Midwestern Knits!

I am so excited to have been one of the twelve designers chosen to be a part of Midwestern Knits! Midwestern Knits is the brainchild of Allyson Dykhuizen (Sweatshop of Love and Holla Knits!) and Carina Spencer. Both ladies have made a name for themselves here in the Midwest with their knitwear design and modern styling.

Part of realizing this dream is raising the funds with which to do it. When you give money to help us out, you receive a gift dependent on the level of donation. For example, if you pledge $25, you will get a paper and digital copy of the book upon release. And, you were going to buy that anyway, right?

If the goal of $10,000 is not met by September 24th, then no money will be collected.

Please, follow THIS LINK for more information.

Come help us realize this goal!

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!

Getting my stuff together

I have been busy combing through the seven to nine Sámi mitten patterns for my upcoming ebook, Beauties From the Far North: Swedish Sámi Mittens. Today, if the light holds, I'll take some final pictures. Tomorrow, I take off for Minneapolis!

Friday at 3pm, I will be lecturing on The Sámi Knitting Tradition at Finnfest 2014. It's hard to believe it has been a year since the kids and I trekked north for Finnfest. What a great time! The festival was very well put together, with lots of choir concerts, teaching seminars, and historical overviews. My kids attended a  Finnish language workshop and baked Finnish bread. I, of course, demonstrated Sámi mittens in the craft area, and got my photo taken with a Moomin.

On Saturday, I will be teaching my Skolt Sámi Motifs class at Ingebretsen's. Ingebretsen's is a delightful Scandinavian store on the city's near-south side. It carries everything from Norwegian yarn to lutefisk, and, of course, beautiful home decor.

While my family was visiting my parents in South Carolina, the delightful Denise interviewed me. Here is her write-up from the interview. 

If you are a Minnesotan reading this, I hope to meet you, soon!

Look what arrived in the mail today!

A package from Knitting Traditions...

Right when I received an email that the new Fall 2014 Knitting Traditions had hit the stands, I got a package. Inside was my copy of KT, and my Skolt Sámi mittens I knit for it.

Before the knitting pattern was my article on Matleena and the Skolt Sámi Knitting Tradition. 

It's so great to have them home again -- just in time for my teaching travels.