syko

A disappointment and new projects

So the appliqué class was canceled :( Not enough participants, sad enough. Got to be more active on the marketing bit myself next time! Well, after all October had started yesterday and as I needed some comfort I declared Christmas crafting season officially opened (please come back in late November if this upsets you :) and dragged out the retro table cloths I bought on sale from a thrift store right after Christmas last year. I'm quite proud of myself for being so farsighted. So these are now cut up to a nice pile of tomte dresses. There will be some serious tomte stuffing going on in front of our TV the coming weeks. But before that I have some quilts to bind.

Earlier this week I was working in a more princess-like colour scheme.

I was planning a custom order for my friend Camilla, who also happens to be a great designer. Look at that pink bird bag she is carrying, I really need one of those, it is made from oilcloth, perfect for a mum!

So the fabrics were to become Christening gifts in the shape of two sweet cushions for a little girl. I hope the gift will be appreciated!

Appliqué class in Vaasa next Saturday + second hand shopping

This information is mainly for readers that will be in in Vaasa/Finland next Saturday! If you're not -- scroll down to read some thoughts about second hand fabrics! I will be holding an appliqué class on sewing pictures from your own or your children's drawings using paper-backed fusible webbing. If someone covers for the trip I would be happy to teach anywhere in the world :) Here comes the info in Swedish and Finnish, but I have promised to teach in English too, if needed!

Hej!

Det finns ännu plats till min applikationskurs i Vasa nästa lördag/ Ensi lauantain applikointikurssille mahtuu vielä mukaan! Info nedan/alla!

Kajsa


LEKFULLA APPLIKATIONER PÅ NYTT SÄTT, lö 3.10.2009, kl. 9-16.
På kursen syr alla deltagere en liten tygtavla med applikationer utgående från egna eller barnens teckningar. Läraren tar med egna modeller om du inte vill rita själv. Om du vill jobba utgående ifrån en barnteckning kan det vara bra att ta med några alternativ att välja mellan.

Anmälningar till kursen görs till Hantverkets hus Loftet per e-post, info@loftet.fi eller per telefon 06-3185 335.

LEIKKIMIELISIÄ APPLIKAATIOITA UUDELLA TAVALLA, la 3.10.2009, klo 9-16. Kurssin idea on että kaikki osallistujat tekevät oman pienen applikoidun taulun tms. käyttäen omia tai lasten piirrustuksia mallina. Opettajalla on mukana omia malleja, jos et halua piirtää itse. Toinen vaihtoehto on käyttää lasten piirrustuksia lähtökohtana jotka yleensä soveltuvat hyvin applikointiin. Ota mukaan muutama vaihtoehto niin katsotaan mikä soveltuu parhaiten tarkoitukseen!

Ilmoittautumiset Käsityön talo Loftetiin: info@loftet.fi tai 06-3185335

My weekend was dedicated to running at flea markets. I use a lot of second hand fabrics in my projects because of the ecological and economical aspects, but it takes time to find those treasures! The table cloth below ended up on our round table. I had nearly cut it up when I saw how well it went with white and green curtain by Tricia Guild that you can see in the background (it hides our coats). The white wooden pearls from aarikka was another find this weekend, I have them in red too and have been wearing them so much! The white ones will be great for the frosty season!

About working with second hand textiles. I find it challenging and quite stimulating for the creativity to look at a fabric that is clearly from a particular time and see it transform into a fresh new form. I try to treat my fabrics "equally" whether they are brand new or have lived a previous life as a curtain or a shirt. Only one of the houses from my new collection below was made entirely from new fabrics, can you guess which one?

Busy, busy, hush, hush...

I'm busy, busy, busy with stuff I can't talk about. It does involve some of the ingredients above and below and what I can say is that I am loving the new dotted fabric by Paula Prass for Michael Miller and when I have more time I hope to make myself a dress from it. Or maybe an apron with big pockets to use at craft shows. And how awesome it is that it goes so well with my lovely green Sulky thread.

I realise I haven't done so well with the home tour I promised, with time I promise to show you more corners of my home, until that I leave you with a shot of my new Billy shelf that stands right next to me where I sit. Have a nice week!

Oh, and if you wonder why you haven't heard a tweet from me in awhile, it's because someone was abusing my account so apparently it is now closed for a month :(

A pile of four

I was going to show off a high tower of zippy pouches today, but I broke my last sewing machine needle when I had finished four. Sigh. Well, it will just take another day before I can send them away. I have a few shops here in Finland that sell my goods on commission and I am always excited to send them new stuff. And I am always as convinced that I have created a new hit product, optimistic as I am :) In fact I am finding it hard to know what will sell or not, things that sell well in my Etsy shop does not always sell in local shops. I love the freedom my Etsy shop gives me to follow my heart and try out new ideas. Making series of products like these pouches is also fun sometimes! It is very nice to see a growing pile of stock beside the sewing table. If you don't break your last needle that is...

This is one of the pouches I finished today, wouldn't it be a clever little home for emergency equipment like plasters and headache pills in the handbag? Or a keeper of an emergency pacifier for a little one?

 
Have a great week!

p.s. Syko is now on facebook if you would like to join the group!

The colours of Spring

I hope you all had a great Easter holiday! We went to see the in-laws and enjoyed warm Spring weather and good food (I always enjoy a meal cooked by someone else!). It was great to get away for a couple of days, but I love to be back in my messy studio too. This is big E making an angel in the sand and little E blowing bubbles on the beach. It is amazing how colourless nature is right now. Spring is late this year and I can still spot some old snow outside my window. In a week it will already look different outside. I love the change of seasons!

While waiting for the world to turn green outside I started making these small house pouches. I made a few a year ago, but had totally forgotten about the design, but when someone asked me to make coin pouches I remembered these! Wonder how they would look with teacups on? Or maybe fish? Or a bird...? I might need some more zippers!

Have a great day!

Cutest bunny offers free shipping over Easter

I do not usually show off my sweet bunnies here, but sometimes they are just too cute! Those teeth are priceless! Can you see the teal fabric hanging on the chair behind him? That's a skirt I made myself last Saturday, I was going to the theater with a friend and had absolutely nothing to wear, so I got a new skirt, yay! I've had that fabric for a year or so...

Easter in my shop means free shipping worldwide until Tuesday morning 9 a.m. Helsinki time! May I tempt you with this shabby tea cushion for example? Shipping to the world outside Europe is normally 12 USD for a cushion. Happy Easter everyone! I'm going to have some lunch now and after that; chocolate eggs!

 

A summer breeze in the snow...

Last Sunday we took out our Spring shoes in the air and the children were so happy! Then during the night it started snowing and it didn't stop, today has been cold and sunny. I have to admit that the clean white new snow is very beautiful, even if I am so ready for Spring! So I made some fresh herring, just to remind myself that Summer will come, eventually. I'm putting some in the shop too! I've got fishy cushions coming too, they will be available as soon as I receive my order from the pillow factory in a week or so!

I've also got some burning news that I will hopefully be able to share with you very soon...!

The making of a handbag

The quilt therapy did a good job, a good vibe arrived that made one of my cushions reach the front page on Etsy and then a couple of e-mails I had been waiting for arrived so by the end of Friday I was in a good mood. I decided to go with my flow and picked out some fabrics for the handbag I had planned for so long. My old bag was in a very bad state. I designed it last night when I had trouble falling asleep. The fabric I used is a furnishing cotton; a bargain because there was something wrong with the print. Which makes it look even better, I always feel for the misfits... It was actually this bag I saw on Etsy yesterday that started the whole process.  I am very content with how the purse turned out and will most certainly make more to sell, the only thing I need to correct is the shoulder strap, it wasn't a good solution to place it in the seam. I will probably add a pocket inside too, I've heard people like it that way, my stuff just like to float around in my bags... More pics on flickr.

 

Dogs rule?

Big E encouraged me to start a painting project last weekend, so now my thrifted ikea(?) drawer will turn white (and probably the rest of our furniture too if Big E can decide, she's got big plans). I am thinking of painting Syko birds on it, but I don't feel at all as comfortable with a paintbrush in my hand as with a needle, so we'll see... Anyway it is very fun to do something together!

I am going to a craft fair in Helsinki with my friend Reetta next weekend, so I was supposed to sew like a maniac this week, but little e is home with a fever and I can feel it creeping up my legs too, but better today than on Friday! Luckily I have manged to make a little collection of animal pouches. I have been asked several times to make dog pouches, I didn't really like the old design (oh my, that photo is crappy), so I have been filling up my sketch book with badly drawn dogs until I finally got it right.

The sketch also resluted in a card, which will be available in the shop next Monday, together with 6 other new designs. My favourite is the teapot that I've already showed on flickr. Here is a peek of the doggy:

Last week I got some lovely mail, Jessica sent me these goodies in Katy's fat quarter swap. The owls from Alexander Henry are just lovely! Thanks again!

I also want to thank my wonderful flickr friend Barb who found this lovely Elusive moose book in the thriftstore and got it for me! We love it!

I'll be back on Monday with some pictures from the fair! Now I need a sofa and a blanket and little e needs new batteries for his Brio-train....

Hello sun!

The ground is still white and the air is cold, but the birds in the trees are already singing about Spring and the sun stays up until late in the afternoon. The dark time is over! So I am working on a small Spring/Summer collection. I think my best ideas always start with a small crisis. I might run out of a certain material I had intended to use for a project and then in the lack of time or an empty wallet I go creative. That's what happened with the back on one of these cushions I finished today. I reused a dotted kitchen curtain for the back, a recent thrift store score and found out that I didn't have enough of it. So I added a piece of the linen fabric and embellished it with some tiny appliquéd leaves and got a lovely and special back for my cushion.

These two cushions are up in the shop. I am planning to make some smaller ones in the same spirit with a little less detailing, a budget version :)

This week I am determined to make new card designs too. I will work very loosely around the theme "celebrate", I thought I'd make a set of good-to-have-cards for different festive occasions. I have a fari in the end of the month and will have them printed in time for that, so they will be up in the shop in the beginning of March.

Have a creative and sunny week (except if you are in Australia, then I will have to wish you lots of rain)!

More picture of these cushions on flickr!