Grey Linen Top

 Here it is, my grey linen top, based on One Avion Daemon's easiest shirt ever.

I added a decorative ribbon on the hem. I've had this ribbon for years and absolutely love it! I always thought I'd add it to this grey linen fabric but I didn't really know what do do. When I found that easiest shirt ever, everything became clear!

I'm so happy with how it turned out! And I can wear it in the Winter with a polo neck underneath, which is what I've been doing lately. And it's also a great fresh summer top!

What else could I wish for!

 And of course I've added my little green label! It gives that extra feeling and it makes me so happy!

I'm back with details!

It's been ages! Way over a year!

I'm not sure I'm really back, back. But today I'm here! 

I've been sewing a lot this past month, after a very long break. I'm sewing clothes just for myself and it feels great!

So here I am showing you a detail of this linen top I'm working on at the moment. I'm very happy with how my handmade bias tape turned out. At first I wanted a contrasting colour and i tried pink, then green. But I settled for a bias tape from the same fabric. Much more work, but much better result!

This is supposedly "the easiest shirt ever" and I found it here. Take a look at the whole blog one avian daemon for more simple but beautiful sewing ideas! I didn't use any knit fabric as is suggested on that blog post. I had a piece of this linen in my fabric stash and I thought it would be perfect. I do like the way it looks, but it was turning out quite boxy so I had to change the initial pattern description, by taking it in around the chest and waist. And of course the edges needed bias tape.

And this is how it's looking at the moment.

Soon it's finished and then I'll be posting some more photos!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

When life becomes so busy we have to prioritize. I have prioritized my studies and my family and, of course, my work as a teacher, which I love. Blogging has had to be put aside for ages! But as I feel the New Year will bring me more inspiration and, hopefully, better organisation, to sew and blog a bit more, I thought I should pop in to leave everyone - is there anyone still out there???? - a wish for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I just can't get enough!

After two weeks away we got home to my clematis in bloom! I didn't think it would blossom as it's always blossomed much earlier, in late June, beginning of July. It's a Ville-de-Lyon variety with a rich deep pink colour and it adds lots of colour to our balcony. The clematis loves the hot sunny balcony!

 This year I wanted to train it to climb above the balcony door which leads into the living-room. And it's worked so beautifully that when we're sitting on the sofa we can see the flowers just over us! And It makes me so happy I can't stop looking at it! I just can't get enough of it!

And now that I've finished my studies and got my Bachelor of Arts in Education I'll have more time for the other things I like doing. So when Autumn, and then Winter settle in here in Sweden and the balcony goes into a long hibernation I'll be going back to lots of sewing, which was what this blog was originally about!

By the way, the cucumber was delicious! Sweet and really tasty! But that's a bit difficult to show you here!

Cucumber No.1!

It's here! My first very own home-grown cucumber! Talk about local produce! Couldn't get more local than this!

We were away on holiday for a couple of weeks and this beautiful cucumber was on our balcony waiting for us! I think it needs a few more days to grow a bit more so we haven't tasted it yet. But it looks great! I'll let you know what it was like.

It's amazing how incredibly easy it is to grow your own veg in a container, on a balcony. And although my produce isn't going to feed us through the long Swedish winter, it's a delight to be able to eat your own cucumber No. 1!

On my balcony - GLAD MIDSOMMAR!

Today we spent the day with some good friends and dansed around the midsummer pole to celebrate the Swedish Midsommar. And you just can't celebrate Midsommar without the most delicious Swedish strawberries. The strawberries from our balcony!

GLAD MIDSOMMAR! Happy Midsummer to you all!

On my balcony - Cucumbers!

Growing your own vegetables is easier than you think! If I can do it, anyone can! And not only do you get to eat what you plant, but you also get to enjoy the bright luscious flowers that announce what there is to come! You don't even need a garden or an allotment! All you need is a container. Or several containers. This year I tried growing cucumbers. I grow mine on our balcony in a pot approx. 25 cm in diameter and 30 cm high. It'd probably be better if it was bigger, but they seem to be doing really well!

I always get loads of green flies, black flies, aphids... on many of the plants on the balcony, so this year I decided to follow the advice in one of my favourite planting books, "Organic Crops in Pots", by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell, which I came across last year in England. Apparently aphids don't like the smell of the orange tagetes! So this year my balcony is covered in orange tagetes, which aren't even my favourite flower, but have definitely become my favourite friend! So far, the aphid situation is totally under controll! Now I'm just waiting for the first cucumber and as at home we all like cucumber, everyone will be very happy!

So I realise that I started this blog for my sewing projects. But since I haven't had the time to do any sewing for the past year, why not show some other things that I like and are also my own produce! I hope you enjoy them as much as Ido!