syko

Moving

2009-01-09T21:31:00.002+02:00

As I was working on my improvised quilt I got in the groove and decided to make the move over to typepad that I've been planning for so long, so please do come over and forgive me for the building dust: syko.typepad.com

I will still keep this blog for reference and archives!

Welcome new year of fabric play!

2009-01-08T10:43:00.008+02:00

Hello blog! I've been looking forward to this moment, but at the same time it is hard to decide where to start after a long break. The last two months of 2008 were very hectic and the theme seemed to be "one flu a week", so I decided to take a break from work to get well, be a full-time mum and recharge my batteries. It seems to have worked, even the weather is on my side this year, it is freezing and sunny so I think I will have to take a walk at lunch to catch some of the beauty before it disappears!
It has been a challenge to stay off the sewing machine so I have had to express my creativity in other ways. Big E got a very nice cookbook published by Unicef for Christmas so I have enjoyed exploring kid's favourite foods from different corners of the world. So far our favourite is adobo, chicken from the Philippines. We celebrated New Year's Eve at my parent's place and I didn't even bring a ball of yarn with me! Luckily my mum is a knitter so I made Big E a winter cap, I got to take a pic when she gets home (she actually wears it to school, which must mean it is a success)!

I also took up my crocheting hobby again, the progress is slow, but the blanket is already warming my knees at night :) I am using this pattern for my hexagons, but I'm sure I would have used the pattern from attic24, if she had written it down when I started, the progress would be much faster! Explore more loveliness in her flickr album. I use thin washable wool yarn instead of cotton, because I wanted to make a warm lap blanket, that wasn't too heavy.
And since I am know officially allowed to play with fabrics again I started planning a quilt inspired by the lovely piece of bird fabric I got in a Christmas swap with Anna. Can you spot the red fabric with the flying white birds? I found that at the fleamarket the other day! I love it so much! I think it might be made in Finland, probably in the early 80's. You rarely find fabrics with small patterns second hand so this made me really happy, I would probably have bought this if I had found it in the fabric store too.

And of course I had to join Katy's FQ swap!

Wishing you all a joyful and crafty year of 2009!

God Jul to you

2008-12-16T21:10:00.004+02:00

The illness of the week is eye inflammation. Big E just got rid of her one week long fever (still coughing though) when little e started looking odd. This Autumn has been crazy! I have given up on getting any more work done before Christmas, I'm too used to peace and quiet when I create. We have made some Christmas gifts, which I can't show you yet :) I also managed to bake gingerbread with the two E's last Saturday and even put together this Moomin-house, which is still standing! We also brought out the boxes with Christmas decorations and I was reminded of the fact that children are maximalists when it comes to decorating. The longer I have kids, the more drawn I am to clean white spaces myself...

I am wishing you all a relaxing, joyful, white (if at all possible) and jolly Christmas with your loved ones! It has been a joy to spend this year with you! I will now try to "recharge my batteries" and will be back in 2009 for a fresh start! Happy New Year!

Hugs,
Kajsa

Craft fair rained away and a happy winner

2008-12-01T19:31:00.004+02:00

Gamla stortorget i Åbo, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Turned out I chose a pretty crappy weekend for this outdoor craft fair :( Saturday was really low sales and I came home with a fever, Sunday was spent at the fair, in the rain with a fever. Blaaah. An experience I could have lived without. At least I had the best company I could wish for (see pic)! The Christmas market is held every weekend in December on the Old Great Square here in town, I love the atmosphere so I have attended a few years now, but I think this was my last, many people come there just to get that special Christmas spirit or just to walk the dog and not really to buy anything, and I need my sales :) I am very much looking forward to the INDOOR fair in Helsinki next week (Kvinnornas julmässa/Naisten joulumessut).

And then to the winner of the magazine, chosen by a random number machine on-line out of 62 submissions(!) is Isabel f.!!! I am so happy that the machine picked you! Take a look at isabel's beautiful houses over at flickr! Thank you all for sharing your craft projects this Christmas! I am so sorry that I did not respond personally to all of you! I am looking forward to making Christmas presents together with Big E when I come home from Helsinki, but I will have to wait until after Christmas to talk about these projects....

Winter wonderland and a magazine to give away

2008-11-20T13:30:00.008+02:00

I'm here again! I felt an urge to tell the world about this view outside my window! We woke up to winter wonderland this morning, the kids have probably never got into their clothes so fast before! Please Santa, or whoever decides about these matters, let us have a white Christmas and winter this year! The last winters have been awfully wet and grey, let this stay! By the way, did you now that Santa Claus lives up in Finnish Lapland? They fly in hoards of tourists every year that want to deliver their wish lists personally. I uploaded more pictures from my wonderland walk on flickr, if you want to see more snow.

So this means I'm officially out of the Christmas closet, what can be better than serious Christmas crafting to the tones of The most relaxing Christmas album in the world...ever! with the view above outside the window! In the evening I enjoy a cup of glögg while stuffing tomte limbs in candle light. Everything to make working at night more joyful.

Last but not least this magazine with my tomte sitting on the cover came in the mail today :) I've got two issues of it so I thought I'd give one away to one of you. Just leave a comment here telling me about one of your Christmas projects and I'll draw a winner early next week.

Shop Local Scandinavia

2008-11-18T20:06:00.002+02:00

Shop Local Scandinavia on Etsy, originally uploaded by -syko-.

This is one of many reasons it's been so quiet here on the blog lately. I was asked to make a "Shop Local Scandinavia"-guide for the Storque, which is the Etsy blog. Click here to meet some great crafters from all over Scandinavia! The bags under my eyes tell the story about how many tomte people I have created during the last month. I have two craft shows coming up, the first one in two weeks and I've still got lots to do. Next year I will have to hire someone to help me cope with everything! I am also supposed to make a pattern for a book, a nice swap parcel and a few other things... I guess all this means my business is growing :) Which is a good thing, right?

For those of you who are in Finland - please check out my web site for information on where to find my Christmas stuff for sale.

More news soon! Hope you are all well! We've been coughing for a couple of weeks now :(

I'm too old to be young

2008-11-02T17:52:00.008+02:00

I am so tired. I got to spend the day out with good friends on Friday which meant I did not get much sleep and the two hour drive back home in the dark yesterday was exhausting! Turning 32 is hard work :) What is a joy is that I picked up the new Christmas cards from my brother while in Helsinki, so here they are! I've kept a few of the designs from last year that I showed in my last post, but printed them on quality paper this time.

And there is more good news, since the dollar seems to be recovering (or is it the Euro going down) I have reduced the price on all printed products in my shop, the price for shipping is also lower since today!

*edit* Turned out I have a fever, so I'm off to bed hoping to feel a little younger tomorrow. Good night everyone!

Cards on sale

2008-10-26T19:44:00.004+02:00

I will receive my new holiday card collection any day now, so exciting! Therefore I have decided to sell the ones I've got left from last year on sale. The cards have actually never been on sale in my Etsy shop before :) The card stock we used for these is plain, not the one with structure I prefer. Be quick if you want a bargain or stay tuned if you want to see the brand new ones. The cat and pig will be amongst them, they said they could stand one more celebration (I still think they look a little grumpy). My new banner is a sneak peek of what there is to come...

And for those of you who think I should shut up about Christmas already I will refer to the long shipping times close to Christmas. I'd rather be out early than to late ;-)

Features and Factory work

2008-10-23T20:44:00.007+03:00

A few notes about what's been going on in my crafty life this week:
My road cushion was featured in Koti ja Keittiö 11/2008! This is actually the only home deco mag I order so it was a very pleasant surprise to open it at my lunch break yesterday just to find this beautiful picture! And as if that wasn't enough my friend also spotted my house card in Glorian koti recently.

This is one of 60 fairy-angels I started making yesterday. I quite enjoy working like a little factory sometimes and along the way I still come up with new embellishments for the dresses so there is some room to be creative anyway! The one on the picture is decorated with a piece of a handmade lace cloth, one of my thriftstore finds. Talking about secondhand shopping I realise that the vintage polkadot ribbon is a find by my sister and the seashell button comes from the treasure box I got from a fleamarket in Zürich, Switzerland where my sweet sister lives. She gifted me with more treaures when she visited last week. I also got a pair of zig-zag scissors as on early birthday gift. Got to show them off soon, they are sooo great!

Verner, Alfred and Melker are already on their ways to their new homes in Germany and the US, so exciting! This is Lars, a new member of the tomte family. As soon as I get more stuffing the family will continue growing. I have six fellows looking at me from the shelf right now, I wonder what they are up to during night time....
These are the fabric squares I sent in Chickpeas's Spare Change Swap. Click on the picture if you want some information about the manufacturers! I can't wait to see what I receive! I've seen some pretty awesome fabrics in the flickr pool.

Tomte 2008

2008-10-19T20:17:00.006+03:00

The children have been on holiday since Thursday and my attempt not to work has not worked very well, I've spent far to much time by the sewing machine. We did however visit the old castle and the art museum here in town, which was very nice, so I haven't neglected my family totally. At the art museum I discovered a local artist, Teija Lehto. I love how she pictures everyday scenes in her woodcuts. I couldn't find my favourite pieces online, but I did find a few that I think are representative for her work. Here is a kitchen mess, and another messy kitchen scene :)

What makes it hard to take it easy is the long to-do-list that I have in the back of my head. I need to stock up for Christmas and have a bunch of orders to take care of. So I need my time in the studio! I got a call from a home decor magazine a few days ago, they wanted me to send over some stuff for a photo shoot for their Christmas issue, very exciting and on very short notice! I have had so fun combining fabrics for the new tomte* collection! Since the fairies have girls names I decided these will be boys! Names is one of my "hobbies" so I enjoy naming my tomtar very much! I just love browsing though the name book. Some names I love so much that at times I think we will have to get another baby just to get use for them. Not a very good reason to get children, I know... I will be listing tomtar in the shop over the coming week(s). More fairies are on the go too. And a holiday edition of house ornaments! Oh, and the feet you see above belong to Melker!

*gnome, elf, Santa's little helper...

Beware! I'm talking about Christmas!

2008-10-08T12:12:00.005+03:00

Sometimes it is good to be early. These retro Christmas cloths will become the 2008 tomte collection. I bought them on sale in a thriftstore right after Christmas last year, darn cheap. I can't wait to start cutting in them! I know they are really cool as tablecloths, but they are a bit too much for me, so I'd rather make something fresh and new out of them. I am especially fond of the one on the right, the colours and patterns are just amazing! I have also finished my last Christmas cards today so now they are off to the printers. Hope they end up nice, it is always as exciting!

I think one of the advantages with having a craft business is that it is ok to start early with the Christmas crafts, I love it!

Interactive project stage 6

2008-10-05T17:38:00.005+03:00

I started an Interactive blog project in July 07 and it is still going on, even if the progress is slow. However I decided not to apologise for being so slow, my intention was never to compete with McDonalds :) The winning suggestion for the sixth round was given by seemownay, she said (back in February): I would love to see a blooming meadow. Today was the day to follow through with the assignment. Hope you like it! Here comes the rules if you want to join in for round 7/10:

I will:
1. wait until I have got (at least) ten suggestions for the next motive
2. draw one of them
3. do my best to do as you wish using fabric and thread (and buttons?)
4. go through 10 stages
5. draw a winner among all the people who has come with one of the ten first suggestions at any stage. This person will win the finished piece of art work.

Feel free to join in! You can see the whole process in my flickr. To be continued....

Rain

2008-10-02T18:03:00.010+03:00

Today this happy little girl has accompanied me in the studio. The fever from yesterday seems to have rained away (it's pouring down outside). She decided to get out of bed, peeked in and said: "I quite like sewing." And we came to the conclusion that her Barbies were in desperate need of new pillows. She wanted to make them out of felt. And I helped her with a little appliqué, a heart for her and a star for him. I just love the windows in their bedroom :) I made the bed from foam plastic and wire a year back. The Barbies do have a quilt too. I made that for my little sister some 15 years ago. It might have been my first quilt!

Talking about kids I have totally forgotten to share the great news that some of my stuff is now available at:
Craftsbury Kids is an on-line shop specialising in handcrafted products for children made by independent artists. The selection of items is beautiful and the mission is just great! Read more about Cecilia and her shop here. On of my dino cushions will be up for sale later today :)

Yesterday and today

2008-10-01T21:08:00.004+03:00

Yesterday I finished a secret quilt project, therefore the quilter's thumb above. I also got my new printer/scanner/all round machine so I will be able to do something about my pattern making plans. But it might take some time. It usually does. But I'm excited anyway :) Even if the machine is huuuge.Today I had to take a break between my custom orders so I designed this bird key fob. My key fob just broke (again), so I decided to invent something more durable. I used natural linen for the front piece with the appliqued bird and a patterned fabric for the back. I put some reflective tape in the side so it can be hanged as a charm on a bag as well. This black bird is in the shop, but there are more on their way. I kept a pink one for myself.

I just found a fantastic blog, BloesemKid's open house. Irene knocks on different artist's doors and lets them tell about themselves and their homes, there are so many lovely creative homes presented! Many of them are small, but still full of life and smart ideas! I got so inspired to do something about our home! And I will definitely buy that polka dot tea set for little E for his birthday next week (very important note to myself)...

Crows, roads and leaves

2008-09-28T19:13:00.007+03:00

My mum, Agneta Wikman, has opened up her own etsy shop! I have tried to persuade her to do it for a long time, and yesterday was the day! It's all about this crow with a lot of personality. The crow experiences things that are very typical for people in my family, but they have proved to be very universal :) This is my sister, my dad, me... I'm sure you will find one that reminds you of someone, or reminds you of you. You can buy the crows as postcards or art prints and you should be able to pick as many cards as you like to the same postage cost. There is 19 different motives. The crow above arrived together with a great (x2) cap for my birthday last year. Please take a look at mamma's shop and welcome her by giving her an etsy heart!

I've been working on a theme that has been dear to me since I was about five, I think (I admit having a 20 years break in between). I loved drawing cities with roads and houses and trees and when I do it today I feel I can still somehow connect with the thoughts that little girl had when she was imagining her city. This is the first road cushion I've finished, I have two more on the go. It is in the shop and sold with an insert this time. I am working on some more cushions with a rectangular shape and more "grown-up" themes. Even if I think this linen cushion would look as great on the living room sofa as in the kid's corners.

We've had some really nice sunny, but crisp Autumn days the last two weeks. We went for a walk yesterday and I had to run back home to fetch my camera, the colours were too gorgeous not to document! I hope the sun shines where you are!

And the winners are...

2008-09-18T12:05:00.004+03:00

I must say I am quite overwhelmed by the interest in my give away. I got 77! responds to the post, so I have decided to send three little surprise packages to these lucky winners: jacquie, kristin and kristen mary! You will get an e-mail from me very soon!

I would also like to thank all of you for your kind words on my sad post yesterday. Hugs to everyone! I am sorry that I haven't been able to get back to all of you personally on the last posts, I can assure you that I appreciate all comments and read them all!
The shop has been updated with house brooches and the home cushion cover above. I will be making more cushions soon, but I'm waiting for my fills to arrive from the factory. Many customers want to buy a fill for their cushion cover so I thought it best to stock up with some. I want the covers to fit perfectly so I won't start cutting til I have them at hand. The home cushion is supposed to be part of the word series :)

Some of the fairy-angels left from the show have also moved to the shop. Dagny, Hilda and Agda are lying next to me very excited inside their envelopes waiting to fly to their new homes in France and Australia :)

Sad

2008-09-16T12:11:00.004+03:00

The fair was a success, I sold well, people were happy and it was not raining. The rain is in my heart today. A friend of mine has passed away. She died from cancer at the age of 31. Her girl just turned three. It is all too sad and unfair. This is how she chose to announce her departure in the paper, I think it's beautiful:

Death is nothing at all.
I have only slipped away
into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other,
that we still are.

Henry Scott Holland

Post 170 and a cushion

2008-09-11T14:08:00.006+03:00

This is post 170, I had to check! The 169th post give away is still going on, so scratch down a comment after my previous post if you want to be in the draw for a little something made by me! It is so nice to see that so many people find there way to this blog and take the time to read about my doings! You have time the whole weekend! I will spend my weekend at Aura Street Market, which is a new event here in town, I am crossing my fingers that it will be a success. This town has a lot of events that emphasizes the local history, but we need something to bring us forwards too! I find a lot of inspiration in stuff from old times, I especially love textiles with a history. I decided to study Ethnology at the university much because of my love to old textiles, I was obsessed with knitting at the time. What I didn't understand back then was that I am more interested in creating and finding inspiration in old crafts than preserving and working in a museum. And all this I am telling you just because I wanted to show you this cushion I made for the fair at the museum last week. I used a beautiful thrifted embroidered table cloth (with coffee stains and holes in it) and linen. I think the English version of the expression on the cushion would be: Things used to be so much better... A little self-irony here :) More pics on flickr.

Happy weekend everyone!

Another inspiring trip

2008-09-09T13:46:00.012+03:00

I have been away again. We have visited Äppelviken (The Apple Bay), the place where we are going to spend our future Summers. It is also dad's hobby and passion. This is Villa Agnes, built by him on a big stone. The Swiss flag was hanged to greet my sister and her boyfriend when they came over from Switzerland this Summer :) The plan for next Summer is to move an old log house there, which will become our Summer house. My dad bought this piece of land two years ago (or is it three already) and he and mum have worked really hard to make it an oasis for the whole family. They were planning to build a new house, but got the offer to save an old house instead, which thrills the Ethnologist in me, of course :)
This is little e tasting the harvest. The sweetest carrots ever! Which reminded me of a carrot pouch I made a long time ago.
Sunday was spent at the Autumn fair at the outdoor museum Stundars. On the picture I'm posing with Ms Hedgehog, an American quilt blogger who happens to live in Vaasa (the town where my parents live). I was so happy when she showed up, I have been waiting for one of my blog contacts to turn up, we had a very nice chat!

We had the best sunny weather so I very much enjoyed myself chatting away with happy people. I particularly remember a lady in her 60's who stopped at my stand and looked at everything and said that " I wouldn't know what to do with all this stuff, but this is CREATIVITY".
Talking about creativity - on the way home we stopped at Malakta, an amazing place in the countryside some 40 km from the nearest town. A young couple, Maja and Jukka, has created a creative oasis in what used to be a dairy. We arrived in the middle of a cake party (I regret that I didn't take any photos inside), everything looked delicious! There also was an exhibition space and a little shop with new crafts and thrifted goods. I am very happy to announce that my cards are now for sale in this shop!

I was talking about a give away in my last post- here it comes to celebrate post 166, or was 167! Just leave a comment on this post and you will be in the draw for a little something made by me!

Kitschy flowers and houses in line

2008-09-03T11:45:00.017+03:00

I was going to talk about my trip to Åland, but I think I'll just refer you to the photos I have uploaded on flickr. It was a great weekend, lots of work, lots of wonderful people and lots of inspiration. There is nothing like the rush of a new idea and that is what I want to talk about today! My studio is a mess, but what can you do... I went to the thrift store yesterday to find some new materials and spotted a plastic bag with those (horrible) flower wreaths that you put around candles, please tell me what they are called in English! They used them in a project in this book and I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I have been asked to make more mobiles so this is what I came up with (more pics on flickr). The pastels of the flowers gave this shabby kitschy look. I think it turned out pretty fun and I liked working in another colour scheme for a change (I will make bright mobiles too, as soon as I can get my hands on some brighter flowers!). The birds have a layer of steady batting inside, the outlines are sewn with a lot of black thread. I added some beads, bells and buttons too!

This is the project I was working on on the ferry that I promised to show off. I needed something small to sell at the fair next weekend so I came up with these house brooches. The fair is at an outdoor museum so I think these will go nicely with the old miljeu. I used felt scraps that I bought from a lady selling felt slippers at the Christmas fair last year. The windows are made from reflective tape so these are meant to be worn on your bag or coat.

I will not put these in the shop until the two next fairs are over, but you are welcome to reserve one if you think you would need one :) The price is 10 Euros/14,50 USD (+ 22% VAT if you're in the EU), just drop me a line and tell me which one you would like! Click on the picture if you want a better view!

I can't believe it, but Summer seems to be over here. It is rainy and far too cold for this time of year :( The kids were wearing gloves at Kindergarten yesterday! To celebrate this unhappy occasion I am having a little sale on Summer items in my shop!

The window quilt came back home from the exhibition and is now listed in the shop. It is hanging right above my head as I'm writing :)
Thanks for listening! I have been talking so much about me and my projects lately that I think it will be time to give something away in next post. But I talk more about that next week!

Happy sewing (or crocheting, or whatever YOU enjoy doing)!

Treeology

2008-08-28T20:39:00.008+03:00

This is a quilt Treeology that I finished yesterday, I'm afraid the photo does not really do it justice. Since I have a very bad sense of humour I couldn't help myself with the name... I am happy with the result, the bright coloured leaves against the raw linen surface feels so right. And birds and mushrooms, do I repeat myself (don't answer that, please)?The last two days I have been occupied by making Syko a new home page. It is fun, but very time consuming. First I considered having someone else making them for me, but I just love to know how it is built and above all to be able to update it easily whenever I want to. I will let you know when it's ready, I hope to have a surorise to offer you on that happy day!
Tomorrow I will take the ferry over to the Åland Islands to take down the exhibition. I go alone this time and I am very much looking forward to the ferry trip. I used to hate it, but these days 6 hours for myself is such a luxury. I have packed my bag with a bunch of house brooches I need to finish. I will show you the result on Monday!

Enough about me now! Go over to etsy and vote for your favourites in the Handmade Kids Sweepstakes competition! You can win a 200 $ shopping spree!

Stats and a hit in my head

2008-08-23T16:29:00.006+03:00

I finally decided to add a stat counter to my blog this week. I have quite enjoyed reading my stats over at flickr so I thought it would be nice to follow up visits here too. It proved to be much more interesting (and a little scary) than I had thought. I've had 725 visitors since Wednesday! Thank you! I know many of you are "old friends", thank you for taking the time to read my notes and for your ever so kind and encouraging comments! Feel free to say hi if you are a lurker, new or old! I promise to try my best to say something wise here every once in awhile...

The tree quilt was snatched off the shop so I had to get myself busy replacing it. The result is the come what may-quilt. I've had this phrase from Annie's song ringing in my head for far too long now so I thought it best to let it go with a bird. Hope you like it! I have been longing to make some traditional patchwork so I added three scrappy log cabin blocks to it. I got some critique previously for announcing Autumn as started, I hope this is Summery enough for you all!

Things are happening on the patio even if the weather has been very cold lately, here is a sunflower that finally showed her pretty face!

Cleaning robot

2008-08-20T14:41:00.005+03:00

I felt so relived over the fact the we only seem to have caught the "flu light" this time, that I had to spend the morning sorting out my new craft room. I moved my stuff into our old bedroom one month ago and have been waiting for the right day to get everything in place. The fact is that there is no such day, all that was needed was some determination. So this is how one of the walls look today after some serious drilling and hammering (click on the picture to see my notes!). T was kind enough to assist me and then model one of the new robot scarves I made today. I tried out a heavier jersey knit for these and I think they turned out great. As a maker of cute girlie stuff I am happy to once have made something that looks great on a guy :) This one is in the shop.

Thank you all for your kind messages yesterday!

Fairs and spaghetti legs

2008-08-19T11:31:00.009+03:00

My first craft fair for the season is over and done with, I have two to go in September and I really hope there will be more people than we had at this one. The place was great, the table was huuuge (and provided by the organisers), it was rather cheap, the weather was fine, but there were no customers. And those are quite crucial for a successful fair... But I got some new contacts and a few sales + I learned once again that you need to have a lot of small stuff to sell when you sell at fairs. So I am making reflector brooches for the next show. I have an idea that I think will look rather fun!
The beginning of Autumn is my favourite time of year, I love the fresh air, the smell of mushrooms and the soft sun (except it's raining today). What I don't like is the traditional flu that moves into our house one week after school has begun. So it has this year too, big E is home with a fever and my legs are aching. So the poor souls that are waiting for their custom orders will have to wait a little longer, I am just not up to it when I'm feeling like spaghetti. Hope you are all healthy!

I call the art quilt Autum in the park. The bright trees are appliquéd on 100% linen, with a raw structure that makes such a fun contrast to the bright trees! It is free motion quilted with Sulky from Gütermann. Sulky is the 100% cotton machine embroidery thread that I also use for my appliqués. The quilt is in the shop.

Overcoming the stage fright

2008-08-13T14:59:00.010+03:00

I have suffered from something closely related to stage fright the two days I've been working full-time with the kids away at school and daycare. Suddenly I have all that time I have been longing for the last weeks. Where to begin??

I started off making a bunch of houses for the fair on Friday. Today I allowed myself to make a little art quilt. You can see a peek of it above next to my granny's old dress that I took out to get some air. The photo is taken on our balcony outside my craft room. The white wooden wall is the only decent background to take pictures against in this house. Have I mentioned before how much I hate our greyish white rented walls? Well, I do. Can't wait to move to a home where I can paint my walls! While I am waiting I will be going over to my friend Sofia (who, speaking about stage fright, is an actress) next week and take some pics for the shop against her turquoise walls. She's got a beautiful home, I'll take some pictures of that too with her permission. The quilt is called Autumn in the park. I used brights on a raw unbleached linen background, I like the effect very much.
Today I got art prints of the 11 birds (above) and the tree, I think they look gorgeous, the stitches are much more visible than on the postcards. They are digitally printed on Finnish Terreus 250 g/m2 paper, which has a lovely matte textured surface. It is the same paper that I chose for the postcards. They measure 21 x 30 cm, which is the size of a regular paper so it should be easy to find a frame for them! Available in the shop.

Results

2008-08-08T11:23:00.007+03:00

No I did not spend my family-free days in front of the telly eating goodies. Only. I did get some serious work done too. 40+ finished pouches, yay! I had forgotten how much you can get done in one day without interruptions. The giggling owl here is the new member of the pouch zoo. I thought I told him not to taste that mushroom... I used one of the cute ribbons I got from Farbenmix last week. I also used some cool vintage fabric samples that I got a thrift store a few months back. I think the fabric this one got for back goes very well together with the state of mind of this birdy... See it in the shop.

Talking about mushrooms, lucyellen has made one of the cutest I've ever seen made from fabric, here. The weather is just right for mushrooms, it's pouring down so we've spent our time building a lego zoo and drawing. What do you do with the kids when it's raining?

31+ reasons to be happy

2008-08-06T19:54:00.006+03:00

I'm home alone tonight! I will sell at three outdoor craft fairs in Aug-Sept so the family was kind enough to leave me alone with my sewing machine for the night to get some serious sewing done. I am enjoying myself. The timing for my new quilt fabrics arrival couldn't have been better. I had a little Christmas by myself opening the two envelopes stuffed with fabrics, 31 pieces to be specific (more pics in my flickr). I also made me lentils (which the family do not eat) served with rice and feta cheese on top. Which I ate in my bed in front of the TV. Freedom!

Rebuilding the zoo

2008-07-31T16:48:00.008+03:00

I got an invitation to a small craft fair here in town in August 15th which I could not say no to, even though it came on a very short notice. So I have made myself busy cutting pieces for animal portrait pouches. They are my bestsellers whenever I sell at craft shows so I am trying to build a little zoo for Autumn and Christmas fairs. I try to be efficient and make A LOT to be able to make those quilts I'm dreaming of soon. However I AM very happy to be going out to meet some customers in person again! I thought I'd make some key fobs with birds like these, I need something to hang on this ikea tree I got at the thrift store.I have done some shopping, just to make my mailbox happy :) It must want some exceptions from the white envelopes with complete boredom inside, don't you think? But the first happy envelope that came was a very welcome surprise from Moogsmum, who decided I needed some of this gorgeous cloud fabric after I had left an enthusiastic comment on her blog. She made this gorgeous quilt with it, you see. I love it so much, thank you!The lovely ribbons above I got from a German web shop called farbenmix.
I also found HEATnBOND in a Finnish web shop, I want to try out if it is any better than the Vliesofix (at least I think it is that) I buy from a local store. The glue keeps coming off the paper of it, which makes me go crazy. This stuff is what I use for my appliqués :) Are you all familiar with it, or would you be interested in a photo tutorial on how to use it (/how I make my appliqués)?

As time goes by

2008-07-29T22:36:00.007+03:00

Days just seem to go by while I am waiting for everything to get back to normal (school starts in two weeks). I am making very slow progress on my craft projects at the moment, some days I just choose to give up after 136 interruptions by needing kids. But hey, I wanted to have them so what am I complaining about! So then I just talk to my flowers on the patio instead and try to zoom in the nice spots in our cluttered home. And I go on to do all those things mums usually do while my head is boiling with new ideas (yes, it's been HOT here!).
I am very proud to tell you that Holly from decor8 has picked my shop for her Etsy Take Five Tuesday today! She talks so nicely about my work, thank you! Thanks so much Malka for letting me know about it! Malka makes the most amazing quilts from a mix of her own hand dyed and batiked fabrics and commercial fabrics. If you haven't seen Malka's quilts already you should move on to her flickr or her shop now! Just look at this Great Aunt Irma Patchwork Mini Quilt, I love the faded colours, but I also adore the lime green wall that she uses as background for her shop photos!

New shop

2008-07-17T16:34:00.009+03:00

While rearranging I once again realised what an awful lot of fabrics I own. And what a small part of them I actually use. I have a great supplier of English quality cotton fabrics (Liberty, Designer's guild, William Morris, Laura Ashely...) here in town so I keep buying fabrics. Some of them are seconds, many just sample pieces to bargain prices. Sometimes I just cannot leave them behind, I know you fabric addicts know what I mean! So I decided to open up the SykoFabScrap shop, an idea I've been pondering for a long time, to ease the burden on my shelves and maybe get room for those new fabrics I need to buy.... And share the joy of course, the main purpose of my business! I will be adding new stuff regularly during the following weeks.

Thank you all for the input on the pattern question, I might end up making a Christmas pattern booklet with several designs in the end.

*edit* I forgot to add the breaking news that the first two poppies on our patio showed their pretty faces this morning, how we have been waiting! I am about as crazy about flowers that I am about fabrics, but there is more magic into poppies. Isn't it amazing how a tiny poppy seed can grow up to something like this?

Poll

2008-07-14T13:55:00.007+03:00

Thank you all for your encouraging comments on my last post! I am not throwing in the towel! I just felt I had to ease the pressure a little by writing down my frustration. As you see from the picture I am trying to enjoy Summer as well, I was very fortunate to pick up this Elizabeth George novel at the thrift store, exactly what I need to get my brains concentrated on something else.

I am planning to make a pattern booklet to sell in time for Christmas and I was wondering if you would like to help me choose which design to write down and send to the printers? The alternatives are the fairy-angel (or maybe this) or the tomte/gnome. The houses have proved to be very easy to copy without a pattern so I'll skip them, I think...? As soon as I get myself a scanner I plan to offer a free embroidery pattern for you here on the blog, I don't dare to say how long it will take, but stay tuned!

Business talk

2008-07-09T20:58:00.012+03:00

At the end of June I had an appointment with my business adviser, a man employed by the city/state to help new business owners. I left my application for a few months extension of the "starting money" I got when I started off in February (it is like a social benefit you can get for a few months the first time you start a business). I thought the first five months had gone fairly ok, but he did not agree, my result was well under the numbers in my business plan... I need to change my strategy, he said and went on in the same spirit for quite a while. However I did get the extension for four months, no idea why (I did talk a lot about my visions + I suggested that I could donate the kids to someone with more time), but I am happy and relieved to know I will survive through the Summer.

The "change of strategy"-part made me paralysed for some time. What the heck am I supposed to do? Become a combined multi task, mum, factory, marketing wonder genius in one day? Then I came to my senses and sat down to think and count (what should my products cost, for real a.s.o.) and then I started my production line. When I have filled this room* with stuff I will try to become the marketing wonder. One task at a time. I have started to fill the shop with house scarves, it will be autumn soon anyway and it seems I will be wearing a scarf the whole Summer this year...
*we have been rearranging. I got a room of my own , yes! I'll show it as soon as everything is on its place, it can take awhile, but here's my balcony, I can see the flowers where I sit right now by the window!

Words

2008-07-03T17:13:00.008+03:00

The kids will be home in a few, so I have time for a quick post to show off one of the projects I've managed to finish while they've been away. It's been nice with some freedom, but it will be good to have them back, the house has been so quiet! I got the idea for the seagull cushion when I was making sea related stuff for the exhibition. I love to use writing in my work, but I always struggle with what language to use when my mother tongue is Swedish, but I also use Finnish and English daily and sell my products internationally. This very simple way of incorporating all of "my languages" feels very good, like a way of representing me (like I would have written while I was still trying to write my PhD thesis...). So this might just be the beginning of a word (swe: ord fin: sana) series.

I will try hard to up-date the shop on a regular basis so please check back for new additions. My next project will be to make some art quilts.

I have no idea why blogger makes my text look like this in every second post...

Summertime

2008-06-24T15:52:00.005+03:00

vinden drar, originally uploaded by -syko-.

We are back home after a wonderful Midsummer with good friends in the archipelago. The exhibit is now hanged so I am free to move on to the next (secret ;) project. The kids are home so I will try to take some time off too, the best way to relax is to get away from all projects. Today I hit the Summer sales with little E and we had a really nice time. Big E turns six tomorrow so we got her some nice clothes. We stopped at a café for a snack and took the bus home (taking the bus instead of the car is a great adventure for the little boy!).

I have posted more pictures of the exhibition at flickr. I am sorry that I did not take any close-ups of my mums work! The actual hanging was more challenging than making the big quilt, I thought, but I think we finally managed to hang everything quite nicely. The mostly white backgrounds of our textiles look great against the old logs.

I got the opportunity to exhibit at Pellas because I worked there as a museum guide 10 years ago when I studied Ethnology. Since that the house has burned down and been rebuilt again! The fire was a great tragedy in the small community and it feels very good to see the house rebuilt again. This year it is open to the public again and I am very happy to be part of it!

Quilting, ripping tearing...

2008-06-12T14:26:00.005+03:00

ormsommar window quilt, originally uploaded by -syko-.

It is one week left to the exhibit , which means I am trying to finish all the thread works I've started on and trying even harder not to start any new ones. The quilt above is called Snake Summer and accidentally became a window quilt when I hanged it on a white curtain to be able to study it on a distance. I just loved how all the patterns and textures shines through so now I have decided to only add a white backing fabric and maybe just quilt the snake in the ditch and hopefully there will be a window to hang it in at Pellas (the link goes to an article about the museum in a local newspaper, for those who read Swedish :).
The big quilt is coming up nicely after some ripping, tearing and swearing. The quilting is the text to a traditional Swedish lullaby, Vinden drar, that our little exhibition is named after. It tells about a sailor boy that leaves his girl crying on the shore. Don't cry my friend, he says. Think of all the good times that are to come. A chest full of silver and gold, silk and velvet cloths, all of that I will bring to you.

I loved to imagine how the silk and velvet fabrics looked when my mum sang this song to me when I was a kid!

*edit* I do not use the BSR for the quilting, I could not get it to work so I just use the regular mending foot...

A flower fool

2008-06-07T10:56:00.005+03:00

My mum has been here the whole week and we have had a very nice time working on our exhibition. There is less than two weeks left, luckily my mother has been very productive so I can take my time and work on my big pieces (one wip here). It is the biggest quilt I've worked on my bernina aurora so far, cross your fingers! I will take pictures when it's all finished and hanged.
One day we took a break from sewing and went to the garden center, we both fell hopelessly in love with this beauty. Which resulted in the quilt above. Roses make me weak. And the fact that my peony will bloom this year gives me chicken skin.

Auction is up!

2008-06-01T10:39:00.008+03:00

The Craft for China charity auction is now up, for one week only! Please follow this link to see the quilt I donated. There are a lot of gorgeous arts and crafts, please take a look, get yourself a piece of art and help orphans in China! If I had any money to spend I would most certainly invest it in this piece by Rob Ryan. You also have a great chance to snatch Little Red Riding Hood & Wolfie by Linda C Norton, too cute!!!

Go here to read more about the fund raiser.

Sing with me

2008-05-30T09:01:00.009+03:00

You might have noticed the Craft for China thumbnail on the left? I have donated this little quilt for an auction to benefit orphan girls in China. The auction will begin June 1, 2008, I will let you know when! Please spread the word about this! Artists such as Rob Ryan, Elsita and Carla Sonheim have made contributions to it. I can't wait to see what they have donated! You can see a list of all participating artists here. Business on etsy has been slow lately. I have tried not to freak out and have been creating and listing new stuff. I also opened up a new shop(!) on DaWanda, which is Etsy's European cousin. It is based in Germany so I will have a good opportunity to use the German I was taught at school and never really used. Except for when I went to Switzerland and I had to start all the way from the beginning, the pronunciation is so different! The prices on DaWanda are in Euros so I feel like home. But not as home like I do on Etsy. Not yet.

One of my not so secret talents is that I have a song for every situation, songs just pop into my mind in various situations, songs that I often did not know I knew. So here's the first theme song for today, why don't you listen to it while you look at my latest creations (please)! I bet you will sing along! I call the mini quilt above Up, up and away, as you might have guessed. It is one in a series of three. One will stay at my exhibition over the Summer. One is still available on etsy.
*edit* It sold, I should stop complaining...
This is a new zippy pouch, I think I need to take a new shot of it, the dotty background makes it look a little dull. T suggested this tune by Pink Floyd as a theme song for it ;)
For this bag I guess I should have picked Sail away by Enya, but since I have a fear of having it ringing in my head the rest of the day I thought it best to introduce to you the Finnish band The Rasmus and Sail Away.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The party is over

2008-05-27T21:34:00.007+03:00

I can finally hear the silence from the kids room... It is not easy to fall asleep after a wonderful day like this! Big E had a birthday party for her friends from Kindergarten today. She turns 6 June 25th, but many of her friends start their Summer vacation from the beginning of June so it is a tradition to celebrate her birthday a month early. She does not mind! I forgot to take the before shots, sorry! I made simple party bags for the kids to take home from white tulle and a piece of ribbon to tie it, fast and pretty! Our daughter does not like strawberry cake with whipped cream on top that is usually served at parties in this country so the dad (aka ice-T) opened up an ice cream bar, which was very popular. Big E was very content with her day, especially since her "littelest pet shop" family grew with a butterfly, a cat and a bird that is "soooooo cute".
So apparently there was no sewing to be done for me today, tomorrow I will quit the party planner job (I did enjoy it!) and go back to crafting. First I will finish these small quilts. Then I will make some patchwork tote bags in navy colours, a project I started a year ago, but those colours are always in this time of year, aren't they?

Young artist and a mini quilt

2008-05-21T21:46:00.005+03:00

This proud little girl has finished the first project she has ever sewn on the sewing machine. With a little help of course, and the little brother helped to stuff it (wanted to be involved very badly and now wants the pig for himself...). As you see on Big E's pattern it was supposed to become a waving teddy bear, but at some point we just came to the conclusion that it wanted to become a waving little piggy. I found a blank card among the lot I got from the printers on Monday so Big E drew this little piece of art for her grandparents. You can see little piggy sitting on the back of the bike.
Lesley, who made me this lovely quilt, received her swap quilt today (in time!) so now I can show you the whole thing. Close-ups here and here. So glad it arrived safely!

Summer in print

2008-05-19T17:28:00.008+03:00

Today two boxes filled with postcards arrived at my doorstep. I felt like a child on Christmas Eve ripping them up to see how the Summer cards turned out. Do I need to say that I am very pleased with the result? And how lucky I am to have such a great brother who can make these things for me! The theme of the cards is things that are SUMMER to me, like watching my seeds grow, hanging out the laundry to dry, the sound of seagulls, the smell of the sea and the taste of herring... They are for sale in my shop as a set of eight, with two of each designs, but you can mix and match as you want with all the cards I have for sale.
Now I feel inspired to work with the Summer exhibition, funny how you can get inspired by your own work... There is just something special with fabric in print. I nearly managed to put together a quilt top for the exhibition this weekend, quite amazing really, since T spent most of it in bed with a fever and I took care of a reasonable amount of laundry, made food and vacuumed (half of) the house. Things I try to avoid during work week (it comes quite naturally to me). Talking about sailing boats (did I?) I have very much enjoyed following the process on knitalatte's ship jacket on flickr during the last week. Read about the process on her blog.

A wreath and a quilt

2008-05-17T19:06:00.007+03:00

I have been very lucky recently. A couple of weeks ago I won this beautiful yoyo wreath for Mother's day that Nathalie made. It arrived on a day I really needed some cheering up, thank you!I had a very nice coffee break the other day, sitting out in the sun enjoying the Askinosie chocolate Nathalie enclosed, I also took the time to read the facts about it and learned that it has 65 times more antioxidants than broccoli! And it is ecological and fair trade. So you people that can get your hands on this goodness, eat as much as you can if you want to live long! The trims were very much appreciated too, of course! I have borrowed Nathalie's beautiful photo of the wreath, (hope you don't mind!), I wish I had a red wall like that! You can find more great shots of the wreath (and the sweetest tutus!) at Nathalie's blog!
This is a sneak peak of the little quilt I made for Lesley Moogsmum (as you can see from the monogram) for the Lucy Locket swap, I am very happy to have finished it. At one point I thought I wouldn't be able to make anything, after spending weeks making custom work I felt overwhelmed by the opportunity to make whatever I felt like. I decided to take a deep breath and play with fabrics, I hope Lesley will like the result! If anyone would think of asking: Yes, I think the sofa makes a great pin cushion, I have at least five pincushions but this is so practical! T does not agree...

Cheer me up part 2

2008-05-14T21:09:00.011+03:00

Just when I needed some cheering up I got this parcel in the mail from Lesley, aka Moogsmum. And it helped! All of you who took the time to leave a note on my last post helped too, not that I loved to hear that many of you had crappy Mondays too, but it is such a relief to be reminded of the fact that you're not the only worn-out mum (+ a range of other not so flattering titles) in the world. Hope you are feeling alright today, and if you're not, just allow yourself to have a grumpy day!

Lesley used her 7 year old daughter's drawing as base for this cheerful little quilt for Lucy locket's swap. I love the simple and fresh design! But I adore the wasps, they are brilliantly drawn and sewn, such great cooperation:And the label in the back is also a masterpiece, Lesley even stitched my logo, thank you! And thank you for these goodies. The recycled home made felt by Monda will be used very soon and the blue fabric will go into one wave or too in one of the quilts I'm making for my little exhibition this Summer. Now I have a week left to make my quilt, tomorrow I hope to have some time to sit down and play with fabrics and decide which idea to work on...

Cheer me up

2008-05-12T20:58:00.005+03:00

Coasters, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Today I just feel like complaining so this will be no long post. This is supposed to be a happy craft blog :) One thing I AM happy about is that I did some planting with little E on Saturday so now we are waiting for sunflowers to turn up in our pots (got to take pictures next time we get our fingers dirty). How I love gardening! We've had some wonderful warm Summer weather for over two weeks. Today was cold and windy, which suited my Monday mood.

I did some coasters with houses too, they can be found in the shop. I made the houses of small scraps with Vliesofix, I get a lot of them making my appliqués. The steam is hand stitched. I love embroidery very much, but since I don't have the time to sit down with anything big I have to keep it very small! This way I can sneak out to my chair in the sun in the middle of the work day to sew some tiny stitches and work on my tan... Now tell me something nice YOU have done today!

Follow your heart

2008-05-06T14:26:00.005+03:00

One of my most popular photos over at flickr is the one of two turquoise linen dresses for little girls. I have been meaning to put the follow-your-heart appliqué on other things too. Orders, life and time has kept me from doing it, but today I decided to make some cushion covers for my shop. I just needed to follow my heart, instead of my to-do-list, today ;) There will be more cushions during the coming week, I'm off to shop some more linen now. Meanwhile I suggest you take a look at Sara Ahearn 's work, so beautiful!

Oh, and that chair, I know you are going to ask, is from Ikea. I bought it last Summer.

Cake for everyone!

2008-05-05T18:37:00.006+03:00

We are back home after a long weekend spent with my parents in Vaasa. The weather was warm and sunny so we almost felt like we were on Summer holiday. Yesterday morning we celebrated dad's birthday by having ice cream and waffles for breakfast. A heavy, but oh so yummy start of the day! The cake is for all of you kind people that take the time to read and comment on my blog, thank you! Thank you for all the nominations and memes I've got lately too! I highly appreciate it, but I will not nominate anyone particular for anything today I am just serving all of you some tasty fabric cake. The cake will become a printed card soon. I told 7 seven random things about myself a year ago, I am still quite the same (except that I'm one year older...), you find my answers here, if you're interested.

I am very happy to tell any Finnish passers by that some of my stuff is now available in Elina's new web shop patio.fi with beautiful things for your homes and gardens. This lovely message board is on my wish list!

If you are not yet in the draw for a pikapackage, be sure to visit Pikaland today!ck

I'll be back soon with some crafty news!

A lesson in taxes

2008-04-29T18:23:00.004+03:00

Sailing - work-in-progress, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Sometimes I would just like to sail away to a place with no bureaucracy... My bookkeeper called me today just to let me know that I need to charge VAT (sales tax) not only from my national customers, but also from my customers in the European Union. This means that EU residents will be charged 22% sales tax (yes, that's what we pay here in Finland) when they buy something from my shop. Sorry to bore you with this, but some etsy sellers within the EU might need this information too, if they have been as ignorant as I have been about this until now! To celebrate this very unofficial tax day I have reduced the price of some of the items in my shop. All the house scarves left are now 22,50 USD (+ tax if you live in the EU ;)

The little boat is a detail of a mini quilt that is going to be displayed at the exhibition I will have with my mum this Summer. But before I quilt it I will order some postcards of it. I hope to have a new little Summer card collection to offer next week. Here is another quilt/card to be with a herring theme!

Trend: Happy folklore

2008-04-24T18:17:00.005+03:00

Trend: Happy folklore, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am part of a trend that I was not aware of! In fact I didn't think I was very trendy at all... I got the new issue of Koti & Keittiö (Home & Kitchen) today just to find these beautiful pictures featuring my creations in very nice company! I want that dotty shirt! One of the reasons why I chose to study Ethnology at the university was that I loved traditional crafts. I used to knit a lot using traditional Scandinavian patterns and at some point traditional cross-stitch was my passion. I have always admired folk embroidery and appliqué and I think it's really cool that a journalist has found something of this in my work. Koti & Keittiö was a positive surprise too. I hadn't read it before, since the front page does not look very tempting, but the inside was a nice surprise! I might consider ordering it, they enclosed a very good offer...

This week I have been making stuff for Elina's new web shop patio.fi. I am very happy that she will be selling some of my creations on-line in Finland. Here are some garden fairies waiting for scarves and wings; something to do in front of the TV tonight! I hope you like them Elina!I hope the sun is shining in your corner of the world, my trendy craft friends!

Pika

2008-04-19T21:40:00.002+03:00

Syko sketchbooks & postcards, originally uploaded by pikaland.

Pika is Japanese for bright, shine and happy so when Amy from Pikaland asked me to take part in project pika package I had to say yes! Pika is also Finnish for fast so there was no time to hesitate :) I feel flattered to be amongst all the talented illustrators, especially since I don't consider myself an illustrator. I just sew doodles, you know! There is going to be a give away on the site in a few weeks so if you are interested in receiving a package from one of the illustrators be sure to sign up for the newsletter! Amy shows off all the goodies people have contributed with in this flickr album. Above is some of the stuff I sent.

We've had great Spring weather today and I have spent the whole day cleaning (I even washed a few windows) and sorting out stuff. My friend and I are going to the fleamarket to sell some stuff tomorrow morning, it opens at 7 a.m. so we have to get up at 5.30 so it's quite an adventure. Anyway I think both of us enjoy the little escape from our families, she's got twins the same age as little E (2½) so it's not everyday we can chat away together without getting interrupted. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Where is grandma?

2008-04-15T20:54:00.003+03:00

The first things I sold in my etsy shop were zippered pouches with different appliquéd animals. I accidentally came up with the design for a swap with a cat lover 2½ years ago :) The pouches still sell well in the little shop in Helsinki that sells some of my creations. So I am trying to provide them with a bunch of them for the rest of Spring this week, before I take on next project on my list (reminding myself to take one project at a time). The wolf is the newest addition to the pouch family. I used Finnish 100% organic felt for the head. Someone requested an animal with a teacup on its head a long time ago and I thought granny's teacup would look great on the wolf's head... Can you spot Little red riding hood on the blue ribbon? It is from Rosa Pomar and it is gorgeous! I ordered some cotton batting from her shop some time ago and had to have some of that ribbon too! While I was making these yesterday I popped in at Kennedy & Friends just to find the cutest little red riding hood, what a coincidence! I admit being inspired by Natascha's illustrations when I designed the wolf, unfortunately her wolf and little red riding hood print is sold out, but her dogs are not bad either...

Mailday

2008-04-11T12:25:00.002+03:00

Thank you Emily!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I was very fortunate to win a a 100th post give away at Emily's blog Ravenhill and yesterday I received this lot of beautiful fabrics in the mail! She also sent a little matryoshka ornament. You probably can't see it, but her face is beautiful and very carefully drawn! Thank you so much for everything!

I am especially fond of the two fabrics on the left hand side. It is so inspiring to get fabrics someone else has chosen for you, I think!

I'm off to town to spoil myself with lunch. I need to write the "about" text for my home page so I have to change environment to clear my head. My mum is making me the home page and it is going to be great, can't wait to show you!

Dots, dots, dots

2008-04-08T13:31:00.006+03:00

7 birds scarf in red polkadot, originally uploaded by -syko-.

The 7 birds scarf is now available* in this happy dotty colour scheme! I'm modeling again, without a wig this time ;-) The beautiful piece of art you see next to my, ahem, shoulder, is by Betsy Walton. The little bird quilt in the background was the first thing I made with these happy birds that I never seem to get tired of. I'm glad many of you like them too! Talking about small quilts I decided to take part in Lucy's quilt swap, despite of my decision not to take part in any swaps at the moment... The subject was too tempting! Thanks for organizing Lucy!

I think I might make another set of house scarves on this dotted fabric too. When I have the time...

*the first one sold already, I promise to list more in the shop tomorrow!

Bright head(ing)

2008-04-07T18:38:00.006+03:00

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! Big E learned how to ride the bike she got for Christmas so we had a very happy Sunday. I decided to take on my crocheting project again, after abandoning it for some time (after 8 hexagons I realized I had made them all wrong so I had to take a break...). The blanket is now the size of a small doll quilt so it will take "some time" to finish it, but I'm in no hurry, this is supposed to be my relaxing, slow project. T says the colours are crazy, but I like it, and I am using white in all of the hexagons to lighten it up.

I went fabric shopping last Friday, I needed fabric for more bird scarves (will be available in the shop tomorrow Tuesday) and I found this aqua ribbon to a bargain price so I bought a few meters. And found a (p)syko way of displaying it :) The mobile in the background is from painted fish studio.

Wishing you all a joyful work week!

*edit* If you are a lover of dots, take a look at Julie's blog dedicated to dotty things. She features my piggy cushion today in very good company!

There will be flowers

2008-04-03T18:04:00.009+03:00

I am on optimist. Also when it comes to gardening. I came up with this design for one of my new pouches. A gardener needs a bag to put the hand lotion in, don't you think? I haven't got much of a garden myself at the moment, but I love reading garden books and magazines collecting knowledge for the future. There will be a time when I will have more time for a garden. You can't do everything at the same time (I keep telling myself).

I thought I might use the design for a sketch book/diary for gardeners as well, what do you green fingered people think? I am thinking that the water should be blue or aqua. It might look too dull in black on a white background...

My favourite Spring shoes are out! The snow is gone and it is officially Spring.

Gifts

2008-04-02T16:50:00.004+03:00

A gift!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Katy surprised me with this little pincushion as a thanks for the much loved raawr cushion I made her son. I like the toadstool so much! Thank you! AND it is from Cath Kidston! Katy remembered this pos t I wrote about cleaning with Cath awhile back :)

I got a mail from craft for china so I thought I'd give a little too. I will donate the carpe diem quilt that was featured on sew, mama sew ! in February, for some reason I still have it in my possession, I usually sell or give away everything I make. I hope the exposure it got on sew mama will help to raise the price. There will probably be an action on ebay later this Spring for the two little Chinese girls they are sponsoring. I will make sure to tell you when!

I have been working on a shop up-date this week. I ran out of soft houses so Monday was dedicated to making these. Then I made some make-up bags (or whatever you decide to use them for!). I like the shape and size of them, not too big and not too small! Here is one for the tea lover.

Spring has finally Sprung!

syko in print

2008-03-22T14:49:00.009+02:00

As many of you have already noticed I have received the first collection of paper goods from my brother. I am very excited about our cooperation and I really like how these first cards turned out. It feels special to see your designs in print. I developed a special technique for these with appliqué on paper. Rasmus and I have big plans for other printed products with my designs, everything from shopping lists to wallpapers is on our list :) I have had some troubles sleeping, planning future paper products... What is your favourite kind of paper goods? I think napkins would be so cool...

I was overwhelmed by the response my cards got on flickr and etsy. Thank you so much my friends for going shopping!!!

Now when I got this back from the print shop I will be able to go on with the interactive project. I'll be back in a few days!

It's a very cold Easter here, the wind is freezing and we just got some snow! How is the weather in your part of the world?

Danish dreams

2008-03-20T14:28:00.006+02:00

I talked so much yesterday so today I will just leave you with these small quilts I made from a linen Jackpot dress I bought second hand much because of the beautiful fabric. It never fitted me anyway. I adore the faded flower pattern on it. Reminds me of nostalgic dreams, very Danish ones... So I added a few cotton patches, cotton batting, appliqué, quilted dream, dream, dream, used a vintage pillow cover for backing, threw them in the washing machine and voilà!

And thanks for the response on my last post, it was very appreciated, as always! Happy Easter to each and everyone!

Original me

2008-03-19T11:51:00.007+02:00

When I was young, sorry I meant younger, I used to try hard to be different. I had a strong belief that normal was bad (and deep inside I knew I was one of them...). Trying to be different applied to clothing and creativity as well. I wished to be creative, but since I had some difficulties with getting in touch with the deep suffering me, I could not make ART. Though I had read The Idiot by Dostojevski and a range of other Russian classics. The advantage of getting old, sorry I meant older, is that you start to understand the meaning of community and interaction. That people don't live in a vacuum, even not the very creative individuals. I started to think about this when I excused myself for jumping on the owl trend making this cushion a while back. I got another reminder of this yesterday when I received the etsy finds newsletter and found my house scarf featured in it. Hurray! In the newsletter Anda says: I'm an applique maniac (you can see my whole Etsy shop here, I used to sell full time back in 2006) and thought I was being original when I made some house appliques a few months ago...turns out I was tapping into another Etsy meme.

This made the deep teen devil on my shoulder crazy:
"-And you have been making pouches with house appliqué on today!"
"-You are just like everybody else!"
"- So what!" I replied. I love appliquéd houses and my appliqués look just as original as I am. And a lot of other people share my joy. Which makes me happy :)

Spring fashion

2008-03-17T18:02:00.006+02:00

7 birds scarf, originally uploaded by -syko-.

It's snowing again, but I am doing my best to help Spring to fly in. Todays contribution is this Spring scarf, I made it a little wider than my previous scarves. This one is in the shop, but I think I'm going to wear one myself next week, when we go to the first night of this opera. T has made sound design for a robot they will have in the foyer. So cool. The project is. AND the fact that I am going to a first night with grown-up people. I hope I will behave myself.

On Friday I will get the postcards I've been waiting for (one with a flock of Spring birds) + a few other printed products my brother has helped me with. Yes, a bike with a pile of fabri c too, thanks for asking! I'm so excited!

Carina was kind enough to interview me, please head over to her craft blog, if you are curious to see what I had to say about my craft! And check out her shop too. This crocheted blanket is so beautiful and well made!

*edit* for those of you who haven't seen the origin of my crazy birds, it can be found here.

R is for rabbit

2008-03-14T16:37:00.003+02:00

R is for rabbit - mini art quilt, originally uploaded by -syko-.

This is the most fresh member of the ABC-family. It is for a little girl, obviously. I think this is my personal favourite so far. I am thinking of printing cards of these, but I will have to see if the scanner likes them, it can be a little tricky with fabric. At the moment I am waiting for another collection of postcards with my designs, I will hopefully have them next week.

I just talked to a friend from Åland, who is engaged in a local museum where I worked for two Summers when I studied. I was trained to become an Ethnologist, you know :) Freya (I love that name!) asked if my mother and I wanted to have an exhibition in the attic of the museum. Of course we want! Mum will make a summery collection of paintings and I will quilt, of course. Very inspiring. I will probably be making a couple of larger quilts similar to the baby quilt I just made, but with a Summer feel. A fun project to look forward to!

Finished quilt and etsy news

2008-03-13T12:13:00.002+02:00

Autumn day quilt - finished!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I used some cotton batting I have been saving for awhile for this quilt. Finland is a developing country when it comes to quilting so I was so happy to find a shop that had cotton batting in the town where my parent lives. Because people does not understand the wonderfulness of this , that shop is now closed :( I guess I have to go on-line to get it next time.

When you use cotton batting you want to wash the quilt when it is quilted to get that old fashioned look. Another nerve wracking moment in the making of this quilt. Luckily it came out in one piece and in the same colours (I had pre-washed the fabrics before sewing, but you never know...). I love the texture it has after washing, the clouds got fluffy and the quilted lines around the borders appear much better. I used what I had for the back, it got a contemporary look I like a lot.

And about something else, the Alchemy is back on etsy! I've heard a lot of this old-new feature and I can understand why it's been so missed among old etsyans. Through the Alchemy you can put in requests for custom items. Take a look at it! I think it will be a great way for customers to find what they are looking for among all the etsy shops!

Inspiration!

2008-03-12T22:01:00.004+02:00

I love to inspire, so today I would like you to head over to Carla over at Thriftin' and Craftin' and see what a little quilt of mine can do! So exciting!

The quilt is ready, I spent a horrifying 40 minutes expecting the worst while it was in the washing machine, but it made it and the clouds look just as fluffy as expected. Will post a picture tomorrow when it has dried!

Stage fright

2008-03-10T20:10:00.005+02:00

Quilted clouds, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Today I have made some progress on my quilt for the LARK book. I made the backing, the quilt sandwich and started on the quilting. I have also written half of the instructions which makes me quite proud of myself :) Clever me decided to use the Two sole walking foot and the BSR system for the first time for a project that is going to be featured in a book... Not much practicing going on here. I DID try both on a tiny little trial piece before I started though. I also suffered from a slight stage fright before I started, it's been awhile since I quilted something this big. It was a nerve wracking start, but I think it's going to be alright. Good, but not perfect. My new favourite phrase.

I made the quilt top last autumn so the colour scheme is not the one you've seen here for the last few weeks :)

Thank you very much for your kind and encouraging comments on my last posts! I try my best to get back to you with an e-mail or a comment on your blog, but sometimes there is not enough time. I still read and appreciate all your comments very much! Thanks for being there!

Nightlife

2008-03-07T14:11:00.003+02:00

Summer houses in a row, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Yawn. I didn't get my beauty sleep for a couple of nights so I'm a little off. My happy little baby E is showing that he will son be 2½. He has major mood swings during the day, cry attacks at daycare and apparently processes this during night. Last night he woke up several times screaming: "No, it's mine! I had it first!" Which led to me lying awake thinking about the best ways to arrange papers for the bookkeeper.

Next week I will quilt and write the instructions for the baby quilt I am making for the LARK book (Baby quilts) I will participate in. It will be published some time next Autumn. They wanted us to send a baby photo of ourselves so I have had a fun time looking through old pictures. My mum has tried a lot of different hairstyles :) I hope to show you some quilt progress next week! Cross your fingers that Aurora does her job well!

I have added a few fishing boats and Summer houses to the shop.

Happy weekend!

Fishing boats

2008-03-05T13:42:00.003+02:00

Fishing boats, originally uploaded by -syko-.

The boats I made for Janet Bell's gallery are finished. This was a very fun project and I am quite pleased with how they turned out. Might be making more if I hear someone shouting... See close-ups of boats here, here and here.

There was some great news in the paper yesterday, the play The King in Moomin valley at Svenska teatern next Autumn! With the traditional music by Erna Tauro. Very nostalgic, we used to listen to the music when we were kids. I made some muminmamma food the other day, strawberry dessert, it is so easy to make, but it is one of those things that makes me feel like THE moomin mum with all the necessities in her handbag. In real life I am the one that forgets to bring a spare diaper and has to ask a stranger to borrow one. Making a strawberry dessert, or even better, pancakes every once in awhile gives me some mum-points that allows me to go on being silly me most of the days. But as my dear daughter says: "Mum, I like you because you're silly!"

Monday monday - woohoo

2008-03-03T13:51:00.002+02:00

owl cushion cover, originally uploaded by -syko-.

It is a natural law that Mondays are like Mondays. Not my favourite day at all. The shop I made ten ABC-quilts for is not going to open it's doors after all, due to sad and understandable reasons, but it was no good news to start the new week with. I will list the quilts in my shop instead during the week.

When I showed you the house cushion a few days ago I promised something more natural for Spring too. I thought I would not join the owl trend, (there is 5896 owl items on etsy at the moment...), but then I got this piece of Japanese fabric that had to be used. Woohoo, says my owl, I bet he likes Mondays more than I do :)

Good Monday news is that the Spring issue of the online magazine small is out. They take magnificent pictures, support indie artists and it is free to subscribe!

I hope YOU are having a good week start! See you soon!

Mailday

2008-03-02T19:53:00.003+02:00

mobile for swap, originally uploaded by painted fish studio.

My mobile from Elsie Marley's mobile swap arrived the other day and I love it! I love the colours and the contemporary look of it and wish I had a beautiful burgundy wall like Jen (painted fish studio) to hang it against (see picture). Thank you so much, you made my day Jen! Check out the painted fish studio shop too! I especially love these block printed coffee cup cards:

House love

2008-02-29T14:09:00.002+02:00

House cushion, originally uploaded by -syko-.

As you might know I have a thing for houses. Here is the new house cushion I've been working on. It seems this Spring is very much about pastels here :) However I have something in a more natural colour scheme for those of you that are not so much into the nursery style (will post tomorrow)... I have listed a couple of Springy house ornaments in the shop too. I've been making a bunch for Janet's little gallery, so inspiring! My next project will be to make some soft boats for her. Here is my inspiration:
There is also some laundry to take care of, I wish there was a Cath Kidston shop nearby, I'm sure I would be thrilled to do some housework if I had something like this in the my laundry room. It is even eco friendly!

Working joy and a find

2008-02-27T16:01:00.005+02:00

wip February 27, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am having a hard time calling sewing work, since it does not feel like it. At least when I can create freely. Like today. The kids are gone and I am free to work how late I feel like. Before I had kids I used to hate being alone, now I can't wait for these moments. Why can't someone create some time balancing tool for us poor struggling humans?

I got so inspired by the cushion I did yesterday so today I have developed some three, or is it five, more designs using the same display.The one on the picture has a house appliqué and some Japanese clothesline fabric, very cute :) It is fun do a little patchwork for a change. I am creating a very creative mess here building a mountain of fabrics that might look good here or there maybe?

This piece of paper appeared when I cleaned my desk this morning. Had totally forgotten about this idea, but I might make some springy bird ornaments with fairy hair and feet bells... Talking about bells for feet, my mobile has reached its new home, and they liked it! Still waiting for mine, very exciting!

Hi

2008-02-26T22:46:00.006+02:00

dino cushion, originally uploaded by -syko-.

The dragon-giraffe dino is ready and wanted to pop in and say hi! The cushion is for a boy that loves dinosaurs and cars (got to use the Japanese car fabric I got myself for my birthday in October, yay!). Here is the whole cushion and the gingham back together with a really scary dinosaur.

The kids are going away to their grandparents for two whole days tomorrow, who wants to party with me? First a lot of sewing with Aurora and then some wine and good music, anyone?

ABC

2008-02-26T13:18:00.002+02:00

J is for jaguar - mini art quilt, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am back in business again and yesterday I finished a wholesale order of ABC quilts. The customer wanted E and M for girls and C, T and J for boys. Some of the letters were really tricky, I had to squeeze the dictionary for good words, but the most drastic thing I did for this project was to buy fabric with a jaguar pattern :) I wanted the style of the quilts to be close to unisex, I am not so fond of the common colour codes for boys and girls. My son chose this shirt for himself.

Now I can move on to next order, today I am working on a dinosaur cushion, however T says it looks like a giraffe-dragon so I hope the new owner won't disapprove of it...
I also want to thank Chelsea for sending me this super cute unicorn print! She wanted to thank me for featuring this cute baby set in a treasury that was featured on etsy's front page. Chelsea steals her husband Nate's art and sells it on etsy. Don't you just love Chelsea's business idea?

Happy week-end

2008-02-23T14:39:00.007+02:00

This morning I got an e-mail from Anna at Pulu who asked me if I had seen my robot scarf featured in the Finnish home deco magazine Avotakka (3 2008)! I ran to the shop of course, I think the display looks delicious, they have used it as a table runner in an article about meals for kids. A very happy ending to a not so fun week! Now I have to head back to the sewing machine while little E naps and big E entertains herself. I need to finish an order to be able to make a bunch of Spring stuff for Pulu, my favourite shop, thanks a million for the publicity!

Thank you all for your well wishes! I am back to normal again, I knew I was ok when I started the day by cleaning up the mess in the kitchen...

Sick business

2008-02-22T19:32:00.004+02:00

I never get properly ill and am always cross with T when he gets the flu and stays in bed all day, it does not feel fair. Yesterday I got my fair share and was reminded of how it was to be pregnant in the early weeks and how happy I am with two kids I have...* In other words- the stomach flu hadn't given up its grip on our family just yet. I spent the whole day lying down with a fever and felt like our friend Nemo looks above. I got up once (after a bag of candy and some painkillers) to unpack my new computer. T then spent the rest of the day installing programs for me, thank you for being my nerdy secretary!!!

You might get the expression that I won the lottery buying all this new equipment, well I didn't. I got a loan for my business. A state granted loan with low fees for businesses run by women. Now I just have to work hard to pay it back. As a typical woman (I think) I gave the decision a lot of thought, but when one of the guys at my how-to-start-your-own-business-class took a
20 000€ bank loan to be able to get his business running I thought I could as well risk a little once. And it does feel great to have a computer that works as it should. Now there is just some cleaning up to do, both in the studio space and the rest of the home, a week of illness does leave its tracks.

*I did not love being pregnant. I felt sick and uninspired most of the time. But I love the result of my suffering!

mobile swap

2008-02-20T12:50:00.002+02:00

mobile for elsie marley's swap, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Here is my mobile for elsie marley's swap. I am trying not to freak out when I look at the masterpieces in the flickr pool. At some point I felt like throwing it in the trash and start all over again with something more sophisticated. But when I look at it now I think it looks very much like MY creation. The receiver wanted it to hang in the nursery, she also wanted colour, which suited me since I am very much into happy colours for this Spring. The birds have small bells for feet, a little sound for the baby. I hope she will like it. It is easy to take away the tulle if it feels like too much...

A peek inside the studio

2008-02-19T19:32:00.004+02:00

My studio window, originally uploaded by -syko-.

My son who has had a bad version of the stomach flu is finally up on his feet again. And he eats again! I hope we have had our amount of winter illnesses for this year now. Me and little E went out to play in the snow(!) and to catch some sunshine(!) and I thought my studio looked quite fun from outside. I'm making a Spring/Summer collection of house ornaments, my first project on the new sewing machine. I had to start out with something safe and easy. Which was completely silly of course, since I've been sewing on Bernina's all my life (well, nearly). I haven't tried the BSR system yet, which is an automatic stitch regulator for free motion quilting, I'm sure I will have a lot of use for it. The machine also came with a two sole walking foot for quilting. This I can't wait to try out, I've heard it is really good for larger quilts. Aurora is actually my first sewing machine, the one I've been sewing on until now belongs to my mum so it was about time she got it back. Even if her first Bernina from the 70's is still going strong.

I had an order for a shoe bag waiting so while at it I made a few laundry bags for the shop too. I got the romantic paper it is displayed on from Elvina, a very nice shop and cafe here in Turku, they sell danish home-decorating stuff, on-line as well.

Did I mention that I love my new sewing machine?

Hello from the sofa

2008-02-16T17:57:00.002+02:00

Featured on Sew, Mama, Sew!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! I enjoyed my day in Helsinki very much, but I came back with a cold :( I want to get back to you soon to show some pictures from my visit to Pulu and above all show off my brand new Bernina aurora 440 (which I've been too tired to try out yet). Now I will proudly direct you to the Sew, Mama, Sew! blog, my quilt was "quilt of the day" on Thursday, and I will head back to the sofa (I would do the happy dance if I wasn't so tired...). Check out the other featured quilts of Sewmama's quilt month, they have picked some gorgeous pieces of art!

Thanks for your comments on my crochet post, my collection of wonky stars is slowly growing!

New hobby

2008-02-13T13:47:00.002+02:00

New hobby, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Since I saw Alex of Moonstitches crocheted hexagon blanket I have been wanting to try crocheting myself. I have knitted a lot, but crocheting is new to me. I needed something to do at night to be able to think of something else than my work. Which I love, but when you have the TV sofa in the same room as your studio it sometimes becomes a little stressful (need to hang a curtain in between). So I thought it was time to start a new hobby. I got this Norwegian wool yarn (Robust) on Saturday and am now working on star number six. I am hooked (haha!) I am using this pattern, since I don't own the Japanese craft book Alex was using. Check out this flickr group for more hexagon love!

Tomorrow I will go to Helsinki (alone!) to visit Pulu and to see my brother, the print maker. He will print a Springy postcard collection for me! I will also ask him to make a print of the bike for me. If it works out it will be available in the shop later.

Cloudy inspiration

2008-02-07T11:54:00.001+02:00

wip, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I do have a lot of orders in line waiting for my attention and I AM working on them, but sometimes I have to take a break and follow an impulse. This cloud here is one of those. Got to use this lovely raindrop fabric from Blank textiles, that's been burning on the shelf since I got it. I love the feeling of inspiration, when an idea just pops up and has to be tried out. I think it is a similar rush people get when they take drugs. But don't worry, I don't need any, my brains do their job so well. I also love working as a factory, those days that are just ordinary and grey and all ideas have rained away I am very happy to have a pile of cushion-covers-to-be to take care of. The cloud is going to fly on a cushion too.

Here is another umbrella art quilt for the real optimist :) It's in the shop too.

At last

2008-02-05T15:24:00.001+02:00

Lap top sleeve, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am very happy to have friends that like my creations. Sometimes I am treating them very badly. This lap top sleeve was ordered in October and I finished it today. Sorry Tom! I really hope it fits. Tom is big E's godfather so I decorated it with appliqué of her drawings. His business name is Musta kirahvi (eng. the black giraffe) so a jungle theme was quite accurate. He is also a talented graphic designer and illustrator, click over to see his work! AND he has illustrated Djungeltrumman's record covers, one of our family's favourite bands :)

Interactive project stage 5

2008-02-04T15:16:00.002+02:00

Interactive project stage 5 finished, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I want to thank you all for your creative ideas for the interactive project! I got so many good suggestions I decided to count them all in the draw this time. Originally it was meant to be the ten first, but hey, I set the rules and I do want you all to play with me!

The winning suggestion this time was given by paperfish who said: i am seeing her with a bicycle in the picture, like she rode to the country on her bike and in the basket is her fabric stash and her sewing machine is magic and works anywhere! I hope you are satisfied with the result, it was VERY challenging, I have never sewn a bike before. Nor did I think I would be able to draw one. But fabric and thread works wonders with my drawings, it continually surprises me. Click here for a close-up of it.

I am posting the rules here again if you want to play with me, next round is 6/10!

I will:
1. wait until I have got (at least) ten suggestions for the next motive
2. draw one of them
3. do my best to do as you wish using fabric and thread (and buttons?)
4. go through 10 stages
5. draw a winner among all the people who has come with one of the ten first suggestions at any stage

Feel free to join in! Can't wait to see what my next task will be! You can see the whole process in my flickr.

Gertrud and friends

2008-02-02T10:23:00.001+02:00

Gertrud, originally uploaded by -syko-.

A quick note to let you know that Gertrud here and her friends are up in the shop, which from now on will be updated on a daily basis. Next week there will be more cushion covers with shoes.

Next post will be on the interactive project. I have been sewing a bike (oh, my was that a challenge)! Have a great weekend everyone!

Ellah-ellah-ellah

2008-01-30T11:55:00.001+02:00

Ellah-ellah-ellah, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Sorry for the heading, but I am in a complaining mood today so an annoying hit song fits perfectly. This is a detail of one of the quilts from a small collection of umbrella quilts I made to celebrate the weather this winter... No matter how I try I can't seem to get good pictures of my work. I need more bulbs and lamps. I went to a special lamp store last week and they did not have a single spot lamp with a clip fastening. Nor did they have daylight bulbs. What kind of lamp store is that? Can't wait for IKEA to open here (this Summer), I know they have exactly the practical and good looking lamps I want . I have read a decent amount of articles on the subject of how to take good shots of your work. But it does not seem to improve my skills. And I would prefer sewing to getting to know my camera better. It does not like me. Maybe I should go and see if I can find something for lunch. It sounds like I'm hungry. And it's snowing! AND I have a new t-shirt. Have a nice day everyone!

*edit* Rather than the song above I would like to recommend Charlotte Gainsbourg. I got her CD for Christmas from T and it's been playing in my studio ever since. The music is by Air, another favourite band and lyrics by the lovely Jarvis and The Divine Comedy. What are you listening to? I would be happy for some tips!

*edit 2* I have had lunch and am now reading the camera manual...

Muffins

2008-01-28T16:06:00.001+02:00

Muffins, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Todays post is for Stepanie S, who bought the most amazing cupcake the other day and inspired us to bake yesterday. These are more like tiny Finnish muffins than huge American cupcakes. Tip of the day: If you use smaller cups you can eat three in a row without any difficulty.

Stephanie is special to me because she started her blog about the same time as I did, AND she was the first one ever to comment on my blog. And she is very talented. Go see her beautiful blog, she just got written about in Artful blogging magazine.

Here is some cupcake goodness on etsy, if you want more sweets:
hat by Joujoux, tea cosy by Tabidesigns and a felted cupcake by hodgepodgedesign. Delicious!

And, for those of your who are waiting, the shop up-date will start February 1st.

And the winner is Ruth

2008-01-27T19:09:00.001+02:00

fairy angel with dots 2, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am honestly happy that my son picked Ruths' name from the basket in the give away. Ruth is one of the wonderful persons that always takes the time to write nice and encouraging comments on my posts. Thank you! Ruth is an Australian living in South Africa and I very much enjoy reading her blog; Ruth's place, about life in Africa. She also shares my joy for crafting (so this will be a great opportunity to send those scraps for you that I promised :)

I'll be back soon with next step of the interactive project, if I can get through the task I've been given...

Interactive project stage 4

2008-01-24T17:54:00.001+02:00

interactive project stage 4, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Some of you might remember the interactive project I started "awhile ago". It's been resting over busy December and holidays but today was a good day to get back to it. The winning suggestion was given by cathygaubert who liked to see some birds collecting bits of thread for their nests. Many of you wanted birds, so here they are! Now I would like to have ten more suggestions for the next stage, please! Six more to go until the quilt is finished, I hope I can fit in so much on this small piece of fabric!

I want to thank you all for the overwhelming response on my last post, I should give away stuff more often :-) It is very nice to see that so many people stop by to read my notes and enjoy my thread work! I will ask my daughter to help me draw a winner and announce it tomorrow!

Hugs,
Kajsa

100 and 1 for free

2008-01-23T13:18:00.001+02:00

lunch, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Please join me for lunch! This is post 100 on this blog and as I like to celebrate everyday life we'll do it my way (there will be a give away too so you just have to read through this post...). One of the dis?advantages of working at home is that you have to make your own lunch. I think it is very important to make a warm meal for the kids at night and to serve them appropriate breakfast, but I tend to forget that I have to eat myself. Sometimes I have so fun playing with fabric that I suddenly wake up to a screaming stomach, run to the fridge and find it EMPTY. Or is it empty really or are we just facing another creative moment? Please serve yourselves:

Pasta Carbonara for one à la Syko

1 egg yolk
grated cheese
garlic
pepper
ham, sliced and diced
frozen green beans
caprice
pasta of any kind, I found some very cute animal figures in the cupboard :)

Cook the pasta and the frozen beans. While the pasta is cooking stir the egg yolk, grated cheese, sliced ham, pepper and pressed garlic in a bowl. Drain the pasta and immediately add the egg mix. Add the beans and the caprice on top. Voilá!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from Lark books, they are making a book on baby quilts and asked me to send in an entry. I will! I actually had a wip with fabrics from this project lying around that I think would be great for the purpose. Cross your fingers!

And since this is my 100th post I want to thank you all for taking the time to comment with such an enthusiasm that even at bad days makes me want to sew and sew more just to be able to share it with you. Oh, and I thought I would give away a fairy angel to celebrate the occasion. Just comment here and you will be in the draw. The winner will have a few different fairies to choose from :)

Btw I would never had forgotten my lunch hour while I was working (for someone else).

Making it happen

2008-01-21T19:42:00.002+02:00

making it happen, originally uploaded by betsy..

I love Betsy Walton's work and had a hard time choosing which print to buy. This however had both the colors and the theme I was looking for. It will be part of a collection of etsy art (yet to be hanged) over our sofa, the colour scheme is white and rainbow :) Now I just need to get them all framed. Shop Betsy Walton art here.

And about making things happen. Today I've taken one more step for my little business, later this week I will know if I will get the loan I've applied for which will mean a new sewing machine and a computer!

Forget-not the light

2008-01-20T15:32:00.001+02:00

fairy-angel Forget-me-not, originally uploaded by -syko-.

One of the most important things when you sell your things on the internet is good photos of your products. A winter without snow and a lot of rain has very poor natural light to offer so I finally built myself the light box I have been planning for so long. I still need to get a better spot light outside the box to get a clear light, but I think this box will do the trick. I really want to have decent pictures of my work in the shop.

I came up with a new angel design for Christmas and felt I was not just ready with them yet so I decided fairy-angels would be as great for Spring and Valentine's day. I found a vintage pillow case with Forget-me-nots that I used for the appliqué, isn't that a sweet flower for Valentine's day? The dress is made from linen in light turquoise. Here is a sister dressed in pink. They will appear in the shop February 1st or hopefully sooner. The beautiful wall paper in the background is Saga from Sandberg, I was happy to get a leftover piece when our friends decorated their little boy's room :)

Finally Fabric Fun

2008-01-14T20:20:00.001+02:00

Creating, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Today was my first work day after Christmas and I enjoyed it so much, even if I had some problems sticking to one thing... I had to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, I needed to try out "a few" new ideas I've been pondering over the holidays. But I guess I will manage to keep calm and carry on at some point (I need that poster so badly!). I have a few custom orders to do before I can concentrate fully on the shop. I know some of you are waiting for an up-date, in two weeks I hope to have some fresh stuff to show you! Spring will be white and bright this year!

Meet Matilda!

2008-01-12T12:14:00.001+02:00

Swap goodness - meet Matilda!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

She arrived in the mail today, our friend Matilda and is now having a picnic with her new friend the Swiss cow (a favourite Christmas present) Thank you so much Joanne! She is so well made and came with a bag and a little picnic blanket :) You can see more of Joanne's creations in her shop alice4thimble.

Sally was so kind to send a little bonus package in our little Christmas ornament swap. Thank you so much! The crocheted coasters looked great on the Christmas table :) Check out the wiener ribbon modeled by the only thing I have left from my grandpa, a green clay dog, ain't he cute? My Mil is a dachshund lover, I think I'll make something for her with the ribbon.

Little E is still not well, but as happy as always, I hope he is well enough to go to Kindergarten on Monday, can't wait to spend a whole day with my sewing machine again!

Mobile swap

2008-01-10T22:31:00.001+02:00

mobile swap button, originally uploaded by elsiemarley.

I am a big fan of Elsie Marley's work, so when I saw she was arranging a mobile swap, I just could not resist! I have wanted to make a mobile for a long time, but I needed a push like this. I'm not sure what to make yet, thinking birds maybe... Buttons? Why don't you join here?

No crafts to show yet, Little E has been spending what was supposed to be his first week at Kindergarten this year at home with me. Four days of fever. Sigh.

Giraffer på snor

2008-01-08T17:31:00.002+02:00

Giraffer på snor, originally uploaded by -syko-.

In December I admired this book on Mette's blog Erleperle. She was so very kind to offer to help me get my hands on it. Thanks again! It was a great Christmas present to me and the kids. The best gifts are the ones that you can use to make something with, don't you think? Me and little E made some rolls from it the other day, I had to have prove that I didn't buy it as a so called coffee-table book. It HAS all the qualifications, the pictures and the layout are super yummy. Here are some projects that I would like to try:

A table cottage:

A snow "globe":

And the animal ornaments that named the book, so kitschy that I am sure my kids would love to make them:

Wehlitz Nadja and Maria (2007): Giraffer på snor. Thaning og Appel.

Happy Healthy and Creative New Year

2008-01-01T22:17:00.001+02:00

Healthy new year, originally uploaded by -syko-.

The new year has started with (the usual) resolutions of a new healthier life. Me and my friend Jenny have decided to meet every Sunday at ten for a long walk. We agreed that we needed a certain time and day to be able to make it a weekly hobby. No cheating allowed. Autumn was quite stressful for many reasons and included too much unhealthy food. So my other mission 2008 will be to make the kids love beans and lentils as much as I do.

2008 will be a very special year for me, it is the first year as a full-time business woman (that definition of me makes me laugh out loud) and I am full of excitement. I am very happy to tell you that my work will soon be available in a new little shop in Helsinki, called Pulu ('pigeon'). More syko news soon!

I had to pack away my studio for Christmas so I am slowly building it up again. Going through all the crap takes time, but it sure is healthy, at some point you just have to let go of old projects. Can't wait to start working on some new ones, my head is bursting as usual...

I look forward to another blog year with you, can't wait to start creating again and share the joy with you all! Here is some of my sewed joy from 2007.

p.s. the deer glass is a thrift store find, cost me 10 cents! The white beans are going in a soup tomorrow.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T16:51:00.001+02:00

Merry Christmas to all my flickr friends!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

A very quick post to wish you all a joyful Christmas! And a big thanks to Sally who sent me this sweet ornament in our little ornament swap!

Dance my doll

2007-12-17T20:06:00.001+02:00

Christmas gift for E 5 years, originally uploaded by -syko-.

The Christmas craft fairs are all over and now I am doing my best to finish a few Christmas presents before I have to put away my studio for the holidays. It will be great with a break!

My 5 year old girl loves to dance to classical music so I made her a drawstring bag from this Japanese fabric. She will also get a new ballet suit, a Grieg CD and the wonderful ribbon wand I got on etsy from ribbonwands. The golden embroidery on the bag says "dansa min docka" (dance my doll), it's from a Swedish song. I think I accidentally put the pandas head the wrong way so she reminds me of a bulldog, but I guess bulldogs can dance if pandas do so... I will show another gift tomorrow!

Happy Santa Lucia Day

2007-12-13T13:01:00.001+02:00

Happy Santa Lucia Day!, originally uploaded by -syko-.

Today we celebrate Santa Lucia Day in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland as well as in the rest of Scandinavia. My daughter was one of three super cute Lucias at Kindergarten yesterday so we have already started the celebration :) Tonight we are going to see our town's Lucia step down the stairs of the old dome, it is so beautiful! Finland's official Lucia is crowned in Helsinki. AND it is not raining, we have wonderful winter sun today! I hope it will stay, I have my last fair in Ekenäs this weekend, and it is outdoors. I look forward to do some serious Christmas cleaning next week!

The Lucia on the picture was made by me six years ago. Check out her striped socks!

small news

2007-12-10T11:49:00.001+02:00

The syko robot scarf as seen in small magazine winter 07, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I am back after a five day long trip to Helsinki. It was great to be away on what felt like a holiday, even if I was a the fair from 10-18 every day. I left the kids at home and stayed at my sister's place and we had such a great time! Eating out, chatting away, making plans for Christmas...

A month ago I got this letter from the editors of small magazine, they wanted to feature my robot scarf in the winter issue! So here it is in good company, I am so proud! The pictures and graphics and the stuff displayed, everything is so cool and well made! Please take some time to click your way through it, it's well worth it.

Ornaments for a swap

2007-11-26T16:50:00.001+02:00

ornaments for a swap, originally uploaded by -syko-.

In October I thought I would have lots of time to make a few ornaments for a little swap in late November... Ha-ha. Just a few days late these two are ready to fly to their new owners! I hope they will like them! The little house has a surprise behind the door :-) Everything is red and white, my theme song for this Christmas. I like how the angel turned out so now I would like to make her some sisters. But first I really have to finish a bunch of cushion covers I'm working on.

For those of you who are in Finland I would be very happy to meet you at the Christmas fair at the Old Great Square next Saturday-Sunday (1-2.12) at 12-17 here in Turku!

Christmas at home

2007-11-24T23:12:00.001+02:00

Christmas curtain detail, originally uploaded by -syko-.

I'm so proud of myself for making these curtains for our kitchen window this morning. It was a great frosty morning and I woke up to see the Christmas lights we put on the balcony yesterday so I got a good start. We are going to have a real old fashioned Christmas this year, twelve people(!) around the table and then you just can't have a poppy curtain in your window, can you? I know it's not even December yet, but I have a Christmas fair next weekend so there won't be much time for decorating. And if there is something I love it is decorating my home for Christmas. Our home is quite a mess usually, I feel I have more important things to do than to run around picking up toys and clothes and stuff, but the month before Christmas I become as much of a perfectionist as someone like me can be. If only the kids would join me, or even play with red and white toys only. It would look so nice....

Making paper bags

2007-11-21T13:33:00.001+02:00

Making paper bags Step 2, originally uploaded by -syko-.

What do you do when you want to think green and need something nice to put your products in at craft fairs? You think crafty! It helps out if you have Christmas issues of different home deco magazines from "a couple of years" back. It's simple!

Step one. Collect your mags. Go through them, do you really need to save this issue from 1998? No.
Step one and a half (forgot to take a pic). Cut out the pages and pick out the nice ones.
Step two. Take some red thread and start producing.
Step three. Eco-friendly, cheap and crafty bags!