So I Went to Finland Last Night

When I started my blog, one thing I hadn't really thought of was that people from far away countries might come and visit my blog to see what I do. Perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was pretty amazed when I saw that there were people from Israel, Finland, Slovakia, and Germany, as well as folks from Canada and the U.S. who found my blog. So cool!

I love travelling. With three little kids and one income at the moment, travelling is definitely on the back burner. But last night I decided to chuck it all and go travelling! I checked out Quilting Bloggers and browsed their country listing. Hmm, where to go tonight? Finland! Now, I don't speak Finnish, but quilting is a universal language, no?

I'll apologize ahead of time for all the links, but I wouldn't feel right posting their photos without the bloggers permission. And really, you want to come with me, don't you?

Well, I was not disappointed with Finland! A number of the blogs were either bilingual or just in English, which I wasn't expecting so it made touring very easy.

I saw stunning scenery and beautiful rainbows and learned about cyanotype printing. I also went across the ocean to learn more about the American Civil War! Yes, Satu from Kotka, Finland is doing a Civil War Diary Quilt and includes excerpts of civil war diaries with the accompanying blocks on her blog Quilttales. Beautiful work!

Then I found Life's a Quilt by Hedgehog in Vaasa, Finland. I loved the colour combination of her Squares quilt, her Places quilt (very cool idea!), her Kihnu table runner, and her Elephant and Flamingo quilt. Gorgeous. And there was also a great photo of a Mitten wall from Kihnu.

HanneLinen is also a treat. Art quilting, felting, some neat ideas on what to do with woven textiles and a ball of beeswax strips.

I spotted a cool Dear Jane arrangement on Ingebord's Lotta blog.

So loved Syko's blog. Kajsa Wikman is the face behind the blog and she has a book out that I'm going to try and find, Scandinavian Stitches. Her blog is in English and it's fabulous. Check out her Hidden Messages quilt, and these pillows, and these soft houses! I had to wipe the drool off my iPad after visiting this site.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the trip! I had a blast and learned a lot. Now, where to go next?