"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."

"We must use time creatively."

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Less means more and more means less

In the beginning, filling 144 pages of a book seemed a daunting task. As it turned out, editing down was the daunting part. There were a few things here and there that I thought would have been handy. Hedgewig, the wristlet pincushion, was one thing. A fabric conversion chart was another. Luckily for me, a blog doesn't have any page limits.

I once received a blank-eyed stare at my local fabric shop when I asked them to convert my required yardage from 54 inches. A fabric conversion chart is just one of those things that a fabric shop should have, don't you think? Well, if the shop doesn't know how to convert, I suppose that responsibility is up to me.

If you don't know what a fabric conversion chart is for, well, have you ever purchased the indicated yardage for a Farbenmix or studioTANTRUM/Fledge pattern from 45 inch quilting fabric? And come up short? That's because we generally calculate for 54-inch garment fabric. If your fabric is only 45 inches wide, you'll need more than the indicated yardage. As you know, fabric comes in many different widths. The fabric requirements for sewing patterns will most often use just one fabric width in its calculations. But what if the fabric you love is wider or narrower than what is indicated on the pattern? Or what if you want to order in metric? That's when you use this chart.

Remember also, that unidirectional prints, plaids and large-scale prints require more than the indicated yardage.

Anyway, I've got a handy chart for you here. In full size and in pocket size for you to cut out and take in your wallet. Hope this might be of help.

Weniger heißt mehr und mehr heißt weniger

Anfangs schien die Idee 144 Seiten eines Buches voll zu kreigen recht gewaltig. Wie es doch geschehen ist, war die Editierung - sprich Heruntereditierung - doch entmütigend. Einiges, die ich nutzvoll fand, fiel also weg. El Porto, Hedgewig und auch eine Stoffverbrauchumrechnungstabelle. Zum Glück hat ein Blog ja keine Seitenanzahlbegrenzungen.

Wozu die Tabelle? Tja, verschiedene Stoffe, wie Ihr wißt, haben verschiedene Breiten. Der Stoffverbrauch unserer Schnittmuster sind meistens für 140 cm-Stoff berechnet. Was denn, wenn der Traumstoff doch schmaler bzw. breiter als 140 cm sein soll? Oder du willst doch etwas aus Amerika bestellen und diese Amis mit ihren Inches und Yards und weiß der Geier...die spinnen, die Amis... Wieviel dann bestellen? Da kommt die Tabelle zur Rettung.

Ich habe auch eine kleinere Tabelle dabei: Diese kannste ausschneiden und griffbereit in das Portemonnaie für den nächsten Stoffmarktbummel stecken.

Und, daran denken, beim Verarbeiten von einseitig gerichteten Stoffen, großen Mustern und Plaid-Stoffen benötigt Ihr ja etwas mehr Stoff.

Lookie lookie!

Amazon has a "Look Inside" up.



So...Look inside!

Hella fresh? Right? You hate it, right? Or you hate it, 'cause it's so good? I can live with that.

And, yes: No, that is not my sewing. Of course, that is the contribution of the beautiful Mrs. Sarah Shorter of Willow & Moo. Thank you, dear Sarah, for allowing me to use your handiwork.

Winky wink

(Eben eher eine frische Daisy als die besonders "erfrischende" Daisy für meine norddeutsche Freunde...)

Hey, thank you for your long and thoughtful responses to the question of "pink". You guys rock. So incredibly thoughtful. I can't say you'll rear children utterly unaware of the gender roles our culture and society present us, but if you put that much thought into it, surely, they'll have a fighting chance to look beyond them.

Anyway, I love you to bits.

I'm moving into the new digs tomorrow, so I might not be responding to emails as quickly. Bear with me.

Thinking about pink

SeoWoo and Her Pink

From JeongMee Yoon's "The Pink & Blue Project" (2005 - ongoing)

PinkStinks. What do you think? Is pink in marketing girls' products limiting their worldview? Are we sending a subjugating message to our girls? In this discussion, "pink" likely refers to that isle at Target. The one in which the toys are not only generally pink, but highlight role playing featuring dressing up, housework and childcare. In other words, no pink rocket kits or chemistry sets.

I'm no expert. I just have a very small sample size to judge from, that being my two kids. My girl, for the most part, entered the environment paved by her older brother. Not a lot of fluff and pink. None at all, really. As an infant, if a stranger asked, "Is that a boy or a girl?" I'd answer, "Yes." But that little, little child, less than a year old, if she saw something pink, sparkly and girly-girl, boy, stand back: She wanted it.

Similarly, because she is her brother's sister for life and I'd like those two to develop similar interests, I've exposed them to the same kinds of sports and classes and activities. Their preferences seem to fall right along gender lines. Who is making those preferences? They themselves? Or is there some gender-identity pressure? Nature? Or nurture? The only way I'm going to get Anna to surf is to get her a pink surfboard, that's been established. But she will get that surfboard.

There are physiological differences between boys and girls in addition to the obvious ones. Boys' and girls' brains are different. Girls have a larger copus callosum connecting the right and left brain halves. They also tend to have a larger hippocampus. There is a pretty big body of research suggesting that boys and girls learn differently. Maybe there is something in the hardwiring that makes a child "feminine" or "masculine".

Anecdotally, my girl will say, "That's not for girls!" for something that her brother does or has. My observation is that she and her little friends will say that as a way to differentiate themselves from the boys in their midst, because boys are yucky. Conversely, my son and his grommie friends are totally into hot pink. Maybe because the surfer brands they prefer are having a Flash Dance flashback and are featuring enough neon colors to do Rick Springfield proud. Or maybe they mean it ironically ("Hey guys, I'm wearing pink!" The sardonic undertone being pink is for girls and girls are silly).

When I think of my girl as a princess, I want her to know that as a princess, she is the future regent of her domain.

Frankly, I hope in the future, we'll take gender stereotypes seriously and ourselves less seriously. I think the future should look a bit more like this:

And not exactly on topic, but then, it's hard not to talk pink and not think k.p.


More here.

We're yellow and orange and you're not!

"We're the only yellow and orange ones!"

(Um...whaaa?)

My kids have outgrown that lingual phase when their excited outbursts require quite a bit of deductive reasoning. My husband, however, is another story. He is not a native English speaker, for one, and, for another, well, generally not practiced in the rules of discourse in any language.

The above statement refers to the Wall Street Journal Online weather map (of course) and the yellow and orange refers to the temperature outside our door (duh). Anyway, we, and some folks in Arizona, Texas and Hawaii were the only yellow and orange ones, meaning that we were experiencing temperatures in the 70s/80s (@ 25ºC).

So, today, because we can, maybe to spite all the purples and blues...even the greens...we went to the beach.

If that isn't enough jealous-much for you, how about this? If you were wondering what happened to the a.dor.a.ble. patchwork bag that was featured on the Farbenmix home page over the holidays, wonder no more. I have sand between my toes and the bag now has sand between it's seams. A beautiful and happy tote for all my drawing and sketching falderal. Lucky me, lucky me! Thank you, Sabine.

Aw, I'm just goofin' on you. I hope you are warm and well and hope my same sun shines warm and loving on you.

We're good, right? I'm still feeling your stink-eye all through the Internet.

Here, Anna drew you a picture.

Some kind of squirrel bear with soul-devouring eyes. C'mon, we gotta be good now, right?

Peace.

...in with the new!

01 01 10: A very binary date, wouldn't you say? It translates to "1 1 2", or "22" or "16"... Hmmm...cohesive chain of thought for what I want to say? No: Got nothing. Nada: Buckle your seatbelts for the non sequitor...

This worn and torn bit of felt and embroidery thread on my keys has been my constant companion for a few years now. It was a gift from a lovely lady, Susanne, whom I met through klickundblick.de. It has seen better days, much better days. I'm sort of a nervous sort, I suppose, and my keys are something with which I tend to mindlessly fiddle and fidget. The wristband has long since been ripped off and the felt is pilled and, by now, really kind of grody. No matter: Not only was this key ring a gift, but it is a reminder of how I came to the opportunities I enjoy today. Over the years, I've probably clicked on thousands of Web sites, all a blur of images occasionally broken up by the Macintosh Spinning Beachball of Death. On the other hand, I can recall exactly the moment I came across klickundblick. Susanne, once upon a time, was selling an adorable little hoodie on the German Ebay. She mentioned something in the listing about "Farbenmix". "Color mix". Whatever. On her Me Page, she had a link to klickundblick.de. And that was that. No turning back.

In with the new: Yesterday, I received a package from...Buchholz? From...Nic? Yippee! A beautiful little surprise of mazipan and Luzia-Pimpinella-ness, including--score!--a new wristlet key ring. Nic's included note mentions something about her having promised me this a long time ago...? I cannot recall Nic promising me or owing me anything. No matter: Our secret. I'm not going to mention that to Nic, because I'm keeping my marzipan and my key ring. Yes, indeed-y.

I'm keeping Susanne's key ring on there as well. When I was a teenager, we exchanged and wore Brazilian wishing ribbons. This is sort of the same idea for me: I'll keep Susanne's bit of felt and thread until it wears away.

Thank you, Nic. Thank you, Susanne.

I also received another package yesterday: An advance copy of the book. Have I mentioned I wrote a book? I wrote a book, together with Sabine. Covers, pages in between, pictures, words, patterns...a complete book. I wrote a book. A book you can have, too. A book that I wrote. Did I mention the book? The book I wrote?

The book (the book that I wrote) looks good to me. But you be the judge. We made this book for you. February 1st you can have yours, if you're sew inclined.

Happy New Year, friends. Much joy, creative times, friendship, love, fresh raspberries, sparkling crunchy snow, shining sun reflected from the sea, a hand to hold, a good book, a bird on your windowsill, champagne in a crystal flute and many other good things I wish for you.