Knit Along With Me

Before my trip to Estonia and Latvia this year, I was approached (electronically) by Jeannie, a moderator for the Knit Like a Latvian group on Ravelry.  (Ravelry is an online community for knitters - you can find my prior blog about Ravelry here). Jeannie inquired about my interest in hosting a Knit Along (KAL) to showcase some special Latvian knitting technique.  I agreed to host a KAL in August and decided to teach the Diagonal Squares Cuff.

Mittens with Diagonal Squares Cuff

The cuff instructions are from my self-published book, A Distorted View of Cuffs, which features twelve different Latvian cuffs.  I saw these various cuffs in Latvia, on mittens in museums and on mittens that friends or I purchased, and then proceeded to decipher many of these and write instructions for the techniques.

Having recently returned from my trip to the Baltics, I was happy to see Mara from Latvia join in the KAL (Prior blog about Mara). 

Lizzy, a French woman who lives in Germany, also joined the KAL.  I met Lizzy last year in Estonia at the Conference on Traditional Sweaters Around the Baltic Sea.  She was also at Estonian Craft Camp this year and we attended some of the same classes and had time to get to know each other a little better over a number of cafeteria meals.  Lizzy is an excellent knitter, has a keen interest in Baltic knitting, and is a translator with a knowledge of many languages. 

Lizzy wearing her Muhu cuffs

Photo courtesy of Penelope Craft Amsterdam



I remember a conversation I had with Lizzy last year where the phrase "speak of the devil" came up.  Lizzy mentioned that the French have a similar phrase but they say "speaking of the wolf and you already see the tail."  I liked that and made a note of the phrase at the time.


Lizzy's fingerless mitts from the Ravelry KAL

Photo courtesy of Lizzy

If you're a member of Ravelry and are interested in trying out the Diagonal Squares Cuff or would like to see what others did with it, you can find the August KAL here.

Food for Thought

I LOVE to travel.  Whether it's to a national or local park, a region with beautiful natural or man-made sights, or a city I've never been to before, I LOVE to travel.  But my favorite type of travel is probably international.

My first international trip was at university when I went to France to study for a semester.  I then spent that summer traveling everywhere with a Eurail pass.

Since then I've traveled a bit with my husband, but he's less of a traveler than I am.  I've also traveled with friends on knitting and hiking trips and I've occasionally joined with a group of like-minded people on a travel adventure.  But I also don't mind traveling solo.

Some of my recent favorite travels are:

• A sightseeing, hiking, and genealogy trip with my husband to the Czech Republic to find some of my Bohemian roots.

• A trip to New Zealand's South Island where I traveled solo part of the time and joined up with Canadian, American, and British hikers and a couple of hiking guides from PureTrails New Zealand for the rest of the adventure.  This would be the trip where my luggage got lost in LAX while I went on to Christchurch.  I received the nickname "Minimalist Mary" during that trip.
• All of my knitting trips to Estonia and Latvia whether traveling solo, traveling with friends, or joining together with others for various conferences.

I also love to eat, so finding special local treats or restaurants is always fun when traveling.  When I was in Tallinn, Estonia last year, I found a restaurant that I especially enjoyed - the food, the staff, the ambiance.  I had dinner there one night and joined friends for a drink on another evening last year.  I definitely wanted to go back again this year so I showed up at Rataskaevu 16 (the name and address of the restaurant) for dinner on Friday, my first night.  But they were full up.  Bummer!  I see that they are now listed on TripAdvisor as the #1 restaurant in Tallinn.  I was only going to be in Tallinn for two evenings, so I immediately made a reservation for the next night, for one person, and asked for a table in the front of the restaurant.

After a full day of activities in Tallinn, I returned to Rataskaevu 16 Saturday evening for my reservation.  The restaurant staff remembered me and seated me at a table with a view out the front window.  A waitress came with a menu and to take my drink order.  I'm not a beer drinker but I enjoy a glass of wine or, when in Estonia, a pear cider.  I ordered an Estonian pear cider but my waitress suggested Thistly, a Scottish pear cider instead.  Délicieux!  I enjoyed a relaxing evening with wonderful food.

At the end of the evening, the sweet young waitress asked me a question.  She was curious about whether I was traveling solo.  We chatted some and I explained how traveling solo doesn't mean that you are always alone.  In fact, you might actually have more opportunities to meet up with other people, locals and other travelers, than when you are part of a couple or group.  She was inspired and encouraged about the idea of traveling, with or without companions.  Laura-Gerli, I hope you go out and see the world!

Connecting Threads to Latvia

I first got involved with the Latvian community and culture when I owned The Wool Works, a yarn shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and met Irma Mežaraups Ciganovich in about 1985.  She brought her handknit mittens, socks, and Christmas stockings into my shop and I sold these items for her.  The warm, lined Latvian mittens, patterned socks, and beautiful Christmas stockings always sold out quickly.  My friend, Sandy, and I wrote an article about Irma that appeared in Piecework magazine.

Irma, circa 1995

 

I had no idea my friendship with Irma would lead to a deeper connection with Latvians and their culture and many more friendships.  Irma passed away in 2000, shortly before my first knitting trip to Latvia.  My world has grown so much because of her.

Two years ago, the XIII (Thirteenth) U.S. Latvian Song & Dance Festival took place in Milwaukee and my husband and I were recruited as Kasieri, or Co-Treasurers, of the event.  Holding this volunteer position was quite an experience and involved working with ticket orders in both Latvian and English when over 3,000 people arrived in downtown Milwaukee and attended the festival.

"Meet me at the Laima clock"

(at the Hyatt in Downtown Milwaukee)



Last year, during the conference in Estonia on Traditional Knitted Sweaters Around the Baltic Sea, I met some of the women that came from Latvia and I connected and chatted in particular with Ziedite who works at Senā klēts, the National Costume Centre in Riga.  I was able to make plans to meet with her again this year.  We met at Senā klēts, where all of the mittens that are photographed and charted in the recently published book, Latvieša Cimdi by Maruta Grasmane, were on display.  What a feast for the eyes!

Ziedite at Senā klēts



I've written before about Ravelry (here) and I recently met a new Latvian friend on Ravelry.  I saw Mara's comments in the Knit Like a Latvian group and noticed that she lived in Riga.  I thought that it would be nice to meet her.  Before my trip to Riga, she provided me with advice including information on yarn shops and book stores in Riga.  During my visit, we met for dinner and a stroll one evening.  I was able to share a knitting book with Mara - Latviešu Cimdu Raksti.  This book was written by a Latvian woman, Erna Jansons, whom I met about 10 years ago and who now lives in the same senior-living complex where my mother lives. 

Mara with Erna's book and the Riga skyline behind her



These are some of my many threads of connection to Latvia.

Breathtaking Results of the Wisconsin Walk & Knit Contest

The first-ever Wisconsin Walk & Knit event took place at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival on Saturday, September 6, 2014.  Ten teams competed in the Walk & Knit Relay Challenge for fun and fabulous prizes!  That's forty walking knitters!  Volunteers to coordinate the walking knitters were recruited from the Milwaukee, Madison, and Door County areas of Wisconsin and many spectators came to watch and cheer on the teams.

The calm before the storm

Competition was fierce, but no competitors were injured during the race.  However, emergency vehicles arrived just prior to the race and traveled along the racetrack to assist another festival-goer who apparently was stung by a bee.  The competitors may not have been breathless when they finished the race, but everyone who competed gave it their all.

 

Four teams raced at one time, two teams walking west from a central point, and two teams walking east from that same central point.  The Judges, Jamie and Laurie, were busy counting stitches and checking for errors as soon as the first "heat" was finished.

Judge Jamie and Judge Laurie

 

Winning was based on rankings in the following criteria:  fastest speed of walking, largest number of stitches completed, and lowest number of errors. 

Tallying the Results

 

Based on this criteria, the 1st place team was from Yarns by Design and the team members actually won some prizes that were donated by Yarns by Design - who wouldn't want Beth Brown-Reinsel's new DVD on Color Stranded Knitting Techniques?

1st Place Team

 

What surprised us was how close the walking times were.  All teams completed the race within 19 seconds of each other.  Wow!  Maybe someone will try speed-walking next year.

The 2nd place team was an ad-hoc team of individuals that came together minutes before the race and then proceeded to knit the highest number of stitches, by far.

2nd Place Team

 

The final "heat" was between two teams from spinning guilds - the Sarasponda Spinners and the Arachne Spinners.  The Arachne Spinners finished in 3rd place in the field of ten teams, wearing their Minnie Pearl hats.

3rd Place Team

 

Congratulations to the winning teams and thanks to all the competitors, volunteers, spectators, and the sponsors who provided fabulous prizes.  Thanks also to the Lossi Guild who runs the Käi ja Koo in Estonia and provided the inspiration for this Walk & Knit event in Wisconsin - read about my experience at the 2013 Estonian event here:

My blog on the 2013 event in Estonia

It looks like this should be an annual event in Wisconsin!

The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia Opened its Historical Doors and Drawers to Us

I was sorry to miss the International World of Mittens Conference that took place in Riga, Latvia, in June of this year.  Friends were going but I chose the Estonian Craft Camp instead.  Although I missed the mitten conference, I was eager to return to Latvia.  After craft camp, I made my way by bus to Riga.

I had briefly met Linda Rubena, the organizer of the Mitten Conference, last year when she was the speaker on Latvian textiles at the Conference on Traditional Knitted Sweaters Around the Baltic Sea.  I contacted Linda to see if she would have time to meet with me and I was happy to make plans to meet her at Tīnes, a handicraft shop in Riga.  We also had time to walk around Vecrīga (Old Riga) and Linda showed me some of the sights.

With Linda at Tīnes

I had wanted to return to the National History Museum of Latvia in the Riga Castle to study mittens but learned that the castle had sustained damage due to a fire and it was closed for repair.  The good news was that no one was hurt and no textiles were damaged in the fire. 

Instead, I planned to visit the Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia (Latvijas Etnogrāfiskais Brīvdabas Muzejs) on the outskirts of Riga and view their collection of mittens.  Before my arrival, Linda had given me contact information for the museum.  I made some arrangements via email to visit the museum but was told that there would be no one there who spoke English.  I figured I could probably get by.  However, the museum grounds are large and there are many buildings on the grounds and I wasn't sure exactly where I should go.  I mentioned this to Linda and she made some phone calls for me to get an answer.  But more than that, she contacted her daughter, Elza, to see if she might be able to accompany me to the museum the next day.  Yes, indeed!  Linda and I then made our way to Senā klēts, the National Costume Centre, and I met Linda's daughters, Dārta and Elza, who were both there working.

The next day I met Elza and we took the bus to the museum and then Elza led me to the first building where we viewed mittens and other textiles.

Then on to a newer building across the museum grounds where older mittens were conserved in drawers.  Our shortcut through the woods took us by some wild blueberries.

Elza has a keen interest in traditional textiles and was as happy as I was to have a chance to view these textiles, since she had never seen them before.  Besides textiles, we also had a chance to view some of the traditional buildings on the grounds.

 

Elza, my English and Latvian-speaking guide