Knitted Lace of Estonia

Estonian Lace

Knitting historian and designer, Nancy Bush
wrote the book Knitted Lace of Estonia

and 

there's just a few weeks left to see her personal collection of 

Estonian lace 

at 

Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles

in Berkeley, CA.  

I had the pleasure of seeing the exhibit recently and 

even lucked out with a personal tour

 by Lacis owner, Jules Kliot. 

Here are a few photographs to give you a feel of the exhibit.  

Please note, 

my photographs do not do the lace work justice.  

The lace work details are incredible to see up close and in-person.  

I highly recommend visiting the exhibit before it ends!

 The Shawl Wall

The lace shawls are so beautiful to see in person.

Many of the shawls are from Haapsalu, 

a small seaside town in western Estonia. 

The work on the Haapsalu lace shawls seemed flawless 

and almost appeared to be machine made...

even though I know they are not. 

Haapsalu Shawl

This was one of my favorite lace shawls.

Haapsalu Lace Shawl

Pasqueflower Pattern 4

It's a traditional rectangular wool shawl with a sewn on edge, 

20" x 62".

Maker unknown. 

 The History of Estonian Lace

This is a lovely wall display featuring Estonian Lace shawls 

along with the history of Estonian lace

told through photographs.

 The Nupp

The nupp is a common motif in Haapsalu lace.  

According to Nancy Bush,
the nupp is a stylized bobble of sorts.
It is used for adding texture and creating figures in openwork. 

Jules told me on my tour,

that he had Nancy knit the large sample above of "the nupp"

so everyone could easily see it and it's details. 

Lacis Owner, 

Jules Kliot

For a knitter, like me,

the Estonian Lace exhibit is quite inspiring.  

I know someday now, 

I will knit an Estonian lace pattern 

or take a class from Nancy Bush. 

Thank you to Jules Kliot of Lacis Museum 

and 

Nancy Bush for this incredible exhibit 

and the opportunity 

to see such beautiful Estonian lace work in person.