seven things

It's been fun to read all the Seven Things -posts at different bloggs lately. Well, now it's my turn since I was tagged by my dear friend - thanks, Tanja! And I tag Nuttula!

"Each person tagged gives seven random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blogs seven facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag one other and list their name on your blog. You have to leave the person you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog".

Well, here are seven random facts about me:

One

Bean soup is my favourite everyday dish. I make it almost every week, at least in the colder months of the year. I got the recipe from Tanja a couple of years ago and have been hooked ever since. The ingredients are simple - potatoes, tomatoes and kidney beans - but the taste is savoury, rich and almost creamy. Yesterday was a soup day once again at our house.

Two

I find ironing the most calming of household chores. The fresh scent of clean laundry is so lovely, especially if laundry has dried on a clothesline outside. Seeing a wrinkled cloth magically turn smooth is very satisfying, too. To add a little luxury to this mundane chore I usually sprinkle some lavender water on the garment while ironing. Today I ironed some of the fabrics I had washed to shrink them before use.

Notice the pretty pincushion in front of the fabrics? It's the one I won from the talented Outi's giveaway. Lucky me!

Three

This stripey creature is a whimsical companion. Oftentimes she's an introvert who keeps by herself, watching us from a far or retiring to a nap into my husband's closet, among his socks. But she has her social moments, too. Then she prefers to set herself on top of anything I'm doing just then, whether it's reading the paper, spreading fabric on the table for cutting or ironing clothes. This cuteness happened on the ironing board right after I finished my ironing.

Four

Linnea Sows And Grows and Linnea In The Painter's Garden by Swedish author Christina Björk and illustrator Lena Andersson were the books I most loved as a child. Like Linnea, I grew scarlet runners on my window sill and decorated my room to resemble hers. I even dreamed of becoming a gardener. Linnea In The Painter's Garden tells about Linnea's visit the garden of Claude Monet in Givérny, France. In retrospect I could say my interest in art and illustration derives much from this book. I truly loved Andersson's illustrations and was fascinated by the way Monet's life and Linnea's journey were depicted.

Five

I do all my sewing with this reliable friend: my Husqvarna sewing machine from the fifties. I bought it from an auction for a very reasonable price. It was in perfect shape and came with all the original equipment, a pretty and useful original manual and an embroidery hoop. It has many benefits like beeing heavy and stable, making a beautiful stich and a nice humming noise. Good looks don't hurt either. I hope we'll have many more years together.

Six

Dresses and skirts are my thing - I like to both wear and sew them. I consider them more comfortable and flattering to my figure than pants. In fabric shops I seem to spot lovely dress fabrics much more easily than fabrics suitable for trousers. Besides, I have an inability to sew trousers that fit.

Here I'm wearing a dress I sewed last summer. It's not quite warm enough for it yet, but I was just so eager to try it on again!

Seven

Old postcards are one of my interests. I look for them in charity stores, flea-markets and antique shops - not systematically to find cards with certain motifs or from certain era but just cards that somehow appeal to me. I love to find pictures of tourist attractions, like these cards from Paris and Biarritz. The card depicting Le Grand Palais of Paris was written in 1926 by a young Finnish woman who seems to have worked as a maid in Paris. She writes to her sister urging her to come to France too, to "a rich American family" and says Paris isn't more expensive than Helsinki. Lastly, she wants to know if the sister is angry because she hasn't heard a word from her. I wonder what happened to them.

emalia - enamel love

Viimeisin kirpputoriostos sulostuttaa päivääni keittiön pöydällä - yhdessä kissan kanssa, noloa kyllä. Pöytä on kissan mielipaikkoja, josta sitä saa aina olla hätistämässä matkoihinsa. Mahtoiko katti nyt laittautua kuvaan näyttelemään vaaleanpunaista nenäänsä, joka niin somasti sopii lautasen väreihin? Taidamme molemmat tykätä emalista.

My latest treasure, a thrifted enamel plate with roses. I'm especially loving the subtle pink edge. The cat seems to appreciate it too. It matches the colour of her tiny nose perfectly.

hän hymyilee salaa - she's secretly smiling

Pieni ystävä saapui nyt sitten. Hän hymyilee salaa, niille äänille varmaankin.


The little friend has arrived at last. She's smiling secretly, at those voices I think.

ruusuinen laukku - the rosy bag

Laukut ja kassit ovat ompelutöistä hauskimpia. Ne valmistuvat nopeasti - ainakin minun yksinkertaiset mallini - eikä kangastakaan kulu paljoa. Kassiin voi valita voimakaskuvioisenkin materiaalin, joka maustaa mukavasti arkista asua. Vaatteissa suhtaudun vahvoihin kuvioihin usein aika epäröivästi. Pelkään, että yhdistely on hankalaa ja kalliilla ostettu tai kovalla työllä itse pakerrettu vaate jää käyttämättä.


Uusin pikkukassi (pikkukassi on nimitys käsilaukulle, muuan ystävä tartutti tämän oivallisen sanan minuun vuosia sitten) valmistui menneellä viikolla Lene Bjerren rehevästä ruusukuosista. Ja koskapa haluan nykyään vain leimailla kirjaimia joka paikkaan, päätin koristaa kassin tekstinauhoilla sisältä ja ulkoa. Pikkukassin suulle ompelin sievän punaisen päällitikkauksen. Minulla taitaa olla joku tikkauskausikin menossa.


I love sewing bags and totes. They are easy and relatively quick to make (at least my simple bag designs) and they don't take much fabric either. Patterned bags are my favourite. In clothing I'm often hesitant to purchase or sew strongly patterned garments since they can be difficult to combine with other clothes. But bags with bold patterns give nice flavour to everyday outfits.

This little bag was finished past week. The rose-patterned cotton fabric is just delicious! I once again stamped some text to adorn the bag and finished the upper edge with hand-sewn stitches. Can't seem to get enough of stamping and hand-stitching these days.

teetä ja veroja - tea and taxes

Olen viettänyt koko päivän pyjamassa - kuvassa minua on kaikki muu paitsi pukettikuvioinen tyyny vatsani päällä. Ihan toimetonna en kuitenkaan ole. Ohjelmassa on veroilmoituksen tarkistusta, kuittien metsästystä, laskemista ja huomisen töiden valmistelua.


Onneksi myös papukeittoa, Amelié-elokuvan musiikkia ja teetä, paljon teetä.

I've spent the whole day in pyjamas - in the first photo I'm laying with a cushion on my tummy. I haven't been idle though. The long dreaded and procrastinated checking of tax papers is now crossed off my to-do-list. Next I'll have to do some preparations for tomorrow's work day.

In between these duties I'm having some bean soup, listening to the lovely music of Amelié from Montmartre and drinking tea - lots of it.

nauhojen ihanuudesta - the loveliness of ribbons

Voiko ihmisellä olla liikaa nauhoja? Parempi olla paljon kanssa, luulen minä. Eihän koskaan tiedä millaista nauhaa seuraavaksi tarvitsee koristamaan mekkoa, laukkua tai rintarossia. Sitäpaitsi ihanat nauhat ovat kovin harvassa, kun joka puoti myy samaa tavaraa. On tartuttava tilaisuuteen aina ja viipymättä oivan nauhan tai harvinaisen värin sattuessa kohdalle.


Suurimman onnen kaltaiseni nauhojen ystävä kohtaa maalaiskaupassa, kun hyllyn perältä löytyy vintage-nauhoja alkuperäisissä pakkauksissaan. Toki uudetkin nauhat voivat nostaa punan poskille. Nämä heleät nauhat ovat Ottobren iloisesta kaupasta. Onnistunut valikoima, miellyttävä laatu, viehkeät värisävyt - oi onnea!



Ribbons - you can't have too many of them. You never know what kind of ribbon is needed to adorn the next dress, bag or corsage - only that the right one would be the one you didn't buy, thinking you already have enough ribbons. Besides, lovely ribbons are hard to come by, at least here in Finland. Every shop seems to carry the same products. A ribbon lover should never pass an opportunity to get some beautiful and new kind of ribbon.

A ribbon lover spends her happiest moments at the back shelf of a country store, spotting vintage ribbons in original packages. New ribbons can certainly be a treat too. These lovelies are from the jolly Ottobre shop. Good selection and quality, pretty colour combinations - bliss!

hän kuuntelee ääniään - she's listening to her voices

Eilen ehdin pitkästä aikaa hiukan maalata. Löysin talvella kaksi ovaalin muotoista maalauspohjaa kaupan alennuskorista ja viehätyin niiden nostalgisesta muodosta.

Hän ilmaantui maalauspohjalle kuin itsestään, ja näyttää nyt kaipaavan paria. Toinen pohja onkin pohjustettu, joten ystävä saapunee pian. Hmm. Tai ainakin viikon päästä, kun ehdin jälleen tarttua pensseleihin. Toivottavasti hän jaksaa odottaa.

Yesterday I did some painting. I'm fascinated by the oval shape of the two wooden plaques I found in a craft shop sale bin - so nostalgic! This little listener appeared first, but I'm anticipating she'll soon have company, for I already primed the second plaque. Hmm. On second thought, I probably won't have time to paint before next Saturday. A long wait for a little girl - fortunately she can amuze herself with her voices.

talven muistumia - last signs of winter

Kevät tulee tänne pohjoiseen kovin vitkaan ja viivytellen. Kolean harmauden innoittamana sain kuitenkin vihdoin viimeisteltyä talvella aloittamani pienen villajakun, joka tuntuu nyt oikein säähän sopivalta 3/4-hihoineen. Villakankaan virallisuutta hillitäkseni ompelin päällitikkaukset käsin kirjontalangalla ja lisäsin samettiset solmiamisnauhat.

Ja hui, talvesta muistuttaa myös keittiön hyllylle unhoittunut amarylliksen sipuli! Taitaa olla kevätsiivouksen aika.



Oh, the whimsies of spring! The weather has been so grey and chilly lately that I got inspired to finish this little winter jacket I started a couple of months ago. I topstiched the edges by hand and added soft velvet ribbons to give the garment a more relaxed, informal feel. The 3/4 length sleeves are of my favourite length, although they are quite impractical in winter. For this whimsical springtime, however, they are perfect. Safe and warm when needed, yet daringly short and suitable for the occasional sunbath.

And alas! - still another sign of winter can be found in our household! The amaryllis bulb has sat on the kitchen shelf since January. It's obviously time for spring cleaning.

kauniita unia - sweet dreams

Löysin kirpputorilta pienen pullean pussillisen vanhoja kaava-arkkeja. Lukuisia arkkeja kotona innokkaasti selviteltyäni osoittautui, että kaavoja oli oikeastaan vain kolme, ja niistäkin kaksi oli saman yöpaidan eri kokoisia versioita. Yöpaidan kaava vaikutti kuitenkin oikein somalta, ja kansipaperi vakuutti sen olevan jätte-lätt!

Ja niinhän se olikin. Ompelin hihattoman mallin C, jonka etukappaleessa ja taskuissa on sievät laskokset. Jätin pois ohjeessa mainitut "kirjomukset" taskunsuista, pääntiestä ja hiha-aukoista - kirjomuksilla tarkoitettiin ohjeen kuvien perusteella jonkinlaisia koristenauhoja eikä suinkaan kirjailua kuten voisi luulla.

Pääntie ja hihansuut on viimeistelty vinonauhalla. Taskuun kiinnitin hyvän yön toivotuksen.

Olen oikein tyytyväinen yöpaitaan, vaikkakin sivusta katsottuna se näyttää aivan teltalta. Koeyö uudessa asussa on vielä nukkumatta, mutta ehkäpä tuo telttamaisuus on vain miellyttävä ominaisuus vuoteessa pyöriskellessä.

I found some old pattern sheets from my local thrift store. After carefully organizing the numerous sheets at home it turned out I actually had got only three different patterns, two of which were different sizes for the same nightgown. Fortunately the nightgown seemed very sweet and the pattern cover assured it would be jätte-lätt! to sew (it's Swedish and means super easy).

And easy it was. I made the view C, which has bodice and pockets with pretty pleats on them and no sleeves. The neckline and sleeve holes are finished with contrasting bias binding and I added a stamped wish of good night on the right pocket. I'm very happy with the result although the side view of the gown looks awfully lot like a tent. Oh, well. Surely it's good to sleep in a tent-like gown, as it allows one to twist and turn around freely.

keittiön pöydällä - on the kitchen table

Sinivalkoinen posliini on heikkouteni. Maanantaina ehdin lähikaupungin kirpputorille, ja mitäpä muutakaan mukaani tarttui kuin sinivalkoisia astioita - nämä somat Willow-kuvioiset pienet kulhot. Oivalliset jäätelölle tai aamumyslille, luulen.


Eilen iltasella saimme mieluisia vieraita, kun serkkuni ja hänen miehensä poikkesivat kylään pohjoisesta palatessaan. Oli niin hyvä nähdä taas, juoda teetä ja puhella! Vieraita käy meillä aika harvoin, sillä vanhat ystävät ja sukulaiset asuvat kaukana. Olemme asuneet täällä maalla pian kaksi vuotta, mutta en ole oikein hyvin tutustunut ihmisiin. Taidan olla vähän ujo sellaisessa.


I'm quite enamoured with blue and white china. On Monday I had a chance to go thrifting in a nearby town and came home with these pretty little bowls. I really like the Willow-motif.

The other picture is of our kitchen table yesterday evening, after the visit of my cousin (and dear friend) and her husband. It was so deligthful to see them again, to have tea and a talk. We rather seldom have company at our house since our relatives and old friends live far from us. We've lived here in the country for two years now, but I haven't got to know very many people. I guess I'm a bit shy.