There’s a first time for everything – EuroSteamCon ’12

Just yesterday the very first EuroSteamCon ended. Marburg actually had the only “official” (read: listed) German event, but we all hope there will be more next year. The concept is fairly new to Europe where it is far more complicated to host gigantic conventions like in the USA albeit the distances are actually not as far in comparison.
Anyway, we had a nice picnic (everyone had expected the weather to be worse so nearly no-one was prepared to actually have the planned picnic, but we managed) – about fifteen Steampunks from all over Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia – and later went to the upper town for coffee and food that was not muffins.

Muffins I made. That’s spice-and-orange-plus-honey-oatmeal and cocoa-walnut-plus-honey-oatmeal.

You can have a look at everything that happened on the live blog (via Clockworker):

Day 1

Day 2

Sadly I only took a few pictures, and none of them are really presentable, I’m sorry.

Aaand yesterday during the meet-up I also got my copy of THIS:

This is sort of the German pendant to the Steampunk Bible – well, maybe the little sibling – written by the chief editors of the Clockworker and Daily Steampunk, respectively. It’s a nice summary of Steampunk activities, labels and backgrounds of the international and, more detailed, the German linguistic areas, and I had the honour of being one of the non-professional lectors.

I also had the honour of drawing this little fellow as an illustration of the Captain’s Steampunk boson theory. That’s so awesome, something I scribbled ended up in a real, printed book!

Did any of you attend a Steampunk convention, LARP or meet-up lately?

The Maker

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I really couldn’t wait for my next 10 Things I Love with this!

Forget about Tim Burton.* The Maker is a beautiful, melancholic, philosophic stop motion short film by Christopher Kezelos with the awesome, whimsical things-from-the-attic style artwork of Amanda Louise Spayd.

Here’s the official website and you can also help The Maker win at the ShortList Film Festival here.

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* No, not really, of course. But I think he’s really got some serious competition here.

Artwork Monday

I draw and paint mostly on Mondays. This is mainly because Scoundrel normally spends this day with his best friend – the Elfin One – and I like a day for myself once a week. I’m more productive when I’m alone.

Drawing more means more pictures I can show you, and this is exactly what I’ll do on Artwork Mondays. I won’t make it a weekly installment, I know that I can’t keep up with those. But every now and then will be possible, and it even correlates with one of my resolutions for this year.

Enough with the talking, I know you want pictures. Erm, a picture.

It’s more or less an experiment, and I noticed too late that the paper was definitely not right for water colour. I’m not entirely pleased, but I do like how the letter parts in the last panel came out. If I’m feeling like it some day I’ll draw it again, gladly I’ve got the inked-for-lightbox-sketch still.

You can see the picture full-sized here.

Sartorial Saturday: Back on Track & In Time

The alternative title I had in mind was “Watson Girl”. The new Sherlock Holmes picture is to start on Thursday before Christmas here in Germany, and I’m really looking forward to it!
I also wore this yesterday for the annual Pretend to be a Time Traveller Day, but I think it’s going to be one of my favourite everyday outfits for this winter, anyway.

Outfit Rundown:
- coat (below): Pimkie
- longsleeve: H&M
- T-shirt: Takko
- waistcoat: handed down (formerly C&A, I think)
- skirt: self-made
- tights: drug store
- gaiters: self-made
- shoes: Hanwag

Accessoires Rundown:
- hat: H&M (I think that’s going to be my new every day hat, I love it! Just bower-like enough for my first fulfilled Daring Deed from the new list!)
- bag: thrifted
- acorn necklace: self-made
- fork bracelet: artisan fair
- club/ ornament stud: Bijou Brigitte/ probably some Christmas market stall

I look a bit tired in this ambience shot, and I even curled out my face in the actual outfit picture because of the massive circles beneath my eyes, but I assure you that I’m well. Just a bit busy at the moment.
Anyway, I really like the spot where I took the pictures. It’s rather quiet there, with a beautiful view on the small lake and this giant willow (and it has a statue in just the right angle and height for self-timing), it’s not too far from my house, and you’re probably going to see it more often on outfit snaps in the near future.

P.S.: There’s still time to take part in my recent giveaway, if you’d like some of my illustrations, don’t forget to enter!

Sartorial Sunday: One Day Late

Due to this week’s schedule I’m a little late with my weekly feature. I had to take the photos today as I left in a hurry and returned when it was already dark when I wore this outfit on several occasions. But the alliteration stays, so that’s okay.

This is an outfit I actually wore twice this week (and today), the first time to the fan meet-up with Steampunk author Gail Carriger of Parasol Protectorate fame (more about this great book series in a post of its own) on Tuesday and a second one for the book fair convention yesterday.

Outfit Rundown:
- blouse: once-upon-a-time H&M
- bodice: probably some LARP shop
- trousers: Takko, altered by me
- shoes: cropped-off Undercover steel toes
- coat: Pimkie (changed buttons)
- scarf: handed down
- fingerless gloves (unseen): local shepherd

Accessoires Rundown:
- watch pendant: Promod
- bell earring/ acorn stud: self-made/ Accessorize
- hair clips: H&M

close-up of the clock face appliqués on my trousers

This is pretty much the city look I wrote about in my last post, and I love it. It’s quite influenced by my time in Frankfurt, but picturesque and playful enough for Marburg, too. When I wear something like this I feel like nothing in the world can stop me. I feel savvy, good-looking (rather than pretty), strong, I’ll-get-my-will-and-you-know-it like. I guess the biggest part of this awesome feeling comes from trousers and coat, the trousers make my legs appear quite long (and I’ve been assured that my back looks quite good in them, too) – just like my Savate sports trousers -, and the coat has something rather professional about it, as if it were a little (and more practical) sibling to the expensive woolen coats all the business people in my old city wear (I wear my coats open most of the time, I guess I just like the dramatic effect of them swinging).

I also think that this last part will become a regular part of the Sartorial Saturday, it’s just such an interesting thing how different outfits can make us feel like different persons, or parts of our personalities, at least.

Sartorial Saturday: Boston Steampunk

Boston because the flat cap reminds me of my favourite folk punk bands, and Steampunk because I think this is quite a nice step in the right direction for an everyday look of this style.

Again it’s a “real” Sartorial Saturday, but not really a planned outfit but simply what happened to be there when I got dressed. Actually, that’s pretty much what I want to achieve with this challenge, not having to plan out every detail of an outfit but just find it by looking into the closet!
The waistcoat and braces also share the houndstooth pattern, coincidentally.

Outfit Rundown:
- T-Shirt: Ann Christine
- Waistcoat: vintage (from some person related to me)
- Hoodie (pictured below): Coppelius merchandise
- Trousers: Orsay
- Shoes: cropped-off Undercover steel toes once again

Accessoires Rundown:
- Bag: thrifted
- Braces: H&M
- Earrings (club stud and silver creole): Bijou Brigitte
- Rocking Horse pendant: I am
- Flat cap: H&M
- Velvet hair ribbon (not pictured): handicraft shop

Location: An empty warehouse next to the end of the world.

Sartorial Saturday: Barnsteen

Welcome to the first official issue of Jules’ and my “Return to Welldressedville” challenge, the SARTORIAL SATURDAY (yes, capitals)!
I wear the following outfit as I am typing, so it’s a real deal Sartorial Saturday for me. Things have been quite busy here in our white little house at the edge of the world – there’s a deep, deep abyss only two steps from our front door at the moment, so it’s really like living at world’s end.

Steampunk Ero something, I guess…

Outfit Rundown:
- T-Shirt: Takko
- Bodice: Orsay (changed buttons)
- Shorts: Pimkie
- Tights: Probably Waschbär or a green woolen clothing shop
- Spats: self-made
- Shoes: cropped Undercover combat boots

"Hunt the Hare" buttons.

The accessoires are the reason for this Sartorial Saturday’s title, which is the Afrikaans name for Amber. Plus, the shorts had the right colour, too.

Accessoire Rundown:
- Amber sun stud: Waschbär
- Golden bell earring: self-made
- Fork bracelet: artisan fair
- Amber necklace: Renaissance fair
- Bag: Vintage (from my mother)
- Alice band (not in the picture): drug store

Today town was awfully crowded so that it took longer than usual to find a place to take pictures… but luckily the old Graveyard Park was empty as always.

Oh, and Jules joined me this week! You can see his outfit here.

And you’re still invited.

10 Adorables in August

It’s time for a new name again, and so the 10 Pleasures that morphed into 10 Things I love changed into 10 Adorables. J’adore.

• Stacking off fabric. As in sewing treat holders and other small things. But I hope that bigger projects will follow.
• The progress of my rag rug. It’s more than half finished now!
• Teefury.com. The greatest very-rare-print-t-shirt site ever.
• My new trousers. They are made of a mix of cotton and linen, light grey with white pinstripes.
• Gala Darling’s 100 Ways to be a Love Letter to the Universe.
• Buttermilk. There are few better things on a hot day.
  
• The Lion rubber stamp I just bought.
• The Reason for a topless Fencing duel. Via WOA.
• Old Clock Card Machines. I think I’d love one for our next Steampunk con.
• Inks. I’ve got several now, violet blue and black and sea green and sepia and white… looks like I need some red, too.

My Summer Holiday: First Impressions

As I mentioned before, I’m back from vacation. And you all know what this means. Photographs.

When I first went through the pictures I took I sorted them into two categories, Inside and Outside. The ones that fitted in neither of these folders and so were neither from the small world of its own of our hotel nor from the impressive deep forest we explored are those that I’ll show you first.

Trainstation and circumjacent gardens.

Magnificent carved birds.

Prettiest tourist information ever.

Beautiful buildings.

Into the woods…

Steampunk is everywhere,you just have to know where to look (in this case a distillery).

Or in jeeps, disguised as old locomotives. And yes, we rode that thing.

Skirts and Books – What I made

Of course, as it was a swap, I made something, too.

First, the skirt swap.

The demands were fir green, silver and black in colours, a dislike for patterns but love for butterflies and in style something between Alice in Wonderland, military and Steampunk. The girl I was fairy godmother to also wanted the skirt to end above her knees and told me that Lolita didn’t suit her. This is what I came up with:

The elfin one was so nice to model for me.

And here are the details:

(photo not by me but by Schiriki who got the skirt)

clock embroidery

And the accessoires I made, too:

The clock-alike thing is a hair clip.

At the book swap, I decided to make something matching to Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures, one of the books that were given as favourites of Ravna, the girl I was a fairy godmother to in this case.

She also had given black as her favourite colour, maybe with red accents, and a liking for second-hand fabric and some sort of grunge in the design – not too perfect, after all – too. Plus, she wished for a sweat jacket, something I never made before. But I like a good challenge and so I went to the thrift store and got some old sweatshirts and this is what I made of them:

Front with open collar

Front with collar closed

The hero of the book, Rumo, is named after a Zamonian card game, hence the card inlays. I like the grungy effect on the symbols.

Hearts

Spades

Diamonds

Clubs (my favourite)

Collar detail

Collar with label

Back

In the first part of the book Rumo is also in search of a “silver ribbon” which actually leads him to “his” girl. Well, anyway, I had lots of fun painting the ribbon:

Ravna also collects fairy tale books. When I found the Anderson book at the book store across the street, I instantly thought of her! Also, I usually pack something sweet into the swap boxes, but Ravna had written before that she didn’t like sweets so much and preferred tea.

All pictures were taken in our front yard, the light and scenery were  just perfect.

The parcel arrived and Ravna was really happy with her sweat jacket. She even allowed me to use her pictures for the blog. I’m so glad it fits!

I must confess that this jacket was he most difficult piece I made for a swap as yet. At the moment I’m in a pirate themed swap until May, but after that I’ll need somewhat of a hiatus from swapping. There are so many things I want to sew for myself, after all!