Sonntag, 3. November 2013

Things I loved in October


Here we go:
1) Our 1982 LARP
It went well, everybody had fun, it was totally worth the effort. What more could I ask for?
2) Everything made from apples
I love cooked apples in every form as baked apples, apple pie, apple sauce, in pancakes and everywhere else. But they are even better when eaten in the appropriate season...
3) Hot desserts
There is nothing better than finishing a good meal with a cooked desert served warm. In October, I actually took some time to make some of my favourite desserts: Upside down Gingerbread (more like a siruppy cake baked with canned pears), White Chocolate and Orange Bread and Butter Pudding, and Apple Crumble with Ice Cream.
4) Watching "American Horror Story"
Yes, it's silly and campy and has some gaping holes in its narrative logic - but it's just so much fun!
5) The Kryptonite Radio Theater
We saw them perform "The Call of Cthulhu" and it was the funniest evening I've had in a long time.
6) Knitting with 6-ply yarn
It's so unbelievably fast.
7) Watching Blackfish
Although I am by no means an animal rights activist, I am always interested in how people perceive and treat animals because it tells you so much about how people see themselves. And this documentary is so insightful in the ways people interact with orcas. Also, it's really suspenseful and almost like a psychological thriller. And i's a good opportunity to eat "Goldfischli"...

Dienstag, 22. Oktober 2013

Fox Pillow

After all the work with the yarn patchwork, I wanted to do something easy and fast. Luckily I found this tutorial for cute and simple fox pillows. It took me only two hours to make this and it was real fun. (Ok, I guess if you don't know that it is supposed to be a fox it might not be your first interpretation, but I like it anyway.)
 I'm already planning some more foxes, for example a polar fox mode from wool fabric left from a LARP cloak.

Next weekend I am hosting my first LARP since about seven years, so from Friday I will be off to the 1980s... I hope it will be good...

Donnerstag, 17. Oktober 2013

Spectular/Unspectacular Pillowcase

A few weeks ago I wrote that I was busy with a project that was much more work that I had expected.
I fact, it was an attempt to use up all the little scraps of the different Zauberball yarns I had lying around. I got the brilliant idea to make little squares from them, each about 10x10 cm and to sew them together to create a patchwork-like effect.
What I forgot was that this means that I had to knit at least 25 squares for the front of an ordinary cushion alone and so I decided to make only one side of the pillowcase from yarn and to use some corduroy for the back. Otherwise I would have had to buy some extra yarn and moreover I discovered that I really hate to sew knitted fabric together.
Anyway, I like the result a lot and I think the colours look gorgeous on my sofa.


Some of the squares lost there shape during sewing because I had some problems with the right tension, but I think the pillow actually looks better that way. Otherwise it would have been too geometrical.

Mittwoch, 16. Oktober 2013

Fairy Lights

I haven't written for quite some time but not because there wasn't anything worth posting. I have made a number of things and taody I am fianlly motivated enough to start showing some of them.

A few weeks ago I made these fairy lights, based on a LED lights chain. I wrapped the wire in some yarn in different shades of green and brown and I made a little paper hat for every light. I really like the result, especially because it looks not only great in the dark but is also decorative during daytime.




Montag, 16. September 2013

Things I learnt this summer

I haven't posted the "Things I loved in..." list for a few months but I plan to start again soon. However, I believe I have learnt quite a lot of useful things during the summer months so I am just posting a list of them:
1) How to operate a power drill
2) How to make "Maultaschen" (small dumplings, a bit like Italian ravioli)
3) How to make lemon squares (the best cake ever)
4) 3 chords on the ukulele (I hope more will follow soon)
5) That I still like reading
6) That more expensive nail polish is sometimes really better
7) That I can still do a somersault
8) That it is fun to go to a festival in the rain
9) That I am not an awful babysitter (only a not very good one)
10) What it is like to use the Nerobergbahn
11) How to sew leggins
and hopefully some other things which I cannot remember at the moment because they have already becomeso natural to me.

Montag, 2. September 2013

Some Things About Myself

I've been tagged by the wonderful Bronwen and although this whole tag-thing is a bit weird in my opinion, her questions are really interesting and creative and therefore I a cannot help but answer them. If you are not interested just move along...

The rules of this tag are:
1) Link back to the tagger.
2) Answer their ten questions.
3) Think of ten questions yourself.
4) Link back to ten more bloggers with less than 200 followers. 
I can't think of ten more questions and ten more bloggers, so I will only use five...

But first about Bronwen's questions:

1. Do you like stargazing? If yes, what’s your favourite constellation?
I am a bit ashamed to say that I am not interested in stars whatsoever. Although I can be enthusiastic about almost everything, stars are just not my cup of tea. I can admire them as some form of nature's background decoration but that's it.

 2. What would be your house in Hogwarts? Sure, it’s a question asked hundreds of times, but I’m still curious.
I'd like to think of myself as Ravenclaw, but I suspect that I would end up in Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Especially if the Sorting Hat catches me before breakfast I'd be put into Slytherin. After some coffee I'd make a good Hufflepuff.
 
3. How came your blog name to be?
I love the word "stuff" or "Zeugs" because doing stuff can mean everything. When I started this blog I was not really sure what I would do here thus I used a more unspecific title. I used my nickname first when I joined the Natron&Soda Forum. Since this used to be a place for people from the goth community and I am not one of them, I wanted a nickname that made this clear. Otherwise I would have felt like an imposter, so I chose the most un-goth nickname I could think of.

4. When you were little, what was it that you wanted to become when you’re grown up?
Lots of things. At one point I wanted to drive a garbage truck.

 
5. “What would you be if you were an animal?” is an old question. What would you be if you were a folklore creature?
Since I am a really optimistic person, maybe a phoenix. But I am not one for great gestures (like bursting into flame and being reborn from the ashes), so maybe I would be a Wolpertinger

6. What’s you favourite time of day, and why?
For things I want to do by myself like reading, crafting or even working it's morning, mostly between 8 and 12, because then I feel like the whole day with all its great opportunities is still in front of me. For socializing I prefer evenings when I have done all my daily chores and can spend as much time as I want with my friends. 

7. Hollywood or Broadway?
Hollywood.  

8. Nearly everyone has a field they’re sort of a specialist in (silly as it may be), if only in their circle of friends. What is yours?
As an English teacher, I am considered an expert in proofreading. If my friends were interested in knitting, they would know that I would gladly answer all their questions about it, but they aren't knitting so they will never know. Also, I know a lot about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

9. Big headphones or in-ears?
Neither.  

10. Do you like rainy days?
If the overall temperature is below 20 °C, yes. I like rainy days in Autumn but I detest the hot, humid summer rains.

Ok, I guess know it's my turn.
My questions are:
1) Which historical person would you like to meet? And what would you do if you met him or her?
2) Which superpower would you like to have?
3) Would you tell people about your special power or would you keep it a secret?
4) Did you ever watch a movie or read a book which you regretted afterwards? Why?
5) If you could choose among all places in the universe, fictional as well as real, where would you like to live?

I feel a bit uncomfortable with tagging people since I am not especially active in the blogging community, therefore this selection is rather random:
I tag
Agnes
Hana and Nria
Telfe
Morgain
and that's it....

Freitag, 26. Juli 2013

How to make Sirup

And here is the recipe for the blackcurrant sirup I made on Monday. I found several totally different recipes on the internet and in the end I just improvised. So the numbers in this list are by no means definite, I guess the amount of sugar influences how long the sirup will keep but since I don't intend to store this for years it is not that important. Too much sugar, however, could turn the juice into jam instead of sirup.

I used 900 gr of blackcurrants, about 500 gr of sugar and the juice of two lemons.
First I cooked the currants in a large pot together with 200 ml of water until they were soft and mushy. Then I used the "Flotte Lotte", a useful gadget which presses the berries through a sieve in order to get the juice out, but if you don't have one you can pour the berries through a sieve lined with cloth. In the end I got about 700 ml of juice. I added the sugar, the lemon juice and 150 ml of water and cooked it for about 10 minutes without a lid.

The sirup tastes great if you dilute it with water (1 part of sirup to 4 parts of water) or you can eat it with icecream or pancakes. Have fun!

Montag, 22. Juli 2013

A Day in the Kitchen

Aren't these bottles nice?

Today I spent the entire day sorting out the kitchen cupboards and producing new stuff to put into them.The results are two bottles of blackcurrant sirup...
 ... two jars of garlic in oil...
... and seven jars of currant jam. I didn't take any pictures of them because there are already too many pictures of jam on this blog.

Sonntag, 21. Juli 2013

A Bag I Made

This is not the spectacular project I mentioned in one of my last posts, it is just something I made recently as a birthday present for my brother.
I think it's pretty good although I destroyed the first clasp by accidentally hitting it with a hammer...

Freitag, 19. Juli 2013

Fun, fun, fun!

The summer holidays have arrived. I' ve just come back from my holiday in Manchester and it was so much fun. The weather was great (although the British people are suffering from the "atrocious heatwave" - actually, we had about 26 degrees Celsius...) and I spent four days exploring, going to museums (I especially loved the Police Museum), shopping and having lots of cake.
These are some pictures of the "Northern Quartier" of Manchester.



And here you see my dinner back in my hotel room. When I travel by myself I like to save money by eating stuff from the supermarket in th evenings... (Don't worry, I didn't eat all of it. Since my room had a fridge, I could keep something for the next day.)

Mittwoch, 10. Juli 2013

Meanwhile in the real world...

Since I haven't posted anything in quite some time, just a brief summary of the things that kept me busy.

First there were many celebrations connected with school. My first class graduated from school and thus I had to attend the graduation ceremony and the Abiball, as well as having a private good bye-party with my students. All these events were great fun and I am so proud of my students!

I haven't shown any creative projects for a while and the reason is a project that has turned out much more ambitious than I thought it would be. It is a lot of work and does not look very spectacular at the same time, so I will only show pictures when it is finally finished.

I have also made some jam before the end of the strawberry season, and I started to sew some steampunk-inspired clothing.

So there are things to come, the summer holidays have started and I hope to show some pictures of my finished projects very soon.

Samstag, 1. Juni 2013

Things I loved in May

Due to all the job-related things I had to do this month, there was not much to like. (There wasn't much to dislike either, I feel like I have worked on autopilot in the last four weeks...)
Still, after much thinking I managed to put together at least a short list:
1) Strawberries
I definitely have to eat more of them...
2) The Golden Briefcase Podcast
I do not have much time to go to the cinema at the moment, but there I can at least listen to people who have.
3) New Mattresses
My old one is definitely sagging around the centre, and now I have ordered a new one. It's not here yet, but I am so looking forward to it.
4) This song by Amanda Palmer
When I feel like a lazy but still overworked idiot, I listen to this wonderful song and (most of the time) feel instantly better.
5) Frozen vegetable mixes by Frosta
I don't want to advertise, but in times like this when cooking and grocery shopping are pretty low on my list of priorities, good convenience food is my rescue. These vegetables are really good combined with pasta or rice, and making them doesn't take more time than getting a pizza. They are expensive, but the quality is good and one of the great things of my job is that I earn at least enough to buy a bit of convenience when I have much to do...

Donnerstag, 23. Mai 2013

At Least Something

I am still in the middle of Abitur madness. Next week, I will be the examiner in the oral exams for the first time. Uuh, I hope it works out well. (18 exams in three days...)

Anyway, between proofreading the tests and copying loads of task sheets and solutions, I managed to do some small things.

First I decorated my coffee to go-mugs. One contains a piece of scrapbook paper, the other a quote from Jonathan Franzen's Freedom.

Yesterday I finally finished embellishing my cupboard in my study. I bought a box with 100 Penguin covers when I was in England last year and I wanted to use them for this purpose for quite some time. My first attempt to stick them on the door was not successful however, after a few days they started to fall down. Only now I managed to get two roles of doubleface tape and made a new try. I hope it works better this time.

The empty space is for the doorknob, which I will probably fix some time next year...
Also I put some pictures on the wall in the corridor.
It is not a framecluster (after all, I am not one these hip home decoration bloggers...) but a random assortment of postcards and photos.

Mittwoch, 1. Mai 2013

Too much to do, too little to tell

It is this time of the year again... I have so much to do for school, I feel like I am paralysed. After having finally finished correcting the Abitur tests, I now have to develop the tasks for the oral exams. Plus I have to plan the next tests in my four other classes - which I will also have to correct of course -  I have to attend several meetings about grades next week, I have to prepare my lessons about "The Great Gatsby", teach 24 lessons each week, have to answer e-mails from parents who are worried about their children's grades and a million things more...
I know, teachers complain a lot and quite often on a rather high level, but at the moment it is just so annoying to work about 50 hours a week and still not to feel well-prepared.
Ok, that's the reason why I do not write much here at the moment, I simply don't do anything worth blogging about. I hope this will change soon, but at the moment my creative life is in a hiatus.

Dienstag, 23. April 2013

Things I love in April

This time the list is a bit longer but without pictures...
1) Mangos
In a month without any fresh regional fruit I love eating mangos. Yet I am looking forward to the first strawberries...
2) Starbucks Coffee-To-Go-Mugs
I don't like Starbucks and I go there only rarely, but I have to admit that their Thermo-Mugs are the best I had so far. They are really thight and easy to clean, better than the ones I had before.
3) Playing "Dishonored"
I am a casual gamer and I am the least competitive person I know. I do not want to spend hours learning how to play a game, I do not want to die all the time because I do not push the buttons at the right moment and I have no patience for complicated skills-systems. But I love playing games where I can explore something and do something spectacular at the same time. That's why I loved "Dishonored". It is not difficult, you do not have to kill your opponents (but you can if you want to) and you save an entire city. Plus it has a nice, steampunky atmosphere. I started playing during the Christmas holidays, but now I have finally finished it.
4) Sitting outside in the beergarden in the evenings...
Just what I need at the moment.
5) Finally planning a LARP again
If everything works out, I will be hosting a LARP in October. I love small invitation-only LARPs in unusual settings - ours will take place in 1982 - and since I am not a great actor I prefer organizing them.
6) Listening to PJ Harvey
I am not really up to date in my taste in music, I usually wait till a CD (yes, I still buy CDs because I am old) is reduced below 8 Euros before I buy it and thus I have only recently purchased PJ Harvey' "Let England Shake". I have loved her music since I was 15, and though it has changed tremendously, I still adore it. This is my favourite song of the album.

Mittwoch, 3. April 2013

New Edge

I like knitting socks and I like colourful yarn. Usually this is a good combination because... - yes, because I can use colourful yarn to knit socks. But sometimes there are gorgeous yarns that are unsuitable for socks. "Schoppel Zauberball" is an example for that. The yarn is really wonderful but although it has the right weight it is not really good for knitting footwear. The quality is just not sturdy enough. Thus I have used my two Zauberballs ("Wurzelsepp" and "Schokoladenseite") to knit a scarf instead. The pattern is "New Edge", which I found on Ravelry, and it is quite easy to knit.
 Below you can see the eyelet-pattern, which is one of my favourite design elements in knitting.

And you can even use it to disguise yourself...

Samstag, 30. März 2013

Things I love in March

The list is pretty short this month, but if I wait to write more, March will be over....

1) Cupcakes and Macarons




To celebrate the beginning of the Easter holidays, I spent quite some money on cake. The macarons are from "L'art sucre" in Wiesbaden, I chose violet, pistachio-rasberry, lemon-ginger and caramel with salted butter. The cupcakes are from "Dale's cakes" and the flavours are lemon-walnut, strawberry-poppy, peanutbutter and chocolate-mint. I love these cakes because they look like a children's drawing of what a cake should look like.

2) The "South Wing"
One room in our flat is called the "South Wing" because it is a multipurpose room and we did not know what else to call it. My partner's desk is in there, but it is also a room for crafting, sewing and playing board games. It is the room that got the least attention during the last year because we didn't really have the time to start decorating it, but this weekend we finally managed to transform the untidy, chaotic mess of a room into the place we always wanted it to be:

There are still some things to do but I already like it.

3) Watching Sons of Anarchy
So far, I have only seen the first five episodes but I enjoy it so much. Actually, I think this show is much more interesting than most shows I watched in the last months. The characters are not very likeable but well-developed with lots of layers, the episodes are entertaining and rather fast-paced and the show has an ambivalent attitude towards its characters’ criminal activities, which is something I really missed while watching Breaking Bad. In Breaking Bad, I always felt like I was expected to feel some form of sympathy for poor Walter, but in my opinion “I want to take care of my family” is no sufficient excuse for his behavior, especially after he is –almost – cured of his illness. That’s fine, I like to watch shows where people behave in totally inacceptable ways, after all I want to be entertained by the characters, I do not want to be friends with them. But if the show wants me to feel with a character who constantly abuses and manipulates people who do not belong to his family, I have a problem with that. All in all, Walter White is a character who has been exploited and mistreated all his life and when he gets ill and the system just does not care, he starts to exploit and mistreat people himself and is really successful. I like the show, but I miss the critical attitude towards a system that forces people to act like this.
Sons of Anarchy, on the other hand, shows the fun and the “outsider glamour” of being part of a criminal group, but it also indicates the hypocrisy and the shallow excuses these people use to justify their activities. Moreover, it is almost ironic that a show that is set in the most chauvinistic and male-centered environment imaginable has so many well-drawn female characters. There are at least three main female characters, and all of them have their own agenda and motivations apart from “Let’s see what the boys are doing and react to it.”
I hope the show continues to be that excellent.


Mittwoch, 27. März 2013

Anleitung: Kindlehülle

Ich habe diese Anleitung ausnahmsweise in Deutsch geschrieben, wenn ich Zeit habe mache ich in den nächsten Tagen noch eine englische Übersetzung.
Nach dieser Anleitung kann man eine praktische Schutzhülle für den E-Reader oder andere Geräte, z.B. Tablet-PCs oder Schiefertafeln nähen. Dieses Projekt ist auch gut für Anfänger geeignet, man kann es theoretisch auch komplett von Hand nähen. Ich habe etwa 2 Stunden dafür gebraucht, es geht aber garantiert auch schneller, da ich normalerweise sehr langsam beim Nähen und Basteln bin.
Die Größenangaben beziehen sich auf einen simplen Kindle in der Standardausführung. Um das Schnittmuster an das eigene Gerät anzupassen, messt die Breite und die Höhe aus und addiert mindestens einen Zentimeter zur Breite und zwei zur Höhe, je nachdem wie eng die Hülle sitzen soll.

Materialien:       
- Stoff für die Außenseite, mindestens 25 x 40 cm (hier geht jede Art von Material)
- Stoff für die Innenseite, mindestens 25 x 40 cm (nehmt glatten Stoff, damit der Kindle gut rutscht)
- Synthetikfilz in 4 mm Stärke, mindestens 30 x 20 cm (die Farbe ist egal, man sieht ihn später nicht)
- Gummikordel, etwa 30 cm
- 3 Knöpfe (nehmt flache Knöpfe, sonst könnte sich der "Stiel" ins Display drücken)
- Garn, Nähnadel, Schere, Papier, Schneiderkreide, Lineal und Geodreieck
(Wenn man ein Bügeleisen hat ist das gut, es geht aber auch ohne Bügeln...)

 
Als erstes machen wir einen Papierschnitt. Die Oberkante ist bei meiner Version 13,5 cm lang, die Seitenlänge ist 19 cm. An der unteren Kante werden die beiden Ecken abgerundet. (Wundert euch nicht, die Maße auf dem Foto sind anders, ich habe die Hülle erst etwas zu groß gemacht.)
Nun schneiden wir die Teile aus. Achtung: Bei Außen- und Innenstoff brauchen wir eine Nahtzugabe von einem cm, d.h. wir malen rund um den Papierschnitt die Linien in 1 cm Entfernung nochmal auf und schneiden die Teile auf dieser Linie aus, beim Filz brauchen wir keine Nahtzugabe.
Wir brauchen von jedem Stoff zwei Teile, also insgesamt sechs.

 Jetzt befestigen wir den Filz auf dem Innenstoff. Ich nähe dafür einmal rundherum, man könnte aber z.B. auch doppelseitiges Bügelflies verwenden. Hauptsache ist, dass der Filz und der Innenstoff verbunden werden.
 Beim nächsten Schritt werden die beiden Außenstoffteile und die beiden Innenstoffteile jeweils an einer Seitennacht zu einem Teil verbunden. Wir haben jetzt also insgesamt nur noch zwei Teile.
 Jetzt kommt der seltsame Teil. Ich habe ein mieses räumliches und abstraktes Vorstellungsvermögen, ich habe keinen Schimmer warum diese Art, die Hülle zusammenzunähen funktioniert, aber es klappt wenn man sich stur an diese Reihenfolge hält:
Wir legen die beiden Teile rechts auf rechts aufeinander und nähen Innen- und Außenstoff an der Oberkante zusammen. Wir haben jetzt also nur noch ein Teil.
Dann falten wir dieses Teil an der Seitenkante (an der, die wir schon vorhin zusammengenäht haben).
An der Unterkante des Innenstoffs markieren wir die "Stülpöffnung". Lasst diese lieber zu groß als zu klein, das macht das Stülpen gleich viel einfacher.
Jetzt nähen wir einmal rundherum, nur die Stülpöffnung bleibt offen.
 Jetzt wird gestülpt. Das heißt, wir ziehen alles was momentan auf der Innenseite liegt, durch die Stülpöffnung nach außen. Das erfordert etwas Kraft, da der Filz ziemlich unflexibel ist.
 Jetzt sollte eure Hülle etwa so aussehen:
Die Stülpöffnung nähen wir jetzt zu. Das geht am besten von Hand, aber keine Sorge wenn es nicht sehr ordentlich wird, diese Naht sehen wir vermutlich nie wieder. Dann wird ein letztes Mal gestülpt. Wir klappen jetzt nämlich den Außenstoff nach außen und den Innenstoff nach innen. Neht am besten ein stabiles Lineal oder ähnliches, um die Ecken richtig auszubeulen.


So, jetzt haben wir etwas, das schon ungefähr wie eine Kindlehülle aussieht, aber vermutlich ziemlich verkrumpelt ist. Darum bügeln wir das ganze jetzt und dann sieht die Hülle etwa so aus:
Jetzt brauchen wir nur noch einen Verschluss. Dafür markiert ihr zuerst auf der Rückseite, wo die Knöpfe, die die Gummikordel verdecken, sitzen sollen.
Dann macht ihr einen Knoten in ein Ende der Kordel und näht dieses Ende fest. Jetzt könnt ihr ausprobieren, wo der Verschlussknopf an der Vorderseite sitzen soll. Schneidet die Kordel entsprechend zu, macht einen Knoten und näht dieses Ende an der Rückseite fest. Die Stellen, wo ihr das Gummi festgenäht habt, könnt ihr mit den Knöpfen verdecken.
Als letztes näht ihr den Verschlussknopf an die Vorderseite.
Fertig! Ich hoffe, die Anleitung hilft euch und viel Spaß beim Selbernähen!
 


Montag, 25. März 2013

Pictures Behind Glass

A few months ago I bought a nice amulet with a tree on it. Now I have finally learned how to make my own amulets and have thus acchieved independence from the amulet-making industry....
The most difficult thing was to find out what these glass nuggets are called ("cabochon") in order to find a shop that sells them.
These two are a first experiment because I heard that some kinds of colours or inks don't work well with the glue and can get discoloured after some time. Because of that I will wait for some days before I make more of them in order to see whether there are any changes in colour.
The butterfly is a piece of scrapbook paper, the little devil - which is not as pale in reality but my camera cannot catch its true colour - is an inkjet copy from an illustration in a fairytale book. I sealed the printout from both sides with bookbinder's glue before I glued it on the cabochon, maybe this will prevent discoloration.

Mittwoch, 20. März 2013

I am guilty

Yes, I am guilty of being annoyed by "lifestyle" blogs while at the same time using them as a model for my own home decorations. I am annoyed by these seemingly "individual"/ "simple" / "laid-back" / "relaxed" /(you get what I mean so fill in your own adjective) flats and houses by hip young people in vintage clothing which (both the people and the houses) look like they live in a parallel universe full of  endless Saturday mornings, organic cupcakes, visits to the thrift store and so on. Don't get me wrong, I am sure these people are all immensely likeable and I admire the work and effort they put in their homes and I also know that nobody forces me to look at these blogs, but still...
That's why I really love this tumblr because it helps me to get rid of my annoyance but at the same time it shows me that I am guilty, too. Yes, I have penguin covers as a home decoration, an animal head hook and - if I finally finish cleaning it - antlers to put my jewelery on. And yes, sometimes I feel like a really individual and interesting person because I have such a special taste... - and at the same time I know that I am just following a trend there. Hail to hypocrisy! (And I still don't understand why it should be a good idea to use old jam glasses for drinking from them when you can get some proper juice glasses, which are much more practical because they don't have a winding on top, for less than a Euro...)

Sonntag, 17. März 2013

Fabric Market

Today the "Holland Stoffmarkt" visited Wiesbaden and I defied snow and slush to go there. Although I did not find what I wanted (linen in a specific shade of red and black corduroy), I still spent quite a lot of money:
The fabric with the flowers will be used as a curtain for my bedroom while the tartan print, which is a really soft woolen material, will be transformed into a simple skirt. I also bought three kinds of lining. In the past I did not often line the clothes I made because I was too impatient to do so, but all in all I came to the conclusion that skirts with a lining look much better.
The last fabric I bought just for fun and because I was so astonished to find a pattern that did not contain owls. Believe me, turtles are the new owls.
(I don't now what I will make of this one, probably a simple tote bag, maybe with some accents in brown fake leather...)

Donnerstag, 14. März 2013

T-Shirt Modification

A few weeks ago I bought a shirt with an awesome "Bielefeld"-print. Unfortunately, the shirt I took from the "girly-shirt" section was a man's shirt and even though I am not the skinniest person, the shirt just looked like a tent when I wore it.
Therefore I had the great opportunity to try Natron's tutorial for changing too large shirts. On the left you can see the shirt I took as a model for the modification.
The customizing worked pretty well, it took me about three hours (including a coffee and a cigarette break) and then I had a Bielefeld-shirt that fit me.
(The picture is not really good but it was already dark when I had finished.)
Since it was not really much work and I am so pleased with the result, I will start to search my wardrobe for old shirts from the time before the introduction of the girly-shirt, maybe I can resurrect some old treasures...


Mittwoch, 27. Februar 2013

Things I love in February

This time I made it to post before the end of the month...

1) My cooking plan
I have not ordered any pizza or other fast food for almost five weeks now, thanks to my great cooking plan. Every Sunday, I take a few minutes to write down what I will eat every evening for the next week and what I will take with me for lunch on Monday and Friday when I have to be at school in the afternoon. Then I write two shopping lists with all the ingredients I need during the week. On Monday and Thursday I go grocery shopping after school and get all the stuff from the list. This system has worked perfectly so far. Usually I eat fast food not because I am too lazy to cook but because I have forgotten to buy any ingedients. And now I always have what I need to cook dinner and therefore there is no need to order food anymore.
2) Listening to The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
I like T.C. Boyle's novels and short stories a lot and I am still not sure whether I think it is good that one of his novels is now one of the books that have to be read in English courses at school. Still, as a preparation for next year I listen to the audiobook and it is really entertaining and thought-provoking.

3) Our new gigantic wardrobe
It is not completely finished since they delivered not all the parts we need, therefore I won't post any pictures this week, but the wardrobe is gigantic! I will be able to store all my fabrics, crafting material, LARP equipment, the vacuum cleaner and a lot more in it and thus the rest of the flat will be much tidier.

4) Finally reading Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos
This is one of the books I have wanted to read for ages and finally I managed to start.

5) The perfume "L" by Lolita Lempicka
My mother gave me a sample of this perfume and it is the most delightful fragrance. It smells like custard!

6) Pancakes
The ideal food in this awful, bleak weather.

7) My alarm clock
I have this clock since my second semester. I bought it after I had missed a lecture for the second time because I had overslept and I picked the loudest clock available. That means this brave little chicken has woken me for 10 years now and therefore it deserves to be mentioned here.

8) The fact that spring comes closer every day...



Montag, 25. Februar 2013

Urgh

Everybody seems to be ill at the moment and I do not feel well either. Moreover, test mountain begins again, or - to be more plain - I have to correct tests. Therefore I hope the evil flu fairy won`t strike before Wednesday because I really need to prepare my students for their Abitur in two weeks and I do not want to miss any lessons with my German class. Still, I have a sore throat...
Anyway, when I am not complaining or grading tests, I take pictures and plan my next "real" blogposts so expect fireworks of fun and information within the next few days...

Sonntag, 10. Februar 2013

"Cheese"

A friend of mine does not eat sugar. That makes things complicated when I want to give him a small present because usually I bake some cookies or produce other sugar-based food when I want give something small away. In this case, I have a plan b: cheese crackers. They are delicious if not very low-fat, and they are quick to make.

Cheese Crackers
  • 450 gr. grated cheese (I took Emmentaler, but I am sure you could use other kinds as well. I would only recommend a rather strong cheese to get enough flavour, Mozzarella for example might be to bland.) 
  • 250 gr. flour 
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 60 to 70 ml of cold water
  • about 80 gr. of cold butter, cut in small cubes
  • (optional: 4 tablespoons or more of herbs and spices)
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. The cheese might still remain visible as individual pieces within the dough, but don't worry it will disappear during the baking progress. As long as the dough is soft enough to work with and does not crumble too much you are fine.
If you are feeling creative, there are many things you could add to the basic recipe. I made some great crackers with a spice mixture for pizza, but you could also add caraway seeds, thyme or other spices.
Wrap the dough in cling film and put it in the fridge for about 20 minutes. (Or in my case: as long as it takes you to go and find a shop that sells baking paper on a Sunday. I always forget to buy baking paper. It is my personal weakness...)
Next roll the dough (about 0.5 to 1 cm) and cut out squares. You can also use a cookie cutter to make cheese cats, stars, hearts or whatever, the dough is pretty crumbling-resistant and the cookies don't change their shape or size during baking.
Bake the crackers at 180 °C for 15 to 20 minutes and let them cool on a grid. They get a bit more crunchy when cold but I prefer them when they still have a soft core.
Keep them in an airtight box and munch them while watching dvds, or wrap them nicely and give them to those who don't eat sugar...

Mittwoch, 6. Februar 2013

Look at that!!!

Today, I have finally de-cluttered my desk. Yey! I don't think I have to write anything else, just look at this most beautiful place... (Why can't it always look like this?)


(Yes, I know I have to mend my chair, but I always forget.)

Freitag, 1. Februar 2013

Things I loved in January

A bit late, but here it is:

1) Listening to BBC Radio 4 and 4 extra
I have always listened to the radio a lot. As a child and teenager I did not have my own TV in my room because my parents were against it. Instead, I always had a radio and I always listened to it, especially to programs where there was a lot of talking, like Deutschlandfunk or Deutschlandradio Kultur. I still do that, for example while washing the dishes or cooking. Thanks to the internet, I now listen to British radio when I am in my study. Radio 4 is great because they have many many many interesting magazines (one of my favourites is The Infinite Monkey Cage, a program with comedy and science) as well as radio plays. (There are even Doctor Who and Torchwood episodes...) You can also listen to The Archers, the most English of all radio soaps.

2) My new sock wool from Dornröschenwolle


3) "Wiener Melange"-Coffee by Hepa Kaffee
I love coffee and this is my favourite brand by a local roaster in Wiesbaden.

4) My new amulett with the spooky tree


5) Finally having a sofa
 which is long enough to lie on it full length.

6) Reading Ben Aaronovitch's Whispers Under Ground
I got the first volume Rivers of London two times as a present, therefore most people seem to think that this it the book for me. I liked it well enough, but the plot moved a bit randomly and was - at least in my opinion - not very well constructed. The second volume Moon Over Soho was much better ( I got that one as a present as well...) and now I am reading the third volume ( which I bought myself) and it is great. I admit that it isn't "great literature" but it is fun and entertaining and that is what I need right now.