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!

The Show Must Go On

I wasn't able to attend Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival this year because I was teaching at Fiber College of Maine that same weekend.  However, in spite of my absence, the Second Annual Walk & Knit Relay Challenge still took place at the festival on Saturday, September 12, 2015.

The Arachne Spinning Guild of Door County took over running the event with Chris Vuco acting as emcee.  Thanks to my spinning guild for taking this on and still gathering a team together to participate on the racecourse.  A total of eleven teams participated this year!  You can see the energy the winning team had as they got ready for the race.

Winning Team, left to right:  Aviva Cantor,

Kirsti Johanson, Caitlin Brecklin, and Renata Hornik

This Walk & Knit event was inspired by a similar team-relay race that takes place in Estonia, known there as Käi ja Koo.  Winning is based on rankings in the following criteria:  fastest speed of walking, highest number of stitches completed, and lowest number of errors.

 

After bringing this event from Estonia to the USA last year (see my blog post about last year's event here), I was pleased to hear that some knitting students of mine also held a Walk & Knit event in Iowa earlier this year.  I watched a video from their event and some participants thought that one of the teams had cheated when a "walking knitter" ran part of the course.  There is no rule that precludes running to produce a winning time, but there is definitely a trade off; finishing fast also means finishing with fewer stitches.  It just depends on your strategy.

Some people think of a knitter as the stereotypical grandmother sitting in a rocking chair, but this event shows that knitting is also for active people.  You know you're watching a sporting event when you see team huddles and team T-shirts.

Well, I hated to miss the second annual Wisconsin event, but I did talk up the Walk & Knit event when I was at Fiber College of Maine and it looks like the Käi ja Koo could make an appearance on the East Coast next year!

I'm spreading the word!

Where in the Blue Blazes Was I?

Blue blazes on the trail

in Acadia National Park

Some of my favorite activities are knitting and being active outdoors.  These are usually mutually exclusive, but not when I had the opportunity to teach at the Fiber College of Maine in early September.  I was also able to spend a very active day at Acadia National Park and the knitting classes that I taught at the Searsport Shores Ocean Campground where Fiber College is held, took place nearly in the out-of-doors.  While students were learning about knitting Estonian cuffs and lace and special Latvian cuffs, we were all protected from the (sometimes inclement) weather by large tents.

It all began when Maryly, an East Coast friend through Ravelry (see my prior blog post about Ravelry here), suggested that I apply to teach at this event that takes place in Searsport, Maine, each year in September.  It was a great idea and I loved hanging out with so many fiber people in the wonderful setting of Searsport Shores Ocean Campground, run by Fiber College director, Astrig, and her crew.  At the campground, I found a colorful dyer's garden, a meditation cabin on a bluff above the seashore, and walking trails through the woods.  Fiber College offered many inspiring classes, a selection of vendors, musical entertainment at various times, a mentored dye tent, other special events throughout the week, and some fabulous meal options including wood-fired flat breads and chowder.  On my first night at "college," there was a Somali Bantu Celebration which included a feast of traditional Somali food as well as music and dance performed by Somali people.

Maryly was my transportation from the Portland airport and made sure I had any camping supplies that I needed.  Camping accommodations were provided by Fiber College and they were well above my normal camping standard, which is usually a small tent with an air mattress and sleeping bag.  Instead, I was housed in a Hornet, a hard-sided camping trailer with slide outs for additional living space, a kitchen including a refrigerator, and a bathroom including a toilet and shower.  All of the comforts of home!

I had a roommate, Daryl Lancaster, who is another teacher at Sievers School of Fiber Arts, where I teach regularly in Wisconsin.  Daryl is a weaving and garment construction expert from New Jersey whom I've always wanted to take a class from but haven't quite managed yet.  I've been reading her blog for a while but I had never actually met Daryl in person.  We got to know each other in our shared abode and we had a nice time hanging out together in the evenings after our classes while enjoying conversation and knitting time along with a glass of wine or two.  She is an energetic and expressive teacher who shares so much in her classes.  Daryl wrote a blog post about her experience at Fiber College here.

Daryl Lancaster teaching inkle loom weaving

Each teacher was interviewed and featured in a Fiber College blog post.  My interview appears here.

I had an entire free day after my arrival with Maryly and I made good use of it by taking a short one-hour road trip to Acadia National Park to see the sights and take a hike.  After looking at the park's website, I thought that the Precipice Trail sounded like the trail for me.  Since I was traveling solo for the day, it seemed that this trail would be well-enough traveled that I would have good company along the way.  At the visitor center, the ranger warned me that the trail was rated "strenuous" but I thought, how strenuous can a trail be that is less than one mile each way?  I was soon to find out.  The trail is named Precipice for a reason; it is not recommended for people with a fear of heights.  I don't have a strong fear of heights, but climbing tall ladders can get me a bit shaky.  It turned out that was exactly what some of this trail entailed.

When I got to a point where the trail required climbing metal rung after metal rung up quite a long stretch of vertical rock, with a long drop off just a few feet away, I got a bit weak in the knees.  As I stopped to catch my breath on a ledge, the sun came out and I realized that I had not put on sunscreen for the day.  I chose not to apply it at that point; I didn't need greasy hands right before my next ascent of metal rungs.  I waited for the last two people that I had passed to catch up to me, and then I ventured forward, or more accurately, upward.

Since I had just returned from a hiking trip to Colorado, I figured I was ready for this hike.  It turned out to be a great, challenging hike, but Western hiking is so different from East Coast hiking.  In Colorado, you travel up switchbacks and are perpetually out of breath from lack of oxygen at the high elevations, but you are hiking using your two feet.  In Maine, hiking seems to consist of hiking with hands, arms, knees, and shins on the ground and rock surfaces rather than always using your feet, which happen to be safely encased in hiking boots, seemingly designed for the purpose of hiking.  What were those East Coast trail planners thinking?  Well, of course, the completion of the hiking challenge was rewarding and the views were beautiful!

Next year will be the 10th anniversary for Fiber College of Maine.  It's a great venue that offers a wide variety of fiber classes.  I believe the dates will be September 7-11, 2016.  Watch their website for details here.

More Interwoven Latvian Connections

At age 85, Erna Jansons published her first book.  It is a beautiful and colorful book about Latvian Mitten Designs.  It is now nine years later and, of course, she has another book in the works.

I first met Erna in 2006, shortly after her book was printed.  I went to her home to buy a couple of copies of her book; one for me and one for my teaching buddy, Sandy.  In 2013, Erna moved into the senior-living complex that my parents lived in.  When I found this out, I started to visit her in her apartment.  Erna is a very talented artist.  She makes unique use of Latvian motifs and colors in her paintings, weavings, tapestries, drawings, and knitted mittens.

Mary and Erna in the Dining Room at Christmastime

A different, but related, Latvian connection began in 2013.  I received a Ravelry message (see my blog about Ravelry here) from Rachel, a knitter in Minnesota who is of Latvian descent.  She also writes a blog at:
http://balticstitches.com/

Well, Rachel and I have written back and forth for a couple of years now.  However, just recently she contacted me and asked if I knew Erna Jansons.  Rachel had requested Erna's book Latviešu Cimdu Raksti or Latvian Mitten Designs from the Library of Congress and after viewing the book at her local library (Library of Congress books apparently cannot be removed from the local library), she Googled the book and ran across a prior blog post of mine here and surmised my connection with Erna.  It seemed like the best course of action would be a visit to Milwaukee by Rachel to meet with Erna and me.  Well, this meeting sounded like too much fun for my friend, Sandy, to miss, so I invited her as well.  Sandy and Rachel had also previously connected through Ravelry.  So we began to plan a knitters' weekend in Milwaukee.  We added one more knitter to the mix when Rachel invited her aunt, Zinta, to join her for the road trip.

This is where things begin to get even more interesting.  Zinta is a retired Lutheran minister so I suggested that we might want to go to the Milwaukee Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Holy Trinity Church on the Sunday of their visit.  I emailed our friend, the pastor, Archbishop Lauma Zušēvica, to see if she would be in town and preaching that Sunday.  Yes, indeed she would be.  I heard back from Pastor Lauma again shortly after that and she offered an opportunity for Pastor Zinta to preach.  Zinta agreed to preach, and we all went to the Latvian service which was presided over, in Latvian, by Archbishop Lauma.  Pastor Lauma was just consecrated in April 2015, as the Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (Latvijas Evanģēliski Luteriskā Baznīca Ārpus Latvijas), meaning everywhere outside of Latvia.

Archbishop Lauma at her Consecration as Archbishop



Besides our meetings with Erna (one on Saturday and one on Sunday), I also set up a visit with a Latvian weaving friend, Vita Kakulis.  She invited us to her home where we could see her studio space, her weavings, and her huge library of Latvian design books.

Rachel, Vita, and Zinta

Vita showed us a video from the Folk Costume Exhibit that took place at the XIII Latvian Song & Dance Festival in Milwaukee in 2012, served us a lovely luncheon which included pīrāgs and traditional Latvian open-faced sandwiches, and gave a copy of the fabulous, but out-of-print, Cimdu Jettiņa book to Rachel.  The day was a gift for all of us.

UPDATE on 10/29/2016:  Erna Jansons' book Latviešu Cimdu Raksti or Latvian Mitten Designs is now available for purchase - details for ordering are on my website here or you can find the book on Etsy here.

Knitting Fair Isle on a Fair Island

Some people grow up spending summers on Washington Island.  I wasn't one of those people, but luckily I've sort of become one.  I get a chance every summer or fall and then again in winter to spend some time on this little island off the tip of Wisconsin's Door County (the thumb of Wisconsin's mitten).  I've been coming to the island to attend and/or teach classes at Sievers School of Fiber Arts since 1997.  The island and Sievers are special places!  Sievers' summer class schedule goes online each year on February 1st and students don't want to wait too long to sign up, as some classes can fill quickly - was 15 minutes the record?

http://www.sieversschool.com/

In July, my teaching buddy, Sandy, and I taught a Fair Isle Techniques class that was well attended by knitters who wanted to spend time together and extend their knitting skills.  Immediately following our class, there was a Fair Isle Design class taught by Janine Bajus from California.  Janine is known as the Feral Knitter (say Fair Isle and Feral quickly and you'll see where the name came from).

Left to right:  Sandy, Ann of Sievers,

and Janine Bajus of Feral Knitter

 

In keeping with our Fair Isle theme, we were pleasantly surprised to find the island's book store has a new owner and name - Fair Isle Books.  The book store is located next to everyone's favorite, Red Cup Coffee Shop.

In the summer when daylight is abundant and weather is cooperating, I love to get out on the island roads on my bicycle.  Sunrises and sunsets can be outstanding, and wildlife (oftentimes deer, turkeys, or pheasant, but even a fox this year) and beautiful wildflowers can be seen.  And whether you're in a car, on a bike, or walking, you'll want to be sure to greet everyone you meet along the way with the customary island wave.  It's a friendly community of about 700 residents year-round and many more in the summer months.

For most visitors, a ferry ride is required to get to the island.  In the summertime, the ferry ride takes about 30 minutes.  In the winter, the trip can take a little bit longer as it crunches through the ice.  Here's a short 10 second video I took from the ferry in winter.

winter ferry video

So, as I said, a ferry ride is required . . . unless you fly in.  As it happened, a Fly-In and Fish Boil were taking place on the weekend after our class.  Our favorite was The Pink Lady, a 1955 plane that is flown by the daughter of the original owner.  The daughter followed in her dad's footsteps and is now a commercial pilot living in California.

It doesn't have to be a special weekend to view some of the other island sights.  Mountain Road is a flat road that curves around the island's "mountain."  After climbing wooden steps to the top of the mountain, you can climb some more steps to the top of the lookout tower for a view to the north and east, which includes Rock Island, a state park that can be reached by yet another ferry.

 

Since it's an island, it's obviously surrounded by water.  Schoolhouse Beach is a popular spot, but be sure to wear your shoes or sturdy sandals on this rocky beach on the north shore.  On the opposite shore, you'll find Sand Dunes Park where you can snuggle your toes into soft sand.

The impressive Stavkirke, or Stave Church, was built in the 1990s mostly by volunteers from the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.  The design was based on the Stavkirke in Borgund, Norway, which was built around 1150 AD.  The Washington Island Stavkirke is set back from the road and can be reached by a woodland path.  There also happens to be a miniature Stavkirke on the island in the middle of a lavender field near the Historic Island Dairy building, but it should not be confused with this church.

As you can see, the lavender fields were beautiful when we were there in July.

Lavender fields at Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm and Shop

You'll find a fair number of restaurants on this fair island.  Some of my favorites are:  Tuesday burger night at Karly's Bar or dinner at The Cellar located in Karly's lower level on other nights (don't miss the homemade Blue Cheese dressing), breakfast at The Sunset Resort featuring traditional Scandinavian specialties like Icelandic pancakes, and the Friday night Perch Fry at Findlay's Holiday Inn (privately owned, not part of the chain).

Once a year, Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church serves a Harvest Dinner on the Saturday of Columbus Day weekend.  Happily, we are usually on the island teaching in October, and can sign up for one of the five seatings (from 4 PM to 8 PM).  Church volunteers prepare and serve a traditional Thanksgiving-like dinner complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, squash, pink fluff (Google pink fluff recipes), rolls, pickles, and pumpkin pie.  Wow, I swear you can smell turkey roasting all over the island that weekend!

But the best thing to do on the island?  Take a class at Sievers School of Fiber Arts.  You'll find that it's definitely located "north of the tension line."