syko

Mysfilt - Linen lap quilt

På jullovet sprang jag en del på loppis och blev så glad när jag fick syn på en soffa som, trots att den var något solblekt hade "det". Den är mysig och inbjudande och när jag upptäckte att den dessutom är utrustad med bäddmekanism (sängdelen ser helt oanvänd ut) slog vi till!

*Scroll down for English summary!

Nästan alla våra möbler är från loppis. Lampskärmen, som jag tror är finsk design (Printex?) är köpt i en lokal Köp- och säljaffär. Soffbordet, som vi fixat upp och målat är från ett nedlagt sjukhus. Tavlan med rosenskärorna har min mamma målat! Hon har också stickat de randiga sockorna på nästa bild!

Unnade mej en bukett tulpaner till helgen. De står på bordet och inger hopp om att våren kommer i år också!

Quilten är sydd av linnetyger. Egentligen hade jag tänkt sy ett överkast till sovrummet, men när den nya soffan flyttade in insåg jag att det blir en perfekt mysfilt! Jag har ett lager polyestervadd emellan och blev överraskad över hur lätt det gick att quilta trots att linne brukar vara knepigt att använda då man syr i lappteknik. Allt går att kvilta bara man nålar ordentligt!

We found a really nice sofa at the thriftstore a few weeks ago and I relised that I had the perfet lap quilt on the go for it! I stitched the quilt top together last Summer, but was a bit scared of doing the quilting, because linen can be quite tricky to use for patchwork, but it was a success!  So this is my favoruite spot at home right now. In the sofa with a good book, under my new blanket with tulips on the table reminding me of the fact that Spring will come this year too!

 

 

 

 

Kitchen cabinet and wall re-do

I know, I know, it's been a looong while! But today I am back to show you our latest low-budget renovation project. A couple of weeks ago I found two rolls of lovely wallpaper in the sale basket at the paint shop, perfect for our kitchen wall and just what we needed to get started! We took down the old brown cabinet to replace it with this.

Another second hand find. It is made from pine and probably from the 1980's. I took away the wooden knobs and started painting...

White would have been nice and safe and dull! So I went for my favourite: green!

The result looks a bit like vanilla and pear icecream, very nice! I think me an Pippi Longstocking have something in common when it comes to decorating a home.

The green is Meadow K385 from Tikkurila. The wallpaper is from Boråstapeter.

There is something about cups hung in a row that makes me happy. I had them in our Helsinki kitchen too. The geranium painting was a gift from a friend, the tin and the vase are fleamarket finds and the poppy is from my garden :)

The new knobs are 'hedra' from ikea. The linen textiles and the tin are second hand finds as always!

Corner cabinet re-do

We have been looking for a corner cabinet for our hallway and when I saw this I thought: Maybe this is the one! I did get a little discouraged when I discovered it was made partly from chipboard. Luckily I had my friend with me who encouraged me to take it. "You've got to see the pretty in the ugly", she said, so I decided to ignore the chipboard and the 1970's greenish-brown colour and turn it into something beautiful!

I didn't bring a tape measure, but it fit it's spot perfectly, yay!

I picked the colour (337X) from Tikkurila's colour chart with traditional colours. What do you think? I think the colour makes the cupboard look much older than it really is! And what did it all cost? I paid 35€ for the cabinet and 29€ for the colour, that is 64€ (85 USD) for a 'new' corner cabinet! My next project is a kitchen cupboard.

Flea (or was that flu) market day

This winter really won't come to an end! It has been snowing for two days and I have a nasty head-cold and am coughing and sneezing away. I was really in need of some Flumarket therapy (ha-ha). 
I am always on the hunt for good cotton fabrics, if you find sheets you get a lot of fabric for the money and I was lucky today! The green fabric is made of that thick cotton sheet quality they don't make anymore and a great shade of green! Dots, stripes and checkered fabrics are always good to have. The yellow gingham fabric is a whole duvet cover so that's lot of fabric! The milkglass bowl will be added to my collection, I previously had this one and two is a collection, right?

The embroidered tablecloth is beautiful, however discoloured, broken and stained so it will be great for my fairy-angel dolls. I also got a roll of cute good-to-have wallpaper and an blue retro Christmas table-cloth for my tomte stuffies!  

Big E has asked for a reading chair for some time now and this faded beauty had a note on that said "GRATIS" (for free) so I took her home! E will love to sit there and read. I am happy to say that most of our furniture is second-hand. Yesterday I bought a cupboard for our kitchen too that "just needs a little fixing", so does this side-board that now hosts my little plant nursery.

Just look at that detail! You can't walk away from a piece like that, can you? Especially when it's 35€. I love small town living, yes I do!

Have you made any great flea market scores lately?

 

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. 

Happy Easter!

Chicken lovingly handmade by my daughter Elsa ♥

This week I have been stitching up a bunch of happy word cushions from vintage fabrics and neon thread. Now I am waiting for Elsa to come home from school, I will take her shopping in the Spring sun. We want to put the winter clothing away soon! And tomorrow we are travelling to see my family, I look forward to the break! Happy Easter holidays everyone!

There will be flowers...

I am back in my studio after a week of holiday. We went to the Summerhouse my dad has been building for the last years. It's finally finished and perfectly cosy on a cold winter day too, I just wish we could have stayed longer! My dad was so clever to make these peeking holes on the loft for the grandchildren!

Mum and dad had prepared a great sledding hill for us and the weather was perfect (that's my mum in the picture)! Look at all that snow!!!

This is Big E taking a break from reading, she was mostly up on the loft reading all the books we got in the local second-hand book shop :)

I got this one for me, I fell in love with the beautiful cover, but I am certain it has some useful information inside too! I am very ready for the gardening season! Last weekend felt promising, snow dripping from the roof and birdsong, ah!

So the time felt right to make an art print of this picture to keep hope up during the cold days that I'm sure will come during March. Yes, there will be flowers! Eventually.

The Love machine is now also an art print. At the moment this is my favourite of my printed designs, I love how the colours of the quilt turned out. Tomorrow I will finish the rest of the paper work I have waiting and then dedicated the rest of the week to sewing! I cannot wait!

What are you longing for today?

 

Teabag!

 

I've updated my poor neglected Etsy shop with this teabag! Not much, but it's a start, I will do my best to add some more soft art before I go on holiday in July! I hope you like it! The cup appliqué is made from one of my own Spoonflower prints. I used a lovely soft canvas for the bag and of course it has polkadots inside! Oops...1 minute later a very happy friend of mine bought a new Summer bag for herself, so my shop is still waiting for the promised soft art update!

While I am making pouch after pouch for my local retailers I keep peeking at this rather messy pile of vintage fabrics I have been hoarding for a while, I hope that I will find time to make a quilt from these this Summer. It is a shame that we don't have a homemade bedspread on our bed, don't you think? Do you ever find the time to make anything for yourself?

 

Today I have...

...baked cinnamon rolls with little e, who had a day off from Kindergarten.

 
 

...used the thrifted cross-stitch tea towel I bought last weekend for the first time.

 

...taken the blue sledge, the boy and a huge amount of books to the library.

...showed off my Syko stand in the relocated Pulu shop to a good friend of mine. If you come to Helsinki you won't miss this, it's right next to the tourist information in the heart of the city. The sweet owners of the shop asked me if I would be interested in building my own display in the new shop. Well, yes!! I'm so happy!

Luckily my flu didn't last for more than 2 days and as soon I felt better I finally started to work on a set of new Syko cards for Spring. More about that later! Have a great weekend!

 

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!