Old bags and flowers

Remember the boots with flowers last year?

The same group of people and local enterprises collected old handbags and other bags for this year's project, and the florist shop donated one plant for every special bouquet they sold over the year. Suddenly, there were a thousand plants and hundreds of bags waiting to decorate what they called the ugliest spot of the town, the wire net fence of a sand and grass parking lot in the heart of the town.

 

Let's have a closer look: 

Some hard to use bags are without flowers just filling gaps.

When I took the photos, the flowers had been here over their first weekend. I couldn't see any damage done to them.

 

I wouldn't use this idea in our own garden, but here it works.

The flowers will grow a little and bloom all Summer.

 

The sign tells the names of the shops which will take care of watering the flowers. Our favourite knitting café Lentävä Lapanen, The Flying Mitten, is among them. - Ooh, if you just love their yarn collection, you can look here, it's their new online shop.

 

One more bag used as a flowerpot:

 

Last year there was knitted (and crocheted) graffiti in the streets as well, and I felt a little rebellious and started a project alone.

 

 

I only had these two flowers, one for the rail and the other for a tree.

I can see them every time I come from the train to town.

 

This year the garden of Villa Cooper is showing knitted art as a part of the Summer exhibition. I knitted some little flags for a bunting and crocheted some granny triangles too, in grey and in a muted pink.

 

 

I promise to take some pictures the next time I go there!

 

A dear friend had a new granddaughter, just when I was trying out a fun baby hat pattern, Aviatrix by Justine Turner, so I had a perfect little welcome gift for her finished in no time.

 

Little yarn rests for the flowers, matching the button.

 

Summer colours

The warm weather doesn't suit me, so I have been lazy and just knitting little dishcloths using the ball ends at home.

 

 

 All these patterns are free on the internet,

 

very simple, these two are just knit and purl stitches,

 

and this one has a simple pattern of knitting every other stitch from the previous row on the right side. It is fun trying out new patterns, and they make nice little gifts.

 

The flower shape was a lot easier than it looks:

 

It has shortened rows and a seam where the top meets the bottom row.

The warmth and rain have made all flowers bloom early.

 

 

I filled my big box with annuals again.

Close-up of the left side.

We noticed unlicensed building on the roof  of the Flycatchers' house a few days ago.

Mrs Fieldfare is sitting there, probably hatching already.

 

New bag and some new "rags"

Last night I finished my new Summer bag. The pattern is Caity Did by Loft Creations. I made it mine with some alterations to the original.

 

 

First, I need to wear the strap across my body because I have a rotten shoulder, and lifting it to keep the bag in place makes it much worse. Instead of two handle straps I made one long and adjustable shoulder strap.

 

On the inside, I prefer to keep my wallet and keys in a zippered pocket, so I made one. If you don't know how to make it, go and look at my tutorial here.

 

On the other side I added a small pocket for my phone. There is a piece of elastic band coming from the lining to the pocket front, to make sure the phone doesn't glide out if the bag is not upright.

Back side of my new bag. The fabric is a treasure from the 1960's. It used to be a sleeveless top my mother made for me, with matching shorts. It was hardly worn at all, the fabric is like new, and I was wondering why because I know I really liked this fabric even back them. When I was ripping the seams open I remembered: The fabric is not only by a famous designer, Marjatta Metsovaara, but it was designed for curtains or tablecloths, and my top was not only stiff and uncomfortable but also too hot.

 

As I was going wild with the customizing changes on the pattern, I decided to make the bag perfect for my needs with a very little change: Instead of a 1½" box pleat I made a 2" box pleat. I don't need a slim flat bag to carry papers and a magazine, I need a roomy bag that can take my book and my camera, sometimes my knitting project (balls of yarn are never flat!),  maybe a cardigan or a hat, and not look too stuffed. Clever solution, wasn't it?

 

 

If you are planning to make a new bag for the Summer, I have a great hint: Stephanie will be selling her 9 $ Loft Creations PDF patterns for 4 $ each from the 1st of June, permanently. Look here, and you will see how the original Caity Did bag looks.

 

I promised you rags as well:

 

 

Dish cloths used to be old rags before they were replaced by pretty knitted or crocheted cloths. Now these are popular again, and I have knitted and crocheted many, many of them. From top, a bamboo/cotton blend, multi-coloured Cream and Sugar cotton, and a microfiber acrylic yarn, to test if it is any good. After a few times in the washing machine the quality of these cloths is even better than before. We have been watching the Giro d'Italia, and a nice dishcloth knitting is just the perfect project for it.

New quilt top, socks and a pheasant story

 

The strings in the wind have grown into a quilt top. I took your advice and kept the other colours to a minimum. Next step is to find a free floor space to make the layers, and quilt it. Luckily this is not a very large quilt.

 

A new pair of Train socks, this time for the Red Cross. I have knitted at least one pair per month for the Järvenpää babies as well, but I often forget to take a picture before giving them away. Anyway, they all look the same, just different yarns. Here I used two little rest balls of baby sock wool. One pair only takes 38 g  of yarn.

One day I happened to look at the little rock just outside our yard, and I noticed someone had brought a mossy stone on top of the rock.

I looked closer (through the camera lens) and saw that it was a pheasant cock fast asleep!

 

He must have heard me or felt that I was watching, because he opened his eyes...

... and stood up, looking around as if to see if anyone noticed ...

... and then he stretched his neck and let everyone hear his "song", flapping his wings.

"What, no applause?"

 

Some days later I caught him hammering our cellar window, where his rival and enemy is lurking every time he comes to check. He also fights back, every time!

 

We were just 15 inches apart, only separated by a dirty window. I think I need to tape a newspaper on the glass to make the mirror image disappear.

 

 

New Children's Hospital 2017 campaign at Villa Cooper

Look, we are in the local newspaper!

 

 

The first of May was the official beginning of our craft club's bird themed sales campaign to raise money for the New Children's Hospital 2017 project.

 

Here are the first products, and there will be more.

 

Felted owl brooches, decoupage eggs and my bird appliqué mug rugs.

 

Beautiful aquarelles of our winter birds.

 

Felted rooster potholders and owl softies.

 

Knitted hats, a tea cosy, a ceramic bird on the wall, little bag with bird fabric, and felted owls on the shelf. On the bottom shelf the eggs and brooches again, and on the left there are some pretty pillowcases with hand printed birds.

 

I hope the publicity we had in the newspaper will bring new buyers. Mother's Day is on the coming Sunday, and the school year ends at the end of May so little gifts are in great demand. And if the bird gifts are not quite what they are looking for, the house is full of our normal crafty things from rag rugs to linen table runners, from candles to wreaths, from hand knitted wool socks to beaded earrings and necklaces. And of course the big quilt with stitcheries and wool appliqué! That one is for the fundraising, and with the Easter chicks and eggs it goes well under the bird theme too.

Squares

This is the beginning of my Rona cardigan with the Rowan yarns I showed a while ago. I have been testing all colour combinations and the three different square patterns that make the biggest part of the cardigan.

 

 

These are all my favourite colours.

I still need to practice on this square to get it the same size as the others. I love the 3D flower!

This is a new project, to support the New Children's Hospital 2017 charity. Villa Cooper will have a closet full of bird theme items donated by the members of our club. The proceeds will go 100 % to the fundraising, just like the price of my Happy Scrappy Spring quilt.

 

I decided to make a low price product, a mug rug. Little birds appliquéd on linen with a heat and bond type material, and just machine stitched a couple of times around the edges with straight stitch.

 

I kept the shapes simple but noticed how easy it was to change the look by changing the wing angle

 

or playing a little with the legs to give a busy look.

 

Luckily I had an almost full reel of 20 mm bias binding to finish the edges. I made some careful measuring and sewed the bindings in loops before attaching to the square. Easy!

 

Look, there is a hint of green in the young birches!

 

Happy Easter

Tiny Easter chicks

 

Even tinier bunnies

Tete-à-tete daffodils

First Brambling of the year. We usually see one or two in the Winter months, and in the Spring they come with common chaffinches.

 

Allergics, stop looking! Pussy willows:

 

Birches full of pollen this morning.

 

 

Yesterday was warm up to 16C/60F and it was all the nature was waiting for. It feels like Spring is really here!