Orenburg Lace

Finally, the long awaited post on Orenburg lace! To start, I have to give you some background. I have worked with a woman from St. Petersburg, Russia for a few years now, and every winter, she wears a beautiful shawl that she purchased years ago. It is small, maybe 18" x 60", so that it just covers her shoulders and arms. It is light weight enough that she can also wear it around her neck like a scarf. It is based on the traditional Orenburg patterns, but it is not one of the most expensive shawls available. Nevertheless, every winter I lust after this shawl. Not that I want hers or one just like hers. I want to actually knit one for myself. So last Christmas I got Galina Khmeleva's book The Gossamer Webs Design Collection, and then last spring I purchased the "Whisper Scarves" patterns from Fiddlesticks Knitting, which are also based on Orenburg lace. Obviously it has been no secret that I am interested in Russian shawls!

(As an aside, I did start the oval Whisper Scarf with Ornaghi Filati Merino lace weight yarn from One Fine Yarn, but after 60 rows I made a mistake that I couldn't fix and ended up pulling the whole thing out. (Of course, now I know about lifelines in lace, but not at the time.) It was so upsetting that I stopped knitting for a while and concentrated on crochet, but I am getting ready to try lace knitting again.)

Anyway, back to the story. My friend at work went back to St. Petersburg last month, and when she returned to the states she brought me the 3 skeins of yarn in the picture! It is called goat down, and it is the yarn traditionally used in Russian knitting. She said I have to try it because the feel is so different from other types of yarn. I had never heard the term "goat down," so off I went to do some research on the Internet, and consequently, I found a couple of great sites that give some background on Orenburg lace. The Russian Crafts site has a nice summary, as well as products for sale. While you are there, check out the Posad shawls as well. They are woven, and each one is more beautiful than the last. I haven't purchased one yet, but I am sorely tempted! Lavender Fleece has a little history and some great pictures.

So, of course the question is what am I going to make with this yarn? I have enough for a full sized shawl, I think, but finding a pattern might be difficult. According to Khmeleva, traditionally Russian knitters learn a series of 10 motifs and some basic edgings, and then combined those in various ways to make the shawls. There really weren't written patterns per se. She includes 3 patterns in her book, but none of them really speak to me. I don't think I am experienced enough to combine motifs for myself, but I do like the motif that looks like a series of interlocking hearts, so I am considering a rectangular shawl about the size of my friend's that uses that motif exclusively. It would keep the body of the shawl simple, and then I would just have to learn how to work the edging. Since there is a tutorial in the book to learn the edging, that shouldn't be too hard. And I might have enough yarn left over to knit up one of the Whisper Scarves as well!