History of the needlefelted Alien.

As I was browsing through the seemingly endless stream of photos on my laptop, I noticed how over the years my needlefelted aliens have evolved.
The first alien came as I was just experimenting with wool and my then 4 year old son suggested an alien. Archie was born.

When he came home from daycare I presented him with the day's efforts. He burst into tears and proclaimed he wanted an alien with 6 eyes not 3. Back to the drawing board!

A alien with 6 eyes was born.

Archie was one of the first felt projects I ever sold at my first craft fair back in 2008.

Since then I have made rainbow aliens, party aliens, soap eating aliens,super hero aliens, credit card holding aliens, giant aliens, mini aliens in a jar and  aliens that now live in New York!

 

I have lost count of the number of eyeballs I have made and how many kilos of green alien wool I have used.

People have bought them for wedding gifts, birthdays,  to decorate baby's nursery, a friend to sit on their work desk and for that person that has everything! They reside in an astronomy shop in Helsinki I have repeat customers and have made aliens to certain specifications! They reside all over the world - Japan, Belgium, UK, USA, Australia and beyond!

They feature on my business cards and postcards of them are always popular as the alternate Christmas card!!

Each one is different and each one has a name - making them is a delight and never ceases to make me smile so here are a few more 'little green guys' that have bought me so much pleasure ( and a few euros!!)over the last 6 years. Enjoy!!

Diabetes below freezing

The sky is a crystal clear blue, the sun has finally popped up and it is -17 degrees C!
Diabetes is a tricky little blighter at the best of times but throw in freezing temperatures and the trickiness is taken to another level.
Blood sugar meters do not like the cold, they and their partners, blood test strips(we use Bayer Contour)work optimally between 9°C and 30°C - so -17 ° is not good. Even temperatures hovering around 0°C can cause an error.
Unwrapping the glucose tablets from their cellophane wrapper requires quite a degree of dexterity, try it with gloves on, no, so gloves off and throw in a wind chill factor of -30, definitely no.
Soft chewy fruit snacks turn into rock hard sticks more akin to a dog chew and the juice box you left in the car is now a popsicle. Even the gel you had in your jacket pocket is now a slushie and brain freeze on top of a tanking blood sugar can't be fun.
Batteries in pump and meter drain away in front of your eyes and the spare is probably dead too.
Oh yes insulin freezes and the thin tubing dangling in the breeze is the perfect place !
Yes we have learnt the hard way but living in a country where winter temperatures are regularly below -10° C for 3 months of the year we have learnt to adapt .
Tubing well tucked in and preferably next to the skin, pump in pouch and tucked under shirt/ jumper and outdoor trousers. Doesn't allow for quick access but save bolusing and pump checking for indoors!
Fruit snack kept in inside pocket, put 4 glucose tablets into an old test strip pot, label and put in jacket pocket. This can be opened and dispensed with gloves on!
If we are going out for a period of time such as skating or skiing, we found a small insulated picnic /lunch bag into which we put a warm pad, such as wheat bag, gel pad, hand warmer, next goes the blood sugar meter and other snacks/ juice. It doesn't need to be hot but just warm to avoid freezing. Keeping the blood sugar meter inside your shirt is another option , tucked inside a bra works too!!
I am also learning  and even more so for my son, how important good quality winter boots and gloves are. Cold hands and feet are no fun at all.
I love the winter and the beauty and fun it brings, yes Diabetes comes along for the ride, we have problems but we work them out - hot chocolate usually helps! But why does playing in the snow make blood sugars drop so dramatically?
Roll on Summer!

Start positive!

What better day to dust off my blog than New years day! Grey and miserable right now( the weather I hasten to add!) , no snow yet but it will come!! I bought some fantastic winter boots with built in spikes so that why we have had one of the mildest Christmases ever here in Finland.
So our life trundles steadily and often at an alarming pace with School, Felting, holiday planning, growth spurts requiring a mammoth shop for new clothes and shoes and yes the inevitable round of x rays and scans for me and the rollercoaster  ride that is type 1 diabetes in a 10 year old boy!
Christmas was family both in Finland and UK - just perfect.
New Years Eve started with pasta and a family viewing on the sofa of the Hobbit, followed by  us catching up with our lovely neighbours with champagne and fireworks - again perfect!
A lazy day now, contemplating the year ahead , planning new felting projects, perhaps learn to knit(!), planning holidays around the winter Olympics and the Football World cup, hoping Crystal Palace can stay in the premier league, continue to tweak basal rates and chase those highs and lows both in Diabetes and life!
No promises to blog a little more frequently but I will try!
Best wishes for a healthy and constructive 2014.........

Managing 6 days of orienteering with Type 1 Diabetes

As we packed for Scotland, I triple checked my new laminated diabetes check list to make sure we had everything, adding a few extras in for good measure! When we travel abroad I usually allow 1 set and 1 reservoir for each day we are away. Even though we usually change them every 3 days, situations do occur when an unexpected set change is needed - ripped out set, failed set, tubing damage, cooked insulin - all of which were likely as we orienteered our way through the week.
Day 1 presented a big challenge - pouring rain. Aleksi wears a tummietote belt from tallygear. In its three pockets go the pump, his phone and a fruit bar/snack. The heavy rain made the possibility of pump and phone blow up quite possible so these were wrapped in plastic bags before putting in the belt. They stayed remarkably dry and functioning happily. He was a bit high before starting 14.1 so I corrected the full amount. He had a great run and came in second and yes due to the full correction was only 3.1 at the finish. Lesson learnt!
Day 2 was the complete opposite, hot and humid. His blood sugars were also the complete opposite. 3.1 just before starting so juice box and fruit snack were dispensed. As he left to run he was still only 4.9 so another fruit snack as he entered the start. Another good run into 3rd place. He checked himself when he got back as I was still wandering in the woods - 4.2 so he bought himself a large chocolate shortbread but only bolused for 15 carbs.
Day 3 was another warm day  - another low as we got to the event - some slightly over enthusiastic breakfast bolusing I think - so a banana and a nice 5.7 at the start. A fruit snack as he left to run saw a 4.8 when he got back. This time he bought himself a large sausage, bacon and egg sandwich  - as he said he deserved and needed it! A creditable 7th place finish today.
Day 4 was wet again so out came the plastic bags to do their job again. 6.1 at the start so off he went. Not a good run today missing one of the last controls. I came back to the car to find a very dejected young man and even his usual sausage, bacon and egg sandwich couldn't cheer him up. Despite bolusing he ended up at 17.2 not long after - how can you bolus for emotions?- no books or apps on that one yet
Day 5 saw an 9.3 at the start so I did a correction but only half the recommended amount - we the had a 2.4km walk just to the start so I gave him a fruit snack as he left. Another good run coming in 5th with a blood sugar of 8.4 - probably didn't need the fruit snack, but hey this is Diabetes we are talking about here and as we all know the goal posts keep moving!!
Day 6 ,  the final day, was warm and windy and a later start, juggling food and a later breakfast gave us 11.4 and an hour later 14.1 - a correction needed but again not the full amount. He came in 6th with a blood sugar of 7.0. He was very disappointed as a fourth place finish would have seen him finish 3rd overall. As it was he finished an extremely creditable 5th in the M10B class overall.
The promise of his 'usual' perked him up briefly but as we stood in the long queue a little voice said        'Mummy I feel low.....' Not good, I rushed as best I could to the car, fortunately parked close by and grabbed the meter - 2.1 and only 2 glucose tabs in the bag. I shouted at my dear husband about 100yds away, ignoring all those around - ' I need sugar now!'  Juice rapidly dispensed to my little man still standing in line for his sausage, bacon and egg sandwich!  Half and hour later he was 12 and  by the time we got home 19.4 - a classic rebound!

One slightly out of focus sausage, bacon and egg sandwich - so good he took a photo of it!!

So some great days of diabetes management, some days that left me scratching my head and swagging carbs on foods I had no idea about and some days leaving me exasperated at how bloody hard this disease can be on everyone. No extra supplies were needed but you never know.............
Scotland was great and we are already planning our next trip for the Scottish  6 days in 2015!

A close encounter with a Harris Hawk named Hamish on the way home.

My therapy weekend

Nothing out of the ordinary I assure you, just a glorious weekend of felting with like minded folks. I did a course in Helsinki last month, the idea to make a bag. Not something I would normally consider making but it was really good to test my skills and as always it is amazing what you learn!!
Tip number one was using a much thicker resist than I had previously. Normally I use double bubble wrap or similar but this time used an old camping mat, much thicker and firmer and so much easier to work round.
Next tip , which I have seen but never done, take an old juice bottle , stab a few holes in the top and use to sprinkle hot soapy water over your project! So simple but so effective!
Finally don't use white wool and green wool together! I didn't have enough white wool to make a thick enough back for the bag so used some green Finn wool and blue merino for a smoother finish. Bad idea , green dye came out and was taken up by the silk and white merino I had used on the front. Not too bad but won't do that again!

My workplace for the weekend!

Much thicker resist really helped.

Note the slight green tinge!

Large button for show and have added an old brown belt as a strap.

I had tome on Sunday to make a second bag and it so happened to be my Mum's birthday round the corner so lightbulb moment - a bag!!
This one was much smaller and simpler and came together really quickly. I had made a long handle ages ago as was able to use it for this project.
Again a thick resist and it was much easier to notice the shrinkage. Once it was holding well I cut the resist out and firmed the edges. Once dry I sew the handle/strap in place to make sure it stayed. I have not had much success felting handles on, definitely need more practise on that!

Sprinkler juice bottle!

Cutting out the resist.

Handle firmly sewn on, button for prettiness!

A fun weekend and great to learn new stuff as always. I am now contemplating 10 weeks of school holidays and seeds of ideas are forming for Christmas. With luck I can sneak in the odd hour or two of felting in the summer, perhaps a bigger project whilst I have two assistants to help with the rolling and fulling, or perhaps not.....

Raw fleece

My new favourite! Over the last year or so I have been slowly gathering up a wonderful collection of raw fleece - in it's full smelly glory! ( it is a bit like insulin - either a smell you love or hate, but I digress!)
Through Sara and her fleece club I received an amazing selection of fleece from sheep I had never heard of and they are all amazingly unique and such fun to felt with.
I made a variety of seat pads with the fleece, needling them onto a prefelt base to keep them in place and then wet felted them. I had better results keeping the curls and texture if I felted them in their  original state rather than washing them first. The water came out quite brown after the first wetting and rolling!!
Here are some of the results....

Lleyn and Zwartbles in a cowhide pattern!

Manx, Ryeland, Cotswold and Finn

A few varieties of Gotland

A mini fleece created from all sorts of white locks

Massam, BFL, Teesdale amongst others

I have also been playing with some merino tops, carded merino and merino prefelt and made some purses. They have made me brush up on my basic sewing skills, my blanket stitch is almost as good as I used to do at school!!

Reindeer horn buttons just finish them off.

I also did a felted bag course last weekend in Helsinki - it was so good to be amongst fellow felters! A post full of bag making goodness to follow soon!

What to make?

I am very rarely stuck for ideas for felting projects but it is nice to get a challenge every once in a while! I was thrown this one last week with a deadline of about a week and we were just off skiing for 4 days. Have wool will travel so last minute packing included needles and foam plus grab handfuls of various colour wools. I put the needles in the case as the thought of having to discuss the pro and cons of felting needles in the aeroplane was pushing my luck when we already had a bag full of diabetes supplies, an insulin pump and a tin hip to contend with!!

Minecraft TNT

Minecraft Creeper( well the head anyway!!)

Well I met my deadline in time for my son to take these as a gift for a friend's 10 year old birthday party last night.























Apparently Minecraft is the best game ever( if you are a 10 year old boy!) and guess what I have to make for all his friends birthdays now!!

Excuses

I have many of them for not blogging - take your pick!
Sheer laziness - pretty self explanatory
Life getting in the way - my favourite!
Angry Birds Star Wars and Skylanders - just one more game......
Felting and actually doing some work - it does get in the way sometimes!
Health issues - actually a pretty feeble excuse this one as we are doing pretty good.
Christmas - family time!
I could go on but they don't get any better!

I have also come to the realisation that not blogging isn't the end of the world as much as I enjoy reading what is happening in everyone's lives.However I will make an effort to put fingers to keyboard on Blogger a little more frequently!

I wonder what the word for Alien is in Flemish?

Creating has taken up a big part of my time in the run up to Christmas - a couple of exciting orders - 20 Aliens went to a new home in Belgium and a friend in America wanted 25 decorations based on the logo of UTSA  so busy busy!

Texas bound!

Off to market!!

Next up Christmas - I was a veritable production line of my little owl pincushions and I still ran out! Christmas decorations and of course Aliens were churned out and as ever sold well.








  and this photo just sums up Christmas really!

Fun stuff - clever clive ,super hero aliens, a batman hat which now has to become a creeper(minecraft)hat and gingerbread men !!!

Ticking along

The way life is at the moment, just ticking along nicely. Kids back at school and settled, a successful weekend craft fair done, a little down time for me from felting while I brainstorm some new ideas for Christmas.
Then something happens that bring things, albeit temporarily, to a grinding halt.
 Meri was one of the first 'D mums' I discovered, via her wonderful blog. She is one of the most witty and eloquent writers I have come across. She has four sons, three who have type 1 Diabetes. She was a huge help when we were making the decision whether to start using the insulin pump with Aleksi and her support was invaluable.
Early this year her husband, Ryan, was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer. They both fought hard and long but sadly Ryan passed away the beginning of this month.
It hit me hard, as all I could think about, somewhat selfishly, was that this could be me.
Meri has written some amazing posts over the past few weeks but I have found it so hard to write any meaningful comments. It all feels a bit close to home.

However spurred on by Meri, who is dusting herself off and heading back into the fray, I too am trying to do the same.
I have started some physiotherapy in an attempt to tone up my somewhat flabby if not non-existent bottom muscles. I have been tinkering in my felting room, creating a few projects, including one for Diabetes Art day as well as a felted seat pad which has already been tested on Aleksi's scout trip in the pouring rain!
I have also been cooking up a storm with apples - very therapeutic. You name it I have cooked it with apples! Fortunately we haven't got many left, only another 2 bucket loads to go. Ideas anyone?
So back to ticking along and back to felting in earnest - Christmas is coming......

RIP Ryan

Once in my lifetime

I have always loved sport as long as long as I can remember. School sports days, balancing bean bags on my head and of course the egg and spoon race.
School sports teams, lacrosse, rounders, athletics and later hockey. I loved it all come rain or shine. So no surprise when my chosen career was Physiotherapy and yes I spent many years treating sports injuries.
 Sport after school takes more effort but by joining a hockey club and jumping on  my bike I continued playing and taking part. I have even had a go at some less common sports including archery, triathlon and  I ran a marathon( a rarity for me!)
 Some sports however I do not enjoy, tennis being my number one 'hate'- legacy of tennis lessons at school!
Finally I have to mention orienteering, thanks to a friend who encouraged me to go one weekend. I loved it and found a new sport to pursue. I am where I am now thanks to orienteering having met my husband at the club Christmas party!
So when London was awarded the 2012 Olympics seven years ago I knew I had to be there.
I was.
We were there and loved it.

In the Olympic park, with the stadium behind.

Waiting for the off!

We saw the man of the moment run!

 
We saw javelin throwing, triple jumping, hurdles. with lots of crashes and falls and the highlight was Usain Bolt who strolled round his 200m heat. The noise was unbelievable! Everyone was in a great mood and hats of to all the volunteers who were just brilliant.
Once in my life time!

 

 

Home of Football!

Hungry? Which type of hungry?

I'm hungry! A phrase I here regularly in our household. What 8 going on 9 year old boy is not perpetually hungry.
 But then we have a twist. Type 1 Diabetes.
 Lex doesn't often feel when he is low, but after 4+ years of watching him grow up with this disease, I have got pretty good at spotting when his blood sugar is lower than we would like!
Usually one's blood sugar hovers gently in the range of 4-6 mmol/l -in people who do not have Diabetes. Lex has been running around playing football with a blood sugar of 2.2 and quote ' feels fine!!'  Getting him to recognise this is slow progress. When asked how he feels when low he will say he is hungry - not much help really. So now we have developed a system of him categorising his hunger in an attempt to teach him to recognise low blood sugars.
So we have 'hungry hungry' - usually around meal times - what I would call your normal hunger.
Next - 'bored hungry' usually announced whilst sitting in the car on a long journey, waiting for the bus and the like - in other words I have nothing to do so eating seems like a good idea.
Finally we have ' low hungry' - that hunger feeling he gets when his blood sugar is on its way down or is already in his boots - time for food NOW .
Not the most scientific system but it slowly seems to be working.
Having worked on lows, we have of course been battling the highs from hell for the last 3 days - no rhyme or reason of course, maybe growing, a bug, the weather or just because Diabetes does just that. Thank god for the pump, correction bolusing with little fuss, insulin on board and my new best friend temp basals!
But summer is here and that means swimming in the lake, ice cream, bikes rides, playing out late with your mates( remember here it is only vaguely dark at the moment between 2am and 4am so day light abounds!) watching football and athletics and planning a trip to the Olympics.
 Life is good!!

Presents all round

That time of year has come for presents - no, not Christmas come early but end of the school year! Needle felting skills to the fore to save me the stress of what to buy for gifts for teachers, helpers, scout leaders and so on! Throw in a birthday or too and the production line was in full swing. here are a couple of projects I remembered to photograph before they went to their new homes.

Elli is a member of the Scouts and her scout troop is the 'Karhunpennut' or Bear cubs.  So I grabbed my Birgit Krag Hansen book, Animal felt, and some raw brown locks and away I went. Getting the head shape right and in proportion  was really hard. I could see it wasn't quite right but correcting it was hard. More practise I think! Fun to do with the uncarded locks and I plan a polar bear when I get a moment in the holidays.

This next project, like many of mine, had been brewing in my head for ages and just before the children finished school I managed to get him done. I have a couple of similar projects as works in progress so promise to post more photos as they progress.

I always envisaged mounting the perch on a 'plaque' and so , to give away a secret, I only felted the detail on one side! I sewed a couple of wool loops on the back and hung it from a couple of small nails in the wood. This was a present for my Husband's uncle's 75th birthday - he is a keen fisherman and we catch Perch regularly in the lake at our summer cottage, nice eating too!
So now the needles are resting but I hope to manage the odd session or two when the kids are out playing(she says hopefully!!) - aliens await!

Time flies when you're having fun!

 Summer has finally arrived, school's out and the fun continues.
Orienteering is now in full swing but last month we went orienteering in the park, not any old park but       Särkänniemi Adventure Park in Tampere!

 

Elli at the start by the log flume ride

Aleksi ready to go next to the Dodgems!

Under the rollercoaster to the finish!

Why is the finish always at the top of a hill?

Time for some rides!

Welcome to Angry Birds land!

I just had to put some rubbish in here!!

One of my favourite places in the world!

Yes I love my creature comforts and I love my technology but I also love escaping back to a life that is pretty basic. For the last 10 years now, at Easter,  we have left the 'city' and headed for the country, specifically our 'summer' cottage. Now as Easter time varies we can be confronted with varying amounts of snow and a lake that may or may not be frozen. There will be no running water, frequent trips to refill the log basket, the annual Easter egg hunt and a lovely cold beer after sauna. Bliss!
Hopefully these photos will give you a little taste of our Easter!

Easter Sunday breakfast

Easter egg hunt!

Playing on the lake on the kick sledge!

Contemplating life whilst fishing!

Roll on Spring!

A view of the cottage from the frozen lake, next time we will see it from the boat!