Wurstfest 2016

Continuing on with the backblogging. Wurstfest! We went down to NB for the first weekend of Wurstfest so Indiana could get her first German-Texan experience with all the grandparents. She was kinda whatever about it, but we had a good time. Although YEESH that place gets packed. I think the only way to go on the weekend (with a kid, or if you're an old fart like us) is to show up right when they open. It just gets insane otherwise; there was no where to sit and eat and pushing the stroller through the crowd was a challenge.

And duh, I made Indiana a dirndl. Baby clothes are an excellent way to get rid of scrap fabrics. Of which I have an obscene amount.

Now here's a whole bunch of photos of our German faces. (Well, I am not German. Brendon is so I guess Indiana is? But growing up in New Braunfels makes you German by proxy so gimme all the pretzels and potato pancakes and spaetzle!)

I think this sums up Indiana's feelings about Wurstfest.

And bonus; Indiana riding mini-donkeys.

Clearly, a cowgirl in the making.

Wurstfest 2015

Wurstfest is my favorite. I love dressing up, I love polka, and I love food. It's the perfect combo. This year we went on the last day and we got there right at opening to beat the crowds. And I'm so glad we did because we got to see Wurstfest at the emptiest I've ever seen it! We just strolled right up to the potato pancake window, and you if you guys know Wurstfest, that's saying something! It was a nice quiet beginning to the day, because it definitely filled up as the day went on!

Brendon formally requested new lederhosen for next year. These are about three or four years old? And honestly, I could definitely make him better ones this go round. Every sewing project I have I say, "This is the last one before that baby comes." Because crawling around on the floor to cut out fabric has gotten difficult to say the least. But I keep making things. So Brendon said, "New lederhosen can be the last thing you make!" Haha. We'll see.

Lookin' extraaa pregnant. Here's my maternity dirndl! It's based off the same one I made for last year. (My perfect dirndl! It was heartbreaking to not get to wear this year.) The only way this one really differs is I added a little width to the front, raised the waistline to more of an empire level, and laced it up with grommets and ribbon instead of buttons. I personally far prefer buttons on dirndls, but I needed a little flexibility. This thing was pretty easy to alter and whip up, and the all fabric only cost me like $17! Clearance everything.

LOOK HOW EMPTY! It was awesome.

These guys were my favorite. We met up with Allen, Brendon's sorta-step-dad, and he insisted we see the Shiner Hobo Band, they're Czech! Allen is super Czech; he was teaching us lots of fun Czech words. He had an awesome word for the afternoon snack you have around three... I wish I could remember it because I am a champion snacker and would utilize the heck out of that word. Anyway, I'd never seen this band before but oh my gosh they were so fun. There's like twenty of them, most of them are pretty old, and they are extra entertaining. The guy playing the trumpet in sunglasses was my favorite. He was just such a badass. They were having a blast up there and they got the crowd super involved. I will absolutely have to find them and see them next year!

Allen and Brendon singing "You Are My Sunshine". The band had the crowd duel between the ladies and the men to see who was loudest. I think the ladies won for sure. We at least sounded better. ;)

We got to catch the tail end of the Polka contest finals! I'd love to enter one year. But I can't even two-step properly much less polka, soooo we'll see. And seriously as we were walking out the gates to go home a polka band in the back tent was playing the Laendler, which is pretty much my favorite. I've never heard it at Wurstfest before. It's the song Maria and Captain von Trapp dance to in the Sound of Music, one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie. Goals: Brendon and I learn that dance! And then win the polka contest.

You're welcome for those last two.

We skedaddled around four when the crowds started getting crazy. Plus we had to drive all the way back to good old Temple! But not before stopping in Austin, in full German gear, for our fix of vegan hippie food. WE MISS YOUR FOOD, AUSTIN! Not that traffic though.

We had a lot of fun at Wurstfest! Hanging with Allen (and AJ for a few minutes before he scampered off with his friend... oh, teenagers! ;)) was really awesome. We ate food, listened to music, and the boys drank lots of beer. A very good Wurstfest experience, as usual. And next year we'll have a little one with us! BABY DIRNDL. I can't wait! :)

Wurstfest blogs since 2011 here! Amazingly, they all look very similar except I age rapidly. Brendon doesn't age at all, jerk.

Wurstfest 2013

Yesterday we donned our German gear and went a Wurstin'. Gosh I love Wurstfest! Polka music, abundant greasy food, and people watching galore. Yes please! We went with my mom and my sister and had a blast. Unfortunately there was no 2013 dirndl this year, although I had all kinds of plans for one. Time went by too quickly and as I was finishing up my Halloween costume the night before, there was zero time for a new dirndl. Sad! I sported my 2011 dirndl and my sister rocked my 2012. Yes, they are dated now.

An all lady polka band, rocking out. Respect!

More polka respect, this chica at the end played like, no joke, at least five instruments. Also the guy playing the accordion could yodel like no ones business and the sax player was killing it on some solos.

We finally got Brendon a real German hat! He's wanted one since he was a kid, and it's about time he finally got one. It will hold up a lot better than that cheesy, but cute, "Wurstfest" hat and we can do as the German Texans do and add pins to it every year. We got a cute little 2013 one for this year. 

Here comes the food. We had a funnel cake (heaven!), a sauerkraut pita pocket (two actually), kolache style danishes (good, but they've got nothing on West, TX), and not pictured was the potato pancake (worth the line everytime) that we inhaled. This was my first Wurstfest as a vegetarian and I did just fine. Didn't have a bite of meat. I sure did want some damn sausage though. Brendon may or may not have given in and had a couple bites. Fun fact, my mom worked the funnel cake booth when I was in high school! Band mom duties. Best mom ever!

And for your viewing pleasure, these were Brendon's stockings:

Clearly they are mine, but he rocked the hell out of them. One day you'll have real German socks. And real leather lederhosen. One day.

I had a blast and can't wait until next year to go again! Although I would much rather have gone on a weekday, the weekends get so dang crowded! This was just the first weekend, so if you're around New Braunfels in the next week, go go go! Eat another potato pancake for me.

2012 and 2011 Wurstfest adventures.

Lederhosen for Mr. H

Y'all. These lederhosen. SHEESH, they were a project. Took me weeks. I used this Burda Style pattern, which was designed to be made with leather, or imitation leather, like traditional lederhosen. We could find neither the real or the fake stuff so we used corduroy, in a caramel-leather-esque color. This created a huge challenge because, duh, it was fabric not leather. The pattern and pattern steps were designed for leather, as in you can cut it and it wont fray. Problemo numero uno. I had to do a lot of inventing/flying by the seat of my pants to make sure this thing wouldn't unravel in the first 30 minutes of wear. Every raw edge was finished and I blew through an entire spool of caramel colored thread sewing all kinds of seams to make sure not only did it not fall apart, but it still was put together as if it was made of leather.

 I think Brendon may have enjoyed this pose a little too much.

Problem number two, leather is obviously thicker and stiffer than fabric, even corduroy, so it doesn't quite hang/fit the way it ought to. The biggest and most obvious spot is in the chest band between the suspenders, it is far too floppy for my taste. In hindsight, I would line the chest band and suspenders with interfacing to bulk them up so they hold their shape a bit more.

I did all of the top stitching in white and I love how it stands out against the corduroy. It forced me to sew in straight lines since they would be visible, which for some reason has always been a challenge for me, but I was mostly successful. I really like the effect though, I may have to do a little more contrasting top stitching in the future!

 Crotch shot much?

Yet another challenge this project presented was the lovely section in the directions that asked me to simply "machine embroider" the decorative elements. OH OKAY, let me just hop over to my embroidery machine... oh wait... At that point I almost threw in the towel. Almost. I pouted for little bit, took a day off, and then put my big girl pants on and got on with it. I drew all the designs by hand, made a pattern, traced them onto the fabric, and then slowly but surely embroidered it all by hand. And I'm pretty dang happy with how it turned out!

Do overs? Make it in leather. Make it a size smaller. Line the pockets with a lighter color. Splurge on better buttons. But all that said, I am very proud. This was definitely the most challenging thing I've ever sewn. But I did it and learned a ton. And now Brendon has German gear to sport this year at Wurstfest! And he just looks so dang cute!