During the last couple of months I haven´t been able to show you much of anything I´ve been sewing. Because I have a neck problem, my computer time has been limited for work only, but I am slowly getting better, and hope to return to “regular schedule” during the next couple of months.

Speaking of next couple of months, guess who´s moving during the summer? Yup, it´s official, my darling and I are moving back to Oslo this year. I am so thrilled to go back to live in the same place as most of my friends, and to be able to live by the sea again. So in the spirit of the ocean, you might notice a slight trend in the pictures above… I´ve been sewing, both for myself and for others, but I haven´t had the time to take decent pics yet, so I´ll just give you a sneak preview:

1. Summer dress, inspired by the dress Megan wears when Don and she visits LA in the previous season of Mad Men.
2. A candy striped Ship Ahoy Parfait.
3. A Rum Diary inspired linen shirt for my man.
4. A polkadot shirt, also for my man.
5. A white knit basic top.
6. Another detail of the Ship Ahoy Parfait.
7. A Lisette Portfolio for a friend.
8. A textile print on Steph´s blank canvas tee.
9. A little blouse for me, using the remnants of the polkadot shirt I made for my man. Imagine if we wear them at the same time! Oh, the hilarity!

As you might notice, lot´s of these items fits perfectly into my Fun!-theme, as well as That´s Sew Cinematic!

By the way, who´s joining Me Made May, this year? I am so excited about this years edition, as it´s going to be a real challenge for me. I ´ll explain why. This May, apart from working regularly, there will be:

• Two concerts with my choirs. Both with specific dress codes.
• 17th of May, the Norwegian national holiday, this year celebrated together with my family.
• My man is defending his dissertation, and we are hosting a BIG black tie- party.
• I am going to Norway to work at the Viking Age Museum (wearing historical garments).
• Hopefully, I will have some job interviews to go to…
• My birthday, and my man´s birthday.

May is going to be a fairly busy and very versatile month, and I´m gonna do it Me-Made style! So,  ‘I, Sølvi of delfinelise, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’12. I endeavour to wear all me- made garments, with the exception of national costume, socks, underthings and sportswear each day for the duration of May 2012′

The part about national costume is of course for the 17th. I don´t know if I´m gonna wear my national costume or not, yet, but even if I´m not, the red linen dress I´ll wear instead is made by my mother. Oh, my mother made my national costume, as well! So it will be handmade, just not by me.

So, have a nice Easter Holiday, if you celebrate it (it is my favorite holiday!), and enjoy life!

So, this is a sketch I drew in the iPad app Paper. All digital, and just using my index finger. Kind of cool, right?

I’ ll destract you with some awards instead! Both Donna and Mary have awarded me these past few weeks, and I haven’t been able to do anyting about it until now. Thank you so much ladies!

So here it goes!

Donna awarded me with the Sunshine Award 2012, and for that one I am supposed to answer some fun questions:

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Tap water.

Facebook or Twitter: Definately Twitter. NOT a Facebook-fan, I’ ll tell you that!:-)

My Passion: More justice and fairness for everyone.

Getting or Giving Presents: Both.

Favorite Pattern: Ceylon. Or possibly Vi Mønster 1537

Favorite Day of the Week: Tuesday. It’s still in the beginning of the week, with all its possibilities, and I work from home all day. Love it!

Favorite Animal: Unlike many bloggers, I don’t have a pet. I do love dolphins and whales. Fascinating creatures.

Favorite Number: 14.

Favorite Color: As many others, I have a hard time picking just one color. Maybe tomato red? Or emerald green? This one was hard!

Favorite celebrity role model: eh… I generally don’t use neither “celebrity” nor “role model” as references much, so I got to pass on this one, I think.

Favorite Flower: Ranunculus

So, on to the next one. this is the Versatile blogger award, an award I’ve gotten previously as well. But I’ll be happy to share another random 7 facts about me:

1. I love books, but read too few of them.
2. I probably drink 4 liters of water a day. Sometimes even more.
3. I believe that life’s too short for boring food.
4. I have three older siblings.
5. I’m lefthanded. I even play the guitar Paul McCartney-style.
6. I love to watch work being done on construction sites.
7. Cilantro is one of my absolute favorite herbs.

So, I´m guessing that most of you already have got these awards, as I am fairly late to respond, but if you feel like answering these questions, go right ahead, and consider yourself tagged!

As you might see from the picture above, I have cheated. I just didn’t feel like wearing a skirt today, and so I didn’t.

I’ ve been doing some cleaning and I’ve tried to organize my closet today, and frankly, wearing a skirt just wasn’t that practical!

We’ll see what tomorrow brings!

I don’ t think I’ve mentioned that I’m taking part in the One Week, One Pattern challenge.

A bunch of sewers are wearing garments that are different versions of the same pattern for one whole week. I have chosen a pencil skirt pattern from BurdaStyle Magazine, pattern number 107 from the 2011 February issue, to be exact.

On day one we took a trip to IKEA, and I made sure to take a pic in front of this Swedish icon.

one day down, six to go!

So, a little late in the Cinematic Sewing Game, I return with some plans for my spring sewing. According to the meteorologists, the weather in Sweden is three weeks early, and we are experiencing some wonderfully sunny and warm days. Maybe it´s time to bring out the summer wardrobe? Or maybe it´s time to make some spring-y new garments?

Choosing what to make for this Sew- Along was not easy, and my original list was WAAAY too long. I´ve chosen some key items that will fit in with the rest of my wardrobe, and with my fun!- palette as well. A lot of red is important, and also a little blue bolero for those chilly spring evenings. The shorts are for the warmer days in May and June.

The inspiration comes from The Rum Diary (2011), Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) and The Women on the 6th Floor (2010). All of them great movies, with thought through costume design. What´s not to love?

So, how are your sewing plans coming along? I´d love to know!

Have a great weekend!

They are a little bit like giant crayons, you know, like the one designed for the littlest of kids, only they are filled with permanent oil based gorgeous color.

I used them with a rose stencil that I made, and tested it out on both silk and denim. Just to see how the color responded to different kinds of fabric.

This is how it looks on a very dark blue denim. The colors I have chosen are iridescent, which you probably can tell from the picture.

The skirt by the way, is another version of BurdaStyle Magazine 02-2011-107, my new favorite skirt pattern, seen here and here as well.

On the silk fabric, the colors turned out like this:

It might not look the same in every monitor, but I am amazed by how the color behaves more or less the same way on the denim and the silk. It was equally easy to work with on both types of material, and the great part is, you set the color by ironing, and then you can wash it like you normally would! Fantastic. I really love the vibrant colors you get from this, and how you can use the PaintStiks in so many different ways. To get some inspiration, have a look here.

I will most certainly make more use of these magical coloring devices, and try them on other types of fabric as well.

I printed a little rose on the back of the skirt as well, just for the fun of it! 

At last, another view up close, this time teamed with my new knitted best friend. The cardigan (ravelry link) is knitted in alpaca, and it feels like wearing a blanket. Sooo comfy!

Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones, Veronica from Veronica Darling, Meg from Meg the Grand, Debi from My Happy Sewing Place and myself are introducing a new fabulous sew-along where we are getting the inspiration from the Silver Screen – That´s Sew Cinematic. 

This sew-along couldn’t have a better source for personal inspiration: creating garments inspired by your favourite actors/actresses from film, stage and television. You can create items from every category or only a few – whatever best suits you!

By using movies as inspiration, the options are endless. That´s why we´ve come up with some categories that might get you started:

FROCKS FROM THE FLICKS
From Givenchy’s iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, to Marilyn’s white halter dress from The Seven Year Itch, to Scarlett’s velvet curtain dress from Gone With the Wind, frocks of all styles and eras have left their mark on cinematic history. Whether you are inspired by an icon or simply by a pretty frock only just glimpsed, this is the place to let your dress dreams run wild!

TINSELTOWN TOPPERS
There are so many beautiful blouses and tops that have graced the silver screens, both large and small. Katharine Hepburn’s masculine tailored white shirts, which she wore throughout her life, is one that easily springs to my mind. Whether you are inspired by crisp tailoring or flowing lines, toppers of all styles are welcome here.

FEATURE FILM FOUNDATIONS
From Rizzo’s slinky black trousers in Grease to Marsha’s fabulous flares in The Brady Bunch, to Joan’s sensational pencil skirts in Mad Men, skirts, trousers, capris, and shorts are the way to go here!

SLIP INTO THE SILVER SCREEN 
Elizabeth Taylor cornered the market on slinky sultriness with her simple white slip inCat on a Hot Tin Roof. Whether you want to channel your own Inner Liz or mould you figure to a more Lilly Langtry frame of mind, this is the place to sew yourself some small clothes.

THE SWEATER GIRL
Nothing says silver screen style quite like the sweater girl. No sweater girl is better remembered than Lana Turner. Whether v-neck, pullover, or cardigan is your style, knitted inspiration can be found here. For those more inclined to sew, how about a Pink Ladies jacket? Let’s not forget our headgear, either! Here is the place to show your outerwear!

THE ABILITY TO ACCESSORIZE
Accessories of all sorts are welcome here! Nifty hats, lacy shawls, beautiful brooches, and natty socks. Whatever puts that finishing touch on your ideal outfit should be shown off here!

So, there you have it, are you as excited as I am? This is going to fit so well together with my idea of making fun garments. Next week, I´ll share with you my ideas and plans. Come on and join the fun! If you´d like a button for your blog, stop by Sarah´s and get one, and there is also a Flickr group you are most welcome to join.

I can´t wait to see who´s in!

Have a lovely weekend!

I’ll be back with more exciting projects as soon as my workload is under control.

Thanks for stopping by!

To answer the question, the answer is no, this is not a new length for me, but the fun thing about this question is that it got me thinking about hemlines. What is a good skirt length for me? And what is a good skirt length for others? I went through my closet, and pulled out some skirts I have made the last couple of years to see if there were any similarities in lenghts:

I have taken a pic of all skirts wearing the same top, tights and shoes, just to make it easier to compare the lengths.

The results are inconclusive. I seem to wear all kinds of lengths! Although most of my skirts are “around knee”, I have some that are shorter as well, for instance, I have made Burda 8237  three or four times, so shorter lengths attract me as well as longer. The funny thing is that a lot of the skirts I make come out shorter than I intend. I am ten centimeters taller than the average height that the pattern companies uses, and so I really should add at least ten centimeters when I make skirts, but I end up adding too little, and most of my skirts thus become shorter than I plan for them to be.

I love pencil skirts that has a mid-calf hem line, but I never seem to manage to make one for myself. Actually, taking these pictures of myself, made me aware that I think that my skirts are longer then they in reality are! Both of the Vi 3324 patterns for instance, are intended to be tea-length. Yeah, right. They are both obviously ending just below knee. The same goes for Burda 02-2011-107 too. I was supposed to make it below knee, but there was too little fabric. Note to self: If I want a skirt to be both high-waisted and mid- calf, I need 90 cm of fabric, not 60 as I in my imagination think I need…

It´s funny that a seemingly insignificant detail of a garment like the length can cause such a stir. I mean, how many other parts of a garment have been affected by the stock market?  Some women are very specific about their hemlines, I have friends who only have a small flexibility between just below knee and mid-thigh, others never go above knee, then there are even those who never wears anything but maxi skirts. Fascinating.

With all that said, I fuss very little about the length of my skirts. I seem to wear whatever length. I am aware of that having those extra ten centimeters makes more hemlines available for me than for others. And so to my next point.

I try to sew for others as often as I can, but most of my friends and family live far away, so fitting becomes difficult. And since I know that hemline placement is an issue for others, it´s tricky to know how the length of a garment will look on that person. I know that there are some opinions out there that say that shorter women should stick to knee- or above knee length. What do you think, are there any general rules of what is flattering on women of different heights and shapes, do you think, or is it a individual thing, depending purely on the tastes of the specific woman? I´d love to hear you opinion on this, and also what your favorite skirt lengths are!

I for one, will try and make at least one mid-calf pencil skirt this year!