I will be the first to admit that I buy too many books. When it comes to handcraft books, I apparently also seem to have a bit of a collector mentality, because several of these books belong to one series or another. But anyway, I thought it would be fun to show what handcraft books I have on my shelf, because I think they are a nice summary of the kind of handcraft that I like.
So, from left to right, the first five books are about Haapsalu lace. First, the legendary "Haapsalu sall" (Haapsalu Shawl) by Siiri Reimann and Aime Edasi, which has been out of print for years and I don't know why the publishing house won't bring it back, especially since the Haapsalu Lace Centre has said that all Haapsalu Shawls should be made according to the guidelines laid out in this book. Next, another legendary book that they unfortunately haven't reprinted yet: "Haapsalu rätt / The Haapsalu Scarf" by the same two ladies. The next three are collections of patterns by individual master knitters: "Siiri rätid. Triangular Lace Shawls by Siiri Reimann", "Linda rätid. Square Haapsalu Shawls by Linda Eigas" and "Aasa Sallid. Knitted Shawls of Aasa Jõelaid". This last book also seems to be out of stock everywhere, but I feel very attached to it, because Mrs. Aasa Jõelaid was the master knitter who blocked a Haapsalu shawl that a colleague commissioned from me for her mother's birthday. I didn't have a blocking frame back then and I didn't want to block a shawl that was going to be a birthday gift by pinning it to my couch so I sent it to the Haapsalu Lace Centre to be blocked. Of course it turned out that I had made the rookie mistake of sewing the lace edge to the central part too tightly with not enough give and the yarn snapped on the blocking frame and Mrs. Jõelaid had to redo the seam. I felt very embarrassed, but also very grateful when I got the shawl back.
The next book is also from the same publishing house. It is called "Eesti silmuskudumine 1. Tavad ja tehnikad" (Estonian Knitting 1. Traditions and techniques) and was written by Anu Pink, Siiri Reimann and Kristi Jõeste. It's really awesome and thorough and features photos and reconstructed patterns of various knitwear from different eras and regions. Volume 2 was also published a while ago, but I don't have that one yet.
I also have three issues of our biggest handcraft magazine, aptly titled Käsitöö (Handcraft).
Next, I have a book that was a total impulse buy: Think Outside the Sox by Elaine Rowley, which includes over 60 winning designs from Knitter's Magazine's international knitting contest. There are several designs here that I hope to make one day - I want to try knitting socks from the toe up, which I have not done before. I was even inspired to buy two sets of of circular needles when I started looking at the patterns, but alas I did not get further than that.
The next two books are books of sock patterns by Niina Laitinen: "Villaste sokkide aasta" (I guess the literal translation would be Year of Wool Socks) and "Muinasjutulised silmused" (Fairy-tale Stitches if you want to get literal, I guess). I have mentioned Niina several times before on this blog, but it bears repeating that I really like her style and I plan to participate in more of her KALs in the future and I will also be getting her third book, "Villasukkien uusi vuosi" (New Year of Wool Socks) when it comes out in Estonian. I can read Finnish patterns just fine, mind you, but I already bought the first two in Estonian, sooo...
The next three books are a bit of a change of pace: they are namely books of Amigurumi patterns by Mari-Liis Lille aka Lilleliis: "Võluväega mänguasjad" (Magical Amigurumi Toys), "Kaisuloomakirg" (Cuddly Amigurumi Toys) and "Imeline nukumaailm" (Lovable Amigurumi Toys). Lilleliis is a well-known Estonian Amigurumi designer and her books and patterns have been translated into several languages. I love the cute backstories she has for her creations and I have made some designs from her first two books to give as presents to the children of my friends, but I haven't yet made anything from the third book, which mostly includes doll patterns.
The next book is "Pitsilised koekirjad" (um, simply Lace Patterns, I guess) by Leili Reimann. This book was published in 1986 and includes lace patterns from all over Estonia - not just the very fine lace of Haapsalu. It's an Estonian classic and a really good source of inspiration.
The next booklet is one I was very happy to get my hands on. I attended Haapsalu Lace Day 2016 where the ladies of the Haapsalu Lace Centre were presenting it and of course I had to grab a copy, as well as a pair of Haapsalu shawl needles (which are basically two double pointed needles with plastic beads attached to one end of each). It's "Koome Haapsalu salli" (How to Knit a Haapsalu Shawl) by Siiri Reimann - who else? - and it is basically a condensed, very practical oriented version of the original Haapsalu shawl book, which contains all the guidelines for making a Haapsalu shawl, but somewhat less patterns.
Next to the book is my project planner, which I have also mentioned before on this blog.
And next to the planner is a set of cards with Haapsalu shawl lace edging patterns.
That's it! Now back to some regularly scheduled lace knitting, I guess.
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