Gossamer Webs is a book that both covers the history of Orenberg lace knitting (a style local to a small town in the former Soviet Union — under the USSR, people who were lace knitters had to turn out 24 shawls a year, and that was often very difficult for a single person, so daughters were often recruited to help) and shows a few pattern options, but this is more a book about how to design your own shawl than how to follow a specific pattern. (The same author, Gamina Khmeleva, also put together a pamphlet called “The Gossamer Webs Design Collection” that does have three gorgeous shawls in it.)

I’d recommend this book to lace lovers, and anyone who’s really interested in the international history of knitting, but if you’re just looking for lace patterns, this probably isn’t the book for you.