Two days in the gulag
Two days in Galina Khmeleva's "Knitting a Warm Shawl" class at the Estes Park Wool Market have left me feeling like a special-needs knitter. Khmeleva, an ardent evangelist for preserving the Orenburg shawl tradition, travels the United States teaching the techniques for producing Gossamer Webs--the amazingly fine lace shawls--and warm shawls, prized items for which Russian women yearn their entire lives.
Supported as a government industry under communism, Orenburg knitters led relatively comfortable lives and produced exquisite lace. But in the post-Perastroyka environment, the tradition has suffered from competition and the proliferation of poor quality tourist shawls sold for a pittance on Red Square and Nevsky Prospect.
Working and studying with the knitters in Orenburg, Khmeleva has captured the tradition in her various books, preserving the industry through her writing as well as by paying fair prices for the shawls she imports into the lucrative U.S. market. Everybody wins. The women can support their families, the shawls retain their quality, the tradition continues and Khmeleva prospers; it's definitely capitalism with a conscience.
But man are these puppies complex (of course, in Orenburg, 11-year-olds do it.)
Here's me in class:
Me: How come I've got too many stitches in this row?
Khmeleva: You make mistake. (Grabs knitting, fixes in a flash).
Me: How come my swatch looks like a Volkswagon?
Khmeleva: The next will be better. Fourth will be excellent.
Right. Anyway, the class was filled with amazing knitters. And in two days, Khmeleva covered the basics of constructing a warm shawl, peppering the teaching of technique with stories about Orenburg history, fleece preparation and the special Orenburg goats, whose light, lustrous fibers go into these lacy wonders. If you ever have a chance to meet Khmeleva or take one of her classes, do. It will improve your knitting and your understanding of an isolated and fascinating part of the world.
Like Khmeleva says, "You see, easier to buy shawl."
8:59:29 AM 
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