LibraryRagRugs

For our library I designed and made two rag rugs. This little one is meant to be placed under His rocking chair.

The longer one is designed to be placed at the front of the wood bench on which the dogs love to sleep. They sleep alone or still even together on it despite they hardly fit on anymore.

For both rag rugs I've used old recycled linen, old shirts and left over weft from YoungLady's project in 2020.

NauticalRagRug

I designed nautical-style rag rug for our living room. It is custom made for a certain part of the house like all the other rag rugs I've woven. For this one I have used textile industry left over material, old recycled linen and t-shirts. 

Also this one needs to wait in a safe place for the snow to arrive. Despite they are for different rooms they create ensemble set of home decoration and the spirit of FashionNOW.

PinkRagRug

Another rag rug has been taken off from the cloth roller of my loom. It is a bit girlish and includes so many memories of me & Young Lady. It is my own design but born with the idea that I have only a limited amount of each recycled material.

It is made of textile industry left over material, old recycled linen, t-shirts and tricot sleepwear. Only the warp is made of brand new yarn. Because it includes my and YoungLady's old clothes from the time she was LittleLady it includes so many memories despite it is a brand new home decoration textile! It is FashionNOW and brings us happy memories!

Now it is rolled up and placed in a safe place to wait until the snow arrives. Then I plan to place it on our kitchen floor to bring some cheerful color into the arctic Polar Night Season.

HallwayRagRug

I designed and made this rag rug. The warp is made of brand new black 100 % cotton yarn. It is necessary to use it for rag rugs to make sure it all will stay firm together and last decades.

It is approx 2,5 meters long and 70 cm wide. It has 3 sections and it is designed for our hallway. The black warp is practical because it looks neater longer.

One end of the rag rug is darker than the other because it will be placed closer the doorway. I have used old recycled linen, LP-yarn (80% of recycled cotton and 20% of other fibers) and left over weft from YoungLady's project in 2020 and textile industry left over material.

More than 50 % of the used materials are recycled. Rag rugs are always in fashion. If they are made in the traditional way like I do (recycled materials) they follow mega hot FashionNOW trend.

 

When you make your rag rugs proper they last for decades: even used recycled materials. Now I've roll up this beauty to sleep for a while. We will wait for the snow until placing it on the floor to prevent it to be dirty immediately because of the muddy paw prints!

Distaffs

In August and September 2024 I have been honored to receive some donations for myself and my work as a textile and fashion designer teacher. These wooden distaffs had been saved from ending up to be destroyed. They were already loaded on to go when someone noticed them and saved them. He had carried them with him in the meaning to give them forward to someone who understands the value of them. They are from his wife side family property. Now they hang on the wall of my house. They are very decorative and proof of a great artisan skill but they hang there on a place from where I can easily take them and use them. 

Distaffs are traditionally flat and very decorative in Finland. They were given as bridal gifts but made also during WW2 by soldiers who had a lot of time in war between Russia and Finland when securing their positions just by being on the front and waiting commands. They did woodcraft which they sent home to their wives, daughters and other female relatives. 

I had one distaff which my grandpa had made at war for my grandma but unfortunately one of my dogs ate it 25 years ago. Since that I've been looking for a new antique distaff. It has not been easy because they always must have a special story and connection to you. So, I am very happy now that a craftsman I met because of some other reason later wanted to donate these two distaffs to me and my use also at work. Many distaffs have been destroyed simply by burning them in the wood stoves in the past 40 years if they survived the WW2 times!

CutOff

It has been exhausting job for dear Pii to share her loom for common good. I have no time to weave all the time but she do enjoys for the moments I stop.

It all just amuses dear Nuka who loves to observe what all is going on in the world; near or far. Little-big-Pii is still her baby. Nuka doesn't get tempered easily but if someone upsets her baby she begins to get heated on, except if it is something that happens because of us humans. 

It has been a long way to weave rugs. There is now -I think 8- rag rugs around the cloth roller. The cloth roller turn out a bit heavy but I could easily roll on one more.

Except one more doesn't fit in anymore. There just is no room for anymore to warp anything around the cloth roller. I am quite surprised for how many rugs there are room around the cloth roller in my tiny looms. Originally I put on 30 m warp at the covid spring 2020. Many have been finished  but usually taken off after one or two. 

This time I could weave as many as needed or fit around the cloth roller because we won't place these rag rugs on the floors until the snow arrives. 

Now it all waits me there until next week when I should have time to take them all off one by one and tie the finishing knots.

Webcaps

If you open a book of mushroom it always says on the front page:

1. First learn to recognize the poisonous mushrooms 
2. Eat only the mushrooms you recognize

Well, I am still on the part one so I don't eat the mushrooms I pick up. 😅 But that is why it is safe to go to pick up mushrooms with me. If I don't identify it, it might be eatable. If I do, you should not eat it in any case. 

On the pic above you can see two different mushrooms for natural dyes. On the left there are Surprise Webcaps (Cortinarius semisanguineus) and on the right Bloodred Webcaps (Cortinarius sanguineus).

Both Webcaps give red shade but Bloodred more. Bloodred Webcaps grow also in Lapland but not so rich. It is much easier to find Surprise Webcaps. This year I have a trial going on so I freeze all the Surprise Webcaps to see if it is possible to storage them in that way and still get usable colors in dyeing process. Usually the instruction is to use them immediately or dry for the further use. It is easier for me to freeze them so I try that out for Surprise Webcaps. The Bloodred Webcaps I dry. There are fewer of them so it is easier for me.

Basket No 1 Newspaper

I have not made baskets in 38-40 years. But I do have made them in my childhood. It has became the time to breath alive this skill. This is the simply method of basket weaving which I did a lot as a child. It is called plain weave and I used free & commercial newspapers to make it. 

I used also approx 25 years old children's finger paints (acrylic, non-toxic) to paint the basket. I had yellow and orange left so I mixed them and had enough paint for the basket. I had to add also water to make it loose enough. So, that's how I chose the shade: orange.😅 

I paint it three times (and used all the paint). Then I used decoupage varnish. I put on 3 layers because the 1st one was absorbed immediately into the material. Also, the varnish was something I found from my stash.

On the begin I was a bit afraid of it gets too plastic and artificial outfit. I was happy to notice the text and prints is not 100 % hidden under the paint. Now it looks I have used some special printed plastic basket weaving reeds.

If using acrylic paint it is important to make sure the base of the basket has something under (in my case it is varnish) so that if it all gets humidity it doesn't loose any paint to the surface it is placed on.

I could have paint and used varnish or only varnish the inside. Instead, I wanted it to be visible which material I have originally used for the basket. 

That's because this is going to be a sample project for my basket weaving weekend course at work. More samples are to come and for sure you will see them here!

AAW LegWarmers No4

 

I designed, plant dyed and knit a new pair or AAW legwarmers. The yarn is AAW pale fog blue (40% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% FinnSheep wool, 10% arctic dog wool, 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). I used plant dyes tea, weld (reseda) and cochineal to create the shades of brown, yellow and pink. It is a very simple traditional Fair Isle style design but full play with the shades. For this design it is easy to use your loose end yarns!

Done!

 

Done! I did it! And it was not as difficult and frustrating at all as I expected. I had planned to spend the whole morning, also the afternoon if needed, repairing the damages but I completed it in an hour. It is not neat. I neither changed any new heddle. Each heddle eye were undamaged so I used extra cotton thread (strong) to lift up the broken heddles. 

I already tried out and it all works and stays on with the knots! It feels amazing something was done this easy and fast; without tears. Now I can finish this rag rug and get them all out off the cloth roller!

Bathrobe

 

This is an old bathrobe I designed and made 24 years ago for MrW whose dream-job-to-be was a paleontologist. Dinosaurs -of course- were the point. At that time there was no dinosaur themed bathrobes up here in the north. Today my grandchild uses this as her bathrobe when she visits us. Unfortunately, after all these years, its a bit broken. Notice the lowest button is missing (not for real, I have it in my button box) and it's a bit torn where the button used to be.

This T-Rex bathrobe was something super spectacular because it includes T-Rex footprints like it had walked over the bathrobe. You can see it all has maintained quite well the wear and wash. MrW got this when it was too big for him and hard to walk in it and he gave it away only when it started to be far too short. So, he used it for many years. After him YoungLady started to use it. She too got it when it was too big for her and gave up when it gas getting far too short for her.

I received these iron-on patches as a gift from my dear friend. When I started to mend the old T-Rex bathrobe I remembered these.

At first I mend the ruptured part by zig-zag sewing machine stitch. I did it proper and many times up and down plus side-ways a bit here and there.

Then I had to choose which iron-on patch matches best. I chose the one that covers the zig-zag mending best. It happened to be this delicious pineapple. I didn't iron the patch over the fabric. I could have but I still would have needed to sew it because the patch would not have stayed long on the fluffy fabric only by the ironing. That's why I first used the straight stitch to sew it around and fasten it onto its place. Then I -again- used zig-zag stitch the make sure it stays forever.

The pineapple covers only just the zig zag mending; but enough. I could have used just zig-zag sewing, but it is a very old and used bath rope so I wanted to be sure everything lasts and is done well enough.

I didn't place the missing button yet. The bathrobe is still too big for my grandchild so I think it's easier to use with the open hem. Also, watching the pineapple iron-on patch might fascinate a toddler so it's easier to see it without the button sewn on.

I could have patched one more T-Rex footprint. And I would have done so if not having this another option. I could not resist to use these cute iron-on patches I was given as a gift. 

We've now completed one more FashionNOW action and T-Rex bathrobe continues its special life by amusing children after sauna up here in the north.

BabyBlanket No9

 

I designed and crocheted BabyBlanket No9. it is made for cuddle and comfort. I have crocheted all the stars of the sky into it. The design itself is extremely easy and anyone who knows the beginner level of crocheting can for sure complete this. It reminds a lot Blanket No1. I just used pastel-lilac 100% cotton yarn (Mandarin Classic yarn by SandnesGarn) (50g = 110m) for the base and dark lilac teetee gaala yarn to create the starlight sky effect with sequins (85% cotton, 12% polyester, 3% sequins) (50g = 155m).

CivicSkillsWeek

Today at work I run a bookmark workshop. It is up to civic skills. This week adult education colleges in Finland stand for civic skills. Sewing basic skills are one of them. I designed and made these bookmarks. They are easy to complete by beginner level sewing skills and basic home sewing machine. For these bookmarks you can use left over materials so they are also FashionNOW option. 

OhMyLoom

 

By the arriving autumn the old green house has silenced from the summer guests. The visitors included animals: two happy young cats for 3½ months. They are full healthy and full of energy like only a healthy animal baby can be. That's why my loom faced devastation at one night when all humans were sleeping. Dear Pii was a bit upset because she lives behind the loom and has learnt it is not allowed to do anything but lean on them.

I have not cried for this yet but perhaps I will when I start to see if I can fix it... Only after doing something with this I can finish the last rug that fits around the cloth roller. I have started it and it is already for about 1 meter long. The problem is, because I use recycled materials, I have no material to be wasted if I want to follow the original design because that material is unique and I have it only a limited amount. Now I need to decide which is easier:

1. undo the rug start, cut it all off and fix the damage and weave the rug again OR 
2. cut it all off,  fix the damage and undo the rug start and weave the rug again OR
3. fix the damage, finish the rug and cut it all off

Hmmm... I am going to try out the 3rd option but we'll see how it goes...

The Reading Challenge No9

 The Reading Challenge 2024 is here!

On 2024 I encourage you to read books in different genres. No other rules but the genre. The meaning is to introduce different kind of literature and authors to yourself. But, you can still choose your favorite one if the genre is familiar to you. Notice, you can always drop out the book if you dislike it. It is highly recommended to use second hand books, borrowed books and your local library collection. If possible, read in all the languages you can. Also, don't be afraid of to pick up a book you have already read in the past. The second round at different age may bring you new experiences. 

September 2024 theme is DRAMA!

It is time to read a play; a manuscript! No matter who wrote it, nor how long or short it is. It can be your school play you all wrote together or a huge classic of which they are still making theater and movies.