TheMagazines1

This year I decided to challenge myself to show you what on earth I read. In this blog post I show you the magazines I read. I read Kodin Pellervo. It is a Finnish lifestyle publication. Some people -who obviously have not read any issue- classify it as a political publication but it doesn't include the politics at all. I like it because it includes articles that interests me. It also includes a lot of recipes and craft instructions but only a little bit of commercial advertisement. It's more full of the real topic than advertisement. I share this magazine always with my mother. At the end I keep the craft instructions because of my work as a craft teacher and she keeps the rest. This is 100 % Finnish magazine, not international concept.

I read Taito magazine. It is published by Taito Organization which is The Finnish Crafts Organization. I read it because it includes all the fresh news on crafts field in Finland. It interests me because of my work and personal reasons. This magazine I don't share with anyone but keep myself and use at work. This is 100 % Finnish magazine, not international concept.

Daphne's Diary magazine is my personal environmental crime. For my defense I must tell I buy it only seldom and only then when I am visiting Turku because this magazine is not available in my home town Kemi. In nine years I have bought 6 issues and they are my treasures in my library. I like this lifestyle magazine because of its articles and craft instruction but also because a lot of the material it includes which I can't get locally.

Dutch Heel No3 (var.)

I have designed and knit one more pair of socks. This is a variation of traditional Dutch Heel No1 (trad.) woollen sock. I use this style especially for the hard use woollen socks. The difference is the sole part. The stronger knitting continues from the heel to the toes. It makes the sole warmer and more durable. I used different shades of Novita 7 veljestä yarn (75 % wool, 25% polyamide) (100g = 200m) also for this pair.

ValmarinniemiTabletWeavingBand

I just realized I have not shown you the picture of the finished tablet weaving band reconstructed from Valmarinniemi excavation. It is a very beautiful and special tablet weaving design.

It really is not a design for the beginners. But believe me, it is a worth of weaving! I really love this historical design. 

HardangerPillowCase

Decades ago -yes, it's really decades ago- I received this beautiful Hardanger pillow as a gift from my childhood friend. I like it a lot and so does my grand daughter. It is her pillow now at granny's. That's why in the past 12 months the pillow has faced life more than it did during the past decades as a home decoration item. And that's why it needed proper washing and updating the back side. 

The original design had not the opening for the case. Also, the back side fabric was worn out. That's why I unravel the edges to get off the back side fabric. I made the easy opening by using velcro. So, in the future it will be much easier for me to wash this pillow case. I assume it will face a lot of life because it is the exact size for the toddler.

This is FashionNOW at its best. The squared fabric is from an old dress of mine. I received this hand made dress over a decade ago from a student of mine. It belonged to her daughter who died in cancer before the middle age. In this way the memory of her keeps going on while we also save the planet earth.

Fabrics and crafts can hold so much emotions. We don't even understand it until it hits at our face. For my student it was very important to share the beautiful pieces of her daughter's clothes after her passing away. She donated many to me because I was as small as she was during her past years. I have used her shoes and clothes. This is the final piece left. I didn't fit in so well anymore but had kept the dress because the fabric is still prefect. It just waited for the moment to be needed again. And here is the moment. Here we need the memory of her. And in this way it will keep on bringing the joy to the life as a part of the pillow case of a small child who loves it. With a gift from my childhood friend.

NB Mittens No1

I made traditional style needlebinding mittens with a traditional style round start. I used Finnish stitch (2+2 F2). I used our old ethic produced dog wool OOW yarn (25% arctic dog wool and 75% Finnsheep wool). 

This are for Him and custom made for His hands. I really enjoyed making them and practicing this new skill I've learnt in the past 12 months.

These mittens go with the needlebinding hat I finished a month ago. In these pics the mittens and hat look rather gray than brown. The real actual shade is something between.

Like the hat, these mittens are made with FashionNOW ideology. Also the mittens include an ancient method needlebinding. They are made of locally produced ethic wool. Manufacturing the mittens has not needed electricity.