River-Joki-Juukâ

I finally had the time to finish my own design Sámi woollen shawl. It is made of 100% wool and according to the tradition. I plant dyed the shades of yellow, red, green and blue. It is very airy and perfect for wearing it under a winter jacket around your neck. Because it is so airy, soft and light it is perfect also for a child's 1st Sámi shawl. It is called River - Joki - Juukâ. In this shawl you can see a river running free through a snowy landscape.💙

SámiArtExpo

I went to see Eanangiella - Voice of the Land exhibition at Oulu Art Museum. It is a part of Oulu 2026 events. In 2026 Oulu is the European capital of culture. Eanangiella is a big Sámi exhibition open 16.1.-3.5.2026. The exhibition is impressive and has only one lack, the voice of living Forest Sámi artists and culture of Finland. You can't - for example- see at all Irene's art there.

I was pretty fascinated about these modern lamp shades made by the Sámi root weaving which is familiar also to Forest Sámi culture.

Also, this sheep skin fur coat I experienced wonderful. It is made by Norwegian Sámi artist Áila Inga Grape. 

Forest Sámi people in Finland traditionally used more sheep skin fur than reindeer because they had traditionally only few reindeer and reindeer meaning in Forest Sámi culture was different than in nomadi Sámi culture. I write more about this theme in my upcoming book. 

Eanangiella is worth of visiting, if you happen to be around Oulu before it closes up.

TheRooster

Traditionally we don't see Easter Bunny or have Easter Egg Hunt. Traditionally we place a fur hat at the end of our bed, under the bed or somewhere nearby. During the night the rooster steps in and hatches in the fur hat. Because it is a rooster it never can lay ordinary eggs like hens. It lays chocolate eggs. And only on the Easter night. And that's why there was chocolate eggs in the hat again this year!

TroyTown

One of the most popular places of Kemi is the town center marina, the inner harbor. There locates also the park Meripuisto. And in the park Meripuisto is "Jatulintarha". That's a troy town. It is actually a copy of another one found at the northern end of Ajoskrunni, Kemi. 

The word "jatulintarha" was originally used to describe troy towns in the Kemi and Tornio region only. Because of the oldest research on troy towns concerned our local area, the name "jatulintarha" became a generic term used for them all over the country. "Jatuli" means a giant and "tarha" means a labyrinth. So, literally "jatulintarha" means a giant's labyrinth. 

The most of Finland's 140 troy towns locate by the coast or archipelago. They are mostly from the Middle Ages.

This year our Easter cake was themed a bit like jatulintarha. For the cake I used the same idea than I always do. You can find the recipe from here. I just made it with 6 eggs. Added the filing and decoration. At the end we added dinosaur decorations on the cake because it was a borthdaycake for our grandchild.💛💜💚💙💝

Luotolainen

At work in January 2026 I had a change to participate in a workshop in a conference. This workshop was arranged by Taito Pohjois-Pohjanmaa. It was up to traditional Hailuoto woollen sweater called Luotolainen. 

We knit a gauge swatch for the Luotolainen sweater. I think it is a brilliant idea to make it for something you can use. You actually need to make the gauge swatch in the way the final project will be completed. If it is flat, the gauge swatch can be flat. But if it is looped, the gauge swatch need to be looped too.

Knitting the gauge swatch you can also practice the final stitches you need to knit in the final project. This pot holder is surprisingly thick and you don't need any filling/padding material inside of it. It is 100% wool, so it doesn't get burn so easily either.