Linnea 'Ea' quilts...

Craft Friday is a 2012 recurring blog post  where I present either a hobby jewelry technique  or project I'm currently working on. After I had had the courage last autumn to take an arts and craft course at Turun Työväenopisto , I got emboldened to enroll in a second one this spring. The first course was about "sculpting different types of jewelry from assorted clays and doughs", and I originally enrolled because I wanted to try out working with polymer clay and see if it would have been as awful as I thought it to be. Like I wrote about it back then: "Because I wrote on my "Non-faves of 2011"-list that cernit-clay sculpting is a non-fave of mine. This way, I get to try out different types of clay/polymer modelling, and get to use more borrowed tools while I do it. Plus, I don't have to grime up my desk. Always a plus.If it's one thing I don't like. It's. Getting. Grime. And. Needles. Under. My. Nails." I still sooooo...

Craft Friday is a 2012 recurring blog post  where I present either a hobby jewelry technique or  project  I'm currently working on. One of the oldest forms of making necklaces is to just string beads on a cord. I think the oldest necklace I've seen a picture of was from a book I borrowed from the Turku City Library, and that one was a simple leather cord with some hollow sandstone beads and a few seashells. It was Stone Age old, from Europe, so it was about 5 000 years old. And the same principles are still being used today by modern jewelry makers. So, to make a "traditional necklace" all you'll need is just "cord" and "beads". I'm writing "traditional" here, because some think the most archetypal necklace is still the pearls-on-a-string. In many way it is, because that's what pops up in many people's heads when you say "necklace", but there are as many variations to be found on necklaces that t...

I started making hobby jewelry back in the winter of 2008. *calculating in head* That'll be three years and some odd days ago. In three years, you learn a lot. About what works, and what doesn't. Where you can cut ends, and where you definitely can't. That'll definitely be tools... not using proper tools is the dumbest dumb thing you can possibly do. I originally took it up because it was one arts and crafts area I hadn't tried any technique in before, and since people have adorned themselves using everything from stones to plastic since the Stone Age... well, I just like using jewelry too. Then I got hooked on it, but I realized quite quickly that I just hadn't got the money/space/time to try out every little technique you can do within in. There's such a lot of craft literature that has become available during the last 10 years, which means that the companies that started out originally with just making tools and materials for the proper gold- an...

Too bad that I was in Italy the second-to-last day the course was held. Actually, I missed the last day too, but that was because I had the flu... but the teacher suddenly had to call in for some sick-leave, so everyone else missed it too. Which was so not what I wanted. I wanted to make more stuff, and see how the salt-dough pieces I had made turned out. Anyway, today and next Monday one of the other teachers were there to supervise, so I went and got my salt-dough stuff and dropped off all the jewelry that I wanted to show in the course's own arts & crafts exhibition. They're in the photo here under; some buttons (both in Millefiori-technique and in plain modeling clay), two necklaces (one without a lock because I've run out of nice ones...) and two pair of earrings. Not much, but the rest of my pieces were... not up to such a standard that I would like to show off with them. In short - they're ugly . It's my technical term for things-I-did-some...

While we were in the Vatican, we managed to walk pass and through every single souvenir shop/stop that they had along the designated route. How typically Finnish: go on the tour and buy the souvenirs afterwards, not during. *sigh* But, we were graciously allowed to walk back - thanks to a really nice security guard - so I got to buy two rosaries (one bracelet for 3 € and one necklace for 8 €) for 11 €. Well, I'm not intending to offend any catholic prayer rituals here, but I bought them so that I could make my own "Roman prayer bracelet" when I got home. I took apart both today made charms from all but 40 of the beads and the bigger cross, made a chain from 58 pre-cut jump rings and a toggle clasp, and made a bracelet. My own memories of Rome and the Vatican, on one bracelet. Made from scratch. The original design idea came I got from the book " Mastering the Art of Beading " by Genevieve A Sterbenz. A most terrific book I might add. The piece I got ...

So, only three "lessons" left in the course I'm taking. Weird to think it's soon going to be over. It feels like it just begun. Today, I got to varnish most of my 'beads', and some buttons I had made at home last week while I was ill. Trying to stay still enough - I was shivering like a crazy person! - while painting small details on a surface that drank it like *snap* Needless to say, you got some interesting "splashy" areas on some of the buttons... But, the artwork aside, I think it's been fun trying to design something usable with the clay. Even though I'm clearly not a "clay person". I can understand the fuss, because you get to see very clearly how good you actually are at designing something with your own hands, but I don't think it's for me. Painted, dry and ready to get varnished. If you look really closely at the photo, you'll notice that the teapot leans slightly to one side. The bottom isn't ...

 ...and it's called " Modelling Jewellery ". It's held by the Turku Työväenopisto, and is going to be held on every Monday until the 17th of October. In the course description, it says that it's about " The basics of three-dimensional plasticity, modelling unique ornaments and jewellery from different modelling clays and learning to combine multicolour clays. " This means I have 15 minutes to get by bike from this course to the one in Argentine Tango. Mondays are gonna be busy days for the following weeks. I noticed that it only takes me about 5 min (by bike) to get to tango practice from the house that this course is being held in, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it would have been. I mean, stressful. Why did I want to take this course? Because I wrote on my "Non-faves of 2011"-list  that cernit-clay sculpting is a non-fave of mine. This way, I get to try out different types of clay/polymer modelling, and get to use more borrowed to...

... the Independence day ball at December 6th, I've bought a pair of real dancing shoes. That is, shoes made for just dancing. They're supposed to support and not chafe your feet. But... they're practical, not decorative. What to do, what to do? Well, run in to Tiimari (Finnish arts & crafts store) and Blingi (local dress jewelry store here in Turku). For 5 euros, I got enough things to make the shoes a little bit prettier. Tiimari + Blingi + shoe box with booring shoes becomes... ... some slightly prettier shoes. Tadaa! While I was at Blingi - I had Mimi with me, because I badly needed her advice on buying the dancing shoes -  I found they had these cute decorative shapes cut from wood. I bought a pair of black "butterfly"-inspired ones, along with some ear-ring-pieces. They turned out quite alright :) I might actually go back and see if I can get some in violet as well, because they hardly weigh a thing and still look quite elegant. At least, I...

My dear friend Kaisa, together with her Jussi, threw a home-warming party last Saturday. This time, we actually had time to attend. It's annoying when you have friends you want to stay close to, but can't because of logistics. traveling by train is NOT cheap, no matter how ecological it's supposed to be. Anyway, for a house-warming present, we gave then the traditional bread & salt. This was accompanied by a small present for Kaisa (a shawl + matching brooch), and one for Jussi (8 wine glass tokens). The shawl, made from a real simple pattern (scroll down to the bottom!). This is the actual color of the yarn, I don't know why the next picture got so lilac. The trim, one I came up with myself (scroll down for the pattern). Jussi's wine glass tokens are on the right. The crocheted flower is the brooch. Like always when leaving for a trip in the last minute *cough* I had ample time to wrap the presents.... that is, I had to bring paper+tape+scissors+gift bo...