TcEk8BbIIkOO3lWmvDV1zvP8_65LTOr13EsRS-26o-NUWevF6DB3gL_uLmW5VhGO-aNYtR217X6TN1xGQn07WmhwYgkrwgYWAj35MPxqA/s320/Garters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">After a short search, I found that a
description of how to make knitted garters were present in <i>The Workwoman’s
Guide</i> from 1838, which suited my period just fine, though I have yet to
find an example of knitted garters from this period in Sweden. I looked through
my stash of yarn, and picked out a soft blue wool, not too thick. I used
knitting needles 2 mm (US 0, UK 14), and with 14 stitches I got a width of 4
cm, not too far from the “nail, more or less, wide” mentioned in the
description. To really have them a nail wide (a nail being equal to 5,7 cm or 2
1/4”) seemed too wide for comfort. I also made mine shorter than the 2/3 of a
yard (about 60 cm) stated in the <i>Guide</i>, as 46 cm worked just fine for
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjglsrfRDgqHmdq5L2UwMv3OrrGHPptooSfh_LQHWQWP-RNjcu8Qs71Hme6_ll56aCtNrSkVuidgA-Dq25h70WSxBGkBbmbV-A_lvzAlrDU_3ZZY0ze6EGnN6NC3uyb2ZItOIEXZC8Q-o/s1600/Stockings+and+Garters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjglsrfRDgqHmdq5L2UwMv3OrrGHPptooSfh_LQHWQWP-RNjcu8Qs71Hme6_ll56aCtNrSkVuidgA-Dq25h70WSxBGkBbmbV-A_lvzAlrDU_3ZZY0ze6EGnN6NC3uyb2ZItOIEXZC8Q-o/s320/Stockings+and+Garters.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I knitted in a hole at one end, described
as optional, which might be why I didn’t need the full 60 cm: I just wrapped
the garter round my leg, pulled one end through the hole, and tied it off. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDwsZ264bbQ1EPdCyv6hq8gjOvG7fi5vJdm68NuFM5kQEbzJxK1KqcHdoTNLIk8_qMZJGfjbQREphMzOIdRFvVOkeLcHFOXIQq-AGC1FMoxoL-rXg4d18w_l9wGgrYf3C-firnsBPII4/s1600/Garter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="749" data-original-width="1000" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDwsZ264bbQ1EPdCyv6hq8gjOvG7fi5vJdm68NuFM5kQEbzJxK1KqcHdoTNLIk8_qMZJGfjbQREphMzOIdRFvVOkeLcHFOXIQq-AGC1FMoxoL-rXg4d18w_l9wGgrYf3C-firnsBPII4/s320/Garter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This was a quick and simple project, just what
one needs once in a while. The garters are really comfortable to wear, and though no
one will see them, I like the fact that they are blue. When in active use, I fold my stockings down over the garters though, I feel it makes it more secure and comfortable, as the stockings will just roll down to the knee otherwise, which is really annoying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-44660064122858487192017-04-13T20:05:00.002+02:002017-04-13T20:16:33.020+02:00Easter Witch<span #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Last year I wrote this on my private Facebook page, and since I made a <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/10/my-first-broomstick.html">broomstick</a> last summer I've been planning to take pictures to match the text. Last Saturday I did.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl_NAvwTEXZqnVCq2uIF4F6jsjoe5nVB9GkUNhqDML5kWlX7FzpAUS1212AM20MNCny1xRhUuzBnpc-QCD1RUwkYPHMZ3fJhPej_XMwC1JzYJC4TQohhJbGEIrfUxKocg8JrfjGEdeQ8/s1600/P%25C3%25A5skk%25C3%25A4rring+detalj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEl_NAvwTEXZqnVCq2uIF4F6jsjoe5nVB9GkUNhqDML5kWlX7FzpAUS1212AM20MNCny1xRhUuzBnpc-QCD1RUwkYPHMZ3fJhPej_XMwC1JzYJC4TQohhJbGEIrfUxKocg8JrfjGEdeQ8/s320/P%25C3%25A5skk%25C3%25A4rring+detalj.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"In parts of Sweden and Finland it's rumoured that on the </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>T</i><i>hursday </i><i>before Easter - "Skärtorsdag" - the witches travel </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>to Blåkulla to </i><i>feast with the devil. </i><i>That is of course rubbish, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>a story made up by </i><i>Muggles to explain something </i><i>they </i><i>fear</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> and don't understand. </i><i>T</i><i>here <b>are</b> in fact lots of brooms </i><i>in </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>the air around Easter, as the </i><i>annual </i><i>(and mostly friendly) </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Quidditch match between Sweden </i><i>and Finland </i><i>takes </i><i>place </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Easter weekend, a tradition going </i><i>back </i><i>to the late 1700's. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>One would hope that not too many brooms are </i><i>spotted* though, </i></div>
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<i>what with the International Statue of Secrecy and all that..."</i></div>
<br />
<span #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The post led to discussions on how it began as a national game (Finland had long been a part of Sweden by the late 18th century), and when Finland became Russian, the match was kept as a way to preserve friendliness despite the Muggle wars and politics. By now it's been going on for so long it's unthinkable to stop. Whether or not a certain 18th century Muggle war was the horrid result of arguments over World Cup tickets, or are nothing but slander, also came up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM_FI4ARXmn3MQrAR1pQQOs8iLAmXSs2n5sn2iEuG_qybtYXPkwamvLVVJw4lLRvlAgSo2qYfTxukEZ3jFUw3OMFuvDWit4xPUKaKegOMVMt6QyEYbIbCGpva22z20DrdmFvMAbM09Z4/s1600/P%25C3%25A5skk%25C3%25A4rring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmM_FI4ARXmn3MQrAR1pQQOs8iLAmXSs2n5sn2iEuG_qybtYXPkwamvLVVJw4lLRvlAgSo2qYfTxukEZ3jFUw3OMFuvDWit4xPUKaKegOMVMt6QyEYbIbCGpva22z20DrdmFvMAbM09Z4/s320/P%25C3%25A5skk%25C3%25A4rring.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><span #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">My outfit was inspired by the way in which Swedish Easter withes (påskärringar) are often depicted, like lower class women from about the turn of the last century. Of course witches don't wear such styles today, but you know I like to dress up historically. I wore my <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2013/05/swedish-mid-1800s-commoners-dress.html">insanely pieced dress</a>, a <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2013/11/mid-19th-century-quilted-petticoat.html">quilted petticoat</a>, <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2010/01/18th-century-mitts.html">knitted mitts</a> and <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/01/18th19th-century-stockings.html">stockings</a>, a headkerchief, an apron from my kitchen, and a piece of fabric for a small shawl. Besides the broom I also carried a copper coffee pot, often seen in images of Easter witches. One needs a refresher if the Quidditch game gets long, and April in the North is often cold.</span><br />
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<span #1d2129; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">*Especially important as <a href="https://www.facebook.com/343147309115862/photos/a.343246539105939.75929.343147309115862/1229281470502437/?type=3&theater">Swedish Muggle Police said they'd be keeping a lookout for airborne nuisance and other nasty things this weekend</a>. Just a head's up ;)</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-84133924067230717012017-04-01T19:54:00.002+02:002017-04-03T06:57:38.472+02:00Hankasärk II - A Swedish Folk Costume Shift<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2009/10/i-continue-my-present-interest-in-my.html">Some years ago I made a hankasärk</a>, a sleeveless shift from the very South of Sweden, to
wear with my folk costume. Now I’m working on a Ca 1810 everyday version of
that folk costume for an event I hope to attend in a few weeks, and need a new <i>hankasärk</i>.
The old one is a bit too loosely woven for my taste, and a smidge tight. In the
beginning of March I made a new one, but I never got round to blogging about it
until now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutFaNzGTlMrWjxaJBspw8Udmzz7v9GEZk7kDkO5PUtt0wtXccRkme4l_k70uqXmVHEojTLZ6pW66WS1aT5M_6Qkn1fcaBw_kqydHEbDpw2ZiuyrlQ7wnIAdXj8spbbJ-dPDuavu9AtuM/s1600/Hankas%25C3%25A4rk+Liv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhutFaNzGTlMrWjxaJBspw8Udmzz7v9GEZk7kDkO5PUtt0wtXccRkme4l_k70uqXmVHEojTLZ6pW66WS1aT5M_6Qkn1fcaBw_kqydHEbDpw2ZiuyrlQ7wnIAdXj8spbbJ-dPDuavu9AtuM/s320/Hankas%25C3%25A4rk+Liv.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I had the cover of
an old mattress, probably used in the early/mid 20<sup>th</sup> century in a
military or hospital setting. It was made from a very sturdy, handwoven linen,
and though it was stained here and there and had a few unsightly mends, I
thought I could get a <i>hankasärk</i> from it. The densely woven fabric, with nice selvedges, was
too good to pass up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I had a 1:10 scale pattern,
taken from an extant </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">hankasärk, </i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">that I used as a guide when making my first one, so
I knew what the pattern pieces should look like, and I looked at <a href="https://www.pinterest.se/sarnoldsdotter/kvinnodr%C3%A4kten-oxie-h%C3%A4rad-sk%C3%A5ne/">pictures of
extant </a></span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.pinterest.se/sarnoldsdotter/kvinnodr%C3%A4kten-oxie-h%C3%A4rad-sk%C3%A5ne/">hankasärkar</a></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> to see what similarities and variations there were. I
then decided on the measurements for mine, measured on the fabric, and cut to a
thread. All the pieces are rectangles of various sizes: one for the front and
back (there are no shoulder seams), one in each side, two narrow ones to form
the waistband, and four to make up the skirt. In the originals there are
usually three skirt panels, but my fabric was a bit narrower than the ones
originally used, so I chose to use four to get a similar width in the finished
garment.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIYy5iPJX_9nxs0VNwxcriJplwIA3Y6xzkjLe7UUUjWAJrcuVDX41iuxjxktV-TsdumMoSfBgKgVb0DxT7i6nKT4UnihRM-z5rgLLbn22lCFyvgoi-eDI4M6X1gfRe8IPtE5OmTypTak/s1600/Hankas%25C3%25A4rk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIYy5iPJX_9nxs0VNwxcriJplwIA3Y6xzkjLe7UUUjWAJrcuVDX41iuxjxktV-TsdumMoSfBgKgVb0DxT7i6nKT4UnihRM-z5rgLLbn22lCFyvgoi-eDI4M6X1gfRe8IPtE5OmTypTak/s320/Hankas%25C3%25A4rk.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The bodice part is
made up with back stitches, with all seams neatly felled to one side. I then
hemmed the sides, that would be arm openings. After doing this I discovered
that I’d sewn one side inside out – oops. Several friends advised me to let it
be; similar mistakes are seen in extant shifts. I pondered what to do while
working on the skirt part, and then unpicked the armhole hem that was inside
out, and stitched it again, to the right side this time. I left the side seams
be though: they were discreet enough not to bug me. All seams and hems were
made as narrow as the fabric would allow.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnJDFGCrpVw1Ki8OhWxO4kTZ2fh1j64HJ76oK1T4grv14YRo5kU6Ex2ENpa-DsXATrGLkMWkh2tqx22rWhylVWi2TVyBxgPvO_sPRGth3nhjcRxzdxeqaZF-PCMXAWTmec0CXTE0gnx8/s1600/F%25C3%25A4lld+s%25C3%25B6m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnJDFGCrpVw1Ki8OhWxO4kTZ2fh1j64HJ76oK1T4grv14YRo5kU6Ex2ENpa-DsXATrGLkMWkh2tqx22rWhylVWi2TVyBxgPvO_sPRGth3nhjcRxzdxeqaZF-PCMXAWTmec0CXTE0gnx8/s320/F%25C3%25A4lld+s%25C3%25B6m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The skirt panels
had neat selvedges, so to make maximum use of the width, I whip stitched them
together. This made almost completely flat seams when pressed. As I have
upcycled the material, there are holes from the previous seams,
but hopefully they’ll mostly go away in the wash. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNFaQZ5MMq0ifivIuz7XjXJ_d5b62mjjxzjDfvYM5kieFFvEADPqIo5ryZW2-MaZaICQTyMGwLyKiNRwsj8t9kaQEBBnPvZa7R-EbhIAsWAsndUOZXculZKj7TqxY_z6TXksEVFQ4IQg/s1600/Kjols%25C3%25B6mmar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFNFaQZ5MMq0ifivIuz7XjXJ_d5b62mjjxzjDfvYM5kieFFvEADPqIo5ryZW2-MaZaICQTyMGwLyKiNRwsj8t9kaQEBBnPvZa7R-EbhIAsWAsndUOZXculZKj7TqxY_z6TXksEVFQ4IQg/s320/Kjols%25C3%25B6mmar.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The skirt is
attached to the waistband with stroked gathers. They turned out a bit less tight
than I’d wanted (I might be bit wider than the original wearers, or I didn't do the gathers fine enough), but it’s acceptable. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5PVxtFczRO0PrMy0VARuwDldre0Ca8fK4zqoDYQ6Pr8ajj3mA9rH5JjlmOLd5if7GXTtjcbcJFUm-LFaGIY4CM2FfjstXJFLM2yfBSl3S_5UfwmEmANeSU4kcY_cb36nqI7vwhbQopA/s1600/Rynkor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5PVxtFczRO0PrMy0VARuwDldre0Ca8fK4zqoDYQ6Pr8ajj3mA9rH5JjlmOLd5if7GXTtjcbcJFUm-LFaGIY4CM2FfjstXJFLM2yfBSl3S_5UfwmEmANeSU4kcY_cb36nqI7vwhbQopA/s320/Rynkor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The waistband and bodice (with all edges, including the bottom, hemmed) were then joined by whip stitching.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxfolk7gXQxRlQiwmZfFDu4IIeyDVgtisUBmWzZ3dXm0HplLRJM5maUivNLvM9l_jaTNfNei2EHvCIHibFikGbsVsDgss00dLdB8-CqBgpU7v4YH2rUXqHEzPosToH5qcEuCcElB2fdI/s1600/Sammanfoga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxfolk7gXQxRlQiwmZfFDu4IIeyDVgtisUBmWzZ3dXm0HplLRJM5maUivNLvM9l_jaTNfNei2EHvCIHibFikGbsVsDgss00dLdB8-CqBgpU7v4YH2rUXqHEzPosToH5qcEuCcElB2fdI/s320/Sammanfoga.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I managed to avoid
the worst stains when cutting out the </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">hankasärk</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, but there are still a
few fainter ones. I decided not to let them bother me though. There were also
the few holes that had been mended by machine. Though reasonably well done,
machine mending on a shift I intend to be from well before a proper sewing machine
was invented just wouldn’t do. I unpicked the mending, and redid it by mending
a larger hole with a patch, and two smaller ones by sewing/weaving linen
thread over them. These flaws make the shift look well worn and cared for, something I don’t
mind at all. There’s no fun in looking all sparkling new, like you wore a fancy costume instead of proper clothes, especially not in a lower class living
history setting.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-TVj2cz1RZ26JzrITA6MjhmTuKUo1X0oos-aST82dwR9G9bUWL90-aI456XnjadxvOiaz2uyhyROfQ3AZjBiP5QyAWCA9ijs82imequUsCP9tn2RAoZsnUJd_bxvke9yZNJxwUJbWDs/s1600/Lappat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3-TVj2cz1RZ26JzrITA6MjhmTuKUo1X0oos-aST82dwR9G9bUWL90-aI456XnjadxvOiaz2uyhyROfQ3AZjBiP5QyAWCA9ijs82imequUsCP9tn2RAoZsnUJd_bxvke9yZNJxwUJbWDs/s320/Lappat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">For all sewing I
used linen thread that I strengthened with bees wax. For the monogram – common in
large households in a time were all linens looked more or less the same – I used cotton embroidery floss. Most people in early 19<sup>th</sup> century Sweden used patronymic
surnames, so the first letter stood for the person’s first name, the second for
their father’s first name, and the third for son/daughter. It’s a practice
still used in folk costumes. You can also see the seam that ended up wrong side out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1R13PiwfxoSv9_04Rl06pWh9RqnwLz1Z6JhiW-zaHuWOChiMiL27YpMk8U4NTw1vsqY2Ac8-8Po2Kc3o0GXE_KTqI7AWiPyJXv8gdwSBNolCYQ8fbK_RNpnYpSiwd6hqdqlMai0m_NTI/s1600/Monogram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1R13PiwfxoSv9_04Rl06pWh9RqnwLz1Z6JhiW-zaHuWOChiMiL27YpMk8U4NTw1vsqY2Ac8-8Po2Kc3o0GXE_KTqI7AWiPyJXv8gdwSBNolCYQ8fbK_RNpnYpSiwd6hqdqlMai0m_NTI/s320/Monogram.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">This will be my
first entry in this years’ <a href="http://thedreamstress.com/the-historical-sew-monthly-2017/">Historical Sew Monthly</a>. It could have fit under
February’s <i>'Re-Make, Re-Use, Re-Fashion'</i>, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;">but obviously</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"> it</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;">
was too</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;">late for</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"> that</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;">, so instead I’ll put it under April’s
’<i>Circles, Squares and Rectangles</i>’.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 125%;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><b>The Challenge:</b> #4 Circles, Squares and Rectangles.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 125%;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 125%;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><b>Material:</b> Handwoven linen.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 125%;"><span style="line-height: 125%;"><br /></span></span>
<b>Pattern:</b> Based off of period examples.<br />
<br />
<b>Year:</b> Ca 1800-1850.<br />
<br />
<b>Notions:</b> Linen thread, bee's wax, cotton floss.<br />
<br />
<b>How historically accurate is it?</b> Pretty close in both material,construction and sewing.<br />
<br />
<b>Hours to complete:</b> No idea.<br />
<br />
<b>First worn:</b> Hopefully at an event in a few weeks.<br />
<br />
<b>Total cost:</b> About 50 SEK (5,25 Euro, £4,49, $5,6), not counting the work.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-3838843293039179402017-01-13T21:20:00.003+01:002017-01-14T08:25:08.701+01:00The Red Riding Hood Winter Coat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Way back in 2009 I picked up a piece of cheery wine red wool at a good price in a fabric shop that was closing. I wanted to make a winter coat from it, but there wasn’t enough for what I had in mind. Soon afterwards I stumbled on a piece of wool in the same quality, but a shade or two darker, in a charity shop, at an even better price. This could work, and I quickly cut out some of the pieces for it. And then life happened. And happened again, and again. I would pick it up, do some work on it, and then it would creep back into the UFO pile.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL3Au2CnTOMikly5SdcGBIdSDiKfchUVNQfEKX-bvUbtJKZeZCvZKevhyphenhyphen8LKmLX_ibprlXBrgrnhJOCH-hfayFNSG2B80FZnCce0nj3k6i3RXkD33Cvp0lLzXFWNkTQGs4jsrN2uOTgo/s1600/Coat+back.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRL3Au2CnTOMikly5SdcGBIdSDiKfchUVNQfEKX-bvUbtJKZeZCvZKevhyphenhyphen8LKmLX_ibprlXBrgrnhJOCH-hfayFNSG2B80FZnCce0nj3k6i3RXkD33Cvp0lLzXFWNkTQGs4jsrN2uOTgo/s320/Coat+back.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
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When I got it out this summer, seven years and two children later, it didn’t
fit very well. I had to do some hard thinking, and then, with the help of
piecing and added panels, will it to do as I wanted it to. In the end, the finished result turned out all right, if not perfect. The style had
changed a little since I cut out the first pieces, but overall for the
better, I think. The coat itself is made from the lighter red wool, which
also lines the hood and pelerine collar made from the darker red wool – the winters
here are mostly wet and windy, and the cold goes straight through you. Extra
layers of wool are a good thing. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">The coat is also piped here and there in the
darker red wool. In the pictures, the contrast between the lighter and darker fabrics show best in the hood.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTvC7KbxjdGuJgxzW8qRpeVBn5fkXkVvGaQRyrIPfL68a8U3C9RoyOj6ctu1VMOuJNIEBO-r9qdGEtFsmr9qbKe06_Wds029BYRZjmD4kzZ5_JJKdtzSJelsG4gsTmaEDrAyaNb3uiRM/s1600/Hood+down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivTvC7KbxjdGuJgxzW8qRpeVBn5fkXkVvGaQRyrIPfL68a8U3C9RoyOj6ctu1VMOuJNIEBO-r9qdGEtFsmr9qbKe06_Wds029BYRZjmD4kzZ5_JJKdtzSJelsG4gsTmaEDrAyaNb3uiRM/s320/Hood+down.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">For the construction of the hood I took my
inspiration from 18</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> century hoods, with the pleats radiating out
in the back. Since mine was made from double layers of thick wool, the centre of
the pleats wouldn’t quite close, so I covered a button in a scrap of wool and
stitched it over the hole.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFVF_sRjrjJPbqJjt2SbqLkvx7ewEnSXhAxnuS7zrq7A07FRMnieSCUa6LPwdt_34q7aD29JELKIdGSksCJTmUlV7uNOnWkDAbW9NwFwL1XAThGHOCZgrSBWFQLRC2pcewe2IHOQf4dY/s1600/Back+of+hood+and+pelerine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtFVF_sRjrjJPbqJjt2SbqLkvx7ewEnSXhAxnuS7zrq7A07FRMnieSCUa6LPwdt_34q7aD29JELKIdGSksCJTmUlV7uNOnWkDAbW9NwFwL1XAThGHOCZgrSBWFQLRC2pcewe2IHOQf4dY/s320/Back+of+hood+and+pelerine.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">When it was time to line the pelerine collar,
I didn’t have any piece of fabric large enough, so I ended up piecing it
together from twelve smaller scraps. The facings in the front is also pieced
together from four pieces each, and both the sleeves and the lining of the hood ended up being pieced from two
pieces each. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">I wanted a long row of buttons down the front,
and luckily I’d salvaged a dozen buttons from an old, worn-out coat I’d made, which would
do quite well. I put two of them in the back, and the remaining ten down the front. Even the lining was reused from something else. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">All in all, the coat looks nice, maybe even expensive, but it’s all
clever scrimping and recycling. Elegant economy, as they say in Cranford.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSpAtI-i0vgRoCr4jMtMLjJnuC7UZGw9V227O4VTJCusqPCcw56KNchqNUXmiWEjLr0rYgpgxpRaEf9Rvu-Pbx0SvRCZEsFF9RhYzCJOWOkoy2rzKWUYpSi0McfYNFVVX6TEXCWWMpYM/s1600/Coat+front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSSpAtI-i0vgRoCr4jMtMLjJnuC7UZGw9V227O4VTJCusqPCcw56KNchqNUXmiWEjLr0rYgpgxpRaEf9Rvu-Pbx0SvRCZEsFF9RhYzCJOWOkoy2rzKWUYpSi0McfYNFVVX6TEXCWWMpYM/s320/Coat+front.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">One morning about a week ago it was snowing,
and of course I’d have to take the opportunity to get pictures of the coat. After
all, a backdrop of snow is much prettier than a backdrop of mud and sad looking,
beat down grass.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd1cTr7iDq8veVsDvQ4aZSx8LTgJ0NMF61zzD6WqA4arC-DFUeqme-etTeqDmH-UmPH_m6FtibnqaWQ9M1FOSDE63ZnEnl68MHUL1k0wfGT4ldLFrokIBtAGhHhAG2nDckUIjOyfbyus/s1600/Red+Riding+Hood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd1cTr7iDq8veVsDvQ4aZSx8LTgJ0NMF61zzD6WqA4arC-DFUeqme-etTeqDmH-UmPH_m6FtibnqaWQ9M1FOSDE63ZnEnl68MHUL1k0wfGT4ldLFrokIBtAGhHhAG2nDckUIjOyfbyus/s320/Red+Riding+Hood.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ever had to completely remodel a project after
taking it from an extended time in the UFO pile? </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-71728929134954174232017-01-04T18:51:00.000+01:002017-01-04T18:51:11.166+01:00Miniature Row of False Books - Tutorial<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Much as I prefer books with proper pages for
miniatures, I saw someone’s hack on how to quickly make a row of leather bound fake
ones from an old book. Realising that sometimes
mass is desired, and every individual volume won’t actually be properly seen, I
wanted to try it, but had the wrong kind of book. Instead I came up with a
method that worked with the book I had at hand. I had planned to toss it for
quite some time, but kept putting it off, as I thought the cover could be of
some use - a good decision it turned out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUgSHUsbLxAwGOWC6oPaNlsWRgGnSEII-af6jyxPL-kWb8KKV28zXBvd0EGkifejuGltEmSQ9O9FRJHooNm6Zh8-quiFXTkIbWWksvSyjAocvbVyiArVFcNZs0Bq40X8l1lq1InBDu8I/s1600/Bokhylla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUgSHUsbLxAwGOWC6oPaNlsWRgGnSEII-af6jyxPL-kWb8KKV28zXBvd0EGkifejuGltEmSQ9O9FRJHooNm6Zh8-quiFXTkIbWWksvSyjAocvbVyiArVFcNZs0Bq40X8l1lq1InBDu8I/s320/Bokhylla.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">First, do not use a book of cultural or economic
value. Just don’t, it’s a big no-no. Second, use a book with a leather spine or
a complete leather cover.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Start with removing the pages. If the book spine is
wide enough to make two rows of books, you can then cut it in half. If not, cut
close to one side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEudc26k5QU2eszs7FdQmmYT7dg8M6Frtm0s688lNOEBdWZGdj8VVSnu59eshMCRIiILOdkQT9-UWHCThGZ2SP4RqV0sehgn728Y1r66BwIoKRlHukUArPZizartbiGjncKJXor20vyY/s1600/Book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEudc26k5QU2eszs7FdQmmYT7dg8M6Frtm0s688lNOEBdWZGdj8VVSnu59eshMCRIiILOdkQT9-UWHCThGZ2SP4RqV0sehgn728Y1r66BwIoKRlHukUArPZizartbiGjncKJXor20vyY/s320/Book+cover.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Trim the insides and draw the size of books you want. You don't want the top and bottom, so start a bit from the top and bottom edges. I
decided I wanted my books to be a series, so I wanted them the same size. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Carefully cut out the “books”. Ordinary
household scissors might do, depending on how tough the cover is.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq340BDnEjVQwtBZYi_70u_JpcAvoQpn20rXH8WZoyizg6ZuG7Id_MhEwodM2TtPVNXVZbmH1INKAxOf-kKUU4XUCWbDaFLovVYlz72B5ZuhwXGg4SaPKferyo-SgE8pRqtleVi9MnfEc/s1600/Cutting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq340BDnEjVQwtBZYi_70u_JpcAvoQpn20rXH8WZoyizg6ZuG7Id_MhEwodM2TtPVNXVZbmH1INKAxOf-kKUU4XUCWbDaFLovVYlz72B5ZuhwXGg4SaPKferyo-SgE8pRqtleVi9MnfEc/s320/Cutting.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wrap the former book spine round the side of
your new “book” to make a cover, and glue in place. Trim if necessary.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqq8E8Kn-gTBZt0XQZsidY9xB7QC2KHlTE445qxgP51MgywgRsRPcM9ebgBaM81_QteQVky-t35azQdkjrVlUGKPcPrpr9n6Aau9qvhB5K5slD7B3ewTgQ9UN_Pl7RwZELbWgmclSqbU/s1600/Books+WIP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqq8E8Kn-gTBZt0XQZsidY9xB7QC2KHlTE445qxgP51MgywgRsRPcM9ebgBaM81_QteQVky-t35azQdkjrVlUGKPcPrpr9n6Aau9qvhB5K5slD7B3ewTgQ9UN_Pl7RwZELbWgmclSqbU/s320/Books+WIP.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Play around with the books to see how you want
to arrange them – individually or in groups, neat or untidy. If one cover happen to be particularly nice, and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">you plan to glue the books together, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">put that in front just in case it'll show.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFgX7sBA69j2r92g_5xdTsCb9beEeHFbp8HyvkOiNWRGSHlvSuCptUswwmLUdS7qyreZ-DlK1LF3nIUc0kgpLgjZBNXcymoQCP1hlxjvouv6iQRXOij1p9QbbvSiSKy2g7a2BbpGoWpY/s1600/Finished+Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFFgX7sBA69j2r92g_5xdTsCb9beEeHFbp8HyvkOiNWRGSHlvSuCptUswwmLUdS7qyreZ-DlK1LF3nIUc0kgpLgjZBNXcymoQCP1hlxjvouv6iQRXOij1p9QbbvSiSKy2g7a2BbpGoWpY/s320/Finished+Books.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">I drew lines with gold pen on the spines of one group of books, but left the others plain, to make it less obvious that what turned into two groups of books were really made from the same material. I </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">plan to eventually have my books sit properly in bookcases, so I glued them together
neatly, one with a book leaning at one end for visual interest. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1MZczyY706XKq4SHD0d0eAG7h1Tas-BrqQKorKZNX-yoX-usQd-Md33TlqS6NOFmYkPZtPTy9kfRk6Ce96otkwnIGjVMe8Fh4LSgz1vxa9f1_i1DiG0hWbEGpSjoNdI2nmiJPZifRuA/s1600/Stack+of+Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1MZczyY706XKq4SHD0d0eAG7h1Tas-BrqQKorKZNX-yoX-usQd-Md33TlqS6NOFmYkPZtPTy9kfRk6Ce96otkwnIGjVMe8Fh4LSgz1vxa9f1_i1DiG0hWbEGpSjoNdI2nmiJPZifRuA/s320/Stack+of+Books.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For now though they are part of <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2017/01/the-room-of-hidden-things.html">The Room of Hidden Things</a> that I wrote about in my last post.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-28424054469023697902017-01-04T09:52:00.002+01:002017-01-04T18:59:28.083+01:00The Room of Hidden Things<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Yesterday I quickly made a couple of rows of
miniature fake books (<a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2017/01/miniature-row-of-false-books-tutorial.html">tutorial here</a>), and was keen to display them. The
fact that my sister in law had given me a lovely little bell jar, just shy of 4" (10 cm), sans bird topper, for Christmas
may have contributed. <br />
<br />
I don’t yet have enough miniatures to make a sensible scene, so I collected
bits and bobs, some that I’ve got and some that I’ve made, and put together a little
attic room scene – or is it a corner of The Room of Hidden Things, one of the
many guises of The Room of Requirement? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">A rickety stool with a broken bird cage on it (a pendant on a necklace that I got on sale once with miniatures in mind),
some outdated and forbidden books and odd pieces of parchment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sE0Yp4L6j-tHo1ZazpvjtSjRMKpavGdjXMWGWNK8gW_qBam53g4oTNJkoDGktXxN3KR5OgvoRx69JHjt7mVzYS8Ay4likhPP4baF-AC8mBRg7kbPTKI6QBSc-3Fzhj7ifK_tjDYHrKg/s1600/Room+of+Hidden+Things+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6sE0Yp4L6j-tHo1ZazpvjtSjRMKpavGdjXMWGWNK8gW_qBam53g4oTNJkoDGktXxN3KR5OgvoRx69JHjt7mVzYS8Ay4likhPP4baF-AC8mBRg7kbPTKI6QBSc-3Fzhj7ifK_tjDYHrKg/s320/Room+of+Hidden+Things+1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">A copper pot and a basket, probably disposed off by house elves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtd74g55w96HCSrymY18jSi44Bu9M0kC8O5mXl-HCcJmocnfUi8b7_hZU4mWJKtj13QjLqtxYM9skN73pUf_vQNKDbZEiYycpo2UktXfL401GaT5bPMO3U7YOSsTTq3XsQIas57psIsE/s1600/Room+of+Hidden+Things+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtd74g55w96HCSrymY18jSi44Bu9M0kC8O5mXl-HCcJmocnfUi8b7_hZU4mWJKtj13QjLqtxYM9skN73pUf_vQNKDbZEiYycpo2UktXfL401GaT5bPMO3U7YOSsTTq3XsQIas57psIsE/s320/Room+of+Hidden+Things+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">A wooden crate, a handwritten old scroll, more books and a
goblet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5o5gaNHFcC4OInTqzvKUxIwzP1UEs09bPlMxrhvWNGtoifeu9oKsbrpIgmfT68FVW16RvI37UHUAABesE5k2o5QpBl_yABFff80bYXomrDO_h0ho1zwO-E660isvA_tyfz6Ne0pkjqs/s1600/Room+of+Hidden+Things+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5o5gaNHFcC4OInTqzvKUxIwzP1UEs09bPlMxrhvWNGtoifeu9oKsbrpIgmfT68FVW16RvI37UHUAABesE5k2o5QpBl_yABFff80bYXomrDO_h0ho1zwO-E660isvA_tyfz6Ne0pkjqs/s320/Room+of+Hidden+Things+3.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">An old mirror and a cat – don’t know how that
got in there, but I dare say there are enough mice for it not to starve. I hope it will escape the Fiendfyre....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAXanGj4iCgnySmx38OL0F37XSShxuDG5ARoiu6C-L2J-I_Vuqq8_2W4SdMT82SYYjelnTfhf5dIliDOE0wIA8LIe0wvBhrwnTXjOjQxJTHprPYdfL3uhIXjKhLaxZ6P7-PTKSu02sHk/s1600/Room+of+Hidden+Things+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTAXanGj4iCgnySmx38OL0F37XSShxuDG5ARoiu6C-L2J-I_Vuqq8_2W4SdMT82SYYjelnTfhf5dIliDOE0wIA8LIe0wvBhrwnTXjOjQxJTHprPYdfL3uhIXjKhLaxZ6P7-PTKSu02sHk/s320/Room+of+Hidden+Things+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">I like how it came out, though both the crate and the stool are plain - as I don't know what permanent scene they'll end up in I'm not yet willing to commit to staining or painting them. I will likely add
some more things to the group as well. Miniature scenes where there is always something new to
notice are the most interesting ones after all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-11463527164983827732017-01-01T00:29:00.000+01:002017-01-01T11:44:08.853+01:00Belated Glimpses of Christmas<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Well, I had several posts planned before
Christmas, but for some reason, the writing just wouldn’t come together. As I’m
sitting here on day six with a chest cold (but no longer a fever), I might as well show you a few glimpses
of how our Christmas decorations turned out, before I take them down again in a few days or so. I have liked them more than usual this year, and am not really at all keen to
take them down, even though I put them up earlier than I generally do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">First, our Christmas tree. Actually, it'll be mostly about the tree, as the pictures of the other stuff didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. It’s a fake tree that
we got from IKEA a while back, and though I like the smell of a proper tree, at least this one <i>looks</i> very real, and having it has saved us a lot of money over the
years. It’s a small tree, just over 5 feet (152 centimetres), and
has a functional but dull plastic stand. This year I wanted a new look, so I
put the tree in a copper tub I inherited from my grandparents, and it made a <i>huge</i>
difference. Not only did it bring the tree up a bit – I put a couple of broken concrete
slabs in the tub (the tub protected by a towel) partly for balance, and put the
tree on top of them – but it also looked much prettier, and more real. I’m
ridiculously happy with how it came out. Some might think it’s a bit on the sparse
side, but this is how many real spruces look here, and makes it feel more
realistic. All in all, it's a very Scandinavian tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiI9Sml4BrGqTotS421yAKv6rWX8H2ONlUenSCLAD_XZwsqS5PVklECP3srlmRaPIakvQToXYxTd9nlDLSFtlYETS8z0O9AD6phS6KZeSUaxy6gulL5q_PLz_K2KilkRY8ySDQvafM_o/s1600/Christmas+Tree+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiI9Sml4BrGqTotS421yAKv6rWX8H2ONlUenSCLAD_XZwsqS5PVklECP3srlmRaPIakvQToXYxTd9nlDLSFtlYETS8z0O9AD6phS6KZeSUaxy6gulL5q_PLz_K2KilkRY8ySDQvafM_o/s320/Christmas+Tree+2016.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I've made most of the ornaments myself, some a long time ago, but most I've made this - sorry, it's New Years Day now, last year - makes me wonder what we had in the tree before.... The year before last I tied lots of bows from strips of fabric I had in my stash. I didn't hem them or anything, and just lay them on the branches. Simple as can be, but adds a lot of character.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/12/button-tree-ornaments.html">button spruces</a> are new. I was a bit unsure of them at first, but it turns out I like how they look on the tree. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEP5lL71W9zsqkTanNEjCfZOIywfIS9Myljd2CBKL3yp1qbe7p9EtsizlXfbr8uXXvUQlsVHu4loITNl6LZkhxItaITIAJMpoU9V1JTTGhK2Xu2nCc0xODiYgb0VmYY0LgZbxGn13-Ak/s1600/Button+Spruce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEP5lL71W9zsqkTanNEjCfZOIywfIS9Myljd2CBKL3yp1qbe7p9EtsizlXfbr8uXXvUQlsVHu4loITNl6LZkhxItaITIAJMpoU9V1JTTGhK2Xu2nCc0xODiYgb0VmYY0LgZbxGn13-Ak/s320/Button+Spruce.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The little <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/11/jingle-bell-ornaments.html">jingle bell ornaments</a> are really cute, and not at all too small for our petite tree.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHGDsEnzxIe6gwYwvR9vkQOUa_pDAMuNaTemp-vzKWAnTbGMomMvU_tSmrTAvPgxWMYg_3nIszqYg6Rh220Gog1aSEFn0k8qxZrCzCnKHllImEBnJcdWV29w6Otz9v64L81dE0U_9_XY/s1600/Jingle+Bells+Ornaments+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDHGDsEnzxIe6gwYwvR9vkQOUa_pDAMuNaTemp-vzKWAnTbGMomMvU_tSmrTAvPgxWMYg_3nIszqYg6Rh220Gog1aSEFn0k8qxZrCzCnKHllImEBnJcdWV29w6Otz9v64L81dE0U_9_XY/s320/Jingle+Bells+Ornaments+close+up.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">These little sacks were originally a bunting I got from my mum, but never quite knew how to decorate with. A year or two ago I cut the string of the bunting into pieces, and the now individual sacks make charming ornaments.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFfPHgSrH0_Q3ATuBrTev4RcnB1CA802ySZEhudaWkgq79KRDE8ErxRaV3PS5neg2TgdJTLPSoYTfhfCXfN0Lk8MCPrJMUb-mc6WeBLgf6ZTS_1dp6A_8Aa-K6EI-1DZc65c8dBKpNHw/s1600/Sack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFfPHgSrH0_Q3ATuBrTev4RcnB1CA802ySZEhudaWkgq79KRDE8ErxRaV3PS5neg2TgdJTLPSoYTfhfCXfN0Lk8MCPrJMUb-mc6WeBLgf6ZTS_1dp6A_8Aa-K6EI-1DZc65c8dBKpNHw/s320/Sack.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I had attached braided linen cord loops to some spruce cones for ornaments. Pine cones are prettier and sturdier to work with, but the spruce cones were easier to find as a big spruce grows by the playground, and anyway, these looked more natural on our imitation spruce tree.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiKaz1JXyHfiX4pENoIRexkDOFz7pUBPIm7uAEAAlAXGzyCF1lCPrzEpR4LkHanHR1et8_UdmYrEuZXgtFeZMUK0icxn7tbSWCk_Yx6p5BxAqlnHeP3YEcMUP5Ugxj1ERpb08XcB8joM/s1600/Spruce+cone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiKaz1JXyHfiX4pENoIRexkDOFz7pUBPIm7uAEAAlAXGzyCF1lCPrzEpR4LkHanHR1et8_UdmYrEuZXgtFeZMUK0icxn7tbSWCk_Yx6p5BxAqlnHeP3YEcMUP5Ugxj1ERpb08XcB8joM/s320/Spruce+cone.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/12/crocheted-star-ornaments.html">crocheted hemp twine stars</a> looked nice.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHz3hBiNj3BZwaN-hLWLIbLOsc5EMSDsa4bywT4TSVOV7KlU5NFZNndaV_2A7BfFWiK3T3gJjwMPoryYgO0h1NxXucCYikQd-ytZ9zC7bPEDd0bT53Ygn3KC7q_Czi-VeLV9nkFYyT_P8/s1600/Crochet+Star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHz3hBiNj3BZwaN-hLWLIbLOsc5EMSDsa4bywT4TSVOV7KlU5NFZNndaV_2A7BfFWiK3T3gJjwMPoryYgO0h1NxXucCYikQd-ytZ9zC7bPEDd0bT53Ygn3KC7q_Czi-VeLV9nkFYyT_P8/s320/Crochet+Star.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 125%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">As the tree is such a central part of the Christmas
decorations, the one all eyes are drawn to, I make some of the ornaments remind us
about Christ. Not that good food and presents aren’t nice (I love food and
presents!), but they are not the most important part of the celebration for us. </span></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Almost ten years ago, I made tags (all the
rage in the scrapbooking world back then) with snippets of English and Swedish Christmas songs or
scriptures about Christ written on them. Every tag had a unique décor on it, and
some I'll confess I’m no longer too happy with. I might retire them eventually, or use them
differently, but for now, they have a place on our Christmas tree. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">These stars I also made this year, and I had a
tutorial and free printable of the ten silhouettes depicting the Nativity story
planned, but life happened. I might do a post about them later. These are
probably my favourite ornaments on the tree this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have some vintage keys, and as they are so pretty they make good ornaments, but they also remind me to let Christ into my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The boys had received a countdown candle, that helped them visualize how many days were left until Christmas. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yiXc741EbdsJQp6LwpPZoKnglkeoD0M_P4BPmEAsUVEyzn0_ME7xZTRhuTRm5mbK0bs4Bcnl0MYIoNQyURhEMjnpWKkCNDExQYieesSenCJHSloXVsZjX61ofOgCw3J7mmLljZSnugA/s1600/Datumljus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yiXc741EbdsJQp6LwpPZoKnglkeoD0M_P4BPmEAsUVEyzn0_ME7xZTRhuTRm5mbK0bs4Bcnl0MYIoNQyURhEMjnpWKkCNDExQYieesSenCJHSloXVsZjX61ofOgCw3J7mmLljZSnugA/s320/Datumljus.jpg" width="239" /></a></span></div>
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In mine and Tobias' bedroom I put a 14th century reproduction drinking pitcher, tied a ribbon round it and filled it with holly sprigs I'd picked. In a matching bowl I stored spare tea lights and matches.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrBMsI4IYwAdJl0M1hdZSDkLToyYXkrRxlzV0tykgDqGeAbCo8McG8za8QqPoi5LUqMEehuHIjMKocRcdJ_P29rfbTyDGHUcsO6BKcwhSi_W1U2B1P8mnvGWWfFBnqaETrspCWyPiytQ/s1600/Holly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDrBMsI4IYwAdJl0M1hdZSDkLToyYXkrRxlzV0tykgDqGeAbCo8McG8za8QqPoi5LUqMEehuHIjMKocRcdJ_P29rfbTyDGHUcsO6BKcwhSi_W1U2B1P8mnvGWWfFBnqaETrspCWyPiytQ/s320/Holly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Above the window I used more of the vines from our wedding <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2016/11/first-sunday-of-advent.html">(same as I used round the windows in the kitchen)</a>, trimmed with red bows, made from strips cut from a piece of fabric in my stash.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMyNyBN1t5ZZY2G-o2AuFkWDqysTfwTcXaVezgxGmoYaRb_ymDBDjjkfg6U2IRb_N2P1T4I3hLOy3pU-WD3-ZzmClMwzM9zT5TyofbeyCEOMXEU2GXhDNlO8gZ5rleHo3O-5_ZmHEslo/s1600/Window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMyNyBN1t5ZZY2G-o2AuFkWDqysTfwTcXaVezgxGmoYaRb_ymDBDjjkfg6U2IRb_N2P1T4I3hLOy3pU-WD3-ZzmClMwzM9zT5TyofbeyCEOMXEU2GXhDNlO8gZ5rleHo3O-5_ZmHEslo/s320/Window.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Home made sweets is tradition. This year we kept it simple and only made chocolate fudge and chocolate balls. The boys helped with the latter, much to their amusement.<br />
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Mum always used to make nicely decorated bread for Christmas, and that is a tradition I like to continue. I love holly, so a holly sprig seemed fitting. (On a side note - as I do like holly so much, I was very pleased when the Pottermore sorting announced that my wand was made from holly and unicorn tail hair.) Here is one of them, pre proofing. Mmmm, bread....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76EEdec5EAidm274LCCWTO1cwB8hKbNJrRHR8PyH7dSOubQY7esB3SaUL7qZ3gGHa5UZKb9CADy2rY7x9lZKnfqIM3ylUS5hBdIl8tz9eZUduF_-j7P6l2THV0yIex0pqXCBTBXm3CDI/s1600/Bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76EEdec5EAidm274LCCWTO1cwB8hKbNJrRHR8PyH7dSOubQY7esB3SaUL7qZ3gGHa5UZKb9CADy2rY7x9lZKnfqIM3ylUS5hBdIl8tz9eZUduF_-j7P6l2THV0yIex0pqXCBTBXm3CDI/s320/Bread.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had a very quiet, comfortable Christmas - the kind I like best. How was your holidays?<br />
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A bit silly to have a look at the Christmas decorations in January, but there you are :) I wish you all a Happy New Year, filled with love, peace and creativity.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-41562652867520461192016-12-13T23:22:00.005+01:002016-12-24T23:21:36.854+01:00Swedish Saffron Buns - a Must Have on St Lucia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Today is St Lucia, celebrated in Sweden with
singing by Lucia and her followers, but I won’t go into all that too much, as
it’s quite a complicated thing to explain properly, with its different origins,
evolution and present day traditions – if you want to see how it’s done
nowadays, search for ‘Luciatåg’ on YouTube, and you’ll get everything from
performances by toddlers and school children to professional televised shows accompanied
by popular Swedish singers, or you can read the (mostly accurate) <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day">Wikipedia article</a>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">This post will be all about the must-have thing
to eat on St Lucia in Sweden – saffron buns, called <i>saffransbullar,</i> <i>lussekatter</i>
or <i>lussebullar</i> in Swedish. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">They serve them in school lunch rooms, sell
them in cafés, bakeries, supermarkets and petrol stations, but the best ones
are home baked. I must confess that the last few years we haven’t had them on
that day in our family since it’s our eldest child’s birthday so we eat birthday
cake instead, but we do bake and eat them on the first weekend in December, or on
the first weekend in Advent, whichever comes first. We also have them for
breakfast on Christmas Eve, as that was tradition in my dad’s family when he
grew up, was continued in his own family, and is now done in his grown children’s
families. Usually they are baked as separate buns, but for our Christmas Eve
breakfast, all the buns are put next to each other to make one huge break bread,
sometimes in the shape of a tree. EDIT 24th December: This is how it turned out this year: </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br />END OF EDIT.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br />Making these is a good family activity, even toddlers can take part with a bit of help. Of course there are dozens, if not hundreds of recipes for Swedish
saffron buns, there is something for every taste, but this is a classic one that I use. For convenience I often use dry yeast (it stores much longer), but fresh yeast works just as well. If you use
fresh yeast, change the work order accordingly, dissolving it in some of the
buttermilk rather than mixing it with the flour.<br />
<br /><b>
Ingredients:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Butter: 175 grams<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Milk: 500 millilitres<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Yeast: 50 grams (or the same equivalence in
dry yeast)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Sugar: 175 - 200 millilitres <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Ground saffron, ground: 1 gram<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Plain wheat flour: about 1500 millilitres<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">(Egg: 1)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">(Raisins) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Start by melting the butter in a saucepan.
While it’s melting, grind the saffron in a mortar to release the flavour. You
don’t want a weak saffron flavour, so feel free to add a bit more saffron than
the recipe calls for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">When the butter is melted, add the milk and
saffron, and heat to finger temperature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Pour most of the flour into a bowl or dough mixer. I’m one of those weird people who rather like to mix bread dough and whip cream by hand. Add the sugar, salt and dry yeast, and mix well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Add the egg and mix it in. (Optional, but it will give a more flexible dough.)</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;"><br />Pour the finger warm saffron buttermilk over the flour mix, and stir thoroughly. Add more
flour if needed. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">When the dough is of a good bread dough texture, letting go of
the bowl, sprinkle it with flour, put a tea towel over it and let it proof to
double size. (Note: if in doubt, better leave the dough a tiny bit too wet than to dry. It's easier to add flour later if needed, than to remove any.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Put the dough on a floured surface and knead thoroughly,
until it becomes smooth and elastic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Make the buns. Take a piece of dough, roll it out,
and then coil the ends to make a somewhat exaggerated curly S-shape.
Traditionally many different shapes were made, but this one is most common
today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Put the buns on a baking sheet covered with
baking parchment, push a raisin into the middle of each coil (optional – I don’t
like raisins in bread, so we leave some of them plain), cover with a tea towel
and let them proof again, for about 30 minutes.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The buns have proofed enough when they spring
back when gently poked. Give the buns an egg wash and put them in the middle of
the oven, at 225-250 degrees Celsius. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Depending on your oven, it will take
about 5-10 minutes - they should be golden brown on top when finished.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Eat them as they are. Yum!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A common thing to have with saffron buns is</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">
julmust</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">, a non-alcoholic, carbonated drink flavoured with malt and hops. Non-Swedes
usually dislike it at first try, but for Swedes it is such a typical thing to
drink in December, and many people have opinions on which brand is the
tastiest. If you feel like giving it a go, I believe many IKEA stores have it, but
I can’t vouch for how good it is – we have another favourite in my family ;) If
</span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">julmust</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> is not an option, milk, tea or coffee are other common drinks to
have them with.<br /><br />If your're Swedish - do you have any family traditions with regards to <i>lussebullar</i>? If you're not Swedish, have you tried saffron buns? How did you like them?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-24988717905577133912016-12-09T15:24:00.003+01:002016-12-09T15:24:41.364+01:00Waltz of the Snowflakes<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When perusing Pinterest sometime last autumn I
came across some adorable <a href="http://www.icreativeideas.com/how-to-make-snowflake-ballerinas/">paper ballerinas with snowflake tutus</a>. Grown up
though I am, I really liked them, but thought maybe they wouldn’t work in our
home; they seemed more suited to little girls, and I’m the only female in the
family. After several weeks, I reconsidered, thinking “well, there’s no
guarantee I’ll ever have any daughters, and even if I do, they might not like ballet”. So, I decided to make a few snowflake ballerinas anyway,
and have them as decoration for the “girls’ night in” I was planning with some
friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">In the summer I had made snowflakes from mini
Hama beads that I had left from a project I did years ago. I made every one
unique, though some of them are rather similar.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SbYenanv0Qd5i4P4gFvvo_kXG8ZQW4igKxEu4KHN3G5zqg0uWTN2-F0rIYqncBK0HBL4QcOnqxaGc060O1vpvs-YZj4TCRe-7EOTR5W2jb9etqZg_QWwiaoRjg9trzxZ5wh3ffVHO0c/s1600/Miniature+Hama+Bead+Snowflakes+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SbYenanv0Qd5i4P4gFvvo_kXG8ZQW4igKxEu4KHN3G5zqg0uWTN2-F0rIYqncBK0HBL4QcOnqxaGc060O1vpvs-YZj4TCRe-7EOTR5W2jb9etqZg_QWwiaoRjg9trzxZ5wh3ffVHO0c/s320/Miniature+Hama+Bead+Snowflakes+%25282%2529.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Then a few weeks ago I got caught up in making
snowflakes with paper quilling; there are lots of tutorials on YouTube and on
Pinterest if you’re interested to try it. All in all, I had enough suitable items to make
a proper Walts of the Snowflakes decoration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7d_WwLp6DHl6zwIl5VvKQg0j7Dto2yA_NoNmyyaEu9JlybydN6nRFZZhBmkqLNArrXwG7xd3tpofxnccsQGcyWYcVLlU95Ooj_pD5j4u9iH9qJg9KMSNxxNtyu5PfOqBXc76ndBnH2t8/s1600/Quilled+Paper+Snowflakes+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7d_WwLp6DHl6zwIl5VvKQg0j7Dto2yA_NoNmyyaEu9JlybydN6nRFZZhBmkqLNArrXwG7xd3tpofxnccsQGcyWYcVLlU95Ooj_pD5j4u9iH9qJg9KMSNxxNtyu5PfOqBXc76ndBnH2t8/s320/Quilled+Paper+Snowflakes+%25282%2529.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">I used <a href="http://www.clipartpanda.com/clipart_images/dancing-dancing-windclan-45709033">this template</a> for the ballerinas, but edited out the skirt, which I then cut out of thin cardstock. I chose to make all three of them hold the same pose, to echo the feel of a corps de ballet, but made the tutus different, just as no two snowflakes are alike. The tutus were made from classical folded and cut paper snowflakes. I made the ballerinas rather smaller - 13,5 centimetres (5 5/8") from head to toe, smaller than my hand - than the inspiration pictures, as I think smaller quite often is prettier. I cut the snowflake tutus up the back, and glued them together again, using strips of paper, once they were in place on the ballerinas. The join is almost invisible. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_a2VhD2fWNMK9WAkcTEZXpSc-tBdcYmikWjF3hhQzldXBLVlsX6T3bFXh6XHbz5SYvmkhetu-sH3VOwafjib9rYMWqbZiOZ7opz9KHTWFTyi7_PxuLdt1e5_bseO1KDn_YbjH9FO98O8/s1600/Snowflake+Ballerina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_a2VhD2fWNMK9WAkcTEZXpSc-tBdcYmikWjF3hhQzldXBLVlsX6T3bFXh6XHbz5SYvmkhetu-sH3VOwafjib9rYMWqbZiOZ7opz9KHTWFTyi7_PxuLdt1e5_bseO1KDn_YbjH9FO98O8/s320/Snowflake+Ballerina.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I hung the dancing snowflakes from the lamp
fitting over our kitchen table, together with the quilled paper snowflakes and
mini Hama bead snowflakes. On the threads that I hung the snowflakes from I also strung
white glass beads, and put some threads with glass beads between them here and
there to fill out any spaces. It became a very pretty, wintery decoration, the pictures really doesn't do it justice. The ballerinas make pirouettes when the heat
from a candle under them makes the air move. I am quite delighted with them, and my boys also like them. It is not exactly a Christmas-y decoration, so it’s probable it will stay up well into the next year.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Have you made something similar? Please share
a link!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-54322550645720735282016-12-06T21:43:00.002+01:002016-12-06T21:44:42.293+01:00Button Tree Ornaments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">These little ornaments are a bit whimsical,
but cute. They also make a nice craft for children. Remember those bags of
non-matching buttons I mentioned in my last post? A while back I decided to get
some use out of the green ones. I apologise for the poor quality of the WIP images, the lighting was pretty bad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbK-e25WZP9K__dYT2lSOC_nqkRF-t0a7rusZoAzWg-ZOFerYXhj2aUW3pd6riL9whZss4E2jVy9qzWuZNu3D5SOIpw-IsG8ihyphenhyphenXfnHiPkJc6M0hUJ2cTXi5tTpAhidwf6X7KLme-rzA/s1600/Button+Tree+Ornament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbK-e25WZP9K__dYT2lSOC_nqkRF-t0a7rusZoAzWg-ZOFerYXhj2aUW3pd6riL9whZss4E2jVy9qzWuZNu3D5SOIpw-IsG8ihyphenhyphenXfnHiPkJc6M0hUJ2cTXi5tTpAhidwf6X7KLme-rzA/s320/Button+Tree+Ornament.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">The supplies I used were green buttons of
varying sizes, wooden beads for the trunks, yellow glass beads for the toppers
(star shaped buttons are nice too, but I was working from stash), and I
stringed the ornaments on green linen thread that I’d twisted to make thin cords.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwYfwSfgtlj_NhIekOCHZYXXMO8Ro3SG1lTbcNL627S0_LkzDm_NLBsK4OxJAph9-5YawGAdvbOeyW-O2A9KcfVmA17TKz21VIPbRCzLPI-sW3uU7wvxZr6qqCiF6jV9zKeJSlfyHbyc/s1600/Button+Tree+supplies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggwYfwSfgtlj_NhIekOCHZYXXMO8Ro3SG1lTbcNL627S0_LkzDm_NLBsK4OxJAph9-5YawGAdvbOeyW-O2A9KcfVmA17TKz21VIPbRCzLPI-sW3uU7wvxZr6qqCiF6jV9zKeJSlfyHbyc/s320/Button+Tree+supplies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I put the wooden bead on first, making sure it
was in the centre of the cord. Then the largest button went on, after that one of the smallest
ones, and then a large one again, as the trick to making this look like a
spruce/Christmas tree and not a cone is alternating the buttons of a decreasing
size with really small ones.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNcCWkgOOX6QChNd17PtNAr2unozUjfA5F6pYq4WKCSti4rF_GeJjjNgVw3_5K5ahS2dVU9H2YUAKoarPD35gnkC1jU2xgY1hB6y4LhlV78OvE2Wbh-naU3oKRjhyI0P4axumng6asQQ/s1600/Button+Tree+WIP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinNcCWkgOOX6QChNd17PtNAr2unozUjfA5F6pYq4WKCSti4rF_GeJjjNgVw3_5K5ahS2dVU9H2YUAKoarPD35gnkC1jU2xgY1hB6y4LhlV78OvE2Wbh-naU3oKRjhyI0P4axumng6asQQ/s320/Button+Tree+WIP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">For buttons with two holes the cord
naturally will run through each of them, and on four hole buttons, the cord
will go through two holes diagonally across from each other. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">When all the buttons are stringed, add the
bead on top, tie off the cord (make sure the knot is big enough to prevent the glass bead from slipping off), and your ornament is done!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhH-zyBT6yP1ui9gZG2KOpl6IOgARTuSXUU6uLMRHi-q1cKEz8kO-vwkJAV_QpI6kXA2oxiQN9-4lEca-a6aJlirHHgK1J3cFvR31ItYqp8WTVFHce2piNh-K5A_5IWywzoP5IceA0aI/s1600/Button+Tree+Ornaments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAhH-zyBT6yP1ui9gZG2KOpl6IOgARTuSXUU6uLMRHi-q1cKEz8kO-vwkJAV_QpI6kXA2oxiQN9-4lEca-a6aJlirHHgK1J3cFvR31ItYqp8WTVFHce2piNh-K5A_5IWywzoP5IceA0aI/s320/Button+Tree+Ornaments.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">This is a great project for left-over buttons, and if the buttons don't match from one tree to another it's actually not a bad thing, as no two trees look exactly the same in real life. If one would someday want the buttons for something else, they are easily redeemable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Have you made a neat holiday craft using
buttons? Please share!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-2193969450527908162016-12-03T10:57:00.000+01:002016-12-03T10:57:38.529+01:00Crocheted Star Ornaments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">When browsing Pinterest I came across these
<a href="http://persialou.com/2015/12/crochet-star-ornaments-free-pattern.html">crocheted little stars made by Persia Lou</a>, and as each star only require two rounds, I though they’d be quick and fun to make. The pattern
called for wool yarn, but though </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px;">I love wool, I've had <a href="http://amostpeculiarmademoiselle.blogspot.se/2012/11/hearts-for-christmas-tree.html">wool ornaments</a> eaten by bugs when in storage, and as I'm in enough worry over my stash of wool fabrics and yarn, not to mention my historical clothes, I decided against that. The</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> cotton yarn that I had of a suitable colour was
too thin, so I tried making them from hemp twine that I had at hand. It worked
very well, except that the twine was a bit rough to work with, so I could only
make one or two stars at the time to protect my hands. Unlike the instructions
in the pattern, I did not starch my stars, so they are a bit less crisp and pointed than the originals, but nice anyway.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb886FqdbvzngdNOXVW86UP7LpYuaM6umcg8IhM4gxWlcIcnj2IYTe8Ykozga-wCv_dDFKCWtFtdXbdVVs6-hmGSVOV2EEcG0GC9kvV7JLRTEzVSs4mm59R1cFMLUrC-nFuU54cN-euAk/s1600/Crocheted+star.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb886FqdbvzngdNOXVW86UP7LpYuaM6umcg8IhM4gxWlcIcnj2IYTe8Ykozga-wCv_dDFKCWtFtdXbdVVs6-hmGSVOV2EEcG0GC9kvV7JLRTEzVSs4mm59R1cFMLUrC-nFuU54cN-euAk/s320/Crocheted+star.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Once they were done I thought they needed an
extra little something. I once got three small bags of buttons, in green, red
and blue respectively. It wasn’t the best deal of my life, as it turned out
that rather few of the buttons actually matched. For this project they would
work well though, so I picked out every red button of the size that I wanted,
and stitched one in the centre of each star. I made a hanger from the twine, and
the ornaments were ready to be hung.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin37NvDH3UTrYON9ajJ25sistFYSsEoGKuIBxQpeUFUijtHy2OKpCy4jhXJ4KpVAxp8a7RA47ldpyWj9ZwfHaIdvKIbr7A7d04VSTWkvPN1sLjpdcAu7b8nxOxHPrd2nEdMP-oERN16_A/s1600/Crocheted+stars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin37NvDH3UTrYON9ajJ25sistFYSsEoGKuIBxQpeUFUijtHy2OKpCy4jhXJ4KpVAxp8a7RA47ldpyWj9ZwfHaIdvKIbr7A7d04VSTWkvPN1sLjpdcAu7b8nxOxHPrd2nEdMP-oERN16_A/s320/Crocheted+stars.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Simple but pretty, if one is into a
Scandinavian Christmas decor, an "old fashioned" Christmas or the “rustic” Christmas (whatever that’s
supposed to be) that seem to be one of the trendy themes right now.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
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<br />
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Have you crocheted some kind of ornaments for
Christmas?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-74989458265570809572016-11-30T20:08:00.002+01:002016-11-30T20:13:05.136+01:00Jingle Bell Ornaments<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">One day when I went through my stuff I came across
a bag of tiny jingle bells that I got several years back when making a costume for
a friend (Esmeralda in Disney’s <i>The Hunchback of Notre Dam</i>e), and
thought that they’d make nice ornaments for our Christmas tree. They don’t
jingle very well, but they look pretty, and I had lots of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmETYmaaEBUN_p3mbTcErhw9hatbTUjr3TrBCOgRRltB7nEaTSHVlP1emLAzrV5a8kdqOIyv3p0NRkDVXHByal5362fgMM-8oZ5HnsHMKghfco-q-tRbzN_9GjQVc9BrNcvl5t4LAjvt0/s1600/Jingle+Bells+Ornament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmETYmaaEBUN_p3mbTcErhw9hatbTUjr3TrBCOgRRltB7nEaTSHVlP1emLAzrV5a8kdqOIyv3p0NRkDVXHByal5362fgMM-8oZ5HnsHMKghfco-q-tRbzN_9GjQVc9BrNcvl5t4LAjvt0/s320/Jingle+Bells+Ornament.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">As they are so small (each bell 11 millimetres in diameter), I stringed four of them
on a piece of hemp twine, grouped them together tightly and made a knot to
keep them in place. I tied the ends of the twine together, then bound a little satin ribbon bow around the top, secured with a few stitches to prevent little
fingers from undoing it. In the end, I got eleven little ornaments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRqrFH8-jCxpun6nPUldjBNUQTWDf0C4-rGHYNBNGk4ftS_uAB7T2HOhpJnsH4kNG1PgkKB6fSaifoQCzvgEaQMSCy1mN6lyNoVtIs1qvrZ_9xPhRkbjjbC9usdsRQDSPBiRQrlfXaRM/s1600/Jingle+Bells+Ornament+WIP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRqrFH8-jCxpun6nPUldjBNUQTWDf0C4-rGHYNBNGk4ftS_uAB7T2HOhpJnsH4kNG1PgkKB6fSaifoQCzvgEaQMSCy1mN6lyNoVtIs1qvrZ_9xPhRkbjjbC9usdsRQDSPBiRQrlfXaRM/s320/Jingle+Bells+Ornament+WIP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">They don’t make much of a statement, but not
every ornament has to be big or flashy. We have rather a small tree anyway, so it doesn't look ridiculous. I really like how they came out, even
if they are very small.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%;">Do you use jingle bells to decorate for the holidays?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-63751188979015666662016-11-27T21:18:00.000+01:002016-11-27T21:18:18.117+01:00First Sunday of Advent<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I love this time of year! As I live in Sweden
where many people get uncomfortable when one talks about religion, I don’t
often mention it, but I am a practicing Christian (Latter Day Saint/Mormon to
be exact), and Advent is filled with the hymns I love the best. Music speaks to
my heart in a way nothing else does, it allows me to express the feelings I
find it difficult to put words to, and the centuries old hymns reminds me not
only of Christ and His role in my life, but also of my ancestors that might have
sung them during cold December Sundays, wearing layers of clothes made from wool
and sheepskin to keep the cold of the unheated, white limed little churches at
bay. All the fairy lights, illuminated stars and candles that quite literally
brings light to the dark of the Northern winter makes me happy. For me, it really
is the most wonderful time of the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20JYZ22ClDX6-cVexFQCCU4P2VDDGpvA67pSkPxvQF7Mpk3f0ZodyAB3iHLF9BZgsEgt9wDxZJSAiiDLNHPgJb9xJgpISi38BJgDrBFG1cjqSFuVUhpdCwDHTaLICblzdB7WGe2RmJSc/s1600/Advent+candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh20JYZ22ClDX6-cVexFQCCU4P2VDDGpvA67pSkPxvQF7Mpk3f0ZodyAB3iHLF9BZgsEgt9wDxZJSAiiDLNHPgJb9xJgpISi38BJgDrBFG1cjqSFuVUhpdCwDHTaLICblzdB7WGe2RmJSc/s320/Advent+candle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In Sweden many, many people, believing
Christians or not, have Advent candlesticks at home. Traditionally, the four
candles are set in a line on a special candlestick, but nowadays many
variations exist. After trying out one of these modern ways, I have returned to
tradition, and I like it better. This year my candlestick is decorated with a
brocade ribbon, a plain satin ribbon, both from my stash, and a couple of twigs
of boxwood held in place with a hemp string. Earlier this evening I lit the
first candle as the children were eating porridge. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mQM6k7VXy7lgweLuw-dn1m5DwCxVMNZ2zPzRNPGlMvyVnCE2j2CdXKu8J1jtdPXw70dZ5tiX6yBR4eM2RlPiRgCQ2s_eFKrdrG1qNUoMbF9V8c8Bw5dHKMa0CPpGjKDg74WW-Gjyzi0/s1600/Candlestick+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7mQM6k7VXy7lgweLuw-dn1m5DwCxVMNZ2zPzRNPGlMvyVnCE2j2CdXKu8J1jtdPXw70dZ5tiX6yBR4eM2RlPiRgCQ2s_eFKrdrG1qNUoMbF9V8c8Bw5dHKMa0CPpGjKDg74WW-Gjyzi0/s320/Candlestick+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sometime around the first Sunday of Advent is
the time when most Swedes start to put up their holiday decorations. Earlier
this week I decorated two of the kitchen windows with greenery, fairy lights
and red bows. The greenery is artificial wine vines that we got to decorate for
our wedding reception, but with the lights (also from our wedding) and the red
bows, it looks Christmas-y enough. When Eldest saw what I’d done he said “How
pretty! I’m so proud of you, Mummy!” Children are often good for one’s self-confidence. Although the lights don't go all the way down, it's not as noticeable in real life as in a photo, and it does look rather cosy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMBoXPba5NclgvdAASt-84F62SgyEaDttx2ZUM1B_rsAndOCSwL-IDN2GorPStKLqJzfrHVcP4SaDn-joVXLHG3W4d0zuhXnd9TA3Nx4RI4RHMnBa459gIC-crdL-ito84g2wMl6FTN0/s1600/Windows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMBoXPba5NclgvdAASt-84F62SgyEaDttx2ZUM1B_rsAndOCSwL-IDN2GorPStKLqJzfrHVcP4SaDn-joVXLHG3W4d0zuhXnd9TA3Nx4RI4RHMnBa459gIC-crdL-ito84g2wMl6FTN0/s320/Windows.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">How do you prepare for Christmas? Any
traditions from your country or family you’d like to share?</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-1229509640412854882016-11-21T08:13:00.000+01:002016-11-21T08:13:27.898+01:00A Paper Chain<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">A while back I tried making a classical paper
chain, but unlike the heavy, clumsy ones we made in school, I wanted a small, dainty
one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I used 12” x 12” two-sided scrapbooking paper
that I had in my stash. One sheet of paper made a 57 link chain that is approximately
59” (150 cm) long. I made two, and have not yet decided if I want to join them
or not. The fact that my paper had a gingham print on one side made it easy to cut without much measuring and with no drawing at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAagzryM6NjRO21cayp1lFbPf3-FbOWeTFw7zg4B2M9yrXfP9UIQKXnQOZKNpJq3X-3ojPhyphenhyphenhDx_Pn7wRnXAra549vQ18hDb9Xc-BNw5QsB86SWwXkPSLviZsDf7IfpAvTn-Lx4_3Po4/s1600/Paper+Chain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsAagzryM6NjRO21cayp1lFbPf3-FbOWeTFw7zg4B2M9yrXfP9UIQKXnQOZKNpJq3X-3ojPhyphenhyphenhDx_Pn7wRnXAra549vQ18hDb9Xc-BNw5QsB86SWwXkPSLviZsDf7IfpAvTn-Lx4_3Po4/s320/Paper+Chain.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Making a paper chain is really simple, but I took
a step-by-step picture anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cut your paper into strips;
mine were 5/8” (Ca 1,5 cm) wide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Cut the strips into
shorter lengths; I cut every strip in three, making 5/8” x 4” (about 1,5x10 cm) strips.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Run every strip through
your fingers a few times, carefully making them curl so they won’t chink later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Glue the chain together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIBB1lydzQx1FytsC1zPIG1arsiVnt5AsC5RRK4Bhn6ecC9wzhMF3QvZhi3VwAQZNUbC_MEidtlcxK9_jmaJkM-UXkT_5IDWxOTJNkpCRZOgkv1Z2z6yGY9wpwOVh_YEogYsTBokAYOc/s1600/Paper+Chain+WIP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIBB1lydzQx1FytsC1zPIG1arsiVnt5AsC5RRK4Bhn6ecC9wzhMF3QvZhi3VwAQZNUbC_MEidtlcxK9_jmaJkM-UXkT_5IDWxOTJNkpCRZOgkv1Z2z6yGY9wpwOVh_YEogYsTBokAYOc/s320/Paper+Chain+WIP.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If you want, you can leave a strip or two, in
case your chain gets broken and needs repairing – a definite possibility if you
have pets or small children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 125%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Do you decorate with paper chains? Please tell how, or share
a link!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2110986536825447894.post-83501341449084832372016-11-19T15:18:00.005+01:002016-11-19T15:40:01.932+01:00A Door Wreath for AdventNext weekend marks the beginning of Advent, and I'm looking forward to start putting up my Advent/Christmas decorations. I have been listening to Christmas music for more than a month already, and been making several types of ornaments that I plan to share, but let's start with a welcoming door wreath that I made today.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3iY3aH29xU8petXzMwhClSD7JHh0Izj6z3BSoBOc1s1izBuBCuadH6ZdEWlIggbKiQVtzCLA8m4uGJCIYnJqhj3GGvlBCsPr_rUTq7KIDaQd3gcX4OgYk_yrUUtQUXetjWVb4-_K5O4/s1600/Wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii3iY3aH29xU8petXzMwhClSD7JHh0Izj6z3BSoBOc1s1izBuBCuadH6ZdEWlIggbKiQVtzCLA8m4uGJCIYnJqhj3GGvlBCsPr_rUTq7KIDaQd3gcX4OgYk_yrUUtQUXetjWVb4-_K5O4/s320/Wreath.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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I made the base from fresh birch branches that I twisted into a circle. Round it I attached twigs of northern white-cedar (not a native plant to Europe, but not unusual in gardens and parks), spruce and ivy, and decorated it with spruce cones. I picked everything from what was once gardens in our neighbourhood, but have stood abandoned for years. To keep everything together I used string, as it will allow me to take it apart after the holidays, and put the plant materials back into nature.<br />
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As a finishing touch I looked through my stash and found a strip of cotton fabric, in a shade of red too bright for me to be likely to use it indoors, which I wound round the wreath.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGrVq-B0TGpJynRluoz0XhjAb7Fa-vktTaKlbzIDQmghwBsYPWG82OK5LCdRIAX1_HAcI79MnxbfIR01_35xlQ4zaoDT0LDJTDS_T9ObaJUK5VSMglKxEqaprR9kJSq9vscQZKjcy1_0/s1600/wreath+and+lantern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGrVq-B0TGpJynRluoz0XhjAb7Fa-vktTaKlbzIDQmghwBsYPWG82OK5LCdRIAX1_HAcI79MnxbfIR01_35xlQ4zaoDT0LDJTDS_T9ObaJUK5VSMglKxEqaprR9kJSq9vscQZKjcy1_0/s320/wreath+and+lantern.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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The result was rather cheerful and pretty, I think, and though the weather is very mild and often wet right now, it did raise my Christmas spirit both to make it and to see it on my door.<br /><br />Do you make your own wreath (or other door decoration) or do you buy it? What's your style?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2