Mittens No. 16

The pattern Torne:

I come from Kiruna, a small city in the very North of Sweden. Just South from Kiruna lies the Torne River and alongside it Tornedalen (translates to the valley along the Torne river). This is where my grand parents come from. The language spoken here is Meänkieli and the people that live here or come from here call themselves Tornedalingar.

So, in the Autumn of 2020 I discovered a short one day course in allmogemålning from Tornedalen, something I had never heard of before. Even being a complete nerd for anything related to folk patterns, I didn’t know there were different, localised versions of the famous Kurbits in Dalarna, so I had to learn more. I got fascinated with the very tonal hues in ochra yellow and brown and the simplistic use of diagonal lines mixed with oval halves. How this style of painting had been passed down through generations – from master to apprentice.