StarDustSet

I designed and knit easy mittens. I used fabulous Novita Tähti yarn (74% wool, 25% polyamidi, 1% polyester) (100g = 200m). The shades of the yarn vary so you need just to knit. Can it be any easier when you are busy but still want to make something special for someone special.

The yarn has 1% of polyamidi which creates some metallic star dust effect. I always knit a bit loose mittens. To stay warm in arctic we wear leather gloves under the mittens. Then the wind can't get through, you have double layer (mittens+gloves) and no matter how sensitive your skin is it doesn't itch because of the wool.

I designed and knit also the matching leg warmers. They form out a pretty set together. I used Single Cables to decorate them.

LondonCovers

Our veranda faced low budget fresh up. We used unit of old bookshelf to arrange it all. We bought new wooden boxes and baskets from the after summer sale. These baskets are actually flower baskets and they have plastic lining inside for the soil.  These baskets are for our dog items, so it is only practical to have some protect inside.

To hide everything from sight I designed and sew covers for the baskets. I bought London Map fabric from the sale and used left over white outdoor fabric as a lining.

Elastic band helps to keep the covers on their place. These covers have turn out fabulous invention in practical daily doggy life. The plastic lining in the baskets are excellent to prevent leash etc. to get attached into the basket's structure so the baskets and items inside are extremely easy to use!

3FeltHandBags

Do you remember this? Last time I worked with it on July 2017. On August 2021 I knew what I wanted to make out of it as the idea had processed forward in my brains during these busy years.

I decided to cut it to pieces. Just like that. To make three bags of it. One for my mother-in-law whose original design and idea the felt is. And two for two friends of mine. I also made one pouch and pen case. Unfortunately I just realized I have no pic of the pouch.

HandMadeSoap

This year I tried out soap making which I have wanted to try out for years. Well, it was not that special nor difficult or fun as I imaged but now I know.

I used herbs (lavender, rose) of my own garden and coffee bean crumbs to scent, dye and make scrub soap. The only noticeable thing I learnt is that you actually can use the normal stamps to decorate the soaps. You don't need to buy any special soap stickers, stamps or decorations to be able to make the figures on the soap. After all, it is just soap and your stamps are even cleaned during the process.

SequinLegWarmers

I designed and knit two pair of blinky leg warmers. They are for two little sisters who will receive them on Yule2021.

I used teetee gaala yarn. It is quite funny and interesting yarn. It is made of 85% cotton, 12% polyester, 3% sequins (50g = 155m).

You can have it in many shades and get inspired.

MalaBeads

I designed and made MalaBeads. They are also known as japamala or jaap maala. They are used in religious purposes but also meditation. Meditation doesn't need to have a religious connection. This Mala is made for a friend of mine. I have used recycled plastic beads for it.

Mala has 108 beads plus "a guru bead". The Malas I made has just 108 beads and the "guru bead" is just one of them, like all of us. A great guru -or a teacher- lives in us for the rest of our lives. We all remember the teachers who have influenced on our lives. This Mala is for another friend of mine.

As the simplest way to meditate with Mala, just inhale and exhale. Every exhale touch one bead. The guru bead is a great marker where did you start. When you have made the full round of Mala it means 108 exhales. In practical, that means for about 10 minutes of meditation in your life. If you do that daily -or at least few times per week- it has good mental and physical health benefits.

This Mala is for myself. Both wooden Malas are made of recycled wooden beads. Let's save the Planet Earth!

HappyNewHome

I designed and made a rug for young couple's new home. It is a gift to wish them happy and prosperous new home.  

The black base is made of old VHS-tape. For the decorative stripes I used old white clothes, for example T-shirts and pyjamas.

DoorStepMat

I designed and made a tiny door step mat for YoungLady's new home. I used old VHS-tapes to weave it. The plastic VHS-tape makes it to sparkle.

 

RugsForYoungLady

This is TheRug YoungLady designed and made for herself.

This is the one I made for her. It is different but has the same idea. This goes for her kitchen so it has more plastic in it to ease to keep it clean and ease to wash it.

JeansSkirt No 2

 

I designed and made another skirt by using a pair of old jeans and shirt. It all is so fun to use old clothes to make new ones.

You never know how it turns out.

JeansSkrit No1

I used parts of 2 pair of old jeans and 1 shirt to design myself a nice little skirt.

I love all the little details.

It is interesting to see how it all turns out according to it which material and how much of it you have available.

I challenge you all to make old used pieces of fabrics to turn out something new. Let's save the nature resources!

RagRug No3

At the moment I am weaving rugs by using recycled materials. The warp is brand new -of course- to secure the structure. I am using old VHS-tape (black) and old T-shirts and pajama-pants (white) to create something new. The rug will be a gift for a new young home. Because the rag rug contains quite a lot plastic (VHS-tape) this will be a perfect for kitchen or interior hall floor. 

Hobby Bookmarks

Bookmarks are such a cute little gifts you can easily send via snail-mail with a card. The bookmark can reflect either receiver's or givers passions and interests. 

Preserving The Potatoes

As you know I have a kitchen garden. I grow also potatoes there. Usually I grow my own seed potatoes from the ones I've bought from a supermarket. This year was special because I was given two different type of heritage seed potatoes so I included them on my farming.

"Rättviks röd" is from about 1720's from Dalarna, Sweden. It has been grown also in Finland under a different -Finnish- name "Vanha Punainen".  The other type is "Ellakka" and it should be at least as old as "Rättviks Röd".

It is very easy to grow potatoes and you can even do it in a bucket (8-10l) inside your house! It doesn't need much attention either.

We love all kind of potatoes. Potatoes are a big part of Finnish food & nutrition culture. Pasta and rice arrived only much much later!

This year I save some heritage potatoes and keep on preserving them and growing my own seed potatoes of them because these ones we can't get from any garden center nor supermarket. I hide these in my food cellar and hopefully that will succeed and I can plant them next season to get more!

Bookmark Garden

I designed and made this bookmark match with padded pen case. Together they form out a pretty gift for a friend who also loves gardening and writing. For the bookmark I used recycled ribbon and card board (inside) to create it eco-friendly. 

 

PaddedPenCase Garden

No matter how busy I am I always try to find some time for crafting. Here's my own design patchwork padded pencase. It includes many stories: dear garden hobby, fabrics received from two different friends, inherited fabric and recycled zipper.

Coloring Serenity

Is your serenity lost? Would you like to find it again or welcome it into your life? Would you like to try out easy mindfulness? Coloring is a good way to start. Most of us have done it in our childhood so it is something you already can! Just crab a pen and have a go!

SummerClouds BookMark

It must be quite clear already. I love bookmarks. I have some kind of passion on them. This is made of patchwork fabric and recycled ribbon. The card is made of recycled notepad cover.

 

Jar For Yule

 

I made a cute little gift of an old jar where was beetroots when I bought it. Now I decorated the jar by decoupage, sew a pretty cover and filled it with 26 different kind of tea bags and root chakra body butter.

I used a napkin for the decoupage decoration. On December 2017 I made decoupage glass jars -tutorial for you.

I made the cover of recycled felt. This is one of the last remaining pieces of An Old Jacket. I used it also for CatPillow. At first I was a bit sorry I had no lace but then I realize I could use machine embroidery decoration by the edge. It was cheap and easy. I am happy with the result.

Simple white elastic band keeps the cover at its place. It all match well together and create cozy Christmas spirit of old times. It is a nice little gift for Yule 2021.

Country Style Curtains

 It has come the time to re-decorate the closet I decorated with horses back on 2013. I just made the curtains of lace and used white laundry baskets inside to arrange my fabrics etc. in. It turn out calm (as wished) and pretty too. I am happy with the result. I just keep on loving this piece of furniture he made at his teens over 30 years ago. (At some point we have replaced the door handles by new.)

Farm and harvest

I love my garden. Every year I collect the harvest. On bad years it is enough for our self-sufficient annual nutrition considering vitamins. During the autumn, winter and spring we hardly ever buy vegetables, only potatoes and bananas. At home garden we grow red currants, black currants, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, honey berries (not a great success at all, they are about to leave), apples and saskatoons (= amelanchier, shadbush, shadwood, shadblow, serviceberry, juneberry, sugarplum, wildplum, chuckleypear.... it seems to have many names).

This year I planted more blackberry, blueberry and grape vine. I do also have many rowans (mountain ash) but usually we save all the berries for the birds. I love waxwings who love rowans. We save the rowans and rose berries for the birds also to secure their surviving over the winter. We need birds in our garden. The are important because of the biodiversity. Birds eat bugs that would destroy my harvest. But they also call for hawks etc. to take care of the pack of little birds don't grow too big. I have had this garden for 12 years and had never need to use any pesticides so it is very organic but needs that biodiversity to stay in that way also in the future. 

Our apples don't grow big, neither do apple trees, or any other tree. It is because of the arctic climate. On the other hand it is good because then I can fit more species in my ca. 0,27 acre garden.

Of course growing our own food demands a lot of work during the year. Not to mention when harvesting and producing it all to the form it stays good over the winter. 

Every year we also collect blueberries, lingon berries and cloud berries from the wilderness. It is quite a huge amount of berries to pick up and preserve.

I have had a juicer for years but now I have also a steam juicer. Before my mother-in-law has steamed our berries for us but now I can do it myself. This is a great pal in my kitchen. 

 PS. If you are not able to grow your own food look around. It is more planet friendly to buy from local small farmers than transport anything from the other side of the world. If you live in a city you can also use those services that aim to reduce food waste: ask from restaurants, super markets etc. Even around here some shops collect "stop food waste" bags or baskets and sell them out at very low cost. Be early or late bird, it depends on their system when they put them out on the sale. It is also an excellent way to protect the planet earth with extremely low cost budget.