Knitting Retreat in Latgale, Latvia

A 5-day knitting retreat in the Latgale region of Latvia is what took me to the Baltics this summer. The Latgale retreat was offered by Senā Klēts, the National Costume Center in Riga, and had been planned for 2020, then postponed to 2021, and finally scheduled for August 2022. As travel restrictions eased, it seemed that it might be the time to go. However, the SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) pilots' strike in July 2022 had me wondering and worrying for a while. As it turned out, the strike ended days before my departure and my flights through Stockholm were fine.

The retreat was well-organized by Senā Klēts and its representative, Ziedīte Muze. I had last been on a retreat organized and led by them in 2018 when I went to the Kurzeme region in the western part of Latvia (see my blog post about that retreat here). Now I would be heading in the exact opposite direction - Latgale is in the eastern part of Latvia. At one point in our travels we were just about 100 meters from the Russian border.

Our base was Rēzekne, the seventh largest city in Latvia. One of our participants, Dace, was from the region. She is Latgalian. During our first evening of introductions, Dace introduced herself in English, then in Latvian, then in Latgalian.

Knitting instruction and museum tours were in English or translated from Latvian to English for us. Countries represented by the participants were: Canada, Estonia, France, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Tasmania, and USA. Our group was 20 in number including the organizers.

We visited a number of smaller towns in the area and experienced a welcoming atmosphere everywhere. We met with our teachers and master knitters in various types of buildings including museums, a craft center, a cultural center, a school, and a manor house.

We were always welcomed with food and drink. Besides our breakfast, lunch, and dinner, each day we had a morning coffee break and an afternoon coffee break which were oftentimes substantial and always beautifully displayed. Five meals a day! Yum!

In Baltinava, we were welcomed with accordion music and singing.

Baltinava was the only location where the director offered an alcoholic refreshment - before noon! Cheers!

Most classes focused on technique including interesting textures.

Every morning and every afternoon we had a new workshop and a new selection of colors.

So much to learn. We even kept busy on the bus. Serious knitters at work.

At the end of the day, a beautiful lake nearby and sunset around 10:00 PM provided us with time to relax, to walk, to talk, to swim, to look, to laugh.

Thanks to Senā Klēts and Ziedīte and our translator Astrīda for a fantastic knitting retreat in a region of Latvia I had never experienced before. 

If you are possibly interested in a retreat with Senā Klēts, they will be offering two retreats in 2023 - Kurzeme in May/June and Latgale in July/August. Check out their Facebook page for Knitting: Latvian Mittens and Traditional Patterns, email them for information at cimdi@senaklets.lv, or click on one of the links below to see details and/or indicate an interest. Clicking on the link shows pricing information.

Kurzeme May 29 - June 2, 2023

Kurzeme link

Latgale July 31 - August 4, 2023

Latgale link

Rendezvous in Riga

What fun! I met a new knitting friend on Instagram. And then I met her in person. She’s a knitter of Latvian mittens and she’s Latvian. I actually had no idea where she lived but I wrote her while I was in Riga asking if she lived in Riga and if we could meet. We had friends in common. No, she doesn’t live in Riga, but yes she would gladly meet me there. I wrote, “I don’t even know your name.” I knew her as “bulaslaiks” on Instagram.

Mežaparks is a large park on the outskirts of Riga where the Song Festival grounds are located. As our plans came together, they included her husband and two sons, and a visit to Mežaparks. It was disappointing that the Song Festival grounds (Mežaparka Lielā Estrāde) were closed that day as there had just been a special event there the day before. The gates of the estrāde were closed as they took down equipment.

However, we were undeterred and continued our walk to the south end of the park and the zoo. This was a good choice and all were happy at the zoo. 

Lunch outdoors in the park followed. We had time to share knitting projects and talk knitting as knitters do.

On my own, I explored the yarns shops of Riga. I'll provide an update here to my prior post in 2019 on yarn shops in Riga.

I learned that Hobbywool was open in the Old Town. I had heard the shop closed during the pandemic but I was happy to find a couple of yarn-bombed bicycles, a decorated downspout, and their doors open for business. You'll find the entrance on the back of the building, not at Mazā Pils iela 6 as the address is listed (iela translates as street).

Tīnes on R. Vāgnera iela in the Old Town has a large selection of wool yarn for mittens as well as hand-knit Latvian mittens and other clothing for sale. The Tīnes website makes online ordering easy for those who are not in Riga.

Also located in the Old Town is the Knitting Shop on Zirgu iela. Nearby, the Zvaigzne ABC book store at K. Valdemāra iela 6 still has a large selection of Limbažu wool yarn at the bargain price of 2.21€ per 100 grams.

Lana Mama and Filati are still open on Matīsa iela and I stopped in a nearby new-to-me shop, GrietaKnits, on the corner of K. Barona iela and Stabu iela that carries some of the local Pāces wool yarn as well as Schoppel Wolle and other yarns.

Senā Klēts, just off Town Hall Square (Rātslaukums) in the Old Town, is one of my favorites. It is the National Costume Center and has wool yarns, mittens, woven fabrics for skirts, and books. It is a treasure trove for those with an interest in traditional folk costumes and mittens. Senā Klēts produced the fabulous book, Mittens of Latvia, by Maruta Grasmane, now available in seven languages.

Excerpts from Estonia

After three long years without international travel it was great to get back to Estonia and Latvia this year. On my way to a knitting retreat in Latvia, I spent a few days in Tallinn and had time to meet up with several friends.

I had seen Estonia's food delivery robots before but I enjoyed watching them whiz down the sidewalks of Tallinn, congregate occasionally, and even stop for a coffee break.

In the spirit of e-Estonia and all things electronic, I took a ride on a self-driving shuttle bus. I had just read an article on the Estonian World blog about a self-driving bus being tested in the Mustamäe district of Tallinn, so I convinced my young friend, Rauno from Tartu, to join me. We located the route and hopped on the 8-seat bus. We were the only customers on that circuit. The bus had a human operator on board to monitor safety and intervene if necessary. As it happened, we did experience one instance when the bus stopped, apparently losing its place on its route. The operator pulled out a keyboard and took care of the problem and we were back on our way. It was a rainy morning and a fun experience on our way to the Tallinn zoo.

Meerkats! My favorite from the Tallinn zoo. So alert!

Telliskivi is a hip and trendy area of Tallinn and I met a fellow fiber friend, Mari Pukk, for dinner at LITERAAT, a restaurant that is part of the Rahva Raamat book store in the area. Even the graffiti is hip and trendy in Telliskivi.

Signe, another knitting friend, lives outside of Tallinn, just a short train ride away. I was invited to visit her at her home and see the coursework she had recently finished for her textile craftsperson certification. This is in addition to her professional career. She's a busy woman! Signe's barely visible companion is Rosin ("Raisin"), a very black Scottish Terrier.

It was nice to be "back in the saddle again" (the travel saddle) and to see good friends.