kitty: Orenburg Lace

You know it is really kind of funny how a simple thing as going out for a cup of tea with your knitting can bring two knitters together. M and I went to our favorite teahouse here in Columbus and I was swatching for my St. Patrick's Day knitting project Twisted Flower Sock. I had great plans to sit Saturday afternoon and just knit. It wasn't like going out in Columbus this weekend would be a particularly fun with all the basketball traffic. Unfortunately, all I did was sit and work. It is pretty funny though we went out to grab groceries Saturday afternoon, and during the last 3 min of the OSU basketball game half of the cars on the interstate were swerving and going 45 - 50mph. This is an OSU sport town no doubt, but I digress. So I was setting there drinking a cup of tea and this Korean woman walked up to me and asked what I was knitting. I showed her Cookie's amazing pattern. The conversation then lead to the fact I have been obsessed with lace knitting as of late, and ended up talking about Orenburg Lace. As a child her Russian nanny had basically made her memorize and commit to memory the 12 basic patterns of Orenburg Lace. She stood there while she waited for tea and drew out the ones she remembered in my little notebook. I have never been so thankful for a piece of pen and paper. She then started to talk about the fact that when her nanny was a child; all children sat and learned how to knit and committed these simple patterns to memory. She remembered as a child knitting a sampler to perfect these simple stitches over and over again. Essentially all of the patterns were based on different order of yo and K2tog. Nothing was written down, no fancy charts, just simple zeros on a page that was written out before you started. It was something that you just assumed everyone knew how to do, so no need to record it. I then asked her if she minded if I posted the charts on my blog and she said feel free. "There are two few people in the world that knit any more and probably less than that know anything about Orenburg Lace." She just kept thanking me for being a young person who knits. It saddened her that her children show no interest in any form of crafts. Then she admitted the only thing she does today is Sudoku. So here is her very brief tutorial on the basic patterns: (There are two others, that unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to chart from her sketches. One was a chain of interlocking hearts that reminded me much of the one in the Arctic Lace and the other one looks like an interlocking chain of cats paws.)

"Honeycomb" - all over patterns

"Mouse Paws" - used for borders

"Fish Eyes"

"Strawberry"- her favorite

"Peas" - fill in corners

"Cat Paws"

"Accordion"

Charts were created using a really cool online "Chart Creator"

I now really want to find out as much as I can about Orenburg Lace. I was shocked when I did a quick google and there was very little information. It looks like there are only two books that I could find in English. I found one reference to an amazing Russian Reference book, but that was about it. And yes I quickly ordered two used copies of the two English titles when I found them. It just always amazes me when knitting brings two strangers together to start a conversation. I have had this happen many a time, but really it never ceases to amaze me.

Books: Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls by Carol R. Noble (Author), Galina Khmeleva (Author) Interweave Press (November 1, 1998) ISBN-10: 1883010411 Ingram Annotation: Shawls are back, they're better than ever, and in Gossamer Webs, the only book available on intricate Russian shawl knitting, you'll find all the information you need to knit them! Gossamer Webs includes technical information, from the combing of goats for fiber to the spinning process to the basics of shawl design. Instructions for a miniature shawl prepare readers to knit the complete pattern for the Orenburg Eastern Shawl, pattern included.

The Gossamer Webs Design Collection (Paperback) by Galina Khmeleva (Author) Interweave Press Inc (October 2003) ISBN-10: 188301087X Ingram Annotation: Gossamer Webs Design Collection, by Galina Khmeleva, is design interpretation of three Orenburg shawls. The sample shawl and stitch and border dictionary are excerpted from Gossamer Webs and combined with instructions for the Diamond Triangular Shawl, the Pine Tree Palatine Scarf, and the Medallion Square shawl. Both charts and written instructions are provided and lace or fingering weight yarns are recommended.

Skaska Designs - List of link to magazine publications

Links on Orenburg Lace: History of Orenburg goat down knitted shawls Heriloom Knitting offers the Mohair and mini kits AC- The Peoples Media - The Lace Shawls of Orenburg in Russia Lavender Farm - Orenburg Lace Shawls from Russia (Check out the photo of the spindles and the link to the folktale's about spinners) Wabisabi: From Russia with Love - look at the wonderful find The Orenburg Down Shawl book

Fun Lace Links: Zeneedle - Lace-uary News Knitter's BookShelf - I know nothing about them but had an awesome collection of lace books.