Happy Christmas! With Yarns!

My new website has been published and the blog has moved to the new address.

Check it out: www.peonyandparakeet.com

The location of the new blog: www.peonyandparakeet.com/blog

And a new blog post is up! Go to the new blog to see it:

Happy Christmas! With Yarns!

New Site, New Folk Bag and Other News

My new website has been published and the blog has moved to the new address.
Check it out: www.peonyandparakeet.com

The location of the new blog:
www.peonyandparakeet.com/blog

And a new blog post is up!
Go to the new blog to see it:
New Site, New Folk Bag and Other News

Handmade Collections

I like to keep things organized. Art and crafting supplies included. I like neat compartments and piles and putting everything into its own place. This summer has been really rainy and cold in Finland. So I have got a lot of time for organizing!

I browsed the photos that I have taken the past couple of months and I see grids and piles in most of them. Even the cards that I have made are showing the strict order. Another things that I see there are collections, all handmade. I have grown the flowers from the seeds, picked the berries and potatoes from my garden, dyed the yarn, carded the wool ... The pictures from summer are like well organized shelves in my house.

There was a time when I was desperately avoiding grid patterns in my art. The free and flowing line surely is the sign of creative spirit. I wanted nothing to do with symmetry or squares.

Now that I have found some of the freedom I was seeking for, I get the permission from myself to space the small circles evenly instead of throwing them to the background. It is like in knitting I tried not to knit simple patterns to learn the complicated ones. Nowadays after tens of years of knitting I enjoy simple projects the most. Sometimes it's laziness but most often it's being able to do something more from the less of stuff. 

The last picture is a simple neckwarmer that I made. I started with the carded roving, handspun the yarn, then dyed it, and finally knitted the piece using a simple pattern. It's not like the most ingenous knitwear ever but it has a story unlike many store-bought items do.

Still Playing?

I read this from the editor's column of the Finnish handcraft magazine Taito: The girls that make hobby horses and play with them did not want to be interviewed for the magazine. They thought that they would be considered too childish. The magazine is a very respectable one and it is an honor to be interviewed for it. Actually, many handcrafters dream about it!

But that was not the reason I was touched deeply by the fact why the girls refused. I love hobby horses. I do not own any now but used to when I was a little girl. I rode with my horse every day. And my best girlfriend had one too. I even made a scrapbook page about the horses a while ago.

I would have loved reading about this hobby and how it is today when it's easier to find others who love the horses too!

I was about to write to the magazine: "Try harder! Make the girls say yes!"

But then I remembered a moment, just few months ago, when I was interviewed to the very same magazine by the very same editor. She wanted to take photographs of the doll clothes I make and sell. "NO", I said. "People think I am crazy. They don't understand!"

My dolls must have been very upset by that. They are fashion models in their heart anyway!

I began to think where does the playing end and the serious stuff start. I remember that when my childhood friend and I grew, our play with the horses became more secretive. We tried to ride so that no one sees us. It became pretty stressful. We had to give up.

But the funny thing is that when I grew I went back to playing. And I know that most of you who read art and craft blogs have done the same.


If you don't collect the dolls like I do, I bet you have put clothes on an art doll, or a paper doll or a digital image. Maybe you have made illustrations with women's faces like when you used to as a child. We might not ride with the hobby horses anymore but we surely play in our own way. Picking the pretty colors, buying ink, making something that is really not that useful and where the end result actually does not matter so much.

Like what I did today. Cut a head of a fashion model from an old Vogue magazine and doodled a dress. Thinking: is the world of play black and white. I claim it is not. Whether a child or an adult, we all play. I hope the girls with the hobby horses realize this sooner than I did!

Tell me, how do you play? What makes you play?

Finnish Knitting Yarns

I have spent some quality time in the summer vacation by dyeing my Alku wool yarn.

Alku yarn

Alku is Finnish and means "origin". This really is a yarn whose origin I know exactly. The wool is from Eastern Finland and is selected by my friend who is really good at picking the best locks from the shearing. Then she took the gorgeous baby sheep wool locks to a local spinnery. It was a big day when we received the yarn. 

I have dyed yarn for many years and it has never felt so right as with this yarn. 

Here are some colorways I have created recently.

Real Finnish yarns

There's not many real Finnish yarns - the most of the wool for them is brought abroad or there's non-domestic sheep breeds like Texel mixed in it. And those we have often look very modest without any color. Most of the yarn is worsted (carded fiber, fluffier), not woolen (comber fiber, smoother). Superwash treatment is not available in the spinneries. The possibilities to mix other fibers like silk in the yarn is very limited. So Finnish knitters and shops buy foreign yarn.

What about my stash?

My stash is not totally domestic either. I do love those malabrigos, noros, sweet gerogias etc.

But I also knit from Finnish yarn, pure Finnish wool from Finnsheep or Kainuu Grey breeds. Here's a peek what I have among some others.

Back row, from left to right:

Hieno Finnsheep sock wool  (worsted) by Succaplokki

Kainuu Grey sock wool (worsted) by Christina's spinnery

Alku Kainuu Grey wool yarn (worsted) by Woolgrey, the yarn that I sell

Suupohja's Finnsheep wool yarn (woolen), not in production anymore as the spinnery has been shut down but some is still available with natural dyed tones at Pata-Noita

Maahinen Finnsheep wool yarn (worsted) by Riihivilla, dyed with natural dyes too

Front row:

Kainuu Grey wool yarn (worsted) by Ilu

Finnsheep wool yarn (woolen) by Kormu's sheep farm 

For the love of Finnish wool!

To celebrate the anniversary of the shop where I sell the Finnish wool and Alku yarn, I am giving 15 % off from all products there. The offer is available until 25th July. 

Go to www.woolgrey.com and use coupon code JUHLA12 at the checkout.

Introducing My Own Yarn!

Look what I have!

Here's my long awaited dream that has come true! A yarn made from organic baby Kainuu Grey finnsheep wool that my friend Susanna Kääriäinen has selected from sheep farms and that has been spun in a Finnish spinnery for us. How cool is that!

I am selling this special yarn in my Etsy shop Woolgrey. It call it "Alku" which is a Finnish word for "Beginning". And yes, I have designed the label myself and it's based on one of my doodles.

Here you can see how the swatch looks like. The tension is 22 stitches with 3,5 mm needles.

I have been having fun handpainting the yarn. You can see more at my shop but here are few samples.

"Renaissance"

"Nereida"

"Antique"

I love the natural white too!

Handspun, Handdyed

Some knitting projects this time!

This is Bandana Cowl (pattern by Purl Soho). I knitted it from my own handspun and was a Christmas present for my sister. The handmade tag goes so well with it, doesn't it! (I have some for sale at Etsy: here and here)

Speaking of handspun and Christmas presents ...

Here are handspun mittens, a gift to my friend Susanna. She is the one who picks the Kainuu Grey Finnsheep wool that I sell. She is brilliant at it and these are made from the wool. I have spun different shades of greys and am quite pleased with the rural look and feel.

The next ones are for my own use as this year the winter is very cold in Finland.

Mittens from finnsheep wool dyed by a finnish artisan. Love the colors of this yarn! The pattern can be very basic when the yarn is so pretty.

Socks from very thin merino sock yarn. I handpainted the yarn first.

Finally Lady Sunshine gloves (pattern by Julia Mueller). I was surprised to notice that I had started these a couple of years ago. I don't know what happened that the second glove was not finished. I finally did that and these are great. The gloves fit well and the Wollmeise sock yarn goes well with these. I usually knit my gloves from sock yarn so that they last longer.

Florabell

Florabell, available at Etsy

It was so much fun to make this bag. I used to make these regularly but had to take a break once I moved to a new house. The inspiration of making these stopped then but when I found a bottom part from my stack of unfinished projects, it all came back! I also have another one on needles.

Doodling on Fabric

Crazy doodler, eh? I made a new folk bag and added doodling on it, even on the back side of the fabric.

See more pictures at my Etsy store, it's called Aurora Borealis.

From Three Bags To Three Idols

Here are my newest folk bags, all custom orders. The fabrics I have used in these bags are my own designs and create an illusion of continuous knitted fabric. I think of my bags as collage, combining different elements in uniform way.

I would love to add more artistic elements to my bags, like wild paintings. I often think my work is too controlled, too designed. I admire the look of relaxed illustrations, especially lively drawings. It is like I have walked a long way to be able to create something detailed and then, I just wish I could go back to the child's world where anything is possible and everything is relaxed and playful.

That's why I admire Miina Äkkijyrkkä so much. She is not only brilliant sculptor, but also outstanding illustrator who has designed fabrics for Marimekko. She, Anni Rapinoja and Sirkka Könönen are my three idols!

Why I Would Like To Be Purple

Here's a very special folk bag that I have made by custom order. It is meant for a spindle, that's why its longer than my regular bags.

I got the fabric with the order and I just fell in love with it. It was pure joy to make the matching crochet and knits. I love blue purples! They are very spiritual colors and there's nothing mundane in them. I wish I could be purple - well over everyday worries and petty thoughts!

Making this bag was color therapy for me. It makes me think how important it is to work with the colors that have some kind of personal meaning. What colours touch your soul?

Summer Nights

I love Finnish summer with lots of daylight. These newest bags are about Finnish summer nights, the one in the front is called Night Garden and the one in the back is Summer Sunset. I really enjoyed working with these deep, rich colors.

Summer Sunset is partly felted, I took a risk by trying felting. I was pleasantly surprised. As the knitted part was very thin, it did not transform too chunky. Summer Sunset is for sale in Kukkilintu store.

Swedish Wedding and Finnish Summer

Here in Scandinavia the biggest news in July has been Swedish Princess Viktoria's wedding. I watched them on television as most of the women in Finland certainly did. So romantic! I could not help making a few folk bags inspired by the celebration.

Here are Silvia (the queen mother), Viktoria (the bride) and Madeleine (the sister of the bride)!

After all the silk and chiffon I went back to Finnish culture and visited Visavuori, a finnish sculptor's Emil Wikström's summer cottage and studio. Very Arts and Crafts, my favorite style!

I have a summer holiday and a lot of going on with my craft projects. It is so tempting to be awake late when Finnish summer is so unique and wonderful. The sun hardly goes down, it's so much light and the weather has been warm, almost hot. I hope all those who have planned to visit Finland are here right now as it's now as good as it can get!

Cards Are Here and About Sirkka Bag

I have my first set of cards printed out. The next ones are already being designed. These all are made to go with my folk bags and the colorful world I love and adore. I was a bit puzzled of how to sell the cards. I made mixed sets for Kukkilintu store but if you miss a certain combination, leave me a convo and I will list it for you.

I also made some Moo cards. I will include a Moo card for the next orders at Kukkilintu. Aren't they just so wonderfully rich and colorful!

In my last post I promised to write more about a very special bag I made during the spring. It was a custom order folk bag whose owner just loves Sirkka Könönen, a Finnish textile designer. Well, I am Sirkka's fans too so the project was not only challenging but very interesting! I started with the collage of Sirkka's work, then picked the colors and designed the motif. I started thinking about cranberries and cloudberries. My father used to pick these berries. One morning he left early to pick some cranberries and came back before dinner. My mother made a desert from the berries and said to me that “this desert could be served in the finest restaurants”. She appreciated the cranberries so much.

When constructing the bag I thought how memories and stories are so important in everything I make. My concept of living is a "Knit your story" thing. My inner critic has a strong, powerful voice, but it is silenced by the stories. There cannot be anything wrong in storytelling. It is so hard work to try to be a better designer and I am afraid I never will be good enough. But whatever happens, the power of stories always surprises me and makes me forget all the possibilities I might never get. Everything is possible in my imaginary world! I wish I can give a glimpse of it for you via this blog!

More photos of Sirkka at my Flickr site.

Welcome Summer, Welcome New Products and Gardening!

First, I want to thank you all for so many wonderful messages I have received in May. It means a lot to me that there are people in the world who share the colorful world of Kukkilintu. In the picture you can see few of my latest folk bags and also a couple of my mixed media art work. I will have few greeting cards printed from these in the summer and they will be available for purchase at Kukkilintu store.

I had some stomach aches in May and was examined carefully. Luckily they were just untypical symptoms of appendicitis and I was operated. Before I knew the relieving results (yes, going to a surgery can be relieving!), I only had one regret in life: not putting enough effort on gardening. So I had to make this cabbage themed folk bag for all the gardeners!

I also have finished the folk bag I told you in my last post. It was the one inspired by the finnish textile artist Sirkka Könönen. That was a very special project for me and I will tell more about it in my next blog post in the coming weeks.

Feelings About Fabric

Sometimes I think that the life is about fabric. It is like a the mother of all materials. Those who sew collect fabric. Those who prefer knitting to sewing make their own fabric. And you can even make fabric from fabric, by quilting that is.

The fat quarters of the fabric I have designed from my hand knits were sold out for a short while, but now I have added them again to my Etsy shop. I could not resist taking a photo of them, they looked so bright and so Scandinavian.

Some may remember the hedgehog bag I made quite a long time ago. I got a request of the hedgedog bag and had just enough fabric to replicate it. I do not buy huge quantities of fabric in time, so it is often difficult to fulfill requests where an old bag should be replicated.

My next project is to design a bag inspired by Sirkka Könönen, a Finnish textile artist. If you do not know her, I can tell you that she is a real artist in stranded knitting and colorwork. I would call her Finnish Kaffe Fasset! Have a look at one of her cardigans. It is going to be so much fun to get inspiration of her work!

Speaking of fabric, check out the recent post in my papercrafting blog Peony and Parakeet where I have used pen as a needle and paper as fabric. Happy sewing, everyone!

Back to Traditions

Here's my latest custom order, a cardigan for an american girl doll. I have been thinking of knitting in a new level lately, thinking about what kind of fascinating objects can be manufactured by knitting. And at the same time, I am feeling tired of always trying to find new perspectives and new solutions. This must have something to do with my day job where I design services and develop concepts behind them - full time problem solving that is.

Sometimes it is good to take a step back. In this cardigan my goal was to develop something very traditional and Scandinavian in a new way. It is called winter storm and I tried to create a scenery of a little village surrounded by a snow storm.

Talking about problem solving, this cardigan really required constant calculation of stitches and patterns. I am pleased with the result, but now I really need to start one project that is totally mindless. It is like taking 20 steps back to have that relaxed feeling about knitting again!

The Process of Making Folk Bags

I want to share with you how I make folk bags!

I start my bags usually by sketching the idea of form, patterning and structure. If I make the regular folk bag, I usually skip this phase and start by choosing a color to my liking and crocheting the bottom. This gives me time to think about the theme of the bag.

After I have finished the bottom part I usually have the idea of what the story behind the bag is. I use the story to guide the creative process. If I need some more inspiration at this point, I go to my huge stash of fabric. Sometimes I choose the fabric before starting the knitted part, sometimes I choose the fabric after I have finished knitting. Either way, it is very important that the proportions and colors of the patterns in fabric are in harmony with the knitted part.

I never draw charts for the stranded knitting. I only browse few chart books and then combine and form the motifs in my head. I never plan in which order I use the colors. When I start knitting it is like painting: you have the colors and the tools and the process guides you. I often find myself in a flow state when knitting, I think it's the best and the most creative part when making these bags. I absolutely love knitting little motifs and changing colors even more often than necessary. I mostly use Estonian wool as it has many shades in the same yarn. This way I can have very subtle changes in color and make the bag look lively.

I try to watch the proportions of each part of the bag. I often add decoration to the bottom by crocheting when the bag is almost finished. Sometimes I add a decorative ribbon or embroidery. I try to keep everything balanced but maintain necessary contrasts to appeal to the eye.

Here's my newest folk bag that has a very romantic name: Flower Fairy's Treasure. These colors remind me of fairy tales and everything whimsical!

Winter Days

We have had incredibly snowy and cold winter in southern Finland this year. So I have had my fair share of knitting in the living room while it's been snowing outside. The newest bag is called Spring as we are really quite desperate for spring in Finland!

My husband has spend a lot of time trying clear the routes from the snow. This photo shows how our little garden is filled with the snow. We even had to take some snow from the roof so that it does not get too heavy. Our youngest dog Cosmo enjoys watching him working!

Impressionists on My Mind

I had a custom order for a doll sweater. There was no special wishes for theme or colors. I quickly got the idea of impressionist painters and sunflowers after I finding some lovely handdyed yarns from my stash.

Yesterday I attended a meeting arranged by Etsy.com in Helsinki. There was about 40 Etsy sellers from Finland and Matt and Benedikta from Etsy's new Europe's office. We had show and tell and there were pretty amazing stuff that people had made for their little shops. In the world of super markets I sometimes wonder if making by hand will be totally forgotten. But yesterday I felt that there are so many of us who still appreciate handmade stuff.