New Year's Eve

The funny things is that in Holland we call New Year's Eve, Old Year's Evening. It is the last day of the Old Year, tomorrow will be the start of the New Year. Is that why I found these old flowers in the gutter this morning? It is a good symbol of days gone by. I don't know what the white stuff is, but the whole looked like a painting.

And then there is this brew boiling in the pan, representing all the things in the New Year. We don't know what it will taste like, it smells good, but it isn't ready yet.

So, for all who are reading this: I wish you a wonderful 2013!

Examples of December 2012

Below my favorite pictures of December 2012.

Arjan's flowershop

bird's steps in the snow

grids of a blue car with snow

reflection of yellow piece of art

black mannequin with white dress in window

Christmas decorations

some more Christmas decorations

colorful cups and saucers 

folded newspapers

reflection of trees in a pond

red paper cup floating in a puddle with reflection of a tree 

Café Wilhelmina, Amsterdam 

grids of car covered in snow

Sewing utensils

I'm working on this 19th century costume with bustle and all. I don't have much to show for it yet. Today I worked on the paper pattern for the petticoat and bustle. When there is more progression in the project, I'm sure there will be pictures about it. What I saw today was more the utensils needed for sewing. I laid out my stuff on the glass table at my friend's house. You can see the shadows of the trees reflected in the glass.

Tableware

Isn't it just lovely, paper-stuff and vintage? I have just started my blog and there are so many blogs out there. Not only about photography, but also about crafting and vintage. I get so excited because I like all these things!

These pictures are about colours, texture and light. You see the light in the spoons, the shadow of the blue bowl and the colours of both items.

Humphrey's

My roots lie in a town called Zwolle, the Netherlands. My family still lives there, so I come back so every now and then. Most of the time I don't go into town, but this week I went shopping with my sister and I was amazed about how had changed. Apparently Humphrey's had opened a restaurant there in an old building. It's window's gave some great reflections.

Bowls

My parents used to collect plates, cups, etc. from Regout (see http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrus_Regout). They covered the attic wall with the plates. It looked lovely. But now they lost interest in the project and they put it most of it in boxes. With special occasions when a lot of people come over, like Christmas for instance, some of it will be retrieved and used.
I saw a pile of bowls sitting on the sink and it looked lovely just beiing there with all the colours and patterns.

Christmas is...

Christmas decorations

simple food

to be comforted

and being with family.

After all, isn't it about togetherness

light and love?

Kookhome

Photo: Catherine Roeleveld

My sister makes aprons, teatowels and all sorts of other stuff for the kitchen. Just like this lovely blue apron. Check out her website: www.kookhome.nl

Blue pens

For me this picture is about ordinary life: my keys, a few pens and a piece of paper on my desk at work. I take a small camera with me every day, to capture the moments during the day.

Morning glory

I took this picture a few weeks ago when we had a little snow. I forgot all  about it until I started going through my pictures again. This was taken in the morning with the first light; I opened my curtains in the morning and there it was. The lovely pastell colours of winter.

Triangles

These two triangles are very different from each other. I like the shape and texture in both and I love the reflection in the water.

Red cup

I came across this red cup during one of my lunch walks. Even though it was a dreary day, I decided to go for a little walk. The redness of it stood out like a flag. The cup was floating so quietly in a puddle on the side of the street and the sereneness struck me.

Cups and saucers

This picture was taken at work. The bold colours were just staring at me after the washing up. Life can be so simple.
The picture was taken in neon light, so the colours are a bit off.

Arjan

The flower shop in my street is a source of inspiration. It's called Arjan, I guess that's the name of the owner. Usually when I walk by something catches my eye, even in the evening.

Lamp of spoons

My friend has this funny lamp. The little spoon with the angel wings is the switch. She also lives with housemates, just like me. They've had this lamp for a couple of years now and I still enjoy looking at it. Especially with the sunlight coming in and making shadows on the wall, it's a pleasure to look at.

Glasses on fabric

My friends and I are going to the carnival of Venice in February. So, we are very busy making our costumes. I suggested a light version of our usual complicated costumes, but my friend would hear none of it. Actually, she agreed, but along the way we lost that concept and she designed clothes that look simple, but are still time-consuming to make. But, it's going to be wonderful!
Here is something I saw while cutting the fabric for a vest. It's going to be worn over our corset and underneath our coat and it will have a woollen interlining. Venice in February is cold!

Costume update

Today I went to my friend V. with whom I am going to Venice next February. She is sewing the costumes for five friends and I am helping her out a bit. As she is a real seamstress (not as a profession, but she went to a professional school for sewing) she could help me out with costume issues of my own.

While I was there I also had a good look through her extensive library on costume books and pulled Fashion in detail from the shelves. We were looking for ideas of how to make a bustle. She had made a bustle dress before so had some experience, but this time we were looking for something fresh, historical but with a little twist.

These two photos are taken from the book (sorry for the bad quality) and especially the top one gave us some ideas. Below your see a bustle made from real horsehair.

This totally fired up our imagination: my friend decided to make the bustle on top of the skirt instead of underneath it. Since she is making five costumes this might may be quicker in the making. She also had decided to make the skirts short, just above the knees, whether I decided to make a long skirt. This decision was based on the amount of fabric we have. My golden silk is like 7 metres so I have plenty of fabric to make a long skirt, but V. doesn't have enough for all the other skirts.

Above you see the status of my corset: I've cut and sewn three layers of fabric. I need to add the boning and then sew the edges with piping. After that I can finish off with cutting wholes for the laces. It looks like it is going to be beautiful!

Christmas decorations

Well, in December we start to get ready for Christmas. The shops are full of decorations, sales, presents, wrappings; a commercial festival to make us buy things we don't actually need, but should make us happy. I enjoy watching the decorations.

First snow

First snow today. It's that feeling when you wake up and you can hear it's more quiet than usual outside. You open the curtains and there it is.
Most of it melted away during the day, but on shadowy places it stayed a while longer.

Stairs with leaves

By now, the leaves have almost all fallen from the trees and are all on the ground. That also has its qualities: the smell of rotting leaves, the sound of crispyness or wetness underneath your shoes and the sight of the colours of brown.

Dutch landscape

Today, the light and colours were amazing. The thin winter sun somehow made brilliant colors on the trees and bushes. Together with some great skies, I saw a beautiful Dutch landscape from my friends' garden.

Zuidas

The buildings at the Zuidas are tall. Walking through that futuristic area is kind of strange, but it can give wonderful observations.