Dreaming of San Francisco

Spring is very, very slowly coming to Helsingborg. I'm not in my most creative mood, and - like times before - I'm thinking a lot about life and what to do with it. We'll see. San Francisco and Monterey were totally amazing, partly because of the weather (about 15-20 degrees Celsius, crisp air and sunny, my favourite weather all time), partly because of all fun things we did - sea otters, national parks, shopping (fabric! vintage! food! shoes!), eating, walking - and partly because I was in such great company.

Returning home - while my company stayed in the sun - to a more than busy and stressful time at work and this weather haven't been easy. And I always find this time of year challenging - something about lack of energy.

I've been practicing my idea since last time - just do it! - on my creative work and it's turned out ok. I've made progress on the skirt. I've made progress on the statement-necklace I'm planning. But my heart haven't been it. Yesterday evening I thought I would cheer myself up and finally watch The Dressmaker with my favourite Kate Winslet. A great movie, the clothes are to die for and Kate is so good. But it's not exactly a cheer-you-up-movie, just sayin'...

Perhaps some looking at what I brought home from San Francisco can cheer up? I spent one intense day doing all my shopping, and started at Britex Fabrics when they opened. It wasn't cheap, the dollar-Swedish Krona-ratio is horrible, taxes are added upon the price seen - but it was very fun.

Britex houses four floors of fabrics and notions and I started on the fourth floor and worked myself down. And then up again - the remnants are on top. I bought some pressing tools that are hopeless to find in Sweden and always costs a fortune when you add shipping. A bit heavy to carry around all day - good thing I'm working out! (The needles didn't exactly add to the weight...)

Then I found my first fabric - a silk/cotton faille. I love a faille, and I absolutely love a silk/cotton. It's a dark green, perhaps a bit too dark for the summer dress I intend to make, but I think it'll be lovely all the same. It's about 1,6 meters and I payed $95 (821 SEK) for it.

Then I looked at a lot of silks and wools, and returned back to the remnants and some blue and green silks I'd been eyeing up before. I bought two of them and tried not to breathe while I handed over my credit card. There's not much of each, just over 1 metre, but will be enough for a dress without so much sleeves. One is an emerald green silk crêpe and the other a petrol blue silk faille (from France. A bit silly to buy it in USA, but I haven't seen this one in Paris.).

The green cost about $65 (565 SEK) which was a great price for one of the most stunning fabrics I've seen, but the faille was $119 (1030 SEK) and that's a lot of money. But I really liked it... It had been marked down from $175 per yard, and that's a whole other story.

Then I needed a break and had some gluten-free lunch in the shade - lovely!

I also found a vintage dress that suited me perfectly - the very nice owner of VerUnica (the neighbourhood, Hayes Valley was so nice!) called it a Cinderella-moment when I stepped out from the fitting room. And I have to agree... At $95 (826 SEK) it wasn't a bargain, but it's a really well made dress in great condition and I'll wear it a lot. The cut of the bodice is really special and something I'd like to try; either for a dress or a blouse.

It's interlined with silk organza (just as I thought I maybe should have done with the very simple little black dress!) and rayon binding along the hem and sleeves, and a lingerie guard on the shoulders as well.

I could easily have spent a whole day just looking at and trying on vintage. I visited most stores in the late afternoon and was a bit tired and also a bit aware of what I already bought. The selection was huge, and prices from moderate - like mine - to rather low - and then some really high for the really extravagant ones. And there was a lot of extravagant things!

A tiny thing more.... For the past year or so I've been looking for a cocktail ring and scanned thousands and thousands of rings on internet auction houses and Etsy but not finding The One. But I did in San Francisco, just a couple of minutes from the flat we rented. (Please ignore my very dry hands.)

The suitcase was half empty when I left Sweden, but it wasn't on the way back. Apart from the above, some shoes (2 pairs actually) and some food from Whole Foods. I love that place!

And then, back to real life. Harder than usual.

Not an ordinary Sunday

It's been a strange weekend. News of the terror in Paris didn't reach me until Saturday morning. Then I was off to celebrate the birthday of a 2 year old. Today I did an intense workout, while the papers reported that a terrorist cell might have escaped. Everyday life intertwined in terror, death and fear. The attacks in Paris really is an attack on life where joy, love and laughter is the most important things.

It could have been anyone of us. This was my lunch in Paris, just a year ago. 

It's said over and over again that we must not surrender to terrorism. That we must continue to live our lives in freedom and democracy. So I'll continue with what you normally would find here on a Sunday in November.

I'm trying to choose my five free patterns from BurdaStyle (from being on the BurdaStyle 2015 Best of Blogging List!).

I've made a toile of one of the Burda-patterns I got last year. I don't have a fabric in mind, I just wanted to see if I like the design and if it suits me. I don't like it. Too much fabric on the front. 

I've been sorting buttons and sewing notions in my new old thread cabinet.

I'm trying to make up my mind on my next project. Black wool crêpe? Green wool? Blue grosgrain? Pale blue wool crêpe? Drafting the pattern myself, using one I already have or start hunting on the big mighty Internet? So many questions. So few answers; at least for today. 

I'm not turning into a vintage interior blog - and thread

I am sewing!

But that's not what I wanted to share today. (Well, maybe a sneak peak. Have I mentioned that I'm afraid of jinxing it? It goes for showing creations in progress as well.)

The past weeks, new things have entered my apartment. Some sewing related, some not, but all vintage. I won't turn this into a vintage home decorating blog, but I still want to share some beautiful pieces with you (and flea markets are an essential part of who I am).

Some glass. The bonbonniere is from my brother-in-law's aunt's partner's mother - just let us call her the mother. The glasses are from a great antique shop near Helsingborg, and the decanter and hanger from Helsingborgs antikmässa (Helsingborg's Antique Fair) that I visited last week. You know, I have a thing for hangers in velvet...

Vintage thread and old lace... Also from the mother. The proportions are rather funny here, they look like ordinary 1000 metre spools, right? Well, they are not. The largest ones are from Lille, France with 9140 metres (10 000 yards)! on them. I've never seen so large and so old thread spools before. And she wasn't a professional seamstress, she didn't even sew very much - but she saved ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING (the capital letters according to my brother-in-law's aunt). The smaller ones "only" have 5600 metres and are from Mölnlycke, Sweden. All cotton, and I guess I have basting thread for the rest of my life. (Update: But she worked in a textile fabric in Åstorp, as some sort of examiner!)

Finally, the pièce de la résistance (at least for this month...) - a vintage sewing table.

I've been searching for something like this for a couple of years, on and off. But they've been too low (I want to combine it with putting-my-computer-there-when-I-look-at-TV-in-the-sofa), in too bad shape, in ugly wood or something else. But suddenly this appeared at an auction house here in Helsingborg. I went to look at it, placed my bid and presto; I got it for absolutely nothing. The best bit is of course when you open it.

It's not antique - it's in rococo style but I guess it's from the 1940's-1950's, and in mahogany. (Just like my dinner set; also in mahogany, from the same auction house and bought for next to nothing. I clearly have different taste from the rest of the people in this town.) And now it's filled with all my silk thread - mostly vintage, but some new spools as well. I really like sewing with silk. And buying lots of silk thread.

And yes, all this carrying in means I have to start carrying out... But right now I'm sewing!

(With silk thread. Obviously.)

Slowly and with a couple of detours

Well, I'm slowly working my way back to sewing and blogging with a couple of detours. And some bronchitis.

But I did spend some time in Stockholm last week, and surprisingly enough I didn't spend any money on Simbra Siden. I did spend some, but worryingly little, at Ohlsons tyger. (Worryingly not because I-planned-to-spend-more-what-is-wrong-with-me but worryingly because under what circumstances was this fabric made when it only cost me 60 SEK per metre?)

The fabric is so far from what I normally buy, but for that price and 100% viscose I still thought it worth a chance. (I thought about Oonaballoona when I bought it but I think she would describe it as rather discreet...) I also bought some elastic thread - I thought of a dress (duh) that's easy to throw over your head when you're going to the beach or picking up some milk. Shirring in the back, something simple in the front, straps, and a skirt. Not too wide, I only bought 2 metres. But that's not first in line.

First in line is a dress from the Ultimate Dress Pattern. I ironed the fabric yesterday, despite the bronchitis, and also ironed the lining (after both fabrics been pre-washed of course). I went to Malmö a couple of weeks ago to drink champagne with a very dear friend, and made (another) detour to buy Bemberg lining, the Queen of linings (or so I've heard. I haven't used it yet.)

(I watched the Antiques Roadshow (BBC-version) while ironing. What you see (if you have super vision) is a painting of the then new queen Elizabeth II. The (female!) artist got a piece of her dress material to be able to paint it well, since the painting is based on a photograph (also taken by the artist). Isn't that amazing? A piece of the fabric of the dress the queen wore?)

I'm still going back and forth on the lining. I'll use the Liberty Cotton Tana Lawn that I imagine is very nice to have close to your skin. On the other hand, that requires more frequent washing, and since it's a rather fitted dress, also a lot more wear on the derrière. A lining, just slightly smaller than the main fabric, would handle that wear so the bum doesn't start to sag. (The bum of the dress, not mine.) But, once again, it is a summer dress and adding another layer, even if it is the Queen of linings, could make it less breezy to wear. I do need to decide soon. And decide on the neckline, both front and back.

Other detours have included a small re-design of my blog. I love the new fonts! And an over-all cleaner appearance. (I started considering Wordpress instead of Blogger since that seems to be what everyone is doing, but the more I read the more hesitant I become. It seems like quite a lot of work, both building it up and maintaining it. And I do love the simplicity of Blogger, compared to the dashboard of Wordpress which I've encountered on my posts for We Sew Retro. So I decided to stay where I am and just fix it up a bit. I hope you like it!)

Instead of buying new clothes in Stockholm, I bought a new perfume. It fits great in with my Pinterest boards of a luxurious and ladylike - Crème Brûlée from Laura Mercier. It's sweet, and there's lots of vanilla, without being too cute or too sweet or too girly - actually it's described as "decadent yet sophisticated". I love it.

Of course I drank champagne. And ate some duck (isn't that what you do on vacations?) And bought a book with taglines such as "like Kitchen Confidential but for tailoring" and "You'll never look at a suit in the same light again..." Dramatic, eh? I'll report back!

Today I finally got around to clean my new (vintage) nightstand that I bought at a flea market in Helsingör last weekend. I'm glad it wasn't any bigger, because it was perfectly enough to carry that one home through Helsingör, on the ferry and running to the bus to take me home. It fits so brilliantly in my bedroom that I hardly can believe it - fifty shades of green!

And, finally, what do you do when you're working on your comeback? Of course, you buy some new gadgets. I've felt the need for better photos on my garments - both sewing and vintage - but it's so damn hard. So this cute thing will help me hold my camera or phone, and another cute thing will be the remote (but the second cute thing didn't work so I'll need to exchange that). Then - outfit pictures here we come! (The only problem left is the object, i.e. me who never will be very photogenic.)

Well, I said there was a lot of detours. Now I really need to decide on those necklines. And give this bronchitis some rest.

What to wear?

My identity crisis in the wardrobe continues. I wrote about it in January, but felt rather confident about my winter clothes and the keywords Tailored - Ladylike - Strong - Luxurious. It proved to be a bit more difficult than I thought.

I haven't sewn as much as I thought/hoped. As I've said before, I find it hard to be creative when I'm creative at work - and I have been. I can't think about sewing after ten hours of project management.

I do have a new exercising habit. At least two times a week, with either a very good PT or a very good Pilates class. It changes the body.

My vintage is falling apart. Literally.

And almost only dresses for winter and fall.

Luckily for my wardrobe crisis, spring and summer has taken forever to arrive. But now it's here and I feel like I have nothing to wear.

I'm not the only one going through changes. Liz of Xtabay Vintage apparently did the same some time ago. She managed to come out on the other side - I have my doubts about me doing the same.

Today I tried on all dresses that are suitable or at least wearable during summer (meaning, wool and heavy silks not included). It took about an hour, felt like an eternity and left me with a mixed feeling of "I really don't have anything to wear" / "who am I and what the h*ll happened" / "I might as well kill myself" / "I hope I can go to dinners and cocktail parties all summer, because that part of the wardrobe is rather nice".

This is what I'm left with. I like the colour scheme. That's good. But then...

There are a couple of "no, not really but I actually have to wear something" - the white with blue roses to the right, the lime with diagonal checks, the white with tiny blue flowers and the blue with white pattern on the left (bought for nothing in India). The white with pale pink roses is a border line case of like and don't like; I need to wear it in real life to be sure. The lilac with feathers, the bright blue and green and the mint green lace are only for dinners or times when I really feel like it. The dark green could be too warm for summer.

Dresses in numbers:
4 not really, but...
1 perhaps
3 for those special times
5 yes (as long it isn't more than 25 degrees C. And 2 of those are a bit on the fancy side.)

The rest:
2 yes-skirts
1 perhaps-skirt
1 yes blouse (but to wear with what?)

This is the no-no-no-pile. Including the coral one I made for myself a couple of years ago. There is a time for everything and for letting go.

And the alteration pile.

I love the dark silk dress, but the fabric in the sleeves is completely torn. If I remove them I can at least wear the rest for a while. But perhaps that one is too fancy for ordinary days as well? I think I've worn the black-and-red once a week for the past year, but after spending almost 24 hours straight in it after serious problems with the train system, it really needed a wash. So I actually dared to put it in the laundry machine. It shrank a little bit (but that was only good/see exercising above) and some seams and the hem need reinforcement. The blue-grey silk is a favourite of mine; I love the colour and fabric but the fit below the waist is actually awful those days.

Should I hope for a cold summer or take a really long holiday on Iceland (but those dresses aren't made for rain either...)? I've spent a couple of hours the past few days searching for both inspiration and actual dresses. and it made me even more unhappy. If I just stay inside and wear some black jersey...?

The Wardrobe Architect Summer (on Pinterest) is very limited. And I don't even like to be on the beach that much. The Ultimate Dress Pattern is on its way; I'm working on toille number three. The changes between one, two and three are tiny - some more here, a little less there. I'll cut a new set of sleeves before moving on to real fabric; my posture has changed due to all that exercise so my front shoulders (if you understand what I mean) needs a lot more space.

So what do I wear tomorrow?

Spring is flying by

Ouch. Time flies. When I wrote the previous post I had a feeling that I would take a week or maybe two to re-group and get back on track. It's now been four and I don't know if I can say I am on that track.

However, it's not like I've been feeling bad - I've been feeling great! But all my thought, creativity and energy has been used for starting up a rather grand project at (my regular day-to-day) work. I'm simple not capable of being creative with dresses and fabrics after 10 hours at being creative with words and project management - and I do love the beginning of a new project!

But yesterday, I was back at some Stina P-activities, visiting Malmö vintage fair for the last time (you have found me there in 2012 (here and here), 2013 and 2014.) Last time because the organisers says it is their last - but maybe someone else takes over? I do hope so!

It took me about four minutes to decide on my first buy, a lovely vintage fabric. (Yeah, I really need more fabric since I've been sewing so much lately...)

A very pale green (sometimes a pale pink) shimmering satin weave acetate. It will make a lovely dress (of course).

The next trio took a bit more time. I tried it on, thought about it, was able to put it on hold for an hour, thought some more about it, called my sister ("you only regret what you don't buy"), thought for two minutes more and then bought the lot. A black silk faille 3/4-circle skirt that fits perfectly, a dark green and black 60's little number and an AMAZING French black silk faille dress with draping from the 50's and as close to couture that I have ever been.

Black always photographs so bad...

Lovely detail on the boat neck on the black-and-green one (and of course there are lingerie guards in the inside!).

And some details of the silk faille dress. The draping is interlined with silk organza, then the viscose lining and finally a firm cotton to hold the shape. The zipper is put in by hand, there are lovely gussets in the kimono sleeves and I actually don't think it's ever been worn. (Neither has the green one, part of the original tag was left.)

Elyane - Rue de la Paix, Paris. That is one fancy address! I can't find so much information, but it seems like they made lots of hats in the 1950's. And some very nice dresses.

So what else have I been up to these past weeks? Well, looking through my photos; eating a lot.

Chocolate for Easter. The pralines actually cost five times more than the hen...

Roasted sweet potatoes, fillet of pork and home made Bearnaise sauce. And cava. And season three of The Great British Sewing Bee. Neil is amazing - I hope he wins (I have two episodes left, so please, no spoilers!)

Enjoying spring, sun, being outdoors, some shrimp salad and the horizon that I love so much. Some days there is no question at all about why I live in this town... Also, trying to decide on the colour of my bedroom walls (I've only been trying since I moved in. In 2010...)

I think I've made my mind up - this lovely sea green shade actually goes very well with the more yellowish green of my screen.

I do hope that this is the beginning of getting back on my regular track. If not, please have patience with me!

Februarifynd

Nu är det visserligen mars och officiell vårmånad (svårt att tro med dagens snöblandade jox) men jag gjorde några fynd de där sista dagarna i februari.

Bokrean har ju alltid potential för nya bra böcker; så även i år. Vogue om Christian Dior och om Coco Chanel. De har legat på min önskelista ganska länge, men helt enkelt inte tillräckligt högt upp för att prioriteras. Nu gav jag 69 kronor styck för dem...

Igår var det utförsäljning av kostymförråden till Malmö opera. En ganska hysterisk tillställning. Jag var vid operan strax innan de öppnade och då ringlade sig kön så lång så lång... Som tur är stod en vän i kön och kände igen min kappa, så jag kunde kapa kön med i alla fall två tredjedelar. Vi kom in kanske efter en halvtimme, till en helt sanslös hysteri och overkligt många beiga kåpor och caper. Om det någonsin funnits några storartade fynd hade de försvunnit i de där sopsäckarna vi såg bäras ut. Jag köpte en prästkåpa.

Eller snarare, jag köpte lila ull och magentafärgat siden. (Och fick en kalott på köpet för mina 150 kronor.) Kön för att betala vara nästan värre än kön in, och hade det inte varit för att jag gått upp alldeles för tidigt en lördag, och stått alldeles för länge i kö för att komma hem tomhänt hade jag lagt ner den där prästkåpan.

Sen köpte jag god sallad, god juice, Gods & Gårdar och satte mig på tåget hem. Efter en liten tupplur åt jag upp den väldigt goda kakan och tittade på Skattejægerne och var något så när återhämtad.

Dessutom dök min kappa helt oväntat upp i min bloggfeed - Kollabora visar upp den bland sina The Weekly 6. Glädjen!

About some bargains in February (even though it's March today and officially spring; hard to believe with the rain-snow coming down). I found two books on the annual book sale; Vogue on Christian Dior and Coco Chanel that never made it to the top of my wish list. 

Yesterday, I was early at the Malmö Opera for their costume clearance, like far too many others. After a log of standing in a queue (to get in, to pay and in between fighting with the crowd), I left with a priest robe. Or rather, with purple wool and magenta coloured silk (and a skull cap on the side). I'd gone to far too much trouble to go home empty-handed. I treated myself with some good salad, good juice, and a good magazine on the train back home, took a nap and then some very good cake and my favourite tv-show about antiques. 

To top things off, my coat showed up on my blog feed - Kollabora featured it among its The Weekly 6. The joy!

Tyger från Paris

Senast jag var i Paris var jag ju lite besviken på tygshoppingen - även om typ 9 meter ull följde med hem - och jag tycker fortfarande det är svårt att hitta rätt. Den här gången besökte jag tygaffärerna både i andra och artonde arrondissementen. Artikeln i Threads var till stor hjälp (en kortversion finns här) för att hitta nya butiker. I andra arrondissementet finns massa oftast ganska exklusiva tygaffärer; en del säljer till privatpersoner och andra till grossister. Här är mestadels ull, siden och spets, det mesta säljs per metervara och är stundtals så dyrt att man drar efter andan - broderad spets för 200-300 euro per meter? Det kräver sitt tillfälle!

Nedanför foten av Sacré Coeur i artonde arrondissmentet trängs tygaffärer, turister och ficktjuvar i några få kvarter. Merparten är coupons, det vill säga stuvar. Oftast på tre meter, men ibland på fem eller en-och-en-halv meter. Tygerna ligger packade som sardiner i stora lårar, täckta av meterhöga tygdrivor. Det finns galet mycket polyester, elastan och glitter, och galet mycket galna mönster. Tissus-Reine och Marché Saint Pierre är två varuhus i många våningar som framförallt säljer metervara, och det var på Tissus-Reine jag köpte så fin ull senast. Tyvärr var sortimentet ungefär det samma den här gången, så det blev ingenting köpt där. Istället hade tur med stuvarna på Sacrés Coupons au Gentlemn des Tissus och Tissus Moline men det finns dussintals andra.

Utbudet av tyg gör mig ganska fundersam. Det finns så galet mycket, och ändå väldigt sällan det jag vill ha. Rips i siden eller bomull? Eleganta (istället för galna) mönster. Mönstrad ull (inte bara rutig). Helt enkelt det som vintagekläder är gjorda av. En liten generalisering av det befintliga utbudet ser ut så här:

• 30% är fin ull, tänkt till herrkostymer och i sobra färger som grått, brunt och marint. Urflott som kostymer (förstås) men inte min tekopp. Svart också givetvis, men det finns redan så mycket svart i mitt tygskåp
• 30% är mönstrat sidentyg som jag överhuvudtaget inte kan tänka mig att klä mig i. Tänk galna abstrakta mönster i skrikiga färger. Ärligt talat har jag aldrig sett någon ha det på sig.
• 10% är tweed, som vi slarvigt skulle kalla chaneltweed eller chanelbouclé. Jag har förstått att många amerikanskor är fullkomligt sålda på att sy den typen av jacka; men det är inte min tekopp det heller. 
• 20% är beiget och brunt. Framförallt i polyester, men ull och bomull går också bra.
• 10% är sånt jag gillar. Fingrade en del på en sidenbrokad, men för 110 euro metern...

Men jo, det klart att det blev ett par meter som fick följa med hem den här gången också!

Sidenmoiré från en loppis, tillräckligt mycket för en liten blus. Tyget är lite torrt, så jag får se vad jag gör med det. För 5 euro var det ändå en rimlig chansning.

Jag har fantiserat om vit bomullspiqué i flera år, och nu sprang jag på en coupon på tre meter för 16 euro. Tjock och blank med fint fall. Samtidigt har jag någon inbyggd rädsla för vita kläder; jag är helt övertygad om att jag spilla ner mig fullständigt. Men eftersom jag inte spiller ner mig i andra färger, varför skulle jag egentligen göra det i vitt? En flott sommarklänning med ärm tänker jag mig i alla fall.

En annan coupon jag hittade bland mängderna är denna himmelsblå bomullssatin, mjuk som cashmere. Det kommer också att bli en sommarklänning, och jag undrar om det inte ska bli med cirkelkjol och dekorationer i svart soutage?

Och så den stora investeringen - två meter dubbelvävd sidensatin i påfågelblått, vävd i Frankrike för modehuset Lanvin. Köpt på Generaldiff som var ett fantastiskt trevligt ställe. En källare med coupons, en bottenvåning med siden och spets, och en övervåning som krävde att butiken stängde och personalen (urtrevlig) följde med upp två trappor till ullen. Fingrade lite på en ullbrokad, men var redan hopplöst förälskad i det här sidenet. En klänning med draperingar, vad kan det annars bli? Och ärm. Det kostade 35 euro per meter, vilket känns helt rimligt för den här kvaliteten, och dessutom vävt i Frankrike.

Man skulle kunna tro att jag genast skulle sätta saxen i nåt av de här tygerna för mitt nästa syprojekt, men det blev ett helt annat sidentyg jag plockade fram ur skåpet...

About where and how to buy fabrics in Paris, and where and what I bought: silk moiré from a fleamarket, white cotton piqué and skyblue cotton satin as remnants (3 metres each) and 2 metres of peacock blue silk satin, made in France for the fashion house of Lanvin.

Lite smått från Paris

Jomen lite fina saker fick följa med hem från Paris.

En champagnekupa i kristallglas. Det packades omsorgsfullt in i skumgummi, bubbelplast och silkespapper, och fick så klart åka hem i handbagaget. Helt underbart (och helt vid hemkomsten). Länge har jag önskat mig en storksax (vet inte om det egentligen är en stork, Min fågelkunskap är begränsad.) och på morgonloppisen hittade jag den. De finns att köpa nya också, men det är ju roligare med en från en fransk loppmarknad, n'est ce pas?

Ett par macaroner (eller ett halvt dussin) måste man ju ha med sig hem.  Två vanilj och fyra caramel a la fleur de sel (precis - salt kola. Det blir inte godare.)Bland annat för att de kommer i så fin ask. Och bara för att det är kul med gif-bilder får det bli en till.

Det blev så mycket tygprat så det får vi ta nästa gång.

Some small things I brought home from Paris - a champagne glas, a pair of small scissors shaped as a stork that I've longed for, and of course, the best macarons from Ladurée. And I do like GIF-pictures!