Crafts and dreams

Updates and a sale!

2011-11-28T12:03:00.014-06:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged (again, I know). But work and teaching at the University have really taken most of my time last months. Now, I'm temporarily only teaching one seminar at the University, because my workplace had some economical issues. Not the greatest moment to not have a day-job, but hey, at least I can do other things for a while. Like crafting! And I'm quite positive I will find a new and even more interesting job soon.

Meanwhile, I've been updating my Etsy shop. You can find for example this... (Yes, it is a real fossil, an orthocerus fossil).

...this...
these cute earrings...

.... these crocheted snowflakes...

... and many other things, like stitch markers and knitted toys. And the best thing is that everything will have 10% discount until Wednesday 30th of November! Just use a coupon code "November" if you shop, and you'll get the discount automatically.

Doctor Colibridreams, I presume?

2011-06-25T18:14:00.005-05:00

I wanted to blog about my graduation, and show you some pictures of the exam (and mostly, the graduation shawl I knitted). But. All the pics - except the above pic of the lovely roses he gave me - are in boyfriends computer and apparently it is very difficult to send them to me... Yes, I took the exam in the end of March and yes, I have been constantly reminding him of sending me the pics. So, if I waited to get the photos, this blog might be silent for a long, long time.

But - the good news is, I'm a doctor in Latin American studies! I was so happy to finish the studies. The last months before March I kind of hated my thesis, I was so tired of it already. Don't get me wrong - I still love my research subject and plan to write about it more and go on with the research at some point. I just had enough of the thesis and didn't want to work with it anymore, even though I knew it could have been better.

The exam went fine. Well, one of the Committee members was really hard on me. But I already had seen it coming, so it was no surprise. Besides, I know that she is kind of crazy and was pissed of with me for personal reasons. She bashed my work because I hadn't cited her enough (I don´t think there is much to cite, really). So when she tried to question and criticize me, I didn't feel nervious, because I could despise her. I can't really respect her as an academic because the reason she was so difficult with me before and during the exam, is mostly vanity on her part.

Well, the good thing I don't have to try to cope with her anymore. And if I ever have to work with her again, at least it will be on completely different basis, as iguals.

For now, I'm quite happy to work outside the University. It's good to see the "real life" too, although my plan is to go back at some moment. I might be giving some lectures next semester, but that will be something extra, in addition to my real life work.

Finally blogging again

2011-03-06T23:06:00.006-06:00

My good intention to blog more often has been complicated by the fact that we still don’t have internet in our home. I hope there will be some kind of change in that in very near future; I’m tired of going to the University every day just to check my mails. But well, we’ll see.

Otherwise everything is going fine. I finally got a job last week. You can’t imagine ohw happy and relieved I am! Especially because my new job seems to be interesting and challenging. I can’t start until I get my working permission, but at least I don’t have to look other jobs anymore. It also seems that I might graduate some day! The tesis has been practically ready from the beginning of December, but due to the vacations, university bureaucracy and especially some problems with one of my Committee members, I haven’t been able to get through all the necessary procedures. But it seems that next week the biggest problem could be overcome and I could go on with the process. So, if I’m lucky, I might have my exam by the end of this month, or in the beginning of April at least. Wish my luck!

I have also been knitting quite a lot. Boyfriend got a new sweater as a Christmas present (yeah, in January ;-). I made it with Tuulia’s Tailored Sweater Method, but the spreadsheet gave me some pretty strange numbers, so I just made up the numbers. The yarn is an old yarn granny gave me last summer; it must be from the 50’s or something. I’m not completely happy with the sweater. Maybe it’s the neckline. (sorry about the bad picture, but it´s the only one I have!)

In January, I also finally finished my own Tangled Yoke Cardigan, started in February 2010. It became a UFO (unfinished object) when I had to think how to make the sleeves top down and not bottom up, as in the instructions. The yarn also seemed to pill a lot already while I was knitting, so this cardigan was left to wait for months. Finally I decided to give it a try in December.

Well, I’m happy I finished it, but I’m quite disappointed with the result. I love the colour, love the pattern, and the yarn is really soft and has a great stitch definition. But. It pills like hell. I have shaved it many, many times, and it seems that the moment you stop the shaving, it starts to pill again. I wanted this to be my “good cardigan”, something I could use in public, but it looks all worn out. That´s why the sleeves are short too - I didn´t want to buy any more yarn for them. Definitively will reclaim to the yarn company, because the yarn is not that cheap either.

Welcome 2011

2011-01-15T14:15:00.006-06:00

I hope you don´t mind seeing some Christmas pictures, even though it already middle of January. It´s just a bit hard to update the blog - I still don´t have internet at home.

The Christmas evening´s dinner was sooooooo much fun...

No, really, we had good time. The nephews (boyfriend´s, not mine) were just a little tired after playing all day and after opening the gifts.

And here´s the welcome to the year 2011 - with the 12 grapes of course!

Grand opening!

2010-11-25T13:48:00.007-06:00

Are you looking for handmade Christmas gifts? Here's something for everyone who loves animals!

Rosie, the knitted elephant

I have opened my second Etsy shop, Colibriknits for knitted toys and decorations made from my own patterns. Every toy is unique and has it's own story.

I'm also having an opening sale during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, so until the end of Monday 29th of November you can get a 10% discount on everything. Just use the OPENINGSALE coupon code, and you will get the discount.

Hugo, the knitted bear.

Oscar, the knitted wolf

Amelia, the knitted wolf

Aslak, the knitted reindeer.

Knut, the knitted polar bear.

I'm adding constantly more toys, so be sure to check it often!

Coming back

2010-11-22T09:15:00.005-06:00

It´s been a long time since I´ve been here... Mainly because I haven´t had time to write, and when I had, I wanted to write about so manyt things it seemed a bit overwhelming. But my intention is statr writing more often again from now on.

These are some of the things I've been doing these months:

Travelling in Chiapas when my family came to visit in June...

Knitting...

But mostly I've been working with this:

My thesis. It's almost finished and I hope I can give it to my committee members by the end of the month. I just want to finish it!

And then there's also The House, that boyfriend and I bought and are renovating. But that's another story and I'll write about it more later.

Also, I'm going to open a new Etsy shop this week, so stay tuned!

Climbing to the highest top (or so we thought)

2010-03-06T11:11:00.011-06:00

In January it was our fourth aniversary (well, actually we have been together longer, but we use as our aniversary the day I moved to Mexico four years ago). We celebrated it with a good dinner and a day trip to Nevado de Toluca, an extinct volcano near quite near here.

We left home early, because we thought we woudn't be the only ones to visit the national park on a sunny Sunday. All seemed to go well until about 40 km before the volcano. The signs for the park are quite badly placed, but we managed to find the right way anyway and thought we would arrive early. Well, we were wrong. The road to Nevado was in bad shape and there was a huuuuuge line of cars. The last 30 something kilometres took us no less than two hours! Some idiots had decided to park their cars on the road that already was very narrow, so at some points only one car could pass. The scenenary was pretty, though.

The national park has a parking lot that was full of people already when we finally got there. Even though lots of people visit the place, the parking lot is really badly organized. There are no maps of the walking routes, for example, and no one to ask for either. We wanted to climb to the crater, because I had heard there's a lovely lake in there. Because there were no signs, we just started to follow a path lots of people seemed to use. I'm not quite sure how high the parking lot is (the highest point of the volcano is about 4600 metres, so I guess the parking place must be at over 3000 metres), but after a while, the thin air made me feel bad. My lungs hurt and I started to feel dizzy. Luckily, after resting a while and drinking water I was good to go again. It was strange though, because when we climbed more, I didn't feel the altitude dizziness anymore.

The path passes though a lovely pine forest to the mountain meadows.

I was so happy with the snow! I've missed it. There were also these strange dry flowers.

The shortest way to the crater - climb right up, right?

And so we climbed...

And climbed... At some point my feet just came out on a strike and just wouldn't move. It was not so much that they felt tired or anything, they just refused to take a step even I was telling them to. One step at a time... There's only a little left...

Or so we thought. When we got to the top, we (and everyone who got there) just screamed "Oh noooo!" Because instead of the seeing the crater and the lake in front of our eyes, we saw this:

We probably could have gotten to the crater too, but by the time we were up, it was already almost 4 o'clock and the park closes at 5. There was no way we could have reached the crater and got back to our car in time. So we just ate our lunch, watched the lovely scenes and when we got cold - it was really windy up there, even the sun was shining so hot - we just decided to go back.
Later we heard that if we had walked the old road instead of climbing the paths, we would have probably reached the crater in time. But well, I think the trip was worth it anyway. I loved being in the nature, smelling the fresh air and exercising. We were really tired when we got home, but it was such a lovely day! And a perfect day to go, because there were no clouds at all (guess who got sunburned...).

The only thing we didn't like was the organization of the park. It sucks. The roads are bad (it also took hours to get away from the park, because of the traffic jams caused by non existent organization). The services in the park are really bad too. It's a shame, because it's such a beautiful place and with a bit of work, the locals could get some extra income and the national park could be better protected. But it seems that the state's governor is more interested in glueing his government propanganda everywhere telling what they supposedly have done, instead of actually doing anything.

Coming back

2010-02-15T11:50:00.000-06:00

It's hard to start writing after a long pause. Actualy, I have been thinking about writing here for a long time. I just haven't done it. I partly blame writer's block and partly thesis...

I also wasn't sure if to start blogging again about a trip to a volcano or about knitting. Well, even though some of you might prefer the volcano, you'll get knitting pictures for now. There are less pictures of my projects than of the volcano, so it's simply easier. But I promise the volcano pics later!

Even though the thesis has kept me really busy, I have had time to knit too. Maybe it's more like I have taken my time to knit too, it helps me keep sane with all the stress with the thesis. Now more than ever it's really nice to see something concrete to get finished...

This stole I already finished on November to use it in a wedding.

Snowball

Pattern: Melon Stichs shawl/stole from Victorian Lace today
yarn: Lana Stop Reina, less than 50g
needles: 4 mm

I like it a lot, but unfortunately the blocking didn't make it as wide as I had hoped for, so it didn't cover me as much as it should have. This winter I have used it a lot as a scarf though - it's so lovely and light. It was the first time I knit mohair yarn, and I liked it.

Then there's of course the Great Christmas Present for boyfriend that I started in August and finished 24th of December (in the morning, may I say!). Yes, a crocheted blanket.

Otoño blanket
yarn: Novita Puro 2050g, Katia Azteca about 50g, and Ecologico Camel about 130g)
hook: 5mm

It's called "Otoño" or Autumn, because the colours remind me of, well, autumn. It was fun to make (but not to sew together). I just crocheted different sizes of granny squares and then in the end decided how to combine them. I hadn't crocheted in a loong time, but have to say it's quite addictive! I like the rythm of it.

I used mainly Puro yarn, but as my dear boyfriend demanded (as a joke, it results) that he wanted the blanket for his king size bed, I ran out of yarn. That's why I also used a bit of Katia Azteca for some squares and Ecologico Camel for the edge.

I love it and have to say that it was hard to part with, even though it went for boyfriend. I especially missed the blanket during the really cold days of late December and January. But well, when we'll move in together, it will be mine again! Eh, I mean... I can use it. ;-)

Welcome the death

2009-11-22T22:18:00.008-06:00

Day of the Death or Día de Muertos is celebrated here in Mexico in the beginning of the November. It's my absolute favorite of Mexican fiestas, so even though it was already couple of weeks ago, I want to show you some pictures I took this year from the altars in Coyocan (my favorite part of the city) and at the University.

The Day of the Death is not like Halloween, although you can see more and more Halloween stuff in the shops, which is a great shame, I think. I much prefer the traditional sugar skulls, cempazutchil (the orange flowers you can see in the photos), the paper decorations and happy skeletons to all those comercial monster stuff.

During the Day of the Death celebrations you see skulls, and skeletons and other symbols of the Death everywhere, but they are not scary. The death come to the Earth to visit their love ones, who build them altars with their favorite foods and drinks. There's nothing scary about that... '

That's exactly why I love this fiesta. The Death is not something scary, it's familiar and close, something that happens to everyone. You can even joke with it, and the skeletons are often represented drinking tequila, partying and doing other earthly stuff. Or smiling gently, as the lady in this picture:

Great attitude towards the Death, colourfull and ingenious decorations and the yummy pan de muertos (bread of the Death, special holiday bun made only for this fiesta) - how could you not love it?

Suomi, part 1

2009-09-24T14:37:00.005-05:00

Here I am again... A lot of time has passed again since my last blog update, so I'll tell you about things that also passed some time ago: my trip to Finland in August.

I had actually thoguht about writing here already from Finland, I had a text in my head and all, but there was really no time for anything like that. Normally I'm busiest in Finland when I'm Helsinki and try to see everyone in the last few days, but this time I was running around all time. First due to an extra trip to Helsinki for friend's hen night and then to the fact that boyfriend came to Finland too. Both very nice reasons, though.

It was nice to be in Finland in August. Normally I go earlier in the summer, in June or July, but this time the wedding party made me travel later. That was great - I still got my bit of Finnish summer, but also a nice hue of Finnish autumn that I haven't seen since I moved here.

I have sometimes missed the Finnish autumn here. All the nature's colours (you should see the colours!), the crisp air, the smell of the autumnal forest, berries and mushrooms... The darkening nights, candlelight and the starry sky.

Why, then, haven't I reserved one of my trips to Finland in autumn? Well, it all may sound very romantic, and when the weather is fine, the autumn there is just lovely. But... it can also be raining in the most unromantic way, not always the ruska (the time when the leaves turn from green to yellow, orange and red) is bright and beautiful, and the autumn can be basically very grey and dishearting too. Do I want to take a chance with my trips? No.

But now I got both the summer and the autumn. I got to swim in the lake, eat icecream in the market place, eat strawberries and peas (both tradicional summer delicacies) AND I could also go picking mushrooms in the forest. Me likes!

Updating...

2009-08-02T18:50:00.000-05:00

On Firefox the images and everything seems to work, so here you, some updates...

I have spent the past months mainly with the thesis (vacations from the university are for thesis writing, right? At least my advisor thinks so...). But I also had a nice guide/interpreter job in June. A group of Finns came here for a wedding, and although I didn't know any of them before, it was a nice week, even with little sleep. Simultaneous interpreting wasn't as difficult as I thought (of course I didn't have to translate totally exactly, which helped a lot). I also got to travel a bit with them. Most of the places where we visited, I already knew, but I got to know some new places too. And I definitively learnt a lot, as I had to find and learn by heart lots of information that I then told to my group.

Here are some pictures:

The Xochicalco piramids near Cuernavaca were very impressive. I hadn't visited there before, so it was really nice to get there. Not only the pyramids are awesome, but also the view from the top of the hill is amazing.

Taxco, the silver city (there a lots of silver smiths in the city and you can get good deals on silver jewelry), was one of our stops. I have been there two or three times before, but it's always a nice place to go.

Even though the thesis is taking a lot of time now, I have also knitted something. My Wilhelmiina was ready already on the first of June and I'm very happy with it.

Pattern: Neja's Wilhelmiina

Yarn: Novita Bambu

Needles: 3,5mm

I used Neja's pattern, but did some modifications. I added a lot of purl stitchesto the underarms and made the cable part much longer than in the original pattern (it wasn't supposed to be as long as in the pictures though - the upper part stretched quite a lot).

I have also been knitting a wedding shawl for my friend, and started also a top down tunic, but you'll get pictures of those later.

Long time no see...

2009-08-01T14:38:00.002-05:00

I guess the blog doesn't update itself, so I have to start writing again... I have actually thought about writing for a long time, but the more you wait with the writing, the harder it's start again. But for now on, I'll try to write again more often.

But of course just today, when I decided to finally write something, and show you lots of pictures too, it seems something is wrong with Blogger. I can't add any photos! Or have they just changed everything and I don't get it?

Well, hope they get this sorted out soon...

Back to (almost) normal

2009-05-07T19:29:00.007-05:00

The life here in Mexico City is getting slowly back to normal after almost two weeks of influenza epidemic. The primary schools are still closed 'till next Monday, but the highschools and the universities opened again today. Also the restaurants and movie theatres could open up today, but with some restrictions to garantee enough space between each person.

So, everything is almost as normal again, and there are lot less people on the streets with surgical masks. There are other signs remind about the influenza though. The subway, for example, was quite empty compared to normal days (which is nice, but that might chance when all the schools start again). At the university they gave everybody antibacterial gel at the faculty doors. There's supposed to be also at least one or two metres between every student in the class, but that's simply impossible in the small classrooms.

It seems the influenza hasn't been as dangerous as it first was thought, but it might get worse again later. Many seem to think that as the authorities let the schools open again, the influenza is magically gone and you can forget all about it. I was personally never really scared about this, but still prefer to take some precautions, like washing my hands all the time. The influenza might be unlikely to kill you, but it doesn't seem like a nice desease to get anyway. And it would be nice if we didn't have a new epidemic later on.

Well, lets hope this really is time to get back to normality. Meanwhile, please don't discriminate against the Mexicans, if you live somewhere else. The actions for example China has taken, are just absurd. You don't get a flu by just seeing a perfectly healthy person, even if he/she is from Mexico.

And now something different: just wanted to show you the second swap package I got from the grad school swap!

Wool yarn in lovely blue tone, lots of cool pens and highlighters, chocolate and a lovely note pad that has a magnet behind. It will be greatly needed. I always write lists (especially to do lists) on little pieces of paper that I later lose (and might or might not find even later), so having the notebook on my fridge will be very helpful.

In the ghost town

2009-04-29T16:30:00.006-05:00

As probably everyone knows by now, Mexico is suffering from swine influenza epidemic. I have been well and so everyone I know, so you don't have to worry about me. In the worst case scenario, there's a hospital two blocks from my house. And if someone heard about the earthquake (last Monday), nothing happened either. I felt how the house moved, but it didn't scare me or anything. It's always just very strange to feel how the Earth moves. But yes, it felt like "oh great, just what we needed, a quake, as if the influenza wasn't enough"...)

The epidemic is scary, but I think there is no reason to panic, we just need to be careful. There are lots of hysterical people now, buying tons of food from the grocery store and looking at everybody as a potencial source of infection. (Well, everybody is a potencial source, but you should just see the look in their eyes!) And on the other hand, there are still people who are sure this is all a huge conspiracy (of the Government, of the USA... and probably there are other theories too). Then there are also people who think they are not going to get the flu because they've never got ill before, so why worry... I have to say that of these groups, I prefer the hysterical ones. At least they take care of themselves, even if excessively, which helps others too. Happily, most of the people seem to be careful but reasonable.

After the epidemic was announced late last Thursday, I have mainly stayed home or at boyfriend's house. I'm glad that I can write my thesis home, as the University is closed at least until the next week. Today I had to go to the bank and the supermarket, and the city really seems abandoned. There are lot less people on the streets, and all the bars, restaurants, cafés, movie theatres and schools are closed. It was strange... But I have to admit that it was kind of nice to go out after four days, even using the uncorfortable surgical mask. It was nice to feel the sun and the wind. Staying inside all the time is really boring, even if you know it's good for you.

I'm back!

2009-04-17T19:09:00.004-05:00

I have been really busy lately with the thesis, which have kept me from writing... And right before Easter, my parents visited me and we traveled together to the beach. And then I was just very sick last week.

I'll be writing about my parents visit later, now I'll just want to show you my first swap package ever! In Ravelry, there's a group for grad school students. I love it and think it really helps me to stay motivated and achieve more, because the idea is to post about your progress with the studies every week. And to spoil ourselves little, we have also swaps! I have never participated in a swap before, but I'm glad I did now! Look at this lovely package Sobeknofret (ravelry-link) send me! So much delicious chocolate and good tea (both quite hard to get here) and other fun things! And lovely, soft yarn... That will become something nice and warm for me.

I haven't had time to knit too much, but here's a baby set I made for my friend's babyshower. I think she liked it! I haven't knitted baby stuff before, but I have to say it's very nice. Kind of instant gratification: you get cute things made in couple of hours. The instructions for the Baby Berry are here.

I have also been knitting Wilhelmiina with Neja's instructions. No photos yet...I started it already on March, but it's advancing very slowly, as the cable charts are quite complex and I can't knit it while I watch TV or am in the car, when I usually mostly get my knitting done. I'm also not very enthusiastic about Wilhelmiina right now. That's probably because being quite stressed with the thesis, I really don't want to knit anything complicated. Buuut... I also don't want to leave it now, because I know I wouldn't pick it any time soon, and I really want to use it. I'm actually waiting to get to the mindless stockinette part. I am!

Elfish sweater and other knits

2009-02-23T22:12:00.012-06:00

EDIT: Love and peas is having a blog contest, be sure to check it!

Last weekend I finished my new favourite sweater, Arwen.

Pattern: Kate Gilbert's Cardigan for Arwen

Yarn: Berrocco Ultra Alpaca

Needles: 4 mm Knit Picks

I modified the pattern a lot. I don't really like seaming, so the original construction seemed to be unnecesarily complicated. So I knit the body in one piece until the armpits, finished the rest separately, knitted the sleeves in round and the hood in one piece. My Arwen is also a lot longer than the original one. Practically I only took the idea and the reversible cables from the pattern. I love the cables, by the way. They look much more complicated that they really are - the chart was really easy to memorize (after I found out how to read the chart - it's not done in the usual way).

When I got this ready, it was a hot day, and I thought I wouldn't be able to use the cardigan soon, as it's very warm. Well, no fear! I have already used it these days. It seems that febrero loco really is crazy, at least what comes to the weather. We had some very warm and sunny days last week, and the suddenly thunderstorms, strong winds and cold days again. I'd prefer the warm spring weather, but at the same time I'm also secretly happy that I have a good reason to use Arwen.

Oh, and I have to tell you that this sweater saved me even before it was ready! When I was coming back from Finland, the zipper of my hand luggage got broken in the plane. And I mean totally broken, there was no way to close the baggage again. I could never have got it out of the plane nicely if I hadn't decided to knit the cuffs of this sweater in the plane. That's why I could use my scarf and my lovely alpaca yarn to tie my hand baggage and could somehow carry it. (Yes, I did get some strange looks, but who cares!)

I also finally have some pics of the Christmas presents I made. Boyfriend's mom got a shawl.

Pattern: Nuolitanssi by Elina Urmas

Yarn: Bernat Satin

Needles 4 mm

The pattern was nice and clear. I definitively could use it again. The yarn was quite thick for a lace shawl, but the receiver chose it herself. Well, she didn't really know that I was going to make something for her with it, but once we were together in a shop and she really liked the colour and the yarn.

And last but not least, boyfriend's present. It's called Kivi, which is Finnish for stone.

Kivi Hoodie

Pattern: my own

Yarn: Nalle Colori and Novita Nalle

Needles: 3,5 mm

This is my own design. I'm happy with it, although I still have to do something to the hood - it's too large and seems strange if boyfriend puts it on. (When boyfriend saw my Arwen on Sunday, he said: "How come my hood is so strange and yours is perfect? You always make your own sweaters better than mine!" That's not true... I just learn new tricks always after finishing his sweaters... ;-)

This was a boring knit, as it has so much stockinette stitch. The garter stitch was even worse choice for the upper part, though, it was even more boring and if you make a mistake, correcting it is more difficult. Note to self: don't knit anything for boyfriend with thin yarn and 3,5 mm needles! Or at least no sweaters. This one took several months to make.

Random things

2009-02-16T12:48:00.011-06:00

Some time ago, Jaana from Metsän takana challenged me to tell six random things about myself. Here you go!

1. I'm very curious. I'm not generally intersted in cars, for example, but start to fix a car in front of me, and you'll soon see me looking over your shoulder and asking questions.

2. I have studied several foreign languages. The strangest one is probably Northern Sami, spoken by the Sami, the indigenous people of Finland and other Nordic countries. No, I don't have any connection - more than mere interest - to the Sami, and I have only used the language on my University classes and reading some Sami poetry. I still think it hasn't been a waste of time at all. Some day I just might need it, who knows? Besides, the more languages you learn, the easier it gets... And it's wonderful to learn about new ways of thinking and seeing things, and a foreign language is a good way to open perspectives. And well, I said it already - I'm very curious.

3. Walking clears my head. If I'm stressed out, angry, sad or worried, I take a walk. Sometimes when I'm writing my research and feel that some idea is coming, but can't quite get it yet, I walk in my room.

4. Some day I want to travel to Siberia. By train, of course, and for several weeks, without mayor plans, so I could got off the train whenever I wanted and just stay in some village for a while. But before that I would have to study Russian again (I have forgotten almost everything) and learn to sleep in the train.

5. I love mangos. The mango season is about to begin, hurray!

6. I like to keep my curtains open to get as much sunlight as possible. And to see the sky.

I'm not going to challenge anyone else, but if you want to continue the meme, please tell me, so I can visit you!

And now some random stuff: pics of the yarns that I bought from Finland. I "only" brought 2,7 kg... I normally don't buy so much yarn at once, as I prefer to finish one project before starting a new one, but it's easiest for me to bring yarn from Finland. And I have a plan for almost everything.

The red ones are going to be Sylvi, the white Merinosilk is for my friend's wedding shawl, the blue bambu yarn will become Wilhelmiina (as soon as I finish my current project) and Pirkkalanka on the left side will be some kind of multicoloured sweater that I haven't designed yet.

Mom gave me the lovely Sivilla yarns. I'll make two shawls with them, I think.

Trip to Finland, part 2

2009-01-26T16:08:00.021-06:00

I got back to Mexico about a week ago, but haven't had time to blog before. The past week has included running around the university like crazy (everything important apparently has to be announced as late as posible), writing a paper for an international congress (I got the acceptance letter 4 days after the deadline for sending the papers) and being sick. Who knows where I got it, but apparently I have had some kind of parasite, and have tried to get over it the last days. Welcome back to reality...

But well, to nicer topics: I can finally show you some pics from my trip to Finland.

It was lovely to be in Finland and see everybody. Although when you live abroad, you notice who your friends really are and who want to see you when you visit. With some people I had the sensation of being a curiosity that comes far away and makes them feel bit awkward because I just don't belong to their lives anymore. But luckily there are still many many friends with whom it feels I was never away. And of course being with family is always very relaxing.

And while I love visiting Finland, and always wish I had more time to spend there, it's also good to be back home. Being a kind of a tourist, moving around all the time and living in other people's houses is also a bit tiring. Maybe someday I'll move back, but for now I'm happy this way. And I know that after living 3 years in Mexico, it would be difficult to adjust to Finland again. It certainly would take time.

I'm not saying that living in Finland wouldn't be easier in many ways. Mostly in practical things, as everything works quite smoothly there. But the mentality... Not that there aren't good things about that too. Talking straight and being (mostly) honest are very good things. But does everything really have to be planned at least 3 months in advance? And while in general things are pretty well there, lots of people seem to complain about everything and make problems out of things that aren't really real problems (I admit, I do complain too much too, and yes, there are also people with real problems there. But you get the point). In Mexico, there are lots of really serious problems, but people have very different attitud towards them. There are lots of joy and happiness, too. It kind of makes the problems easier to bear, I guess.

I have also noticed that while there is solidarity in Finland in general as a society - in the form of a good social security system and taxation that is quite fare, for example - this solidarity doesn't manifest itself in the individual level. People don't help each other - at least strangers - too much. In Mexico, things seem to be other way around: the society as a whole doesn't really care about the poor or the needed, but people are really helpful (at least if they are in the same social strata). I hope it could be possible to have both qualities in one place...

More generally, a combination of the best things in Finland and in Mexico would make quite a good society, I think. Meanwhile, I just have to live in between, always missing something from one country while I'm in the other.

Trip to Finland, part 1

2009-01-11T12:18:00.005-06:00

I have been now two weeks in Finland. I spent the Christmas with my dear boyfriend, and then got here. I did finish my knitted presents before Christmas eve, by the way. You'll get the pictures of them when I go back home.

My tour here started in Tampere, the city where I grew up (and which is probably the best city in Finland). Then I got here to Lahti to meet more family and spend some time at my father's cottage. Only Helsinki left to go before I return to Mexico.

I have mainly read, knitted, met family and friends, enjoyed going to sauna as much as I can (I can easily spent couple of hours in sauna too) and of course made long walks to all my favorite places, like an old dog in his territory. I just love to walk in the forest and lake shores! I did some thesis-related stuff in the first days, too, but then I decided it's better to just enjoy the vacations.

I'm so happy that this time the global warming hasn't spoiled my little winter trip and at least in Tampere and Lahti there has been snow. I've missed it a lot, I haven't seen a proper winter in two years. I just love the sound of the snow under my feet, the humming of the wind in the snowy trees and the song of the lake under the ice.

I tried to put some pictures to prove that there really is snow, but Dad's computer doesn't want to cooperate, so next time...

M is for meaningful words

2008-12-17T14:22:00.014-06:00

I have seen this nice meme in many blogs and decided to give it a chance too. Villapeikko gave me an M, so here are some meaningful words that begin with it.

Mom

My mom is a very important person to me. We are alike in many things, and not in the bad sense. Even though I live far a way from her and my other relatives, they are an important part of my life, and always will be, wherever I am.

Mummi

Mummi is how we call our granny in Finnish. Mummi is 92 years old and still lives alone, knits socks, crochets curtains and cooks and bakes for everyone. And she so witty – she can probably invent something clever to say to someone more quickly than I do (I blame my birth place – in my region people are known to be slow, and where she comes from people are known to be very quick, witty and funny).

México

México (pronounce it as in Spanish!) is so many things to me. It’s my second home country, no doubt about it, and my actual home. México means the possibility to be with the man I love and do what I want right now: my research. I don’t know if I will stay here for the rest of my life – but I know that I’m very happy with my life here now. I have learnt to love the country, its rich culture, its nature, its smells and colourss and all its variety, and the people too, generally so friendly and nice. I have learnt lots of things and the country has changed me (I think for the good more than for the bad). Of course there are lots of problems too. The poverty, the corruption, the violence, the insecurity, the racism and other kinds of discrimination… Sometimes reading the newspapers seems more like reading a novel of Kafka rather than reading the news. There are many things I can’t understand and many things I wish were different and will hopefully change some day. I could rant about the Mexican politics for a loooong time (which I’m not supposed to do in public, though, thanks to the Constitution that states that foreigners can’t take part in politics).

Milky Way

I love astronomy and cosmology. The space has interested me since I was a little girl. If I was a little better in maths, I might be studying astronomy. Not that I couldn’t study it now – I could, and would probably be OK in it. But as astronomy is a passion, I don’t want to be just OK or good in it. I would have to be excellent. So I never even tried to study it, and prefer to have this interest as a hobby. I’m still always looking at the sky, and could spend hours watching the stars, moon and planets and Milky Way. By the way, I think the Finnish word for Milky Way, Linnunrata (Birds’ way or route) is much more beautiful than the English version.

Memory

My doctoral research is about social memory. My thesis is about how past human rights abuses are remembered and treated in Chile and in Mexico. I still love my theme after working with it in my Master's thesis too, so I guess it was a good choice. Sometimes it can be really hard to read about all those awful human rights violations (even when committed in the past), but it helps to remember how important the theme is.

Mother Nature

The nature has always been very important to me. I need to get in the forest every once in a while. I think that's one of the toughest things for me in living in one of the biggest cities in the world - I can't get to wander in the nature as much as I would love to. Luckily there are some forests even in the city, and besides Mexico City is greener than you would think. (The picture is from Finland.)

Making things

I could get crafts in this list after all, ha! I love making things: knitting, making jewelry, drawing, painting... but also cooking and baking. And I would love to learn to make more things with my own hands - wood and metal work are something I want to learn someday. Actually, if I just could, I would make almost everything myself. In my family handmade things have always been valued. Maybe that's why I was very impressed when boyfriend first time said that someday he would like to construct his own house.

Morning light

I love the soft light in the summer mornings in Finland, right after the sunrise (Not that I see it a lot, but anyway). The light in general is very important to me and I can get a bit blue or depressed if there’s not enough light in my home. I always have the curtains open during the day to be able to have daylight in the room and to watch the sky. I love to observe the different tones of light at different times of the day and in different places. I can still remember the light in Chilean Patagonia. It was as if the sky was closer to the Earth there, as if you could touch the sky if you reached a bit more, as if the light was raining down…

Miles

I love travelling. My parents always took us children with them to their trips to Europe, and I guess my travel bug is from them… Travelling and getting to know new places is fun. And you don’t even have to travel very far; sometimes a travel in your own city can be an adventure. I also like travelling in the bus or in the train. Watching the scenery that passes by can sometimes be even better than getting to the destiny. I like flying too, even though it’s not at all ecological. But at the moment it would be impossible to travel to months in a ship just to see my family once in a while.

I could write about other M words too, like moral, mediocrity, and meanignful job, but I think my list is long enough as it is. Who knows if anyone gets even this far...

Aaaaand the winner is...

2008-12-09T19:18:00.008-06:00

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I found many new blogs I'll be visiting again. The winner of the contest was drawn with a traditional method (sorry for the blurry pics, it was a bit dark already when I took them):

Rachel O, send me an e-mail to colibridreams[at]gmail.com and leave me your address so I can send the painting for you when it's ready. Tell me also if you want your turtle to be natural coloured or if I make it with your favorite colours.

Just because it's a good day and I got an idea for a polar bear yarn painting, purple-power is going to get hers too! So, send me your address and a small painting might appear (no wishes for this one though, I have the idea very clear already - but it will include your favorite colour too).

I can't tell yet when you will get the paintings, as I still have some (ok, quite a lot) Christmas knitting to do. But I'll try to make and send them soon.

And Perttu (my dear brother), if you really want a yarn painting, I'll make you one... some day. But probably not with Eero in it.

For all those who didn't win this time, you can always check other contests... Alpaca Farmgirl is having many give-aways, including giving away this beautiful yarn. You can win other things too.

One year and one day - a blog contest!

2008-12-04T21:32:00.007-06:00

I have been writing this blog for one year and one day now. (Yes, I did notice my blog birthday already yesterday, but was just too busy to even think about writing!) It's a quite long time, and has passed so quickly. That's why want to have a little contest to celebrate the ocasion. Just leave a comment in this post and tell me your favorite animal and colour. I'll make a little yarn painting (about 12 cm x 12 cm) for the winner of his/her favorite animal. You'll have until next Monday to participate! (You can leave a comment in English, Spanish or Finnish.)

These last weeks have been very busy with the studies. I have made various presentations and the University, written essays and tried to advance in my researh too. Of one presentation I'm particularly proud of: a short afro dance show my dance group made. Yes, you read correctly. I have been taking an afro dance class this semester and I love it. But when the teacher told us we had the chance to make a public presentation, I had my doubts. I'm not really that good at sports, so my first thought was: "Me, dancing afro in public??? No way!" Especially because our group is very small, so every one really would stand out.

But then I thought again. It was a great challenge. I don't feel shy speaking in public about my research, but even the idea of dancing in public made me nervous. So I decided I had to do it, just to overcome my fears. It wouldn't really matter if I would look stupid or if I couldn't keep up the correct rythm. I would do it or myself.

And so I was one of the six persons of my group dancing in public. I'm so happy I did it! We weren't perfect, but I think no one noticed our little mistakes, because we were so happy and had lots of energy. At least we got lots of aplauses. I felt really good afrterwards, even though I think those were the quickest 4:30 minutes of my life (the presentation seemed to pass so quickly that I was almost disapointed when we had to stop dancing).

Featured!

2008-11-14T21:05:00.006-06:00

I have been featured in Etsy Blog en Español! Emma makes interesting interviews of Etsy artists in her blog. I'm very happy that I got the chance to be featured! Emma has also her own Etsy shop with some very nice things, be sure to check it.

A while ago, I got this recognition from Juanita, but I just haven't had time to blog about it earlier.

The rules are these:

1. Choose 5 blogs that you estimate because of their creativeness, images and/or interesting content.

2. Every prize is personal and when you give it, you have to mention the name of the blog and put a link to it.
3. The receiver puts the logo of the prize in his/her blog.

4. The logo should be linked to the direction of the blog where you received the prize.

5. The receiver puts the rules in his/her blog.

There are lots of creative blogs-I read, so this isn't easy... But well, here are my choices this time:

-Liivia
- Savilintu

- Paperiaarre

- Kesäkumpu

- Hitaat kiireet

Finally, here's a picture of some jewelry I send to Finland. If you're interested, my Mom is selling these (and many others) in Tampere.

Well, back to study now. We have a long weekend here in Mexico, but no fiesta for me, I'm spending some quality time with my thesis.

Shocked

2008-11-05T23:13:00.005-06:00

I wanted to write about the Day of the Dead Celebrations here in Mexico, but I'm too shocked and it really doesn't seem apropiate right now.

Yesterday, while I was waiting for the first results on the presidential elections of the U.S., suddenly there were thes extra news on an airplane accident. The small plane that carried the Mexican Secretary of the Interior and some other civil cervants had crashed in the street in the center of the Mexico City. The people in the plane died immediately and the were other victims - at least 5 - that had been on the street. And at least 40 persons got injured, as there was a huge fire. Luckily the plane didn't crash into any of the high buildings there are near, the damages could have been even worse.

The accident happened only about 30 metres from the Finnish Embassy. Yesterday I still thought "Well, at least no one should have been in the Embassy that late". But I just heard that a a Finnish friend was just leaving the building when the plane crashed and she's now in hospital. I really hope she gets well soon.

Day of the Dead Treasure hunt!!!

2008-10-31T11:10:00.009-06:00

The Mexico street team in Etsy is back! To celebrate the Day of the Dead, we decided to organize a Treasure Hunt tomorrow, 1st of November. Here's how it works:

The shops that participate in the hunt will hide the following image in one of their listings:

You task is to find the image in these shops:

http://www.alexca.etsy.com/

http://www.caracarmina.etsy.com/

http://www.colibridreams.etsy.com/

http://www.justinejustine.etsy.com/

http://www.kismetcreations.etsy.com/

http://www.nahuatlv.etsy.com/

http://www.panoptica.etsy.com/

The image will hidden in the shops on Saturday, November 1st and you have until November 2nd to find it in all the shops. To win, you have to submit either the listing IDs of the items or the item links where you found the picture. You should send this information to mexicoteam on Etsy.

The winner is the one who finds all of the images in the stores. If more than one person finds all the images, we will make a draw to determine the winner.

Why bother? This is your chance to win something nice and handmade! Each team member will mark one of her listings as "Reserved for the winner of the Day of the Dead Treasure Hunt". When the winner is announced, he/she can pick any of those listings by any team member, but just one. The winner will shop for the item on etsy, but does not pay since the prize will be delivered to his/her home all free of charge.

So here's the thing in nutshell:

1. On Saturday 1st of November, check all the stores mentioned in the list and find the listings with the skull image.

2. Send the information to Mexicoteam and wait until we tell who the winner is.

3. If you are the winner, pick your prize and shop for it!!

You have to be registered in Etsy in order to participate. Joining is free and easy! Check this link, if you want to participate but aren't Etsy member yet.

And finally, here are some yarn paintings I made for the Day of the Dead.

A lovely birthday surprise

2008-10-13T19:02:00.009-05:00

Last Friday was my 27th birthday, and my dear boyfriend decided to surprise me with a trip. On Friday we went to a restaurant and he told me we would stay the weekend in his house, so I would have to take some clothes with me. I had imagined that we would do something on Saturday, as boyfriend had insisted on that it wasn't a good day for a birthday party. Still I was happily surprised when he woke me up early in the morning for a weekend trip.

Whole trip he managed to keep it secret where we were going. It was excited to sit in the car and watch the beautiful scenes without having a slightest idea where we would end up. After three and half hours we arrived to our destination, Chignahuapan. Actually we didn't stay in the town itself, but in Aguas Termales de Chignahuapan, a hotel and spa with hot springs, which is outside of the town, in the mountains.

The place was lovely! The hotel lies in a small canyon, between the green mountains and beside a foaming river. It's quite isolated, which is only nice for a relaxing stay. And relaxing it was - the swimming in the thermal waters is just lovely. The best thing is that in the hotel rooms you have your own hot spring bath. Perfect for couples!

There are also some activities there. On Sunday we went to a nature walk in the mountains. The scenery is just spectacular!

On Sunday we also visited the town of Chignahuapan. It's nice and colourfull little place.

You can find lots of pottery there - and Christmas decorations. It was kind of funny to see the whole town full of Christmas spheres, some of them about 40 cm. Even though they were really beautiful, I only bought this clay pot. It's handmade, but it cost almost nothing. I love cooking, so it will be something useful!

I'm so happy after this weekend I'm still kind of floating in the air. This a was perfect birthday! Beautiful place, tranquility, walking in the woods, good food, relaxing in the hot springs, a romantic weekend... and all this with my loved one. What else can you ask for? I really really love that man!

Energy!!!

2008-10-08T15:41:00.015-05:00

First I wanted to tell you that I have been invited to participate in Mayeh, a blog where a few Mexican designers/artist present their work. I'm very happy about being part of the blog. Hope you like it too! Every month there's a new theme for things we make. I have already lots of plans for October's theme (Autumn), just have to make those plans reality!

The plans for the Mayeh theme aren't the only one I have. I have lots of creative energy going on, and lots of ideas I want to realize using different mediums. I'm in some kin of manic period... I want to knit - I'm usually one knit's woman, but now I have three projects on the needles and want to start more - make yarn paintings, jewelry, paint... and even crochet. I haven't crocheted in years, but now I want to start again. I actually already tried to crochet a bit, here's the result.

It was supposed to be a decoration for my new jacket, but I think it's a bit too big (10 cm). I like hippy flowers, but there's a limit... But that's a good excuse for crocheting more flowers. This model is designed by Vilma.

I haven't been making jewelry for a long time, and yesterday I finally got my beads out. I have so lovely materials, looking at them gave me even more ideas. This necklace is will probably be called "Circus" for its fun colours. It is made of tagua seeds. If you like it, you can soon find it in the shop.

Even though I make jewelry, I almost never make it to myself. Something had to be done about that, so I transformed these reindeer bone amulets I found in Finland...

... to this jewelry set for myself. Very happy with the result.

It seems something with the bones fascinates me rigth now. I bought these today (I have promised myself to use my old materials before buying new ones, but I just couldn't resist):

At least there's a purpose for few of them already - the circles with two stripes could become earrings for Mom.

Luckily all my creative energy hasn't limited to crafting. I have also had lots of energy for studying, and my research is going well too. The only thing I need is more time to study and craft!

Painting with yarn, part 2

2008-09-20T17:41:00.018-05:00

A couple of days ago, I finished a little yarn painting that I have been making whenever I have had the chance. It's called "Hummingbird dreams". I listed it also in my shop. Here is a picture of the finished painting:

And here one work-in-progress pic:

As you might notice, there are a little difference between the work in progress and the final painting. That's exactly what I like about the technique. At every moment while I'm working I can chance my mind and just rip some detail off if I want to. That is very practical, as I usually don't make any sketches beforehand (except for "the Meeting" yarn painting , as it was a custom order), or if I do, they are very very general. I never know exactly how a certain painting will turn out, and that always makes things more interesting. I just love to experiment how to make three-dimensional impression with pressing the yarn on the beeswax in different ways.

The technique requieres a lot of patience, as making just a one little detail can take hours. But I like that slowliness too. It makes you concetrate on the moment of creation, which is relaxing.

I have also been knitting. This time I decided to start the Christmas gift early. I'm knitting a hoodie for boyfriend again, and as he is quite tall, I know it will take a while to make (especially with 3 mm needles). I'm not hurrying too much with this, anyway - if it's ready before Christmas, I know he'll want to use it right away.

Skeletons and trees of life

2008-09-16T22:10:00.010-05:00

I'm still alive... I have thought about many things to write about, but I just haven't gotten into it lately. Well, I'll try to get more active again. And I will write about my trip to Finland too, but not now.

On Friday a friend of mine invited me with her to Metepec, a village near Mexico City. It's known for its crafts, mainly pottery. I have never been there before, so it was a nice day trip. As my friend needed to buy things for a restaurant in Finland, we spent the whole day looking for different kinds of ceramics.

We found some very nice places. I especially loved the Ortega family's workshop. The place itself was very beautiful, with pottery all over. They had even decorated the ground with it.

The main themes in the pottery in this village are trees of life and different kinds of skeletons, like the Catrinas (elegant skeleton ladies). Also the Ortegas had there workshop full of them. I liked a lot for example this Noah’s ark tree of life, which was about 75 cm high and had taken them more than a month to make.

I fell in love with this lovely lady, although unfortunately I couldn’t take her home.

Although there were so many lovely things, I only bought two gifts and well… these boxes for myself. You’ll see them in the future here, after I have the time to decorate them.

I have finished some things too, like a cable sweater for myself and a hummingbird themed yarn painting, but you'll see them later.

My 12th home

2008-08-11T21:55:00.009-05:00

I have written here too long time ago, but I'll try to write more often for now on... I was in Finland for almost whole July and after my trip I have dedicated my time to moving out. I haven't even had much time to write my thesis (which after the long vacations inspires me again), let alone update the blog.

After coming home to Mexico ater my lovely trip I found something disgusting: when I stepped trough the door, there was a strong smell of humid cellar and my kitchen was full of mould fungus. Soon I found out that the mould had also found its way to bathroom and to my closet. The department had always been humid, but not that much! So, to cut a long story short, for last two weeks I have been cleaning everything with disinfectant, vacuuming, washing clothes, throwing out lots of things (some bags, shoes and clothes just couldn't be saved) and packing. And I can assure you that packing would have been much quicker if I didn't have to vacuum every book and bunch of copies...

But something good, after all - I have never found a new apartment as fast as this time. My study mate had a room to rent, and yesterday I finally got all my things to my new home. It's a bit smaller than where I used to live, and there are no bookshelves (which IS a problem with all my books) nor much space to keep things (as you can see in the kitchen photo) but at least there is a little kitchenette, own shower - and most importantly of all, no mould!

This is my 12th home. During my 26 years I have been living in five different homes in Finland, three in Chile and four in Mexico (this one included). It's a bit too much I think, I don't really like moving. And still I hope I can move to my 13th home soon - not because I don't like it here, but because I hope that the 13th one will be a bit more permanent.

Almost like MTV

2008-06-17T19:44:00.005-05:00

Well, maybe not quite... but at least a music video was involved!

Yesterday I was asked to work as an extra again. This time it was about shooting a music video for Jimmy Steel, at least yet unknown Mexican singer and songwriter who is about to publish his first cd.

The shooting of a music video sounds interesting, and at least it was an experience, if not necessarily the most positive one... We had to be already at 12 p.m. in the meeting place, but we were transported to the shooting location two hours afterwards. The shooting took place in an old factory in Ecatepec, not very nice part of the city up in the north. The place was hidious - it was very dirty and you could just imagine that the rats and the cockroaches would come out at any moment (which they luckily didn't do), and there wasn't too many places to sit down. During the night it was also very very cold, and there were little holes in the ceiling, so you had to choose well where to leave your things while it was raining. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so I can't show you how the place really was. (I have to admit, though, that there was some rough beauty when I saw the moon, stars and the building reflect on the pool of water left by the rain.)

The production was very badly organized. The staff came to the location hours later than us and the shooting started about six hours later than programmed. Besides, the order of the scenes was badly planned, which meant loooong and boring hours of waiting for us extras. For example us girls were needed only in one scene, and that was the one they shot last. Instead of being able to leave before midnight, as we were told, we finally left at seven o'clock in the morning. So 17 hours of waiting and hanging around to work for one hour. I had taken my knitting project with me, but the place was so dirty I didn't feel like knitting at all.

What comes to the video, I think it will be quite good after all. The music isn't bad either, even though the singer's voice isn't very good and his English pronunciation is just awful and many times incomprehensible. We got many good laughs with that... and with his clothes too. He's a kind of combination of Familia Peluche, Jesus of Iztapalapa (In Iztapalapa delegation there are every year Easter processions) and walrus (the moustache is much bigger than in pictures).
But I think he's very serious about himself... He even seemed to think that in the concert scene we were jumping and screaming because we liked him so much, not because we were paid. Well, we'll see if he'll be successful or not.

Even though the shooting was very tiring and mostly boring, and today I have felt as if I had hangover even I haven't drunk alcohol, at least I got some new friends.

Vacations?

2008-06-12T23:17:00.007-05:00

I'm almost on vacations now. Almost all seminars have ended by now, I only have one more class left. And one tutorial meeting, which I'm not looking forward at all. I tried to change my tutor, but it didn't work out. It seems that I'm stuck with that unpleasant person who really doesn't understand my research theme. It's quite frustrating, but "ni modo", as the Mexicans would say.

Even though I kind of have vacations already, I'm still studying and trying to finish one chapter of my thesis. But don't worry, I'm not working too hard either, I'm crafting too... And in couple of weeks, when I travel to Finland (happy happy, joy joy!) I'll have vacations for real. I just can't wait!

By the way, I did get the Lehmus-shawl ready by the wedding. The pictures were taken with boyfriend's camera, that's why I haven't been able to show you anything. But here it is, my very first lace shawl:

I forgot to ask boyfriend to take a pic in the wedding, so this was taken about 2 o'clock in the morning, when we got home. It's also my first hairdo made by a hairdresser.

Here are some more photos o the shawl. I'm pretty happy with it, even though I probably would have made a bigger one, if I had had the time and the yarn necessary. The pattern was quite easy and I noticed that lace knitting is quite addictive! This might be my first shawl, but it won't be the last!

I also made the jewelry for the wedding, but I'll put those photos other day.

Painting with yarn

2008-05-21T13:44:00.013-05:00

The very first yarn painting that I have sold, "The meeting", has been ready already from Saturday and was sent today, but I just haven't had time to put any photos here. This very time consuming technique is used by Mexican Huichol Indians. The yarn is pressed to the beeswax to make the painting, that's where the name comes from.

Here's how it all started: Ravyn was looking for things with her totem animals, so I send her this sketch:
And little by little, the painting started to take form...

And finally it was ready! I'm pretty happy about the way it turned out.

Here are some details, you can see more in my Flickr account.

By the way, I decided to allow also anonymous comments, at least for a while, so feel free drop me a line (but no spam, please!)

Home sweet home...

2008-05-17T12:45:00.002-05:00

The second workshop on education is over and I'm happily back in Mexico City. It was nice and interesting and a bit less stressing than the first workshop, but I'm still glad that I'm done with it. This time I was sent to Acapulco. Here's the view from my hotel:

Buuuut.... here's where I spent my time:

Well, I actually could spend some time on the beach too, but not as much as I would have liked... Any way, it's nice to get some touch of the reality between the studies. And besides, my group gave me lots of gifts too: one huipil (a traditional Mexican dress), a painted wooden box and a beach dress that I didn't photograph. I guess they liked me!

In order to keep myself busy now that the workshops are done (as if there wasn't enough to do with the studies!) I decided to star my very first lace shawl. To keep things more interesting, I have to finish this Lehmus-scarf next week - I want to use it on Saturday on friends' wedding. We'll see if I can finish it by then...

Back in town...

2008-05-03T10:09:00.012-05:00

Here's some chocolate for you! It's a present from my workshop group.

I'm back to Mexico City after my workshop in Chilpanchingo. Interesting and challenging experience, I learned a lot. But it was very tiring too, I have to admit. I have never facilitated a workshop alone for three days, and it really takes all your energy.

I was prepared to encounter some difficulties, especially after I heard that the teachers and school directors who participated in the workshop, had only been told about it the night before it started and were pretty pissed off by that. But my group turned out to be very nice! They worked well together and I think we managed to create a warm atmosphere so everyone felt comfortable enough to speak. I had only one difficult person that joined the group on the second day. He created some negative energy complaining all the time that instead of participating in some useless workshops he should be directing his school and teaching the kids. But finally I won him over too. The third day, when they were telling their feelings about the workshop, he was also saying how important it is that the teachers make the most of the workshops they are offered. I think that was my greatest victory in the workshop!

I learnt a lot about the conditions of the teachers in rural communities in Guerrero state. Nothing to envy, definitively! The salaries are very small and they even have to pay for themselves the sometimes very long trips to the communities where they teach. The material resources are also very scarce. Sometimes they have computers, for example, but not the electricity to use them.

What comes to Chilpanchingo as a town, I really can't recommend it. It's small and ugly and the people aren't very nice - except for my group, of course. We had even difficulties to take taxis - for some reason they always turned away when they saw two foreign girls (my friend was there too as a facilitator for another group). That doesn't happen often in other parts of the country. I'm glad to be send to some other place for the next workshop, even if I'd love to work with the same group (and they wanted me to go back).

I'm a legal alien...

2008-04-25T18:15:00.005-05:00

Now I'm again legally in Mexico; I finally got my visa decision on Wednesday. But I still have to get my actual visa (a green booklet) made. First I was told it would take almost a month more to get it, but after I begged desperately, they promised it would be ready in couple of weeks. I really hope so! If I don't get it in time, I will lose the whole semester and all the classes I have taken at the university.

On Wednesday I also visited Ashes and Snow, Gregory Colbert's exposition that has been in Zócalo (City's main plaza) since January. The photos and videos are incredibly beautiful and poetic! There were thousands of people and the day was very hot (32 Celsius degrees), which made the experience quite tiring, but I'm still very happy I visited the Nomadic Museum. If the exposition ever comes to your city, you definitively should visit it! And if it doesn't, the web page (see the link above) gives you a good idea of the exposition.

Lots of things to do...

2008-04-22T19:53:00.009-05:00

... and everything at the same time...

Things seems to be accumulating right now. I have to present some research results at the university during the May, finish an article (also during May), try to invent themes for some conference papers (inventing isn't that hard, really, but then some day soon I'll have to write those papers too), start my custom yarn painting in these days too...

And as that wasn't enough to do for a while, I also promised to work as a facilitator in two workshops. The first one will be next week - it was going to start already on this Thursday, but luckily the plans changed. All this came up last Friday, so there really hasn't been much time for planning or preparing things. The materials for the workshop isn't very useful either, so I have to invent a lot on educational management in the schools, which isn't my area at all. The participants will be supervisors and directors of schools, probably mainly elder men. I have worked as a facilitator in workshops, but they were for teenagers and children, so this is going to be quite different. In total the workshop will last three days, ten hour days each. I'll be there all by my own - there are other facilitators in the same city (Chilpancingo) for these workshops, but we are all in different schools. Sooooo.... it will be interesting!

But even though I'm not very well prepared and the participants may not be the easiest audience (though I'm definitively not going to let them minimize me for being a young woman), I'm still happy to be part of these workshops. And not only because they are quite well paid! I think it will be a great - and challenging - learning experience.

Any way, with all these things to be done, I have finished something too. This bracelet was a custom order for Jonna. As she lives by the sea, it's called "A Day on a Beach". I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and hope Jonna will love it too!

The Fox hoodie is ready...

2008-04-14T20:37:00.012-05:00

Actually it has been ready for couple of weeks already, but my official photographer - known also as my boyfriend - couldn't help me to take the pictures until now. But here are finally some:

Yarn: La Cusqueñita ( 45% acryllic, 40% alpaca, 15 % wool)

Needles: 4 mm
Pattern: mine

I'm quite happy with the result, even though I should have made the hoodie longer and the sleeves shorter. I shouldn't have taken the measures from existing hoodie. Well, you always learn something, don't you? Next time I'll just measure myself.

The yarn is a bit itchy (the blue Cusqueñita that I used for boyfriends hoodie for some reason tickles less). It helped a bit to wash it with softener, but that also made the sleeves even longer (and no, I didn't hang it). But I think I will use it a lot any way, because I just love the colour.

Oh, and I just had to start a new project, too. I think I'm getting really addicted to knitting (boyfriend thinks that too: "You just can't put your needles down, can you?"). I wanted to make a tunic, but as the yarn I bought (Emilia, Mexican yarn that is 100% cotton) seems to be quite heavy and not very nice to knit, I'll make just a top. It will probably stretch a bit anyway... The flower pattern is from Garnstudio's dress.

But these coming weeks I'll probably be concentrating more on yarn paintings (and studies, of course...) than on knitting. I finally got some chipboard and showed yesterday to boyfriend that I can actually use a saw without problems. Today I also got a custom order for totem animal yarn painting in Etsy. I so excited! I'm sure it will be just so much fun to make!

My perfect bag and Easter holidays

2008-03-27T18:43:00.026-06:00

It's here! Yesterday the mail man brought me a lovely messenger bag. It's a custom order made by Katherine of happykatbags and I just totally love it! It just the right size - I'm a kind of girl that carries everything with her, just in case.... The colours are beautiful and I love all the details Katherine has put into it. There was even a cute extra pouch inside the bag, which was a very nice surprise. What can I say - my bag is perfect! And it shipped much quicker than I expected (usually things tend to take time in the Mexican post). I'm so happy!

The Easter holidays passed nicely and peacefully. I planned to study, but finally I just spend time with some friends and with boyfriend's family. Weeeellll, one needs vacations sometimes, right?

It's curious that in Finland there seems to be a lot more Easter traditions than here in Mexico, even though Mexico is much more religious country. Well, there are religious processions and masses, but not much else. And you can actually shop all Easter, it seems - we went to buy shoes on Saturday, and shops were also open on Friday and Sunday, too. That was certainly a bit strange for me - in Finland, you can't basically do much anything on Good Friday, because everything is closed and on the TV there are only movies on the life of Jesus.

No virpominen on Palm Sunday, nor rairuoho (quickly growing grass used to decorate home during the Easter time) here, but I wanted to honor at least some Finnish traditions. So on Easter Sunday I made a traditional meal to my boyfriend and his mom. Well, the traditional part actually was only the roast mutton (which was delicious, by the way!), but the avocados filled with schrimps and the cheese cake with peaches were very good too. Here are some photos (I wanted to take more, but the battery of the camera was low):

How to survive the Inmigration procedures in Mexico

2008-03-12T17:24:00.006-06:00

When you need visa in Mexico, you'll have to go to the Inmigration office. To survive the experience, you'll need:
- looooots of patience. You can't have too much of it.
- to go there as early as possible. At nine o'clock, when the offices open, is the best time; there aren't so many people there. With luck, you might get out by lunch time.
- lots of time. Even if you go early, it can take hours.
- something to read. Sleeping while you stand is a good way to spend you waiting time too, but might cost you your place in the line.
- good shoes. You will be standing in different lines for hours, so don't even think to put on your high heels.
- to be prepared to go back many times, because something in your original application was wrong.

You'll also need to understand that you're always wrong. No one told you you need a certain document? That's your own fault. It maybe isn't in the list of the documents, but you should have guessed. The inmigration officer has a bad day? That definitively is your fault. Stupid immigrant! They lost one of your documents? That must be your fault too. So just accept it, take a deep breath, keep smiling and be very polite and someone might help you after all.

As you guessed, I had to go the Inmigration today. But I have to say, I'm really getting better at it, even though it took me about 4 hours standing in different lines. I was mentally prepared to go again tomorrow for some missing documents, but it seems I don't have to go back until I get the decision in couple of weeks. Hurray! The best thing is that I didn't get desperate or angry as on my earlier visits there. I guess I'm reaching some kind of zen state of mind...

Some progress with the fox hoodie

2008-02-26T17:19:00.005-06:00

I have now almost finished the front parts of my red and white fox hoodie. It's lovely to knit something so fast! Boyfriend's hoodie took a lot more time to knit, as he's tall and wanted it to be quite loose-fitting. I'm still not sure about the fox though, it might be a bit too big. Any comments?

And now that I remember, I have joined Ravelry too, and you can find me also there with the name "colibridreams".

Some people just don't get it?

2008-02-18T18:27:00.003-06:00

The title could refer to many, many things, but this time I'm talking about the director of my thesis.

Have you ever been in a situation that you talk with somebody, and in theory you are talking about the same thing, but in practice there is no point of understanding? (I'm sure you have, as this could happen with many topics, like religion or ethical beliefs.) Well, talking about my research with my tutor is just like that. It's just too obvious that either she doesn't understand my research theme or she never really read my research project - or both. The worst thing is that she doesn't even undesrtand that she doesn't understand.

My tutor thinks she knows everything about everything, and besides, she wants to civilize me (yes, she was using that exact word). And I'm apparently stuck with her - in my university you can't change the director of your thesis without his/her consent. And she has made very clear she doesn't let me go. Oh great.

Next time I promise to post something about my crafts here.

A grey day...

2008-02-09T16:36:00.000-06:00

Today the weather is very grey... in that yellowish way the sky sometimes gets before a thunderstorm. I'm also a bit sick, I really shouldn't have eaten in one of those little kiosks at the university (I never learn I guess). The most irritating part of being sick now is that I have a fridge full of good food - I invited couple of friends to my house yesterday and there are still lots of delicious leftovers... Besides, we were invited to two parties today and to eat Colombian food tomorrow. Why did I have to get this stupid stomach acke right now!

I had to brighten up the day a little and knit. I started this new project last Tuesday, when I finally got some new yarns:

The yarn is the same that I used for my boyfriend's hoodie, as I had some of the white one left and was too lazy to try to find any new woollen yarns, which isn't too easy here. The color is a bit more raspberry reddish than in the picture.

This one will be a hoodie too, but for myself. I realized I haven't knitted anything for myself (except a sweater I started in high school that never got finished), my projects have always been gifts for friends or boyfriend. So this one is for me! Boyfriend wanted me to knit something for him too with this color, but no way, he'll just have to wait this time!

About Marimekko and other things from Finland

2008-02-07T19:10:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday I went to the opening of the Marimekko exposition. Very nice, I have always liked Marimekko designs and there were lots of textiles I had seen last time as a kid. So nostalgic! It was also good the see the real stuff for once - there are lots of fakes here. And no, no one really knows Marimekko is a Finnish company.

We got an example of Mexican logic in the opening, too. There was wine and vodka, but the staff just didn't want to give us glasses to drink from. The logic was this: there are always people who come to the openings only for the drinks and aren't interested in the exposition. So, they decided to discourage this practice - by not serving to the people who didn't have a glass already. The ones who had managed to get a glass earlier, were still served plenty of alcohol. Basically, one half of the public was drunk and the other half angry. And of course the ones who got the glass were the ones who only came for the booze and not to see the expo. It took quite a while to convince the staff that there might be something wrong with their logic. Oh well...

There so many people here who really don't want to think for themselves, which is quite irritating sometimes. I guess there are everywhere, but still... Can it be that difficult?

The Finnish stuff in the photo is gift from my friend after her trip to Finland. A bit of salmiakki, strong salty liquorice, that almost everyone who is not a Finn finds disgusting. I love it! Yam! And waxpaper for baking. You can find it here, too, but it isn't good for anything. Even if you put tons of butter on it, everything gets stuck to it.

Unfortunately my friend couln't bring me all the things I miss from Finland, like chocolate (believe it or not, Mexican chocolate isn't very good), cheese, rahka (a special Finnish dairy product), rye bread, Carelian pasties... The list goes on! And oh, I woulnd't mind someone bringing me a sauna here, too! ;-)

A special case?

2008-01-31T20:53:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I wonder if I'm some kind of special case in my University and in my program. Ok, my department usually messes up with everybody, but I think I still have more problems than some of my friends. Every single procedure I have to do in the University has some problems. Either someone lost one (or few) of my documents, or there are problems with the computer or my name is written wrong and I have to do the whole procedure all over again. I'm still waiting for my official student card, too - most of my study mates got their plastic card about 8 months ago, and I still have my temporal card. And no sign that it's ever going to be changed.

Today we had to do our reinscription to the program. The system kept telling me I couldn't do it because it wasn't the right day. And yes, I was the only one. Finally the problem got solved - they always do here, you just need lots of patience and time - after I got personal help from the Academic Services department's boss. But I just wander do I have some kind of "no smooth transactions for this girl" tag in my data... I can't wait the see the huge problems I will have when I'll try to graduate... I can see it coming already.

Well, the good thing is that the reinscription is done now and I can finally craft! (I promised my self not no make anything before it was over.) Though I still have to send some documents to Finland and edit some texts - yes, I'm editing some articles in Spanish as part of my scholarship work (no, they are not mine) - next weeks, so not too much time for crafting anyway. But I'll buy some materials on Monday, when I'll go to the center to meet the other members of our new Etsy Mexico Street Team. Beeswax! New yarn! Yupii!

I have another shop!

2008-01-29T17:14:00.000-06:00

I now have a new shop at DaWanda, too. I have only two items there now, but will be listing more once I'll have some time to create instead of studying. The site seems nice, there are lots of cool features -plus it's in euros, which I really like. Go and check for yourselves!

Here are my Kaamos Is Ending necklace and earrings that are featured in the shop:

Kaamos stands for the polar night in Finnish, aka the darkest time of the year, when the sun doesn't get up the horizon in the north of Finland. No kaamos here, but I have been in a wintery mood lately (I miss snow!), so that's where the inspiration came from.

A scary weather phenomenon

2008-01-24T23:02:00.000-06:00

Candlelight dinner with your loved one... Sounds romantic, doesn't it? At least if you choose to have one. We didn't, and although it was kind of nice for a while, spending hours and hours without electrity started to be quite boring. Well, I'm one of the lucky ones I guess - my home was without electricity only for about 12 hours. In some parts of the city they are still working on that.

All this was caused by a strange weather phenomenon - huracane winds, it said in the newspaper, but without the huracane. The day was very beautiful and warm, until about 7 p.m., when the storm came out of nowhere. I was in my home and wondered why suddenly there was this loud noise coming from my roof, as if someone was throwing things there. I looked out of the window, and suddenly the sky was black, the winds had risen and you could hear the thunder. And baff - the lights were gone.

It was a bit scary to sit alone in the dark (my boyfriend only came after the storm) and just listen to the noise in the roof and all the sirens from the streets. I was sure that the winds would rip the plastic part of the roof away. They didn't, but something big and heavy fell on the roof.

The phenomenon stopped as suddenly as it started, it took only about 40 minutes, I think. But it was really devastating - the wind was blowing 70 km/h, 12 out of the City's 16 districts couldn't get electricity, 50 trees fell down in different parts of the City and at least two persons died (one when a tree fell on his car) and others were hurt. You can see the photo (it's not mine by the way, it's from El Universal newspaper).

New creation

2008-01-24T20:33:00.000-06:00

I figured that I haven't been showing any creations of mine lately... So here we go, a jade necklace that I just listed in my Etsy shop:

Weekend on the beach

2008-01-21T11:12:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday boyfriend and I had our second official aniversary (yes, some of you may have noticed that we actually have been together longer, but it's a long story), so we decided to get out of the City.

We had thought about two options: Patzcuaro and Acapulco. I have this obsession about San Juan Parangaricutiro, a village that was buried in lava in the 1940's, but it was just too far away this time. Well, as you can see in the picture, we chose Acapulco instead of culturally more interesting, but much colder Patzcuaro.

And I think it was definitively a good choice for the aniversary weekend. It was relaxing, even though we didn't get much sleep (some kids started to scream at the pool at 7 a.m.). And oh so warm! During the day the temperature was over 30 degrees and even in the night we were sweating when we walked in the center. Nice change for the cold Mexico City! Besides there weren't so much turists now, which is always a plus.

I really can't complain: sunny weather, swimming in the warm see, walking on the beach, good food, sparkling wine for breakfast - and of course all this in the company of the man of my life. What else could I ask?

Another Treasury...

2008-01-17T13:11:00.000-06:00

I got a another treasury in Etsy! Though it kind of happened very suddenly, so I didn't really have time to plan it at all. Here's how it turned out:

You can see it better (until Sunday) at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=23971.

Here's what I won...

2008-01-16T22:03:00.001-06:00

My prize has been shipped to me, so now I can show you what I chose:

Aren't they cute? I like the green ceramic beads a lot, they are very original. The earrings are made by eyecandytreasury. Now I'll just have to wait that these lovely earrings arrive...

I won, I won!

2008-01-15T19:22:00.000-06:00

Yes, I won in the Treasury hunt Etsy Texas crafters held yesterday. I'm so happy! I think the last time I won something was when I was in the kindergarden. Well, in this kind of competitions, at least - competing with your own merits is another story. But I won't tell you what prize I chose before I'm absolutely sure no one can buy it before I claim it.

Today was a good day in general. I also got some encouraging news academically - and I don't mean getting extra time to present my research progress, which is perfect, too. I might be able to change the director of my thesis and the person I want to have as a director, is actually interested. Hope that all works out well!

Does it ever happen to you...

2008-01-13T21:39:00.000-06:00

... that you go to buy materials for one thing and end up buying something else? Well, with jewelry materials it happens to me a lot (ok, ok, with other shopping too, sometimes). For example my "Winter Berries" set is a result of that kind of spontaneous shopping. And it's really one of my favorites now!

Last time it happened to me with these lovely fossil stones, when I was looking for hand made slippers for my boyfriend. I didn't find the slippers, and bought the fossils instead. How could I NOT buy them?? They have such an interesting texture, whole stories in them. Can't wait to see how these will turn out to be... I have already decided the name for one of them, even if I'm still not quite sure how I will make the necklace.

And what comes to other crafting projects... I'm dying to start a sweater for myself and find the beeswax (I found a place where I might find it). But I have promised to myself that I will have to wait until the whole re registration process is over at the university. I really really have to make some advance in my investigation these weeks, so I can't buy any yarns or other crafting materials to tempt me. Besides, going to the center just takes hours (in the subway alone, not even to mention the time I would use actually looking for the materials), it's too much for now. Mexico City is so huge that you can spend hours just sitting in the traffic or in puclic transportation.

Some goals...

2008-01-08T17:09:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my goals for this year:

- Advance in my doctoral thesis
- Find beeswax and start making yarn paintings again (and sell them in Etsy!)
- Go jogging more often and take longer paths - and exercise in other ways too
- Make my Etsy shop more prosperous

Ok, the last one is more like a wish, but I'm going to work for it listing more items, making a banner, trying to promote more and creating a new line of products (the yarn paintings). We'll see if that works!

Happy New Year everyone!

Mexico - warm??

2008-01-03T14:44:00.000-06:00

Many people may have this idea that Mexico is a warm place. Well, it isn't! At least if it's winter and you aren't lucky enough to be in some of the beautiful Mexican beaches. Right now in Mexico City (not even to mention the Northern parts of the country) it's pretty cold...

Ok, maybe it sounds silly to be complaining about the cold, when during the day the temperature have been something like 18 Celsius degrees (during the night about 1 degree). It's not that cold, I know. But the thing isn't really the outside temperature, but the fact that it's freezing cold inside the houses. Last night I was sleeping with two pajamas, woollen pullover and a fleeze jacket, and of course two pairs of woollen socks. And I was still cold. Hrr! I'm eternally thankful to my grandma for making me a pair of woollen hand warmers that let me study in my fridge (read: my home) without my fingers turning blue.

My advice for anyone coming to Mexico in winter - bring your woollen socks with you! Except if you are going to the beaches or to the jungles of Chiapas.

Luckily on Tuesday we made a little day trip to Cuernavaca, a city that is about an hour away from here. The climate is very different, as you get down from the mountains where the capital lies. It was lovely, the city is beautiful and it was nice to enjoy some sun and warmth. I don't have any pictures, though, I had only my "old fashioned" systems camera with me.

My treasury list

2007-12-27T23:13:00.000-06:00

Today I got my first Treasury in Etsy! If you aren't familiar with Etsy, "Treasury" means a list that Etsy users can make to show and promote other etsians. It isn't easy to get one, as there are only 333 lists available and lots of users that want to make these lists. It was fun to make one, but it took a lot more time that I would have thought - even though you can only choose 12 items of all those lovely things that there are in Etsy...

Here are my elections:

Yeah, I know, have to practice these snap shot views still... Well, if you want to see the complete list better, you can visit the list at http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=20699 . It will expire next Sunday.

Knitting, knitting... and some film making

2007-12-17T16:24:00.000-06:00

I've been knitting like crazy these last weeks. Yes, I started a Christmas present too late again. This time it's a sweater for my boyfriend. I never learn to start any time consuming Christmas gift projects already in the summer. Well, this time I have a good excuse - it was surprisingly difficult to find woollen yarn. Mexicans just looove acrylic yarns, it seems...

In the picture you can see a lonely little moose that decorates the front of the sweater. Simple is beautiful... especially when you have a deadline coming!

Did you know you can knit and study at the same time? I noticed it last week as I had to finish some last essays for the University, and had to read some electronic texts, too. Knitting when you read an electronic book actually helps you to concentrate (not always on the book, though... ;-)

My knitting project has also accompanied me to a film making scene. On Saturday I worked as an extra in "Dragon Ball". Actually I worked (read: walked in the backround of some scenes) about 2 hours of all the 13 hours we had to be in there. The rest of the time we extras were just sitting or hanging around bored. But it's okay, as you get paid quite well. Besides, I could also knit...

Well, gotta go now - I have some serious knitting to do!

My first Etsy sale!

2007-12-13T22:09:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited! I made my first Etsy sale today. Thank you, Valerie!

I have sold quite a lot of jewelry in Finland, but it's still nice to notice that people elsewhere are interested in my creations too. Besides, at least here in Mexico it's believed that the first sale brings good luck... Hopefully it works for my shop, too!

Here is the picture of the lucky bracelet, called "Walking in the woods", as it was inspired by my favorite forest back in Finland.

Today was also a shopping day, as I went with my friend to Ciudadela, one of the biggest crafts market here in Mexico City. Actually I only went to keep company and help my friend to choose some gifts for her family. But you just can't go to Ciudadela without buying something... Everything is so beautiful, colorful and unique and there are crafts from every corner of Mexico there. I just love the Mexican crafts!

Well, this time I only bought a bag. And I needed it! I have been thinking of buying one for a while now, as I always manage to broke my bags. The one I bought doesn't have as many pockets I would need, but it is so big that at least I can carry a lot of books to the university (that's how my bags usually break - I guess I'm always carrying too much things in them). I found also lovely watermelon-shaped plates, but they will have to wait for the next time.

About traditions

2007-12-10T12:36:00.000-06:00

The 6th of Decembre was Finland's Independence Day, so all the Finns living in Mexico were invited to a little reception in the Embassy in the afternoon. It was nice to see other members of the community and eat some Finnish coctail snacks.

One thing I've noticed after I moved abroad is that you become more tradiotionalist and maybe a bit more patriotic too. Not that I though Finland is the best country of the world or something like that. Living abroad can make you very nostalgic sometimes, but it also helps to see the richness of other cultures. But yes, I'm proud of being Finnish and having been brough up there - my cultural heritage is part of what makes me the person I am. And yes, I also love some traditions of my home country and try to celebrate them here in Mexico too. Especially what comes to food - for example Christmas isn't Christmas without some gingerbread or glögi (spicy mulled wine, can be prepared also without alcohol). Besides, it's fun to combine traditions - my Mexican boyfriend also loves joulukalenteri (the advent calendar - I haven't seen any here in Mexico) and baking piparkakkutalo (gingerbread house).

Talking about different traditions, last week we decorated the Christmas tree in my boyfriend's house. I could also make the nacimiento (a kind of nativity scene typical for Mexican homes) all by my self. I'm not religious at all, but it was fun making the nativity scene with all the religious figures, animals, and with moss and lichen. I though it woudn't take that much time, as the scene isn't very big, but then I found myself making bridges and little palm trees out of moss and couple of sticks I found accidentaly... I wasn't totally happy with the result - need more materials!! - but it looks quite nice anyway. Maybe next year I'll be the one who buys the materials so I can make it more beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the nacimiento for now, I'll try to add some later.

Winter creations...

2007-12-05T08:56:00.000-06:00

So I promised to send here some photos of my crafts... Here are some photos of my "First Snow" jewelry set.

Blogging for the first time!

2007-12-03T15:53:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone!

This will be my first blog... (well, not actually the first, as I created a test blog a while ago... It doesn't count, any way, as I never told anyone about it and never really wrote anything but couple of test messages.)

This blog will be about my life in Mexico and about the crafts I do (and sell on Etsy!). And maybe something else too - we'll see when I start to write more.

Thanks for dropping by and come back soon! I'll try to write often and put some pictures too!

Visit also my shop at www.colibridreams.etsy.com.