KuukkeliUkko

Last weekend I had a pattern making course in Salla, Finland. It was about my siida Sámi costumes. We had a hard working weekend and all the students succeed to finish their individual Kuolajärvi siida Sámi costume pattern, either for men or women.

I stayed at a friend and helped her family in Kuolajärvi siida Sámi costume pattern making. We had time also for some empowering nature activities. 

If you ever visit Salla region go to see the museum Noiti Viessu (Hetteentie 4, Salla). It is very interesting regional Sámi museum. It is there, just go to see. You can find (at some time) even cafe and accommodation there. It is run by a private Forest Sámi person.

These mysterious horn work miniature sculptures you can see on this post are made by Kuukkeli-Ukko. He is Forest Sámi and makes volunteer work for our Kuolajärvi siida. I bought these two miniature sculptures (to support my siida) for Him and YoungLady who were at home while I was away. This reindeer calf is for YoungLady; my own calf. The adult moose is for Him.

Kuukkeli-Ukko is the artist name of Jukka Säntti. Kuukkeli means Siberian jay and ukko means man. There´s Advent calendar post Kuusâk about Siberian jay in Forest Sámi culture.

NaturalDyes

The plant dye process keeps going on. I keep on using our own AAW yarn and also some 100% Finn sheep wool I inherit on 2010. Here´s what came out from my Earl Grey Tea soup.

In Finland garden lupine is classified in the top five invasive species. Because they pose a threat to Finnish nature. I have grown lupine in my garden on purpose. We moved in on 2009 and the feral garden had a huge hog-weed problem. Also hog-weed is classified in the top five invasive species in Finland. On my list the hog-weed is more unwelcome than lupine because here by the arctic its getting far too cold for the lupine to spread around and survive in massive way. Opposite to hog-weed. And hog-weed is much more dangerous than lupine. In my arctic garden I noticed where the lupine grows hog-weed will get drown under it and die. That's why at early years I had massive lupine field. Now I have been weeding the lupine away but I still need it to grow over hog-weed if needed because hog-weed still is a huge problem everywhere. My garden is in control -finally- but dogged hog-weed still tries to rise up its head every now and then here and there. And I know it won't stop until the municipal does its work and gets rid of massive hog-weed fields everywhere. Before that happens I keep my tiny lupine flower bed just in case. 

Meanwhile waiting the hog-weed to face its eternal end I use lupine blossoms in dyeing. It is very interesting and at this point it feels a bit crazy when you have it all in the kettle at the same time. You start to fear nothing will happen and you get just huge amount of trash into your yarn.

At the end it makes the difference, and the difference is fabulous! Worth of every step in the process. Can't wait next summer to get more!

It is interesting to collect samples of the dyed yarn to remember the shades later. Also, the sample cards are easy way to show my friends and students what I have done and how. Also, the years and yarns and growing places impact on the dyeing process and the final shades, so I always include the year on my own sample cards.

So far I've used these on this summer.

Weld

This time it was time for yellow. I used weld (reseda) for our own AAW yarn. Yes, I dry the dyed wool in the sun. Some people say it fades the shades, the others say it doesn't. Well, I say it is true, sun fades the shades. I use sun for bleaching white textiles and spots in some other. But it doesn't happen in a minute. And if it does it is only good. 

It is true. After placing the dyed material to dry, very soon the shade may fade away. Some people avoid fading by avoiding the sun. Why I don't? Because I do use my woollen clothes also in sunlight. Around here the sun is extra hard on spring time. By the arctic the spring time is cold compared to Central European, or South Finland. My spring means minus Celsius degrees. I may ski or go for a dog sled ride wearing pullover on top, facing the sun light. The leg parts of the woollen socks face the sun always at spring time. So, it is nice to know beforehand to which state the shades fade before knitting anything of them. Sometimes the shades fade a bit, sometimes more than a bit, usually not at all. But when they do fade I am only happy because then I see how they truly look. Besides, if the color is not fastened it will fade away no matter is there sun light or not.

Hop & Cochineal

Dyeing is not meant for busy and restless persons. This week I've been doing plant dyeing. At the same time I've been writing a letter to a dear friend, using the yarn winder to make balls of dyed and dried yarn. Reading is also a good idea when dyeing.

I have quite a lot hop growing in my arctic traditional garden. Every year I use it for different purposes. It has sedative effect but it is also suitable for plant dyeing.

For the 1st time I bought and used cochineal for dyeing process. It is a tiny cactus-dwelling insect that produces a vibrant red pigment.

Here you can see the result compared to original natural shade of AAW yarn. But, this is not the end of dyeing. There are still many kilos left AAW yarn. I am working to get more than the natural shades. 

BrokenNeedles

I used small baby food jar to design and make a temporary trash bin for broken needles. I used pens for glass to decorate the jar. 

To avoid restless look I paint the inner walls of the jar by decoupage varnish. It took quite a while to dry out proper.