Lithuanian Knitting, Continuing Traditions

Every now and then I shirk duty. I knit from a pattern. Instead of swatches, a calculator , a pencil with a good eraser, and endless false starts, I allow myself to trust someone else. In this instance, I'm following Donna Druchunas and June Hall. I'm making a pair of mittens in Finch from their excellent book, Lithuanian Knitting, Continuing Traditions (Double Vision Press, 2015).

The book is a collection of hand knitwear patterns, and more. I love a book that reads as a journal, tells a story, shares history, and illustrates with maps, old photographs, and hand-drawn anything. Lithuanian Knitting is a book about roots, family roots; Donna's father's family emigrated from there. It also points to how knitting roots us. She says, "Our craft is not about frugality--or even about the need to keep warm--but about creativity, charity, and meditation."

I agree.

This is the pair (above) that I'm currently working on in Finch, a combination of Sabine and Wasabi. Next will be these (below). And I may adapt them to Lark. I like the strong contrast between dark and light colors. Maybe I'll make them in Malbec or Barolo and Egret. And, in this case, my knitting may be about creativity and meditation, and also about keeping warm.

Thank you, Donna and June, for your lovely book.