OOW LappishStyleMittens

A pair of LappishStyleMittens made of OOW yarn (25% arctic dog wool and 75% Finnsheep wool).

My own design (yarn, stitches, colors etc.) but it is very clear that this is actually old TraditionalScandinavianDesign in natural white shades spiced with ChristmasRed.

WHITE ❤ RED

RED ❤ WHITE

TeddyBear NeedleBook

Do you remember the TeddyBear I stitched from le idee di Susanna magazine (issue June 1998, page 80)? Now I designed this NeedleBook decorated by TeddyBear. (Two years ago I made Strawberry NeedleBook. I think I should make more of these...)

This one is red and white...

...and it looks very pretty indeed.

It is a gift which I will send away!

TeddyBear

I stitched this CuteLittleTeddyBear on pink DMC 14Ct Aida fabric. It is from June 1998 issue (no 114) of le idee di Susanna magazine (page 80). It is a part of a bigger design. The shades of the design are more light but I used loose end threads and wanted it to be more brown instead of golden. We'll see to which this will turn out....

DiningTable

This is our NewOldStyle DiningTable.

Yes, it has the cover too.

It is all hand made without nails.

It still has some old pain...

...and some parts have been sand down to wood.

It is almost 100 years old. No one actually remembers the time before it. His great grandfather has made it. I love t. It is BiG and rustic. ❤

We ordered a glass cover for it from a local small business. It cover the wood so we don't need to be afraid of to spoil it by pouring something over it accidentally.

Just look how beautiful the surface is!

The 2017 Reading Challenge

Since 2013 I have started to keep record of it what I have read because I found  BookDiary from a secondhand shop. I have always loved reading. After having children I felt I had no time to read as much as I wanted. Starting from 2013 my aim has been to read at least 12 books every year. I would love to be able to read 52 books every year but that is not possible. So 12 books -one for each month- it is a great compromise. I read 10 on 2013, 7 on 2014, 20 on 2015, 20 (12 for the challenge) on 2016 and 17 + extras on 2017.

Since 2016 I have taken you in with my ReadingChallenges. From the reading challenge on 2016 I found inspiration for the challenge 2017 to read only the books I already own but have not read them. Now we see how the challenge for the year 2017 has worked.

* * *

On 2017 I have read:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K.Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany (in English, not mine actually but a book which YoungLady got from SantaClaus on Christmas 2016 so it was in MyLibrary anyway)

Vanishing World: The Endangered Arctic by Mireille de la Lez and Fredrik Granath (in Finnish, mine, bought it on a book sale by 5€ years ago but never had time to concentrate on its beautiful pictures before this, I actually picked it up several times during the past years but was always interrupted, now I tried three times until managed!!!)

Longbourn by Jo Baker (in Finnish, looked forward this so much and was so so disappointed)

Natural Horsemanship by Peer Werner Vogel (in Finnish, this was my sister's book actually, I read this and several other horse books which were mine to update and learn more)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - Newt Scamander by J.K. Rowling (in Finnish, YoungLady borrowed this from the library and I just had to read it)

Disa Hannuntytär and Kaarnatuuli by Finnish author Kristiina Vuori (both in Finnish, pretty educative historical novels)

Life of Pi by Yann Martel (in Finnish on our Cretan holiday, borrowed by a friend to me)

Complete collection book about Arsène Lupin by Maurice Leblanc (in Finnish, I really recommend these stories also for older kids and teenagers, this was actually recommended to me by YoungLady, not much blood and body parts but good old detective stories from a bit different aspect)

Taivaslaulu by Finnish author Pauliina Rauhala (in Finnish, not mine, borrowed it from the local library because it has been on my "to read" list, it's been a big local news because she lives just 100 km south from my town and been on the theater stage too as a play)

Kaikki ranteet auki, Kukkiva syyspervo ruukussa  and Kivaan kipuun by Finnish author and journalist Miska Rantanen (in Finnish, not mine, borrowed from the local library to amuse myself but these books have been on my "to read" list for a long time, they are about the literature's excellent moments with all those mistakes you should not make when putting up an advert or any official text... very amusing I must tell)

Pat of the Silver Bush by L.M.Montgomery (in Finnish, not mine, borrowed it from the local library, such a lovely story for us adults too)

Come Back, Como by Steven Winn (in English, a dear friend gave this to me because she knew I will love it and she was right; for the first time I found myself talking to the author, nagging at him and advising him and at the end heard me to say "there you go, see, I told you" ☺ )

The Girl With Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story by Hyeonseo Lee (in Finnish, really educative and informative book without any preaching or heated on ideology to any aspect, she has been able to tell her story very objective, I recommend this to all to learn more about Korean people and the other nations on the area)

The Blind Man's Garden by Nadeem Aslam (in Finnish, despite it tells about the war it was not too masculine)

So, here's all 17 of the year 2017 listed above and those extras "educative horse books" are not mentioned. 9 of them were from MyLibrary, 2 borrowed by a friend, 6 borrowed from the local library. Also those extras were from MyLibrary. So the aim to challenge MySelf to read the books I already have was successful despite I read also other books.

* * *

And The 2018 Reading Challenge keeps on the same theme. These 4 books I got last year from friends and SantaClaus. And these are the ones I am going to read on this year... and many other... You will hear all bout them after a year... Perhaps a bit here and there too during the year...

AAW SingleCable HandWarmers No2

The series of HandWarmers keep going on. 

My own design of our own AAW yarn.

So lovely to design and create from the yarn we have produced!

Tallinn, Estonia

We visited Tallinn, Estonia!

It is a beautiful old town by TheBalticSea.

I love TallinnOldTown.

We stayed in luxury St.Petersbough Hotel. It was really nice place with save gluten free food.

St. Nicholas' Church and Museum.

I really love the architecture and art you can find at the churches.

We were lucky and had half an hour listening to the organ music they plaid in there!

They had placed fabulous white&silver Christmas tree exactly there where you arrive into the church.

I fell in love with it...

...and each detail of it.

We visited also Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

It was a nice little holiday!

WhispersFromXmas2017

  

 TheHoliDaySeason2017 if officially behind now. I have collected all the Christmas decoration away now... But to cherish the WinterWonderLand I left all the decorations that still are up to winter but not YuleTime. This DearLittleSnowMan I found and bought at a SecondHandShop on the last autumn. Now it has got some friends and a very own sled of his own.

There is no Christmas time without gingerbread house. This year YoungLady did it all on Her own.

She created a personal touch on it by placing a horse on the roof! She really could not resist to do so!

This Christmas I also made a gingerbread... Well, not a house but a small forest with trees, moose and hares.

GlutenFree DateCake is something we just must have over TheHolidaySeason. This time I bake three of them. One for parents-in-law, one for our YuleTable and one for a holiday season birthday party.

BoardGames are the best entertainment and they are a strong part of FamilyHolidays. Chess is one of the favourites when there's only two players available. This is very old ChessBoard. I actually bought it from Thasos, Greece almost 30 years ago! The plastic package is a bit wounded but the game itself could not be in a better shape! 

She loves YuleTime too. It is full of excitement... Sometimes too much for Her PhotoEffectiveEpilepsy. But still, just think about it: a real tree inside the house full of toys for her to play, pull out and chase after... Paper bags and boxes to hide... All those scents... And people staying all days AtHome only for Her comfort!

ChristmasTree 2017

Past years we have got our Christmas tree by Metsähallitus. It is Finland state-owned enterprise which use and develop state-owned land and water. You call to buy the 5,09€ permit to cut down a tree on a certain area. It is a great service they have developed! Here's few pics from our last ChristmasTreeAdventure.

  

The tree you desire for must locate by the road, not deeper in the woods. So, if you are not used to hike in the wild that is ok. You are not allowed to cut it down deeper anywhere but by the road.

Just look at His knife! Does it look familiar to you? I used it when designing Knife.

The tree is not allowed to be higher than 3m. There is also a practical purpose for this permit to cut down ChristmasTrees. It is part of the important thinning to make the forest grow better. When the trees are cut by the roads in this way it increases also traffic safety because the forest gets thinner by the road so people notice wild animals easier which may rush from the woods to the road. Of course it is a pity to crash at any animal by your car but reindeer and moose can be very dangerous because of their size.

Ta-dah, it's up there on the car!

She too likes to go into the woods. This year our adventure was placed in -15 Celsius degrees weather.

She could not live without going into the wild! When She gets HerAntennas on She knows where we are going to!

See how the wind has created the surface of the snow!

AAW Owl No2 HandWarmers

Here we go again. More my own design HandWarmers made of AAW. It seems here is a little factory going on!

AAW Owl No1 HandWarmers had an owl to decorate them. This pair has EagleOwl to decorate them. See the difference how they look.

So warm, so pretty but still not for me!