Easy Easter

My favorite holiday (apart the C-thing which we shall not mention here quite yet) is almost around the corner; there's only about five weeks until Easter! That's wonderful as that holiday really opens the spring in my books, and it's also easy yet just perfect laid back family holiday, four days of togetherness, chocolate, and sunny hours with nothing too major to prepare beforehand.

That said there's always room for little Easter decorations, though. I found those cuter than cute reused fabrics above in a thriftshop some weeks ago and I just saw them as the little...

...coaster backs! Last year it was all about cute bunnies, and this year I went for little tweets and some flowers...

...and birdies AND some Easter eggs...

These are not only for Easter but they're perfect for spring also! There are more tweets (and tweeds) on my desk already, and the nest is here.

Happy Tuesday!

Yours,
Mia

P.S. Giveaway here! Welcome!

Giveaway Sunday

I have received a lot lately. Some beautiful flowers, cards, parcels, greetings, congratulations, best wishes. I also had many visits from the Mr. Postman last week, and I'm not exaggerating if I say I'm been sent wonderful things all over the world, thank you so so so much, dear ladies! I feel so blessed in many ways, and add sunshine from early morning until quite later afternoon - I couldn't be happier. And I firmly believe in when you have - share, and that goes with happiness and...

...and other pretty things too. So it's time to have a little giveaway, and the "rules" couldn't be simpler. There are three little HandmadebyMia-pouches to choose from, and all you need to do, is just leave a message on this post stating which is your favorite, or even making them 1-3. This just when the winners will be picked, the most loved pouch could perhaps be sent to each of them. It may not go just like that, but I wish every each pouch will find a happy home and bring some smiles with it. The comments will be open for one week, and I'll announce the randomly picked winners on Monday, March 12, 2012, and then ship the pouches where ever you are! Please make sure, that there's a name or link or email or any little detail in your comment to make sure it was YOU leaving it just in case you'll be the winner!

And what there is to be won:

Three little pouches, starting with:

1. Green pouch

Green wools, hand knitted, machine felted, and little yellow birdie admiring the sun&clouds was needle felted. Lining is reused yellow-white striped cotton and there's a little pocket inside too. The green pouch closes with an old and pretty pearly button.

2. Brown pouch

This one is made of different browns, hand knitted, machine felted, and little brown birdie eyeing the white (hah!) apple was needle felted. There's some more white apples inside too, it's reused brown-white cotton, and there's a little pocket too. This brown pouch closes with a simple white plastic button.

3. Blue pouch

The blue pouch has many different blues, all 100% wool, hand knitted and machine felted. There's also a little needle felted red birdie holding a heart-y balloon (an old heart-shaped button). Inside there are some more blue (and creamy) stripes, the lining is from an old Marimekko-shirt, and the pocket is the original pocket too! The blue pouch closes with a pretty red plastic button.

Here they were, and I wish you like them and will find a favorite! Happy choosing, and all the best for the random winner picking! I'm now off to have some more cake and admire my more pink than possible tulips!

Wonderful Sunday to all of you!

Yours,
Mia

P.S. I will not be answering the comments on this post, so it will not mess up the names&numbers on this giveaway thing. All your comments are always read with love, though.

March I love you

Oh man, what a title yet it just nails it. I love March. In my books (weathermen be aware) winter is ohi-over-terminado-förbi-finito (feel free to add any other language you may know). That's it. We've had it.

And March also has some other great things attached like birthdays. I am a big fan of those and if they happen to be mine, even better. Years that come with those celebrations I'm not that keen, really, but at the end of the day I'm still 30-something crafter as I state in my profile.

I am planning to make this March extra special. Sunshine I cannot guarantee (except with that blue birdie-pouch) and I am not promising to post every day, but more often than in February definitely. And there will also be a thing or two to make you smile too. The pouch-giveaway still needs some grooming, but it's definitely a March thing too. Before it I open this happy month with a sale in my shop, everything is -20% (excluding shipping costs) 1.3.2012 - 31.3.2012! All you need to do is type coupon code MARCH2012 when checking out after shopping, and the discount will be automatically calculated. Spring-sale here we go!



I hereby announce marvellous-March officially opened!

Yours,
Mia

Strongly striped

I am spending my weekend with some stripes and pouches (within many other wonderful things). Oh yes, they're those soon-to-be giveaway-ones, I wish they'll appear here next week. And before I got started I just wanted to check what sort of stripes I have created previously... And just a quick browse confirmed what I already assumed: Stripes really are my thing.

I wish you a wonderful weekend with lot's of sunshine!

Yours,
Mia

Neither fast nor furious

It's almost end of the February, and it just keeps snowing. Day after day more and more. It's not as cold as it was a few weeks ago but this snow just makes me grind my teeth every time I take a glimpse outside. Currently we have 46cm/18" snow (that's the official reading, I am sure in our yard it's two times that), and this week we should have more coming each day. Excellent.

I have been doing little sorting. It's not a proper spring clean yet, but I just had it with those yarn ends, messy ribbon jars and fabric shelves. And as usual, I ended up more things to my to-do list. I mean who could throw out those perfectly cute yet too short for almost anything wools? No me, for sure.

So I have been knitting little pouches from those tiny little yarn-end-balls. Some colors I have more, some less, but striping is fun when not taken too seriously, right? I have quite a few these little pouches ready, and as soon as I find time to decorate and line them (not to mention search the perfect button each), I think I'll have a little giveaway also...I'll let you know soon.

It's been somewhat hard a few weeks around here, as all of us have been ill, and some of us a few times already. Work-wise it's been slower than usual too, and most of the days have been spent inside. But yesterday we managed to get out of the house, took a sled and did some sliding. We've all still recovering, so it wasn't too fast or furious but fun it was for sure, and we got to spend some time together outside, enjoyed the sunshine and auntie (read: me) loved sliding with that little guy. Climbing back up was harder but when you have a happy three-year-old around, you just can't pause too long.

Happy new week!

Yours,
Mia

Tweet tweet

Happy little tweets on pretty tweed I found on our trip to Helsinki last year. I know, I know, I marinade my fabrics quite a while before using them. But then again, don't they say that good things come to those who wait? I couldn't agree more.

Happy Thursday!

Yours,
Mia

Versatile Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

As said earlier, we're not celebrating it here that much, we just gather together with friends and family, have a cup of coffee and a good bun, some bake cakes and others buy chocolates. In my family some cards were sent and received, yes, and for the smallest of the family there will be a little surprise. So nothing major, really.



Instead of love-filled theme (which I actually got into a few weeks early here), I wanted to thank Zoe for awarding me the versatile blogger award! I received it some time ago already, but somehow missed to talk about it here.

I must confess I am pretty much hopeless participating these, yet it always makes me happy to receive one. This one had quite simple rules so here we go:

1. Tell 7 facts about you that you haven't told earlier
2. Give the award to 15 other blogs

I will bend the rule 2. here immediately as I think quite many of my favorite blogs have received the award already, but if not, please take it from here and start sharing! You all deserve it so. And then the 7 facts:

1. I love flowers. But I also kill them just like that. Give me any pretty flora (even cacti) and before no time it's just a distant memory. It's a shame but I blame the missing green gene
2. I watch same movies and TV-series many (many) times. I have to have them on DVD so I can see them when I want. And that's often, and even longer TV-series (welcome seasons 1-7) get more than one round
   
3. Book-wise A.Christie, J.Collins and some Finnish authors may easily get more than five reads. And those English ones I tend to read in both languages, English and Finnish (and some I have in my bookshelf in both languages so I can choose)
   
4. I hate winter. It's not that I haven't moaned about it earlier, but I hereby officially announce that I hate it. As a Finn it's a little problematic, but I just can't help it. My dislike has grown over the years and is now on state of "hate". If it get's any worst, I'll move to Spain. The language gets better each week btw
   
5. I really would love to bake these (for my birthday), but given the instructions and some blog-posts about them, it seems like a rocket-science. Anyone tried making macarons? Any useful tips for someone who lacks the flour-gene also?
   
6. My worst "vice" is to keep hoping it was an another time already, mostly summer. I refer to fact 4, but it actually makes everyday life harder when I keep moaning "if only it was summer" with not that many reasons except my hate for winter. And the worst part is that when summer actually arrives, I keep worrying it'll been over too soon (if not already)
   
7. My latest addiction is pinterest. Anyone else hooked already?
   

Happy Valentine's Tuesday!

Yours,
Mia

Trial and error

It's been a strange start for this February. Business has been slower than this time last year yet I have been very, very busy with a new project I finally got finished and sent off this Friday.

It all started with some ideas, colors, materials and some hasty sketches. Knowing me these are more like ideas put on paper than accurate plans, but it's a start after all. Then it was time to search for the right materials, match the fabric to the wools and vice versa.

And then, after my usual knitting and felting and needle felting some more color matching followed. Most of the combinations just come easy, while the others need more time and playing around on table, floor, inside and out. In different lights, sun and shade.

Then the hard part. How to put together these very different materials in a beautiful and durable way yet so, that it's not going to take forever to make? What about threads, interfacing, lining? More sketching, planning, designing, trial and error.

Sewing, ripping, ironing, cutting, lining, more sewing, some picture taking, more ripping, extra interfacing... Freezing, snowing, dark, gloomy outside. Running out of fabrics, threads, patience, time. Oh my, it was hard at times.

But then, I managed to get the first bag finished. But it just wasn't ready. Oh my. Back to the designing board (on a sofa next to fireplace, the days were -30C, it was freezing and almost impossible to take the pictures outside) to design something pretty for the bag still. A flower? A bird? Could I crochet (of course not), how about something like a fabric flower? Fabric bird?

Oh but both.

A bag with pretty bird with a matching crocheted (oh but I did it freehand, from here to there, some still here and back to there -kind of way, no pattern used, and they're all so unique you couldn't possible imagine) flower and birdie bag charm was born. Huh. But did I mention it wasn't just this one?

Three...



...four...

...and finally five. Phew. It's been a hard day's night but now, a few days after finishing it all it starts to feel like a real victory. Not all projects are this difficult (and that's good), and the stress levels are not this high very often but I did it. And I am pretty darn proud of myself.

Happy Sunday!

Yours,
Mia