Latvian Festival!

Last Friday Barb and I ventured into The Big City to attend a Latvian Mitten display at the downtown Hilton. It was 30C+ so we stayed underground and took the PATH most of the way there.

When we entered the lobby, there were tons of people milling about speaking what I assumed was Latvian.

We knew to go to the Simcoe Room where the Latvian mitten display was.

Hanging on the door was this beautiful sampler - knitted squares alternating with woven Harris tweed squares.

On display was a detailed map of Latvia.

There were a number of books about Latvian knitting.

Cascading down from the ceiling with clear nylon line were dozens of mittens.

Traditionally, mittens are given out as wedding favours at Latvian weddings. We were told that often 200 pairs of mittens would be in a bride's hope chest. They demonstrated the girl's patience and understanding. Each mitten had to be a different design or the girl could be ridiculed. Each pair of mittens has its own story and comes with its own wish for the recipient.

Typically, the palm is the same pattern as the back of the mitten

and there is no thumb gusset.

That type of thumb is called a 'peasant' thumb.

The pattern continues up the thumb.

These child's mittens had a personalized lining.

These mittens were double knit and could probably be reversible.

These mittens had an unusual cuff. At first glance, the cuffs appeared to be corrugated ribbing.

On closer inspection, they were a type of 1 x 1 cable construction.

Some mittens were like gauntlets with an elongated cuff. The horizontal chevron stitch is the iconic Latvian braid.

It was explained to us that any patterns that had plant themes or weren't geometric indicated the Russian influence.

These gloves were not knitted. Rather, they were created by nalbinding. This is a technique that predates both knitting and crocheting and is done by "passing the full length of the working thread through each loop" with a blunt needle.

On these gloves,  decorative embroidery stitches were added.

These mittens are not in the typical Latvian style

because the palm is different from the back and the thumb is contrasting. I would say they are a Swedish style of mitten.

These are also a atypical with the entrelac cuffs and colourwork with alternating stitches.

An octogenarian woodworker from the Latvian Cultural Centre fashioned these stunning 'mittens' from wood.

The base wood appeared to be a thin plywood with oak veneer.

The contrasting 'stitches' were made from different types of wood squares and rectangles

and precisely placed. Each 'mitten' stood over 6' tall on the stand.

Other knitted items included beaded cuffs and small, square ornaments bordered with i-cord.

The obverse was different.

OK, so I got a little carried away with these.

But they'd be easy to copy and knit up.

On one table was a display of cuffs with several different types of Latvian trims and these adorable hand puppets deemed to be of Estonian extraction. There is a pattern for them on Ravelry.

They're already in my 'favourites' list.

There was also an entrelac stuffed dog.

One of the docents told us there might possibly be a knitting class at the Latvian Centre  in The Big City where we could create a cuff whilst learning 5 different types of cuff cast-ons. We put our names down for that.

Other items on display included a double knit scarf,

a hat,

a woolen tote bag with knitted 'inserts',

a woven belt,

 knitted cuffs and a knitted cowl with lots of Latvian braid.

Suzanne Zakis, one the people in my spinning and weaving guild, contributed this woven dishtowel featuring the iconic cross pattern.

These quilts were created with squares representing knitted stitches.

Barb and I attracted the attention of the costumed docents when they heard us discussing the specific techniques and our observations about the items. They were intrigued why non-Latvians would be interested in the exhibit but once they realized we were enthusiastic knitters, were very forthcoming with lots of additional detail and information for us.

I do hope we get contacted about taking that cuff-knitting class.

Although the display occupied only one room, it was thoroughly enjoyable and informative. I'm so glad we took the opportunity to attend.