Perfectly autumn coloured tulips (from May).

Cocooning. Time for playlists like "8254689753 hours of relaxing music".

HANDICRAFTS

These days are all about crafting. I have puzzled out some "home improvements" and started to restore an old chest I've had for years yesterday. It's such a boon to work with my hands again. Next will be a wardrobe to paint, a bench to build and a shelf to buy and modify (not sure how to put any of these into execution though - my tool skills are those of a toddler). Still I'm excited as the smell of freshly waxed pine wood is already wafting through my room!

Besides that I'm also fighting the wish to buy a (very expensive) heddle loom. Just look at this. I definitely feel the need to weave some scarves as christmas pressies for my siblings! I've also really gotten into the idea of making pottery... Twenty-four hours per day are far too less in my opinion.

Since I came across this post by Amelie today who made some letters out of concrete, the creative part of my mind is going wild with ideas. What about concrete bookends (I need some)? A concrete bowl? Or - as we were talking about christmas - some concrete angels or stars using forms like this or this one? Maybe even a concrete picture frame out of this form? And, while browsing the cardboard section, I stumbled across this petit suitcase. Would be perfect to cover it with beautiful paper or old wallpaper, methinks...

You see, it's impossible to concentrate on term papers with this going on.

The birds like my ceiling. I like my mobile.

STITCHING

Every now and then I feel the urge to sew. My mother gave her old sewing machine to me and I have a trunk full of collected bits and bobs like fabric, buttons, lace and old dish towels. Most commonly I sew pillow covers, for you can never have enough fluffy cushions (and because it just takes about half an hour to end the project). I'm always amazed by the magic of sewing: as soon as you step on the pedal of the machine, everything else ends in smoke. I already have a next project in mind. Any hints for transfering printed images to fabric?

KETTLE'S YARD

Strolling through the internet I recently came across Kettle's Yard, the former home of Jim and Helen Ede in Cambridge. Here you can take a virtual tour. Brian W. Ferry took some very nice pictures of Kettle's Yard, take a look here and here.

Jim Ede's vision was of a place that should not be "an art gallery or museum, nor [...] simply a collection of works of art reflecting my taste or the taste of a given period. It is, rather, a continuing way of life from these last fifty years, in which stray objects, stones, glass, pictures, sculpture, in light and in space, have been used to make manifest the underlying stability." He had been a curator at Tate Gallery in London and gathered a big collection of artworks which are all displayed in the house.

MOMENTUM # 2

+   This Schirn-video about bohemian life in Montmartre around 1900.

+   One of the FvF-portraits I keep coming back to: Peter Raue. I think it disappeared from their site but here are still some photos available.

+   Collection "Ines" by Uniqlo.

+   Katrin's garden.

+   A documentary I want to watch: "Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery".

+   Indre's thoughts on living in terms of habitation - it's difficult to translate, as I don't know different English words for German "leben" (which roughly means being alive) and "wohnen" (the state of living in a home). In this context I first noticed the fun fact that Ikea's slogan in Germany ("Lebst du noch oder wohnst du schon?") doesn't work in English language area. It would be something like: "Are you still living or do you live already?"

+   Notebooks and hair of Jennifer Wiebking.

+   And: Superga shoes.

MOMENTUM # 1

+   I've been following the work of Nicole for years. She does fabulous art and has recently started to sew amazing stuff like a dress for her daughter or a blouse for herself.

+   As we are talking about sewing: another all-time-favourite of mine is Artemis. This sleeping bag is just  incredible.

+   Every time I look at the photos of Maria I instantly want to take a swim in one of Sydney's pools and have some of the delicious food she makes afterwards.

+   Mecki's blog is still young but already full of first-class content. She builds beautiful furniture like a stool and a luminaire.

+   Pancakes for breakfast.

+   In love with this skirt! And while we are at it: these colours, called green stone, jaguar green, marone, port and soft skin.

PASSIV