Wishful Thinking, or: Upside Down Sewing

There’s a bit of a backlog on my sewing projects. Plus, I didn’t take my camera for Christmas, so no festive post this time, but rather the opposite.

Just like half of the sewing blogosphere, it seems, I always wanted to make stylish and unique swimwear for myself. In sixth or seventh grade (handicraft classes are compulsory in Swiss schools) I made a one piece swimsuit with a turtle neck and shorts. I loved it, but not for swimming, as I wore it mostly as a bodysuit with long pants, because it looked kind of fancy.

Then, about ten years later, I unsuccessfully tried with Burdastyle’s Allison swimsuit. I chalked my failure up to not having a teacher around to help me through the difficult bits. That and the fact that my serger and fabric didn’t get along too well.

But since 2009 my sewing abilities have improved, so I wanted to give it another try. I had this idea of a one piece (bikinis are always the same, so not interesting enough…) with a cowl neck (no surprise there, and there!). I searched for patterns for a long time, and then finally found the Divine Drape swimsuit by Stretch&Sew. So when I was in LA, I took the opportunity of low-cost shipping and ordered it immediately after arriving. Then on a (unblogged) short trip to NY I found cheap swimwear fabric. THEN I had to wait to be with my zigzag sewing machine. And as soon as I got home… I chickened out.

Then everybody seemed to make the Bombshell swimsuit. And I… still chickened out.

But then it snowed:

Divine Drape Swimsuit – Completely upside down sewing

And two days later I had a spanking new swimsuit. But why would snow make me want to sew a swimsuit? Who knows. The females in our family are strange that way, it seems, as my sister used to draw skiing and snowboarding slopes when we were on beach holidays…

Maybe it’s also from the fact that I have a lot of Southern hemisphere blogs in my reader and I decided to adapt to their sewing cycles and do some upside down sewing (i.e. sewing for the opposite season).

But anyway, this becomes a rather long post essentially saying:

I MADE A SWIMSUIT! YAY!

To be honest, it was pretty easy and straightforward, as the pattern instructions were very good (with pictures!). The only problems I ran into were my sewing machine having troubles with tenstion, which was visible in the close-ups, so you don’t get any. Instead, here’s the side view:

Divine Drape Swimsuit – I like what the drape does here

It’s seriously the most comfortable swimsuit I have ever worn. I think it’s because I was able to adjust it for my long torso, and therefore no elastic digging into uncomfortable parts. So I see many more in my future, with many variations. The first minor variation I already did:

Divine Drape Swimsuit – tied straps, rather than sewn down

I couldn’t decide on a strap placement and therefore decided for none and just tied them behind my neck. So, yeah, I am ready for summer! Here’s to hoping it will come soon!

(Twinkly)Lights In The Darkness

The Jolly Season Is Upon Us!

Of course I have been complaining about the cold for way too long now. BUT! here are some things I actually like about this season of ever receding light. For one, the twinkly lights are out, and because it’s dark for most of the day, you can actually enjoy them longer! As you can see above, Jyväskylä isn’t really dark at “night” (this was taken at 3.30pm). Indeed it boasts being the “City of Lights“. Apart from the city center, there are many other areas that are illuminated, such as the “never-ending-bridge”:

Never Ending Bridge by Night

Or then, this organic looking sculpture in front of the natural science campus:

Illuminated Sculpture

I quite like that there is light beyond necessity. It kind of makes the city feel friendlier, but also kind of futuristic. There are many installations I haven’t discovered yet. Knowing that helps me keep an open eye for my surroundings, which is something that makes me appreciate them more. Yes, even in winter. Speaking of which: It has arrived! It was fairly warm for November (which means around 5˚C) and raining. So it was dark at night, and grey during the day. But then it finally snowed! One year ago I couldn’t quite understand the Finnish enthusiasm for snow. But having spent two Autumns here, I now understand what a difference the snow makes. Snow means that the light of the street lamps is reflected, and it is suddenly a lot brighter. Plus, there are other advantages, as I have pointed out before. This year, it’s still a lot warmer than last year, so we get the dreaded melting and freezing. As a (unokwn to me) Finn said on facebook: “You don’t know what fear is before you have been out today.” Pure ice, disguised by some freshly fallen snow.

But for me this is already over, I’m currently sitting in sunny and relatively warm Rome, waiting for the airplane to go to Switzerland.  However, I wanted to show you the beautiful lights of Jyväskylä before Christmas. Have happy holidays, if you celebrate them, otherwise:

Happy Solstice!