Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Secret Squirrel: Stop 9 - Näh-connection to Vera Luna


The Secret Squirrel series is a year-long sewing journey created by
An from Straight-grain (http://www.straight-grain.blogspot.com/) and
Suz from sewpony(http://www.sewpony.blogspot.com/).
Read all about it here (http://sewpony.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/introducingsecret-squirrel.html).
Secret Squirrel contacted me via Annika from Näh-connection and gave me these five acorns of inspiration....
Neuschwanstein Castle, Elephants, Spring, Jersey, Astrid Lindgren
Secret squirrel made a small journey this time. He simply crossed the border from Germany to the Netherlands. Annika sent him on his way with five fun acorns. I must admit that I did lose some sleep, pondering how to incorporate all of them in one outfit, but in the end, they came together wonderfully.
Let’s start with the last acorn, because that one formed the main source of inspiration of this outfit. Swedish children's book author Astrid Lindgren is one of my favorite authors. I devoured her books when I was a child, and I’m looking forward to the time that my kids are old enough to read the books together. My all-time favorite was The Brothers Lionheart, about the adventures of two brothers; Karl and Jonatan.

I remember reading it when I was about nine, and thinking, “If I ever have a son, I’ll name him Jonatan”. The name stuck, and 25 years later I still loved it. I even managed to convince my husband, so in April 2013, our Jonatan Nils was born.
So that was obvious: the outfit had to be for Jonatan, inspired by this book. And once I had decided that, I realized that three of the four remaining acorns could be added seamlessly! The book is staged in Nangijala, an ancient land of the “days of campfires and storytelling”. And castles, of course. Check acorn number 2: Neuschwanstein castle! The two brothers live in a little farmhouse in the “Cherry Blossom Valley”, and the book is filled with beautiful blossom drawings by. Check acorn number 3: spring! And since knit fabric is my go-to fabric, acorn number 4 was also easily incorporated: jersey!
Based on these four acorns, I made a little medieval-looking tunic in blue jersey.

It was inspired by the colors of the book, and lined with this fun castle fabric (Lizzy House Peeps series) that happened to be in my stash.
 
 For the spring acorn, I originally wanted to use some blossom fabric, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. So spring was reflected in this wooden button that vaguely looks like a blossom.


 

 
However, then I discovered sun printing, and managed to create a piece of fabric that really matched the cover of the book. So obviously, it had to be used as well. But how? My outfit was already completed, and I couldn’t make up my mind what to do with it.
Sticking with the theme, it became a shield, eh bib, eh, shield-shaped bib! To protect Jonatan from fire-spitting dragons, swords and arrows, and above all, flying food! He needs it!
That left only one acorn remaining. Those poor elephants really didn’t fit in the medieval theme. So they got their own piece: grey sweatpants with two protective elephants on the knees.



A little blue side tag (not shown) links it to the rest of the costume colorwise. And hey, there are even elephants on the inside!


So that’s it! Five acorns incorporated into this outfit for my little Jonatan.
I loved hosting the secret squirrel. Who’s next?

I’m sending the secret squirrel off with the following five acorns:
Pineapple, Alhambra, Denim, Ombre, Upcycling
 
If you would like and join Secret Squirrel on his journey, leave a comment on this post and check your inbox in a week’s time… you may be the chosen one to pass on the baton of creativity that is SECRET SQUIRREL!!! If you don't receive a message from Secret squirrel, you can still sew along http://www.flickr.com/groups/secretsquirrelsewalong/ There are some amazing prizes to be won.

30 comments:

  1. Just wow... gonna coma back later and comment in more detail...

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  2. This is so cool Saskia!! I can't believe the connection you have with the author...this was meant to be for little Jonatan. I had to google astrid as I had never heard of her when I saw Annika's acorns. This is so great - thank you so much for joining in!!!

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    1. Thanks Suz, you should read her books. They're fantastic! I loved participating in this series

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  3. What a fabulous outfit! Everything just fell in place nicely :) I bet little Jonatan will have a lot of fun exploring in his new outfit :)

    Astrid Lindgren is a great writer. I know a few of her books. One of my fave cartoons growing up was... Karlson! It is a Russian cartoon based on the book, and it is awesome!

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  4. Your son definitely looks like a little lionheart in his outfit - so cute! What a great idea! I love to follow the secret squirrel - it is so much fun to see what people make with the given acorns.

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  5. Gorgeous outfit!! I've been following secret squirrel for a while and am always so impressed how creative everyone has been by incorporating all the acorns!

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  6. This is fantastic! I love the medieval theme, but I also love those elephants on the pants - I may be copying that for my little crawler :) I would love to have Secret Squirrel visit back in the states at FriendsStitchedTogether.Wordpress.com!

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  7. I would love love love to participate. You can send the squirrel north to Norway. Tone

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  8. this is an amazing outfit! I loved 'De gebroeders Leeuwenhart' too!
    Those elephant knee patches are the greatest! My boy left the crawling far behind, but he could still use some nice knee patches...

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  9. So cool! I love how you incorporated each of the acorns into a very wearable outfit. I'd love to host that rascally squirrel next month!

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  10. This is adorable and looks very professional, too. I've been following secret squirrel since I found sewpony. It's such a great idea.

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  11. So, I'm back to tell you how super cool your outfit is. I'm just so happy that I chose you. It's so great to see that there is someone else who also loves everything Astrid Lindgren. This Lionheart outfit you'll have to treasure for your son. It's just too cool! And that sun printed bib is purely amazing. It realy does look like the cover of the book!
    So congrats on an amazing project!
    Btw.: Thanks for the link for the puffin fabric. So going to order it...

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  12. How neat that you had such a connection to the Lindgren acorn! I especially like the shape and color of the tunic. And I've followed your links to find out how you do sunprinting -- what a gorgeous technique! (I would love to host the Secret Squirrel. This round's acorns excite me!)

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  13. What a gorgeous outfit! Love the elephant patches!

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  14. I love those elephant patches! Too cute!

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  15. You did an amazing job! I only knew of the Pippi books. I had no idea she wrote others! What wonderful acorns for next time.
    ~Michelle

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  16. I love your story about Jonatan. It was meant to be! Really cute outfit and I love what you did with the bib.

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  17. Welcome secret squirrel in oure adorabele little talented country.

    Love what you did with the five acorns. Erg mooi!

    Liefs

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  18. oooo that outfit is gorgeous!! I would love to host the squirrel next... He hasn't been to Hong Kong yet ;o) Love the acorns you are sending as well. Emily@nap-timecreations.com

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  19. Jonatan is a super sweet baby! I used to think that sewing for boys was boring, but this outfit rocks!
    Astrid Lindgren is well known in Italy for Pippi Langstrump (translated here in Pippi Calzelunghe!), but the books are unfortunately not really popular.
    And: sunprinting! I've never seen anything like this. It looks like magic!

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    1. Thanks! Sunprinting is indeed like magic. And so easy! I did it with my 3 and 5 year old, and they could do it all by themselves.

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  20. Oh my I think I need to run to my sewing machine and copy-cat your boy's outfit! Is it awesome! Who said that sewing for boys is boring?... (arhh, me?!...) I love your color choice and the fabrics you went with. That shield was such a great idea! I live near a castle (a beautiful one, it is just 10 minutes walking from our home) and I am definitely going to make something with a shield for my boy, who gets so little sewing time from this mama... Great choice on the acorns!

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    1. Sewing for boys is not boring at all. I love sewing for my boys, maybe even more than for girls! You could sew your boy a knight tunic to go with the shield, see http://www.vera-luna.blogspot.nl/2013/05/tutorial-for-knight-tunic.html

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  21. I just love the connection to one of Lindgren's book! It makes this little stop for Secret Squirrel all the more special and you did such an amazing job hitting all of those acorns! Great outfit! I'm still thinking that the Secret Squirrel needs to come visit someone a little older and would love to host over at http://sewcoolforthetweenscene.blogspot.com/

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  22. I love your outfit, especially the adorable elephants! It is amazing how you already had a connection to the acorns before you ever knew what they were. I would love for Secret Squirrel to come and visit me in Texas at www.thesewingsparrow.blogspit.com

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  23. i think i might kinda sorta want to do this acorn thing...
    plus, it would give me something to blog while I wait on the recent pattern tests to be released...

    melle @ featheredruffles@gmail.com

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  24. Whoa, what an interesting connection between the author and your son's name! How cool. I love the technique you used on the bib. Really cool!

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  25. Where did you send the squirrel after he left you? I am trying to follow all of the acorns as they go and I can't find him once he left your blog :) Thanks.

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  26. oh this was perfect for the sew many books sew a long!! thanks for linking up. I love this outfit!!! EMily@nap-timecreations.com

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  27. Love your son's name, the book, and the great outfit on your adorable little boy! This was truly a perfect outfit for you to sew and will be remembered always!

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