A walk in Munkkiniemi

Last Sunday, before I was felled down by the flu, J. and I took a walk in the Munkkiniemi district of Helsinki. We received a nice book with different walking routes in Helsinki as a wedding gift and finally decided to get to know some parts of our home town we don't know so well.



If you like functionalist architecture, Helsinki has a lot to offer to you. I really like this style, and although it looks quite simple and boxy, I like the details and materials employed.







There is a park in Munkkiniemi and the area is quite green and quiet.







Originally, architect Eliel Saarinen planned a different Munkkiniemi, but low funds and passing of time resulted in only a fraction of his designs being built.



This former pension, designed by Saarinen, was later a cadet school and is now used by a government institute.



Saarinen also planned the first row of detached houses in Finland.





Munkkiniemi is situated close to the shore. There is a nice walking promenade and a café in the area, and of course also some seaside villas.











There is even a small strip of beach with public changing rooms.



Tram number four has it's end stop close to the shore and next summer I'd like to come back and have some tea at the café and maybe even go for a swim.





This tower was used for surveillance and messaging by the military during the Crimean war. Today, it is situated in a residential area and itself used as housing. Designer Timo Sarpaneva lived here during the 1970ies and it is said that the front man of Finnish rock band HIM, Ville Valo, has moved here some time in the last decade.

I really liked getting to know Munkkiniemi better, there are still some things to see, like architect Alvar Aalto's home which can be visited (for quite a big fee ...) by the public. It's nice to go out of one's usual route and learn something new about one's home town!

For next week, I hope that I'll get some sewing done!!!

Have a nice Sunday! :-)

I thought I'd edit the post to include some HIM. So here's the video to one of their most famous songs.

slow going

Sorry it took me so long again! It has been slow going when it comes to craftiness around here. There was work and then there were craft botch-ups ... I have several different projects on my mind, in several different stages of completion. The only finished item I can show you for now is this hot water bottle cover I made:



I was looking for a small project to try out and practise machine quilting and this seemed perfect. The pattern is from Cath Kidston's Sew. I used some Folksy Flannels leftovers and I think it's really quite cute!



The cover that originally came with the bottle was already suffering from some pilling and really wasn't nice anymore, so this was a fun and practical project. The only cursing took place when I made the button loop ... Fiddly stuff!



Other than this, I've been sewing a little dress and I'm not really happy with how it's turning out.



I think the fabric is wrong, somehow. I took the pattern from an Ottobre magazine and I think I should have gone with a fabric that's less stiff and more fluid, so the pleats would fall more nicely. Maybe the fabric's pattern is too big for this project, too. Also, I took a shortcut by not wanting to bother with buying matching thread for the teal fabric.



Cream on teal just doesn't work! I think I will pick the topstitching apart and sew it again with matching thread. Hopefully, that will reconcile me enough with this project to finish it!

I'm also sewing some other small things and I've been slowly stitching away at the Daisychain sampler. Also, this pile is on my mind:



I'm thinking little girly quilt, but I'm not really decided on the design, yet. I hope crafting will pick up speed around here, again, so I can show you some progress!