a house called nut

Thank you!

Warm thanks to you all for your congratulations and excellent suggestions! This baby has been a very long time in the making, and at first it was hard to believe that that little blue plus sign wasn't lying. But, like it or not, pregnancy is an incredibly visceral journey and it didn't take long for my body to let me know profound changes were underway. The latest development has been my favorite: since Sunday I've been wondering if a faint, popping sensation could be the little one knocking about. But last night's disco party left me in no doubt. It's terribly distracting and wonderfully delicious.

To answer your questions, the due date is 14 July and, yes, this will be our first. I very much agree that the time seems to be passing too quickly. I'd really looked forward to just the being pregnant part, and this has indeed been a remarkable time for me (and Janne!) even when it's not the most comfortable. Concetta and Dana both had wonderful suggestions for remembering this unique period, and I'm definitely going to follow through with the diary suggestion and hopefully some photography too.

I'm now working on a special baby design queue and will share projects and ideas with you as it develops. I'd like to use as many free, online tutorials as possible, so hopefully all this plotting and planning can also serve as frugal resource list for other expectant parents. As I rediscover my Ravelry addiction (Thanks, kettunainen, for the reminder!), I'm starting with Annie's baby blanket suggestion. I've been making little crochet circles with scrap yarn for months now with the intention of turning them into some kind of blanket, but haven't gotten past the stage of leaving colorful, woolly stacks around the house. Now the plan is to add some brighter colors to the mix for what will hopefully become the funkiest baby blanket on the block (ok, so I live on a block with a handful of retired people, but you get the drift).

Now I must tend to my furry baby, who had a brush with death yesterday when he raided my backpack and ingested xylitol gum. One emergency trip to the vet and an IV drip later, and he was safe but feeling very rough. Not that we'd leave gum out for the dog in any case, but we had no idea xylitol was lethal for dogs and will absolutely be more careful in the future. If this ever happens to your dog, it will cause swift, severe hypoglycemia, so feed the pooch some honey or sugar as first aid and rush to the nearest vet. 

Sun therapy, hedgehog bags, and long-lost friends

Just as I was poised to complain bitterly about the last several weeks of freezing rain and seemingly total darkness, the sun decided to make an appearance and suddenly there wasn't so much to moan about. I'm still learning the trick to coping with this time of year, but I think it has a lot to do with slowing down and savoring the indoors...and dashing for the front door whenever the sun gets over its shyness. I miss spending days outside without getting damp and cold, but then there's all that reading and making that would never have gotten done. Still, the brightness of snow will be a welcome respite. Snow, as the Finns say, beautifies.

As for the making that's occupied many indoor hours, here's a little something I stitched for my elder niece's birthday:

It's made of old jeans and an upcycled pillowcase that I scored at a thrift shop. Yes, those are hedgehogs!

I thought the bright pink lining and straps would add enough of an accent so that surface decoration wouldn't be necessary, but after I sewed the whole thing together, it looked a bit dull. That's when I got the clever idea of sewing on applique. Note to self: always add applique to small bags before assembly!

So the stitching is a bit wonky, but apparently this was forgiven. I think I have the hedgehogs to thank for that.

Speaking of thrifting, a couple weeks ago I was reunited with a long-lost, university friend. We'd lived only minutes from each other in Helsinki without ever crossing paths (and anyone who lives anywhere in this small country knows how unlikely that is!) and finally reconnected just as she's emigrating to a place not too far from my home in the US. So we were classmates in London, unknowing neighbors in Helsinki, and now we've more or less swapped countries. 

Which brings me back to thrifting. It turns out my friend has been busy blogging too. I'm slightly embarrassed to reveal that we've been frequenting the same vintage/thrift shops, but while she's emerged with enough content for years of blog posts, I've remained very much a plain Jane. If you enjoy original, offbeat, DIY fashion...and cats!...check out No Signposts in the Sea. I know I'll be reading.

Wristwarmers galore

I already declared my great and undying love for wristwarmers last spring (check out the bangle wristerwarmer tutorial if you share my passion!), and 'tis the season once again. Only this time, I have not one, not two, but three new, handmade pairs of my favorite woolly accessory.

The first two pairs came into this world when I foolishly decided to try a bit of fulling (that's felting pre-knit items) in the days when we were still living without running water. I haven't tried it since, but I'm pretty sure there's good reason for the standard washing machine method. After much hauling of lake water and ineffectual scrubbing, I finally broke out a spray bottle and hot iron and more or less transformed a moth-eaten, thrift shop find into usable felt. But leftover were cuff and and waist scraps, full of holes and not convincingly felted either. I fiddled with one around my wrist, and tada! a new wristwarmer was born.

It doesn't really look felted at all, does it? But somehow all that rinsing and scrubbing managed to secure the raw edges just enough. I cut the pieces down to size, stitched them up, and then needle felted over the holes. But there were still so many scraps, and I was so pleased with these that I decided to make a second, longer pair with the same color scheme.

The two sections are sewn together using Betz White's felted seam technique.

You got a glimpse of the beginnings of the third pair back in September, when my thoughtful sister sent me the Tonalita Wrist Cuff pattern and yarn as a gift. I believe the pattern is exclusive to the Acorn Street Shop in Seattle, but, happily, they do mail order. Behold the finished product:

It might be cold outside, but I think it's safe to say my wrists will be warm and cozy!

Sew Hip! feature

What a fabulous way to brighten a dreary, Monday morning: tucked between the bills, today's post contained a copy of British sewing magazine Sew Hip! with a feature on yours truly along with three other talented crafters and bloggers. Writer Christine Chitnis of Lavender and Limes contacted me some months ago for an interview, and I've been waiting excitedly for the magazine to appear ever since. The article, entitled Simple Living, Handmade Touches, details our creative, DIY journeys and meaningfulness we find in making things by hand.

I'm so honored to be featured with three exceptional women: Amanda of Soule Mama, Maya of maya*made, and Tif of Dottie Angel. Soule Mama is one of the very first blogs I ever read, and was a great inspiration for the creation of A House Called Nut. I've long admired Maya's beautiful, sustainable creations, and was very pleased to learn about Tif, her gorgeous blog, and handmade journey.

I understand Sew Hip! is available from sewing and craft stores across the UK and US, and you can also order copies online. Check it out!

Update: You can read the article online here.

Baby dress

I especially love making things for the tiny people in my life. Baby clothing is so much easier and faster to make than it is for adults, and there aren't the same worries about colors, styles, exact fits etc. And then there are the playthings, which are a delight to make, but I'm not sure I or my adult friends would find very entertaining.

I received the pattern for this dress as a gift from the talented Christine over at Origami Mommy. We caught the sewing bug around the same time and when I saw the lovely dress Christine had made for her daughter, I knew I wanted to make one for my baby niece as well. I actually made it back in August, but such is the patience required of bloggers who make gifts and write about them!

You can find details of the book by following the links above, along with craft tutorials, and many wonderful links to free online patterns for wee ones.

The fabric is the same one I used for the Spring Ruffle Top a few months back. There's still plenty left--should I start horrifying people with matching outfits? Naah.

Happy Halloween!

I loved Halloween as a child--who doesn't? Hay rides, bobbing for apples, dressing up, carving pumpkins, the satisfying thrill of being scared, and, of course, all that candy. We don't celebrate it in these parts, but I did have some little friends who were marking the occasion, so I needle felted these tiny pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns for them.

Happy Halloween weekend to you! I'm off to enjoy the sunshine. Oh, and I nearly forgot: Happy 9th birthday to Väinö the dog! It is perhaps time that we stop calling him "the puppy."

Knitting, my old friend

This weekend we celebrated my passage into the last year of my twenties. It seems there is no avoiding adulthood. Though so far I can't say I suffer from any of that famed birthday anxiety-why spoil it to mourn the inevitable? Around here birthdays are celebrations, they're a time to take stock, connect with loved ones, and, of course, they're a time for presents. And I love presents, both giving and receiving.

My sister Laura has always been a fabulous gift-giver. Year after year she manages to choose better gifts for me than the ones I might have chosen myself. This year's gift is extra special because it's made by both of us and my little niece too. 

Two knitting patterns and yarn to go with them, all from Seattle's excessively wonderful Acorn Street Shop (if you live in the area, you must stop by). It was Laura who taught me to knit in the first place and she's still the person I turn to for all my knitting trials. Whenever I visit her, we take a trip to the Acorn Street Shop and she helps me select yarns to match my patterns and ideas. It doesn't look as if I'll make it out west any time soon, and I'm so happy that the essence of our little fiber excursions could be packed in a box and mailed across a continent and an ocean.

The first pattern is for socks, which is a very good thing because I made promises about socks in my About page and so far haven't delivered. And the second is for my favorite accessory, wristwarmers. But wait, what's in that little box?

Well, naturally I needed some hand-beaded stitch markers to go with everything else, but I'm afraid I can only accept them if they come in adorable boxes made by my niece.

Jewelry for yarn.

It feels so good to be knitting again. It's a beloved hobby that I always seem to drop in the summer months, when it seems like centuries before we'll need woolly hats and sweaters again. I love that my hands know exactly what to do as soon as the cold weather returns. Thank you, Laura! I can't wait for the next time we visit the yarn store together.

A secret in the basement

There are so many crafty (and foody) bits and bobs I'd like to share with you right now, but most of them are gifts and therefore top secret. Here's a little glimpse at one of the thingamajigs I've been working on behind the scenes.

You can see I still haven't run out of old jeans or the motivation to refashion them. More on that to follow (hopefully) soon.

And how about this secret in the basement? Well, I'll just show you.

That's right. It's a loom! I had been planning to purchase a little rigid-heddle loom since learning to weave on one last year, when Janne's Savonian grandmother hauled this out of her attic. It was handcrafted by the man who sold it to her some fifty or so years ago and had been collecting dust for over a decade. I just love how it's a bit wonky and worn.

With the help of my father-in-law, who charitably transported it hundreds of miles south during his  summer holiday, we've managed to assemble the frame and all the biggest bits. Now we're furrowing our brows at labrynthine diagrams in library books, trying to make sense of all the small, mysterious doo-dahs that don't seem to fit anywhere or are simply missing. It's like some sort of twisted Ikea challenge. But, hey, I'm not complaining. I have a loom! And one day soon I might even get to weave.

Needle felting into paper

I decorated one card by stitching on felt flowers and then began to wonder if it would be possible to needle felt directly onto the paper. Would it work?

Why, yes. Just two considerations: use thick, card-quality paper that won’t collapse as you jab it with the needle, and aim for simple shapes in order to minimize the number of punctures necessary. Otherwise follow basic needle felting instructions, but with a layer of card between the foam/felting surface and the wool.

Once it was finished, I reinforced the paper by dabbing a small amount of craft glue on the back. This isn’t necessary, but since my card had an ocean and a continent to cross, I wanted it to be extra sturdy. Here’s what the back looks like:

For felt embellishments that require more shaping, it’s probably best to make them separately and then stitch them on by hand.

You could combine techniques by pre-felting some embellishments and felting others directly onto the paper, or make a mixed-media design with sketches, fabric, paints. Oh, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy! And leave a comment/link to your project if you try it out!

Refashioning old jeans

Here's what I did with my old jeans:

The top was made from the Spring Ruffle Top Tutorial, which I was inspired to make after seeing this gorgeous version on Curiositys. I picked up several yards of the fabric at the Marimekko shop in Hakaniemen Kauppahalli--it's the only place I've been able to find Marimekko clothing fabric and it has the added benefit of being a discount store in the prettiest location. 

Thanks so much to Made by Rae for taking the time to write the Spring Ruffle Top tutorial and sharing it for free!

The top only used up half of one leg of the jeans, and I decided to use the other half for the straps of this bag. I made up the pattern as I went along, allowing the length of the jeans to determine the size. There's no lining, so French seams keep it neat inside. The pretty fabric is actually an old duvet cover I found at a thrift shop.

So that's what became of one half of some ancient jeans. I wonder what I should do with the other half! Any ideas?