Thursday, October 7, 2010

Friday, October 1, 2010

today

Window shop at Gärtnerplatz, Munich (yes, it’s Oktoberfest time)

19:45 sky over Munich

Monday, September 27, 2010

a simple way to enjoy an avocado

Spoon out avocado.
Mix shoyu with wasabi.
Pour over avocado.
Sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.
Eat and smile.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

today

 Present for a friend. Earrings from Unikat Kantine.

 Bún riêu and salads @Chén Chè, Berlin

Cocktail @Chén Chè, Berlin

Sunday, June 13, 2010

giving and receiving

My birthday was in April but due to many things I've just received this awesome present last week:

Washi masking tape!!!

Today I put it into use:

I forgot to take a before picture, but imagine the lid and the button of this sunglasses case were of the green colour you see on the above picture.

I managed to cover them all! No more green plastic case around :)

Also, yesterday I sewed this bib for a friend in Japan:

I used the instructions from Mai, which was easy enough, but I think I've chosen a too-thick towel material for this project...and I don't have any Sashiko threads for embroidering (not to mention that I've never done any real embroidery before), hence the rather unfriendly face of this bear - you do can tell that it's a bear, right? Right??

I hope her baby won't cry when she sees it...

food collage

I love good food.

Do you know that you can use apple slicer on a pear, too?

A friend of mine gave me the recipe for this chicken fajita.

Spaghetti in taco shells - inspired by iCarly.

Mega-delicious-but-bad-for-your-figure cheese snack!

A family menu at Kanun, eaten by me and a (guy) friend
- left were only 2 chicken pieces and a bit of fries...

Yes, I love good food :)

Saturday, May 15, 2010

organizing laces

Oh dear, how long have I been absent?
It's due to a lot of things, but mainly because of my new job :)

This time I just want to show you how I organize my lace collections.

First, I made a bunch of these from cardstock.

Then I just wind up the lace on them, fixed with sewing pins.
Then I store them in a box.
That's it!

Monday, March 29, 2010

herz-jesu kirche

Since last Sunday was Palm Sunday, I'd like to share my "German church" with you, though I went to my "Indonesian church" that day :D

It's a rather small church, and it's always full every Sunday, unlike most of other churches I've been to in Germany. Also, the people coming there are not only old people or young family with small children, but also those who look like students and young professionals.

It's always very lively there, something very rare in German churches. Going there always soothes my longing for my church in Jakarta :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

turkish market and knitting needle head cover tutorial

Do you love traditional markets? I love them.
This week I had the chance to go to one of the famous turkish markets in Berlin at Maybachufer.

There were stands for fabrics, vegetables, fruits, household goods, cheese, meat, and so on. It was also rather crowded, so I couldn't take many pictures, but at least I managed to get the stuff that I needed:

A pair of size 10 (Europe) knitting needles, some sewing thread, zippers and some lace (one of them was needed for my dress). Also, I got myself some of these:

These are called "Sesamringe" (sesame rings) and is one of the most delicious bread in the world - for me, at least :) A pack of 3 rings was sold for €2,00 - cheap and yummy!

Back to my shopping goods - the knitting needles were also very cheap compared to those sold in stores, but the drawback is that they don't look as pretty. So I thought, why not cover the head with something more presentable for the eyes? And since I was in a good mood I thought I could make a tutorial as well!

You'll need:
- a pair of knitting needles
- fabric scraps
- ribbon
- batting
- sewing thread and needle
- glue

1. Cut out two circles from your fabric scraps. Mine had a diameter of 7,5 cm, since the needle heads were pretty big.

2. Do a running stitch along the circle, about 5 mm from the edge. Pull the thread lightly so the fabric forms a cap. Leave the needle on the thread, you'll need it later. You might want to try this half-finished cover on the needle head to see whether it fits.

3. Next, try out the amount of batting you'll need to cover the needle head.

4. Then stuff it into the cap.

5. Now place the whole thing on to the needle head. Last chance for adjusting the placement of the batting inside the cap before sewing everything up!

6. Wind the remaining thread tightly around the base of the cap a few times (did I tell you to use longer thread than you think was needed? well, you do...), then sew up with your favourite finishing stitch.

7. It should look like this now. Carefully trim the fraying edge if needed.

8. Glue a ribbon to cover the base. I'm sorry I couldn't take a better picture, but this is how it's supposed to look like afterwards.

Do the same to the other needle, and you're done!

I did this to my size 10 needle only, so I don't feel the need to put any label to the heads, but if you want to cover different sizes of needles you might want to label them so you can tell them apart. Use stamps, beads, buttons, embroidery, anything!

As usual, please forgive the dark pictures (my next tutorial should not be made at night!), and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

my creative space - summer dress

In the last few sessions of my sewing course, I had worked on a summer dress.
I didn't have a pattern for this dress, it's basically assembled from 3 rectangles and a curvy trapezium (it's rather hard to explain...). I used a gather method, so it was a lot of fabric! Also, I couldn't finish the dress in the sewing course, so I had to do the finishing at home, with my mini machine.

This was how my tiny working table looked while I attached the last lace...
...the dress was like a monster, swallowing my whole table!

The finished dress.




Surprise! It can also be worn as a skirt!

Ta-daa!

I'm happy about how it turned out. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to wear it in summer since I couldn't finish it in the sewing course. Thank goodness for my mini machine!

See more creative spaces at kootoyoo!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

zur rose

Oh dear, so much life, so little time to blog ;-)
Exactly a week ago I went for a solitary lunch at Zur Rose, a very nice little café near my place. I've been wanting to go there for a long time, so I was glad that I've finally have the time to, and I was not disappointed!

Like many of the cafés in Berlin, Zur Rose has a vintage interior, using unmatched vintage furnitures and vintage wallpaper.

The food is super delicious! I had some macaroni with chicken fillet and home-made tomato pesto. Unlike many other places, they don't just give you some cold bread, but ask whether you would like some and then warm them for you. They also have free water, definitely a plus in Germany, where you sometimes even have to pay €0,50 for tap water!

Zur Rose has definitely passed the test to be one of the cafés I'll keep coming back to :)