summer's only one

Presenting summer's only creation...

This one went pretty well and fast, so I set my mind on making more of these to brighten up working days, but my love for the sea is stronger. So weekends were spent on the beach. Did right huh?

What I like about this dress is the lining. 

It is sewed to the hem, so no lining moving up when walking or 

showing up when sitting.. hip hip hurrah!

As for the pockets, I abandoned soon enoough the idea 

of making some secret ones, too much work.

So I took the shortcut.

Well, they serve their purpose alright :o)

Although the fabric is pretty stiff (woven and starched, 

bought at a store with fabrics for furnishing, tents etc),

I wore it all summer long without sweating.

Of course you can put the blame on the weather: 

the summer breeze was very very strong in some parts of the aegean sea...

in Serifos

Breeze or not I had a great time with darling big sister,
met old friends, saw new places...
looking forward to next year!

summer sun

A good friend has left town, and to be exact, has left the country.

New York there she comes!

We will miss her, but it is for the best.

Wishing her all the luck and happiness in the world!

And as the hot greek summer sun should never be missed,

sewing box made this for her with all it's love.

a happy summer to the rest of us!

winter's last one

Summer heat inevitably came into town and
I still haven't presented you my last winter/ spring project:

A simpe blouse made to give colour to everyday life (aka working days).

And of course the word colour is strictly metaphorical,
is this beige-mauve really a colour??

For the oberservative ones:
yes, at last I have a real hanger on my wall for the photoshoots!!
No more searching the ground for the dropped nails...
The wall is of cement and it was impossible to hammer a nail all way through,
but with a drill at hand everything is possible!

And I am really happy to rediscover this bracelet from my childhood:

I think for those born in the 70s-80s it is a must.
Spotting something greenish inside the holes of the chain,
and after some days of wondering...,
I remembered how I loved pressing that chain onto play clay
to make various designs...aaahh...
I was a sweet quiet child indeed.
The plaster trapped into the holes is now petrified of course.
I don't think I will ever endeavour to remove it:
firstly, too much work
secondly, the traces of the past are ment to be kept!

In between, the first summer dress, hopefully the first of many to come,
is ready and already hangs in the closet, but you'll have to wait.
One thing at a time :o))

the reason why

The reason why I have been away so long is my new identity: 

I am a student again! Or at least I try to consider myself as one. 

I like the idea of learning new things. 

When I am in class or when I study at home, 

I often feel my head getting numb. 

My optimistic version is: 

this is because it has been put to action again and

it swallows up from knowledge. 

The pessimistic one says that I am too old for all this,

there is no more space for new information. 

Hence the brain complains and tells me to stop all this madness. 

Part of all this is true. 

The only thing for sure is that when you have a full-time job, 

it isn't that easy in your rare free time to join classes and do homework.

And all this just for fun.

But it is fun actually.

Following my instinct I was all my life, so it will be till the end.
As long as it is fun, I will continue. And when my friends start to complain
for giving up on them or when my strength fails me, I guess I will stop.

Thankfully my sewing machine has no voice and she can't complain, 

for she is abandoned as well.

Some glimpse of my working space:
all these boxes are full of textiles ready to be sewn.
Let's see how long they can wait :o)

Most of them have travelled all the way from Spain:
a big thanks to Asterina and her car who took us to the airport back then..

And getting back to our main point,
what I most enjoy when going to class is the ride.
The Faculty is located in the western suburbs of Athens.
It is a part of Athens that I am especially fond of:

a. because of its industrial character, who has maintained it's originality
and has resisted the massive construction noticed in the rest of the city.


b. because of it's topography.
 A big highway is the main access road to this part of the city and
from here you get to appreciate at once all the
mountainous volumes that surround Athens.


c. because here, on this highway that passes by Kifissos river,
my first memories in life were made.
In the whereabouts used to live my grandmother and it is where my father grew up.
So endless tales have I been told about this neighbourhood,
endless times have I passed by this river.
Although the scenery has changed a lot since then,
small parts of the past have been left untouched.
Everytime that I go to class, is like a travel back in time.

The building of the Univercity as such has nothing in special,
it could be a lot better with a little bit of care and maintenance
(wishful thinking). But it has character, I would say.
And of course the views to enjoy even from within the building when in class,
rest your mind and soul.

For those who ask, we get to do/ learn lots of interesting stuff.
First of all, we learn about fibres, natural or man-made.
Our favorite one for this semester is cotton

and we study the whole procedure of production from fibre to yarn.

The next best thing is textile colouring.
It is chemistry mostly, but we get to do experiments.
We wear our white robe and experiment with textiles and colour liquids, super!
Τhanx to the people I have teamed up, it is so much fun!

People also ask me about my classmates...
and I answer they are a lot younger than me of course!
But talkative, gay and laughing all of them and time passes by very pleasantly,
the stress from work is forgotten in a moment!

Can't wait about upcoming semester:
we will learn all about woven fabrics and learn how to use the loom (!)
Unfortunately not this beauty as it is out of work..

Well, that's all there is.
Promise to be back soon with my latest sewing project (which is old enough).

    

wedding series #4: last chapter

With sadness I announce the end of the 2012's wedding series.

No such events are scheduled for year 2013.
So far that is, let's see if there will be any surprises ;o)

So..
Rena&Giorgos got married! 

This wedding invitation came quite unexpectedly.

Rena is a friend from the university, who I hadn't seen in years.
Just before her wedding we met casually through a mutual friend and...
ta taaa, she invited me to her wedding!

I was thrilled, because to be present at her most glorious joy
was more than I could ask. She is such a joyfull and
down-to-earth person and I am really keen on her.

Luckilly I was halfway prepared, I was just finishing this skirt...

front

back

Although the skirt can be worn on each side,
the zipper is invisible and sewn on the side,
I prefer to wear the bow on the back.
After all this detail was the starting point of this creation..

the bow

And coming to think of it right now, it is funny.
My nickname within the family as a kid was "bow",
in greek φιόγκος.
Being tempted to tease on my big sister I would say it is,
because I was the youngest and cutest :o)
The truth is that nobody knows why, except my mom of course.

So getting back to where we were,
the perfect occasion to make the test drive was found!

The party was held at a beautiful winery, modern construction as you will see.
Old friends from the university: we all met around the round table...

Cute touch was this detail: the wishing table!

All handmade from Craft Box:
freshly baked cookies ready to be eaten and
autumn leaves to write your wishes for the newlyweds!
So, wishes were written

and hung on the tree.

Waited for the newlyweds,


who arrived in time and

didn't leave us from their sight ;o)

Wishing them great happiness!

cars here, there and everywhere

Presenting mm's shirt full of cars.

It isn't black, like Juanes claims in his song,

nor light blue like Dalaras does.
[And speaking of shirts couldn't miss this classic by Kazantzidis.]

Well, it is light blue to be exact,
only covered with thousand little colourful cars.

I found the fabric in Ribes y Casals,
in the department with baby and infant textiles.
R&B was and is one my favourite spots in Madrid..

As soon as I saw the fabric, I knew who would love it. And I was right.
Turned into a shirt for mm it was.

Like true paparazzi she resisted me making photos of her at that time.
The shirt dates a couple of years ago, when I was living in Madrid. 

But the right time has come and she has indulged me.

It must be the new haircut ;o)

wedding series #3

The wedding series posts must continue,
and it is ana'n'antonio's turn.

Their wedding was the high-expected event of the year.
We were given notice a year in advance
(people from different ends of the world were coming),
so I had time to think well of what to wear.
Wanted to make a new dress of course, but, alas,
the mediterranean spirit is too strong.
Months of brainstorming and no decision was never made.
Reaching two weeks before departure I just had to invent something,
plus to find the superduper wedding gift,
mission impossible for indicisive persons like me..
But under pressure everything goes swell in the end,
the gift was found, plus there was a last-minute surprise made from my mom.
(she is even worse than me in planning things,
it runs in the family I would say..!)

 and the dress..oh my the dress.
The fabric I had chosen had an original design and,
making things simple, I decided that no elaborated pattern would do.

step 1: gathered all the width of the fabric in pliegues to fit the chest.

front 

back

step 2: made a removable belt to mark the waist.

step 3: added a touch in the back to give it character.

As simple as that.

With Antonio and Ana we go a long way back.
We met in Vienna as Erasmus students.

With Karinne together, all four of us aka AAAK, had lots of fun...

...and action!

We later met in Seville and shared flat..

It is to them that I owe my lovely sewing box!

 K didn't follow the team to Seville, but she came to visit.

It took a lot of persuasion from our part as she is hard to get (busy woman),
but love wins in the end!

So when the breaking news of their wedding arrived, I was thrilled:
we would reunite after so many years!
And of course going back to Seville meeting old friends
is only an adventurous pleasure.

Antonio was so elegant in his suit.

All of them were that is.

Anita in her wedding dress, she was smashing,
it fitted her style and form perfectly I would say.

Seville, even in September, is incredibly hot.
Thankfully our hosts thought of that and gave us sun umbrellas, japanese style.

madrid's notorious team

Here we are intenting a quick photoshoot on our way to the buses
that would get us to the party...

oops... 

...but paparazzi photos are always the best.

It is an art that mm knows well.

The party was held in an historic urbanisation of the 60's,
it is where ana's grandparents live.


The place was ever so beautiful:
green*green grass all around an ever so blue*blue pool.

Saved from sunburning we were by two friends of AA,
who constructed this singing-with-the-wind white sky..


So, walking on the grass around the pool we had time to chat with friends..

karinette and me

..and taste all the goodies that were dancing around!

After 4 hours of doing that, we sat by the table to have a 3 course meal (!)

The food was sooo good and I ate everything up to the last bite.

Only natural it was to end up like this!

an oh-my-god-I-will-explode expression

Removing the belt was a lot of help and standing up was possible again.

Paparazzi mm hits again!

 

Anita, spontaneous as she is, 

improvised a parade in order to animate the guests

And animated we were!

Bottom line: everything was great and we had so much fun!

The day after: bidding our farewell to Seville and it's locals,

drinking coctails opposite the cathedral and having fun with old friends,

what more could one ask?!

Let's just hope there will be another excuse soon for reunion and parties ;o))