BackToKitchen

Finally I made more kitchen towels. No wonder the old ones were worn out because I made them 2017! Here you can find the tutorial for Recycled re-usable kitchen towel -tutorial.

I love these recycled re-usable kitchen towels. I have used them for over 20 years. I always choose 100% cotton because you can then wash them even in 90 Celsius degrees. You should have at least 5 of them and change one at least once in a week. You don't necessarily need to change it daily. You just rinse it by a warm/hot water after the use, squeeze as dry as possible and hang to dry as flat as possible. When it dries proper at least during the night, it reduces the bacteria. 

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.

TrapperHat No1

I bought a fox fur coat from a friend. It is unpractical design. It is in relatively good shape but demands a huge work to turn out to be something else and useful according to FashionNOW. Now it has lost its 1st sleeve. 

I designed and made trapper hat for Him. It is a traditional design with updates. It do has padding inside but as a lining fabric I have used mulesing-free merino wool. 

Usually you see trappers hat bind up on the top of the head. We use it in this way: bind at back. This way is perfect in the cold climate where you still need to protect your ears but can open the side flaps a  bit.

The front side fabric is 100 % wool and twill woven. Traditionally we use here leather for it. I used these materials to create breathability to the hat. He do has 2 extra warm traditional trappers hat. That's why this is made a bit differently.

I think it looks great and He loves it!

ForestFire

This winter we have had only a little bit of the snow compared to the normal. This March has been warm so far. The snow has started to fade. It has been interesting to go into Forest. The snow can hide many things. Now when the trees are free from snow, we have seen some very old traces of a forest fire. Only few, but they are there. 

How old are the traces? When there was a forest fire that burnt almost it all? The written history doesn't know the forest fires on the area so they must be at least 300-400 yrs old, obviously more. Simply because Forest is full of old trees that don't have the forest fire damages so they were born after the fire.

The oldest trees are very old in the forest. And those trees that hold the traces of the forest fire survived, lived damaged and healed after all as well as they could. Around here the trees don't grow very big and some hundreds of years old trees can be actually only a man size! In the forest is old small trees but also some huge old trees. It depends on their type and growing place. That's why it is difficult to tell their age without hurting them. 

It is a nature reserve area for a good reason and it is amazing to see the diversity it holds. And it is interesting that actually the old name of the Forest location echoes the fire.

SpaceRocket

I designed and made this funny play ground college shirt and pants for toddler's adventures. I used Finnish design Metsola fabric. This design's idea is to inspire a child to  play. It's especially made for a skinny kid who loves to pick up stones and cones and everything inspiring from the nature. Because the child is skinny and stones can be heavy, I placed the pockets on the shirt, not on the pants. Otherwise the pants would easily start to fall down. When the pockets are on the shirt, it all stays on better. Notice how I plaid with the pockets and put one squirrel upside down.

I put elastic bands around the leg openings. First the set will be a bit too big. When there are elastic leg openings the leg parts stay on better and don't slide down under the shoes and heels so easily. I used the elastic band also around the shirt's hem. For the safety: when the child climbs the hem doesn't get attached on anything so easily.

Around the waist of the pants I used the buttonhole elastic band. That's how you make it adjustable. I sew two buttonholes through which the buttonhole elastic band runs. 

For the fastening I used just one sew-on-snap. It's easy to use for everyone. I could have added some buttons just for the decoration but I didn't want to. I think it's cool and simple in this way. 

Reindeers,Squirrels&Bears

If you remember I sew two toddler dresses. This ReindeerDress is my own design. If you take a closer look, you can see I modified the wrist parts after the last post. I prefer it in this way. It is more practical when the toddler wants the sleeves up. These reindeer short leggins are from PaaPii's Pattern Book for Children with my own modification -similar as with the dress' wrists.

I made more leggins with full length by using PaaPii's Pattern Book for Children. For all these toddler clothes you can see in this post, I used Finnish design Metsola fabrics. I love their cute animal prints.

I promised you with Mice&Reindeers to show you an easier way to make the wedges for the dress. And here it is. This is a design from PaaPii's Pattern Book for Children with my own modification. You just make the horizontal cut by the waistline. I made the modification also to the wrist parts with this dress.

Here they are together: a pretty bear set for a toddler. Metsola doesn't sell all the time their fabrics out; only in special campaigns.

I was informed about their campaign this winter by my students. That's how I managed to shop these pretty fabrics. Only negative experience was that they sell them only in 1 m pieces. If you need 2 meters it comes in 2 pieces. Also these leggins are from PaaPii's Pattern Book for Children.

This squirrel dress is my own design. It is very easy but needs more fabric than the reindeer dress pictured above.

I think it is a beautiful set with full of actions. I do like squirrels and find amusing to watch them. They are excellent creatures also in problem solving tasks if the reward is their favorite food!

These aren't only beautiful new clothes. If you take a closer look to the design you notice despite they are at some size, they are actually a design of which the child doesn't grow out fats. Child can use them even they'd be too big size and even the child gets more length, the designs are still usable for playground use. When a child can wear the piece of garment for a longer period of ones life, it brings lower the environmental load of their footprint.

This kind of clothes with animal/nature prints are also educative items to rise up a child level conversation to give them the educative information about the nature, sustainability and biodiversity. A good way for environmental and sustainable education for children is to bring the nature closer to their daily lives. Wild animal and forest themed clothes are one way to bring nature into their lives despite they'd live in the cities. 

In Sámi culture you rise up your children by stories. To a small child you can easily tell if a person throws a piece of a trash on the street or nature, a curious animal can eat it and come very ill, and because it is a wild animal it can't get to the vet or human care easily to feel better. After that the child can choose where to put their own pieces of trashes; take it to a trash bin or throw on the street/nature. To be a supportive adult, carry always something with you where you can keep the trashes until finding a trash bin. 💕

WeavingShawl

I started the shawl some days ago. It is my own design, but following traditional Sámi designing idea. My loom is not so big, but I wanted to do as big shawl as possible. That's why I make it in a bit different way.  I just leave extra loose yarn out of the side edges. That's how I can get 80 x 80 cm shawl. It needs a bit more professional touch and patience also in finishing it all at the end. But I am ready for the job. This is my restorative craft at the moment. 

Forest

I have something very special to tell you. The past few weeks have been very special, exciting and needed quite a lot of my attention and time. Finally it is official. Me and Him have bought forest. (And no, we are not divorced. We just never wear our wedding rings in daily free time life, because we do so many things with our hands that it is just on its way. 💞)

I am Sámi. I learnt so many things about the forest from my Sámi grandpa. One thing I learnt was that despite you actually and truly can never own the land, in this modern society you must own it legally and literally on the papers in the official way so that you can call it yours, even it would have been your family's eternal place of living and carry out your Sámi culture with ancient rules and manners of your people. 

To me, despite I officially own the forest now, I don't consider it in that way. To me, as a Forest Sámi it is more like a relationship, like I have with Him, I have one now with The Forest. It is a relationship, a partnership, in which we both take good care of each others. 

It is a very special place. It is 50 hectares of nature reserve area. The last trees that were cut there was over 50 years ago. And only a few for a roof of a house. There has never been done forest work by a tractor or any bigger machine. Only by horses. It has old forest but also rocky places and swamps that are mostly hiding under the snow at this time of the year.

I love this picture. I fell down for about millions of times until I got up to this small uphill. The earth is so variable and snow soft, and I had problems with my grandpa's old ski bindings (they had finally got too loose). In this picture you can see you can never, at the end, to control or rule the wild nature. I had no other option than just try on again and again, rest and keep on trying. Because I simply could not stay because there was just me, the frost and the forest. It is a piece of a wild arctic nature in a special place. It doesn't include hiking trails or trekking routes. Not even small paths made by or for humans to wander around. 

In the future you will hear more about The Forest!

Mice & Reindeers

This cute little 110 cm size mouse dress has the same pattern at its basics whichs this ToddlerSnowBallDress has also. Designed by PaaPii. If you take a look you can notice I made more wedges. I added them in the middle front and back. Wedges made like this are a bit tricky to sew. I have one more coming up and with it I will show how it is easier to sew them.

Also this reindeer dress is 110 cm size. It is my own design. It is cute too and it is made of the left over material of my own dress. I will show that to you later.

(Both fabrics are Finnish design Metsola fabrics.)

StartingShawl

Last autumn I plant dyed some yarn for my upcoming shawl project and made the warp. It is going to be something very special.

I can't do it when the cats are visiting. Now when I know there will be weeks until they'll be back, I set up the warp on my loom. So, here it starts. It is going to be a Forest Sámi Shawl. It is a real restorative craft that breathes history and spirit of my ancestors through the traditional crafts. 

The Reading Challenge 2026 - Part 1

I have been in The Reading Challenge for 10 years now in this blog with you. Last year I decided to show you what on earth I read. It turn out a great idea so at least in 2026 I will repeat it. 

In 2025 I read:

3 books written by Kate Morton: The House at Riverton, The Clockmaker's Daughter and The Forgotten Garden

2 books written by Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman

2 novels by Minna Cath

Jane Austen's Persuasion

Anne Lyons' The Air Raid Book Club

Viljo Rauta's book about The Great Wrath

Plus many craft, history and science books. 

In this year 2026 January - February I've read:

Astrid Lindgren's War Diaries 1939-1945 (in Finnish, mine). Actually I've started it already in November 2025. It was a bit heavy to read because it tells a lot about Finland's war time years in Ukranian war time. That's why I read it slow and with the time. 

I've read also Johannes Schefferu's Lapponia (in Finnish, mine) which is very interesting and historical book about Sámi people from the year 1674. I do recommend it to all who want to read a comprehensive book about Sámi history. But when reading you must remember it is written in 1674 by an outsider for the outsiders, by Christians to Christians. 

And I've read also Jenni Räinä's Vaino (in Finnish, mine) that's available only in Finnish and like Viljo Rauta's book it tells about the Great Wrath but is fiction that bases on the facts meanwhile Rauta's book is a science book. These books tell about genocide also around my local area in 1700-1721.

Skating

Today I was skating under the starlight sky. For the 1st time this winter. I am 50+ so it is not the same anymore. And I am not so skillful in it anymore like I used to be. But I still like it, enjoy it and relax when doing it. Despite I am 50+, I am not going to stop it. It does so good to my body & soul.💕

AAW Mittens No10

I have fell in love with this new method Shepherd's crochet I learnt only in this year in January. Just few weeks ago. In January I made similar looking pair of mittens but in green shades. Actually they differ from each other. I designed the difference in increasing the stitches. Both are slim fit designs to be able to use these mitten under bigger ones to create more warmth when needed. Or, when it's warmer they are perfect to be used on their own.

I used our own AAW yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool and 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). I plant dyed the yarns with coffee and tea. It is ethic and sustain produced wool and dye. It is a slow craft. And they are FashionNOW. 

Hankikanto

I designed and knit this beautiful set of knitted gloves and woollen socks. It is called Hankikanto which actually should be "kantohanki" that means the snow when it has a cover that bears a human  to walk or ski on it. So, it is a wordplay. 

It is a challenging design with the impression of skiing track and Lapland's iconic deadwood. And I am not sure yet what I will do with the pattern, like with Metsänneito. I used Novita yarns. I'd like to publish it in some form some day so no more details available now. I can tell this set was designed and made for a special person for the Yule 2025 and February 2026!

ForestSámiWomen'sGoatFurHat (trad.)

This is traditional style Forest Sámi goat fur hat. Its pattern bases on the traditional style form that is used in different types of Forest Sámi hats. Previously in this blog I introduced the same pattern in Forest Sámi woollen hats. This is the exactly same hat but made of fabric. For this GeatFurHat I made the ties by historical fingerloop braiding technique.

SaunaSeatCovers

Everyone who has been in Finland knows sauna. In most private homes have sauna. There are also many public saunas in Finland. My family use these seat covers made of Terry Fabric TPU in public saunas. TPU-side against the seat. They are perfect also in private saunas for ladies in certain period of month, or our private sauna guests if desired. They are washable and reusable. Usually they last decades. I started this blog in January 2011. The last Terry Fabric TPU seat covers I made for about 20 years ago around 2006. Only now we have ran out of them. That's why you have not seen me making any. I still have few but children size. So, now I made 6 adult size.

Actually you don't need the bias tape around the edges. The bias tape makes it just more personalized so you find your own easier at public saunas. For the red ones I had factory made bias tape at home but not for the blue ones. Well, I could have used the red one but did't want to. That's why I made my own from the fabric. You can find Home Made Bias Tape -tutorial here.

I need a longer bias tape so I sew together the shorter pieces.

I was happy and satisfied with the result.

You can sew the bias tape with the normal basic presser foot or use the bias tape presser foot. It is up to you which you prefer. I usually sew it without, but now I decided to use the bias tape presser foot and was happy with the result.

When you make the loops for you seat covers they are easier to hang to get dry. Despite this material has plastic and they are brand new, they are FashionNOW products because they last long and replace the disposable seat covers in public saunas and holiday homes.

AAW Mittens No9

Just 2 weeks ago I learned this new craft technique: Shepherd's crochet. I introduced it to my students at my working place at Tornio community college. Last week a student started to make mittens by using this method, but she had few wonders and open questions in the project. 

That's why I started to work with the Shepherd's crochet mittens to find out the issue she wondered and see what is the point. We can't know all, none can, not even a professional teacher. By the way, teacher's job is not to know everything, it is to help your students to know what they need and want to know. And that's why I have the promise for my students; if they want to learn something I can't, we learn together. 

At 1st I planned to start the same instruction like my student, but then I realized I had similar mittens for about 25 years ago. I received them as a gift from a friend. Shepherd's crochet is not so stretching sideways. Your thumb needs that in wither action from the mittens & gloves. That's why I designed another type of Shepherd's mittens you see around here.

I used plant dyed (different shades of reed) AAW yarn (50% our own ethic produced arctic angora wool, 40% ethic produced FinnSheep wool and 10% nylon) (100g = 238m). I used the last remaining left over yarns I have from my projects WaterGrassVest OOW, NB Hat No2 and PolarBears AAW. It really is slow craft and FashionNOW. They are very warm, thick and durable mittens. That's why I like Shepherd's crochet, and have already started another project with this design of my own; because He wants a pair too. 

And yes, I figured out the answer for my student's wonder & question. 💕

Learning new is good for your mental heath! And brains! Two weeks ago I had just tried out this method and now I have my own designed mittens! WOW!