I’ve just bought three books, one right after the other. (Well, I say three. It’s actually more like, um, nine.)

The first one was the booklet Made In Brooklyn by Jared Flood, to support Classic Elite Yarns. And I bought this for specifically two different patterns:

One thing, as they say, leads to another.

I really do intend to do Willoughby, the stole on the left, and have for quite some time. But a purchase of some alpaca/silk Fino 2-ply in a pretty rose pink set me hareing off onto the utter gorgeousness that is Bridgewater, on the right… but… maybe not as big, as I only had one skein, albeit a skein of 875 yards. Something more stole-like, or perhaps a triangle, maybe?

I have to admit, these knitted lace shawls of Shetland and Estonia have always made me somewhat nervous. The finest examples of these pieces are famous for being so fine that you can pull them through a wedding ring. Me being me, I feared that I’d constantly be catching all of that fine lace on things, pulling bits of the knitting off-kilter or ruining them entirely. After having done an Ishbel (by Ysolda Teague) in a beautiful alpaca 2-ply as a sample for the Ely Wool Shop (and currently working on another for myself), I felt a bit better about the actual wearability of the laces, but… maybe I could substitute out a different, less delicate edging? And…well, I do a lot of horseshoe lace…maybe something just a bit different as a learning sort of thing?

Looking at the pattern, I realized that this was a modern interpretation of those shawls I’d been seeing so many pictures of, the beautiful Shetland and Estonian knitted laces, and thought, “well, I should learn more about these, shouldn’t I? Before I start fooling around with the pattern?” All of which led me somewhat inexorably to Nancy Bush’s well-known book, Knitted Lace of Estonia.

Oooh, yes. Here were charts for many, many different stitch patterns, and one can pick and choose between them all, and decide whether to put the final project together traditionally (the different parts are all knitted separately then sewn together) or to knit the borders onto the center panel by picking up stitches in the more modern way.

My eye was caught by a variant version of the horseshoe lace I’ve been doing so much of, a mirrored image repeat of the traditional Lily of the Valley pattern, which is essentially horseshoe lace with added nupps (which I learned from Bush was pronounced to rhyme with “soup” — learn something new every day!). So now I’m set — after the Ishbel is done, and after I’ve finished designing two different pieces, I cast-on for a triangular mini-shawl, or perhaps it will be more of a scarf with a glandular problem.

The third book was a result of idly Googling Estonian lace to see more of it in the wild. So now I’m going to be able to say that I’ve actually managed to order a book and some yarn from real live actual Estonia.

I mean, how cool is that? I mean… Estonia!? I am constantly reminded these days of how connected we all are and how small the world can now sometimes seem, and this sort of thing is one reason why.

Anyway, this beautiful book, Haapsalu Sall, (“The Haapsalu Shawl”) has been translated from Estonian into English, and I had to order it. I also ordered 100 grams of what’s supposed to be the traditional 100% lambswool yarn for Haapsalu shawls at an amazingly inexpensive price. (I understand it will be less soft than the alpaca and silk 2-ply yarns I’ve been using for this sort of thing.) I’m having it sent to our little house in Cambridgeshire rather than here in the States, since I’d just have to send it to England anyway, which is aggravating because I want it in my greedy, grasping little paws right now, but good things come to, and all that… right?

With shipping and exchange rate and EU taxes and all that, it comes out right about the same as buying it here in the States at the rather pricey import price and I don’t have to pack it up and send it back across the ocean, so that’s all good.

Here’s some pics from the book with which to tempt you:

Tempted into a shawl yet?

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One of the things I did last night was order in waaaay too many books, the ones I’d have a hard time finding in the UK and can find used on this side of the pond for a lot less. So soon I’ll be the ecstatic owner of all four of the Barbara Walker stitch dictionaries and the two Nicky Epstein “edge” books that I still didn’t have.

Hooray for Amazon used books!