Creative Goals 2011 Check-up

So we've hit the 6th month of the year meaning we're halfway through 2011...although I suppose the end of the month is more of the halfway mark, right? Still, I thought it would be fun to check in and see how I'm doing on my 2011 Creative Goals.

*please excuse the mess, ideas at work

1. Sew slower (and thereby neater)! I always rush rush rush and it often shows. (check, I've totally been mindful of this and have slowed way down!)

2. I have this idea for patchwork-esque pillows for the living room. I have drafts...but am yet to be satisfied with a pattern. (pattern set, just need some time...)

3. Make a quilt of sorts. I will probably start small; maybe a doll or baby quilt like Allison's? (not yet...)

4. Really try to make a tunic top. Remember these ideas I had? (yep, all done! check it out here)

5. I have an idea for a kind of pocketed bulletin board for my office...needs refining. (I've been refining and just need to execute, so yes there is progress!)

6. Improve my photography so I mess less with Photoshop. (I've been making concerted efforts, but am not so happy, so sort of...)

7. Paint a mirror I have white. (not yet...)

8. Assemble and hang wall art in the kitchen. (not yet...)

9. Install a zipper on something. (not yet...)

10. Learn how to buttonhole on the sewing machine. (not yet...)
 
11. Post here more often! (yup, check that!)

So SIX-ISH OUT OF ELEVEN; it looks like I'm doing pretty well overall, hurrah! Although I totally need to get in gear and start cranking on the Craft It Forward 2011 Project, cough cough. (btw- there's still one spot left if you want to jump in here!)

What about you? How are you doing on your goals and aspirations for 2011? Progress?

Sophisticated Free Fonts

I love sites like DaFont, but they can really suck you in as you attempt to weed through the pages searching for the perfect font. Enter The League of Moveable Type, a sophisticated site devoted to a carefully edited collection of free fonts. Hurrah!

What are your favorite free font sites?

Sew Inspired: The Machine's Waltz Film

I first saw this video over on reader Katrin's blog, Tales From a Textile Studio. Grafikonstruct filmed an insider's look at the established textile factory, Collezione Paramount, and paired it with original music perfectly written and composed by Lucas Lima. It's short, but it's lovely and it makes me want to sew up a suit!

Valsa das Máquinas, Paramount Têxteis from grafikonstruct on Vimeo.

Blogland fuzzies: A Meet-up!

Goodness, it's been a busy week. All sorts of crazy stuff going on out there in blogland, in the 'real' world, you name it. One of the things I have really loved since starting this blog is watching those worlds collide by meeting some of you in person. I had the privilege of doing that again recently with Katie.

You may remember Katie's Living Colors interview that I did a while back about running her shop, among other things. We had been emailing long before that interview and ever since, so when she told me they would be driving through my corner of Germany and was wondering if we could meet up, of course I said yes!

As you can see, we had a good time (and I wore my green dress)! We wandered through the old city and hit up the cafe culture in our little university town. Even our husbands were talking non-stop, so you know that was a good sign! Did you know Katie's husband actually taught her to fly? It was so fun to finally meet face to face!

In fact, there have been a few other meet-ups that I just never posted because I was swamped with work so soon after. I'm going to have to get on that because they were fun and deserve to be recognized.

I have to say that my experience online has been 99% positive and I never cease to be amazed at how supportive the creative blogging community has been, not only to me, but with each other. Of course, I never would have known if I didn't put myself out there. It's not always easy, but I definitely think it's worth a shot!

*blog bling via Pugly Pixel
*grainy font via my ineptness

7 Reasons Why I Comment on Your Blog

I've already talked about 5 reasons why I read your blog, so now I want to touch on why I would want to comment on your blog. The first post was mainly written because I have a friend wanting to start a blog, but this one is more geared to something I've heard several blogger friends discuss: comments. Once again, thinking through why I leave comments helps me understand why others might (or might not) leave comments on my own blog.

First though, I think it's important to think about why you want comments. There can be a lot of different reasons for wanting comments -both good and bad, but I think spending a moment to think this through could help. I like the thoughts in the second half of this short article regarding finding your voice and validation in blogging (#5 here is also good).

So why would I want to I comment on your blog?

1) I have time. Well, that's easy to understand. Everybody's busy, right? While I love to read blogs and work on my own, they are not the top priorities in my life -by a long shot. So they fit into the free time I have, which can be more or less on any given day. I know I'm not alone here! I will confess to having a handful of blogs I make a priority because I like them a lot, but most posts sit in my Google Reader files until I have time to go through them. Time is a biggie!

2) You asked. Lots of times posts end with questions that directly ask people to comment, whether it's "Do you like A or B better?" or "What are you doing this weekend?". It's pretty simple, but asking a question prompts a response. Sometimes I'll make the effort to make my response a comment.

3) I have something to add. Well, duh, right? But not all posts end in a question. Maybe you wrote about your birthday -so I'll add "Happy Birthday!" to the comments, maybe you wrote about a controversial subject that bothered you and I want to add my 2 cents, maybe you're writing about considering an Ikea kitchen and since I have one myself, I'll comment about my experience. If I connect to your post in some way, I'm more likely to comment.

I suppose the question is: how do you get readers to connect with your content? I think you have to work backwards to answer that. I think you have to write what you care about (to sustain your blogging) and then people will come along over time who get excited about the same stuff. Might that take time? Yes, but I'd rather have readers who like me for me, then me wondering what they want. Read more about that here and here in English and here in German.

4) You create community. Not all blogs want to create community, and that's ok. Not all would-be commenters want community -and I don't always want it either- and that's ok. Personally, I like the atmosphere that community creates and it makes me more likely to comment. Here are 4 ways to create community on a blog:

a) I can subscribe to comments/receive comments by email. This is so awesome for those blog posts that are meant to inspire discussion. I will likely forget to to go back to your blog and see the updates, so getting them via email is great. Firefox also has a habit of periodically eating my saved tabs, so email is a guarantee. It's also nice when there's a post on, say, 'reader suggestions for favorite shops in Helsinki' and I'm planning on going there, so I sign up for the comments. Then I have the list in my inbox, bonus!

b) When the you periodically jump into the comments to respond. The time factor is huge here, but when I ask a question, chances are that I'm not the only one with that question. Answering publicly means the you only answer it once and you still connected to your readers, which is cool.

c) When you reply to my comment via personal email. Again, this is a time factor issue, but it's such a friendly touch, even if it's only occasionally possible. Also, if I signed up to receive comments via email, you usually only have to hit 'reply' to write me back. Handy.

d) CommentLuv is enabled to show the commenter's last post title on their own blog. This thing is so cool, have you seen it? I've seen this on blogs like Holly's and need to make it happen on my own. I have found some cool posts/blogs/people after seeing something interesting on a CommentLuv comment. It's a little vanity incentive for the would-be commenter, too, right? ha! It's an easy plugin for Wordpress users and there's also a version for Blogger folks. Check the CommentLuv site if you're on a different blogging platform. This is totally on my to-do list for the blog this year.

5) You make it easy. Word verification stinks and those security words make me not want to comment because it's an extra step. Please, I beg of you, just try a few days without the word verification! In the last year and a half, Blogger has gotten really awesome about catching spam comments. I only use word verification on posts older than 1 week and that has been great. Sometimes a spam comment will come to my inbox, but when I click over to the post itself, it's already gone because Blogger cleaned it up. I've also heard that Wordpress has some nice free plug-ins for keeping spam out, so check it out and just try it for a while and see what you think. Your would-be commenters will thank you!

Also, if you use some kind of external login feature for comments like Disqus, that's another turnoff for me. Most people have accounts with Blogger or Wordpress, so if you want them to comment, make it easy for them. Don't require them to create yet another account somewhere else or force them to figure out some strange new interface.

6) You're a friend. Yes, this counts. I try to always comment on my friends' posts, or at least their bigger-effort posts. If it's a private family blog that gets updated twice a year or a public blog that gets tons of page views, I will comment because I'm your friend. I don't expect all of my friends to do the same, but it's something I like to do just because I do!

7) I'm giving you a high-five because your post was awesome. Maybe a blog has 25,000 hits a day and it gets 100+ comments per post...do I comment? Well, if it isn't hitting any of the points above, probably not, but sometimes it's just awesome and if I have time I try to give kudos where kudos are due. Blogs are like free magazines and I think the least we can do is leave a comment when something is truly awesome -whether the blog is large or small. Not all posts on a blog are awesome, but maybe think about the posts that garnered the most comments in the past; what did you do there?

I know that's a long list and most of us can't provide everything there, but the more of that list I see in a post/blog, the more likely I am to comment. I definitely would like to improve in some of these areas myself.

Oh, Hello Friend! recently had a post discussing comments (read the comments, too!), but I have to say I though, Joanna nailed it in her recent post on Liebesbotschaft (alles auf Deutsch geschrieben) and I think it's totally worth reading if you can read German/sort through Google's translation. She talks about knowing your motivation to blog, being authentic, not comparing yourself, ignoring critics, and -shocker- not everybody is a blogger, and that's ok.

What about you? Why do you comment on a blog post? Why would you not comment on a blog post?
*bonus: I comment on your blog because I'm actually reading it. Here's 5 reasons why I would read your blog.

Easy balcony privacy screen DIY

Most of our balcony looks into some lovely green trees, one of which is a big white lilac, which is especially nice! However, right when you come outside there's a nasty little view to the right. Since looking at my neighbor's pile of landscaping supplies or into the street and the other neighbor's garden is no lovely sight, I've been wanting to put up some kind of privacy screen.

We live in a rental, so no major renovations are possible. I was hoping that we'd be able to grow some climbing vines to create a 'green' screen of sorts. I think I spent 10 Euro on the piece of lattice from Obi (the German Home Depot) and 2 Euro on some velcro strips so I could attach it to our balcony. Easy to set up the frame...just not easy to get the plants up there! I planted all sorts of morning glory-esque seeds in a windowbox; some of the seeds I had started in my eggshell planters. Ok, the plants are S.L.O.W.! While we enjoy a partially shady balcony that we can actually sit on, our plants are a little Vitamin D starved.

Enter the kitchen curtains from our last apartment. We had open shelving that collected dust like crazy (ok, open shelving is stylish, but it's soooo not practical!), so I had curtains made to cover them. One of the panels was the perfect size for my little lattice screen -hooray! I used some extra nails and clipped curtain rings that were floating around in our toolbox and am so happy with the result! I also added some pegs at the bottom of the panel so it wouldn't blow away in a breeze.

I've been wanting to make our balcony more of an outdoor room this year, but a tablecloth and chair pads are really just not enough. Hanging this panel brings some color and pattern to a higher level while also creating some nice privacy. Yay for easy little projects!

ps- I totally took a second picture for this post 2 weeks after the 'before' shots. Can you see how (slowly) the little plants are growing now? =)

Sew Inspired: Vintage Sewing Notions

I'm in love and I'm inspired. Check out Mary Beth Hale's Etsy shop, specifically her vintage sewing notions. Don't you just love the colors, the photography, and the simple -yet stunning- presentation of her inventory??

I just want to buy these all up and decorate my office! Check out the shop!

5 Reasons Why I Read Your Blog

A friend of mine is thinking about starting a new lifestyle/creative blog in hopes of attracting readers outside her circle of friends and family and asked me for some tips. Pretty funny because my blog is clearly nothing fancy and I wouldn't call myself any kind of 'great' blogger, but I was thinking: I read lots of blogs, why do I read the ones I read? As Tina recently asked on her blog, 'what keeps me coming back?'. So I thought I would answer/post in this format in hopes that it might provide my friend with a few more points to ponder -and maybe even help me get my own act together a bit more!

1) Your blog is somewhat pretty, or maybe even gorgeous in terms of it's layout. This tells me 2 things: a) you care enough to try, even if all you have is a white background and a cute header, i.e., you've invested into your blog, b) your design aesthetic is already piquing my interest and I haven't even read your content yet, but because I like your layout I'm already inclined to like what I read. Personally I prefer blogs to have less bling-bling, blinkies and badges.
By the way, DIY blog pimping isn't that hard thanks to the tutorials over on Pugly Pixel and Blogger Buster -and those are just two examples. Don't want to DIY? Ask Carolyn to do it for you!

2) You have a high level of original content that I don't see/easily find elsewhere. This can be your photos, your sense of humor, your projects, your recipes, etc. Don't post tutorials that are just copies of somebody else's (bad!) or think you're winning points/readers when you post a tutorial of how to sew a napkin or a fabric flower. Those tutes have been posted a million times and the only thing that makes one stick out more than the others is the quality of the photography, explanation, and end result. If you really want to shine in a generic area, put a fun spin on it like this cool series of napkins at Chez Beeper Bebe.

3) You post frequently and regularly, as in, I know you're alive and I'm not wondering if you fell off the face of the earth. Ever run into those blogs that just stop? Kinda creepy somehow. A post a week is a good way to start out I think. That's pretty do-able, right? I shoot for 3-4x/wk because blogging is a hobby, I want to see this blog grow, and the fact is that people are far more likely to follow blogs that publish frequently. I read lots of blogs where the authors will post when they're taking a blogging break for a specified amount of time (due to illness, vacation, workload, etc.) and I think that's totally fine.

4) You post quality. I know I just said post frequently, but if it's lame it's a turnoff to see tons of lame posts. Don't post just to post. I've been so guilty of this in the past and I know how you can feel obligated, but it shows. Quality over quantity folks!

I think the slowest public blog I read is A Field Journal. She posts on average, what, like once or twice a month? But her posts are gorgeous and stunning! Her photos are fantastic and her projects are honestly better than Martha Stewart's, so she can get away with posting so rarely.

Part of quality = clear text and good photos. Fine, I edit for a living so I really notice this, but I think we all appreciate when others run the spell check and don't write eternally long run-on sentences that make you feel like you're never going to reach the end, and by the way they'll throw in forty random facts about their last car repair before getting to the end of their sentence that was originally about spray painting their board and batten project. Do you know what I mean?

What? You can't take photos like Ansel Adams or even Ree Drummond? Me either. Let's try though, ok? Baby steps! Here are some great beginner photo tips, flash tips, and backdrop tips (I need to revisit all of these...). My personal favorites are 'try turning off the flash' and 'read your camera's manual'. I started blogging with my cell phone camera and had 30+ followers in a few months, so anything's possible.

5) It's personal. Even if you're blogging for your business your personality should come through. If somebody just posts pictures of stuff they find online or just put in their shop, I have no idea of who this person is. I don't need to hear all the gory details of your life or see your child's face, but sharing a video that inspired you, for example, tells me something about who you are.

A nice 'About' page can also be helpful in this aspect. Who are you? How can I contact you if I have a question that's not suitable to toss into the comments? Obviously not everybody is ok with putting a picture of themselves online or sharing their private email address, but there are ways to get around that. Add a nice description, get a blogname @ gmail dot com address and have it forwarded to your regular email address, etc. The About pages are supposed to be the second most viewed page on a blog after the homepage, so throw your readers a bone. No connection, no dice.

What keeps you coming back to this blog -or any for that matter? What turns you off? Personally, I'm seeing a lot of room for improvement on my blog after reading my own list, ha! I'll have to work on it...

Stay tuned to hear what makes me want to comment on your blog. (gosh, that sounds arrogant, ha! Just remember why I'm doing these two posts!)

PS- The pictures are from a recent drive through the countryside. Have I mentioned that spring in Germany is wonderful?

Shop Peek: Mohren Haus in Bamberg

Exploring little shops in a new city is always fun and the Mohren Haus in Bamberg did not disappoint. My husband camped out in a cafe with his books while I perused a few shops. I found a smart storage solution at Licht und Design, and am glad that Maedla's website is just like their shop because I could easily buy them out for future gifts for my little nieces, but the Mohren Haus was so fun I went back twice!

A tea shop that has expanded over time to include all sorts of design delicacies, including a large outdoor seating selection that I didn't photograph, the Mohren Haus probably has something for everybody on your list, no joke! Hip clothes, trendy bags for guys, spices, tea, handmade papers, a children's section, and the list goes on. There's even a little cafe upstairs!

There was a huge selection of Rice, House Doctor, Noi Home and others. I really loved all the cheerful color. I've pretty much had it with all the neutrals and beige-pinks that have been everywhere. It's spring, wake up already!

Upstairs in the back was a little room full of little monochromatic displays -totally my thing. I actually found myself wanting one of those pink mats from Rice to put out on my balcony -and I'm not a pink person! But it was the green that totally had me smitten. I really loved all the storage containers and lampshades and wish I'd had a bigger shopping budget, but oh well. There are other ways to incorporate green into one's home than breaking the bank, right? (sic)

However, I didn't leave empty-handed. I found a few things that should help round out some projects I've had in the works. I'll share more when things get finished!

If you're ever in Bamberg, Germany, be sure to check out the Mohren Haus!

Found: Free Spring Printable To-Do Lists

So cute. So Spring-y. So free. Check out these lovely free printable Spring To-Do lists from A Quick Study. I can't remember where I first saw these in my internet roamings, but I had to share. There's certainly plenty to do right now, so I suppose it might as well look pretty, right?

Sew Inspired: The Be Linen Movie

This is nothing short of beautiful. Beautiful filming, beautiful editing, and beautifully inspiring. Linen is probably my most favorite fabric to wear, so learning more about the plant and the making of the fabric was truly fascinating (yes, really!).

BE LINEN MOVIE from Benoit MILLOT on Vimeo.

And now I want to go to France and Italy. Aren't you inspired??

BHLDN decor is true love

Today I'm celebrating 6yrs with the best guy ever. We're not perfect, but I think we're perfect for each other. He is the best and he's the reason I'm here in Germany! It's fun to look back on our wedding video and see all the lovely people who were there -and the decor! If BHLDN decor had been around back then you can bet it would have been part of our wedding! 

Isn't it gorgeous?? (although I confess it's very much DIY inspiration, isn't it??) I could totally see using this stuff in our house, let alone a party!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Completed: My First Dress

Actually, if you count that horrid jumper I made in 7th grade, then this isn't my first dress. However, this is the first dress I've sewn that I can actually wear outside the house! Hurrah! This project was a long time coming (I actually completed it in two days, but the date of completion was one year plus one day after that post!) and was also on my list of creative goals for this year, so I was psyched to complete it!

We have no full-length mirror in our house, so I felt like the Statue of Liberty as I walked around the house swathed in green jersey and jumped up in the air before our smaller mirrors to see what I thought of a few ideas. I also have no dress dummy, so there's another thing to add to my wishlist. While we're on the topic of wishlists, let me add a serger. Sewing this jersey dress on my regular sewing machine worked, but it was tricky. I had to practice on a few scraps to get a feel for what my machine could and couldn't do.

A pattern (Schnittmuster) was another thing I didn't have -and didn't want. Patterns totally stress me out. I tried on a jersey dress I already own and like and made a few notes about what I'd change on it if I could, then traced the dress + changes on my green jersey. I did this on my bed because it meant I didn't have to kneel on the floor forever. This is such an easy way to make your own dress! We all have something we like, so just use it as the template!

Here's a perfect example of how ridiculous the hemline became after sewing the side seams with a sewing machine. I did long zig-zag stitches as recommended for people using sewing machines with jersey, but I think either the feed on the machine or maybe me tugging at it too much (or both) led to this problem. I thought this might happen, so I'd added extra length to the project when I cut the fabric, but a serger would've prevented this.

After cutting, I decided I didn't want to do an elastic band like my template dress, so of course it was too wide. Waaaay too wide!

It was at this point I panicked because I realized I'd forgotten that I would have some exposed seams on the hemline and the arm and neck openings. for the hemline I used contrasting thread and did a zig-zag stitch in an attempt to create a decorative hemline that hopefully looks intentional. I gave it a rather deep hemline just to protect myself from issues after future washes.

When I bought this green jersey last summer (on clearance, can't you tell with that crooked dye job?), I also bought a strip of black jersey as well. I cut a strip off along the length and used that to make the 1" trimming tape on the neck and arm openings. Thankfully, as jersey, it has enough stretch so I didn't have to make bias tape, I could just fold it over and iron it to create the trim. It also attached really easily, so that was a relief!

The rest of the black jersey became the belt/sash. I decided to do this instead of elastic because with the sash I can make the dress either an empire waist dress, or tie it low over my hips and pull the dress up to blouse over the belt for something more like a tunic to wear with leggings.

The V-neck turned out a tad wonky, so it doesn't lay completely flat, which is a shame, but it could've been worse. However, after so many tryings-on and drawing adjustments with the fabric pen while jumping up in front of our tiny mirrors, I think it turned out pretty well. It certainly looks different from what I first envisioned as I traced the outline, but the end result definitely has features from my inspiration images.

My two favorite things about this project are that 1) I actually did it!! I didn't think/know if I would, but I did, and it was worth it! and 2) it is so nice to have a dress that hits me at my favorite length: just below the knees. I'm 6'1" (185cm) and it's nearly impossible to find stuff that long. I'm totally inspired to try this sort of thing again and since I'm a huge fan of knits, a serger is definitely on my wishlist!

What about you? Have you ever sewn your own clothing? What did you make? Have you ever sewn with knits?

Bavaria's Bamberg Blues

Our little break in Bamberg was great; it was so good to just get away and have a change of scenery! We stayed in a great little place with fantastic staff in a fabulous location; it was so fresh, modern and friendly. There were so many fun things to see and cute shops to explore, one of which I'll feature later this week. I especially loved some of the adorable little houses we walked by. Look at the wisteria perfectly arching around the back patio of this riverfront home...sigh.

There was so much blue around Bamberg, but I suppose this is just too obvious since the Bavarian flag is all blue and white, right? This wasn't the first time I found blue and white in Bayern.

I also had fun watching the royal wedding while we were there. As a child I watched "Lady Di" get married, so of course I had to watch William and Kate's wedding! =) I enjoyed part of my breakfast in bed, but my husband was happier camped out in a cafe with his book, ha ha!

I'm working with a Wednesday deadline, so I'll have more later this week on the fun shop I enjoyed as well as my first wearable sewing creation -yay! What have you been working on lately?