Knitting
England, Lithuania, and Knitting
Originally posted 3/10/2010
Are you tired of these topics yet? I hope not, because I will probably be writing about them all year, with a few diversions into other parts of Europe, the joys and pains of friendship and love, the writing process, and odds and ends that latch onto my brain and won’t let go if I don’t give them space on the page somewhere.
But today I will stick to three of my most pressing obsessions: England, Lithuania, and Knitting.
The best things, they say, come in small packages. For me that’s definitely been true lately. I’ve received two packages of knitting treasures in the mail. And you can guess from whence they came.
From Lithuania I received a packet with a skein of hand-spun wool yarn and a pair of hand-knit beaded wrist warmers, or riešinės. Both were made by Aldona Suneviciene, who runs a lovely shop on etsy.com.
Riešinės have been popular in Lithuania for a long time, at least since the mid-19th century. They’ve had a recent surge in popularity due to the publication of a book of patterns by designer Irena Juškienės. A quick google search for images shows up pages and pages of lovely photos.
Juškienės’s book focuses on the garter-stitch beaded style of wrist warmer, but may other knitting techniques were used to create these little accessories in the past, including lace, colorwork, cables, and simple knitted ribbing, as well as crochet. Today, felting is incredibly popular in Lithuania, and there are many designers creating gorgeous felted riešinės.
If you want to make a pair of riešinės, I’ll be re-starting my Lithuanian Wrist Warmers Twitter-Knit-a-Long this week! You don’t need to be a member of Twitter to follow along. I’ll post a direct link when I restart the KAL which was put on hold because of the Knitting Olympics.
I didn’t receive a package from England, but a package that came to me from Portland, Oregon contained a collection of Victorian knitting books that had been owned by Dorothy Reade. (Two of the books are German, the rest are English.)
Dorothy Reade, who is the subject of my upcoming book, Successful Lace Knitting, was charting Victorian knitting patterns in the 1950s and 60s. Today, with the publication of Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby, the new editions of the Weldon’s Practical Needlework books by Interweave Press, and popular workshops on reading and knitting from Victorian patterns, it seems like everyone is interested in this esoteric topic. But in the middle of the twentieth century, Dorothy Reade was perhaps the only designer interested in updating these beautiful, but cryptic, patters for contemporary American knitters.
I would like to give my sincere thanks to Dorothy Reade’s daughter, Donna Nixon, for her amazing generosity in sharing her time, information, and photos with me for my upcoming book, and for trusting these vintage books into my care.
That’s it for today. I have a list of things to blog about, but if you want to hear from me more frequently, follow me on Twitter or facebook.
Experience level – advanced beginner
After I finished my Arctic Lace Knitting Book, I finally allowed myself to explore the world of lace knitting and discovered that is is much more varied and elaborate than I could have imagined. Around the world and over time, knitters in different countries and regions have developed unique styles of lace knitting that range from easy-intermediate (like the knitting of the Oomingmak knitters) to advanced-insanely- difficult (like some of the Victorian patterns designed by English knitters). Other lace styles are used in Estonia, Russia, South America, Lithuania, Germany and Austria, and New Zealand. I’m sure there are even more, but these are the styles I’ve explored so far. – Donna Druchunas –
Experience: All skill levels, basic knitting skills required.
Have you ever wondered why some people can read charts easily and others find them incomprehensible? The truth is, charts are written in a code that can be deciphered by knitters who learn the symbols on the page and in their knitting. Charts do not use arbitrary symbols, but each symbol includes the instructions on how to make the indicated stitch! In this class, you will learn the secrets of interpreting chart symbols for texture and cable stitches.
That skein of yarn looks positively strokable and warm. What will you make? The books are treasures. Lucky you to be able to hold them and smell the wisdom.
That skein of yarn looks positively strokable and warm. What will you make? The books are treasures. Lucky you to be able to hold them and smell the wisdom.
Not sure what I will make but thanks. I am so fortunate to have access to such wonderful tools and publications.
Not sure what I will make but thanks. I am so fortunate to have access to such wonderful tools and publications.
My sister and her husband lived in Lithuania for several years, and they sent me some handspun yarn they got at the local market that looks just like that skein! It struck me as so cool to be picking tiny bits of Lithuanian hay out of my yarn as I knit, I just loved it.
Your book collection is incredible, too.
My sister and her husband lived in Lithuania for several years, and they sent me some handspun yarn they got at the local market that looks just like that skein! It struck me as so cool to be picking tiny bits of Lithuanian hay out of my yarn as I knit, I just loved it.
Your book collection is incredible, too.
That sounds like fun, thanks for sharing. What part of Lithuania did your sister live in?
That sounds like fun, thanks for sharing. What part of Lithuania did your sister live in?