Ebook La Jolla

The following is part of a contribution to Whip-Up, which will appear in June. This post was written prior to the tragedy which befell the Whip-Up family. Whip-Up blog owner Kathreen Ricketson was in the midst of a one-year dream adventure with her family to travel Australia in an RV and write a book about their many experiences. Misfortune struck when Kathreen and her partner, Rob Schugg, were found dead in the water off Coral Bay in Western Australia, just off the shore where their children,10 and 13 years old, were playing and were witness to the horrifying events. It is suspected that the couple encountered the tiny, almost invisible irukandji jellyfish, likely the most venomous creature on the planet. You may read more about the very sad incident here, here, here and here. 

Kathreen was a supporter of my book and the work of hundreds of other crafters and mompreneurs around the world. She is missed. The remaining Whip-Up team has decided to continue Kathreen's good work of sharing creative initiative and Whip-Up shall go on! Please consider making even a small contribution to the education fund set up for Kathreen's children.We crafters are family.

I have reproduced the article here with German translation for my many German friends.

Hello All!

For you, I have a little downloadable Ebook to construct a fun, summery tunic dress based on macramé. All proceeds are to benefit Nahow.de, an education and wellness initiative for a village in Cameroon.

Für Euch ein Ebook zum Downloaden, um eine sommerliche Tunika basiert auf Makramee selber zu verknoten. Alle Einnahmen gehen zu günsten Nahow.de, eine Bildungs- und Gesundheitinitiative für Enwen, Kamerun.

I’m pretty sure we’re at the tail end of hipsters being fascinated with all things 70s. All the good 70s things, as few as they were, like Milo Baughman and Curtis Jere, have been done. We’ve even gone through Corningware, muscle cars, black lights and Afros. All that is left is macramé, rotary phones, 8-track cassettes and TAB (not that new-fangled Diet Coke, thank you very much). And my vote is for macramé.  I was recently wandering about Retro Row in Long Beach and saw dusty old macramé owls selling for upwards of $70. So, yes, macramé is upon us again. Right on!

Ich bin fast der Überzuegung, daß wir am Ende der Faszination der Hipster und sonstige Trendsetter von allen guten (so wenig es auch waren) Sachen aus den 70ger Jahren gelangt sind. Milo Baughman und Curtis Jere sind schon längst abgehackt. Wir sind sogar Corningware, Muskelautos, Schwarzlichtposter und Afros durch. Es bleiben nur noch Makramee, Drehscheibentelefone, Cassettenrekorder und TAB (und nicht das neumodische "Coke Lite"-Dings, vielen Dank) übrig. Und ich stimme für Makramee zu. Neulich auf Retro Row in Long Beach begegnete ich staubige alte Makramee-Eulen für nicht weniger als $70. So, richtig, Makramee ist wieder mit uns. 

The stringy Strigiformes is the official state bird for the year 1973. According to witnesses, the year 1973 was, in fact, a state (of mind...of sorts...in quite a state). From Etsy seller Majikhorse.

Macramé, the craft of knotting lace, is likely the earliest of the string-based arts, predating knitting, crochet and tatting by millennia. Fiddling and tying up bits of cord in fancy ways did not seem to have geographic or cultural limits, as ancient examples can be found in places as far-flung as Peru, China and Egypt. The earliest example dates to 3500 BC; since some anthropologists argue that civilization is only about 4000 years old, well, that means macramé is old. Arabs were probably the first regular practitioners, tying up the ends of woven textiles in artistic ways. Sailors over the centuries have used macramé in innovative and creative ways, for example, around tool handles, so sharp knives and heavy hammers wouldn't slip out of wet hands. The craft, brought from the Holy Lands to Western Europe by the wives and servants of crusaders, was fancied in later centuries by Louis XIV and William of Orange's Queen Mary. It found in its most refined form near Genoa, Italy, where punto á gruppo was taught as a skill to poor children during the 19th Century and resembles fine bobbin lace. Be that as it may, macramé is now synonymous with Nixon-era housewives penchant to release flora from their terrestrial bonds with ropey houseplant hammocks. And lest we forget the hippies: Here, a cautionary tale of what happens when twine is combined with 70s era hallucinogenics (some of these items appear in fact be made from psychoactive hemp …)

Makramee, die Kunst Spitze zu verknoten, ist mutmaßlich die älteste der auf Garn und Faden basierten Handwerken und geht Stricken, Häkeln und der Occhiaarbeit Jahrtausende hervor. Das Herumfummeln und Verknoten von Garn in hübschen Mustern scheint keine geographischen und kulturellischen Grenzen zu kennen und frühe Exemplare wurden beispielsweise weit verstreute in Peru, Ägypten und China gefunden. Die frühsten Beispiele sind ca. 3.500 Jahre alt; da einige Anthropologen die Fruhkultur auf ca. 4.000 Jahre zurück zählen, heißt das, daß Makramee sehr alt ist. Es waren wahrscheinlich Araber, die die Handwerk zuerst verbreitet und regelmässig geübt hatten, um die Kettfäden gewebter Textilien hübsch zu machen. Seeleut' haben beispielsweise über die Jahrhunderte Makramee um die Griffe von Messern und Hammern verwendet, um die Werkzeuge gegen nassen Händen Griff zu verleihen. Die Heilige Gral weniger, dafür aber wurde Makremee aus den arabischen Ländern mit den Ehefrauen und der Dienerschaft der Kreuzritter nach Europa mitgebracht. Das Makramee wurde in späteren Jahrhunderten beispielsweise von Louis XIV und William of Oranges Queen Mary bevorzügt. Makramee fand seine erlesenste Form in Genoa, wo armen Kinder punto á gruppo beigebracht wurden. Wie das auch sein mag, Makramee ist nun mit der Vorliebe von Hausfrauen der Willy-Brandt-Ära, ihre Zimmerpflanzen vom Festland in Hanfseilhängematten zu befreien, verbunden. Und damit wir nicht die Hippies vergessen, hier warnende Beispiele, was aus der Kombination von Zwirn und Halluzinogenen der 70er werden kann (welcher möglicherweise wiederum selber aus psychoaktivem Hanf konstruiert waren):

And if you thought macramé owl wall hangings were bad...um, macramé owl bra, anyone?

Makramee-Eulen für die Wand sind eine Sache, aber als B.H.?

“Macrame Accessories: Patterns and Ideas for Knotting,” Dona Z. Meilach (1972)

No words. Just no words.

Keine Worten. Kann nichts dazu sagen.

“Macrame Accessories: Patterns and Ideas for Knotting,” Dona Z. Meilach (1972)

Wait, one word: MANcramé. Enough said.

Doch, ein Wort: MANNkremee. Genug gesagt.

“Macrame Accessories: Patterns and Ideas for Knotting,” Dona Z. Meilach (1972)

 On the other hand, if we embrace macramé fashionably responsibly, we can evoke that sense of hope for a better world, which is, I think, at the heart of the new hippie style. 

Anderseits, wenn wir doch Makramee modisch verantwortungsvoll gerecht werden, können wir doch die Hoffnung auf eine bessere Welt wachrufen, welche meiner Meinung nach dem neuen Hippie-Stil zugrunde liegt.

Elizabeth and James

Oh, yes, please!

Gucci

Catherine Malandrino

I hope my addition to the macramé trend this fits the bill.

“La Jolla” ("lah HOY-ya”) is a simple, super-duper quick DIY dress with a lot of California soul. This straight shift dress with macramé overlay is an easy-living, flip-flops and popsicles kind of summertime piece to wear anywhere, anytime fun is to be had: as a swimsuit cover-up, as a dancing dress to the end of the school year party, or as a flexible, easy-to-throw-in-a-suitcase piece to take on vacation. Made up in all white, I think La Jolla is pretty enough to wear to a beach wedding.

Meine Hoffnung ist es, das diese Makrameeinkarnation der Tradition gerecht wird.

"La Jolla" ("lah HEU-jah") ist ein einfaches, super schnelles DYI-Kleid mit etwas kalifornischem Esprit. Das schlichte gerade-geschnittene Trägerkleid bzw. Trägerhemd mit franzigem, tanzigem Oberlage ist ein gelassenes, doch sehr am-Trend Blickfang, das Mademoiselle zu jedem Sommeranlass, wo Spass zu erwarten ist, anziehen kann: Zum Schwimmbad überm Badenanzug, auf der Schulschluß-Tanzfête, sowie zum Großvaters Geburtstagsgrillfest. Ganz in Weiss genäht finde ich La Jolla hübsch genug für Kusines Strandhochzeit.

La Jolla shirt. The underlayer is made from old t-shirts.

La Jolla als Shirt. Die untere Lage wird aus alten T-Shirts vernäht.

 

La Jolla is available as an Ebook at Farbenmix beginning May 30th, in English and German. 

And speaking of making the world a better place, all proceeds from the sale of this Ebook will go to benefit a grass-roots effort to help the people of Enwen, a small village of about 1,000 in Cameroon, Africa, to help themselves. The story of  Enwen is not a complicated one, but amazing nonetheless. A young man, Tichi, from this village was educated in Germany. Upon returning to his village, even though he had grown up in Enwen, he was taken quite aback by the poverty. And so he and his partner, Katrin, decided to do “something.” That "something" is Nahow, which in the native Pidgin means something like “S’up brah”. Nahow.de has developed many somethings and those “somethings” include an adult learning center to teach valuable carpentry and sewing skills, outfitting the village with solar panels, refurbishing the elementary school and sponsoring doctors' visits. And this at very, very low cost. For about EURO 20 a month, a villager will be given an apprenticeship in carpentry. Like real, super-duper, hard-core, high-quality carpentry as only Germans can. The people at Farbenmix, my partner in all things sewing, have become personally involved with this project, even having gone to the village to teach sewing.

La Jolla wird ab dem 30. Mai bei Farbenmix als Ebook erhältlich. Alle Einnahmen von La Jolla wird zugünsten von Nahow.de gehen. Wer Nahow nicht kennt, bitte hier und hier etwas mehr über das Hilfe-zur-Selbsthilfe-Programm lernen.

Women of Enwen. Photo: Janina Pollehn

I’ve kept the price low as makes sense. As you know, PayPal will have their take. The Ebook has over 20 pages of instruction with lots of photos and illustrations. And the basic pattern pieces are there. I've translated it into German, too, just in case.

Der Preis liegt bei EURO 4 und wir haben ihn möglichst niedrig gehalten. Wie Ihr wisst, PayPal will seinen Anteil habe. Das Ebook hat etwa 20 Seiten und enthält sämtlichen Photos und Diagramme. Auch die wesentliche Schnittteile sind dabei. Wenn diese nicht ausreichen, stehe ich natürlich auch gerne für Rückfragen gerne zur Verfügung.

It is a PDF file, so, if EURO 4 is a bit steep, maybe you can go halfsies with a friend.

Und sollen EURO 4 doch etwas zu kostenspielig sein, da dies ein PDF-Dok ist, eventuell die Kosten mit einer Freundin teilen...?

I hope you enjoy! Have fun!

Na dann, ich hoffe es gefällt. Viel Spass!

Ain't got nothin' but love, babe!

Eight days a week!

Happy Mother's Day!

We'll do anything. ANYTHING for our kids. Stand on our heads. And what is MOM upside down? WOW!

cLAy: City of Clay-ngels

What if somebody said you could have as much modeling clay as you wanted and you could make whatever you wanted to with it. I would say, "Yes, please!" What if you asked your teenage son that question and he said, "Uh, well, um..." I would take that as a "Yes, please!" and run away quickly to make a timely rsvp before he can protest.



Urs Fischer is a conceptual artist that likes to go big! He once removed the entire floor of an important New York gallery, all the pipes and conduit and veins and arteries that lie beneath the marble and dug a big hole of dirt. Inside a gallery. A. Big. Hole. Of. Dirt. Big sculptures, big paintings, big thoughts. Or maybe lots of little thoughts. And then make them big, like when he made teeny tiny sculptures and made giant photographs of them. Like this (taken from Garage Magazine).

NW: What is the problem in the Problem Paintings?

UF: It’s just funny. It’s just a name. Any problem functions because it occupies the center of your existence, no? It obstructs.

NW: And what’s the “painting” side? There isn’t much paint either, in the traditional way.

UF: But who cares about the traditional way? Problems are omnipresent in everyone’s life; they are everything from the best motor to do something to the biggest obstructer. Problems are amazing.

"Problems are amazing." Right on. One of the things I like to say is, "Everybody's got problems. I got problems. And my problems are good problems to have."

Together with the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Urs Fischer has invited the people of this city to sculpt clay in whatever way they want. The sculptures will be displayed beginning April 21st at MOCA. The clay sculptures will not be fired in anyway. They will dry and flake and crack and break and decay. 

I do not want to make any assumptions about what exactly Urs Fischer will be exploring, but he has made a series of LIFE-SIZE, highly detailed sculptures from wax, that he melts. Kind of like figurine candles of office chairs, Renaissance statues and middle-aged men. The result is macabre, but beautiful in the organic forms. So, I'm thinking Urs Fischer is inviting all of us to play with the idea of things decaying and falling apart.

In addition to playing in as much clay as we wanted, it was such an experience to be a tourist in this grey land of fantasy, realism, humor, tragedy and grace. Like stepping into a 3-D black and white photo.

A horse using a rotary phone.

A giant (myopic?) rat with mice crawling all over it and a tummy chamber full of cheese.

A frog with teeth and a drinking problem.

And speaking of drinking problems. I'm wondering if the artist was sitting there going, "Man, all the good ideas are taken! All that's left is a water fountain!" That thing makes me laugh everytime I think about it.

And this one is social commentary on violence among carbohydrates? Bagels vs. Doughnuts?

Who's the alien in this clay world? He or I?

I like to think this one is called, "Okay, Ishmael, now what?"

Clay, clay, clay everywhere! This disembodied hand grasping from an alternate clay universe into ours.

Clay mop. Clay bucket.

Oh, yes, I made something too. A strange trio:

A cyclops rabbit, with one tentacle and a dragon tail.

A ghoulish owl with tree trunk horns.

And a fairy frog with butterfly wings.



This is cool.



And here's a head that is already falling apart, finding that beauty in the breakdown.




This is "LOVE". Can you still recognize the love while it breaks down? Ever been there? Done that?



And this: This is an enclosed, round igloo-like wall, probably eight feet in diameter ...

... with a tiny little man on a tiny little couch with a tiny little beer and a tiny little expression on his face inside.

And the son, yea, he made a wave with a shaka hand. 'Cause he's Jack, brah. He didn't complain and I think he even liked being there. But that's just between us.

Thank you, Herr Fischer, for all the clay and the chance to be a part of this.

Quick-as-a-bunny and cheap!-cheap!-cheap!-like-a-baby-chick

I said ah hip hop
The hippie the hippe
To the hip hop!

Easter! Am I right? It's just around the corner. I have here a little tutorial for quick-as-a-bunny and cheap!-cheap!-cheap!-like-a-baby-chick Mitbringsel. "Mitbringsel" is German for "little take-with-yous," little presents to give away. Or something to have the Easter Bunny (or Easter Spider) hide? Or wear them yourself!

When I say cheap, I paid about $3 for the materials to make four pairs of ears. And still have plenty of fabric left over.

Ostern! Richtig? Gleich um die Ecke. Ich habe unten eine kleine Anleitung für das Basteln diese Häschenöhrchen -- Ein super Mitbringsel, schnell gemacht und zudem günstig. Oder vielleicht als kleine Überraschung, die der Osterhasen (bzw. die Osterspinne) versteckt? Wenn ich günstig sage, habe ich etwa drei Dollar ausgegeben und vier Paar Öhrchen gemacht (und noch reichlich Stoff übrig). 



Supplies:

You will need

• Some poly fleece fabric in contrasting pastel colors
• Snap clip hair clips
• Hot glue
• (Sewing machine and sewing thread, of course)

Du brauchst

• Etwas Fleece in Pasteltonen
• Klick-Haarklemmen
• Heißkleber
• (Nähmaschine u. Nähgarn versteht sich, nicht?)

Create a bunny ear pattern piece. The bunny ear should be approximately 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and 2 inches (5 cm) wide and rounded on top.

Schneide ein Schnittteil für das Öhrchen zurecht.  Das Öhrchen sollte in etwa die Grösse 7,5 cm x 5 cm haben und oben gerundet sein.  

Stack two squares of poly fleece in contrasting (pastel) colors. Cut the ear inner and outer at the same time so they are even.

Zweit Stückchen Fleece auf einander stapeln und das Öhrchen-Innere und das Öhrchen-Äussere gleichzeitig zuschneiden, so daß Innen und Aussen genau passend sind.



Stitch the ear inner to the ear outer only along the sides and top.

Die beiden Öhrchenhälften die langen Seiten entlang und über die Rundung zusammensteppen.



Turn the ears right side out.

Die Öhrchen wenden.



Trim the bottom edges of the ears so they are perfectly flat, if necessary.

Nach Bedarf die Unterkante abschneiden, so daß das Ende flach ist.



Put a bit of hot glue at the bottom edge between the two layers. Put a bit of hot glue on the edge of the ear inner. Pinch the bottom of the ear and keep pinching the few seconds it takes for the hot glue to set.

Etwas Heißkleber am Öhrchenende zwischen den Lagen anbringen. Etwas Heißkleiber an der Unterkante der Öhrcheninnenseite anbringen. Das untere Öhrchenende bis der Heißkleber setzt zusammenkneifen (paar Sekunden). 



Place a dollop of hot glue on the top of the end of the snap clip.

Ein Klecks Heißkleiber am Ende die Klicksklemme anbringen (und "Klecks Heißskleiber auf die Klicksklemme" drei mal schnell sagen).



Position the bunny ear on top of the dollop of glue on the snap clip and hold in place for the few seconds it takes for the hot glue to set.

Sofort das Häschenöhrchen auf dem Heißkleiberklecks setzen und so lange halten, bis der Heißkleiber setzt (paar Sekunden nur).





Add crystal sparkles or other doo-dads. Or leave plain! That's it ~ all done!

Das war's eigentlich! Oder klebe je nachdem doch ein paar Straßsteine oder andere kleine Trüddel drauf.






And for those of you too young to remember the Sugarhill Gang...

Und wer noch zu jung um die Sugarhill Gang in Erinnerung zu haben ist...



You can finish up a pair of these bunny ears by the time Rapper's Delight is done.

Bevor Rapper's Delight noch zu Ende ist, haste sicherlich mindestens ein paar Hasenöhrchen fertig!

International Women's Day

Celebrating one-half of the world's adult population.

High time to put an end to violence, human trafficking, child brides and the rest of what keeps us from soaring.

Rincon Springtime Shirt (English & Deutsch)

I've got "Project Runway" streaming on hulu as I write this, so forgive me if I call this shirt a "make-it-work" kinda shirt. But that is what this "Rincon" shirt is.

"Rincon" is Spanish for "corner" or "angle" and it also happens to be the name of one of the all-time best surfing spots in California. It is a point break located behind a gated community and overrun with other surfers, so to surf there, you really have to wait your turn and take your chances. Same goes for this shirt.

"Project Runway" streamt gerade während ich dies schriebe, von daher bitte verzeihen, wenn ich dies ein "make-it-work" Projekt beschreibe. Aber das ist dies Rincon Frühlingsshirt.

"Rincon" ist spanisch für "Winkel" bzw. "Ecke" und ist auch der Name eins der Bestes Surfecken Kaliforniens. Rincon befindet sich hinter einem exklusivem Wohngebiet und überrannt mit anderen Surfern. Von daher, um dort surfen zu können musst du's wirklich wollen und die Risiken eingehen. Auch so mit diesem Shirt.

Sabine and I decided against making this shirt a pattern, because the neckline requires some judgement on the part of the sewist. You gotta know your fabric, its elasticity and recovery. Otherwise, this shirt can just hang in all the wrong ways. A centimeter more or less here or there is important. You'll need to do a couple of fittings. Because you really can depend on just being able to just grab a Farbenmix (or Fledge) pattern and some fabric and go for it, we didn't want to set you up for disappointment, if you misjudged the fabric or missed the chance to fit for the shoulder straps or something. 

Sabine und ich entschieden gegen einen eigenen Schnittmuster für das Shirt. Frau kann sich wirklich darauf verlassen, einen Farbenmix Schnittmuster und etwas Stoff greifen und damit ein Erfolgserlebnis haben. Für Rincon, jedoch, muß frau doch den Stoff, dessen Dehnbarkeit und Rückfederung einschätzen können, sonst kann's schief gehen. Im wahrsten Sinne: So hängt's um die Schulter nämlich schief. 

On the other hand, there has been a good deal of interest in the shirt, so I have uploaded some instructions for you and I'll let you take your own chances.

Anderseits haben genug Interesse gezeigt und hier biete ich eine Anleitung an.

I have used the Farbenmix favorite ANTONIA pattern is a starting point for the  Rincon Springtime Shirt. But any basic, well-fitting shirt pattern will do you fine. I've just given some instructions to help with the details, like these lace-up cuff. 

Ich habe mit den Lieblingsschnittmuster von Farbenmix ANTONIA angefangen. Obwohl du kannst mit fast jedem Basic-Shirt-Schnittmuster anfangen. Die Rincon-Anleitung zeigt dir wie frau zB diese Schnurärmel nähen kann. 

My tween girl just isn't quite jumping up and down squealing with joy anymore when I exit my atelier, dark circles under my eyes, hyped up on coffee, covered in thread snips and lint, with anything with ruffles and bows and gnomes and fairies anymore. ("Um. Thanks." translation: "I-love-you-mom-but-really-O-M-G-not-in-eight-thousand-billion-years-like-really-I'm-in-middle-school-for-real-and-I-am-my-own-person-so-I-want-to-wear-what-everbody-else-is-wearing-and-no-I-do-not-see-a-contraction-there-because-there-isn't-one-in-my-world-and-right-now-I-am-in-my-world" Yup, pretty much.). But we sewing moms can still delight our tweens with fashion-forward looks and cool details with the right ideas (take that Hollister: you can't have her completely. Maybe one day, but not yet). My girl likes this shirt. And so do all her friends. And my girl has decided I am going to sew all her friends all shirts like this. So they can all be all alike totally unique together. That's how it was explained to me, anyway. And all those uninvited sewing orders could also be another reason not to sew Rincon.

Mein Mädchen ist nicht jedes mal gerade begeistert wenn ich nun stolz und erwartungsvoll aus dem Nähatelier herauskrieche--dunkle Ringe unten den Augen, von zu vielem Kaffee aufgepuscht, abgeschnippelte Fädchen in meinen Haaren hänged--mit irgend etwas mit Ruschen und Schleifen, Zwergen und Feen überdeckt und vertrüddelt. ("Ähm. Danke?" Übersetzung: "Dich-habe-ich-lieb-Mama-aber-wirklich-Herrgott-nicht-in-Tausend-Milliarden-Jahren-ich-bin-ja-auf-der-Mittelschule-und-ich-bin-meine-eigene-Person-geworden-und-von-daher-will-ich-das-was-alle-andere-tragen-tragen-und-nein-ich-sehe-da-keinen-Widerspruch-denn-in-meiner-Welt-ist-da-kein-Widerspruch-und-momentan-bin-ich-in-meiner-Welt-ja-so-isses.") Nichtsdestotrotz, können wir Nähmamas noch ab und zu eine Freude für unsere Tweens und Teens aus der Nähecke schöpfen. Mein Mädchen mad das Hemd. Und ihre Freundinnen mögen's auch. Und entschieden würde, daß ich alle der Freundinnen genau dieses Hemd ihnen nähe, so daß sie alle zusammen und gleichzeitig individualistisch sein können (so wurde es mir so erklärt). Diese unerwünschten Nähaufträge wäre ein weiteres Grund, das Rincon-Shirt nicht zu nähen. Aber wenn doch, unten die Link zum Download. Und wie immer, mein Deutsch, ähm...im Voraus wird um Verzeihung gebeten... 

RINCON ENGLISH 

(Lots of pix, so wait...wait...wait for the download...)

RINCON DEUTSCH

(Warte... warte... es sind viele Bilder, also warte auf das Download...)

I hope you like! If you post on klickundblick.de or on our flickr groups, well, that would be great!

Have fun!

Ich hoffe es gefällt! Ich freue mich auf das Mitteilen Deiner Rincon-Shirts auf klickundblick.de bzw. unsere flickr-Gruppen!

Viel Spass!