Midsummer flowers and unfinished business with my Grandmother

Today is Midsummer Day here, as most public holidays have been moved to weekend. The old Midsummer Day was June 25th. We didn't celebrate much, but we have fresh potatoes with butter and dill, herring and warm smoked ham for lunch. It is something you need to taste up here to understand why it is delicious and special. It is our favourite summer meal for the next month or so!

My irises are in bloom:

And the lupins by the road:

Ranunculus by the steps in the garden:

Phox subulata in pink and white:

And the early peonies:



We had our windows replaced this week and hope to get the builders back next week to finish the inside and weatherboards. I was hoping to get clean windows when I get new windows, but it looks like I have to clean these after all. Anyway, it will only be four surfaces instead of the six I had in the old ones. The new windowsills will be smaller than the old ones. We need to find a way to keep my pot plants happy with sufficient light.

On Wednesday I met with a friend from my student times. She lives in Germany but her family is from this area and we have met a couple of times while she is here. I made her an eye glass/phone pocket in a bright Marimekko fabric with Winnie the Pooh design.

Kaite has challenged me to use my tiny ends of wool yarn to make a blanket over a long period of time, and here is what I'm going to start with:

While I was digging in my bags and boxes for those yarns, I found these two unfinished mittens:

They are both from my Grandmother, who used to keep all her grandchildren well stashed with socks, mittens, hats, sweaters and even dresses she knitted. I have kept these two so I can copy her pattern and use it. I know I have used the pattern on the right for some mittens for my own children but never wrote it down. The one on the left is knitted on regular needles up to the end of the pattern. I will let you know if I can figure out how she made it.

Secrets revealed and wonders of the nature

It has been a long time since my last post, due to Internet problems. Things are getting better now and I hope to catch up my blog reading soon.
This is what I have been working on in secret:

In February I heard through Simone about the Stained Quilt Along hosted by Sarah at Narcoleptic in a Cupboard. After seeing Simone's blue and grey fabrics I thought my son's shirts would make a lovely stained glass quilt to match the Business Class quilt I made for his birthday.

His long-time girlfriend has her birthday this week and I had a chance to give this to her yesterday

They had invited us and her parents for a very delicious Mother's Day lunch at their home. The quilting is in the ditch as I didn't want to disturb the "glass".  -  I couldn't resist borrowing DD's stained glass angel for the last picture. There is no border in this quilt, just a narrow binding in the same grey as the sashings. Sarah's pattern was for a crib size quilt and I wanted to make a lap size, so I added a row at the bottom and to one size. I forgot to measure the finished quilt but it should be around 55.5" x 66.5".

Marimekko has taken old prints into production again. This one is "Helsinki - Helsingfors" by Per-Olof Nyström from 1952, the year of the Helsinki Olympics. I don't remember this print from my childhood, but my mother used to have summer dresses and skirts in this style. I found this piece of fabric in the local Marimekko shop and used it for a shopping bag for my sister Maija in Germany.

And now some spring feelings. Wood Anemone is one of the first wild spring flowers, usually popping up for Mother's Day.

My daffodils like their new place and are blooming right now. This is their second spring in this spot.

The green finches were courting over lunch. He on the right is showing his nice yellow wing feathers.

Mr. Pheasant has four lovely ladies, here he is watching over two of them having lunch. He is wearing his spring feathers, with brighter colours and much red in the face.

 

I almost forgot to update my Scandinavian Christmas. Here is Block 4 all finished:

And here it is added to the other three. I'm slowly starting work on the border of hearts and snowflakes. If you want to see a finished Scandinavian Christmas, pop over to Melanie. She is being a star pupil!

This is all for today, I hope to come back soon with new finishes.

Computer news and picture update

After long consideration, some waiting and two days of learning we finally have a new computer with everything needed, and I'm writing my first blog post here. There are some problems still: the laptop has no access to the internet like it should and used to have, and DH's email account has disappeared because of a misplaced password. I need the magic help of the next generation to get a photo editing programme (and at least two patience games  ;-)!). Luckily DD is arriving tonight from Berlin. She originally put up this blog for me, and has taught me almost everything I know about using a computer, especially the internet.

Maybe you would like to see some of the pictures I have taken since September? I'll show them anyway. About at the time when the computer crashed, I saw the most exotic butterfly in my life:

The Red Admiral. They are rare visitors in Finland. This one was warming itself on the sunny wall of our new garden shed.

We put up the bird feeder early in October, and the birds returned to our yard quickly. The first  portion of seeds was gone in a week, but as the Autumn has been unusually warm, the second fill wasn't needed until last night.

This squirrel has already changed fur for the winter, the reddish brown is only left in the legs. He was sitting in  our oak tree, apparently resting, and I thought he was just like me with my second cup of tea and newspaper, when I sit at the breakfast table alone after the men have gone to their duties: my nose drops closer and closer to the paper as I'm almost falling asleep again.

The trees had beautiful colours

but they are gone now.

I have played with yarn, not only knitting it but felting some too:

These little balls of yarn have been machine washed in hot water, rubbed a little to smooth the surface, and sent to Stephanie for her birthday some time ago.

With my PIF gift to Kaite in Australia, I sent a small fabric basket for her mother Coralie.

And look what she sent me in return:

The prettiest little daffodil pouch is handmade by her, and the cute house brooch is from Kaite. It is Spring down there, and daffodil time. Thank you, Coralie and Kaite!

PIF sent, and other news

Finally I have a working system on this borrowed laptop and can show you some of my recent doings. Some time ago I sent all my PIF gifts on their way, and they have now arrived at their destinations in Australia, Switzerland and Ireland. I made them all a little tote bag using Marimekko fabric, and a smaller bag for small things.

 Barbara and Heather both received the sets shown above, and Kaite, who signed in later, got a more colourful tote (because I had used my beige for the two others):

 

and a knitting needle holder as I happen to know she is a knitter.

 

The baby sweaters went to the Black Lion Hospital in Ethiopia, to fulfill my earlier promise from 2008 to send three handmade gifts. At that time I only had two ladies to sign in for the first PIF I signed in.The Finnish Nuttu project has received nearly 50,000 baby sweaters for them in a few years, and it has spread to Switzerland as well, where the sweaters are sent to another place. I'm so happy Barbara decided to knit some sweaters too, and luckily we found a way she can join the project in her own country.

You can see here what Melanie sent me and her other PIF ladies. The pictures are at the end of the holiday post.

I had to use my photos as they came from the camera, I hope they don't take ages to upload when you read this.
I have been working on some Unicef dolls again, and on my crumble blocks, enjoying some lovely autumn days but also had rain and wind, even the first night frosts. A new post will follow soon! I hope to be able to visit you all now that the internet seems to allow me opening more than a few of them.

2nd Anniversary Giveaway

Today is the day. Two years ago I wrote my first blog post, and soon I noticed that I had entered a whole new world full of nice people, brilliant ideas, beautiful pictures, inspiration, challenges, treasures and great friends. (If you are curious to know about the name of my blog, it is explained in the second half of that first post.) To celebrate the two first years I'm having a giveaway. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I wanted the giveaway be like me and my blog. Therefore I'm giving away an apron,
A) because I wear aprons every day,
B) because it is vintage from the 60's
C) because it was an UFO I inherited from my mother
D) because it is recycled: my mother started making it from a summer dress she had sewn for my grandmother

I finished it last night, and here it is:

What is even more typical of me is that I misplaced the second item I was going to give away, the Stitchers' Angels rose string bag. If I find it during the weekend, it will go to someone as well.

To replace the missing gift I pulled some Marimekko scraps from my endless stash. I will give two sets, and the first winner to answer my e-mail gets to choose. The one set is blue:

The other set is green:

I will be away in a meeting almost all day, so you have all day to participate. I will draw the winners tomorrow  and contact them by e-mail for the mailing address. You have one ticket for every post you have commented on since the beginning of my Advent Calender. No-reply comments don't count.

Thank you for being there.

Special Sewing Projects

Today I received some lovely mail, from Stephanie. She promised to send me a plastic ring I wasn't able to find anywhere here, so I knew the mail was on the way. But look what she packed for me with the ring, so nicely wrapped:



One of her vintage patterns she has been showing recently, from her mother's stash. I'll never manage a big blanket, but there is a pattern for a cushion as well. It is also nice just to have old stuff, isn't it? There was a spare ring for another bag, I think I'm going to make one using recycled fabrics like jeans and shirts together. More vintage stuff: a wooden spool with brown thread, and several buttons still on the cardboard. I have started a wintage button collection just now!

The reason I needed the ring was that last month I bought her West Linn Bag pattern and used for it the charm pack she sent me earlier. I couldn't finish the bag without the ring, and while I kept looking for one here, she promised to send me one just in case. I don't think you can try this with your usual suppliers! Anyway, a couple of hours after the mail arrived, I can already show you the finished bag. It was very fun to make. This is the front, notice the lovely chocolate colour giant rick rack she also sent me with the fabrics!

I used unbleached linen for the solid, and a marimekko brown and white print for the lining. The back

And this is what it looks like on my shoulder. The big orange button came from my big sister P earlier this summer.

I want to show you something very different I have also sewn, a couple of years ago already. It is a fly fishing west for Mr. K, fulfilling his tiniest wishes.

There are 19 pockets in all, tailored to the size of his fly boxes, spectacles and phone. Ten zippers, some pockets with Velcro type fastening. I don't remember how many D-rings, flaps and loops there are, but they are there for a purpose. The clothespin hanging from a D-ring in the neck is for the net; he can easily snatch it loose when he needs it. The curved pockets were for reels and other bigger items. Under them is a large pocket with openings on both sides.

Watertight inside pockets are for phone and fishing permits, and other items not so important for the active fishing. Much thought was given to human engineering when we placed the pockets for easy access. There is a little tip to hang the pliers he uses to take the fly from the fish's mouth when he releases them.

I no longer remember the purpose of all the pockets, but luckily he does. The snap lock is there to hold the west closed when it is too warm to keep it zippered up.

This was the second fly fishing west I have designed; the first one was for DS1, who started fishing when he was only about ten years old and way too small for the vests available.

This is what the flyfisherman is waiting for, tiny circles on the water from the insects above and the fish below the water surface.

And the flyfisherman's wife watches the sun set behind the calm lake, hearing only the water running down the rapid. Peaceful relaxation.

EDIT: The garment my husband is wearing is generally known as a fly fishing vest. I seem to have trouble making a difference between V and W, as well in writing as when speaking English. Both letters are pronounced the same in Finnish, but we only have the W in old writing or Swedish names.

So many ways to help others

This week I spent four days at the Children's Hospital of the University of Helsinki. There are many patients, whose parents are at work and the nurses are always busy, so I try to help out sometimes. There is so much you can do to help without a nurse's training to make the patients feel a little less lonely: reading books, helping them eat or just sitting by the bedside when they come back to the ward from their operation.


The hospital building is built during and after the WWII. This picture of a mother and a child must be from that time.




The original benches in the entrance lobby are very uncomfortable, but the modern pillows are a great help:

These elephants and flamingoes are are donated by Marimekko.

This is the part I love, being a child from the fifties and growing up waiting for new Moomin books to be written. Tove Jansson painted this picture for the stairwell of another chlidren's hospital in Helsinki. That hospital was later changed to take adult patients only. The paintings were copied by art students and painted again in 1998 in this hospital, with the blessing of Tove Jansson.

I love the way the characters are running up the stairs, smiling happily. In the next picture is the framed story about the history of this mural, and in the lower part of the paper a copy of Tove's handwritten letter expressing her joy for the continued life of her characters, to cheer up new generations of child patients.

These stairs come from the entrance floor to the next one.

Isn't the horse just lovely?

This spinster auntie is hurrying with her nieces to bring gifts and flowers to someone.

The operation ward greets the little patients with teddy bears in green. I get this far with the patients, the mothers of young kids are only allowed to the elevator doors, to avoid any separation drama up here.

I love this owl door. It leads to the recovery room, reminding everyone on this side that there are people asleep even when it is daytime. On the inside of the door is another painting, with sunshine and a little bird singing.

There are some professional visitors on the wards, too. Every Tuesday two hospital clowns come to meet the patients who are well enough to have a laugh. You can see pictures of them here. The idea is brought from New York, where the first clown had her training at the Clown Care Unit . Today the Finnish clowns operate in three major children's hospitals for free.

I finished some hand sewing there while my patient slept, but the project still needs some machine sewing before it is ready for photographing. My mind is full of ideas for projects for the Australian bush fire victims. Pip from Meet me at Mikes has done a wonderful job organizing ways to donate, and her sidebar shows numerous links for those who want to help.