brassy tones of copper

Do you like brass and copper? I'm warming to their warm metallic colour and the nice patina they develop with age.

I don't have a lot of it in my home though, it's more silvery or painted white when it comes to metallic surfaces in here. But since having been looking at a lot of mid century modern stuff online, I guess I got into the look of brass and copper too.

I picked up this little set of copper hooks shaped like a teakettle for it's kitschy charm and thinking that I can hang my annoying but much used wires on it (the white iphone wires and earphones). I tried it, but the wires still looked messy, not achieving the tidy look I imagined so now I'm not sure what I'll use the hooks for after all.

The following two saucepans are of a much clearer function. 

In general we watch a lot of good cookery shows, where the chefs work with gorgeous kitchenware. Inspired by that we've been after an original french Tournus copper pot for ages.

Now it comes to us for an incredibly low price (two euros). To our astonishment it had dried flowers glued to its bottom and was being sold as kitchen decoration. I turned it around and around in disbelief, but it indeed was a genuine Tournus copper pan with impeccable tinned insides, and not a scratch on it. At home we removed the dried flowers and glue, and now it's happily re-established to its noble kitchen duties: preparing sauces!

The little norwegian saucepan is also in unused condition. It was made by a now defunct company called Polaris. It is super heavy and perfect for preparing small amounts of delicious jus (or gravy, that is, for you and me).

Lastly, a duo of candlesticks. They were almost left on the shelf by me, but they somehow charmed their way into my heart with their blue green waxy patina and their crafted-in-India look. 

quilt in progress #1

I hope every one of you had a great Easter break! It's been lovely and sunny here - a nice change from last year's snowed-in Easter weekend.

And now it's time for an update on the quilting project as it's progressing quicker than I thought!

You probably have guessed since I've told you my secret, that the quilt I'm making is going to be for the little one. I have been concentrating on finding nice vintage fabrics on my thrift rounds, so i could begin to assemble my quilt asap.

I  imagined the overall look of the quilt gender-neutral, and somewhere between pastel and bright, fun but not too busy, vintage infused but modern enough, childlike but not too kitschy, and so on. All in all, I'd like to end up with something that is going to be used, and all of us (child, boyfriend and me) can live with it.

The other weekend I made a more exact plan based on my initial sketch. I drew straight lines on a checkered sheet and calculated centimetres and swatch quantities. This part went easier than I thought, and it got done during a comfy Saturday morning, while eating grapes for brunch.

Once I decided I had enough fabric to start cutting, I got my scissors out and put them to work.

A little tip: do test old fabrics for strength by giving them a little pull and a tug. One of mine turned out to be too frail. I felt a bit disappointed about not being able to use it as it was a very nice pattern but I'm glad I tested it. It could have potentially ruined the whole quilt, by sooner or later tearing apart and getting irreparable holes.

Once the good fabric squares were cut, counted and put in piles, the figuring out the puzzle of the panels could begin in earnest. I was a bit uncertain about how I'm going to make the different patterns and colours work together, but once I started piecing on our big coffee table, the process became rather straightforward and satisfying. Having an initial idea on paper was a helpful guide to go by.

So this is what a panel looks like after the piecing. Next step: on with the sewing - I need four of these!

blue eggs for Easter

Last year, spurred by memories of how we used to paint eggs for Easter as kids, I dyed eggs with onion skins that gave a sort of auburn result.

Only after that I read about using red cabbage to get beautiful blue coloured shells. I told myself then, that that's what I'll try out this year.

Although I ended up with different quantities and a tie-dye look, originally I spied the instructions on how to make the dye here. It's an easy process and you only need a few ingredients, namely red cabbage, white vinegar and some eggs to dye.

I used a quarter of a red cabbage, a litre and half of water and one tablespoon of white vinegar. I boiled the mixture for about half an hour. I set it aside to cool a little, with the cabbage still inside so it had a chance to tint the water more. (By the way, the liquid smelt kind of sweet and not too cabbagey, though I guess that could depend on the cabbage itself and maybe on the vinegar too.)

In terms of preserving the eggs I decided to blow them out (the egg whites and yolks were used up later in our dinner). So I washed them well, and with a big strong sewing needle I drilled holes into both ends. I made the holes large enough so it was possible to blow the insides out without getting purple in the face. Make sure you handle and hold the eggs gently so they won't get crushed in the process.

There came a little challenge when I wanted to submerge my empty eggshells in the cabbage liquid - they'd just float on top... I tried to fill them with liquid so they'd sink but that wouldn't happen. It was getting late at night so I came up with a solution that seemed a bit haphazard but it worked.

I placed the eggs at the bottom of a tall jug, piled lots of the cooked cabbage on top for weight and for cushioning, poured in the liquid and set a coffee mug on top to hold the whole thing down. Next I informed my boyfriend not to get scared of the odd jug of purple contents steaming away on the kitchen table overnight. And with that I went to bed.

The eggs stood in the liquid until the afternoon the following day, so they managed to garner a really nice deep cyan blue colour. They also managed a tie-dye appearance, I guess because of the cabbage and/or air bubbles trapped among them. I like the effect to be honest!

I think they'd look very nice strung up and hung on a branch in a vase.

Next year, it might be the year of a beetroot or a turmeric experiment... We'll see!

a west german, a soviet & a couple of brushes

A quick peak in the new Red Cross store a street down from us turned into a lucky sweep.

I only went in to check if they had any new retro/vintage fabric for my quilt. This new store seems to have such a fast turnover of stuff, it doesn't seem unreasonable to go and check for things even every second day...plus the fabrics are sold by a small price per kilo.

Well instead of fabrics, I spent my three euro petty cash on some fat lava, something soviet and a couple of useful brushes.

I have to say I adore the tomato red of this fat lava vase and the fact that it's just joined my little collection. It's a little more robust than my other two finds from earlier, and it's also from a different pottery. It's made by Carstens Keramik. It looks solidly 1970s - isn't it just delicious? By the way, lots of info on West German ceramics and potteries (and a fat lava gazing gallery) can be found  here.

By now, you probably know about my fondness for nice vintage tins and for soviet stuff too.... This pretty tea caddy satisfies both fascinations. I'd seen this tin online (possibly on Etsy) before, and finally have come across it myself, and in such a sweet, clean condition. I've already filled it with some ginger infused green tea.

The vintage brushes are something that we've actually been needing for a while: a good shoe brush and one for coats. Now they come to us for literally pennies. The horseshoe shaped brush has been allocated for clothing, as it was in unused condition with no shoeblack on it. It is actually of a very nice quality, made of teak in England and it fits in the palm in a lovely way.

list of make & do

Back in January, I had a post lined up entitled "a wish list of things to make & do". It was an outline of my plans for the new year, in the spirit of resolutions but inspired by a friendlier looking approach.

Then in the first week of the new year I found out that I'm pregnant. Once I got my head around what that actually means, I realised that my Year of the Horse will look very different from what I had imagined. Suddenly a massive question mark appeared next to my enthusiastic list of things to make & do.

I spent my first trimester - apart from sleeping loads - pondering and investigating. I wanted to understand what a little baby really needs, what changes we really need to make in the home, what's the deal with cloth nappies, maternity wear, and the rest...

I also have been wondering about how Idle Needle, the blog will look and read like from now on.

I'm sure that the blog will follow my trajectory into mamahood and that there will be plenty of mention of the word baby from now on. But I can also tell you that I'm not into posting week-to-week belly shots or record the whole personal process in detail. Nothing wrong with people who do so - just saying that from me you are not likely to see too much of that.

What looks likely is this:

• Recipes - Healthy but delicious eating is more important for me than ever - I'm on a mission to collect and try out great recipes for all sort of nutritious delights that won't take half a day to make. Expect more cooking and baking therefore!
• Crafting & Vintage finds - A lot of items have been marked as 'make itself' or 'get second-hand' from the list of baby's needs which means I'll be sewing, crafting and going thrifting just like up til now. Plus I'm still interested in my usual tastes and obsessions, so not every flea find or project should be rattles and bibs :)
• Pictures - Spring and summer coincides with my being pregnant, which means potential nice posts about little trips in and out of town, forest walks, berry picking, picnic by the river...
• Gardening - Balcony gardening efforts will feature again too. Bring on the planting season!
• Swap/Giveaway - Our apartment needs some reorganising and streamlining, which will include a destash of crafty stuff and hoardings - I'm thinking a possible swap and/or giveaway!
• A healthy dose of journaling my way through life's mundane adventures, just like up til now.

So in essence Idle Needle is going to be just how it's been so far, hopefully even better, with all the baby-related topics added to the regular run-up. I wouldn't like to be head-in-the-clouds idealistic so I also forecast a blog break near, during and/or after the due-date.

I hope you guys are happy to follow along to see how this Idle Needle copes with her new chapter in life and what goodnesses will the nearby future bring in family life, in stitching projects, in thrifty finds and craftiness!

For the interested, see my detailed list of  'things to make & do'  in the top bar of the blog - the idea is that as I complete an entry I will make it into a link to the relevant post about that project. Hope this blog will see a lot of them ticked off!

slow spring (or the waking beauty of water and sun)

Being in nature always gets me a bit poetic. I love that effect, it makes me connect and feel the world I live in more deeply.

Spring seems slow here (compared with the rest of Europe) but I like noticing the slowly appearing colours, the different sparkle of cold but liquid-again water as opposed to the sparkle of snow or the frozen sheen of ice. I like spotting new life in its smallest forms too: the blooming algae underwater, the first almost-invisible blades of grass, the first wildflower, the non-floral bloom on the yet leafless tree.

And I like how people are when the sun is shining - full of good energy and friendly connection.

My language course that I started last year is almost over. The teacher took us to a lovely place again, just like at the beginning of the course. These photos and thoughts are from this latest course outing, a sunny spring day together by the calm of the bay, at the edge of a little forest - it was full of laughter, smiles, friends and lots of fluent Finnish conversation. I think I'm the kind who likes school much more as a grown-up.

sixteen + four

Do you want to know my secret?

We are going to have a baby! I did not think, when I pressed 'publish' on the first blogpost of the year back in January, that I would be writing these words down only a few months later...

It's very exciting and a little scary in the same time. It's been going quite smoothly so far, and hopefully it will carry on going smoothly all the way (touch wood and fingers crossed!) It still feels a little fantastical that the little black and white thing we saw on the ultrasound is really in there, and it will be out of there not so many months from now as a real little person. There is so much to get our heads around...  So now you know my secret :)

The vintage leather booties belong to the daddy-to-be, they were his first shoes.

april the first

I have to say it's been a surprisingly productive 'April Fools' day so far. No joking or pranks here - the only prank was maybe the light dusting of snow everywhere in the morning.

Then the frosty look of the day went away quickly and for the afternoon, springtime blue skies are teasing the birds and the budding tree branches again.

As for the productivity part, boyfriend made a super-active sourdough bread starter from scratch the other day and today he's baking the first ever home-made loaf of ours. The starter root, trying to climb out of its jar there, is promising a nice sourdough loaf of the fluffy kind!

And I finally cut my hair again. It's a pleasing result - even if I say so - the choppy long bob I've been thinking about to have.

I hope you are not disappointed that this is all true and there wasn't any funny stuff in this post... Did you have a nice first of the month?

an old friend (while the pickings are slim)

I have been distracted in the thrifts by trying to find fabrics for my quilting project, and not got much to show this week. However, I have an old friend from London, who was found in a charity shop a few years ago. I still have him and I have been wanting to show him here for a while.

He's got a little bit of a story. When I spotted him those years ago in London, I didn't recognize him at first, all naked and scruffy with a faint smear of lipstick stain on his mutt. He's Paddington, all the way from 1969 - his original Gabrielle Designs silk tag informs on his back.

Even though I didn't know what a famous bear I met, I was very taken by his unusual body shape, which is straw filled and made in mohair. I looked into his wonky old teddy eyes - it was love at first sight, so I bought him.

At home, after giving him a gentle sponge clean (which got most of that lipstick off), I researched the info on the silk tag and found out who he was. He was Paddington alright, and that's why he's got those super long arms and stubby standing-up legs, so he can wear his rain mac and his real childs' gumboots. See him dressed here.

Ever since I got him, I wondered about whether to get him clothed or not. I wouldn't like to be the crazy lady type who puts teddies in old baby clothing, and all I had for Paddington is a vintage baby sunsuit which he tried on once... I guess I prefer him without. There's something so quirky about how he's formed and I think I'm lucky that I got a bear this old in such a great, all the fur is there condition.

A little bit of trivia for the end:  did you know that this kind of Paddington plush was first ever owned by a child Jeremy Clarkson (the sarcy tall guy on the UK Top Gear show) - it was designed and made by his mum for him and his sister as a family present.

sunday textures

Its snowed all day on Thursday, but luckily it melted all on Friday. Saturday was sunny and springlike. I'm hoping for warm sunshine for today too. All is well in the world when the weather is kind. Happy Sunday everybody!

squares vs triangles

Sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate, I made a plan for the quilt I have been thinking about to make. It will be a first-timer's quilting project.

The idea I'm thinking of is to cheat a little and include a few bigger shapes and combine squares and triangles in the same quilt. For a little while I considered hexagons, but I reckon it'd be too ambitious.

This is a rough plan still, but hoping that it shapes up into a sewing pattern with clear instructions in my head soon so I can begin cutting up the fabric I have already (partly from thrifts, and partly from a generous giveaway).

I need to track down some more vintage textiles with the right colours, patterns, weight and softness as well as need to do the more technical bit and get out my ruler, draw straight lines and calculate numbers.

I hope I can see this blanket through from paper to completion, preferably this year.

If any of you guys out there have some quilting tips for the first-timer shoot away in comments, it will be greatly appreciated - otherwise wish me good luck and smooth stitching!

new finds of the favourite kind

Do you find that if you don't go to the thrifts for a while, and when you visit again you come across some really nice things? Or even favourite or coveted items? And sometimes even for so cheap that it's barely believable that they had not been picked up by someone else before you got there? 

Well, I hadn't been to the thrifts since Christmas really. Sometimes it's nice to allow for a break, so that's what's happened. When I visited the other day after all that long while, these were the items that I happened upon:

I love colourful vintage enamel mugs and bowls. This blue enamel fruit bowl grabbed me with its colour and unusual cutout detail. I have not seen this cutout kind of enamelware before. It's unmarked, so I really don't know much about it. My quick research turned up a similar one on Etsy that is marked Made in Bulgaria, 1970.

I have to say I like my vintage enamel a little chipped, for a little patina... if it's chipped in the right places, in the right way. I feel that this one is - what do you think? There's also some faint gilded detail still visible around the edge and running through the middle of the cutout design.

Another favourite find that I like to come across, if it's a nice example, is a vintage Soviet plate marked ZIK. Remember this soup/pasta bowl with the cute flower pattern? I found its friend - a flat dinner plate version - it cost five cents only. Happy!

From the pictures you might have guessed by now what the third find is ... It's also a much loved kind for both me and my boyfriend. I blogged about rya rugs and their vintage yarny cousins before (big rya rug here, fibre art here and chunky tapestry cushion here). 

It's very nice to come across an interesting one in good shape and admire its luxurious amount of real wool pile, the handywork and thought that has gone into making it; the abstract design and the nice retro colourways. It's even nicer if it's going for a great (small) price and I can take it to the till. I parted with three whole euros for this smallish rya rug. I think that's a sweet price for a favourite find.

hello, i'm back!

Did you miss me?

I've been quietly following you guys reading blogposts even though I have not been leaving many comments. I've had a nice break from blogging, thrifting, writing, pressures of all sorts and now refreshed, and with the lovely spring weather and beautiful daylight conditions I feel ready and inspired again.

Here's a little pictorial report on what's been happening here during the radio silence.

First, all the snow melted away, and I found myself being awake for many a stunning sunrise.

I gave up drinking coffee. Instead I've been enjoying the occasional cup of tea - black, with a touch of sugar.

I visited my family in Hungary. While being there, I spent some time travelling by train, which I had not been doing for years. 

I baked a yummy lemon drizzle cake for a birthday lady. It's one of my favourite cakes to eat and to bake too!

Finland too is being warmed by an early spring-like weather. It's still a bit cold but the sun is showing itself and the birds are singing. Last weekend we drove to the nearby sea front and stood on the rocks watching the waves crash and breathed some brisk sea air. 

And lastly, just the other day I went for a peep in a junk shop which was a first since the New Year rang in. So I have a few little things to show you this Friday - hope to see you then!