syko

New notebooks!

It felt like Christmas today when a very heavy box arrived in my studio! I have been waiting eagerly to see how my new notebooks with fabric covers would turn out and I am very content! The appliqué was made by me and I then had the books professionally bound. The quality is great and it makes me so happy! They have 100 blank pages that I hope will be filled with your creativity: poems, sketches, garden dreams... Or then good food in form of recipes or maybe lots of happy greetings from friends if the notebook becomes a guestbook!

This was the first time I ordered bound notebooks so I wanted to try out a few different variations. There is appliqué on retro floral fabric like this.

 And appliqué on off-white linen. The linen structure is really nice for books! I also love how you can feel the appliqué and stitches with your hands. You can follow the flying track with your finger of the bird from the front to the back of the book, for example! 

Coffee or tea? And a sharp pencil...

The books made from my Spoonflower prints are pretty fine too :)

Do you feel an urge to start writing? I have listed a few books in my Etsy shop if you would like a new notebook for yourself.

Happy weekend everyone!

 

New prints and a give away!

I just got a box with fresh, new art prints from the printers! They are now in the shop! Note that if you live outside Europe (USA, Australia for example) there is no additonal shipping cost if you order more than one print. 

If you want to be in the draw to win a print, let me know which one you would like to win! Remember to leave a valid e-mail address (won't be visible to everyone) so that I can get hold of you if you are the lucky winner!

Slow down, says the snail! You will have the time to send some love to the passers-by!

"Scandinavian retro" fish! Some are happy and some just a little grumpy :)

Peas on earth print for the gardener or the cook! Goes well with the fish print on the kitchen wall!

Frog prince portrait, inspired by my animal pouches. I hope to make some frog prince pouches for the shop next week too!

And on public demand, the batboy! I designed this in cooporation with my boy when he was four and had a very special pair of superhero rubber boots :)

If you would like to win a print, pick your favourite from my shop and you will be in the draw to win!

 

*edit* Comments are now closed and we have a winner! Laura was picked by the random number generator and will get a sanil print in the mail. Congratulations!

 

 

 

 

Appliqué workshop in Helsinki

It is the time of year when everyhting is happening at the same again! I can't believe it is already two weeks ago since I held a weekend appliqué workshop in Helsinki. I love these events, when you spend to intense days together with a group of ladies (so far there has been only ladies in my classes) who share the joy of sewing.

This was made by a lady who used to teach art to children and had travelled to Africa several times.

"My  birds" made by a lady who loved vibrant colours.

The fox from by book in a very romantic outfit, so pretty!
"Alp village", she was going to quilt piles of snow on it, I wish I could see the result!


Just a few of the pieces made during the class. I hope you have time for some sewing this weekend!

 

Pouch parade + coupon code

If you are fans of Syko on Facebook this might be yesterday's news for you! But I have just finished 92 zippy pouches with animal appliqué and I just feel like telling the world about it! It might be my record so far. The first thing I ever sold on Etsy was a piggy pouch on October 19, 2006 (I had to check that), that's 6 years ago! No wonder I have been cursing these (I can say that today, it's Halloween, right?) every once in a while and thought that I will never ever again sew a kitten in my life. But then people ask so nicely and I have some new fabrics that just seem perfect for a pouch with a Royal Moroccan cat... And I can feel the pouchy inspiration coming and here I am stitching up the whole zoo again!

It might take a few months before I make more of these, so if you want one, this is the time! And now I am thinking, why not celebrate the 6th birthday of my Etsy shop by giving you a little discount? With the coupon code PIG2006 you will get 15% off all products in my shop until Monday morning November 5th. 

Saagor & Sötsaker -- our little shop

I have been a little lost for words lately, or well, that is probably exaggerating, I always have LOADS to say about anything and everything :) I have been a bit overwhelmed about all the goodness that has happened irl lately so I have been avoiding this space a bit, I must admit. But I want to share it all with you! I'll start by showing some shots from our little shop Saagor & Sötsaker (sötsaker is Swedish for goodies, but also translates to cute things). Saagor (= sagas/stories) stands for the linen clothing from Saaga design that we sell in the shop. 

Our cosy knits and felt neckalces are made by Annika Baarman-Sundblom. Quilt by me!

Syko corner, still lots of Spring colours here, but I am working on it!

Cute forest friends from Peikonpoika have moved into my houses!

Thanks for popping into our shop! If you want to visit us in Ekenäs/Tammisaari the address is Gustav Vasas gata 10. 

See you soon (promise)!

Bad flu go away!

There was so much I was going to do this weekend! And here I am coughing and sneezing on the couch. *sigh* I really hope I feel better tomorrow, I want to go to work and SEW! 

I am liking this little corner of mine, but it still needs a lamp on the wall. And another quilt! The light grey quilt I covered the sofa with is actually this christmas quilt I made for an exhibit last year (click here if you want to see me looking silly in the paper...). I was very clever to make the backing this neutral (it is ash/kona/Robert Kaufman), I think, it is sad to hide quilts away in the closet, isn't it?I made the quilt on the wall behind me for the book We love color (Stashbooks). If you would like a signed copy of the book I have few copies for 19€ including shipping whitin Europe. Just leave a comment on this post and include your e-mail if you're interested!

 

I hope you are all well!

Hey, I'm sewing!

I have finally reunited with Bernina Aurora after what seems like ages, but it was a very healthy break, I must say! I am very happy and quite busy to get the new cards for Fall and the holiday season ready. I can't wait to see them in print and show them to you!

I still have no Internet connection in my new studio, but as soon as I get it fixed I hope to become a more frequent blogger!! Talk to you soon!

dream happy

Helsinki is in bloom and I enjoy it fully! I think the older I get, the more I love this season. Right now the town smells sweet of bird-cherry and soon it will be followed by lilacs. Just look at me! I'm running around hugging cherry trees!

I got some flowers for the balcony too, a rosy Busy Lizzie, a romantic little lady.

 For Mother's Day I gifted myself with this Clematis 'Omoshiro', such a beautiful name, don't you think? I hope it will be happy to live with us, but above all I wish that I will soon have a garden of my own to plant it in... *sigh*

We have found a house (we have been looking to buy a house for a long time now) and I am crossing fingers and toes that this time everyhting go well and we will be moving in June, but more about that later, when I hopefully have some good news to share! Until that I am focusing on:

I hope these two words will help! And the winner, I hear you asking? First I want to thank everyone who participated! The winner of Skandinavische Näh-ideen is: Katrin!!! Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

 

The story of a bag

I have a bunch of stuff left from the market last weekend so I have updated my Etsy shop!

I am trying to use second-hand fabrics in my work as much as I can, it does not feel wise to keep on buying new in a world that is filled with abandoned textiles in good condition. This means that the fabrics that come to me can be in colours or patterns that might not have been my first preference if I had went shopping for brand new fabrics. However I love the creative challenge that working with second hand materials gives me. Very often it helps me to step outside my comfort zone. 

My friend Tuija was very kind to give me these fabrics in burnt orange and yellow from her great stash of second-hand fabrics when I had run out of cotton canvas for my handbags. One of my favourite colours right now is turquoise, so I decided to combine it with the orange. And dots, of course! I am very happy with the 60's look it got. And I had to make a zippy pouch to match it, a little circus bird. 

Recycling factory 2012

This weekend me and my friends from Kimara attended the Recycling Factory market, a sustainable lifestyle event. The event attracts loads of people and it makes you happy to see how many people that are thinking about how they consume today. Everything that is sold in the market can be bought with a good conscious! We built our booth on Friday night, it took hours as usually! I love "before" shots and remembered to snap one!

And this is how our cosy home looked a few hours later, nearly finished...

This is our "candy table". With brooches by me and lace accessories by loru and rings by karuski.

I made a huge pile of word cushions and I still have most left and will soon have them up for sale on Etsy. The pretty white pillows are from tuuni.

It always feels a bit sad when a fun event comes to an end, I began to feel at home in this place!

Do ask if you would like to know anything about what you see in the pictures! If you are curious to see more, please visit us on Facebook!

Thanks to everyone who came this weekend! And to you who were too far away to come - I hope you have enjoyed looking at the pictures!