A Place to Call Home

The living room, with a silly door to the balcony.

The apartment hunting is over! Last wednesday we got the keys to our very own place. (I wonder, does this mean we now have to start acting like sensible adults? Oh dear.)

We're ridiculously happy about this place. It's got a Real Kitchen! It's got light fixtures that work! It's got a stove that also actually works! It won't turn into a big oven in summer! (Well, we're pretty sure it won't. We shall see!) It's got a balcony! It's got a whole small room for clothes! It's got, well, space. We're used to a tiny place with barely any room at all; this new place has a bedroom, living room, that little room for clothes, a nice wide hallway and a bathroom. I mean, we're going to get lost in there!

Mr Morrgan, checking out his favourite part of the new place:
the Real Kitchen.

Oh, plus the balcony! Wonderful, wonderful balcony, how I've longed for thee. I can't wait to fill it up with pretty flowers surrounding a couple of chairs, perfect for ice tea after work. (Well, once we figure out how the door works. We've opened it twice and both times had to spend 15 minutes trying to get it shut again. Not even having instructions thoughtfully left beside it by the previous owner helped.)

But do you know what I really enjoy about this apartment (in addition to the balcony and having no crappy linoleum floors)? It's in the middle of town, yet you can see trees from every window and barely hear any traffic noise at all. Such a huge change to what we've lived in so far.

Now, the only problem is which colours to choose for the bedroom and living room walls. Mr Morrgan has some silly notion about orange being a good idea. He can call it "ochre" all he wants, but it's still orange and a ridiculous colour for a wall, says I. Will we ever be able to decide? Only time will tell!

Zombie Fire Ants!

"Fire ants wander aimlessly away from the mound.

Eventually their heads fall off, and they die."

Hot damn. I will never understand people who think biology is boring.

Fire ants are causing trouble in southern and southeastern USA. To control them biologically, parasitic phorid flies have been introduced. The flies lay eggs in the ants and the results have been quoted above. Read the whole grisly story of horror here.

"The maggot that hatches inside the ant eats away at the brain, and the ant starts exhibiting what some might say is zombie-like behavior."

Hot damn.


As it happens, I've been playing games like Left 4 Dead and Plants vs Zombies lately. And then life comes along and proves itself stranger than fiction. I love it.

May Day! Plus some fish

Yay, May Day! (No, not the distress signal kind, but this.) And what a fine May Day celebration it has been. We tried wine that was older than myself, got to wear silly headwear and had a nice picnic in warm sunshine. (Whilst listening to the, uhm, delightful tunes of the Rocky theme played on a melodica, courtesy of some other picnickers nearby. Again and again. Oh, and got to watch some playful puppies, which made all good.)

Alas, the camera was forgotten on all these occasions, so you will have to make do with a somewhat random couple of photos of some of my fish enjoying their (almost May) dinner. I have at least four different species of Pangio or kuhli loaches in there, but only two or three agreed to pose for these.



In other, knitting-related news, I'm working on a new knitting pattern for the shops and should have something ready this month. Stay tuned, if you feel so inclined.

Tuesday Finds: Spring is Here

A few days ago, Mr Morrgan and I went out for a walk. It seems spring has finally arrived - the sunshine feels warmer, the birds have begun to fill the air with their songs and there's even a bit of colour from a few brave flowers. I remembered my camera for once and took a few shots.

As I was editing these photos for the blog, I realized it's Tuesday and figured I could combine it with a Tuesday Finds post. Oh man, when was the last one of those? Time flies lately. Well, after all these photos you'll find a few picks of the week, inspired by this walk and its delights.



But before those, I have to show you my pride and joy for the moment. I finally got my hands on an Easter Cactus! *happy sigh* Just don't ask me what the scientific name is; according to one source it's a Hatiora, another says it's a Rhipsalidopsis, a third claims Schlumbergera... I give up. I'll just call it A Pretty.



Now, the finds! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves this time.

Meadow Bowl
$60, chocolatefrog.etsy.com

Set of 3 bangle bracelets
$9.99, craftychick101.etsy.com

Ornamental scarf with brooch
$35, tijusai.etsy.com

SURPRISE! MUAHAHAA

A mysterious envelope arrived yesterday and in it was this mysterious note! The small text says "Here you have a cd." And there was indeed a cd inside.

This must be one of the coolest envelopes I have ever received. The note alone has had me giggling like a silly person for a day and a half.

This mysterious package was sent by my brother, Man of Mystery and Muahahaa. He went to the release party of the CD in the envelope, How's the Heart by Sofie Björkgren-Näse - check out the artist's MySpace page for a few songs!

Bro, you're all kinds of awesome. <3

A day of crafty fun (and arty, and antique-y, and so on)

Yes, I still live! I've just been busy with, oh, lots of stuff. All sorts of stuff. *sigh* Mostly my day job, though, which is a bit tricky to combine with my knitting shops. *another sigh* But I'm not complaining, really, as I do like both. There's just not much time for anything else at times. ;)

I did manage to get some happy happy fun time in this weekend, with a visit to a big handicrafts fair here in Turku. It was combined with other themes as well, such as art, antiques and old toys. Mr Morrgan came along and his favourite bit was, surprisingly, the handicrafts part, although he also enjoyed the electric trains, which were set up and buzzing around on a big table, and a few neat veteran cars that were on display.

My main goal was of course yarn. However, I didn't bring a single ball of yarn home. I'm not sure how this happened. Something must have malfunctioned in my brain.

Mr Morrgan and I did find several neat things though, such as the ones shown in this photo here. The bath sponge ladybug is handmade, as is the lovely orange flower which is actually a felted ring. I'm not sure about the candies, but I understand it is a small company that makes them and at least the liquorice is organic. The other two flavours we got are ginger and sea-buckthorn. Both are really yummy, yummier perhaps than one might expect from the name alone, and the liquorice is just awesome!

As luck would have it, we also found the exact same jumbo coffee cups as the one I broke the day before from one of the antiques tables. Very lucky, as these are no longer available in stores but are too recent to be found in antiques shops very often. So now I can enjoy my half a liter of coffee every morning again and Mr Morrgan is no longer grumpy at me about the broken cup. We're a couple of lucky ducks, oh yes.

I'd like to say I'll be posting more often from now on, but really, I can't promise that'll happen. In addition to the work-related stuff, we're now looking at buying a place to live, so free time will be in short supply. Exciting times, though!

It's time for gloves! Again!

I have been knitting a lot of fingerless gloves again. The latest pairs have been for custom orders and won't be shown here, but I have also been listing a few pairs for sale that I made during my holiday break. I was trying out new materials - beautiful luxurious wool blends with silk and bamboo, mostly - and I'm loving them! I thought it was about time I showed off a few pairs here. After all, this is supposed to mainly be my showing-off-knitted-things blog, not a muffin-recipes-and-plants blog.

These are all gloves I made in December, but didn't get around to photograph until weeks later.

This red pair is one of my favourites. It's made from an oh so soft wool-bamboo blend (which i LOVE) and just look at that red! It's perfect for adding a bit of colour to an otherwise bleak winter season.




I listed these fingerless gloves just minutes ago in my Etsy shop. I have made pairs in a similar colour scheme for this cabled style in bamboo before, but this pair is made from an extra soft wool-silk blend. It's just delicious, if I can use such a word, both to knit with and to wear.


Last up today we have a pair of striped arm warmers in a bamboo-cotton blend. Comfortable to wear, fun to knit. These actually sold already, but keep an eye on my shop if you like what you see - I'm making another similar pair, with the colours inverted. They won't be finished until after the custom orders are done though, so be prepared to wait a week or two.

And that's enough shameless advertising for now. :D Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

From winter wonderland to junglelike greenery

Hey ho, there's snow! Finally there's a bit of wintery wonderland to enjoy around here.

Inside the apartment however, there's plenty of greenery to contrast the crisp white view through the window. I promised you photos of the carnivores earlier, but as I had the camera handy I took photos of another one as well, which surprised us with a pretty red flower. I guess it likes it around here?

An Episcia of some sort.

As for the carnivores, I'm happy to say they have grown and thrived since the last update. They are now about 3.5 months old and the largest are about 2-2.5 cm (a little under an inch) tall and wide. Just look at that slime!

Drosera capensis, the bane of fungus gnats.

A tiny forest of DOOM.

Belated Christmassy Banana Muffins

Here comes that muffin recipe I mentioned in an earlier post, the one that I intended to post before the holidays. And oh look, it's another banana muffin recipe! There may be two already in this blog, but one can always use another one, right? Right...?

Yes, once again we had overly ripe bananas in the house, no matter how many I keep eating. I swear, it's as if these bananas sneak away to breed somewhere out of sight and then the young stay hidden long enough to make them overly ripe and thus safe for eating. Kind of like how crabs stay hidden after moulting, until their new shell hardens. I guess the threat of banana muffins came fairly late in the banana's evolutionary process, as they don't seem to have any defense mechanisms for that.

Um.

So! For these muffins I tried a gingerbread-like blend of spices, to fit the season. Worked quite well, I'm pleased to say, and they're even better the next day. Enjoy!


Christmassy Banana Muffins (makes 12)

4 dl (~1 1/2 cups) flour
3 dl (~1 1/4 cups) sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
about a thumbtip's worth of fresh ginger or 1 tsp dried ginger
100 g (~1/2 cup) melted butter
3 eggs
2 ripe, sliced or mashed bananas

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mash or slice the bananas, depending on your preference. Whisk the eggs, then add melted and somewhat cooled butter and bananas (and chopped ginger, if you use the fresh stuff). Fold the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Divide into 12 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes at 175°C (347°F).

As usual, the less you mix the batter, the better they'll be.

Tuesday Finds: Microbes

Lately I have been staring at bacteria in various forms all day, so of course I'm adding more to look at on my blog! It makes sense on some level, I'm sure. The Tuesday Finds are back after the holiday break and this week I bring you microorganisms or microbes.

In order to look at microorganisms, one of course needs a microscope. This neat sterling silver microscope pendant by Ball & Chain Jewelry should get us started!
($60, ballandchain.etsy.com)

Peering into the microscope, you might see something along the lines of this yellow bacteria. However, admiring the bacteria sewed and embroidered on a convertible pin and pendant by Crinoline is certainly easier on the eyes.
($15, crinoline.artfire.com)

I worked with a species of Pseudomonas bacteria a few years ago, but alas, I never saw anything as cute as scientific culture's plush microbe. (I'm sure the microscope just wasn't powerful enough to show that sweet little smile...)
($7, scientificculture.etsy.com)

Why hello there, Year 2009

So much for updating during my vacation. I really should know by now that it never works. This time the failure was due to forgetting the flash drive with photos and already written posts at home. *sigh* With the limited internet opportunities I had, writing new posts from scratch wasn't really an option. (So come back next week for a new Christmassy-type muffin recipe. They're good after the holidays too.)

The vacation was good though! Much food, movies, food, jigsaw puzzles, food, socializing, food, food and even a bit of knitting. In other words, all that's needed for full on relaxation. Christmas presents were spot on too, like one of these wonderful Moccamaster Clubline things. Now I can make handmade goods while drinking coffee made with a handbuilt coffeemaker. How appropriate!

Oh, and after we'd gotten back, Mr Morrgan surprised me with a belated Christmas/happy new job/early 4th anniversary gift, posing with Phoebe here:


Isn't he so cuuuuuute? Mr Morrgan, you do love me!

(Check out Bubbletime Boutique for more soft sweeties!)

The previous year had its ups and downs, but as a whole 2008 was a pretty good year.

• The Big News of the year was that I finally finished my Master's degree in cell biology. Woohoo!


• Shopwise, sales almost doubled both online and offline compared to the previous year (didn't realise this until I finished up the books last week, quite a surprise!).


• Mr Morrgan and I went on a trip overseas, for the first time in many years, and during that time I met many of my in-laws for the first time after over 3 years of marriage (both our families are an international bunch, so it can be tricky to arrange to be in the same country at the same time).


• I finally got some carnivorous plants (which are slimy and well, by the way, remind me to show you a new photo later).


• I finally donated blood. It's something I wanted to do for a long time. Hopefully I can manage doing it regularly from now on.


• A day before going on my vacation, just in time for it to be a nice Christmas gift, I got a job as a research assistant at the same lab I worked at briefly earlier that year.

So yes, pretty good all in all. =)

Judging by the first week or so, I think 2009 will be an interesting year. It'll certainly put my juggling skills to the test, having to find time for both a full-time job and my business. There will likely be changes once I've figured out how it will work best. Stay tuned.

Have a great 2009, everyone!

A Sea Bisquit's Life

My apologies to those of you who found yourselves craving some Tuesday Finds yesterday. I am Officially Worn Out, zombielike and not very talkative (type-ative?) right now. I took the last of the pre-holiday orders to the post office yesterday and it seems that the knowledge that I am now free to relax immediately set off some kind of total inertia. I'll try to be good next week though.

So, instead of much typing, I thought I'd share another video of underwater coolness for your viewing pleasure. It shows the life cycle of sea bisquits (Clypeaster subdepressus), a creature I admit I had never heard of before. I found it fascinating, I hope you do too.

Mmmm, bisquits... *wanders off in a highly zombielike manner in search of nutrition*

A Sea Biscuit's Life from Bruno Vellutini on Vimeo.

Need a fun, silly game? Also, an announcement!

First, a little announcement. Morrgan's Creatures will be closed for the holidays from Dec 20th 2008 and will fully reopen on Jan 7th 2009. This means my Etsy, Art Fire and DaWanda shops. Patterns will be available from Jan 2nd, the rest from Jan 7th. So, if you want to order something before next year, December 19th is the last day to place it. Just So You Know.

(Hopefully I'll get the chance to visit my blog and yours occasionally during this time. We'll see.)

Now for the fun fun stuff. Are you bored at work sometimes? In need of break?


Let me introduce you to QWOP. This silly little game made both Mr Morrgan and I actually Laugh Out Loud, many many times. How far can you get? (I made it to a whole 53 meters, such a proud moment.)

Tuesday Finds: Relaxation

It's been a busy week, ladies and gents. A busy month, really. Completing orders (such as the pile of little ones on the right), packing them, running about after supplies and to the post office... I do love it, don't get me wrong, but at the same time I'm glad this only occurs once a year. ;)

One thing is certain: after such weeks, one is in dire need of relaxation.

When I think about ways to relax, one of the first things that come to mind is a nice cup of tea. 'Orient Express' by Tea Noir looks like a lovely alternative - a green tea blend with jasmine. (I recently tried this blend and while not perhaps the first choice for relaxation, it was indeed simply delightful!)
($10, TeaNoir.etsy.com)

Imagine a nice hot foot bath, while reading a book and enjoying the tea above. Mmm, the thought alone makes me a little less tense. How about a little something extra for the poor tired feet afterwards? Perhaps something like this Twinkle Toes Foot Repair balm by Dress Green?
($5, DressGreen.etsy.com)

I'm sure this doesn't apply to everyone, but the one thing that's guaranteed to relax me is knitting. Yes, even after weeks of it, non-stop. This gorgeous handspun mohair yarn looks oh so tempting indeed. While I haven't tried the yarns from The Fuzzy Bunny, I can happily recommend this seller based on my purchases from her bath and body shop.
($30, fuzzybunnyfibers.etsy.com)

Project Advent Calendar: Mission Completed

So as mentioned in a previous post, I decided to make an advent calendar after seeing this one. After all, I'm in the middle of the holiday season rush with many orders to complete, so it made perfect sense to start something like this. (Yeah, I'm real smart aren't I?)

I'm the kind of person who reads a recipe for baking, goes "oooh, that sounds good, I have to make that" and then exchanges pretty much every ingredient for something else. It comes as no surprise then, that my version turned out a bit... different.

We (I recruited Mr Morrgan as my assistant) had a lot of fun, but completing Project Advent Calendar wasn't all that easy. After solving the first problem, finding empty matchboxes, we were faced with another dilemma - matchboxes are really too tiny for most of the yummy chocolates and toffees we wanted as "surprises". In the end we had to settle for pieces of nougat and toffee we could squish into the right shape. Mmm, squished toffee.

Francis and Freddy Raven approve of this project.

Then came the construction. Mr Morrgan and I, both fans of more unusual shapes, had an exchange that went something like this:

Mr Morrgan: "You know, it'd be cool if we could make this in the shape of an Aztec temple."
Me: "Haha, silly!"
Both: *laughter*

A few moments later:
Me: "Hmmmmmmm..."
Mr Morrgan: "Actually..."

Unfortunately, an Aztec temple proved too tricky a shape to create with only 24 matchboxes. Perhaps next year we will be equipped for more challenging projects. Instead, we decided on the spiral tower you see above. I taped the paper onto the boxes and boxes onto each other, while Mr Morrgan lined them with foil and wrote numbers on them. However, when the time came to fill our lovely tower with goodies, we came to realise two things:

1) Toffees and nougat pieces are rather heavy.
2) Spiral towers made of paper, tape and tiny cardboard boxes don't have much in the way of structural integrity.

This thing was already leaning dangerously to one side when empty, nearly toppling under its own weight. Filling it with candies was out of the question. Oh no, what to do? Well, after a brief moment of despair I found the perfect solution: bottle corks! Covered with paper and cut into suitable pieces they made excellent supports. Problem solved! And thus our creation was finished.

Time spent on project: A few hours.
Cost: More than I expected, even with partly recycled materials. So much for saving money making your own.
Difficulty: Pretty high for a knitter.
Fun level: High!
Injuries: Minor

Tuesday Finds: Finland Finland Finland

...Finland has it all. Or so say Monty Python.

Finland's Independence Day is coming up on December 6th - happy 91st, O Finland! So, I thought it'd be a good idea to show off an eclectic mix of items from shops based in Finland for this week's Tuesday Finds. Enjoy!

With its turquoise cherry blossom print and cute frame, karuski's frame pouch is such a pretty thing indeed. It's earth-friendly too, as it's made of recycled materials.
($24, karuski.etsy.com)

Speaking of recycling, Finns do quite a lot of it. Here's the reason why. We like having our pants intact, thank you very much. This fabric patch by Andy eats only candy can be sewn on anything, to serve as a warning to others.
($4, andyeatsonlycandy.etsy.com)

Last up this week we have a lovely aquatint print called 'across the sea' by the littleblue shop. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about this image that really reminds me of the place I grew up in. Ah, nostalgia...
($22, littleblue.etsy.com)

Finding that Elusive Christmas Spirit

Most years there's snow all over, making this
a prettier scene.

Since early November, there have been poorly decorated plastic trees prominently placed in many shops. This week, I had to suffer for almost 15 minutes in a queue, waiting to pay for a new pair of winter boots, while the awful Christmassy pop played in that store slowly melted my brain. It wasn't even December yet and I wished with all my heart that this Christmas nonsense would have been over and done with yesterday.

Then a friend reminded me that the traditional advent concert was happening this Friday. I'd completely forgotten that it would be so soon and rushed out just in time to get a couple of the last tickets. And then on Friday evening, something strange happened.

The concert is held at the Turku Cathedral and is performed by Brahe Djäknar and Florakören, both internationally awarded choirs consisting of Åbo Akademi University students, and the Symphony Orchestra of Åbo Akademi. Going to this yearly concert became a tradition while I was a student at the same university and I'm happy to continue it now that I've graduated.

As soon as the choirs entered the darkened cathedral, holding lit candles and singing "Veni redemptor gentium" (a very old hymn reworked by J. S. Bach), I got chills up my spine. This happens every time - somehow my body reacts physically to hearing something beautiful. Once the concert was over, I had been transformed from a grumpy curmudgeon concerning all holiday things to someone who thinks it isn't all that bad after all.

The rest of the evening included drinks with friends and unexpectedly ending up at what could be called a student street party with mulled wine. By the end of the night, not even the sight of a pink plastic Christmas tree in a shop window could deter my small but growing enthusiasm for Christmas.

I'm not sure how the advent concert manages to do this, but it always works. I guess it shows the lovely side of Christmas and reminds me of how it will be once Christmas Eve comes around and we're enjoying the holiday with family, instead of the icky commercial version we're stuffed with every day for 1 1/2 months.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cool handmade advent calendar idea to realise, in order to nurture my delicate Christmas joy.

Morrgan, the One-Woman Pony Factory

Those of you who have followed me on Twitter may have noticed a small obsession with ponies lately. That's because I got a custom order, a great one actually, because:

a) It was larger than my usual custom orders (not that big by most wholesale standards, but my shoppe is small and it was big enough to make me happy).
b) It was my first order from a business, and a local one too.
c) Wheeee, ponies!! Or horses actually, but I like the word pony.


So I became a one-woman pony factory. Above you see the work in progress and it illustrates my way of working pretty well. I start by knitting the pieces and when that gets a bit dull I begin to put them together, then soon go back to knitting again because my fingers itch for it, then take a break from it again and sew on the manes and tails, and so on, and so on. When it's not a big order, I just work on several things at once in a similar way.

These are actually magnetic horses, containing a strong neodymium magnet. They are all different and I made a few extra ones too, which have already been listed in my Etsy, Art Fire and DaWanda shops. They would make a fun Christmas present for example, don't you think? *hint hint*





I already have many many random ideas for other magnetic animals: foxes, elephants, doggies, polar bears, black panthers... Stay tuned!

Tuesday Finds: Snowstorms

A few days ago I had to go grocery shopping in the winter's first minor snowstorm. I haven't had that much fun in a looooong time! Mr Morrgan and I were laughing every time a gust of wind tried to blow us away and we enjoyed the sight of whirling winds playing with the snow. This childish glee is reserved for the first snowstorm of the year only, for I'm sure we'll be sick of them once the winter is over. But after a hopefully sunny summer to come, once next year's autumn nears its end, we'll again be looking forward to the first snowstorm of the season...

Shameless promotion alert! Once we got back home I looked like a snowman and was cold all over, except for my head. Why? Because I was wearing a hat like this one. It's my favourite winter hat and now I can say it's minor snowstorm-proof as well! (Red & black and dark brown & black coming soon to the shop.)

Ok, on with the finds! As you may have guessed (or more likely, read from the title), this week's theme is snowstorms.

Is this fiber batt called 'Moonlit Snow' not a thing of beauty? Yes, it gives a more peaceful snow-on-the-ground-only vibe, but just look at how soft it looks! I couldn't resist showing it to you. I know we don't have space for me to start another hobby, but this one reeeeally makes me want to learn how to spin. You can find this one and many more at Terra Bella Spun.
($18.75, TerraBellaSpun.etsy.com)

Let's say you're in a snowstorm, either enjoying it (like us weirdos) or wanting to get indoors as soon as possible. What would make the situation better? A friend to share the joy/suffering with, of course! I imagine this fat polar bear by sweetestpea would certainly know what to do in a blizzard.
($37, sweetestpea.etsy.com)

Don't get snow or snowstorms where you come from? Here's a handy-dandy Morrgan-approved tip: create your own! Get a set or two of these snowflake cardstock punches, available at Carolina Craftin', and just toss them in the air! Insta-blizzard without the cold!
(You're right, I haven't grown up yet. I don't want to either, this is more fun.)
($1.50, angellgrl17.etsy.com)

Blue-ringed Beauties and Wunderpuses

Greater blue-ringed octopus (photo by Jens Petersen)

Meekiyu commented on my previous post about underwater creatures, mentioning the blue-ringed octopus. It sounded fascinating so I did a bit of reading on this beautiful cephalopod. It turns out there are several species of blue-ringed octopuses, all of them teeny tiny (golfball-sized, according to Wikipedia) and extremely venomous.

An interesting tidbit is that the markings of the Greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) can be used to identify different individuals. This photo compares a few octopuses, the differences marked with white arrows.

While doing some more reading I found that the blue-ringed ones aren't alone; the "wunderpus" octopus (Wunderpus photogenicus, love that name) individuals can also be distinguished by their patterns. And now we come to the point of this longer-than-intended post. On the left here is a photo of a wunderpus, seen from above - this one seems to have quite a lovely smile! ;)


(Source for modified 2nd photo: Huffard CL, Caldwell RL, DeLoach N, Gentry DW, Humann P, B. MacDonald, B. Moore, R. Ross, T. Uno, S. Wong. 2008. Individually Unique Body Color Patterns in Octopus (Wunderpus photogenicus) Allow for Photoidentification. PLoS ONE 3(11): e3732.)