Cute Pink Blouse

Gaby was home for almost two weeks and I was inspired to make her a new blouse. 

I had a wide piece of ash-rose cotton jersey, which turned enough for two short sleeved blouses, so I decided to do some batch sewing

First I cut the two identical blouses - one for her and one for me. Then I overlocked the edges, assembled the bodies, added the sleeves to my item and finally tried it on - only to find out, that the modification I had made to the original pattern - adding an inch to the neck to make it less wide, did not work well with this fabric. There were also some other issues with the sleeve elastic. On the next morning, with a fresh head I came up with a solution to go back to the original neckline and to add the elastic, creating a channel in the folded hem, using straight stitching.

The good thing about batch sewing is, that it is definitely more efficient and quicker, but when one is experimenting with a pattern, it might lead to more work to remedy unsuccessful decisions. I should probably avoid it, if I am not 100% certain in my pattern.

Pattern: Burda 6202

Size: 36, shortened

Fabric: cotton jersey

Time to make: 3 days for the two blouses

Both Gaby and I already wore our new blouses. A bonus picture from our walk on Saturday downtown with husband.

Seven Rila Lakes 2022

Our annual, seventh hike to the Seven Rila Lakes, one of my most favourite places in the country. 

This summer the weather in the mountains is somewhat unstable, with frequent rains and thunderstorms, but we managed to find a day, that was convenient for us and with favourable weather conditions and off we went, starting very early in the morning.

:The first two of the lakes, seen from the ridge above the Seven Rila lakes Hut.

Hike info:

Destination: Mt. otovitza (2696 m)

Mountain: Rila

Total length: 16 km

Elevation gain: 600 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 5 hours

Average difficulty: 6.5 / 10

:We happened upon the White Brotherhood, kind of christian-yoga sect, who gather every August at the Sunny Meadow to meditate, sing and dance

:The Kidney Lake and the Sunny Meadow from above

:The Eye, the deepest of the Seven

:On the Lake Peak

:After the Lake Peak we continued our hike towards the Razdela - a cross point of several major trails in Rila

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Knipmode cargo pants

I: lingerie, Sabrina Slims, hoodie

:From Razdela we continued along the Otovitza ridge towards Mt. Otovitza

:The Kalin peaks, the Big Pazar dere and Ivan Vazov hut down there

:The views from Otovitza ridge were gorgeous in every direction and from some of the sections all of the Seven Rila Lakes were visible at a glance

:At Mt. Otovitza. We had our lunch on the peak, with a gorgeous view to the Kalin peaks

:And then we took the extremely steep trail down from Mt. Otovitza to the Eye lake

:At the Eye from the other direction

:After the Eye we followed the trail, which passes near the remaining four lakes, thus making a giant figure eight around the area. The Twin lake

:The Trifoil

:The Fish lake and the Rila lakes hut. The area around the two big huts was covered with tents, probably because of the White Brotherhood gathering

Another Bailen Top

As I often do in the summer with the remnants from my viscose / georgette projects - a new Bailen Top. I've already got five of these, but I found that I most often wear my georgette top, as it crinkles much less than the others, so I was very motivated to make another one out of this gorgeous cotton georgette.

I cut the pieces on the bias, as is per pattern, and as I didn't have a big enough bias piece for the back, I actually made it out of two separate pieces, sewn together with a french seam. My side seams are french seams also.

I like to play with the straps, this time I made two pairs of them and decided to place them in the form of a letter M. I think it probably adds some interest to the back and is supposed to cover better the bra straps, but as evidenced from the photos, not quite.

As much as I like this pattern and find it particularly good for utilizing summer fabric remnants, I believe I am fed up with it. I have a few other strap tops in mind so next year I might finally try something new.

Pattern: Bailѐn Top by Pauline Alice, free pattern

Size: 34, slightly modified, cut on the bias

Fabric: 100% cotton georgette

Time to make: 3 days

Musala 2022

Nine years after our last climb of peak Musala, the highest in Bulgaria and on the Balkan peninsular, husband and I repeated the climb, this time without the now grown children.

Although Musala is the highest, it is by far not the most difficult to reach and climb. The hike starts from the last stop of Yastrebetz gondola lift and stretches for a few km almost without elevation, until it reaches Musala hut.

:At Musala hut, in front of the first of the Musala lakes and peak Irechek

:After the Musala hut starts the real climb to the peak - we took it for about one hour to Ledeno lake hut and 25 min from there to the top

Hike info:

Destination: Musala (2925 m)

Mountain: Rila

Total length: 17 km

Elevation gain: 585 m

Total duration (plus picnic and rests): 6 hours

Average difficulty: 7 / 10

:The beautiful Aleko lake and peak Musala behind it

Me-made items, worn on this hike:

Husband: boxers, Knipmode cargo pants, Hoodie Johnny

I: lingerie, Plantain Top, flared leggings, hoodie

:Up along the narrow winding path from the Ledeno lake to Musala

:On the top of the Balkan Peninsular

 

:The day was sunny and hot down in Sofia, but up here, at almost 3000 m altitude, it was cloudy and freezing cold

:And back along the same trail - Ledeno lake and Trionite (the Saws)