Landlust

When I was in Germany over Christmas I came across the latest issue of "Landlust", a living/gardening/cooking magazine.

“Landlust” started in October 2005. In November/December 2005 it had 10 000 readers. Latest known figures:
648 866 sold issues in August 2009. It’s a big success and if you get the chance to have a look in one of their recent issues you'll understand why:
Beautiful images, mouth-watering recipes, useful tips for gardening, inspirational decorating suggestions, peeks in craftsmen’s workshops, knitting instructions for cute gloves... all presented in a lovely way.

When I first found it I really enjoyed reading this magazine, in fact I read six copies in a week. I found it very relaxing, as it was not about celebrities, the hottest clubs and the latest fashion, but about slowing down and enjoying simple pleasures. You’ll find quiet and detailed observations of everyday occurrences, traditional craftsmanship, and sustainable products that are easy to read and that appreciate the finer things of life.

The overall impression of the magazine is extended by the use of matte paper that looks and feels much better than glossy magazines.

Topics are often related to country living. Alongside “Landlust” the publisher, Landwirtschaftsverlag Münster, mainly publishes agricultural magazines, like Top Argar, which my father is reads regularly. I recently read that the chief editor Ute Frieling-Huchzermeyer, who studied agriculture and was writing for Top Agrar before, has no computer in her office. She prefers to dictate her texts and discuss topics. She has finished articles printed out to proofread.

I’m very lucky, my sister gave my mum a subscription for this magazine for Christmas, and my mum keeps all the magazines for me to read when I am back in Germany. :)

I liked their topics; informative, inspiring and beautifully photographed.

I recently became proud owner of a garden. It still looks a bit like the car park it was, but I am trying to do my best to change that.

They also feature on crafting and DIY.

When I checked their website I found they've got most instructions available online.
These cute gloves are knitted with Rowan yarns, and as this is manufactured in a nearby village I am very tempted to go there, stock up with their fine threads and get the knitting needles out.

As a textile lover I was thrilled when I found photographs of old embroidery sample cloths on their website.

I nearly forgot: “Landlust” is published every second month and costs 3,80 Euros. They do subscriptions world wide.

Have a look on their website here: http://www.landlust.de
I just had a glimpse at the March/April issue there and cannot wait to read it.

Happy weekend

Inspiration in sunlight

I took some more photographs of my inspiration board on Monday. The sun was pouring in through the big pane windows and it was a lot of fun to capture some details.

Tales from a textile studio

While I was working on the inspiration board for this blog, I finally found the name I was looking for. And it was there all along.

I feel I do really need to change the name. Though I liked "Tapetenwechsel" and what it stands for, I think most people probably will not be able to pronounce it (or remember it).

Any thoughts?

Inspiration

So here it is, my inspiration board.

I'll print this image and put it in the notebook you see in the bottom left corner, where I keep a record of things that inspire me. As this inspiration board should show my personal style and how I want my blog to look like, I decided to assemble some of my work* on the table, instead of  just sticking cut out pictures from magazines onto a board, like I have done previously for coursework at university. I will take some images of those mood boards this week to share them with you here on my blog.

I should have taken the photograph in natural light, but I admit, I didn't. Sorry. 

I had a very busy week and today, after lunch, I wanted to have a short nap, before I finish my homework and woke up hours later. By then the little daylight that we get here in the north of England in February was gone. I can sleep for hours and still feel tired - maybe the energy burst you should have in your second trimester of pregnancy is just a myth.

Anyway - I got up and took some images of the board, without flash, in my textile studio, but was not too happy with them. So I went through to my partner's photography studio and used the big daylight flash.

[image I took in my textile studio - not too happy with it]

I left the arrangement on the floor and will go back tomorrow afternoon (if I get back home early enough that is) and take some daylight pictures from different angles.

*I put two of my fabric designs in the background and arranged some of the things I make and sell in my Etsy shop on top, together with some of the materials and tools I use, oh - and a couple of pictures I cut out from a magazine.

Please comment! Don't be shy.

Trapezius

TRAPEZIUS, John’s most recent dance film, has been accepted at two more festivals.



It will be screened most nights from 7th Feb 2010 to 4th April 2010 at Xtend IV, in South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell, as part of their LIFT OFF! dance festival this spring.

First we have been told that it would be part of a larger showreel of dance films, but then the festival director liked it so much, TRAPEZIUS is now being featured on it’s own screen.

It will also be screened at Phoenix Picture House, Oxford at a special screening event alongside a new commissioned work for “Dance Festival - DANCIN' OXFORD.” on 21st March 2010.

And here are some images of me preparing the backdrops used in this film.

The bump

There's something I haven't mentioned on the blog yet...

John and I are having a baby. It'll be due at the end of May. We are so happy!

Handles

We finally got handles on our kitchen drawers and cupboards. It was quite tricky without them, but if you start with the bottom drawer and then pull out the next one... well you get the idea.

The decision-making was quite tricky, too, as I really liked some vintage style ones we found at car möbel, but we finally settled for some modern looking ikea ones as they go well with the oven handle and all the other stainless steel in the kitchen. There is already different types of wood going on and I wanted to keep things plain and clear.

Tapetenwechsel

Thinking of renaming my blog...
So far "Tapetenwechsel" is my favourite name. Litereally it means "change of wallpaper". It's also used for changing location. And as this is what I am doing at the moment (literally and in a metaphorical sense) I think it might be the right name.
As I am designing wallpaper (amongst textiles and other things) it could stay the name of my blog even after all the moving and decorating is finished. Once we've settled in we will still need a "Tapetenwechsel" from time to time, as you could use this expression to discribe that you want to get away for a few days and stay somewhere else, i. e. need to look at different wallpaper.

Does that make sense, what d'you think?

The Poppies

I am nominated for "The Poppies", a virtual awards ceremony, on Poppytalk, one of my favourite blogs.

Take part in this event celebrating the Handmade Community and browse through the lists of nominations here to find your favourite handmade accessories. Or just click on my name, and vote for Freitag Design! ;)

Correspondence between Goethe and Schiller

Computer Journalist Giesbert Damaschke puts the correspondence between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller on a blog - in real time.

Well, nearly real time, there is a delay of 215 years. Letters form 1794 - 1805 will be posted on the date they were written.
Giesbert Damaschke started on 13th of June 2009, and as about 1011 letters were exchanged over a period of 11 years he plans to be finished on 27th of April in 2020.

Good luck with this exraordinary project. It will be interesting to see if these two classical authors will be able to succeed in the blogging world.

Click here to get to the blog:: Briefwechsel-Schiller-Goethe

Recollection

Here are some images of  my work I took a while ago.

Dionne's invite form the previous post reminded me of a picture I took for my degree project.

That's just a snapshot of the piece still at the sewing machine, but I liked it so much that I wanted to have it on my invite and the cover of my book. So we took some more photographs

and finally came up with this one: