Monday Moodboard

Hi everyone!

The four weeks before Christmas, which we celebrate on the 24th December here in Germany, is called "Adventszeit" - a time of peaceful contemplation, in which one reflects on the essentials before Christmas, away from the stress of everyday life. Each Sunday we light another candle on the Advent wreath - or in my case, a modern DIY version - gather family members if you're lucky enough to have them close by, and listen to Christmas songs, while eating homebaked cookies. This season is bittersweet for me, as my dear mother passed shortly before Christmas ten years ago. (I can't believe it's been this long!) So, while I like to keep up the traditions she passed down to me, everything is a lot more subdued ever since. I tried to convey this feeling in my mood board today. I hope you like it!

For more info on each featured shop click on the links below.

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Love, joy and peace to all 💖

Monday Moodboard

Hello and happy Monday! After a full week with subzero temperatures and me once again wearing fingerless gloves while typing, the temperatures are slowly inching upwards, thank goodness. It was so cold that even the birds had ceased their early morning chatter. Speaking of birds - please put out some seeds, pieces of fruit or raisins for them if you can, as they have a difficult time finding anything edible when everythings frozen. They will thank you with their sweet birdsong in spring :)

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Hallo zusammen! Nach einer eisigen Woche steigen die Temperaturen zum Glück in den Plusbereich! Bei der klirrende Kälte hatten auch die Vögel keine Lust auf ihr frühmorgendliches Gezwitscher. Apropos Vögel - wenn der Boden hart und alles eingefroren ist, haben sie es besonders schwer etwas Eßbares zu finden und sind für einen Futterspender, Körner und Weichfutter, z.B. Rosinen und Obststücke sehr dankbar :) 

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Wordless Wednesday

this photo was taken last week; the snow has long gone

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dieses Foto ist letzte Woche entstanden; heute liegt nichts mehr

Monday Moodboard

Well, the snow of last week has all melted - not that I'm complaining. This past week has been super busy filling orders in my fabric shoppe and working on a new sewing technique (more on that later), so unfortunately I didn't get to do my daily blog round, but I hope to catch up with everybody again soon.
Meanwhile here's my winter blue moodboard for you today!

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Der Schnee von letzter Woche ist nun endgültig geschmolzen bei den momentan milden Temperaturen. Nicht, dass ich mich beschwere. In der letzten Woche war ordentlich was los im Stofflädchen und ich habe oft bis in die späten Stunden geschnippelt und eingepackt...daher bin ich auch leider nicht zu meiner täglichen Blogrunde/zum Kommentieren gekommen - aber ich hoffe, dass ich das bald nachholen kann. In der Zwischenzeit zeige ich Euch wieder meine MontagsCollage mit dem Thema "Winter Blue"!

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Home for the holidays

I'm currently on vacation, so this is a scheduled post. I don't have internet access except if I find an internet cafe somewhere, so I may not be able to respond to your comments / Ich bin im Urlaub und habe leider kein Zugriff auf das Internet, es sei denn ich finde ein Internetcafé; dieser Blogeintrag ist voreingestellt.

Dear blogfriends, dear readers old and new...

wishing you a joyous holiday season ~ may the peace and joy of the holiday be with you throughout the coming year! Merry Christmas and take care always,

Liebe Blogfreunde, liebe LererInnen alt und neu...

ich wünsche euch allen ein wunderschönes Fest, angenehme Stunden in fröhlicher Runde, aber auch Ruhe und Zeit zum Entspannen...weihnachtliche Grüße,

Things that warm the heart...and neck ;-)

For days it's been cold and dark with rainstorms. My flight leaves tonight and I hope it isn't delayed because of the weather.
Seit Tagen ist es kalt und dunkel. Die letzen zwei Tage hatten wir Regenstürme. Hoffentlich beeinträchtigt das meinen Flug heute abend nicht!

I received the most gorgeous, incredibly soft, comfy and light-weight micro fleece the other day. The print is called "church flowers in pink" and it is from popular designer Heather Bailey's nostalgic Nicey Jane collection! Heather only recently gave birth to her third child, so instead of designing a new collection she launched a few prints in anti-pilling fleece quality to make up for it. Good job she did too! The fleece just called out to me to make a cowl...

designer fleece cowl / designer fleece loopschal

Ich habe endlich den langersehnten Micro Fleece aus der nostalgischen Nicey Jane Kollektion von der beliebten US Designerin Heather Bailey erhalten! Der ist super-kuschelig, leicht, anti-pilling ausgerüstet und einfach nur traumhaft schön. Premium Qualität eben. Davon musste ich mir schnell für die Reise einen Loop nähen...
Demnächst gibt es davon auch Kuschelhosen für meinen Etsy shop.

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And these are the things that warm my heart on cold winter days...hot cocoa, books, my cat Sammy, handmade cuteness :)
Wenn's draußen eklig kalt ist, dann bleib ich drinnen...mit gutem Buch, heißer Schokolade, Sammy und erfreue mich an süßen handgemachten Dingen :)

1. via  2. fascinating book I'm reading / faszinierendes Buch, welches ich gerade lese 3. Sammy 4. knitted heart brooch / gestrickte Herzbrosche

Off to pack the last things now! Take care and see you back after Christmas!
So, nun muß ich die letzten Dinge in den Koffer packen. Komme nach Weihnachten zurück!

Take care!
Macht's gut!

Snow!!!

Snowstorms everywhere.
We've never had this much snow in our area before. It's even worse in the south-west and east. Hundreds of accidents have been reported so far and people are stranded at train stations and airports. Even Frankfurt Int'l Airport had to close for a day...and I'm desperately waiting for a parcel of fabrics from overseas. Well, all I can do is wait and hope it isn't damaged during transport. I for one am really glad I got all my gifts and cards sent out well ahead of time.

Here is the wreath I made. I've kept it very simple with just a few shiny and matte baubles, a delicate bead and gold star wire garland, a few dried berries and festive ribbon. I keep the fir branches looking and smelling fresh by spraying with mineral water every two days or so. You may have noticed that all four candles have been lit already, even though it isn't Christmas yet  (we celebrate on the 24th). Well, that's just me - I like them burning down all at the same time. Everyone else of course lights them one by one every consecutive Advent Sunday until Christmas!

Oh, and I've been featured on Showcase Sisters! Thank you Cheryl and Sheila. Do check out their blog chock-full of handy tips, decorating ideas, giveaways and reviews.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you're all keeping warm, unless of course you live in a sunny place: in that case, send over some sunshine pleeeeeaase!

Brrr...frosty

The first layer of snow fell during the night. Usually I wake with the birds, but it was so silent this morning that I overslept. Currently it's a frosty -4°C (about 20°F). I was planning to visit our local Christmas Market later today to soak in a bit of Christmassy cheer. Okay, there are only a handful of huts, but I might as well make the most of what we've got here since I'm not sure if I'll  be able to visit the Xmas market in the big city this year.
Do you know what I really dislike about this season? All those layers of clothes and the amount of time it takes to put them on!

Holiday Decorations

When I got up this morning I was greeted by this eerie grey fog outside our window and I thought to myself: "nope, I am definitely NOT a winter person". Is it any wonder then, that my bag creations tend to be bright and colourful? I need colour in my life. Orange cheers me up and red makes me smile. So when the days get darker outside, our home gets more colourful inside! I tend to go for traditional colours in my holiday decorations; red, green, a bit of gold. These just work best with our interior, which is kept in neutrals. Decorations need not be elaborate and I make most of them myself. I will be making a Christmas wreath and a few other decorations in the coming weeks. Be sure to check back for pics - and you're welcome to copy!  

Winterblue(s)

The snow's gone but that doesn't mean the weather has improved! More rain is forecast for this weekend, so this is the best shot I could get in the sliver of light that was available to me this morning.

This blue leafy print is simply gorgeous. I had to have it. The  fabric had been lying around for a couple of months, until I decided to use it for this satchel type shoulder bag I designed. I love the abstract placement of the leaves and the soft hues of blue and beige offset with black on a cream background. The whole bag is made from decorator weight fabric. There are two fully lined pockets underneath the flap and one mobile phone pocket at the side, which closes with velcro. It's fully lined with one interior zip pocket. The bag closes with a snap bolt. It's very roomy and perfect as an everyday bag!

This is a one-off, but I will be making similar bags for my website including a range for men. Obviously these will be larger and made from solids in black, khaki and dark grey with contrasting linings featuring block stripes, checks and manly motifs ;-) and lots of clever interior pockets, pen holders etc. I have recruited my husband to be my trusty advisor and bag model :)

I have two new bag styles in the works and hope I'll finish them by next week. Wishing everyone a fabulous weekend! Stay warm if you're in a cold region, and send me some sunshine if you're in the tropics :)

Bed Slippers

In wintertime I have two ice-popsicles where my feet should be...much to my hubby's annoyance at bedtime ☺ So I made myself a pair of bed slippers. I have used a stripey pink cotton and embroidered two little flowers on top. Best of all, they are lined with Nepalese felted wool to keep my feet warm and cosy. I put them on the heater to warm up half an hour before bedtime. I really should have made them a lot sooner! No more filling up the hot water bottle, which always ends up on the floor anyway!