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Knitted Lace of Estonia: Techniques, Patterns, and Traditions |  | Author: Nancy Bush
Publisher: Interweave Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.90
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Seller: cat_lady_books
Rating:  40 reviews
Sales Rank: 6790
Media: Paperback
Pages: 160
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 8.4 x 0.5
ISBN: 1596680539
Dewey Decimal Number: 746.226028094798
EAN: 9781596680531
ASIN: 1596680539
Publication Date: December 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Combining some of the oldest knitted artifacts in Northern Europe with authentic tips and expert advice, this distinctive guidebook demonstrates a wide range of knitting knowledge. Featuring 14 heirloom-quality projects, this savvy reference includes traditional lace-knitting techniques such as the starburst, twig, peacock, and lily of the valley patterns. Modern variations on classic methods and adding lace edges are also explored, and photographs from several Estonian museums beautifully illustrate various completed designs. With accessible graphed and written instructions, the projects include Estonian-style shawls, stoles, and scarves.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
Stunning - Lace Lovers Rejoice! November 13, 2008
Tina Martinez (Catskill, NY)
27 out of 27 found this review helpful
I will preface this review with the fact that I got to take a class with Nancy Bush on Estonian Lace at SOAR 2008, and what a great preview to the book it was! I got to see these shawls, and shawls like these first hand, so I can say they really are as beautiful in real life, if not more so.
This book really has everything I enjoy in a knitting book, especially one that is based on a particular area or tradition. The front of the book is full of information on the knitted lace traditions of Estonia, informative without being boring or tedious. The tutorials are well designed to make some of the more "advanced" techniques like nupps something to enjoy rather than dread.
The patterns themselves are just gorgeous, ranging in difficulty from easy to quite challenging. My favorites have to be the Queen Sylvia, Madli, and Crown Prince shawls. There are a range of shapes, whether you like stoles, scarves, squares or triangles you'll find something that suits your style and adventure level.
As an added bonus the stitch dictionary and information in the back make designing your own shawl yet another option. The book is worth every penny, both the wow factor and how much knowledge it packs.
Tip from class: If you want a dark colored shawl, try knitting it in white to give your eyes a break and then dyeing it when you're done!
Beautiful patterns clear enough for beginner lace knitter March 16, 2009
Chris Hanner (Snellville, GA United States)
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
I had been tempted to buy this book after reading the buzz by a couple of popular bloggers, but delayed because of previous unsuccessful attempts at lace knitting. I'm definitely not a beginning knitter, just new to lace knitting. I also couldn't see myself ever going anywhere that a lace shawl would fit in (I'm a blue-jeans type of girl). However, when one other reviewer on Amazon said that the patterns were relatively easy, I jumped off the fence and ordered. I also figured that if/when I did knit one of these beautiful shawls, it could be a present to a niece to wear at her wedding.
After looking at all the patterns and reading Nancy's tips on making nupps, I started with the Peacock Tail and Leaf pattern scarf. It looked to be small enough to allow finishing in a reasonable length of time. It also had enough nupps to make it interesting but not so many that it was scary.
After completing the bottom edging and 4 repeats of the center pattern, I'd like to pass along my own tip for knitting the nupps. When I get to those, I use a double pointed needle that's several sizes larger than the one I'm using to knit the 7 nupp stitches. (For instance, I'm using a US 5 circular needle to knit the scarf, but use a US 10 dpn to knit the nupp stitches.) After knitting the nupp stitches on the big needle, I slide those stitches to the other end of the dpn, put a marker on the smaller right hand needle and then slip the nupp stitches to the right hand needle. I knit the next couple of stitches in the pattern loosely to make sure I don't tighten up the big nupp stitches. On the return purl row, the start of the big nupp stitches is very evident, and the marker stops me from purling through any additional stitches.
One other caution - when purling through the nupp stitches, be sure you get all seven. the next to last stitch (which was a yarnover) especially tends to hug the left hand needle making it hard to get the point of the right hand needle under it. If this happens, your nupp will have a loose stitch that looks bad. This is a good reason to use sharp pointed lace needles instead of the blunt bamboo ones I'm using.
I'm a knitted lace addict and I l LOVE this book! November 9, 2008
Twinknitter (Nebraska)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I've been searching for years for the perfect shawl to make my sister and I found it here! These are beautiful patterns and there is something for everyone who loves lace knitting. The book is well written, with both charts and written instructions, and very understandable technique instructions with pictures. The shawls and scarves are shown modeled and with close-up details so it's easy to see how they drape, the size, etc. The added stitch dictionary and instructions on construction make it easy to design and make your own creation if you don't like what's offered. I really appreciate the instructions for the blocking frame. My biggest disappointment is that I have to wait for the yarn I ordered before I can begin knitting! This book is definitely worth the price!
Well done! December 10, 2008
Leslie Severance (Parker, CO)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a gorgeous book. It is so well done with beautiful pictures, and really excellent close-ups, so you can actually see the project in detail. I own many knitting pattern and technique books, and some of the more highly-rated of those are lacking in photography and organization, are printed on cheap paper, and have many errors (grammatical and technical) in them; this one only has minor errors in 4 charts, and they have been corrected in subsequent printings. I love the stories and the old photos, and the mini-stitch dictionary.
One book is never going to satisfy everyone. If you like looking at breathtakingly beautiful knitted items beautifully photographed, and want to knit any of them without having to have pages of corrections nearby, then this quality book will provide that.
Gorgeous Lace with a little history to boot November 16, 2008
S. Hollandsworth (Iowa, USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I just got my hands on this book last week and was just stunned by the beauty of the lace in this book. Nancy Bush writes about the history of Estonian lace and includes quite a few little tips on some of the finer points and unfamiliar abbreviations. There are little history lessons at the beginning of each of the different patterns. It's more like an origin lesson really.
I think I was drawn to the unique texture of the Estonian lace with it's nupps. I am a beginner lace knitter, though I have knitted many other things. At first I was a little taken aback by the fact that the patterns are charted out, and I had never worked from a chart before, but the lace won out and soon I was casting on.
I used a fingering weight, Navajo plied, handspun that I spun last month and started with one of the least daunting projects, the Raja Scarf. Before long I was at ease with the pattern symbols and concept behind the chart. In fact, it was so well laid out that I finished it in 2 evenings and then went on to adapt the pattern into a hat knit in the round to match.
I have been beating the rest of my knitting group away from this book since they discovered it's existence. They can all get their own as I have plans to make one of everything in there. No amount of crying or outright bribery is going to get my hot little hands off this book. In the meantime, if anyone has a review on a good safe...
Showing reviews 1-5 of 40
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