A Sweet Time in Riga

The day Mitten Camp ended, my husband Chris arrived on Latvian soil for the first time. I hopped the bus from the city center and went to the Riga International Airport (RIX) to meet him and bring him "home" to our hotel, Radi un draugi (the name translates as Friends and Family). My Latvian weaving friend, Vita, had recommended this hotel to me in 2005 and since then I've stayed here any time I've had the opportunity to visit Riga. It's a comfortable place to stay even if I happen to be traveling solo.

View of St. Peter's Church from my quiet room at Radi un draugi

One of the first places I wanted to visit in Riga was a little handicraft and gift shop located just a short distance from our hotel. Latvju Lietas at Audeju iela 6 is owned by the very friendly and talented Ieva. I had read about her shop on a Ravelry forum and although I had never communicated with her, I felt that we had a connection. When we stopped in the shop I found the connection that I was looking for -- a mitten-shaped purse or tote bag that Ieva had designed and knit. I had pinned a photo of her bag from an Etsy listing over 2 years ago on Pinterest. The bag turned out to be the inspiration for me and a number of others in the Knit Like a Latvian group on Ravelry when we did a Maxi Mitten KAL (KnitALong) in the autumn of 2015. I introduced myself to Ieva, told her about the Ravelry KnitALong, and showed her a photo of me with my mitten bag; I had styled the photo just like her original photo. Well, I didn't need to buy a mitten bag since I already own one but I did find some nice Latvian-design coasters, postcards, earrings, and a beautiful wooden butter knife at Ieva's shop.

Ieva and the infamous mitten bag

My version of the mitten bag

In February I contacted the National History Museum of Latvia about a visit to the stacks (or as they say, the funds) to study some of their mittens and socks. I had studied knitwear at the museum before when it was located at the castle, but things have changed a little since a fire at the castle a few years ago. Good news! Nothing in the museum was damaged, but everything had to be moved out so that restoration work could be done on the building. Ilze was my museum email contact and she helped me with the logistics of selecting items and with the formal request that I needed to write to the director of the museum asking for permission to study items from the funds for my own personal education. My request was granted and we made plans to meet at the building that currently houses the funds (items in storage). I was able to chart and photograph a number of items but the photos are for my personal use and I cannot share any of them here - sorry! Following my research time, we walked with Ilze to the museum's current location and she provided us with an in-depth, personal tour of the museum. It was an educational and interesting day!

Ilze from the Department of Museum Pedagogy and Exhibitions

Mara is a knitting friend of mine who lives in Riga. I met her just two years ago (see my prior blog post here) but her life has changed a bit since then. She is not knitting quite so much these days; her twin babies were born in August, 2015! However, we were still able to meet for a walk one afternoon with the babies in their double-wide baby pram. 

We were also invited to join Mara, her husband, and the babies for a picnic on May 4th, a national holiday. We met near the Latvian National Museum of Art where there was a grand reopening following restoration and reconstruction, and admission was free for the day. That meant there was a tremendously long queue, so we skipped the museum and had our picnic instead. Art will have to wait.

Mara made individual servings of a very interesting Latvian dessert - Rupjmaizes kārtojums. I had previously seen this dessert listed on a restaurant menu and thought that rye bread as an ingredient in a dessert sounded rather strange, so I hadn't ordered it. Well, we had our chance to try it - rye bread crumbs, cream, and berries. Unusual but delicious! I can now recommend it.

My husband and I enjoying our dessert

Photo courtesy of Mara

Latvian Mitten Camp Continues

"Knit Out Your Latvian Design" Mitten Camp included not only lectures and hands-on workshops, but also an afternoon field trip to the nearby town of Talsi and an evening of music and dancing!  Yes, all women dancing together, just like in my high school gym class where I learned to lead since I was always in the tallest half of my class (the tallest half learned the man's part, the shortest half learned the woman's part). To this day, I can't follow -- as my husband can testify.

Photo courtesy of Carla of The Dutch Knitters

(shown dancing here in a blue jean skirt and cowboy boots)

Hands-on knitting techniques were focused on various unique mitten cuffs.  Some of these were familiar to me, but there are always variations and little tips and tricks that get passed along, so it was fun and interesting to sample these cuffs.

One of the cuffs was scalloped or what the Latvians call "notched."  It was a slight variation from a scallop that I've done before.  I'm using the scallop now on a mitten that was inspired by a little Estonian knitting book that I bought from author Külli Jacobson, titled Siberi lilled or Siberian Flowers.  Külli was a participant at Mitten Camp but is a professional knitter living in the Seto region of Estonia. The book is currently available here and Külli writes about the background of the book on her website here (scroll down to October 28, 2014).  I love how the mitten is turning out!

We also sampled a wedge-shaped cuff that was shown in Maruta Grasmane's book Mittens of Latvia on page 164.  I had tried this interesting cuff before mitten camp and had questions regarding the chart in the book which has an error in it.  Here are the errata details for those who are interested: The orange wedge (as shown in the book) is not diagrammed properly.  Each wrong-side row is NOT worked over fewer stitches than the preceding right-side row.  Also, the row that works each wrap (yarn over) together with its associated stitch is worked on the right side with green (not on the wrong side with orange as shown).  Here's my little cuff sample:

On our field trip to Talsi, we saw a weaving exhibit and a weavers' studio.  We also met with a talented group of knitters and saw their beautiful display of mittens.

We weren't the only ones dancing.  In Talsi, we saw a young, energetic group of dancers posing for a group photo.  So colorful, and check out their stockings!

At the Talsi Museum (Talsu novada musejs) we viewed some of their mittens, socks, and woven belts that are held in storage drawers.  Besides getting our hands on this knitwear, we also had some fun electronically.  We photographed ourselves into a historic scene complete with traditional dress and you'll see that still we were busy with yarn in our hands.  Here's the usually elusive Lizzy with her crown and braid.

After an evening of toasting the organizers and teachers, we finished up on Day 3 with a little more hands-on work, then we received our official diplomas from the Latvian National Centre for Culture, ate lunch, and hopped on our bus for the ride back to Riga.  Farewell friends -- until we meet again!

Teacher Baiba, teacher Ina, organizer Linda, participant Külli, and Senā klēts representative Ziedite

Four Latvians plus Team Estonia

Latvian Wedding Mittens?

My trip to the Baltics was planned in January when I heard about a knitting camp entitled "Knit Out Your Latvian Design" that would take place in Latvia from April 29 to May 1.  All I needed was this little nudge and plans started to form.

My husband, Chris, who had not yet been to Latvia or Estonia was feeling left out and thought it was finally time for him to see these countries that I had visited so many times before.  It was decided that I would start my trip a little in advance of the knitting camp and take the opportunity to visit Lithuania for the first time (see my blog post here).  Chris would then join me when the knitting camp ended and we would have a chance to travel together in Latvia and Estonia.

So, after a few days in Vilnius, Lithuania, I arrived in Riga, Latvia, the day before the knitting camp started and met up with old and new friends at Senā Klēts, the National Costume Center.  We went out for a very nice dinner at Province (www.provincija.lv), a restaurant in the Old Town.  Since I was walking back to my hotel I could try the black currant version of Riga Black Balsam (Rīgas Melnais balzams) liqueur.  The standard version of Black Balsam herbal liqueur is not my favorite, but the black currant version was rather tasty!

Maruta Grasmane is the author of a fabulous book titled Latvieša Cimdi in Latvian or Mittens of Latvia in English.  The book is also known by some as the "Latvian Mitten Bible."  It is 438 pages thick and contains 178 individual mitten photos and 178 corresponding mitten charts.  Did you know that mittens have been an important part of Latvia's heritage and traditions?  Historically, a bride needed many pairs of mittens in her hope chest because she gave mittens as gifts to members of the bridal party and her new in-laws.  She also hung mittens in her new home and barn to symbolically bring good luck and prosperity to her marriage.

Līga, Maruta, MaryG, and Connie

Maruta joined us for dinner and we were almost on our way out the door of Senā Klēts when this photo was taken with the backdrop of some of the mittens from the book.  Līga works at Senā Klēts and is the main contact for English speakers.  Connie goes by the name of "Wockensolle" on Ravelry (see my blog post about Ravelry here) and is one of the moderators of the Knit Like a Latvian group.  She is from Germany and is currently working on the German translation of the Mittens of Latvia book.  Latvian knitting is spreading around the world!

Since I was one of the editors of English text for the Mittens of Latvia book, that became a way for me to introduce myself to various people that I met.  The book is available for sale in yarn shops, book stores, and handicraft shops in Riga, so I could pick the book up off the store's shelf, turn to the last page of the book, show my name, and introduce myself to the shop owner or clerk.  I had instant credibility!

Then it was on to the mitten camp.  A small bus picked us up and took us to Strazde manor, which is located a short distance from the town of Talsi.  Knitters from Latvia, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Lithuania, and the United States came together for the conference.  Our accommodations were in the Strazde manor house, which also had an auditorium/conference room for our lectures and classes, as well as a kitchen and dining room for our buffet meals.

Strazde Manor

Külli (Estonia), Baiba (Latvia), Connie (Germany), and Pat (USA)

 

Our first lecturer, Baiba Vaivare, spoke about Latvian Mitten Design and showed many beautiful examples via her slide show as well as actual knitted mittens.  Baiba spoke in Latvian but Dārta, one of the organizers, was our translator.

I was especially interested when Baiba showed a particular pair of mittens that she had designed.  To me they did not appear to be traditional Latvian mittens.  They were figurative rather than repetitive and geometric.  Then Baiba told us how she had designed the mittens with inspiration from an old painted dowry chest.  So, it turns out that the design WAS based on traditional Latvian design, but one that the designer had seen in wood rather than knitting.  What makes this even more interesting to me is that when I was in Latvia in 2001, one of my friends bought a pair of mittens of this very design.  I liked the mitten and asked to borrow the mitten from her to chart it.  I haven't knit the mitten yet, but recently another friend, Sandy De Master, decided to knit a replica of these mittens as a wedding shower gift for her niece, Sara.  I shared my chart with Sandy.  We've decided to call them the "wedding mittens."  I shared the story with Baiba, the lecturer and designer -- the story of these wedding mittens being knit 15 years after the purchase of the original pair.  What a small world!  I'm happy to know the design story behind these unusual Latvian mittens.

Sara wearing the "Wedding Mittens" knit by Sandy

Photo courtesy of Sandy De Master

One, Two, Three - Lithuania has been added

I finally added Lithuania to the list of Baltic countries that I've visited.  I started with Latvia in 2001, added Estonia in 2005, and have returned a number of times to each of those countries since then.  But this is the year I was able to add Lithuania to my list.  I got just a small taste of the country (and its cuisine).  It started with my arrival in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, at the end of April during unusually cold weather and precipitation of the sleet and slush variety.  I love the little airport in Vilnius.  It's so cute!

I immediately made use of the new wool hat that I had finished knitting on the flight over, the hand-knit, Latvian-style mittens that I had brought along with me, and a lot of layered clothing.  Brrrr!

On my first full day, I went on the Vilnius Free Tour, also known as "the Yellow Suitcase tour."  I had read about it on TripAdvisor and the 2-hour-plus tour was fabulous. 
TripAdvisor Reviews of Vilnius Free Tour

The tour starts at noon every day from the Town Hall steps.  Unfortunately, I've forgotten my tour guide's name, but she was great, and from the photo you'll see that she was dressed for the weather.  Of course, there is no such thing as a free lunch (or a free tour) and tips are collected at the end of the tour.  Well worth it!  I was so impressed with this tour that when I was in Riga the following week, I went on the Riga Free Tour as well.  Fortunately, the weather got much nicer after the first few cold and wet days. In fact, it was dry and unseasonably warm for the rest of my trip.

As a knitter, I made sure that I checked out every knitting store or wool shop that I could find in Vilnius.  Amazingly enough, I found absolutely no Lithuanian yarns there.  It appears the Lithuanians are interested in fashion knitting (yarns from Italy and such) rather than traditional ethnic knitting.  I was hoping to find Teksrena yarn here (an 8/2 wool yarn that is spun in Lithuania and is perfect for mittens), but instead I found it in Tallinn, Estonia, at a knitwear shop known as Alberto Käsitöö at Vana-Viru 11a.  And at a great price to boot!

Besides yarn shops, I also did some sightseeing including a tour of Gediminas' Tower which had a wonderful exhibit about the Baltic Way.  The Baltic Way (or Baltic Chain) was a show of solidarity in the pursuit of independence that was demonstrated by approximately 2 million Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian people on August 23, 1989.  The people joined together, hand in hand, from Gediminas' Tower in Vilnius, Lithuania, through Riga, Latvia, and on to Tallinn, Estonia, a total of 600 continuous kilometers (373 miles).  Independence from the Soviets for all three Baltic countries came about within two years following that peaceful demonstration.

Views of the surrounding countryside and the city of Vilnius from the tower are outstanding!