Kalevala CAL - Part 7 - Lemminkäinen

We have reached the seventh square in our CAL. The number seven has important meanings globally: for example, 7 had a sacred meaning in Finno-Ugric nations, there were The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, 7 brothers in Aleksis Kivi’s (a Finnish author) writing and 7 dwarfs with Snow White.

Lemminkainen of the islands, Warlike hero, Kaukomieli, Undertakes to win the maiden, Woo and win the Sahri-flower, Win a bride so highly honored, Win the maid with golden tresses,

(Kalevala poem 11, 61-66)

Source

Lemminkäinen, originally a mythological and shamanistic character, is a prominent figure in Finnish mythology. In the Kalevala, he has been blended together with epic war-heroes “Kaukomieli” and “Ahti Saarelainen”. He is usually depicted as young and good-looking, with wavy red hair; also frivolous and mellow.

You can share pictures of Lemminkäinen square on social media with #kalevalacal_lemminkainen. Hashtag for Kalevala CAL is #kalevalacal.

General Kalevala CAL info and all the links to other parts of the blanket project will be found on the Kalevala CAL page on the blog of Arteeni.

DESIGNER PORTRAIT: Mirva Nikkanen

I am Mirva Nikkanen, a 42 years old mother of three children. I have done handicrafts all my life. My grandmother, who lived with us, taught me to knit and crochet. Handicraft is the joy of my life and a source of enthusiasm. It gives me feeling of success, good friends, things to discuss about and beautiful things to look at. Highly recommended to everyone! Beforehand I have designed crocheted stuffed animals and blankets. I usually combine nice ideas from different sources and adapt them to fit my taste.

I designed Lemminkäinen square to the Kalevala CAL. The base for my design was a story from Kalevala where Lemminkäinen meets with “the Gate of Pohjola”. I wanted to use figures that pleased my own taste. I started the square with snakes and finally they got framed by the gate.

Hint to the crocheters of my square: After you have finished the snakes in the centre, you should give space to your creativity and imagine the square formed “gate”.

Favourites of the designer

Yarns: Wool and cotton

Colours: White, light pink and grey

Favourite stitch: Single crochet and double crochet

Place to crochet: On the couch with good company

LEMMINKÄINEN

Hints from test crocheters

* Beginner ** EASY *** Average **** Demanding

Rather small RIGHT SIZE Rather big

Colours

Here you can find all the colours needed in every row for different colour packs (Click to see the lists bigger). The colours for the Metsä / Forest -colour pack can be found also on the pattern itself. Note. Rock, Pond and Fell colors are updated on 15th of September