Friday, December 19, 2008

too many things..

are going on in here..

 

we had the celebration..

and we have been out of town with the family..

for a few days..

and the new year is approaching..

=)

here are the backstage hints..

S3700075 S3700074

S3700073 S3700083

S3700084 S3700085

S3700057 S3700016 S3700051 mısır ekmegi2 S3700006 S3700001          S3700007PC103238n

   

it will be a short post.. too many things to do..

can’t even visit the blogs..

all these and more.. are processed..

gifts.. knits.. painting.. sewing .. travelling..

I’ll write about  the most important part …

I was planning a small surprise.. see the

for a blogger friend..

and while I was making the package..

the postman brought me her Xmas card..

we call it..

kalp kalbe karşı.. “  heart towards heart”..

we have had the same idea.. at the same time..

 

thank you Britt.. =)

did I tell you that I love you..

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Istanbul

I am in love..
deep true love..
with the city I live in..

have a look at he video..
it is not a movie shot directly by a camera..
but is made up using ten thousand photograph..
the music is great too..

clik on the link.. I am serious .. when I say I am in love..
I love cities transpassed by rivers.. but one transpassed by th sea..
is unique..
enjoy..

http://www.ersineser.us/

Saturday, November 22, 2008

a period..

before the nineteen century the ships were not accosting .. the passengers and the shipment were taken from the coast to the ships by the "sandalci" rowing boats..

too many accidents happened these times..

at the begining of the nineteen century seaports were constructed..

some were constructed over barrels.. floating ports.. that's what they were.. and ships could accost..

but..

the passengers had to wait until 1914 for the waiting halls to be constructed..

the karaköy port.. was the one we used to visit my aunts every weekend..

we were walking to the station.. took the train and than we were walking again to the port.. If we had missed the posr which was near the station.. my parents decided to walk over the galata bridge.. to the other port where there were more frequent departure schedule..

I was so small that my daddy had to pick me up.. to see the man behind the ticket window..

being authorised to place the token .. later.. running into the hall while my parents were strolling and buying the tokens in advance.. were signs of my "growing up"..

green leather covered benches.. ascending- descending windows.. always someone objecting to the open window.. brass inset ashtrays in the armrests of the benches..

when my father felt "dandy-ish" sitting at the "de-luxe" hall adorned with mirrors.. crystal door glasses.. waiters.. small individual artdeco armchairs and coffe tables placed in groups.. the waiter .. the turkish coffee smell in the air..

when the weather was nice.. sitting outside at the benches with their back to the passenger halls and facing the sea.. trying to reach the banisters with your feet.. then as one day you are proudly "big" enough to do it.. being warned.. to take them off.. being frustrated..because you waited so long for this day to come..

an the way back.. being tired and sleepy..

my father's takingme upon his shoulders and carrying me to the station.. joking .. "you can ride the "babaway" / tramcars were called tramway in turkish.. and babaway is fatherway or fathercar /..

growing up.. and being able to jump from the port to the ship in one step.. without waiting for the passage to be placed..

huge black tires tied at the port.. the water raising in green blue and white whirls between the port and the ship.. an mum's voice reminding me to be careful ..the mist of salty water all ove your face.. the smell of the sea.. of the iodine in the air.. and the cries of the seagulls..

are in my brain and at the tip of my nose..in my ears..in all my senses...

I don't have a romantic story.. much as many of Istanbul citizens.. but I remember a few.. eyeing.. shying.. then being followed upto the busstop or railway station .. when I was a teenager..

but I have too many lively memories..

being from istanbul means being in relation with the sea.. the ships..

last night there was a very strong southwest wind storm raising to 42 km/h speed.. and this historical port has sunken..

it was last restorated in 1966.. there were no life losses.. and it will be restored again.. but.. I am sure they will not pass by the opportunity of modernizing it..

I felt.. like I had lost a part of my childhood..

Sunday, November 16, 2008

sofa cover and soup to blog..

I love being at home..

"totally home".. cosying myself..

I have been home today.. reading.. writing.. having coffee.. chatting with the kids..

my dh was on duty and when he came back in the late afternoon.. all he wanted was some soup..

he didn't have to tell me.. I always have some soup ready for him when he comes in..

S3700022

this is an easy and warming winter soup.. yoghurt.. corn.. green peas.. chick peas ..homemade macaroni and dry mint.. is all you need.. you then add some butter and red pepper sauce over.. for more colour and warmth..

while he rested I have uploaded these photos of the things I have re-styled lately..

kanape before

I have recovered this sofa in my daughter's room..

don't criticise me..  It had a nice throw  over for the last months ..

my kids love to eat .. while they are reading.. watching tv.. and you know kids.. they drop things.. and mothers try to wipe..

with the throw on.. the stains were not visible but I knew they were there..and even knowing that this dirty look is due more to wiping and  cleaning trials  than  stains themselves..  it disturbed me.. a lot..

but I had to wait until it diturbs my daughter as well..

otherwise this is  a very comfortable and double duty sofa.. it becomes the guest bed in her room.. when she has friend.. apart from the really yucky cover it is in a very good condition..this fabric with which it was covered  was not stain resistant as the saleperson affirmed  .. but stain appealing.. and the result is this..awful..

so today is the day.. she finally asked me to make something to embellish her sofa..

I needed a quick homemade   result.. and here comes.. some black fabric.. /as every teen ager around she is at her " black period" so this will be a temporary solution until her tastes calm down..=P /..my stapler..and scissors..

here is the result..

S3700004

a very tailored look.. quite masculine..

we left the armrests as they were.. because she liked the style.. and I accepted as.. there was no stain.. 

I try to leave them the decisions about their room decor..to both of my child.. they have to experiment and live with their decision  some time.. to be able to make better decisions in the future..

and we also decided to change the covers of some pillows..

S3700005

the others were already fine.. a knitted cream coloured.. and ..

S3700007

a huge one from ikea..

now she is happy with her sofa.. her room.. she is enthousiastic about inviting her friends.. for a night stand..=)..

a happy dh and a happy daughter means a girl  can blog..=) without being disturbed..

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

ready steady.. purple..

I live in a small town house.. and when we come home.. we put everything down right into the living room.. when we go upstairs we remember to have forgotten this or that..

when I do some crafts in the living room.. or take photos.. all the materials.. magazins everything stays there to..

I am tired of going up and down again..

what is worst is that sometimes we leave them until the weekend..and it is very time consuming to range a whole week's clutter..

so I have decided we really need a stair basket.. something chic and stylish..

something like this one..

 

the holding company

or even this one..

 

 

 

 

 

 

ballarddesign

but I couldn't find something suitable at the stores..

so.. I transformed.. an old  jute beach bag some feathers..a clay duckling.. a garden decoration .. some cardboard.. actually a box lid.. paper.. glue paints..

here is my first tassel project.. and the stair bag..

 S3700013

a closeup of the tassel..

S3700030

notice.. the upward arrow..

it reminds us what to do.. =)

I made it buy cutting an arrow shape from the boxlid.. then covering it with some layers of paper.. I left the paper crinkled and when it dried it had a nice texture.. then I painted it in light grey.. as well as the duckling garden decoration.. I was looking around the house for an object with a hole under.. and this picked up this one.. I didn't want to postpone this once again .. to choose the perrrfect object for my living room..

after all I can change it later.. and carry this one somewhere else.. =)..

now I grip it and take it upstairs every evening.. when I go to bed.. and range them.. at least put them in adequate rooms..

then.. in the morning I take it downstairs again.. stair patrol.. that's what it is..

although I may look funny in my nightgown and slippers.. in the very early morning.. carrying a beach bag..

and what does it hide inside.. today..??

çanta içi

a crafter's clutter...

can you imagine all those piled on the coffee table .. now at least they are out of sight..

*************

style is nothing.. function and crafting is everything =P..

Sunday, November 09, 2008

perfect office part three.. lace and sequins..

I have processed further with my lace projects..

here is a photo of

where we were.. and what we were talking about..my lacey mat board and  mail organizer;

morning cofee morning hapiness

I have a long list of thigs I love..

it is no secret any more that I love purple.. a deep plum colour.. they say it is a depressive colour.. they say it is the adolescent's favorite colour.. but my mum used to say.. it is the the colour of adventure.. I prefer this version.. I have also learned it is the colour of aristocracy.. and prosperity.. for me.. it is just purple..

I love.. office stores and all the staff about writing and doing office work..

so when I find knick knacks in this marvellous bright  colour..purple.. I have to get them.. my stapler.. staple remover and even staple box are new finds..

but you cannot find everything you dream about.. sometimes.. you have to work to reach your dreams..

so did I ..inspired from jane's apron post about office chic..I.. redesigned an old and boring punch to match my new stappler  ..

zımba before

a punch.. some lace..some glue and some sequins.. can make wonders.. in a short time..

 zımba malzeme 3before

to reach..a perfect punch..

 

 zimba after

 S3700010

 zimba after grup

to go with the purple office necessities..

zimba after grup

now I don't have any more excuses I have to file all those cut outs and bills and reports etc...

enjoy your sunday..

******************

other office embellishment projects..

perfect desk part two

perfect office

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

more threads forgotten crafts and a memorial box...

 

 

ikinci kutu

let's have a look in the second box.. I had in the craft room.. untouched..

goblenler

it looks messy..

kanavice manzara 

there are sone cross stiches unfinished or unused..this one I have started to make 16 yrs ago.. ohho..

I couldn't find the matching threads and ranged it until I find these...

than .. forgotten..

kanavice ev

a small detail of the house..

it looks x-masy.. does anybody has any idea of how to use it .. when finished..  if finished.. an idea which will push me to finish it..

I don't want to hang it or make a piilow.. I have too many.. not in the style of my house any more.. all ranged in the closet.. waiting for their days to come back..

kahve ornek

this one was ment to be framed and hung in my mother's summer house..

coupled with a larger one.. and to be used as a kitchen divider.. but never finished..

bitmemis gul

another one..

not finished but.. newer.. compared to the others..

now I dn't want to blame myself.. I have many finished ones..

finished and used.. and now stored..

how many unfinished projects can a girl have.. and for how many years..

I still have boxes to open.. for example this one..

very precious to me..

dmc yazi

can you see.. the hand written swap notice on it..to a friend of her..

signature

here  a closeup..

this is the signature of my mother..

on some days and for some special occasions  she added a beak at the point pf the S scribbled two small claws .. and it became a bird..=P

she wrote.. take any colour you want.. and give me cyclamen coloured ones..

this is a very precious box..

because this is the only memorial of her handwriting..

and keeps.. within..

kukas

her favorite colours..

now that all is remembered and ranged .. I can go on with the lace crafts I have finished..

Monday, October 20, 2008

vintage silk thread.. gold.. nylon ..

 

kutu

when I was at school.. the english textbooks started with some sample dialogs..

-what is this?

-this is a book .

this dialog is still used as a joke among our generation.. on questionable occasions..

so I am asking now.. "what is this?"

of course you can see this is a shoebox...

but.. what is inside..??

inside my mother's silk embroidery threads as they were kept .. for the last  10 yrs something in a closet in my house.. while doing some upside downside tidying between the store-room and craft cum dressing room this weekend I have opened it..

 

mess

I emptied all on the table.. what a mess..

I decided to range them by colour..

silk is a perfect material.. easy to disentangle but when in such a condition of course that it took some time.. there were some surprises though.. hidden in the box..

paper my mum used to wrap the threads she was using on a special project  in small parchment papers or small fabric parcels..

 

 

 

kalip ve motif when I smoothed one  these small packages.. I have found some embroidery patterns..one mounted on the worn pattern for a blouse..

the patterns and the threads all together .. nice organization..

 

 

 

motif another one..

 

 

 

 

 

 

motif2 and a third one..

 

 

 

 

 

 

these are turkish embroidery patterns .. she used to teach this art.. and always said "I have the happiest profession..I am among  beautiful young students.. beautiful colours.. and beautiful materials.. what can a woman ask for  else.."

bu bez de ne while I was separating the different colours I have noticed something on a silk  fabric she used as a wrap..

 

 

 

 

o bile nakisli it came out as a small cut-out embroidery.. maybe a hankerchief with unfinished borders..

 

 

 

 

there were all sort of threads.. in all  kind of colours and forms.. some came in skeins she used to braid for easy use.. some as balls..

arada ne var  I even found a finished lace in between.. later I have found the thread she used to do it...

 

 

 

 

ya burda ne var and also a crocheted green  flower .. isn't it as if it smiles to you.. between the dishevelled threads..=)

 

 

 

finally I have sorted all..

 mosaic8725886

 

and noticed some even had their original tags.. turkish and european trademarks..

I remembered her spelling  dmc in french .. I believe they were high quality and  pretty expensive .. because she kept them apart and this was the only mark I have ever heard from her..

 

mosaic7336965there were some colour combinations braided together .. I remembered her..sitting straight at the table.. with her white cotton batiste cloth opened in front of her and  choosing the colour she wanted and separating it with her needle from the braid and pulling it apart .. then starting to make her art.. her skills talk for her..she choosed colours as a painter..she loved strong colours violets fuscias bright greens .. I can't say that she teached me how to do anything.. but I have watched her so many long hours.. sitting in front of her.. with my books to study.. that I have an engraved vision of her "embroidering"..

when I close my eyes.. I can "watch"  her as a movie in my mind.. every single movement she made .. as if she was sitting in front of me again..

now they are all sorted..

renkler2 the balls in their box..

 

 

 

renklerand the skeins and tresses ..separated according to thread type and colour and re-wrapped in the same papers and fabrics they used to..but in an order now.. I have a new black box.. bigger than the shoebox..

 

I have taken out some things out of course.. the green flower. the needle lace and some nylon bags..

bir define

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

gold the gold threads and the balls went to their own box.. they too are wrapped in their original papers to prevent them from "blackening" can you believe these are at least 20 yrs old..

 

 

 

and I also kept this one out...=)

naylon vintage olurmu do you think nylon bags can be vintage.. =D.. this must be from the 60's a mousse  stockinette bag..

 

 

 

 

**************

ps1 there are more to come.. this was a treasure box =)..

ps2 ... these motifs can be used if you like and wish to.. they are my mum's gift to all the beautiful women.. who love beautiful colours and materials..