Vol. 12 Iss. 3

Nearly eight hundred goats move peacefully through the Russian steppe, not far from the Volga River that geographically divides Asia from Europe. The goats, however, are decidedly oblivious to the meandering border and would much rather enjoy the lush grasses and an extended nap in the midday sun. It wasn't always so easy being a goat in Orenburg, originally transported by fleeing Mongol hordes and later adopted by cossacks, the Orenburg goat has changed in both appearance and fiber as the political landscape changed as well.

In spite of the dramatic changes in the herd, the famous Orenburg shawl has comparatively changed very little in the past two hundred years. In this issue we not only talk with Galina Khmeleva, the preeminent Russian lace-knitter in the U.S., but we also interview several of Orenburg's most acclaimed knitters who have been producing elegant shawls for more than fifty years.

We also have another spectacular feature from Torie Olson on double-ikat weaving in Bali,