WeavingTools

I usually never have time to go shopping just to hang around. Yesterday I happened to drive by a local Goodwill charity shop that had opening at the new place. I pop in just for the support. I don't buy distaffs at second hand but I do have 2 of them. Now I found this distaff and decided to buy it just for the support. It laid next to the wooden warping paddle. They both looked old, vintge, miserable and worn out. I brought them home just with 5 €. I cleaned them and oiled with the Macadamia nut oil like I did with the Wind Catcher. Just look how beautiful they are now.

Someone would say this is not a warping paddle but a spaghetti serving size measuring tool. I don't know about that. All I know is that these were used as a warping tool around here when the spaghetti was not here yet. And many were hand made and home crafted. It might be a multi-functional object / design! 😁

Pegs

This is my very old peg basket. It is almost 30 years old. It has finally faced the end of its time. The plastic has weaken so much that every time I just look at it, small plastic pieces falls off. I've been seeking a new one, actually for a year by now. The problem is they don't sell baskets for pegs without pegs. I don't need pegs. I need the basket. I have been looking different kind of options but each one would have needed some DIY extra.

That's why I ended up to design my own one and crochet it. I used loose end weft from YoungLady's rug project. I am satisfied with the result and it works well. I hope it to last the next +25 years!

DogWoolVest

After 3 years it is here: dogwool (chiengora) vest for Him. Made of our own arctic dogs' wool. All in natural shades. I didn't card the fibers. I wanted to use it all just in the way how it pops out to reach a lively surface for the vest.

If you don't card it, it causes the uneven structure. It is difficult to spin but the result is lively. Also, because it is uneven you can notice unbalance of the twist in the yarn to go this and that way in the knitwear. And no, I didn't plan any single stripe. It all is like it came out from the fur bag when I spun. I designed it, I spun it, I knit it but Nuka and Pii gave the fibers for it. It is slow craft and FashionNOW. A very sustainable garment!

WindCatcher

I love wind catchers. This one I have bought a very long time ago at second hand. It has been scaring bad creatures away from our property until last year when it lost one part of it. I found it and took it all down to make sure nothing else will be lost. Since that I have been seeking a thread to fix it. Nothing was found until now. 

See, I wanted to use UV-resistant thread to make sure it will last even longer after I fix it. Wet cloth and these were all I needed. The tread is a fishing hook cord. I bought it at our super market's fishing department.

At first I took few proper pics of it by my smart phone to make sure I can put it all up again. Then I unwind it all and wipe by a wet cloth. I love the impression how the time and the weather has applied the metal parts so I didn't do anything special to them.

I oiled the wooden parts by a nut oil I found in my kitchen! I gave a nice look for the wooden parts. Also this is real FashionNOW. There was no need to throw the broken wind catcher away. It still plays a beautiful sound so I just fixed it.

To create even more power to its protective feature I added some traditional shiny Sámi culture element by a mirror glass. I used a glue to attach the glass on the both sides of the lowest wooden part. It should be frost resistant but we'll see that in the future.

Särestö

In Kaukonen, Kittilä, Lapland, Finland there is a place we call Särestö. Officially it is Särestöniemi Museum. It actually won The Museum of The Year contest in Finland in May 2026!

It is the museum of a famous painter Reidar Särestöniemi (1925-1981). In December I went to see a play of his mom Vesisaaren Alma with my sister. Now I went to see the museum with my sister. We have been there together before. A long time ago. The museum was opened in 1985. We have visited it by then. That makes 40 years ago!

There is his family home. It is a traditional log house by the river Ounasjoki. It is mostly like it has been when he lived there. Of course some parts has been put on display because it is a museum now. 

Also Reidar's family had a traditional cow house. Like all the traditional buildings, also animal sheds were made of logs. They had for about 8 cows and few sheep which means it was a wealthy house.

They had also a horse stable for their 2-3 horses. You can spot also a dog house in the picture. The leftmost building is an outhouse (toilet). Image yourself going there in the winter when there's snow and frost.

The gallery was built up in 1972. He was so famous and visitors came to see his work. He needed the privacy so he built up a gallery next to his ateljé.

In the gallery is also his sauna department where some important and close guests were invited. He had 2,5 m deep pool in the sauna department. Surprisingly the sauna department and pool locate on the 2nd floor of the gallery. Obviously, because it was built on a stony ground and digging a pool into the soil would have been too complicated in arctic environment.

Previously he had his ateljé next to the gallery. Unfortunately it was destroyed in a fire by the new year 1977/1978. The new ateljé, which was also his private house, was ready for him to move in already in October 1978. 

His ateljé is a dream place for every artist or artesan. Unfortunately he passed away 2½ years later and was not able to enjoy it for a longer time. 

The museum area is like indoor and outdoor museum, all together. I warmly recommend you to visit it and investigate it all also outside, no matter the weather. If it is a summer, dress up, because there will be mosquito.

You can even spot the place of Reidar's birth. They used to have a smaller house there. They sold it later. After that Reidar carried a big stone there to spot the exact place of  his birth.

He died in his ateljé but is buried in Kittilä graveyard in the center of Kittilä. By the gate there's a map that points out his grave in the top left corned.

You can find Reidar's grave easily. You just walk straight forward from the gate until the last turn to the left. And then you walk forward again until you see this sign. 

Remember to be respectful. And silent.