Cherry-berries

After surfing around on different handicraft-blogs, I got inspired and made a new pair of earrings. They're very simple and not at all like the fabulous creations on the blogs, but I like time anyway. They suit me. And I call then Cherry-berry earrings :)

I also started making a necklace, but that one isn't finished yet. I guess my inspiration just flew away...

Then I also got a (in my own opinion) splendid idea! I want to start a hobby-club! When I was out for a walk with a friend this afternoon, I told her about my idea, and now I already have one member! Yay! The idea for the concept is simply to have an excuse to meet friends more often. Everyone could bring some of their hobbies with them and then we could gather somewhere, maybe eat some good food and just spend time together. And as I'd like the club to be very liberal, a hobby wouldn't even be compulsory. Or you could bring a movie, or a book, or whatever! The most important thing would be to bring yourself. Tell me, isn't this a good idea? :)

Now, what could be a good name for the club...? Hmm...

(Almost) 100% homemade!

Inspired by a friend at work, I made som homemade muesli and I have to say it turned out delicious!

It contains four-grain flakes, cornflakes, hazelnuts, pinenuts, raisins, dried cranberries, dried bananas and some brown sugar. I roasted the nuts and flakes along with the sugar in the owen and then just mixed them up with all the other ingredients. Especially the cranberries where actually quite expensive, but I decided I could afford a more luxuary muesli-version this time. Maybe I'll make a cheaper version of it next time :)

Then I also made homemade hamburgers a while ago:

I even baked the bread myself. Homemade hamburgers are just so much better than what you get in e.g. McDonald's. There's no extra fat (or other suspicious stuff) and you can choose exactly what you want to have in it and how much of everything. Then I also made some spicy potato wedges as a side-dish to the burgers. Yummy. Cooking at home is just so great. ...As long as everything goes according to plan...

Summer!

Now, here comes the pictures I promised already a few days ago

I had planned to do all of this quite evenly while I was at my parents' place. But in stead of doing the most important thing, i.e. study the old letters for my master's thesis, I ended up knitting for most of the time. I think mt newest knit will be ready in just a few more days, yay! I'm so excited about it. I think it's going to be my favourite so far!

Then I also made a summer drink. It's a Pirkka-recipe (Hunajainen mansikkabooli) and was really easy to make. Just 1 l of apple juice, 1/2 dl of honey, 1 lemon and 1 l of strawberries cut in half. Then I put the whole thing in the fridge for a couple of hours and then added 1/2 l of sparkling water with the taste of forest fruits and some ice right before "serving" it. The next time I think I'll add a bit more lemon, because it was maybe too sweet like this, but nevertheless refreshing.

As the sun was shining on Sunday, I went out to take some pictures in the garden.

 

This is a some kind of a self portrait in the garden :D

But now I think I'll just let the garden speak for itself. First up something I think is like a small zen-garden, then just a lot of flowers :)

   

 

 

 

Summer means knitting for me...

...or at least kind of. During the summer I usually have more time to knit than during the winter when I have all my studies, so no wonder I finish more projects now. Here's the latest finished knitting project; a black shrug. I'm a bit unsure about the sleeves, I might redo them later and make them long after all.

It was a quick and easy pattern, really easy to follow and the size fits perfectly.

Then to some other news. As I told you earlier I applied for the class teaching program here at the University of Helsinki. The results came yesterday and unfortunately I wasn't accepted. I was 7 points away from the minimum 203 points needed. Of course I'm dissapointed but I guess I just have to try harder next year. At least now I'm prepared for the tricky interview. It's just that there's so much to read for the written exam, that I don't know how I'll make enough time for it next year. This spring I only had a few lessons and even so I felt I didn't have enough time to prepare. But next year it's full-time studying again so it'll be even harder. But there's no point in being miserable. The weather has been so wonderful in Finland this summer so I refuse to let it pass me by. I know some people already complain about the heat, but I think it's great. I'm glad it'll continue like this at least for a few weeks more. The only bad thing about it is that it's so hot inside too. Last night I woke up several times because of the heat and was sweaty all over. Yuck. Air conditioning would really be a great thing...

Well, better get back to work again :)

Champagne taste

Phew, it's been hot today. But it's nice too. I have this week off from work (except for tuesday and saturday) so I'm trying to get some work done on my master's thesis. It's just not that inspireing to sit inside by the computer when the sun is shining outside and it for once is warm even in Helsinki. I was outside for and hour and a half, but then I had to come inside again to prevent buring my skin. I'm still too white for this kind of weather since I've been working most of the sunny days so far.

I've had time to finish another handicraft too:

I'm not sure if I like this white purse or not. It's sweet but the shape is a bit... I don't know... Not like I pictured it anyway! But maybe I get used to it eventually.

You can also get a glimps of an impulse buy I made a couple of weeks ago, but here's a better picture:

It's a painting I saw in the shopwindow of a tiny, little shop a couple of blocks away from where I live. I love champage! :) Just haven't figured out where to put it yet, though. Maybe the kitchen? Or the bedroom since it's yellow? Hmm...

Baptism

I was to the baptism today. I think the hero of the day behaved real nicely even though he was a bit cranky in the beginning of the ceremony. But no wonder! I would be angry too if someone woke me up during my nap and then poured some water on my head :) Here's the little cutie when he was still asleep:


And here's our godparents' certificates. I actually never thought I'd get the chance to be a godmother since I don't have any siblings. But luckily I now have someone to spoil after all.


And now I think I also can reveal what I made for the little boy:


Of course he also got a silver spoon, these small bootees were only like a small bonus. I found them on Ravelry and couldn't resist them. I thouht they were so cute. I just hope they're not too small. The boy grows really fast, so there's a good chance he'll never have time to wear them... But well, no can do. I had fun knitting them anyway! :D

New old dress

I'm going to a baptism on saturday, more precisely my godson's baptism. However, I was a bit stressed since I didn't have anything suitable to wear for the occasion, but then last weekend I remembered I had this old dress, I haven't used for ages. Mostly because it's a full-length dress, and there's hardly ever any occasion for that kind of a dress. Then it has also been way too big for me.

It really looked horrible on me when I tried it on. So I had to make some modifications, and this is the result:

I have to say I'm pretty pleased by the result. The biggest modification is the length, I now made it knee-length. And then I also had to make it a lot smaller around the waist. Last but not least, I also put on a white silky sash to accentuate my waist. But that part is removable, so I can wear the dress without it too, if I want.

Then I also made a pair of earrings that suits the dress:

With them I think I'll have the necklace I got for my own baptism: a silver locket.

White and red

More snow! Yay! :D



It's getting pretty deep! The rescue people in Helsinki has actually ask everyone to help clear the roads etc to make their work easier. I think that's a bit strange, since they should be used to this kind of winter. We live, after all, in Finland, not in Spain. And even though we haven't had this much snow in many many year, you would think they'd manage to organise the plowing anyway. But perhaps everyone has forgotten what a real winter should be like. Hopefully this winter will wake them up again.

I also finished another scarf, this one is for myself and is knitted from pure wool. And it's almost the same colour as my naalbindning mittens and my elephant beret, so now I have a matching set to wear :) "Never forget to be elegant in every possible situation"

Winter wonderland

I think the pictures below speak for themselves. This winter has just been so lovely. I can't remember the last time we had such a winter wonderland, at least not in Helsinki. Helsinki is located by the sea, so usually we don't have that much snow over here. But this year it's different. I know that some people are already getting tired of the cold weather and wishes the winter to be over soon, but I just can't help wishing that it'll last for a bit longer. It's just so beautiful. November and December are usually so dark that it feels hard to be happy, but in january and february everything changes, the sun is shining a lot more. The other day, when it was almost -20° in the morning, I didn't mind the cold at all. In stead I was very pleased with the sun shining from a clear blue sky and I could feel it warming my dark blue jeans while I was waiting for the bus. And that's what I love the most about this season: the contrast between the blistering cold and the gentle, warming sun.

The following pictures are an attempt to catch on camera at least a small fracture of the winter wonderland in Finland this year. The first one is from Turku and the other ones from Virkkala where my parents live.

Lovely winter!

Warning, there's a lot of pictures again! :D

Today the weather was so nice that I couldn't recist going out for a walk. The sun was shining from an almost clear sky and it wasn't even that cold, only -4°. And the landscape was so incredibly beautiful with all the snow. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera with me outside, but tadaa! Thanks to my new phone, I still had a camera with me! Yay! :D I have to say, I'm very pleased with the quality of the pictures taken with the camera on the phone. Not bad at all.

Well, here's what I saw:

It seems like this car hasn't been anywhere in a while...

I walked through the Central Park in Helsinki since it's close to where I live. I love it when the trees are covered in snow! It gives it a sort of a mystical look.

And since I was so close, I had to go and say hello to the horses too. Hope they had a nice Christmas and weren't too scared by the fireworks at New Years.

Here's a close up of one of them. They always seem to be hungry since they follow you around while you walk, hoping to get a treat :)

A sculpture in the forest.

I felt like going ice skating too when I saw these people. Maybe tomorrow?

Oh no, a road block! :D Which actually was much bigger than it seems here in the picture...

I really love the winter this year. It's for once a real winter! And now the best of it even lie ahead: january and especially february then the sun is shining more and more but there's still (usually) a lot of snow. I hope there'll be more beautiful days like today. I don't even mind the cold weather. Of course it felt cold when it was -20°, but in the same time it felt so amazingly refreshing! It was as if it purified my whole body, including my head. I felt like a new person. Nothing felt impossible!

But I'm sure I'll appreciate the summer too... :)