Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Extremely bohemian Scandinavian rya pillow + a needle rya tutorial

Rya, or as we in Finland say - Ryijy, is a handmade knotted wool rug that used to be used for warmth instead of furs in homes and sleighs. Nowadays, it's used mostly for decoration. Traditional rya is made by knotting yarn on a loom. There's also another way of doing it, which is with a needle on a base cloth (that's what I did). My grandparents had several ryas, pretty much one on the wall of every room in the house, and my mother has many of them now. 
I've always thought they were slightly dated, but these things seen to grow on me as I get older. In fact, I got very exited when I learned this needle rya technique that I made a rya pillow! It's a very bohemian pillow, and maybe not every one's cup of tea, but I love it!
I've always thought making rya was difficult (and maybe on loom it is, I don't know), but this at least was not hard at all. Time consuming, yes, but easy once I got the hang of it. I've tried rya before (you can see it here) and it was just not working, so I just cut of my previous work and started anew with a needle.
Very unlike me, I just went for this project, and just learned as I went. I made several mistakes, but just continued on. Really, this was such a project for learning to let go, great for a recovering perfectionist (*waves*).
I chose the cross/plus sign pattern again, because I like it and because it'd work no matter what way the pillow was placed. I just drew the pattern on the base cloth with a permanent marker and then roughly followed it. It's a very haphazard, uneven pattern, but I really wanted a relaxed, bohemian pattern. And that's what I got! 
Some of the crosses are more even.
And some are basically just blobs.
It's all good.

I used a wool yarn that I had bought for a sweater, but that ended up not working with my coloring. For our bedroom color scheme, however, it was perfect.

Now, if you want to try this (do you? maybe I scared you of with my crazy pillow), I made a little tutorial. I originally followed this tutorial, but I found it a bit difficult to follow.

Continued under the fold ->

Sunday, August 12, 2018

Three granny square blanket designs

I've made two granny square blankets in the past (you can see them under the tag granny square) and although for now I have no intentions making more, it was a project I LOVED. It's both a very big project (the whole blanket) and a very small, portable project (each square), great for travelling with! Each square takes very little time to make, although making enough for a whole adult size blanket (and assembling! oh, the assembling!) takes quite a lot.

I thought I'd just share a few plans I've been dreaming up in case it takes me years to get around to actually crocheting one. The granny square which in itself seems pretty old fashioned can be combined into really cool modern designs. I'm a big fan of the cross/plus sign design, so here are three different patterns for that.

Each square corresponds to one granny square. The Internet is full of tutorials on how to crochet a granny square, so I haven't included one, just do a Google search and pick your favorite. The size of the square will depend on the yarn and hook you use. For my blankets I've used wool yarn called 7 veljestä and an European size 4 hook. 

You can also make the blanket of more or less squares, for example 7 x 10 for a baby.

I use a ladder stitch to assemble the squares.

These colors (or lack of color...) are just suggestions, make them in any color you wish.

I think it's quite fasinating how one basic pattern can yield so many different results.

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Linen tote

My adventures with black linen continue! Confession: I bought FIVE METERS of black linen, so the adventures are likely to continue for some time. But this is volume two: the linen tote.
I thought I was going to use this just for groceries, but you guys, this tote is PERFECT (if I may say so myself) and I've just been using it as a handbag. When you make stuff yourself you truly get exactly what you want.
Most fabric tote bags are sort of small and one-dimensional (you know, two pieces sewn around with one seem) , so for my tote I really went for generous size and added panels for the sides and bottom to really get a 3D effect.
I wasn't going to add pockets (after all it was supposed to be just for groceries), but when I was done I thought "hmm, some pockets would look cool, even if I don't use them, why not?" I've been using the pockets non-stop. They perfectly fit my phone, wallet, lip-balm, handkerchief, hair ties and what ever random crap I carry with me. And they are very secure, nothing has dropped out yet. 
Trying to show of the size.
I tried to make the handles long enough so that I can comfortably carry it on my shoulder, but short enough so that the bag doesn't drag on the ground if I just hold the handles in my hand. It came out just right.
Uh, posing, how does this work?
The large portion fits EVERYTHING. In these photos I stuffed a throw pillow in there and I've used this for shopping, going to the beach (for all three of us), as a diaper bag... It comfortably fits everything. Yet looks good empty, too. And it's super light weight in itself so you wont pull a muscle. I feel like the linen is perfect for this type of bag: durable and light.
And I did french seams again! Not only do they look nice they also add to the structure and sturdiness of the bag. 
Is this better..?
I really can't say enough nice things about this bag (and as you can see, I've tried).
I give up.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

The best sugar-free iced coffee - fast & easy recipe


It's been so hot here in Finland this summer. Here. In. FINLAND. I mean: we live at the arctic circle; where the Santa Claus is from, if it's over 24°, it's tabloid news - that Finland. But it has been hot, 30° hot for about a month now, with no end in sight, and for someone who isn't used to it, it's been torture. All you southerners are probably laughing at me now.

Anyway, I didn't mean to complain, but to share this iced coffee recipe.

Now, I prefer my coffee hot, but it's been SO hot (did I mention that?), I just can't drink anything hot. 

Secondly, I don't actually like sugar (or any sweetener) in my coffee (just a bit of milk), but in this iced coffee a bit of sweetener makes it super yummy. 

I used erythritol (called karppisokeri in Finnish) which is a type of calorie-free sugar alcohol. It does not affect your blood sugar and doesn't cause tooth decay (yay!). It's granular like sugar, and technically you can use it in baking, and some people do, but I find it tastes funny that way. But it works great in drinks! If you are not sugar-free, you can of course replace it with regular sugar.

And thirdly, this recipe uses instant coffee. Yeah, super fancy. But it's easy and the coffee wont be bitter (which is very common with iced coffee). There are a lot of iced coffee recipes that require you to make cold brew first, but I drink iced coffee very rarely, and when I do, I want it straight away. And some recipes are like "just brew a pot of hot coffee and let it cool". Yuuuuuk. Everyone knows cold coffee is revolting.

The recipe is super simple. And fast. The secret is in the blending. Seriously, don't try to mix this by hand.

The best sugar-free iced coffee

2 dl milk (about 0,85 cups, Google tells me)
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tbls erythritol
ice

Measure everything except the ice in a bowl and use an immersion blender (or a regular blender!) to mix until everything is smooth and the milk frothy. 
Like so.
Pour into a cup, add ice and enjoy!
Mmmmmmmmmm.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Hand-made felt play sandwich

After lamenting in the last post about having no crafts to post, I realized I DO have something I crafted... about three years ago!
When I was pregnant with the Kiddo I got really into making these felt play foods for her. I don't know why. I just got into my head that these were the thing to make and I managed to make quite a few, before my interest waned again.
I started by following this sandwich tutorial by myrtle & eunice  (the bread, the salad, the cheese) then went of on a tangent with all kinds of things.
I made some apple slices, eggs, (boiled and fried), bacon, peas, avocado, tomatoes and even some tea bags. Then I was done.
I just pulled them out for the Kiddo to play with, and they've been a hit! She just loves piling them all in the bowl and pretending to eat and then dumping them all on the floor again. They do make a huge mess.
If you are interested making your own, check out that sandwich tutorial and I've also collected quite a bit of play food inspiration on my Play Food Pinterest board (some felt, some crochet). I've also got a few amigurumi play food patterns here on the blog: beetroot, onigiri, mushrooms, chocolate chip cookie, Bertie Bott's every flavor beans, eggs and licorice allsorts.

Monday, April 16, 2018

NEEDLE FELT VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR

I bought this book called "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" at a thrift store for one Euro, and the Kiddo LOVES it. It's not a book I grew up with, but I've been enjoying it too. The caterpillar eats it way through various items of food and the book has holes in it for little fingers to poke through. Although, the Finnish version is for some reason translated from German (it's an American book I believe) and it's a bit weird at points (that's clearly a muffin, not cake).
But anyway! I thought the Kiddo might get a kick out of a very hungry caterpillar ornament. Ornament since these needle felting projects are really too fragile to play with.
 You take close ups and realize how fuzzy everything is. Yikes. 
Those tiny feet were a pain to make.
And if you have never read the book, this is what it's supposed to look. I think it's a pretty good likeness?

Saturday, March 31, 2018

NEEDLE FELT CACTUS

Happy Easter! I needle felted a cactus. Nothing to do with Easter, but that's what I was inspired to do.
 Also, this too is going on my Christmas tree. So there.
But Christmas doesn't have to be all about snow and evergreens. It's celebrated in the dessert too!
That flower was so difficult to do. You wouldn't think looking at it, but it was definitely the hardest part.

Anyway, Happy Easter!

Thursday, February 22, 2018

TWEEDY STRIPEY

 These pictures are sort of embarrassing, but let's just go with it. I knit a sweater!
I read a book called Overdressed: the Shockingly High Cost of cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline as recommended by Elise on her post about making her own clothes. I love a book that kicks me into action and I was about half way through this book when I started knitting this sweater.

What really motivated me wasn't the knowledge of sweatshops, I knew about those and buy a lot of my clothes second hand and try only buy new what I must. But as I was reading this book I realized the things I was buying in thrift stores weren't vintage, they were H&M. As the book points out, the quality of most clothes today is bad and I'd have to keep buying new (or new to me) clothes that would only hold up a few washes. That's waste too.

And secondly, most clothes today are plastic. I try to avoid plastic in my home, yet I'm walking around wearing it?

So, now my new year's resolution too (I think it's OK to make resolutions all year long) is to make clothes for myself. I don't know what I'll make or how many or how they'll turn out, but I'll try! I'm thinking a few more sweaters, a couple of tops and t-shirts for the summer (I'm not making my own jeans.)
The pattern is Tweedy Stripey by Leslie Weber. It was great for a first time clothing maker! Very straight forward and easy to follow. Although, I did completely mess up the stripe pattern. Still, I'm very fond of my sweater. It's loose and long enough to wear with leggings. It's wool and very warm, but the short sleeves are very practically since it seems I'm constantly washing hands, faces and butts. 

Sunday, February 11, 2018

NEEDLE FELT LUMBERJACK

Hello.
I made a lumberjack!
With a tiny ukulele.

And suspenders. And a beard, you can't forget the beard.
He's shy.

No, really, back to reality. But isn't he cute?  I sort of love him and his worried eyebrows and little brown boots. 
If you want to make one, I tried following this YouTube tutorial by Shayda Campbell, but veered off course immediately. It's a good tutorial. I just kept adding details, like the nose and ears and the ukulele... I couldn't help myself. 

This is so going on the Christmas tree and my kid can marvel what a crazy mother she has.

This might be the last needle felt project for a while, because right now I'm knitting. Watch out, next pigs will fly.

Sunday, February 4, 2018

NEEDLE FELT SWAN

I made a swan! Like I mentioned in the needle felted snowflakes post, I run out of white wool, hence a grey swan. I still think it came out pretty cute!
Wouldn't two of these make a great wedding cake topper (in white)? Maybe one with a tiny golden crown... Pity I'm already married ;)
This was the first needle felt project I used a skewer in. You take a skewer, wrap a sliver of wool tightly around it and then slide the skewer out. Poke the wool a bit so everything adheres together and voila! you have a neck! Or an arm or leg or what have you. You get the idea. If I'd known about this technique earlier I  could have made my narwhal's horn with it too.
Once I get my hands on some white wool, I'll make another one in white. Also, now I'm thinking: next, a flamingo!
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