Estonian & Latvian

Estonian Mittens All Around the World

This wonderful book, written in Estonian and English, gathers Aino Praakli's research on Estonian mittens under one cover. There are 175 color images of patterned Estonian mittens, a short description of each mitten from the museum archive notes with author’s comments, where the mitten came from, who made it (if known) and details about the construction. There is also a colored graph for each design, showing the pattern repeat. Included are instructions for special techniques, an interview with the author and some of her personal thoughts on her work and the mittens she has studied.

Eesti Labakindad is a labor of love. Aino has spend countless hours in the Estonian National Museum collections, she has given her heart to these knitted treasures of her culture. Her dream is to see these patterns scattered around the world. We are confident that with the publication of Eesti Labakindad, her dream will become reality - as well it should.

The Haapsalu Shawl

It is truly rare that a book that is so beautifully presented is also filled with so very much that knitters want to know and learn. The Haapsalu Shawl exceeds every expectation I've come to have concerning wonderful knitting books.

• Here is a "coffee table book" that you'll have more often in your lap because it has so much in it you'll want to read and learn from.
• Here is a knitting book with the very best photos I've ever seen of over 100 lace patterns. If you've ever wanted to see nups up close and in their most radiant form, you'll get your wish dozens of times over between the pages of this volume.
• If you've wished for a really clear tutorial on the art and craft of creating Estonian lace, you'll find it here. Only you can make yourself a master knitter, but The Haapsalu Shawl will give you all the instruction, including clear, close-up photos of each bit of knitting technique.
• If you are an armchair traveller, you'll find a glimpse of the life and history of Haapsalu that will make you long for more. Haapsalu may well become one of the most well-visited locales as a result of this vibrant book.

The Haapsalu Shawl a book-loving knitter's dream come true. Sheer joy.

Knitted Lace of Estonia

I think that a great many of us have been awaiting the publication of Knitted Lace of Estonia with no small amount of eagerness. I know that I have wanted to see it ever since I heard it was in the works about a year or so ago.

It is everything I had hoped for and much more besides! The wait has been more than worthwhile because the outcome is a showcase of a beautiful knitting tradition that will captivate for years and years to come.

I first encountered Estonian lace in a beautiful German book, Maiglöckchen ( Lilies of the Valley ) which focused on this traditional motif (you can still get the book on amazon.de - it's in German but with charts so you can easily follow the patterns). I fell head-over-heels in love with this lace, even though it is true that until you get the hang of it, those 'nupps' can be a bit of a challenge. Eventually, though, I was creating all manner of Lily of the Valleys and happily 'nupping' along.

Nancy Bush's wonderful book traces the traditions and then offers them to us in one amazing shawl or stole after another. Inspiring? Yes - enough inspiration for a lifetime of knitting joy.

Oh - and we happen to carry the yarn used for the specacular cover shawl: Skacel Merino Lace, one of the best wool lace yarns anywhere. Enjoy an enlarged veiw of this shawl below, and find the yarn for it here (you'll need 2 skeins)

 

 

The Gossamer Webs Design Collection

For those knitters who were seduced by "Gossamer Webs, the History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls" but were left wanting instructions for a complete shawl--rejoice! Here are patterns for four Orenburg projects: a small sampler "learning piece" that contains all the construction principles and techniques used in full size shawls, plus a triangular shawl, a rectangular scarf and a medallion square shawl. Also included is a stitch and border dictionary. For the experienced knitter who is comfortable working from charts. All photos of finished pieces and charts are black and white, except the cover and back cover photos.

Latvian Dreams

Latvian Dreams is a unique book in that it is as much about charting your own course as a knitter as it is about exploring Latvian textile design as a source of magnificent knitted creations. In fact, Joyce Williams' book is so densely packed with both sorts of information that it alone could easily supply inspiration and discovery for years of knitting.

As a conservator of traditional heritage (she is not Lativian, but does love these Latvian weaving charts), Joyce Williams as done nothing less than save these charts from extinction. She found them in books published in 1950, during the Soviet occupation of Latvia, and knew immediately that though intended for the loom, they would also make beautiful knitwear. In the process of copying them for her own use, one thing led to another and she found herself knitting and designing for all of us. Thus was this book born.

And, speaking of knitting out of the box, these designs are really something. There are socks with a heel so different that it's copywritten; Joyce discovered the joys of using two circular needles for socks, sleeves and other small diameter things just minutes before Cat Bordhi did; her construction techniques and use of design elements can teach all of us so much.

However, in my estimation, the most valuable thing about Latvian Dreams is that Joyce Williams devotes an enormous amount of her book to discussing how and why she arrived at a technique, design choice, etc. -- with an eye to giving us the information we need to go our own way, in whatever direction we choose. In fact, she is so grateful for the freedom she found through Elizabeth Zimmerman's work that she is determined to carry her knitting readers into those same clear blue skies of personal design -- and then some. For instance, after clearly and completely discussing the hows and whys of determining one's gauge, she then goes on to explain why she never does a gauge swatch anymore, how that change came about, and gives some guidelines as to when it most likely isn't necessary. My kind of woman!

Fringed Sun Mittens

How very nice to be able to get a single Latvian mitten pattern by Lizbeth Upitis, the unequaled master of Latvian knitting and traditions. And to have the mitten be so very beautiful - it's almost too much! It makes the adventure of learning these techniques even closer at hand.

This pattern holds your hand as you step into the ocean of Latvian techniques and designs. The shading in this mitten’s cuff plus alternating colored sun symbols in its palm give the appearance of a difficult six-colored mitten. But this traditional Latvian mitten is worked with no more than two colors in a round. Single-colored fringe immediately precedes two-colored braid, so fringe strands pop up inside the braid. The result is mittens to cherish.

Latvian Mittens

What a beautiful, rich book this is! Mittens in Latvia are in many ways the symbol of the ties that bind, not just bride and groom but the bride to her husband's new family. They are also, in many ways, the seeds of prosperity and fertility for the new couple -- when the bride has at at last given away the 100 to 200 mittens she knit throughout her childhood and youth in preparation for her marriage, the trunk in which they were carried remains open, and fills with the communities outpouring gifts for the new couple.

Latvian folk songs and poems festoon this book that is both sweet and exciting -- sweet with the heart's love that has always surrounded the making of these mittens; exciting because the use of color and folk designs opens new vistas and carries us into lands and lives both ancient and timeless.

In addition to cultural history and folklore, Lizbeth introduces us to the symbols that appear knitted into these amazing mittens, and then takes us district by district through Latvia, knitting mittens typical of each place along the way. There are wonderful and mysterious-looking cast-ons, edges, and finishes as well - all clearly explained for you to knit. Seeing these mittens and imagining all the pre-nuptual knitting a prospective bride might do to arrive at a trunk full of jewel-like creations to bestow upon her in-laws, well, it just warms the heart.

Good evening, maiden's mother
As you see my hands are freezing;
All the while my mitten knitter
Snugly in your room is sitting.

- Latvian Courting Folk Song

Folk Knitting in Estonia

We all owe Nancy Bush a big "thank you" for gifting us with the pictures and patterns of Estonian socks and mittens -- socks and mittens, I might add, which are heart-stoppingly exquisite in their design and achingly beautiful in the love that has gone into making them.

This is a knitting tradition that is as alive to the song nature sings us as it is to the beauty and meaning of Estonian culture and tradition. Wonderful, wonderful stuff!