A Hot Summer Day

Last Saturday we visited the annual Antique Market here in the village. It was a hot, cloudless day.

 

 

Vendors from near and far had arrived with their treasures.

 

Some of the junk was old enough to be called antique.

 

Most of it was just stuff from the attic.

Some of the glass was collector's items by famous Finnish designers from the 1950's.

 

But most of these household enamel and plastic bowls and pots are about 20 years younger, something I bought for my kitchen. I felt antique!

 

These washboards, tubs and towel rack are much older but still something I have seen being used when I was little.

 

 

The clothespeg apron and old washing powder and soap packages from the Craft Museum are from the same era.

 

Back to the fair: live accordion music is essential for a Summer market event.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this little tour. I try to get something crafty finished for my next post!

Crafty Tourism, part 2

On the second day of our stay in Jyväskylä we visited (again) the Craft Museum. I have shown you their window exhibition in 2011 and I'm sure I have shown an exhibition with potholders on the wall and soap cups on the floor but I just can't find that post. Well, this is the same place, now with quilt buntings outside.

 

I wonder who made all these.

The trees in front of the museum were covered with knitted graffiti.

This one looks like a milk carton or a fancy birdhouse with no door opening.

Many colours have faded already. They could be hand dyed yarns.

 

  Or someone just liked earth colours.

 

I believe the trees all have fairy lights in the darker months of the year.

 

In the museum it wasn't allowed to take pictures of their new exhibition, but the permanent exhibition was also new to me. The lights were dim and flash was forbidden, but I managed to make some photos. This corset was made of candy wrappers, the delicious mint caramel and chocolate Marianne.

 

A bed quilt used as a coat.

 

A museum must have something old too, and this is an example of Carelian redwork in double running stitch. It is a long (2.5 m), narrow towel typical for Carelia in Eastern Finland.

Headwear to be used with different national costumes. The national costumes are reconstructed after festive clothing worn from the beginning of the 18th century onwards.

 

They can be bought, but also made by hand from the beginning: even weaving the fabric for the skirt and maybe the apron too, sewing and embroidering all the necessary pieces. The price of the DIY kit with fabrics is about one third or half of the complete costume.

 

They are mostly worn by folk dancers or at big celebrations like weddings or big birthdays, but they are not something one would be expected to have in one's wardrobe.

 

The men in the picture above are holding carved  parts of the spinning wheel system (where the bundle of fibres is attached before spinning), a typical gift item from the groom to the bride. Translation for this part was nowhere to be found.

 

At the end of our visit we had a nice surprise: Kaija decided to come home with us for a couple of days. We took a scenic route back home across a lake landscape. This one is through the car window,

but we also stopped where it was possible.

This is from a bridge to the opposite direction. Finland has thousands and more lakes like this, but on a day like this they look at their best.

Today we are melting again, the last few days have been new heat records one after another (yesterday 32.5 C/90.5F), and I would love to be at a lake to keep cool. Today is the final day of the Tour de France, and our three weeks long watching marathon will be over. While watching the cycling with Mr K., I have been crocheting these African Flowers after I finished the socks:

Crafty Tourism, part 1

This week we made a short holiday trip to Jyvaskyla to meet our daughter Kaija. She took us around her home city for a private tour, and we saw this charming group of houses, the Toivola Old Courtyard. The link is in English, you can see old photos and read about the history of this site.

 

We had some coffee and cold lemonade in this café, it was such a hot day.

Yarn bombing!

Antique dirt in the windows?

The blacksmith's workshop.

Some of these houses are relocated here from other parts of the city. There are artisan's shops and boutiques on the right.

 

This building is a yarn shop. I thought of all the yarn I have at home and just admired their collection.

 

 

Yarn bombing on the other side too.

 

 

Back in the modern part of the city, the rag rug in this pedestrian area looks realistic but it is painted. Kaija told there had been sofas too, but our rainy June made the organizers realize that they are not comfortable when soaked!

 

We must continue our tour to the Craft Museum in another post. Keep cool and enjoy your Summer/Winter.

New Socks and my New Dress

For the last two weeks I have been mainly sitting in front of the TV and watching the Tour de France with Mr K. Such a project requires something useful for the hands to do on autopilot, so I knitted this pair of socks. I tamed the "Lawn" colour with a variegated black/grey yarn and used this pattern. I love making new  (to me) kind of heels, trying to find my favourite. Thank you for the link, Candace!

 

After our cold June in finally felt like I could wear a dress on a day or two this Summer, and that inspired me to finally finish this WIP. I got this dress from my mother many years ago with the parts just basted together. Since cutting the fabric she had diminished in size so much that there was no chance for her to make it fit. At the open college I took a course "Let's make a skirt", and with the teacher's help I was able to make all necessary alterations, cut and baste, stitch and serge until it was just right for me. I love the loose fitting dress that covers my knees properly and doesn't still feel or look like an old potato sack.

Matching colours in my flower box. I planted the basil here when it was starting to wither in the kitchen, and it looks better than the day I bought it at the green grocers' in June.

Yarn Graffiti in the Garden of Villa Cooper

About a month ago I promised you pictures of the knitted art in the garden of Villa Cooper. While I was in the office filing papers, Mr K. was taking photos on my camera outdoors.

 

 

This big sign says "Hand Made", and it comes from our old shop by the lake.

 

Knitted stones.

 

My granny triangles in pink and grey.

Crocheted spirals. I remember these from kitchen towels in the 70's.

Knitted chair, quite charming!

My little knitted bunting between two pines.

Five weeks of rain and wind have not done any damage.

A Granny gazebo!

 

I could imagine a sweet old granny serving afternoon coffee, and cordial for the grandchildren, with freshly baked cinnamon rolls here.

All this has been done in broad daylight, as this is our garden and our rules.

 

No ski masks or boot polish were required. No growing trees or bushes were hurt. The pompoms in this oak tree are yarn wrapped around a foam core so they are very light.

 

Visitors have admired our free knitted (and crocheted) art exhibition. This was only a part of all the lovely details. I hope you enjoyed it too and picked up some ideas for your own environment.