Norrbotten, the northernmost region of Sweden, much of it above the Arctic Circle, on a winter night: the northern lights rippling among the stars, snowy mountains, a reindeer with enormous antlers, the fir forest, the frozen river and a little red house with its bell tower, painted the red of Swedish houses of old. Underneath, NORRBOTTEN in big letters. It is 123 x 151 stitches in 13 colors, about 22 by 27 centimetres on 14-count.

It pairs with Luleå, its capital, which is also in this family: the city and its region, like Prineville and Oregon. It stitches calmly: clean blocks of colour, barely eighty isolated stitches in the whole piece, and the aurora is made of broad ribbons of green and midnight blue — the most striking part of the pattern and one of the most rewarding to work.