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.
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.
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