LET'S LEARN SOME FINNISH....

One of the biggest problems I had when visiting Finland was the language. Finish is a language of Finno-Ugric origin. The only other languages which are slightly similar are Hungarian, the Samoyedic languages, and the Permic languages, spoken in small groups of Siberia and South of Russia. That is, they are of very little help to us. Spanish and English speakers won't find a word that sounds familiar to us.

So, as you can imagine, my visit to the Rauma Museum wasn't as satisfactory as I had expected. Precisely because I couldn't understand what was written on the signs. An English translation was only on some of them.

Having this difficulty made me write a list of lace related words, which I want to share with you, just in case you need it some time.

 

FINNISH	SPANISH	ENGLISH
jamikka	trenza	plait
kiaru	vuelta	twist
kokolyönti	punto enteroVCVC	whole stitch
laanalanka	hilo de contorno o reseguido	gimp thread
lenkki	baguilla	picot
liinalyönti	punto zurcido CVC	cloth st
mandeli	hoja de guipur	leaf
mynseri	picado	pricking
nypläystyyny	almohadilla	pillow
nypylä	bolillo	bobbin
pitsi	encaje	lace
puolilyönti	medio punto VC	half stitch
sinivuokko	hepática (planta que inspira muchos de los diseños de E.L. Kortelahti)	hepatica (plant that inspires many of E.L. Kortelahti's designs)
spindeli	araña	spider

Hepatica nobilis

It's a small world

It's a small world, also when speaking about bobbin lace. From the 17th century onwards, merchants and dealers moved a lot of products from one country to another. And lace was not free of this movement either. In those times, when high society liked to use lace on their costumes and also on their home linen, lace was imported and exported in great quantities. This made it easy to copy designs or to inspire the new creations.

 

Due to this exchange along the time, we can recognize some of the local pieces of lace while visiting a museum in another part of the world. And that is precisely what has happened to me while visiting Rauma (Finland): the popular lace of this museum reminds me a lot to our Spanish lace of Camariñas and Almagro. And, in some cases, they not only remind me, but they are identical.

For example, the edging we use to call in Spain popularly the "lace of the princess" (because this lace, made by the lacemakers of Camariñas, was given to our princess Elena as a gift on her wedding), can be seen in Rauma, in a collection of lace redrawn by the well known Finnish lacemaker Impi Alanko. In a small card underneath the lace it says: Impi Pitsi (Impi's lace).

Whether this lace arrived in Finland from Spain, or it arrived from another country, whether it is original from there and it arrived in Spain from another place... this is something we perhaps will never know. What is sure is that this model, which I especially like, has also been liked by other peoples in other places of the world.

A brilliant designer: Eeva Liisa Kortelahti

We can't talk about bobbin lace in Finland without mentioning Eeva-Liisa Kortelahti. I am sure that most of you have seen her designs in books or magazines, sometimes without knowing  that they belong to her. But a life dedicated to designing (modern, delicate and absolutely personal designs), deserve an article in my blog. 

Thanks to my trip to Finland this summer, I have been able to know her personally. She is one of today's best lace designers. Her designs have a personal touch: in most of them appears a three lobed leaf  (sinivoukko in finish, hepatica in English) which she herself considers to be her distinctive  or logo.

At one side of her impeccable garden, there is a typical Finish wooden cabin, with the name PITSI-PIRTTI (bobbin lace cabin) carved in its front.

 

As soon as I entered, I was impressed of all the laces (about 500), all of them designed by her, and exhibited with an exquisite taste. From the wooden walls hang laces in a frame, other s inside showcases, panels with laces on them, 3D  figures hang from the windows ... It is also possible to buy some of her numerous published  books, patterns, postcards, even laces.

Eeva Liisa has dedicated all her life to designing and making lace. She has published over 10 books. Her patterns are easy, and at the same time contain much detail. For example, they include small arrows, very useful to indicate which way we have to follow. 

Apart from edgings for tablecloths, doilies and handkerchiefs,  Eeva Liisa designs pictures with festive and religious subject, as well as human figures full of movement. They look like drawn pictures.

In her warm cabin she teaches a few lessons a week. I wish I lived near to be able to attend her lessons!

You can buy her books in her own Web page http://www.pitsipirtti.fi/ or in specialized bookshops.