Winter is coming – So I made a Beanie

22/12/2018
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Ok, so winter is kind of here already but I've got Game of Thrones on my mind. I've been doing serious closet cleanup sessions lately, taking out all those garment and accessories that no longer work for me for different reasons. That has also included letting go of pieces made from animal fibres. While layering is an alternative for wool, I've struggled to find replacements for some of my beanies. It seems that everything on the market is either wool or acrylic. The few beanies that are made from cotton are made for people with much smaller heads than mine. I've been reluctant to crochet a beanie since the last time I did it, I ended up with a heavy and weird shaped beanie that I rarely used. Tired of googling ethically produced cotton beanies I decided to give a crocheted version another go. This time I would try to find a pattern and make sure I got the fit right. Thank goodness for Pinterest because it didn't take long before I found this simple way of crocheting a beanie, that even beginners can do. You don't have to worry about decreasing stitches, only how big of a fold (or…

Another reason why I love crochet

I learned to crochet when I was a kid but to this day I still find new things about the technique to get excited about. There are so many styles of crochet and you can make such a wide range of things. Good thing for me 'cause I love learning new things. A good friend of mine gifted me with a Molla Mills calendar that got me interested in tapestry crochet. It's something that's been on my list of techniques to learn but have struggled to find time for. Having the calendar on my wall has been a good reminder of that list but for some reason I really wasn't into crocheting some swatches as I usually do when testing new stitches. Then I made a stupid mistake and put my lucky cat purse in the washing machine. It went in intact and dirty but came out clean with a bunch of holes. So I thought a new pouch/purse for my phone would be a good size product to test tapestry crochet. I choose this graphic pattern for November from the calendar and improvised my way through it. There were some rows where I counted the stitches wrong but otherwise it…

Raindrops keep hanging on my ears

Ok, that was a bad title but sometimes I just have to take the cheezy route. Another option was Drop it like a pear! I made these earrings months ago (probably at the same time as these ones) but forgot to post the pictures. I love the long drop shape and the colour of the beads. I got them last last year when I was in Copenhagen and I think the stone is jade. I've been using these earrings a lot since I made them. I looked in my jewellery box and there are five pairs of drop shaped earrings in different colour and sizes. I've been trying to figure out where this love for this shape comes from but I can't pinpoint where it started . Maybe it's because of all those costume dramas I'm always watching. I will continue investigating.

The Compartmentaliser

I'm the kind of person who really hates looking for things. This has made into an avid organiser. My space is not always clean (I'm not a big fan of vacuum cleaners) but my things are always organised. One side effect of this is that I have a weakness for what you could call organising tools, boxes, folders, pouches you name it. I probably have it worst for pouches, I mean, I have a pouch for my pouches! It's probably because I can make them myself and I always find new uses for them. When I was packing for Tokyo, I realised I could use a couple of pouches for smaller items that can easily get lost when unpacking a large suitcase. I also thought they could be useful for those deep bags with dark lining that seem to swallow small things like hair accessories. So I went through my fabric scraps and found pieces that matched my flea market bought zippers. My materials kind of limited the size of the pouches but I wanted to make the as pretty as possible. I thought about decorating them with embroidery but I wanted to try some new techniques. I ended up using tucking and…

Willing spring to arrive

Spring might not want to come to Helsinki just yet but I've already gotten started with spring cleaning. Last week I went through all my clothes, putting aside all the pieces that simply don't work for me anymore and man was I brutal! This wardrobe edition of the hunger games left me with little workwear which is daunting but I believe in the long run it will pay off. While going through my accessories I noticed that the scarves I've had the longest and that I use every year are the ones I've made myself. I have a couple of colourful scarves that have kept me warm in the coldest winters but they are quit thick and too warm spring and early autumn use. With my recent rediscovery of knitting, I decided to knit a thinner but textured scarf. I wear scarves pretty much all year round (except for those few weeks in July when it gets really hot) so I need a few of those thin but warm ones in my wardrobe. I had originally planned to use the moss stitch for this scarf but I noticed it was hard to keep track of my rows while watching TV shows. So I…

Beige Suede

16/09/2015
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I found this cute bag at a second hand shop a while back in Vaasa. I immediately liked the size, materials and the details but me and beige? I have not been a big fan of the colour since that beige and navy phase I had ca 1999. The length of the strap also bothered me, I'm very picky about that sort of thing, occupational hazard i guess.In the end I asked myself the fundamental question, as pretty as this bag is, will I actually use it? The answer was yes, if I shorten the straps to handles and use the bag more as briefcase. This was quit easy as the straps were removable. Straps attached with buckles are quit brilliant thing!

Superman to the rescue

I'm not gonna lie, November has been a nightmare. Between getting sick, the never ending darkness and my usual hectic schedule I've barely had any inspiration to create. While most people are counting down to Christmas, I'm also counting down the days to winter solstice. I find comfort in knowing that the days will slowly start to get longer. One D.I.Y. project that I managed to finish during this darkness is this fun canvas tote. I've made a few canvas totes for friends this year and now I finally made one for myself. I made it with double handles 'cause I can never decide on the right strap/handle length. If they're too short you can't get your arm through for shoulder carrying, if they're too long the tote hits the ground if it's hand held. Aaaah, the joy of making things to fit your own weird requirements! As for the fabric, I used this marvellous superman print I bought a while ago. It brought back memories of watching Lois & Clark with my brothers when we were kids. It's definitely going to cheer me up during this dark winter.

Apple greens and basket weaves

Remember a while back when I crocheted all those swatches and vowed to get started on a scarf? Well, I finally got started but I didn't use any of the crochet stitches I had sampled. What happened was I went to the yarn store and bought a few skeins of yarn in this lovely apple green colour, but when I got home I realised that the yarn was too thick for what I had in mind. So after hours of googling, youtubing and testing crochet stitches I decided to go with a basket weave stitch. I really like the thickness and the texture of it but it consumes a lot of yarn so I might have to pay that yarn store another visit.I find crochet to be very meditative so I'm glad I have this project to keep me occupied through the dark winter months.

Check your tote

I started making canvas totes in the 7th or 8th grade. I had given up on backpacks (until recently, but that's another story) 'cause I felt they were too sporty and I was desperately trying to look grown up and feminine. Since then I've made them in a variety of colours and prints, for myself and friends. I usually prefer short straps and a proper gusset but after receiving a "flat" Marimekko canvas tote I'm starting to reconsider my gusset obsession. There's something about how the corners look when the tote is filled that annoys me. Anywho, I was thinking about a gift for a friend of mine who helped me move (and recently celebrated her birthday) and decided on a canvas tote. I remembered that her favourite one had been stolen a while back. Seriously, who steals a canvas tote? Unlike me, my friend prefers subtle colours and prints so it felt safest to go for a black and white colour scheme. After an hour of fruitless hunting for a wide striped fabric, I turned to the checked fabrics and found one in black and white. However, the checks were quit small so I decided to buy some plain…

Where to put the shoes?

Earlier this month I continued on the pouch making project and made some travel bags for shoes. I'm trying to use less plastic bags so these are a great solution. I used some leftover material from a coat I made a few years ago. It's a tightly woven polyester with a cool trompe l'oeil knit print.