[ July, 2016 ] Mittens seem to be a very important item for people in Latvia. We came across a shop called SENA KLETS in Riga which was mentioned in some of the Japanese websites, so we went in.
This place was not just a shop but a kind of museum.
Not only mittens with colourful and intricate patterns, but old traditional costumes were exhibited. 
According to the explanation board placed next to the mittens, they were not only gloves to protect against the cold, but also for people to express feelings which are not easy to say in words.
Amazing, isn’t it. They are also used in many ceremonies.
The luxurious ones are treasures for the family to pass from generation to generation.
When you get married, the tradition is that the bride has to knit mittens for all of her new in laws and each pair has to have different patterns.
Well, I do not think they do that now, though.
The mittens exhibited here were reproductions of the museum items, knitted for Maruta Grasmane, a folklorist, for her book.
Compared with the ones being sold, these ones’ patterns were more elaborate using thinner yarn.
In our current life, we do not use mittens so much, so I did not buy anything here, but if they had been selling some jumpers or cardigans with these patterns, I would have definitely bought some.
