Classes and Mittens

Three weeks ago, I had a lovely time in Minneapolis, lecturing at Finnfest 2014, and teaching a Skolt Sámi Motif class at Ingebretsen's, a beautiful, Pan-Nordic store in the twin cities. At Finnfest, since I was up front talking, I, unfortunately, did not take pictures of the group. I did, however, get to meet people I've been Facebook friends with for the last year. What a great experience to meet and talk with, be it however brief. Thank you, Renee Joy, Tim Frandy, Evelyn Ashford and Nani Löfström!

Ingebretsen's was great fun! And, before I go on and describe the wonderful ladies who made up the class, I'd like to announce I will be teaching there again in November (more information below…).

Here are some of the ladies that made up the Ingebretsen's class

What a fun bunch

I had a short slide presentation on the history of the Skolt peoples and some images of the area. Before long, we were chatting about travel stories and knitting. They were all very accomplished, and excellent knitters. Here is what we completed in our three hours together:

From the Skolt Sámi Motifs class, Ingebretsen's

I love how each is different -- pattern wise or color. Each tells a story.

Here are some more pictures of the individuals in the class, and the work they did. I am trying something new here by making a gallery of photos. Click on the following photo, and hopefully you can page through about 8 of them. 

I will be back at Ingebretsen's November 12 and 13, repeating this Skolt Sámi Motif class, and doing another class on a specific Swedish Sámi Mitten that I call Jokkmokk Flowers. In that class, we will take a closer look at Jokkmokk, its legendary, annual outdoor February market, and some of the pressing environmental concerns in the region. The mitten itself has a flower motif with long floats. We will make a two-flower swatch, practice three different way to deal with long floats, and practice making the traditional braids and tassels for a Sámi mitten.

Give them a call at (612)729-9333 or toll free at (800)279-9333 and sign up for the class(es). I hope to see you there!