Browns

Since May 2025 I have been finding the roots. I am progressing better than expected. Aren't they beautiful browns! You can notice one is still missing. I am still waiting for the results of it. The analysis of the project will take until May-June 2026. Very exciting indeed! Hopefully I can publish my book finally when being able to report about the analysis. 

KnitWithMe No1 A

I started a knitting project and had an idea that you could knit it with me. I designed a woollen vest which I am going to wear at work. My craft classroom, where I mostly teach, is big and high. It is a former gym hall! (Perfect place for crafting even bigger projects.) It is a community college building made of the stone right after the WW2 wars in Lapland, Finland. The 3rd winter me working there is about to begin. I do like wear turtle neck polo shirts and a woollen jumper over it. But teaching craft includes a lot of walking around the class room, kneeling down, lifting up etc. Sometimes a woollen jumper is too much but just a polo shirt too little. A poncho or a shawl is difficult but works if I do only office job. That's how I discovered I will make few woollen vests for myself. This is the 1st one. 

For the project I use our own yarns OOW (25% arctic dog wool and 75% Finnsheep wool) (100g = 220m) and AAW (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). They are not available for sale but for your own project you can choose the yarns that are approximately 100g = 220-240m. If you want to make it FashionNOW but have no wool of your own, you can try to buy some local or organic wool. For this project you can use also all your loose end yarns. Anyway, if possible, use 100% natural fibres to avoid supporting oil industry and micro plastic. Also, wool is warmer than other fibers so it helps you to adjust your heating a degree or few lower. That reduces the need of the energy you need for the heating.

You need 60-80 cm long no 3 circular knitting needles (or no 2,5 if you knit loose, no 3,5-4 if you knit tight). I used 80 cm circular knitting needles on the begin but then swap to 60 cm. It's up to you, how you like it.

For the ribbing I use the OOW which I've plant dyed by lupin. 

For the stripes I use AAW which I've plant dyed by reed in 3 different shades.

This instruction is for the size M. If you need bigger, make more. If smaller, reduce. S=172, M=180, L=188 etc. There's 8 stitch gap between each size. No matter what you do, how many stitches you cast on, as long as the final number of the stitches is divisible by 4.

Cast on 180 stitches on your circular knitting needles. You close it up when you start the 1st round. Place the slip marker on the begin of the round.

Rounds 1-14: 2 knit - 2 purl (color 1)

Round 15: knit all (color 1)

Round 16-17: knit 3 - slip 1 (color 2)

Round 18: knit all (color 1)

Round 19-20: knit 3 - slip 1 (color 3)

Round 21: knit all (color 1)

Round 22-23: knit 3 - slip 1 (color 4)

Round 24: knit all (color 1)

Repeat the rounds 16-24 until the vest is long enough and you end up to your armpits. We will continue from there later. 😉

See the notes below.

Place the slip markers on both sides. Make sure it gets even right in the middle front. Meaning that I have 180 stitches. Half of it is 90. The middle front is between the stitches 45-46. In my size the pattern of the 4 stitches figure doesn't fit right in the middle.That's why I marked again the sides so that the back side of the vest gets a bit smaller so I can match the pattern repeat right in the middle front. If it is even one stitch skewed it will be noticed because it comes right under your face at the end. So make sure you match the middle front center there where you want. The front part of the vest can be a bit bigger than the back side. It really is up to one or few stitches so it doesn't matter much.

This is how it starts to look like. The slipped stitches will form out vertical rows. It is like Fair Isle knitting but much easier and faster.

I'll meet you by the armpits! See you!

NB Hat No2

I designed and made this needle binding winter hat. No, there is no design for it. Typical for needle binding is that they are made "on you". It means you bind a bit, try it on, keep going on until finished. I used our own AAW yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon (100g = 238m). I plant dyed the yarns by weld (reseda), onion, lupin and reed. I used Finnish stitch (2+3 F2). I crocheted the flowers and leaves for the decoration.

It is FashionNOW slow craft and I plan to wear with wollen jumpers. This hat matches with the shade of my pale eyes. 😍

ForestSámiMen'sFourWindsHat

In my Sámi siida region men used to wear this kind of hat instead of the more common one pictured above. We don't know for how long they used FourWindsHat like women. Obviously perhaps since it started to get common among other Sámi tribes and also women's hat got bigger. This hat is made according to the old hat. I took the pattern from an old hat at Musea Noiti Viessu in Salla at the same time when I traced ForestSámiWomen'sBonnet.

This Men'sFourWindsHat has two different kind of fur. The design is traditional but often claimed to be fake because of the sheep fur. But it is not. It bases on the tradition with sheep fur around the edge and other fur around the forehead part. Other fur is often reindeer or beaver. This one has wild mink which my father-in-law hunt.

It is often claimed Sámi did not have or possessed sheep. But they did, not reindeer nomad Sámi but some other groups did. Since when? Since the sheep got up to the north obviously at least 1000 years ago. You can have sheep when living not so nomad life, like SeaSámi/CoastalSàmi tribes did. Forest Sàmi have always lived semi-nomad life and when they were forced to put up permanent estates (=build the houses to preserve their traditional living areas) they were able to have 1-3 sheep. At least then they learnt to use sheep as a source of material and food. Moore like material because why to kill an animal who produces wool when the forest is full of wild game. 😊 Sheep is not our traditional food, I can't even cook it!

DiamondHeel

I was inspired by Tanis Gray's  Gilmore girls - The official knitting book. The book doesn't include these woollen socks. But it includes the awesome Daily News Hat from which chart column 3 I copied the pattern for the leg part of these socks!

Aren't they fabulous! I used Nako's Purse Sock Plus yarn (75% wool, 25% polyamide) (100g = 200m) in white and grey shades. I really don't know yet is this good yarn or not because the socks I've knit are for the Yule 2025.

I made my 1st ever Diamond Heel for these socks. I've seen many pics of pretty Diamond Heels but I wanted to see how does it work in a stronger and thicker heel. I used the similar knitting that I did in Dutch Heel No1 (trad.). It really doesn't work as a proper boot sock. Meaning if you want to use it in your boot's this is not your choice for the heel. But it works just fine as a warm sock at home during cold and chilly winter days.

OctoberWeekend

This October weekend I have been quite busy. I have been doing traditional Sámi craft which results you will see later. This is a fur of a wild mink my father-in-law caught and made ready for the use.

I've also designed a new tablet weave band and made the warp for it already. It is going to be something special for my father-in-law. Don't tell him! It's a gift.

It has been dry an beautiful so we went to the sea shore to collect some sea grass. The autumn has been warm and we have not got the 1st snow yet despite it already is October. 

He needs sea grass to refill His decoys. He hunts black grouses by decoys. What is that? We'll, in decoy hunting you set up stuffed fake black grouses on the top of the trees. The real ones think "oh, there's a great place to eat" so they come to land on those trees. And that's how you get them caught for the food. But He needs to fix the black grouse decoys a bit because last season He faced a demolish. A white-tailed eagle also thought they were real and attacked at the decoys. The white-tailed eagle was quite confused and did everything it could to get the decoys but at the end it needed to give up and fly to find real food.

We are drying the sea grass on our bathroom floor by the stove. It works well. Soon He can finish fixing the decoys.

From this you can be sure the climate change is here and true. This sun flower blooms with few fellows in my arctic garden. The remarkable thing is that it is spontaneous and not planted. It is nearby our bird feeding place where we feed birds over the winter season. But it is a shadowy place and we have been feeding birds there for ages! Never before we have got any "wild" sun flower as a result even tough I know it can happen.

Despite I saw today almost full white hare (yes, they change the color of the fur coat for the winter to be safe from the predators) the frost has not arrived. We have protected our apple trees by the nets to keep hares and Roe Deer away. This may seem funny to you, but this really is necessary. Just image 1 meter high snow cover. Our apple trees don't grow much higher than a man. When there's deep snow cover on the ground the trees are partly buried in. If you protect only the stem, someone will eat the rest.

He has set my new old wooden rowing boat ready for the winter. He bought it for me from our neighbor who doesn't need it anymore. It is designed for the rivers, not the seas. I need to think where I will take it to inland because we live by the sea shore. You can notice there is a construction going in the garden which we were not able to keep on this summer because of Poor Pii. About the construction project you will hear next summer because we really can't start it now when the winter is arriving to cover the earth by the snow.

While I was looking after Poor Pii He fixed His boat but also built our new wood shed for our fire wood. Believe or not but He carried each timber over His shoulder from the street to the end of the garden (25 m) because we didn't want to damage our plants and tress because of the project. That's why He also dig the soil by tiny gardening shovel at some point because we didn't want to damage the roots of the huge old spruce that grows behind the new wood shed. The shed is built in the terms of the garden. That's why He also lift the timbers by his own hands one by one over each other all the way to the top. To avoid the damages to the trees we could not use any machinery/vehicle for the project. We are happy with the result, despite the shed looks like a brand new it also looks it has been there for the ages like the nature had already grown around it. But we just built it into the nature.  This season we don't have the time to built the stairs for the shed so this temporary solution will do just fine over the coming winter.

This weekend I have also been at the friend's farm to help with the wool and sheep. We have been sorting out the wool and kept on learning shearing the sheep. Also, meeting other old friends and making new friends. It really was empowering occasion.

Actually, my friend Elina has started a small business to run a farm holidays. You can take a look and book yourself in if interested at Farm of Old Leinonen. I've been there before and showed you around. And for sure I'll be back to gather with friends at Elina's sheep farm.

SámiCradleHat

I made a traditional style SámiCradleHat. It is an infant hat called "komsiolakki" in Finnish. Lakki means a hat. Komsio is a special Sámi type of cradle made of wood and leather. You can carry it or hang it for example from a roof. It is made for the baby's sleep but also to protect the baby.

Opposite to the tradition, it has a merino wool lining that is left over material from the tube scarf project. According to the tradition it has traditional Forest Sámi decoration style.

Above the ear, on the both sides of the head, it has a small decoration for the protection of the baby. Can you spot the red and green squares? Can you spot the hole in the green square? Previously I told you the holes crate the place where noidi/shaman can travel between the worlds (present here for us alive ones, above for gods and below for the dead ones). The holes create also the spots where the evil can be driven away so that it can't master you or start to live in you or get attached to you in any way. It just goes through like a wind. This symbolic traditional figure creates a huge blessing for the new born baby. Gods and ancestors can come to protect the baby and evil can't catch the baby. That's why the symbolic holes are on the both sides of the head.

The figure on the top of the head is a personal blessing for the baby. It represents the sun, the water and the reflection of the sun on the water surface. So, there is that reflection to chase the evil away despite there is not any shining elements like glass or silver. By this blessing I send sunshine and safety for the baby's life.

AutmnColors

Earlier this month I dyed by Natural Indigo these 700g of our own snag grey AAW yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool, 10% nylon)  (100g = 238m). Today I brought them to my mother-in-law. She wants to knit me a long wool dress. I can't wait it to be ready!

Today we took Nuka...

...and Pii for a break out walk from hunting.

We went for a walk around the bay.

It is very beautiful out there!

This week I also received a souvenir from the woods. He brought me an abandoned wasp nest which He had noticed while hunting for the food for us.

Lately

What special I've done lately? Well, you know how my summer went with Poor Pii. That's why our garden has been left mostly on its own. With arriving autumn and the fact that so far Poor Pii has not needed another surgery, we have had time to gardening and harvesting. Also, I have accepted the fact that everything planned for this summer can't be finished because we really don't have long summer. Today I woke up with +2 Celsius degrees. I am not fighting against it what I can't change. Also, I have chosen to look after Poor Pii instead of paying attention on something else. Some things have been done and one of them was to put the winter lights on. No solar ones because there is no enough daylight to load the batteries. That's why we use the led lights and electricity.  

I have received few special gifts that are meant to be taken to a seita. They were handed to me so I brought them to my home seita. It means it locates on my property and is in my family private use. That white stone in the pic is Milky Quartz. We call it literally Snow Quartz or rather Ukonkivi which means something like Thunder God's Stone. Our home seita is very important to me and provides me a great place to thank about something. 

I've also had some gluten free sweets. If you are visiting Finland and seek some safe & gluten free sweets there are not many choices. My favorite are Pirteät Kirpeät Aakkoset or Choco Aakkoset. aakkoset means alphabets and the name comes from it that each sweet has an alphabet on it. When we were kids we tried to share the sweets by words. 😃 The glass bowl is very traditional Finnish design and it really has been my favorite since childhood. It is Finnish design by Iittala and it is called Ultima Thule. I love it in bright glass shade because it really reminds melting ice on a long but warm spring time. Ultima Thule is something you inherit. Ice is very interesting element, lika human nature. It can be sharp, soft, cold and warm... even all at the same time.

I've learnt also a new method. We'll, not a new one, I've done cupping therapy before. But I have learnt to use glass cups instead of silicone. I had to because I found these glass cups at a charity shop. It was the whole pack and cost only 15 €. You can't pass by such a bargain, especially if you have only 4 silicone cups and they are all different size! So, now I am practicing to use glass cups for the cupping therapy. I am also learning not to break them. So far no damages!

We can have many opinions about cupping. I take it as a physiological relief for the muscles, muscular relaxation and as a bonus you may have also your mind a bit more relaxed. I never use the puncture in cupping. There is no need to that. You get the benefits anyway. 

OMG

My colleague at work faced a horrible disaster last spring. She had put her French cardigan to hang outside to make the air to clean the wool. That is how you clean woolen garments. You put them outside to air and they get clean! This time she noticed someone had ate her beautiful cardigan! At the end she found out it was birds who had started nesting and needed something warm to build their nest. We both agree there must be very romantic baby girl tits in the world now! Princess like. She asked if I could do anything with the holes.

Well, I can always patch them. For the patching I used DMC stranded cotton embroidery thread. To make it more firm and not stretching. I wanted to create a base for something. See...

The cardigan had hang from the hanger on which the tits hand been sitting and peck fibers out from the garment. That's why both shoulders had faced the disaster but no other parts. 

To hide the patching I did some freehand embroidery over the shoulders.

It is mohair cardigan so I used mohair yarn for the embroidery. In this way she could at least wear it at home and cottage. But she liked it and is going to use it at work again.

This is FashionNOW. And also preserving memories. It was a gift she had received from a very important person in her life.

Notice: I have made a small Patching Wool -tutorial in 2014!

TubeScarf

I made a 100 % merino wool tube scarf for myself. I had one last winter. I visited at Oulu Theater and lost it there. It was with my jacket when I left it at the secured jacket service but it never returned. Merino wool tube scarves are pretty expensive: 25-30 €. That's why I started to find out how much it would cost to sew one.

I ordered some merino wool fabric from Germany because in Finland it is so creepy expensive. I was not quite sure which I liked and how it would turn out. At the end I made many merino wool tube scarves. These will be gifts for the family. 

You must be curious to read how much the home made merino wool tube scarf cost. 7€ for one!!! It doesn't take many minutes to cut and sew it. If you can sew, it is easy to save 20€ per one merino wool tube scarf. It really is the beginner level project!

YellowAutumnSet

I designed YellowAutumn mittens and headband. For the decoration I used two Single Cable chains. The yarn is Drops Air mix yarn (65% alpaca, 28% polyamide, 7% merino wool) ( 50g = 150m).

The mittens and twisted cross headband make a perfect match together. They are for the Yule 2026. My mother-in-law will have these then. 

YellowAutumnMittens

I designed and knit these beautiful Yellow Autumn mittens. They are decorated by single cables. I used Drops Air mix yarn (65% alpaca, 28% polyamide, 7% merino wool) ( 50g = 150m). I kind of like it. It has a special structure and it feels very soft. These are not for me.

SingleCable Headband No1

I designed and made this Aran Single Cable headband from the real true begin to the final end. It is a real FashionNOW product. Inspired by my Dublin journeys with very fashionable stripes in Aran knitiwear.

My friend used to have an arctic mix bred dog. She used to collect its loose hair for us to be used in our project where we collect arctic dog and Finn Sheep wool to get our own wool yarn OOW.

It has been a long term project because I have hand spun the last remaining wool of her dog whose last wool she gave me. She has no idea I have been making hand spun yarn for her made of 100% of her dear dog friend's wool. At the end, after finishing the spinning, I have plant dyed the yarn by mushrooms.

Then I figured out what on earth to do with it. I wanted to make something she can wear/use but something that will last. That's how I ended up making her SingleCable Headband No1. It is really thick because I made it double layered. It will warm her head and heart. She will receive this very soon as a birthday gift. 💝