Half way point of the Splendid QAL

This week has been productive, we are back to normal everyday routines. Mr K. has been picking bilberries, "just a nice evening stroll, max two hours", and as a result of these strolls we now have about 30 liters of those tasty arctic blue berries in the freezer to give us vitamins and good eyesight with our oatmeal every morning until next harvest season. Blue berries, blue hexagons for the Splendid Sampler QAL.

This flower applique was easy. I made the background HSTs from two 4" squares of each fabric instead of cutting four 3½" squares of each and wasting the smaller triangles. 

Foundation piecing, luckily just large pieces of fabric this time.

I found my favourites are normal pieced blocks like this one.

Because I didn't even start one recent block and dumped my paper pieced Balls in the Air after just one quarter of the block, I have been sewing several of the bonus blocks to replace those two and maybe some future blocks.

A fun little hat,

a flower in a pot

and to mark the half way point with 50 blocks published, we are now over the Top of the Hill:

I made my moon over the mountain very realistic, but as we don't really have such high mountains here, I could have called this Moon behind a fir tree, if I had used green fabrics in this quilt. Well, I haven't, so a brown mountain it is. I try to keep to the fabrics I chose last winter for the project. There are browns, blues, yellows, oranges and reds, two blacks with print and a selection of white to grey and beige for backgrounds. All fabrics are from my stash, and this may be my first project where I use new fabrics only, nothing has been recycled.

Naturally, my hands will not be idle when I'm watching TV, so I have knitted a pair of train socks, again. You can read my short version of the history of the socks here. The ribbed long legs make sure the baby doesn't kick his or her socks off. A friend is having a baby in the autumn so I decided to prepare for his arrival. With the rest of the white yarn I made stripes for a pair of peppermint candy socks, and yesterday I started a pair of mittens to go with them.

Harvest fair and farmers' market in beautiful weather

Yesterday was the first Saturday in September, and time for the Maa elää harvest fair and farmers' market. The weather was beautiful and warm, bright sky and fresh air, not too hot. Sometimes the event has bad luck and only rain, no visitors.

 

Farmers and crafters had their stalls and tables along the pedestrian area in Järvenpää, our nearest town.

Our craft club had a stall there too like always.

 

The local craft centre was showing new trends of their classes. The oddest fashion seems to be the bags and other items made by crocheting can opening rings and yarn together.

 

Fascinating but strange:

 

I just love the Autumn colours. Soon I'll change my hanging flowerpots for something like this.

 

After a good walk around the ares and some shopping my company and I had a nice cooling raspberrry sorbet and soft icecream with espresso before returning home. Tomorrow I'll leave for a little holiday and come back in a week.

 

Still Rowing Strong

My computer connects me again normally, and I have sewn my two rows of The Bee in my Bonnet Row-along I'm making at my own pace. The new rows are Winter Stars and Houses.

 

 

This red one looks a little like our house. Just a little!

 

With the help of friends, Nina Lise and Melanie, I got the patterns for last week's rows before my computer was co-operating. You have seen the Autumn Leaves already, here together with the new Mittens:

 

Ten down, three to go, and of course borders, backing and label.

 

It is time for the first harvest already! The rhubarb is growing fast, and I made us a dessert

 

with some raspberries from the freezer. Strawberries would have been better, but I only had raspberries and bilberries. This desert is typical for our corner of the world, maybe a bit old fashioned nowadays, but just wonderfully refreshing on a hot day. It is like a thick berry soup, served cold with sugar and maybe whipped cream or ice cream.

 

The lilies of the valley are blooming! When I was very very young, I had a deodorant spray that smelled of these flowers and the text on the bottle was Muguet, so fine in French. Another popular scent was Apple Blossom, for some reason in English.

 

 

I picked a bunch, and they smell so lovely every time I walk by.

What is your favourite flower scent?

Edit: naturally the rhubarb is a dessert with double s., like my observant daughter kindly helped me notice.

Busy weeks

September is such a short month. I have been busy making apple sauce, 91 jars in all. That ought to be enough for the year, anyway I can't squeeze any more jars on the cellar shelves.

 

 

In the evenings - the days are getting shorter every week - I have knitted the last squares for this little blanket and crocheted them together.

Then I have knitted a secret gift which is also my first Craft Olympics project. I'm sorry I can't show more!

I made new curtains for one of the new windows we had installed this Summer.

The trees have started to change their colour, some birches have even dropped their leaves already.

 

Our garden must look a bit like a witch's garden with so many poisonous toadstools

 

 

and berries. Lily of the valley - Convállaria majális - is also poisonous.

 

 

The open college sewing group I have attended for many years already was too small to start this Autumn, only three of us wanted to join. We decided to have our own group without any fee, and tomorrow will be our second meeting at Mr. K's conference room. It is a "bring your own sewing machine" night, but I think I will bring my own light box and start preparing for my next Craft Olympics thimble.

Farmers' and Crafters' Market, and finally a quilt top

Last Saturday was the first weekend of September, and time for the 20th annual Maa Elää event in Järvenpää. It is a bigger than usual Farmers' and Crafters' market and harvest fair with nearly 200 stalls instead of the under 10 on a normal Saturday. There is often also an exhibition of old tractors or lorries. The first one is a grey Fordson from the very early '50s. See how small it is!

 

 

 

This red beauty is a Valmet, made in Finland.

 

 

The green one is Zetor from Czechoslovakia. The blue one in the background is another Fordson, in case you are interested.

 

 

The scent of the apples was delicious. I must start cooking my apples now too, but our eating apples are almost no longer good. They can't be stored, cooked or baked, just eaten fresh. These stalls were on the market place.

 

 

The rows of stalls reached all the way to the end of the pedestrian area. New harvest: honey and garlic, separately and together.

Autumn's flowers

more of them

Autumn wreaths made of birch twigs or willow, and hand made jewelry.

Hand knitted wool socks in every size and colour. There were stalls with beautiful handicrafts, but the best ones were hidden behind buyers' backs so no pictures of linen dresses, more hand made jewelry or gorgeous knitted scarves and hats.

 The day was chilly but luckily there was no rain.

My craft room has finally something to show. I have added a white border and a multicolour piano key border to my Helping Hands quilt top. Choosing a backing is the next step.

 

 

Farmers' Market and Harvest Fair

Last weekend we visited the annual farmers' market and harvest fair in Järvenpää again. We left home in rain, but were lucky to have sunshine for the time we walked through this marketplace and pedestrian area. You can see how dark the clouds were.

Farmers brought their harvest: chanterelles, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and cabbages here, and leeks

Home made jams, juices and pickled vegetables

Flowers

and flowers

Dried flowers and straw ornaments, including straw goats for Christmas

The yarns in soft colours here in the front are dyed with plants and mushrooms (not the pink, I think!). They had yarns for knitters and woven and knitted shawls.

The weather is getting colder, and wearing these fingerless gloves would be a good idea soon.

Hand-made ceramics

Some of the Villa Cooper ladies with their wool socks, leather slippers and ceramics


Guess how many new ladies wanted to join the open college quilting class this autumn after seeing my pretty display? 0!
Really, on Thursday only one of last year's ladies joined me and the teacher in class. After the rain stopped, one more lady came and asked if she could join and not quilt but make herself a jacket, and we all welcomed her with open heart. Three is not a crowd here, so we need at least two more to be allowed to start the class for real. We just hope some of our regulars have been busy with work, grandchildren, harvest or summer cabin, and will be there next week full of energy and new ideas.

Autumn colours and harvest time, knitting

On Friday we had a very warm weather and I had a long walk in the forest. It is harvest time. Combine machines have threshed the corn, berries have been picked in the gardens. There are still wild berries in the forest, like arctic bilberries

and lingonberries

Hawthorn berries in a tree in the park of the library:

Lovely red of the poisonous toadstool amanita

Many edible mushrooms are brown

These yellow ones may be edible, or not. I always check twice and ask Mr. K before using any mushrooms for food.

All plants are making their seeds ready to fly with the wind or to fall on the ground or to be eaten and spread by the birds. This is willowherb.

My own harvest in the vegetable patch is showing no signs of real progress:



My Jersey tomatoes have grown big and lovely, but there is still no sign of red in them. We have had a handful of the smaller domestic tomatoes to taste.

I have not been sewing anything I can show just yet, as they will be my PIF gifts. Because no new names were signed on my list, I have decided to make a baby sweater project in Ethiopia my third PIF recipient. A Finnish midwife has started a project in Ethiopia in order to get the women to hospital to give birth to their baby. If they do, the baby will get a knitted sweater like this to go home with. Also, this way the baby will be registered and get a birth certificate.

This is my first sweater for them, just knitted and not yet sewn together. In September there will be information about how to send them to Africa. The deliveries are on hold now, as there has been a new customs fee to be paid for the sweaters, and  the hospital people are negotiating about this and hoping to avoid the extra cost.