FurBlanket No2

Earlier in August I designed and made FurBlanket No1. Now I repeated the process. I designed and made another fur blanket by using recycled muskrat fur coat which He bought a year ago at a second hand shop just by 30 €. 

For the lining I used again 100 % wool fabric. It is a twill wool fabric and makes the fur blanket inside feel so soft.

The fur coat hem works great in lap blankets because it creates a slight A-line for the blanket. When you sit and cover your pelvis and legs area by it, it falls over your legs but also covers the side parts of your legs to keep you warmer during the cold winter season.

This muskrat fur blanket goes to Lappala with the fox fur blanket! Yes, a bit of luxury. But 1st of all, because of the warmth. You can wear it both sides up, depending on it how much warmth you need. The best of all is that it is recycled so the Planet Earth says thank you. It is FashionNOW.

45 kg

Lappala arrived into our life in the way She is and has been all these years. She has also plenty of old traditional rag rugs. Last time I brought home for about 45 kg of rag rugs. You know I discovered the self service laundry opening this summer in Kemi. I didn't even try to wash Lappala's rugs by my own hands. I was happy to be able to use the self service laundry.

Now the washed rag rugs are at home. I was so pleased 24 Pesula has also the drying cabinets. At this time of the year when the autumn colors are arriving, drying rugs at home is almost impossible. We have spread the rag rugs around to let them breathe. Breathe? Yep. They should breathe before I roll them up and back into the bags. They were warm when getting out from the drying cabinet. You need to be 110 % sure the textiles are dry until you storage them. Otherwise they start to stink and may even mildew.

But, this is not all. I still have at least another 45 kg of rag rugs in Lappala waiting for to get into the self service laundry! 90 kg of rag rugs is quite many rag rugs. Why Lappala needs so many? You will see that later.💙

Lappala

Previously, in early July, I told you about the cottage life in Finland and the traditions connected to it. From that you know that we didn't have our own cottage. Until now! 💙 For about 3 long years we've been seriously seeking the match made in heaven for our cottage to be. This summer we found Her. 

Her location is very special, rural and secret. You get there by the only ferry of Lapland, Finland. There are other ferries but they are in South Finland. Her ferry is small but runs non stop from 6 am to 10 pm with only 4 breaks of 20 minutes. It's free and only few car fit in on board at the same time.

The ferry across one point of the lake Kemijarvi nearby Suomu. Suomu is a hidden and secret gem in Lapland, Finland. Suomu is a quiet place and far away from mass tourism. Suomu locates by the Arctic Circle like Rovaniemi but is so much more authentic meanwhile Rovaniemi has turn out tourism industry center like Barcelona or any other European city.

We chose our very own cottage to be in Suomu. Exactly today we became Hers. We've been there twice before. 1st to see Her and find out if She feels the right one. And for the 2nd time with the inspector to see if everything is ok with Her. 

From Her windows we can see the lake Kemijärvi. Through Her windows many people have watched before us.

See, actually She is not a cottage at all. She neither is any kind of young lady anymore built after the wars. She was officially born in 1.1.1907. But it was the heart of the winter by then. Nothing was built in January by then. So, according to the old traditions and way of life, She probably was finished in summer 1906 or 1905 or 1904. It just took some time to travel through the wilderness to the authorities to get it all stamped officially. 

But that's not all of Her. She was born much earlier. She burned somewhere at the end of 1800 and was only re-built after the fire. And that's not all. She was originally built -long long time ago- on the place where Sámi people had their summer season home, when they arrived to fish by the lake Kemijärvi. That's from where She got her name by the authorities written on the official books. Her original and very old name is Lappala = the place where Sámi people live. 

We belong to Her now. And I will share our life with Her with you in the future in this blog. Isn't it all very exciting!

FurBlanket No1

Do you remember how I made TrapperHat No1 for Him? Now I took the fox fur coat and made something from its hem. It is my own design.

I took off the lining and wool filling but left everything else there to support the structure.

Then I cut off the hem just under the armpits.

After that I selected the wool fabric shade for the new lining.

Then I cut the new wool lining into its shape and pinned it. You actually should not use pins for the leather or fur because they make permanent holes to the material. In this case I used the pins because the holes can't be seen through the fur and I pinned it in the way that no visible marks left on the leather parts. After pinning I sew it and closed the pockets from the front side.

It is wild fox. You can see it from the facts that the fur is not even and thick all over. You can also notice the shades vary quite a lot. Those are great examples to separate the wild fox from industrially grown fox fur. 

The deep red wool lining matches well with the wild & red fox fur.

It is ready for the winter and snuggle up! 

It is FashionNow.

DeerBag

Few years ago I received an old tapestry wall decoration. I was not quite sure what to do with it. Someone had received it with an old apartment they bought. It had no special meaning to any alive person. It ended up to me with the idea that it's a piece of craft, do something with it. 

I have been thing to what meaningful object I will turn it out. Ta-dah! I designed it and it turn out a handbag. 

I have made handbags before by using old canvas projects. One for my mom and another for one who is not here with me anymore.

In this deer-project also the lining and strap are recycled. The tag "Hand Made" and the magnetic clip to close the bag are new.

I made a small pocket inside. This is unique, and for sure a very special handbag. No other similar on the Planet Earth. Only this one. This is FashionNOW.