Clothes for Julia and Ella

Finally I've finished something! In fact a few things, I've made no less than two dresses for Julia, a pair of pants for Julia and a pair of pants for Ella.

Why so much for Julia? Well, she's still more aware than Ella, she's actually waiting for me to make her something, she chose the materials and it was her 4th birthday last monday.

I didn't finish in time for her birthday, so instead of the clothes I sent her a head-band in the same material as one of the dresses (the pink dress with hearts) and two hair-clips (one pink and one purple -"eg liker rosa og lila" "I like purple and pink" as she has informed me many times), all put in a cute box from Japan accompanied with a cute card from France (I often buy cards when I travel, and it's always sooo hard to part with them, but at least a little less so when I sent it to her).

It's fun to have nieces!

The blue dress is made with a combination of two patterns (Dress with quilted bodice & Dress with ruffle trim) in the book Carefree Clothes for Girls. The patterns are both avaliable for free online here.

I made a prototype that I brought with me to Bergen when I visited my brother with family in februari and Julia chose the buttons and flower herself at Stoff & Stil (she had wished for something with an embroidered flower on it since I explained how you use embroidery-yarn at christmas... that you for example can make a flower on a shirt with it... and she said "ooooh"and later "I would like a little flower, here" to a perplexed grandmother...). The lace is a vintage lace that I bought at Old Touch in Stockholm, a treasuregrove for all those who like old things. It's like a time-machine, in two ways, both in that everything is old there and that every time I walk in there I loose an hour or two, but it's worth it.


The buttons are pink and heart shaped. I chose green thread to sew them on, to match the flower in front (and because I didn't have any pink button-thread).

The lace is hand sewn, I did it during our 11 hour drive to Kittelfjäll in Lapland at easter. I would never have finished it without that long car-drive...

 The pants are both made in pink/red striped velour jersey. It's super soft and nice to touch, I do hope they fit them both. I made the patterns by copying their pants, but I think they've probably both grown a bit since then, I do hope I added enough to the pattern..!

The dress is actually kind of a comission. Julia spotted the material from across the store, and asked for a dress in it. I had brough a few naniIRO clothing-patterns with me and she chose one of them. I've changed it a bit, I didn't make a pocket (well, I did, but it didn't look nice since I'm not skilled enough at sewing tiny little things so I removed it) and I added elasitc around the waist to give it some shape, since it turned out to be very wide, too wide I think.

I can't find the exact pattern online now, but there are loooads of cute patterns for childrenswear for free at the naniIRO-website right here. There are many of them sorted under each year (2003-2010) and although they are in Japanese they are so graphic (thank you all old manga and wood-print-artists!) and simple that you don't need to be able to read a word to use them. I recommend them! There are also a few nice ones at Polkadots (click on the squares at the bottom of the page and you're redirected to the patterns).

Yesterday - shiawase - (and that means happy heart in Japanese, I LOVE that expression) I went to my favourite perfume-company's shop and got samples of two perfumes. Gypsie Water and Pulp. The first one is my very favourite and hadn't I spent a fortune on new alpine skis (I LOVE them too) I would have bought it by now, especially since I've felt a bit tired of my old favourite (Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb) lately. But I don't deserve a new perfume on top of the skis, so I'll have to wait a little.

See how pretty packaged they are... a friend of mine was involved in the graphic design (actually, he is one of the friends who runs the club I made leopard-dresses for), not sure how much but it was one of his first appointments.

Whenever I need artificial happiness I put some on, it works.

Being a scentaholic the best kick is a nice smell, come to think of which: soon the balsamic poplars will wake up from their winter rest and spread their loveliness along my way to work...

Sorry about the long absence, like I mentioned I went to the Swedish mountains for easter. Kittelfjäll to be precise, far far north of where I live.

It was lovely. Cloudy the first two days, but then we got bright blue skies and some great skiing. My new skis (Dynstar Legend Sultan 80) are fantastic and I've already made plans for one more ski-trip this year (seriously, I'm addicted!). Only a couple of days, but still, wonderful. And I will be able to combine it with spending time with my parents, they live only an hour away from Åre, the biggest ski-resort in Sweden, so my brother and I've decided to spend the last weekend of april there, be social and ski (he bought new skis too).

Ah, there are too many nice things to do in life and too little time, isn't it!