Estonia Adventures Part 2: Finland

When booking this trip, I learned that one of the more affordable ways to get to Estonia is by ferry from Helsinki, Finland. Reasonable Icelandair flights to Helsinki made this the best route for us and we couldn't resist spending a couple of days in a new city while we were travelling through.

In preparation for the ferry ride (since Megan had never been on a boat before!) we took this boat to a pizza restaurant in an island.

Helsinki is a clean and modern port city, surrounded by water. It is known for its architecture and design and we were able to take in both of these things in our brief time.

Also, great coffee and food! We checked out many coffee shops and spent quite a bit of time knitting at these stops.

There are fantastic markets in Helsinki where one can shop for food and veggies alongside touristy items like reindeer hides and juniper wood utensils. We bought chanterelles and the most delicious strawberries!

We were thrilled to find a yarn vendor, Riihivilla, among these booths. He sold handknit items and kits for making mittens and things, as well as yarn made of local Finnsheep wool, naturally dyed in an amazing range of color. We, of course, were all swooning over this Finnsheep yarn and I'm sure we made his day!

The skeins came in both natural, un-dyed colors as well as naturally dyed colors. Again, these were dyed using the country's local dye-plants - in this case: mushrooms! Amber loves both yarn and mushrooms, so she couldn't resist these. Can you believe this amazing red comes from a mushroom?

Finnsheep come in a range of colors, like Icelandic and Shetland sheep, so of course I had to pick up some fingering weight un-dyed wool in two natural colors. Yummy!

After the markets, one more stop we had to make was at Finnish fabric designer and icon, Marimekko. Marimekko has been designing patterns since 1951.

Marimekko is responsible for many iconic pattern designs and no trip to Helsinki would be complete without a stop in one of their shops. They make and sell all sorts of goods printed with the classic designs including clothing, umbrellas, plates and wallets. What were we most excited about? The fabric! 

The fabric came in various weights from home dec to woven cotton to lawn. Amber and I each bought a cut of fabric which we will covet for a while I'm sure before cutting into! I am absolutely in love with my black cat fabric since I have a kitty just like this at home. 

Next up: Tallinn, Estonia and the medieval festival!

A Crafty Visit to Yunnan, China!

--Emily

This May Amber and I took a trip back to Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan Province in China. I say "back", because we both lived there for a time in 2004-2005.

Jeff and Georgia with their new Double Happiness Quilt

Our return to Kunming was to visit our cousin, Jeff, and to celebrate his marriage to his love, Georgia. We were so excited to finally meet her, and attend their wedding! Amber and I decided to make them a quilt, complete with a special double happiness block. Double happiness, or shuāngxǐ, is a traditional motif used in weddings. You can see this special block in the lower right corner of the quilt. (There is a tutorial at the end of this post if you'd like to make your own!)

Kunming has a special place in my heart. Amber and I lived there for a year and a half, and really fell in love with the city. It is always a pleasure to wander the markets in Kunming. There is a major farmers market within a short walking distance of almost anywhere in the city, and the variety of foods available is astonishing. Even at restaurants, there is a beautiful display of fresh produce and meats to choose from. Often non-chinese speakers in our group (hi, mom!) could pick out a few dishes just by gazing in wonder at all the beautiful fresh produce. Yunnan is also a special place for tea, especially puer tea. You can see above the bricks and cakes of puer tea. Puer tea is aged, sometimes for decades like a fine wine, and I have heard there is some still aging from the Qing Dynasty.

Yunnan is an amazingly diverse place. It is one of the most biologically and culturally diverse areas in China. There are over 25 distinct ethnic minorities in Yunnan which often have unique language, crafts, and traditions.

Intricately Tie-Dyed Jacket

Handwoven fabric vests embellished with applique & cross-stitch and Jacket embellished with hand-made metal studs

A visit to the museum was a special treat, with traditional handmade garments from so many different cultures, and amazingly familiar fiber tools elegantly crafted.

Clockwise from top right, a gorgeously carved niddy noddy, a rustic yarn swift with a base made of tree roots, a simple but elegant Miao loom, and three copper drop spindles and a copper comb for separating bast fibers.

Shi Zhijie's textile art

We also visited our dear friend Liu LiFen's art gallery, 943 Studio Group. We were immediately enamored with Shi Zhijie, a local textile artist who's work is on display there. Her textile work was breathtaking, from beautifully quilted silk jackets, to a human-sized, freaky rabbit doll made with her own printed fabric.

Some of the local people at the nearby restaurant were taking a break and crafting it up too. This is a gorgeous piece of needlepoint!

We asked around for tips on knitting stores, and the craft craze hasn't hit China quite like it has here. To get our hands on some yarn we had to trek by cab out of the city to a giant wholesale market in Chengong, one of Kunming's suburbs. This place has everything for sale, and is where small shop owners go to get goods to sell to the public. The building itself extends from one freeway exit to the next--more than a mile long! We had to trek for about 30 minutes to get from the entrance to the knitters shops. We saw the piles of neon yarns and knew we had arrived!

There was a lot of polyester to be found, but we finally happened upon some shops selling cashmere, wool and marten yarns. Apparently marten is a pretty common fiber in China! Even this "Coors Light" yarn is made with it!

This adorable shop owner was selling beautiful wool yarns and was happy to show off her project.

As we shopped several women from the nearby stores noticed us and came to chat. We showed off our projects, too, and the ladies all loved our lace shawls. They had never seen anything like the lace knitting we were working on and asked Amber for an impromptu lesson.

We had lots of fun in China and wish we could go back more often. There were too many fun places and people to meet! I may just have to make myself a double happiness quilt to remind me of our fun times, so here is Amber to share her quilt block tutorial.

Double Happiness (Shuāngxǐ) Block Tutorial

Double happiness is literally the Chinese character for joy, but doubled and smooshed together. It is symbolic of happy occasions where two people bring joy to each other, such as weddings and new babies. The double happiness character is traditionally in red, a most joyful color in China, so I chose a bright red print and a lighter neutral for the background.

You won't need much fabric for this little block. You could get several out of a quarter yard, but a few scraps would be perfect!

Cut out the pieces shown in the diagram above. A rotary cutter, clear ruler, and cutting mat are going to be necessary for this tiny piecing. You will need to cut:

Red Fabric
18 of A (7/8" x 1-1/4")
12 of B (7/8" x 2-3/4")
1 of C (7/8" x 5-3/4")

Grey Fabric
16 of D (7/8" x 1-1/4")
5 of E (7/8" x 2-3/4")
2 of F (1-5/8 x 1-1/4")

Be very careful to keep a consistent 1/4" seam allowance. A quilters 1/4" foot is helpful.

Starting at the top of the diagram above, sew each strip across as follows, right sides together and shorter raw edges together. Press your seams after making each strip:

1) 5 strips of D+A+E+A+D

2) 2 strips of B+D+B

3) 4 small strips of A+D+A (shown at the bottom of image 3 below)

4) Now make a tiny block by sewing a B piece to the top and the bottom of each of the smaller strips. Press. Repeat for a total of four little blocks.

5) Take an F piece and sew a small block from step 4 to each of the longer sides of the F. Repeat with your other F and the remaining blocks. Press.

6-11) Use the second schematic diagram above as a guide, sew all your strips together to make your double happiness.

12) To make and 8" block, I cut 1-1/2" strips from my grey fabric and framed in the double happiness symbol.

Ta-da! Now stitch this into something pretty and give it to someone you love. Here's some ideas:

• With 1/4" of insul-brite and a fabric for the back, make a cute potholder for the wedding of dear friends.
• Applique onto a changing mat or diaper bag to welcome a new baby.
• Make a bigger border and turn it into a decorative pillow for an anniversary gift.

Crafty Cambodia: The Travel Adventures of Jess

Greetings from The Kingdom of Cambodia! I know you all have been missing me pretty hard back in Denver, so I’m checking in! I am currently spreading crafty joy throughout Southeast Asia and I want to share my latest adventure.

Us and the kids

I spent the last 10 days volunteering at an NGO orphanage/school outside of Phnom Penh. Save Poor Children Of Asia Organization, (SCAO), offers an alternative to children who's families can no longer afford to have them live at home. Currently there are 17 children living at the center. The main focus of the organization is to help decrease the poverty levels in the countryside of Cambodia by education. The kids that live at the center, as well as about 300 local kids from the surrounding villages, attend the 4 free English classes offered Monday thru Saturday. A few of the kids come to more than one class a day. Volunteers mainly teach the English classes. My boyfriend and I both taught English everyday, but I had the joy of teaching my very own sewing class every afternoon to the kids at the center. 

The machines

When I first arrived and walked by their sewing room while a class was going on, my heart just about melted. I have wanted to teach sewing/crochet this whole trip and now I get to! For 10 whole days! The items made in the sewing class are sold to volunteers who come through the center, and they sell a bunch!! So I came up with a few ideas that traveling volunteers might be interested in, and we got started ASAP. 

Our sewing hut

The sewing room was in a little hut with a tin roof and 3 sewing machines to work with. And every one, a treadle machine! It was my first time getting to work with treadle machines...let me tell you, they take some getting used to. Usually I might call myself a wizard being able to fix any problem that might come up while sewing, but not on these bad boys. They have weird wires and knobs that I wouldn't know which way to twist or pull. I needed a lesson how to thread it properly, especially having the bobbin hidden under the machine. When I arrived, one of the volunteers' mothers was in town and jump started some great craft projects for the kids. The first couple days we made notebook covers and cute little purses to sell at the center. My star student was Lim, she was eager to learn the next project.

Srey Lim and Srey Jan

I decided that it was not only necessary to know sewing on a machine, but hand sewing! Hand sewing is such a great craft to learn, and its fun. Immediately I contacted Fancy Tiger, and the next day we were to make our own little Edmond the Owl.

Srey Lim learning blanket stitch

Now, you have to picture myself, and a few teenage Cambodian chicas, in a hot tin hut (about 110 degrees), scrummaging through their craft supplies for the perfect pieces to make little Edmond. There is no Fancy Tiger Crafts around these parts so we had to make due with what we had. We did however find some solid colored cotton fabric, enough scraps of fabric for the stuffing, a sewing needle, and luckily I had some left over embroidery floss. I taught the girls the blanket stitch and they were so excited (and good at it). When the boys caught wind of the owl making, I must have had 6-7 kids around the center making these little guys. They very much enjoyed embroidery, many of them wanted to write their names or SCAO on the stomach of the owl. SO CUTE!

Leap

He decided to embroider SCAO with an arrow pointing to it surrounded with hearts
TOO CUTE!

So, as many of you may know, I am what some may call a hook master. I LOVE crochet. I might bleed yarn that’s how hard I love it. I was eager to teach the kids some crochet. In Cambodia, there were bracelets being sold EVERYWHERE. I thought it would be nice to teach them how to make them. Mrs. Samith (the owner of SCAO's wife) and I headed to the local market to seek out crochet hooks and yarn. Crochet hooks that are available in other countries are a 100th of the size of ones we use on a regular basis in America. We got back from the market and I was immediately swarmed with kids ready to learn. Unfortunately we only had 3 hooks! I taught Mrs. Samith and 2 of the girls right away and they were…hooked ;) I think I must have taught crochet for about 6 hours that day. Everyday following, there was another kid who would come up to me and want to learn. I taught them a simple chain stitch and making them into bracelets was such an adorable idea! Especially for the little kids to accomplish a project after just learning. Needless to say my arms are flooded with bracelets! And my heart, filled with joy.

Srey Hoy, Srey Jan, and Nita learning crochet

Happy Srey Lat

The next project would be cute little camera cases. I love mine, and I know other travelers would pick them up in a heartbeat. I taught Lim a very simple way for having finished seams (thanks to sewing 101!) and she was excited because the project was easy to learn and well put together. We had to make due with the supplies they had in the sewing room; a rusty pair of scissors, a tape measure (no ruler), a table with a small space for cutting and one bag of fabric. Surprisingly it got us pretty far. It was difficult for the kids with small hands to do the cutting with over-sized rusty scissors. Measuring and cutting was a lesson of its own. As far as the buttonhole, since working on treadle machines, we hand stitched them. One of the girls has been fixing clothes for everyone at the center for years and she taught me a new stitch! It looks so perfect and…"button holey".

Lim, sewing master

The sewing classes were so rewarding, not only for them, but for me as well. Learning how to sew is something they can take with them into adult life. Especially in Cambodia where there is a huge market for handmade items. 

Check out those scissors

Sharing is caring!

I had such an incredible time getting to know everyone at SCAO and being able to spread my love of craft to them. If you would like more info on SCAO check out their website, or fly to Phnom Penh and teach them your favorite craft!!

Love love!