Vatid, Troid, Vamstad is a beautiful showcase of knit sweaters and jackets from the islands of Estonia. It offers photos of sweaters made between the 1880s and 1930s and is a treasure house of design, culture and masterful knitting. Many of the garments are quite literally museum pieces, some are from the author's collection and those of her friends. Altogether, this is a book to cherish -- setting it down will be your greatest challenge.

I should add that this is not a pattern book, though it is not at all difficult to reproduce the color patterns and constructions from the photos. And, the individual descriptions of each sweater are written in Estonian only, although each chapter has an introductory overview that is in both Estonian and English. For me, the language barrier is in consequential as, fortunately, pictures are still worth thousands of words. The absence of graphed color patterns is only a small bother, as they are quite easily discerned from the photos.

What Vatid, Troid, Vamstad is, is sheer inspiration. And so very beautiful.

What a story lies between the covers of Gossamer Webs! Orenburg is a city located in the southern-most part of the Ural Mountains in Russia, just above Kazakhstan. Founded as a military outpost by Czar Peter I in 1735, it's primary purpose for many years was to protect the local population from nomadic cavalry attacks. But, Orenburg also lay along the silk road and main roads north and south -- which had a far longer-lasting impact on its history, and especially its knitting, than Peter I's original intentions.

Both the highest nobility and lowly nomadic shepherds played their part in the origins of these amazing shawls which had their beginning, so legend says at least, as a gift to Catherine the Great, made from the down of a unique breed of goat raised in the Orenburg region. Out of this grew a cottage industry of lace knitters who continue to produce lace shawls which take your breath away just to look at them. Shawls with such delicate patterns and of such fine yarns that a large one could be folded into a pocket, and emerge to keep its wearer warm against the persistent mountain chill. Not that anyone would ever hide such a shawl in their pocket!

Gossamer Webs fully details the techniqes of creating these shawls -- from combing, spinning and plying the down to the lace patterns and construction of the shawls themselves. As no Orenburg yarns are available outside Russia at present, the authors have also provided a resource list of lace yarns which they have used successfully.

If you love lace or knitting history, this is a book not to be missed!

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 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!

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 husbands 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

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!