About trees and their ways

 The season is changing. I can feel the lovely autumn air coming closer. I want to embrace it and  celebrate this oncoming time of year. Yellow and golden leaves, welcome!!


- Anu

Something warm

Sweet Sunday to you my friend! I have spent my morning swimming in the glorious august sun, drinking elderberry, quince and honey flavored tea and planning something to knit. I am ever so grateful for dearest Anna who sent me this beautiful skein of alpaca yarn together with all kinds of other treats! Thank you - you are a sweet soul!!
The past week has been very exciting. My new job has officially begun. These first days have been quite busy - lots of passwords to remember, lots of new faces and some new tasks as well. Nevertheless it feels great! A great, great week.
I have also had an extremely lovely snail mail week. I received this parcel from Anna and and my new scarf from Gudrun Sjöden arrived. I thought it would look nice with the cotton knit (last post) and also with autumn cardigans - the ones I already have and the one I am about to knit. It is nice to have plans for the oncoming autumn season.



hugs!!

Anu


 ps. Maybe I will use the yarn that Anna sent to me to knit this hat
pps. I found a new (for me - it has been there for two years!!) yarn shop just a few kilometers away from our home. They had Debbie Bliss Winter Garden in gold/yellow. Apparently the yarn is no longer in the collection in the future so it was on sale. I bought some... LOVE the color.

My very Own Cotton Knit

Today I have been enjoying the day wearing my hand knitted summer tee I just finished knitting. In the beginning of this summer I saw this (click) and kind of fell in love with the curvy neckline. I wanted to knit a neckline like that but otherwise to have more of a work appropriate tee. Finally I ended up drawing my own pattern. After knitting the bust I changed to over sized needles to capture a more relaxed and breezy look. I am so happy with the result.
I learned that Lang Sol is a wonderful yarn to knit!! Because I am not that experienced a knitter I find these little findings very valuable. Some yarns just feel like "YES" and some not so much. This is a definite YES - yarn :)

Other reasons for happiness today:

• pairing my summer knit with an organic cotton skirt I sew in June  (you can see the fabric underneath the yarn ball) and my "friendship pearls". You see, we picked them out together :) One for me and one for her. That is a lovely memory.
• ordering new yarn for a cowl. I'll tell you more later. By the way, is it just me or do you knitters have this enthusiasm about new patterns and yarn when the fall is slowly coming closer?
• getting a full basket of sweet peaches and apples from the market
• and this huge news of mine; I have got a new job!!! I loved my old one in so many ways but  sometimes things one loves separately do not work together or are just too much when they are all together. That is what happened to me. My working days were way too long, my weekends and evenings were full of work (because of multiple roles and responsibilities at my work) and that just is not something at least I can live with year after year. My family is everything to me and I felt constant agony of being always at work and for that reason away from them. I was also exhausted and did not have much time for anything else either, like a social life or crafts I enjoy so much. I am going to miss my students and my closest colleagues sorely but I just needed to jump! For our family's sake and for mine too. What a blessing there was a soft descent -  I got a new job just some four kilometers from our home (compared to some 50 km I used to have). I have the same aged students, teaching, counseling and administrative work but only drastically less per week. Hurray!! So this new summer tee of mine is going to see some action in August :)

ps.

something to say about photographs 3, 7, 8:
 3. A meadow in Mossby Sweden - oh, how I love poppies!!
7. Wall in a church at Kalmar castle, Sweden

8. Pickles yarn store, Oslo, Norway


“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.”Nora Ephron


“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” Nelson Mandela

...And just wanted to say once more that sometimes you just have to jump!



 Anu

Gratitude Sunday: Both solitude and the best kind of company

I need both. Just like I need conversation and silence.

Today I am very grateful for:

• the rain! It has been so hot that I needed some cooling off. Actually now we have a little thunderstorm going on 
• friendship and true and special friends
•  the BEAUTIFUL moment I had with a special friend in her country, Norway
• and all of the presents I got from her: her time, conversation, sharing, caring and things she had made and prepared for me and that she afterwards sent for me via email (like this wonderful christian magazine)
• LOVELY emails
•  that I am quite ok despite of falling down yesterday. I once wrote about these health issues. Due to those my steps are not always steady and yesterday it happened that I fell. I hurt my leg quite badly but it could have been so much worse.
• the recent family vacation we had in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. We had such a great time there together.
• new yarn and many ideas - too many actually :)
• new knitting patterns
• that my summer cotton knit  ( kind of a t-shirt) is all done - hurray!! It is a simple little knit but still -  hurray!!
• the chocolate cake that is waiting for our family in the kitchen - it is a dessert after dinner but I have difficulties to be patient :)
• some new finds:
• Jordyn's blog I found today
• Melisa's blog and DIY ideas like this leather journal and this dream keeper

Photos:

1. Me wearing a cowl this beautiful lady kindly made for me! Cowl love! /Norway.

2. Hammars backar /Southern Sweden 

3. A.C. Perchs tearoom /Aarhus, Denmark

4. Me on a beach crocheting in silence /Mossby Sweden

5. + 6. + 7. Waffles and tea with a true friend tasting the teas and admiring the tings we gave to each other and  :) /Norway

I am wishing you a lovely day!!

Anu

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I really enjoy my visits in inspirational blogs. One of my favourites is Vibeke's A Butterfly in my hair and it was there where I found this idea of a Gratitude Sunday last year. Vibeke wrote that she tries to join in on Gratitude Sunday with Taryn and all the others over at her blog Wooly Moss Roots. I am thankful for this lovely idea for Taryn and for Vibeke who brought this to my attention.

  Almost exactly a year ago I started listing things I am grateful for here in english (In finnish I have done that on and off for years in my private diary). Those most important things I am grateful for in my life like my family and faith are the same as mentioned here. I have so much to be grateful for. We all do.

Soft and lovely

Right now I am in love with these colors I have gathered in my pictures. Soft pink, lilac, warm grey and sunlight. Can one say that sunlight is a color? At least for me it is ;)
Ooh, how I have enjoyed these summer days. I feel like I have almost been living inside a soft pink bubble. This bubble has taken me to a meadow after meadow. Free time, almost all the time in the world (except housework and all that ;)) for me and my loved ones to spend doing happy and inspiring things. We have just come home from a wonderful Scandinavia tour during which I got to meet my dear friend!!! It was heavenly! One knows when one has found a kindred spirit :)We traveled from Finland to Sweden, Denmark and Norway by car and ferries. There was something for everyone in our family. Our son's little feet got to run on a hot and soft beach in Mossby and in Copenhagen Tivoli plus Legoland. My husband got to enjoy his favorite bbq place and other things he likes and I got to meet my friend and pop in to tea and yarn boutiques. We all LOVED to explore the nature.
Now I am going to enjoy going through my photographs from our trip, knit a little (one tee is soon all done) and taste all of my new teas :)  I got sooo tasty tea from Vibeke on top of plenty of other wonderful things! Thank you!!! I love this cowl you made for me and that basket too (you can see a peek of the greyish basket in my first picture)!! I also had the opprtunity to visit A.C.Perch tea shop and salon in Copenhagen and Aarhus and on top of all this I visited Palais de The in Oslo.
Guess what else is on my mind? Well, what kind of a cardigan to knit out of this heavenly summer wool I bought from Pickles Oslo? I love to go through options. I would like it to be something quite simple so that the yarn would have all the attention.
I also wanted to share with you some pictures of a dress I sew on June. It is made of linen. I did not have any pattern but just improvised. I quite like how it turned out.

I am wishing you soul warming summer days!!
Anu

ps. I adore this cup I got from Ystad, Sweden. Maria Liliegren makes all kinds of funky ceramics. It was exiting to see her studio. My favorite is the series called ALBA. This Alba cup of mine is going to be much loved :)
pps. Can you see the text on the pink wall? It says: All people smile in the same language. So true!

These summer days have offered me little escapes and lovely moments exploring my home town and also nearby cities. I have found lovely tea houses, yarn shops, beautiful scenery and warm and cosy company. This yarn shop was like a dream and this coffee house just to my taste. 

hugs,
Anu


Ps. Thank you for your lovely comments to my previous post!

If not project 333 but something like that

I have always liked to live in a well organized home but during the recent busy years I somehow have not had energy or time to maintain my previous standards.  Well, they might have been too high...However, now I have taken some steps to slowly feel more organized again. Not in every aspect in my home or life but in some.  This spring I have eagerly been going through our things here at home and organized things like cups and plates, crafting materials, yarn, toys, linens, and also clothing.

I read author and essayist Terra Trevor's thoughts about clothing and simplifying one's wardrobe. I agree on so many things! I also read about Project 333:

The Basics (source)

• When: Every three months (It’s never too late to start so join in anytime!)
• What: 33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes.
• What not: these items are not counted as part of the 33 items – wedding ring or another sentimental piece of jewelry that you never take off, underwear, sleep wear, in-home lounge wear,  and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout)
• How: Choose your 33 items, box up the remainder of your fashion statement, seal it with tape and put it out of sight.
• What else: consider that you are creating a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months. Remember that this is not a project in suffering. If your clothes don’t fit or are in poor condition, replace them.

 I am not very fond of strict rules like these but still there is something to think about in this project. The basic idea is very good, I think. One does cope with a smaller amount of materia and in fact might feel better.

I went through my wardrobe and decsided to donate most of the items that I haven’t been wearing in a long time; items that are too small (yes, I have saved those for future skinnier days...bah. Why? I do not want to feel all the time that I have to fit into those and feel not good enough. I do not want to use most of my space or thoughts for that!!) and items that have been sort of  mistakes (too short sleeves, wrong shaped trousers etc.). However I decided to keep some of my all time favourites regardless of the size. I am planning to pack them in to a memory section in my wardrobe (like  my wedding dress, some sentimental things like something my husband or mother have given to me). I am also organizing clothes seasonally more carefully than before and make enough space for the things I am actually wearing right now.

I figure that by doing this I gain:
- self esteem -  I do not have to live in this odd state of needing to be drasticly smaller or something I am not all the time. It is a fact that I have health issues that stop me from exercising nowadays. I can do a little something (like walk a little and ride my bike slowly shortly) but still exercising is not a real help to weight issues.
It is another fact that even before I had these limitations I found it really difficult to stay in the same  size all the time. For my wellbeing it is crucial to try to stay under some scale numbers but otherwise I do not want to stress myself with that.
- it is easier to find something nice to wear when there are real options to choose from
- I can make someone happy by giving away things someone else can enjoy
- I can let go and live the life that is happening right NOW
- I will focus to gratefulness towards my body instead of dissatisfaction - I have been given this body. Why not embrace it?

I am not going to be strict about the exact amount  (33) of my clothes and accessories per season. But I am trying to practice the idea of letting go when it does me some good. I am going to buy and sew/knit new items when I feel I need them or want to but consider more carefully every choice.
You can see some of my spring/summer items in my pictures above. I truly enjoy those items and colors. There is my beautiful Ona Brooklyn leather camera bag, summer bags and shoes, camel colored pants, some tops, scarves and my happy colored new linen/cotton coat (LOVE IT).

Anu


Ps. I Don't consider myself fashionable, and I don't care much about trends. I like beauty, however, and clothes that make me feel happy but I think it is ALWAYS the person not the clothes that matters.

About trees and their ways

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

 Isaiah 43:19

Green leaves - they are finally here! I am breathing that vivid air, whispering that I have missed you!!

Anu 
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Photographing trees is something I enjoy tremendously. Trees speak to me the language of silence and they remind me about  fragility but also about strength and possibility to be renewed. I started this series last fall  and am going to share my love for trees with you by taking you with me to a journey to explore my everyday trees. There will be photograps about surroundings of my trees as well, like fields and  all kinds of natural beauty. I am sharing my photographs just as I have taken them (either with my camera or cell phone) so there will be no image processing. This series is about modest everyday meetings with trees, not aboutperfection. But then again I think there is often perfection like the purest kind of beauty hidden inside imperfection. Welcome to my world of Trees and their ways.

Gratitude Sunday

There is nothing extravagant in our Easter days yet I am so grateful for everything; mornings without haste, child's laughter, his small hands into mine, little eyes full of happiness, family time, just enough chocolate, some low budget flowers from the market, home made pastries, catching up my reading, playing music together, gardening, dreaming about things that might come true and the joy of Easter. I am grateful!!

Happy Easter to you!!

hugs,
Anu

ps. I just LOVE that combination of pink and golden little chocolate eggs :) (first picture)

About trees and their ways

Do you ever think how much potential is hidden inside people near you? People are like trees. If there is enough warmth, enough caring and nourishment they will burst into bloom.  It is beautiful.

This is one of my everyday trees. I am so unpatiently waiting for it to wake up from it's winter sleep...... And then, all of a sudden, it will transform into green and alive again. It just needs the sun to kiss those branches gently, silently. Day after day.
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Photographing trees is something I enjoy tremendously. Trees speak to me the language of silence and they remind me about  fragility but also about strength and possibility to be renewed. I started this series last fall  and am going to share my love for trees with you by taking you with me to a journey to explore my everyday trees. There will be photograps about surroundings of my trees as well, like fields and  all kinds of natural beauty. I am sharing my photographs just as I have taken them (either with my camera or cell phone) so there will be no image processing. This series is about modest everyday meetings with trees, not about perfection. But then again I think there is often perfection like the purest kind of beauty hidden inside imperfection. Welcome to my world of Trees and their ways.

Surrounded by loveliness

Lately I have not had time or energy for my own projects. BUT  I do have organized my yarn stash. When I buy yarn I often go a little overboard....one more skein just in case. Do you know the feeling that you are afraid that you do not have enough yarn for your pattern to finnish it?  But of course I usually end up having too much. Actually it does not matter because I have enjoyed knitting little things from that left over yarn for family and friends but now I decided to donate most of my stash to my son's school for the kids to knit and crochet. Today that stash was given to my son's lovely teacher who was pleased to have yarn for the kids to enjoy.  It makes me happy too that the kids can experience knitting with quality yarn. It makes all the difference.
I left some of the stash for myself. There is enough for a sweater for my son (greys, blues and greens), for a few scarves and beanies (pinks, yellows and whites) and some for our crafting moments here at home. At the moment I have two cardigans I need to finish but now has not been an enjoyable time for knitting. But I am hopeful...this professional life I am having right now may turn into a more peaceful rhythm. I very much hope that I then I could have energy to do things I love more often. And guess what? I enjoy just seeing and touching those pretty colored yarn balls. I feel I am surrounded by loveliness.

Have a great week end my friend!!

hugs,
Anu

My week in cups of tea

Hi!  I am sitting in my kitchen drinking tea while writing this to you. This kitchen is one of my favourite places in the world. I can see over the fields, my eyes have room to wander. I often see friendly wild life while enjoying my cup of tea. Today I met a huge rabbit. He was staring me as if he wanted to say something through my kitchen window. The birds have also been very busy settling down to their new home. The nesting has begun and there is obviously plenty of "housework" for  them to do. How hard working they are! This morning I have also enjoyed  a decision I have made which gives me hope and peace. I am ready for the spring to come. Welcome friend!!
The color of the week has been green. I am so hungry for it right now. I kind of love that outfit in the second last picture (The Simple Things/21).  Are you hungry for some color right now?

Things I have enjoyed lately:

• my tea moments
• fresh flowers, especially hellebores
• willows, catkins
• color green - everywhere: on clothes, on my plate, in my tea cup, on flowers, pictures...you name it
• gratefullness!!
• my new shower cream called Spring rain
• the scent of spring late in the evenings
• purl soho -  beautiful fabrics
• birds singing outside our bedroom window in the mornings
• watching bird nesting
• seeing happiness in the eys of a loved one
• waking up to sunlight
• coming home in daylight
• starting something new with our son - piano lessons
• baking chocolate cakes 
• conversations with a true friend 
• these lovely parcels I have received from Anna and Liesl. Thank you both so very much!!!!

Anna had sewn me a blouse. LOVE IT!!! Thank you!

And Liesl had put together a sweet combination of plum and cocolate crafting material with lots of other treats as well. We were swap partners via Vibeke's  color swap. Thank you!

I am afraid I have a nasty flu for the second time of this year so today it is going to be just resting and drinking  hot, hot tea. At least that is  lovely :)
Have a happy week end!
hugs,
Anu