Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush, softback published byInterweave Press in the USA. Available in the UK, ISBN 978-1-5966-8053-1, price 16.99 from www.searchpress.com
I could not wait to get my hands on this book. I love knitted lace and this book explores the heirlooms that are the knitted lace of Estonia. It’s always a pleasure to see a knitter that pays tribute to the patterns of a certain area. Nancy Bush not only provides the patterns that we are all dying to knit, but she also provides an in-depth history of the coastal town of Haapsalu and its knitting tradition.
In this book, Nancy offers a modern adaptation of the classic ways to construct a shawl. Fourteen patterns are given to create your own heirloom scarf or shawl. An additional stitch dictionary gives another 20 additional lace patterns. The patterns are suitable for every level of knitter. Discover how to design your own shawl.
This is a well-designed book with old photographs setting the scene for the history section. The instructions and line drawings make it easy to follow the how-to section. The colour photographs are a little bit on the dark side, but each project is photographed at least twice so that you can see different views. Sources are given for yarns outside the US, but you may need to substitute yarns and make a tension swatch. Your only real difficulty will be in deciding which shawl to knit first. I want to do all 14 and then start creating my own. This book is a definite favourite.