Viljandi Tourist Info - Exceeds Expectations. Again.

Last year, I met them and we discovered a mysterious coincidence. 

Rauno and Getter

Last year's story:  Best. Tourist Info. Ever.

This year, I was brought into the fold.

 

Following Estonian craft camp, I knew I wanted to return to Viljandi.  I enjoyed my stay there last year during the Baltic Sweater Conference and had met people that I wanted to see again - Rauno, who for me is the face of Viljandi Tourist Info, and his friend, Getter.  Getter had made it clear that they would welcome me if I returned. 

 

I was disappointed to find out that Getter would be in Spain at the time that I would be visiting Viljandi, but Rauno invited me to join him at Getter's parents' home in the country anyway.  Getter's mother, Külli, was out of town, but Getter's father, Andres, was available and, as it turned out, a rather good cook.  He made a delicious pork dinner for us with new-season potatoes, three summer salads, and a homemade dessert.  Getter's grandmother, Aino, was also able to join us and it turned out that she spoke English quite well and had, in fact, just finished yet another English course to improve her language skills.  I had a tour of the farmyard and a visit with the sheep, goats, rabbits, and chickens, as well as a tour of Andres' woodworking shop where he refinishes wood furniture.  The only downside?  A (newly-acquired Estonian) earring that went missing in the farmyard - maybe eaten by a goat?



Andres, me, and Aino

During the course of the evening, Aino suggested that she could meet me the following day to show me various handicraft shops around Viljandi, since I had an interest in them.  We met at 10:00 and proceeded to wander the streets and shops of Viljandi together for three hours.  I really appreciated my Viljandi tour with a personal guide!

Aino with a Strawberry (Viljandi town symbol)

It didn't end there.  Rauno invited me to join him at his grandparents' country home the next evening.  Ants and Silvi shared their home with me, and Silvi put together a traditional Estonian dinner, in spite of the fact that her oven went out the day before.  We had pork, potatoes, salad, and, again, a delicious homemade dessert, followed by watermelon eaten outdoors so we could spit seeds and drip watermelon juice without concern.  Rauno provided translations all around - English to Estonian and Estonian to English, as needed.  I don't know how he had time to eat his own dinner!

Ants, Rauno, and Silvi

 

I toured the property with Rauno, sampling gooseberries and a few remaining strawberries, and saw Ants' RAF (Rīgas Autobusu Fabrika - Riga Autobus Factory) van that he is currently restoring.

Me, the RAF van, and Ants

 

Again this year, the Viljandi Tourist Info staff exceeded expectations!  Thanks, Rauno, for your sincere welcome and for a "taste" of Estonian country life!

Estonian Craft Camp - I'd Sign Up All Over Again

Estonian Craft Camp 2014 - what a great experience!  60 students from Norway, Finland, Sweden, the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Estonia participated in the craft camp.  An article in the local Viljandi newspaper, Sakala, reported that the craft camp students were returning home with Estonian culture.  The craft camp organizers quipped, "I hope they leave some of our culture here in Estonia."  I was so excited to see my picture in the newspaper that I had to pick up a copy to bring home with me.

Well, there's plenty of handicraft culture still left in Estonia, but we had wonderful learning experiences with our Estonian instructors and great camaraderie with the various international students who were all interested in handicrafts and learning traditional techniques to incorporate in some way into our own lives.

There were many class offerings and each student could choose 3 classes.  I chose all fiber-related classes but there were other offerings as well - working with ceramics, birch bark, glass, or bone.

My classes:

Wristwarmers from Muhu Island and a distinctive diagonal cuff were knitting techniques taught by Kristi Jõeste.  Don't you love that Muhu pink?

 

Bountiful Decorations was taught by 3 lovely ladies - Liina, Liina, and Annika, each with their own specialty and focused on a different area of the country - from Muhu, Mulgi, and Setu.  I learned some embroidery techniques and how to work multi-colored crochet.

Plaited Ribbons was a hand-weaving/braiding class taught by Mari and Helve. 

I met these ladies last year at the Heimtali museum and had an impromptu mini lesson on hand-braiding at the time.  I came home with an Estonian book on braiding (17 Kirrivat Paela) and I experimented a little bit with the techniques.  Mari and Helve remembered me from our brief meeting last year and I was able to jump right into an intermediate project and completed some wonderful Kihnu-style key chains with these fabulous fabric tassels!  So fun!

Our classes took place at the Olustvere technical school and on the grounds of the Olustvere manor (in the distillery, in the pit house, and at the horse stables).  Olustvere is just 21 km (13 miles) from Viljandi.  Dorm facilities were available just across the lane from the school and a short walk took us to the cafeteria where all meals were served, except a special farewell dinner on Thursday evening which was served in the elegant manor house.  The organizers and coordinators could not have been more helpful.  They went out of their way to accommodate all requests - from food to Wi-Fi access to an evening sauna and more.  The Viljandi Culture Academy looks forward to hosting more craft camps in the future and I'd love to return!

(T)Raveling 'Round the World With Ravelry

Many of my knitting friends belong to an online group known as ravelry.  Ravelry is a little bit like Facebook for knitters.  I find it a great place for knitting inspiration, information, and learning opportunities.  It has also turned out to be a way to meet like-minded knitters from other countries.

Before my trip to Estonia, I messaged a bit with a new ravelry friend, Signe, getting some advice on my visit to Tallinn.  Although she is Estonian, we met in the "Knit Like a Latvian" group.  I saw her work and thought that we had a lot in common in the realm of knitting and that we might be sympatico.  We arranged to meet when I was in Tallinn and she suggested going to the Estonian Open Air Museum.  Signe picked me up on a street near my hotel.  We had never met in person, but she told me that she would have one of her Scottish Terriers with her.  When I saw a woman walking towards me with a Scottie, I knew it was Signe and "hello" Rosin (Raisin)!

We had a nice time walking the grounds of the open air museum and Rosin got a lot of attention from various visitors at the museum but was quite wary of the horse who pulled a carriage.  We watched part of the folk dance show.

Then we went to the Kolu Cafe and Signe suggested a typical Estonian dish - kama creme.  It came with jam on it and it was quite delicious.  We enjoyed it outdoors with a drink and our knitting.  Signe was working on a Haapsalu shawl with many nupps and had brought along a pair of her mittens and gloves so that we could discuss techniques.  Her work is beautiful!

When we returned to the city center, I had plans to meet another Estonian knitter, Monika, who I first met last year at the Baltic Sweater Conference.  Monika was demonstrating spinning at Tallinn Medieval Days (and dressed appropriately).  It turned out that Signe, Rosin, and Monika knew each other, so we surprised Monika with a visit from all of us.

If you're a knitter and want to join ravelry, go here:

http://www.ravelry.com/invitations

Signe blogs in Estonian and you can find her blog here:

http://kuduvkoeraomanik.blogspot.com/

Portal to Another Time and Place - Estonian National Museum (ERM)

For a knitter in love with Estonian mittens, spending a day in the research room of the Estonian National Museum (ERM) in Tartu was heaven.

I corresponded before my trip with Kadri at ERM and arranged for my study day – the day after my arrival in Estonia.  After flying into Tallinn, I got immediately on a bus for the 2 ½ hour ride to Tartu.

Photography is not allowed in the research room, but there is an excellent portal to digitally view the museum’s collection.  Before my arrival, I was given instructions for using the portal so that I could make a selection of which items I would like to view for my research.  But how do you choose from 2,833 mittens?

After using the museum's online portal, here’s the actual portal that I passed through to begin my hands-on (gloved hands, of course) research day.

When I arrived at ERM I was greeted by Kadri’s co-worker, Maire, who took good care of me.  Kadri was on vacation, if you can call organizing the Tartu Hanseatic Days a vacation.  The Hanseatic Days took place in Tartu from July 11-13, 2014.

For my research, I brought along an old mini computer that I hate to use at home because it's so slow but it’s small and light for travel and I was happy to have Excel and a mouse with me for the charting that I did at the museum.

Besides being home to ERM, Tartu is a university town with a lot of history.  One of the oldest European universities was founded here in 1632 and Tartu was the location of the first Estonian Song Festival in 1869.  It has a vibrant Raekejo Plats (Town Hall Square), a lovely river (Emogoji) with many bridges, and a big hill and park on which sit cathedral ruins.

To use the English access to the Estonian National Museum public portal, open this site:

http://www.muis.ee/en_GB/search

Click on "Advanced search"

From the "Museum" dropdown, choose Eesti Rahva Muuseum (to limit the search to items at ERM)

Click to select "Objects with picture" (to limit the search to items that include pictures)

For the "Name" field, type in one of the following terms in Estonian:

kindad (for mittens)

sukad (for stockings)

kampsun (for cardigans)

Or use another Estonian term to search for other items

To Breathe As One at the Estonian Song Festival

As I prepare for my trip to Estonia, I was pleasantly surprised to read an Estonian World blog post today about a new film To Breathe As One by James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty, the makers of the 2007 documentary The Singing Revolution:

http://estonianworld.com/culture/to-breathe-as-one-a-new-film-shows-how-singing-keeps-estonia-together/

It turns out To Breathe As One was showing on my PBS channel tonight!  It will also be repeated on Saturday, June 28.  If you get a chance to see either one of these films, do so.  They are both excellent.

As an added knitting bonus in the film, I was pleased to see the featured Estonian TV Girls' Choir members wearing beautiful Haapsalu shawls as part of their costumes.

When I was in Tallinn last year, I visited the Song Festival Grounds on a quiet, rainy, introspective day.  The Estonian Song Festival takes place every 5 years.  When the 26th Estonian Song Festival (Laulupidu) takes place this year from July 4-6, the grounds will be very different looking.  In 2009, there were 34,000 performers and an audience of 200,000!

Can You Walk and Knit and Chew Gum at the Same Time?

When I was in Estonia in May 2013, I participated in the Käi ja Koo - a Walk & Knit Contest.  As it turned out, I was the first international participant.  The third annual Käi ja Koo recently took place in Estonia (May 2014) but, unfortunately, I could not participate; I was on the wrong side of the pond.  It turns out that the event kept its international flavor this year with the participation of a British gentleman, Luke from the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.666465433423876.1073741832.155203241216767&type=1

I am happy to announce that the first American Walk & Knit Relay Challenge will be taking place this year on September 6, 2014, at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival in Jefferson, Wisconsin.  You can find details of the event and register to participate at the festival's website:

http://www.wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com/fiberartsclasses/walkandknit.html

I hope you'll join in the fun!  Thanks to the Lossi Gild in Estonia for the inspiration and challenge to host our own Walk & Knit event.

Well, a Decision Had to be Made

I learned of several wonderful knitting related opportunities taking place in the Baltics this coming summer and a decision had to be made.  Should I attend the Mitten Conference in Riga, Latvia in June?

http://www.taito.fi/taitojaerjestoe/ajankohtaista/ajankohtainen/article/international-practical-conference-world-of-mittens-5-762014-latvia/
 

Or should I return to Estonia for the Estonian Craft Camp being offered by the University of Tartu in July?  

http://www.kultuur.ut.ee/en/craft-camp

I was being drawn in both directions but I have made the decision to return to Estonia.  Oh, yes, AND to return to Latvia, too, although I will miss the Mitten Conference and will need to make my own knitting connections in Latvia.  This sounds like a new adventure and I look forward to sharing it with you.

In the meantime, I've been practicing my Estonian knitting skills.  Here's my recently completed Mulgi style mitten inspired by Kristi Jõeste's glove and mitten book, Ornamented Journey.  Kristi's Mulgi mitten on page 36 was knit with .7 mm (US 000000) needles and had 172 stitches around the hand.  I simplified and used 1.25 mm (US 0000) needles and had 120 stitches around the hand.  The tiny stitches were a challenge (15 sts/inch or 60 sts/10 cm) but the puncturing needle tips were a bigger challenge.