Hi and welcome!

My name is Aili. I’m a wife, mother of three and a knitter. I live in a small country called Estonia, about half an hour’s drive from the second biggest city of Estonia – Tartu. My husband and I live in a small village with our three children, two cats and a dog.

When I was younger and started to use the web I discovered that I needed an alias for forums and communities. Since I am a big J.R.R. Tolkien fan I looked up how Aili would be in Quenya (an elvish language invented by Tolkien) and ended up with Artanis, which means “noble woman”. Is there a better name for lace knit items for weddings? Everybody wants to feel like a princess on one of the most important day of their life.

I can say that I have knitted practically my whole life. My mother taught me when I was four and I have been hooked on handicraft ever since. Somehow when I graduated from high school I ended up studying Biology instead of handicraft, then Zoology and Hydrobiology and finally trained as a nature guide. I do absolutely love hiking and nature, but I can’t imagine my life without knitting.

I had always imagined getting married wearing a Haapsalu shawl that I had knitted myself. I started this shawl at the beginning of 2012, but as my children were small and didn’t go to the kindergarten, I found it difficult to find time for lace knitting. I was able to knit socks and other things that didn’t need so much concentration than lace knitting. That is why I made very little progress with that scarf and managed to knit about two inches by June.  And, although I got married without a lace shawl, it was one of the happiest day of my life.

At the beginning of 2014 I decided to try lace knitting again and found that this time everything came together, and I loved it. Since then I have spent all my free time (and some of the not so free time) lace knitting. Being a full-time mom, knitting gives me another way of expressing myself, keeps stress at bay and makes me really happy. I also have several patterns in my mind and hopefully I’ll get them on paper someday. By the end of 2014 I had finalized the concept for my brand and I’m now working towards starting my own business in September 2015.

If you want to place a pre-order or if you have questions for me then you can contact me by e-mail: Artanis [at] artanisweddinglace.com (just substitute the [at] with the proper symbol).

If you notice a spelling mistake or a grammar mistake in my posts, please contact me directly by email. I’m always happy to learn!