SEWING & MENDING
I have been doing quite a bit of sewing and mending lately.  A lot of small repairs and hemming of pants for customers.  I finished a new raw silk skirt for a friend.  Made it from a pattern I made from one of her favorite skirts.  I'm just about to finish the green dress for a friend, I'll post a photo of it later after I iron it.

I added the scarf collar to this long sleeved t-shirt for a customer.

Made this beige fully lined, invisible back zipper, raw silk skirt using the purple skirt as a pattern. 

raw silk skirt

APOLOGIES
I do enjoy adding memories to my blog so that in the future I can look back on our wonderful time spent here in Germany and reminisce visiting with all the friends I have made here.  However; I feel that I have offended some people or made them very mad at me and I want to apologize to them.  I would like to do it personally but since they have only given me body language or silent clues that something is terribly wrong with me, I will first try to repent in my own way.  I don't know exactly what I've done and would appreciate someone telling me.

SEWING WITH CARLY
In Germany there is a carnival, Faschings, in February that the kids dress up in costumes.  The reason for the festival, from what I've found on the internet, is for celebrating the week before Lent.  Carly is going to be a magician for it, so we got together and she made a cape.  She is a great little student and did a really nice job and sewed it almost entirely herself.

 Here is what steps she did.

First we took 3 pieces of fabric and sewed them together to make one piece large enough for a cape.

Then we drew part of a cirle and a neck hole with tailors chalk and cut out the shape.

Next we pinned the black shape to the blue lining and cut that out.

Sew around the edges except where the neck hole is, leave that open.    Turn it right side out.

Iron the seams and wrinkles out.  Finish off the neck with bias tape.

And DONE!

MISSIONARIES
It is still warm for winter here in November.  Yesterday it was up to 50F and it was sunny for a bit of the day.  I rode over to Ilvesheim to visit Bianca who had appendicitis a couple of weeks ago.  I brought some cards and candy and flowers from the Watson's and some banana bread that I made for her.

We've been grateful for the missionaries and all that they do for us.  We've had them over for dinner a couple of times.  We enjoy having them with us.

Elder Jesse Nelson & Elder Brady Craft

Apple pie I made when the Sister missionaries came over.  Finally this one turned out good.

The other apple pie I tried making before was too juicy, this one was good though. 

Sister Chloe Lehman & Sister Alison Shipton

 The Sisters invited me and Jennifer Wegmann to the Hansel and Gretel Opera the National Theater.

SEWING AND WHAT NOT

I have been getting a lot of business mending and sewing clothes from fabric that people have and want something made from it.

We finally finished this hard puzzle.

Apron for customer from her fabric.

Customer's blouse she liked.  Used it to make a pattern and a prototype out of some fabric a friend gave me.

The prototype.

The blouse made from the fabric the customer had and wanted her new blouse to made from.

 German Burda patterns come in a magazine. You find the picture you like, then look in another pamphlet for it and what pattern pieces you need.  Burda does NOT include seam allowances.  I am so glad I talked to a seamstress friend about these patterns before I made this dress for my customer.

I am now making a dress from this Burda pattern for a customer.

The german directions are only text, no pictures like I'm used to with Simplicity, McCalls etc.

You have to trace the pieces you want and add your own seam allowances.  It is a little overwhelming to see all the pieces overlapping and trying to find all the parts you need.

Close up of the many lines. 

I used cans of condensed milk as weights on the tracing paper.  Reminded me of the days I drew loft lines on mylar for the MD11 aircraft back in the 1980's for Convair.

Curtains for customer

3 pair of new slacks shortened and hemmed for customer

table cloth for customer.

CHURCH BREAKFAST
On Saturday Jan 18th we had an all church breakfast to socialize and have food and fun.  I made a strata dish.  I thought it was German but no one had ever heard of it and I guess it looked strange to them so not many tasted it.  Plus by the time we rode on our bikes with the hot dish to the church, the dish wasn't very warm.  It would have been better HOT.  They are used to eating cold breads pastries, meats, eggs, fruit, cereals, etc.   It was all good.

We started with a nice sunrise.

Sunrise from our balcony.

Elder Craft & Elder Nelsen