Me and Emily of New Moon

I have two older sisters. I had my 40th birthday a couple weeks ago and my sisters are on their way to 60. The big age difference has caused that we have not always been the best soul mates but recently we have got along pretty well. It probably means that I am getting old, a terrible idea to be honest!

I have to praise my oldest sister this time. She sent me a poem which she wrote herself, to gratulate me. And that's not all, she had bought me a wonderful book!

The book's title is freely translated: "The Year of Girl Poets". It is about Lucy Maud Montgomery's novels and written by two Finnish women. The book is like a collage: it has beautiful illustrations, stories and calendar pages - all about Montgomery's great novels and their influence.

L.M. Montgomery was very popular in Finland when I was a child. My childhood was spent reading about Anna, Emily of New Moon, little women etc. I feel very nostalgic about them and just love the book, made for women from the 60s and 70s.

I got so nostalgic that I named my next folk bag "Emily". If there's a color of my childhood, it is this deep blue. I used to have a velvet skirt, cotton jacket and cotton hat sewn by my mother - all blue and I loved wearing them.

New fabrics!

I received an exiting package on Friday! My newest fabrics!

My favorite from these is the one in the middle. I call the design Silverbell. It looks like a big warm knitted blanket even if it's cotton fabric! The other two are experiments in using paper collage in the first phase of planning a new design. I love designing fabric!

There's more fabric than those three. I ordered some new versions of the previously designed fabrics and also some previous versions that I like.

Oriental carpet

Here's the first project I have made using self designed fabrics. This is a special order, a bag for craft projects, where I have combined real crocheting and knitting to the fabric that has corcheting and knitting printed on it. I think the result is like an oriental carpet!

I have a lot of going on this spring. Last but not least is my bachelor's thesis for industrial design. It will take a lot of my spare time. To be honest it makes me a bit sad that my studies are over soon.

On the other hand studying has brought me so much good in my life, a new job with design challenges, the courage needed for opening my Etsy shop and many skills I have longed for all my life. I could not ask for more.

Red and pink

I wrote my art history essay about women's hand bags in the 18th century. Wow how inspiring that was! I got plenty of ideas for my bags and other creations.

Another uplifting thing: Finnish television is showing the newest version of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Love it! If you are a fan of Jane Austen too, see Vic's wonderful blog Jane Austen's World.

I have some new fabrics coming soon, very exciting to see how they will turn out. I will post pictures when I'll receive them.

My newest folk bag is a little thing but I just love the combination of pink and red. It is very hard for me to not to keep it myself. I have received some really wonderful photos from my customers showing how they use their bags. Thank you all, I am really lucky to be surrounded by the similar minded people.

Last weekend I attended a doll making course held by a Finnish doll artist Sirpa Ala-Louko. Unfortunately I got flu and had to leave a bit early. She is an amazing artist, see "Galleria", in her web site Nukkepaja.com. My doll is not quite finished yet but she will be soon.

Bag to fabrics!

I started quilting as teenager. First by hand, then by machine.

I have always admired knitted quilts and have made a few myself too. But we all know the problem is that they are fairly heavy, knitting gets stretched and is difficult to wash.

When I started designing fabrics I thought of materials. I find it very inspiring to think about different materials and their qualities! I started thinking about paper but then it hit me! My bags!

Do not get me wrong - there was not a short way to make these fabric designs. Okay, the half of the work was done: I had tens and tens of photos of my knitted designs. But mixing and matching, replacing one stitch here and the other stitch there (digitally of course) required a lot of accuracy, trials and errors. But here they are!

These were just what I hoped and even more. My favorite is the second one at the photo. It is called Karelia and it reminds me from the Karelian people and their characteristics. Always in good mood, filled with stories and traditions.

I cannot wait to find some spare time to start a new quilt!

One dream

When I was a child I was constantly playing with yarn and fabric. My mother was very strict. I had to learn to do everything The Right Way. There were so many things to learn and my mother thought I was very impatient and was treated like one.

For example: Before I was able to knit a sweater I had to prove myself. She required I first learned how to knit mittens in The Right Way. Then socks in The Right Way. Finally after making tens pairs of mittens and socks, often decorated with fair isle patterns, my mother graciously purchased green acrylic yarn for a sweater.

After that I made tens of sweaters. We seldom bought any as I made most myself. I wanted to learn how to machine knit and my mother bought a second hand machine for me. I made a lot of sweaters with it but nowadays I knit only by hand as I prefer to take the knitting with me.

My mother did support my hobby. She just did not like failures. Maybe she was afraid that if I go ahead too fast I would quit and never start again.

When she was worrying if I did everything using the one right method she had learned from her mother, I was worrying if I could never let go and be creative. Knit all those images in my head, so far from what I then produced.

Some things that have happened in the past have a bitter sweet taste. At the same time they are so appealing and still painful. This controversy is something I nowadays get my creativity from. And many times, like in the bag in the picture, I can recognize the melancholic tone. Maybe it is me, but I just love that melancholia combined with strong colors! It has somehow heroic after taste!

But did you look the picture carefully? Can you see the fabric behind the bag? My first three fabric designs have been printed! One dream has been filled! More in the next post!

Inspired

I have had a long Christmas holiday from my day job and I have enjoyed my life tremendously with all kinds of creative activities.

First, I am so inspired by the old plates and bowls. Just went to see Arabia's 135-anniversary exhibition in Design Museum at Helsinki. Arabia is a Finnish porcelain factory and all Finnish have their kitchens filled with their cups and plates. I had to knit something after the exhibition, time will tell how it'll turn out eventually!

Second, I have designed my first fabric prints and sent them to Spoonflower. I am so excited to see how they'll turn out! If they'll look terrible, I have promised myself to try again, as I am so excited by the idea of designing fabric!

Third, I have bought a new camera, Canon EOS 450 with all the bits and pieces, and am just thrilled playing with it!

Fourth, I have millions of ideas for my knits, can't wait to get them all out. My newest bag is so romantic, you have to check it out!

I hope all of you most happiest new year ever!