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ganseys guernseys History Knitting local history

Hearts and Charms in Folk Art

“If the youngest daughter in a family is married first, the eldest had better unravel one of her garters; knitting the same, mixed with other wool, into something a man can wear. This she must present to the one she has special regard for, and it will most likely incline his heart to her.” [Yorkshire […]

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ganseys History swaving

Not Swaving, But Drooning

… “I was too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.” Stevie Smith, Not Waving But Drowning So, what is “swaving”? In the words of the oft-quoted passage from William Howitt’s ‘The Rural Life of England’ (1838): “…As soon as it becomes dark, and the usual business of the day is over, […]