Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Blessed New Year 2015!

Hello all,

I'm grateful for this year and looking back this year has been amazing. Even though there have been many struggles and hardships in school and realtionships, Im very grateful to God that He has blessed me and given me strength in many ways. Being 3rd year medstudent is not always easy. Having siblings is sometimes quite timeconsuming, but I love all my sibling., Being in a relationship is also somtehing that changes you, but it still worth it. There are so many things I'm grateful for :) and I hope that these last few days there are left of this year are peaceful also for you.
I hate to admit, but for this yrs Xmas presents I had to buy few, I ran out of time with few presents. I still have one pair of socks to finish. But I'll take pictures of the things I've made (1 pair of mittens, 2 pair of socks, 2 hats, one scarf) and write on pattern down in the future, this is jus a sneak peak:


Saturday, November 8, 2014

Socktober + Mittember

Hello,

I found my knitting inspiration again and so far I've knitted socks and mittens :) and I'm quite proud of myself. I decided (for once) to knit pretty socks, and not those brainless socks that are knitted without thinking anything. But the socks I made formyself took quite a time, the pattern was great but somehow I messed it up few times and had to reknit many rows (and it didn't help that at the same time I was trying to listen to lecture, and yes we are allowed to knit during lectures). But the result is pretty, so maybe I'll knit white ones for my mom as a Xmas present.
The mittens I've making are actually wristwarmes but I decided to turn them to mittens :)

 This October has been so far the busiest of my life, school has taken most of my time, but I'm glad that I've had time to knit and sometimes even meet my friends. One thing that med school teaches is that you really start to value your spare time. And if I knitted socks in the October, mittens in November, maybe December will be reseved for hats and at least my smallest bro needs a hat for Xmas present...

- Minttusuklaa

Monday, September 15, 2014

Autumn again?!!

Wait, it's september already? Where did summer go? What happened to it?
My school began again and we already had our 1st examen. But that's life. On the bright side (well technically not that bright) I finally got my sewing machine to a mechanic. My poor sewing machine sat totally in pieces for whole summer.
And as for knitting and crocheting, well I haven't done anything special, but I have a few ideas that might turn into patterns someday and at the moment I looking for the right yarn (my huge stash is still not obviously enough)

All the best
-Minttusuklaa

Thursday, July 24, 2014

The free week of my summer

Hi all,
My only free time aka holiday came and went just like that and it was just for a week. But spending a week with my family was sooo great. We went to northern Finland, well almost Lapland and it is truly a beautiful place.
We saw reindeer and luckily I didn't drive over any of them. The weather was hot (about 25 degrees) and that is prettty great for Finland :)
This summer I have been a lazy knitter and unfortunately my sewing machine broke down couple of weeks ago ;( and it isn't fixed yet.
But I found my passion to read books again and that is what I've been doing. Believe it or not but since high school I was so fed up with books I haven't read proper books except once or twice a year. But this summer I've read for all the lost stuff I haven't read.
And maybe I'll find a passion for crocheting and knitting too. :)

And then couple of pics, these are taken along a famous Finnish hiking route called The bear's route:



Sunday, June 22, 2014

Midsummer's little panda :)

As probably most of you know, I come from Finland and this year the summer so far has been terribly cold. Even now it is 13 celsius degrees outside. To be honest I really don't like this waether, summers aren't supposed to be this cold, but I'm glad that I have summer job that is mostly an indoor job.
Last week it even snowed in some places here, I'm glad that I missed the summer snow :) (Everywhere I went that day, the sun shone and birds sang).



But I had the past couple of days free so I finished this cute little panda and I decided to name her Hao Hao. The pattern is the same as in the cat, but making a bit different ears and adjusting other measurements I made a panda. (Pandas are probably my favourite animals). The chart for her cupcake dress I found from Ravelry, but the pattern itself is something I just came up with. I'm planning to knit a monkey or a turtle next and my fingers are itching to crochet again. I haven't done any crocheting since Xmas, just knitting and sewing.
I also did some sewing with my smallest sister, but our sewing machine broke down yesterday, I'm glad mom promised to get it fixed next week (I have the best mom in the world). And I started to learn Japanese again :) 


Hyvää kesää kaikille! Jos tätä säätä nyt kesäksi voi sanoa, no ainakin olen tyytyväinen omaan kivaan sisätyöhöni. Onneksi onnistuin kaiken lumen ja rännän missaamaan viime viikolla, joka paikassa missä kävin niin aurinko paistoi ja linnut  lauloi :) 
Sainpahan viimeinkin väkerrettyä pandan valmiiksi kun sain vapaata juhannukseksi. Ohje on oma ja sama kuin kissan, vähän muutin korvia ja muita raajojen pituuksi. Mekon muffinssikuvio löytyi Ravelryä surffattessa, mutta muuten ohje on omasta päästä kehitetty.


Sunday, June 1, 2014

Dresses and graduations

Hello all,

I finally have my summer holiday after a very busy, exhausting and rewarding spring. And I still feel like I could fall asleep in the middle of sentence. We had a huge test (which I passed) a while ago and my lil bro graduated from high school. So this last month has been a little hectic, but I don't know if I ever told you that sewing is the best stress-reliever in the world and according to that motto I made a new dress for myself last thursday.
It is made up from two different patterns, the other pattern was from '99 and the other '09, isn't that funny? I modified a top pattern and a dress a pattern, added pockets and wider straps and shortened the hem. And I love my new dress :) I don't normally wear dresses so often, but this is probably s far the BEST dress I've ever made. The fabric is dotty cotton and the style is a little like in dresses from 1950s. I don't know if I should add bows or something like that. (And sorry about the bad picture, but I wanted to share this with you readers :) )


- Minttusuklaa

Monday, April 21, 2014

Summer come soon...

Hello all and happy easter/passover,

I've had my easter holiday, well the couple of days that it lasted, nose stuck in a book. We have a huge test coming in 2 weeks and they say that the early bird gets the worm and in this case of studying I think I'm one bird really late.
But I've managed to knit a bit, I'm currently working on a panda and a bunny. And I also have to sew a new dress for myself. My little bro is finishing his high school this spring, so any ideas for any good and free dress patterns/ideas for a dress?

-Minttusuklaa


Monday, March 24, 2014

Dolls of Spring

Hello all

My doll-making fever still continues, this time I finished one that I began knitting probably 2 yrs ago and the sewn on I made yesterday (she's still missing some parts, so I'll post better pics later...).
I had a few little girls visiting and we made cut handbags together. I like working with children even though it took about 13hrs to prepare, seew and finish all the handbags. You can guess who was tired after the day, but when you see all little girls with their beautiful handbags... I just love that feeling.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Spring is here, or is it?

Hello,

It has been raining and snowing and raining again basically the whole past month. Compared to last winter this winter hasn't felt like a winter at all.

So this is what I just knitted for very spring-coloured yarn... Ok not just, do you remeber my sort-of-a-promise few weeks ago? I began knitting her last summer, but buried her in to the pile of lost projeccts for a while. I'm really glad I got her done and my pile is getting smaller :)
There where at least dozen little pieces to knit and to keep track of, but she turned out really cute. My little miss springtime.
After-Before
The pattern is Jean Greenhowe's hush-a-bye-baby and I really liked the pattern. It was simple, but not too easy though.

Hugs!

-Minttusuklaa

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Sunday: WIPs and FOs

Hello!

I've had a great week and a great weekend :) ( I just had to say that...) I was at student meeting this weekend and I had time do to knitting and not-so-much studying.
I started to knit a scarf about week ago and I did some knitting during lectures (again) and this one guy (again) checked my knittting and after a while: "It looks like muscle cells ". Well, way to compliment a knitting project? Don't you think?

And my FO this time is the little kitten, Miss-kitty-in-boots . The pattern is my own, I modified Zackie Zebra pattern and checked my old sketches again. And I think, I managed to knnit her pretty well. I still have bits to modify, but I think she is cute. So maybe in the future I'll try knitting more animals with boots.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

New Year's resolu... Uuden vuoden juttuja...

Well, I don't realle do any sort of resulutions on New Year's eve (I never would keep them), but this holiday I promised to myself that I would finish all the UFOs I have all around my place. Some of them I've had since last summer and some are even older than that.
And here is the first bunch of my FOs:
1 parrot, 1 owl and 1 Jelly baby
And I still have more left (like 1 croheted animal, 1 knitted bunny, 2 dolls) and I'm REALLY trying to get those finshed... Aarrgh and I have at least 20 new ideas I want to do. Well I'm glad I have my sketch book somewhere and I can write my ideas down there :)

Päätinpä nyt sitten kirjoittaa jotain suomeksikin tänne. En tee minkään sortin uudenvuodenpäätöksiä, kun en niitä kuitenkaan ikinä pidä maaliskuulle asti kuitenkaan. Mutta nyt sitten ajattelin, että kyllä nämä kaapissa lojuneet keskenereiset kaksi tusinaa tekelettä pitäisi saada valmiiksi. Ja tässä nyt sitten se ensimmäinen satsi valmiita. Ongelma vaan on se, että osaan töistä olen hävittänyt ohjeen, toisesta lanka loppu ja kolmas on muuten vaan räkäsen näköinen... Ja sitten olisi vielä tuhat ja sata uutta ideaa, jotka haluaisi totetuttaa. Mutta yritän nyt kuitenkin.
:)

All the best!
Terkuin

-Minttusuklaa

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Designing and re-designing

Hello,

This is just a random posting about designing and ideas... I like designing new patterns as much as I love knitting old ones. Desingning knitting patterns is EASY, getting a new idea and then drawing your idea down is not hard at all. I have a few booklets of ideas and designs and random sketches of stuff I want to make. Having a sketch book is necessary :)
The hard part in making patterns is the knitting according to your design. Where to add stitches, where to decrease them, where to change colors etc... etc... And here comes the part I don't like, knitting and re-knitting the same piece over and over again is just a pain in the neck. But in order to achieve the result you want, it is one of the things you have to learn while designing and modifying patterns. In Finland we have a saying: No one is a blacksmith at the moment of birth. (Well that's the general idea of the saying). All in all turning good ideas into a pattern needs work and patience.

Best wishes!

-Minttusuklaa

ps. And sometimes when I have an idea of a design and it is too hard for me to knit, I leave it be and after some time (and after learning a few new skills) I return to my sketch book and try knitting it again. Like the boots of my winter bear or the legs of  my Seagull pattern (in Ravelry)

Monday, January 6, 2014

Winter bear *free pattern*

Hello all,

New year, new pattern? I was at my grandparent's place last week and had great time! This little winter teddy started as Zackie Zebra, while I was testing my old pattern. But you can see what happened when I was using blue yarn?

Winter bear (size about 20cm/8inches)

You need:

Any colour cotton yarn you like ( I used blue DK yarn)
A pair off 3mm needles
Safety eyes
Stuffing and tapesry needle
Oddments of colourful yarns you like for accesories (I used green and yellow DK yarn)

Legs (make 2):
In blue, Cast on 8sts, P1 row.
Next row: K1, *m1, k1*, repeat to the end. P1 row
Next row: K1, m1, k6, m1, k1, m1, k6, m1, k1. P1 row.
Next row: K6, skpo twice, k2tog twice, k5.
Next row: P5, p2tog twice, p6
Next row:K5, k2tog, k6
St-st making stripes of two rows for 15 rows. Cast off.
Sew the back seam of the legs and stuff firmly.

Body and Head:
With blue cast on 21sts. P1 row.
Next row: K1, *m1, k4* repeat to the end. P1row.
Next row: K1, *m1, k5* repeat to the end. P1 row.
Next row: K1, *m1, k6* repeat to the end. (36 sts)
St-st 13rows.
Next row: *k2tog, k4* repeat to the end. P1row.
Next row: *k2tog, k3* repeat to the end. P1 row.
Next row: *K2tog, k1* to the end. P1 row
Next row: K1, *m1, k1* to the end. (31sts)
Next row: K1, *m1, k3* to the end.
St-st 15 rows.
Next row: K1, *k2tog, k3*, to the end. P1 row.
Next row: *K1, k2tog* to the end. P1 row.
Next row: K2tog to the end.

Break off the yarn and pull yarn through the stitches that left to the needle.. Sew the back seam (and add safety eyes before stuffing). Stuff firmly. Cut a yarn and circle it around, just below the head's 1st increase row. Pull yarn tightly and knot tightly. This will give the head more shape. Attach legs to the bottom of the body and sew them in their place. Secure all yarnendings well.

Arms (make 2):
Cast on 10 sts with blue.
Begin with P row, st-st 15 rows.
Next row: K2, *m1, k2* to the end.
St-st 5 rows.
K2tog to the end.
Break off the yarn and pull yarn through the stitches that left to the needle. Sew the seam and stuff the arms. Attach arms to the body just below the neck. Cut a yarn and circle it around, just below the hands increase row. Pull yarn tightly and knot tightly, doig this will give your bear hands.

Ears (make 2):
Cast on 7 sts.
G-st 2 rows.
Next row: k2tog, k3, k2 tog.
Next row: k2tog, k1, k2tog.
Break off the yarn and pull yarn through the stitches that left to the needle. Sew ears to the top of the head.

Accesories:

Boots (make 2):
In yellow, Cast on 10sts, P1 row.
Next row: K1, *m1, k1*, repeat to the end. P1 row
Next row: K1, m1, k8, m1, k1, m1, k9. P1 row. (22 sts)
Next row: K6, skpo twice, k2, k2tog twice, k6.
Next row: P6, p2tog, p2, p2tog, p6.
Next row:K6, skpo, k2tog, k6.
Next row: P6, p2tog, p6.
St-st 6 rows. Cast off.
Finishing: Sew the bottom and back seam of the boots and insert legs to boots. I sew shoelaces and secured them tightly to give boots some shape and that the boots won't fall off.

Beanie:
Cast on 40 sts.
G-st for 4 rows.
Begin with K row st-st 12 rows.
Next row: K2tog to the end (20sts). P1 row
Next row: K2tog to the end (10sts).
Break off the yarn and pull yarn through the stitches that left to the needle.
Sew the back seam of the beanie and secure yarn endings. You can an add a pompom or a bow.

Scarf:
Cast on 5 sts. G-st for 25cm /10 inches. Cast off.

And that's it! Your little bear is ready!

-Minttusuklaa

ps. (This pattern isn't tested, so please tell me if you find any errors or something is unclear. I try to answer asap)

pps. I don't hate comments :)

Copyright: Minttusuklaa
You can sell toys made from this pattern, but don't sell the pattern itself or claim it as your own.