What I did during the last two Weeks

Remember that I told you about the lucky bag swap? The parcel arrived yesterday, only one day after I took it to the post office. SleepingTime, the recipient, liked it and so I think I’ve got the permission to finally post some pictures here.

The Lucky Bag itself.

I took stars as a theme, nautical ones, to be specific. Not only do I like this motif very much but also SleepingTime mentioned her love for stars of every kind and fashion in her swap profile.

Card and sweets.

I love to follow a certain continuity with colours, symbols and writings. The sweets are raspberry sherbert bonbons called chuckle pellets and match the red I used for the flowers and some of the content.

Buttons.

These were the first things I made for this swap when I was still very weak and bedbound. SleepingTime wrote that she liked stripes and the colours red and turquoise. We are a crafts forum after all, so I decided to draw needle and thread, too.

Bookmark.

The needle-and-thread theme again, this time with the same flowers as on the card and scissors. And stars, of course.

The bag was the “large” thing I made for the swap. Strangely the colour matches SleepingTime’s medieval dress nearly exactly, at least this is what she told me, and I didn’t even know about this dress!

I really like how the embroidery turned out. The yellow parts are three layers of different yarns each and the turquoise tendrils are not only striped with the lightest yellow bead yarn but also decked with glass beads.

The design is meant to be quite medieval inspired but I think I’ve inserted quite a lot of my own hedgefairy style.

I used the same thread for the bookmark, also with these glass beads sewn around. The embroidered stars are simple pentagrams with stitches at the crossings of the lines in a slightly darker yellow.

Finally, the last project for the lucky bag: A leather bracelet and matching earrings again with nautical stars, twines, flowers and read thread. I kept the pattern I made for the wristband so I will be able to make one of these for myself. The leather is quite thick and soft at the same time and was very easy to pyrography as soon as the soldering iron was hot enough.

I hope that SleepingTime will take pleasure in these things for a long time and am really glad that she likes them.

I should really post more about crafts here.

Tangled Webs and High Heel Issues

Oh, don’t misunderstand the title!
Normally I don’t have any problems with heels, I am able to walk in them even if I wouldn’t wear them to university or my everyday life at all.

But yesterday the high heels of an other girl caused me some bruises and pain at my shinbone. Thanks, stupid. And by the way, faking half fainting is really… no. Even at a rockabilly concert. And for god’s sake, I know that you were mostly there for the boys, but hell why can’t you wear trainers for Rock’nRoll dancing? Enough of the rant.

‘Cause yesterday I was fit enough again to attend a concert of a great rockabilly band from my old home town Aschaffenburg, Boppin’ B, together with Bambi. It was quite spontaneous as he mentioned it during breakfast and we decided to go there as the location is just about hundred yards away so if my weakness would have struck again I could have walked home easily in under five minutes. Glady, this didn’t happen although I was happy when it ended at 10.30 PM (it had begun at 8 PM) for that was my “deadline” and I really had to turn the dancing down at the end. Anyway, it was magnificent and totally worth it (even the opening act was great!).
Afterwards when we were back home, Bambi made some scrambled eggs with lots of pepper and I added the salad and we had a really nice though late and simple dinner.

Another thing absolutely worth mentioning is last Wednesday. Teli and Fiene came over for a crafts afternoon as they are both knitting the most adorable jumper with embedded owls. Also, Teli finally taught me how to crochet and I exercise daily to get the work more even. But at least I dared to crochet a scallop border! Well, that was another point of my 101 daring deeds to fulfill. Make that 13. :)

Today I’m going to get some more cotton crochet thread and a large mirror – I’m tired of using Bambi’s whenever I want to check my outfits. Oh, and I finally took the swap parcel to the post office. Now it’s all waiting and hoping that the recipient likes it.

5 Favourite Words in February

I always liked words. I collect them in my pocket calendar, the red one with the golden decor. From now on I’ll share my favourite words with you, five each month.

1. Monastery. I like how close it actually is to Monster. Especially if you speak the e, which may be wrong but sounds great. As I said, a little bit like Monster.
2. Wut. The German word for fury. Well, not really. I haven’t found a word in English yet to translate Wut the way I want to. Stretch the u. Wuuuuut. Well, I like it.
3. Honig. German for honey. I like it better than the English version ’cause you can extend the o better. Hooohnig. Besides, I love honey.
4. Abbey. Quite closely related to monastery in its meaning. I seem to have a soft spot for clerical words. Like in Westminster or Northanger.
5. Fair in the meaning of pretty and pale. It reminds me of flaxen hair, Astrid Lindgren books, wild roses and skin that burns way to fast. And finally, it sounds a little bit like fairy (although the words are not related at all).

A bagful of Steampunk

Normally, I don’t post twice a day, but the anniversary post doesn’t really count.

Yesterday there arrived a swap parcel for me. I nearly missed it because the postman is always in such a hurry (well, one of our neighbors would have taken it for me, I think, but it is nicer to receive it yourself, isn’t it.)

It came from Trisha who perfectly met my taste with the steampunk inspired items (and the chocolate) in the lucky bag!

The bag itself with the greeting card and a bookmark.

Some bathing essence, tea, coffee chocolate, a phone strap and buttons - she even made some of them herself! Oh, and of course a great slide...

...that I put into my hair immediately.

The green part of the bag consisted of more chocolate (nougat), a ribbon brooch, another hairpin and a wonderful necklace which I didn't want to take off anymore. And isn't the letter cute?

Also, a small package from my maternal family arrived with a woolen kidney warmer (thanks!) which may be a little bit weird, but I really like it. I think it’s from one of my great-grandmothers. However. I went to the upper town to get the sweets for the lucky bag I’m sending in, so hopefully I can get the gift ready for the post office today.

Oh, and I went to H&M for a simple long sleeve but they had not my size anymore, so I found myself at home with this treasure later:

Hulloah Honoria again.

I think I’ll waist it down as I don’t like that tent-look (that’s how Jules calls it) that much. But I love the lace at the collar, and guess what, it even was on sale and the fabric has a great feel to my skin.

My work in progress is going pretty well, the duck dress is nearly finished by now, only the ribbons, the sash and the ruffles are lacking by now. And maybe the ornamental stripes if I decide to go for them.

One Year

Today my blog is celebrating its first anniversary.

Thank you for a wonderful year of sharing my life and thoughts with you.

Thank you for reading this blog.

I really appreciate your comments, ideas and the inspiration you’ve given me. Without the knowledge of you reading this I might have given up quite soon, but now I’ve been here for a year and I think that I can really go on with blogging. I’ve changed though this year and my life has, too, but still, I’m happy being a Hedgefairy.

Four mere boring and dust-dry facts for this year of blogging are:

• I’ve written 108 posts (this one included), making this a post in every 3.4 days.
• I’ve fulfilled 12 of my daring deeds (got to enhance that a little bit).
• This blog has been viewed 2685 times, with 105 views on the busiest day (making that 7.35 views per day  averaged).
• I’ve received 30 comments and I’m thankful for each of them. They are the mainspring, the fuel that keeps me blogging!

Again: Thank you very much. I hope you’ll accompany me during the next year, too.

Intermezzo: Blog Links Update

Almost a year ago (oh well, 10 months) I posted a list of the blogs I was reading regularly then. This list has grown, and I wanted to give you a little update of some (definitely not all and only those in English) of the jewels that brighten my days. I won’t repeat myself as the old list can be read through the link above.

Princess for a Day or the Rest of your Life?

My pen friend’s princess blog. Darling, I’m eagerly waiting for every new post of yours!

Mademoiselle Chaos & Sister Infinity

I dare say: My favourite blog at the moment. Mademoiselle Chaos is so creative and skillful! I love her obsession for steampunk and wool and her tutorials, too. A really inspiring blog, and now I really have to learn crochet (In advance: thanks to Teli for teaching me! Ha!, there’s a German blog. I tricked on myself again, but that’s okay.).

The Lion and the Dandelion

Oh well, yes, another German blog. But the titles are in English. Well, once I crossed the threshold… Anyway, I extremely like this blog’s name, and the content, too.

Miss Lumpy

The chance that those of my reader who are at least a little bit into Lolita already know this blog is pretty good. Anyway, I really like Miss Lumpy’s musings and her style (as it isn’t giving me a toothache by being too sweet) and goth, she’s simply beautiful. Secretly, I refer to her as a kind of Snow White. ^^

F*** Yeah Lolita

Another Lolita classic. I love Caro-chans style of writing as she doesn’t seem to take the fashion too serious and can be quite sarcastic. I appreciate that.

Grim(m) Shirts and Paper Subjects

Today I went to see my tutor for Celtic Studies to discuss the subject for my assignment. It will be Crossing Cultures in the Welsh Marches during the Middle Ages which is not the exact title (that’s not set yet) but at least the matter. I also got an idea what to write for my bachelor degree, but that’s not really ripe for decision by now as I still have five semesters to go until then.

I also came up with a T-shirt design for myself when I was standing in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. It is a pretty known fact that I love fairytales and the P&P roleplay Grimm.

It features several themes from Grimm’s Fairy Tales and a matching writing. I’m not too sure about the Rotten King thing yet, maybe I’ll put it on the back, maybe not. I did the colouring with my pad and found that working with the computer at this point can be indeed great fun. I’m not very good at digital colouring (this page above is my third try at all), but for scribbles it’s quite ideal. The page is not the design itself, by the way, more of a brainstorming for the T-shirt.

The present for Bambi’s birthday in March is progressing quite well, but I can’t show it yet in case that he unexpectedly stumbles by here… I can only tell that it is related to a computer game of which’s soundtrack I’m rather annoyed by now although I really liked it in the beginning.
On Wednesday there will be a handicraft bee here at the little white house in the green lane and hopefully I’ll finally learn crochet. I’ll report about that on Thursday.

I should really be doing something for my Latin certificate right now as I can’t participate in the compact course due to my illness. I hardly could walk to university (that’s about ten minutes) and stay there that long, how should I bear a 8 to 1 seminar, then, for three weeks? Fortunately I’ve got a good friend who’s taking the course, too and keeps me informed. Well, plus six years of Latin lessons can’t be lost labour, there’s still lots of that knowledge somewhere in my head.

But now I’ll be heading of to our department store for some yellow felt, some long sleeves and a plain T-shirt.

So long!

Steampunk Style Test

As I’m still planning a Steampunk LARP which will be realised in September (really, we’ve got the location and everything!), I took a little test which I wanted to recommend to my readers.

Click here for the Steampunk Style Test.

This is my result:

The Aristocrat

50% Elegant, 31% Technological, 47% Historical, 40% Adventurous and 43% Playful!

You are the Aristocrat, the embodiment of steampunk elegance and poise. For you, dressing steampunk is first and foremost about simply looking good, with accessories and details to follow. However, this does not mean that you ignore the demands of creating a “steampunk look.” Your outfits weave together a balance between technology and style, and between period accuracy and beautiful anachronism. While your fashion inspiration may come from anywhere across the Victorian social spectrum, you always find a way to make your outfit beautiful. You will probably be found in the clothes of the steam age elite simply because of the greater elegance available to them. Chances are you dress this way because you like it, and you would still dress in this manner even if steampunk was not a popular interest.

Well, that’s pretty much it. I’d add a little bit of the Explorer style, though. I really have to start sewing Honoria’s wardrobe… Oh, I definitely should introduce Honoria to you soon.

What’s your Steampunk Style type? Yes, this is a direct challenge for you to do this test and comment. I’m curious. :)

Boredom

Image from weheartit.com

I am indeed inceredibly bored. One can’t just watch Scrubs for days or read Thursday Next: Something Rotten in one strike – it would be over then and I’d have to return to Mr Dickens and the Great Expectations. Dickens is a great storyteller but not very nice when you’re impatiently sitting at home with the eager wish to go outside as he is talking and talking and talking and not coming to any conclusion, at least not for me and not at the moment. I finished the embroidery for the swap and am now thinking about the next piece – there’s still something lacking in my eyes, except the sweets, of course.

I’ve had a phone conversation with Jules and watched the Autumn/ Winter collection of 2006 by Alexander McQueen (a pity he died) which is really great and I made a test about which character from the new Alice in Wonderland film I’m most like (the Cheshire Cat), I made the style category test at Natron & Soda and ended up with the fairytale section (satisfying) and I updated the blog of my upcoming Steampunk LARP. I phoned my mother (twice) and even got out of the house to get me some vitamins for the weekend.

And I’m still quite bored. The blogs I read aren’t updated daily which is not that horrible when I’m well, but I want something nice and easy to read about frills and lace and Lolita meet-ups at the moment. I truly never wanted to write such a negative article in this blog, but well, one does many things one never wanted to do when one’s bored.

If I was well now I’d dress in the best clothing I’ve got here and go outside to the upper city to take some pictures and to go to Hussel’s (the best sweets shop in town) and get myself some serious sugar and chocolate. I’d take my sketchbook and draw the birds on the river Lahn and then I’d maybe go to the little minerals museum behind Elisabeth church that my father recommended when we passed it by when he drove me to the doctor. I’d stray along the streets and look at the shop windows and maybe I’d get a new Chapati item to cuddle in when I’m at home again. Then, I’d make me a hot chocolate to warm myself (it’s colder again and it even snowed a little a while ago) and crunch down my loot from the sweets shop.

Well, at least I can make a hot chocolate!

Short Return after Absence

As you may have noticed I’ve been a little absent during the last two weeks.

First it was the exams, and after those were over, I got struck with Pyelonephritis and bedbound for a week with fever, chills, a massive headache and abdominal pain in an overdose. Gladly, I found a good doctor not too far from our home and am way better now, even if I’m still supposed to not leave the house.

Which is a pity for the snow is melting now and the air is clear and the wind carries the first notions of spring, and the sun warms the old walls of the book store on the other side of the street.

Before I fell ill I started sewing a new dress, I hope I can go on with it soon. I’ll be under medication until Monday for now, but then I’ll finally be able to go out again (mainly, to arrange the subject of my upcoming assignment).

At the moment the Satyr has a visitor – his youngest sister is staying for some days and they are sight-seeing right now. Oh, how I want to go outside, too! Aaaaargh! Yes, this isn’t very lady-like, I know.

I attended another swap at Natron & Soda, this time as a kind of “lucky bag”. I’m quite satisfied with the things I’ve already made – doing things in bed is possible, at all – but I can’t show too much here until I sent the package.
One of the things one can do really good in bed is embroidery.

I noticed that the things I’ve got stored at the lower end of my bed match perfectly in colour:

I liked this so much that I made it my new desktop background. ^^

Mostly, I spent my last days playing Edna bricht aus, watching Scrubs, reading three Thursday Next-Books, drawing for the swap and sleeping. I really want to get outside. Really. REALLY! AAAARGH!

Until then,
I’ll stay your
Bonnie