PENELOPE HEMINGWAYYears ago, the fact I knitted horrified some of my feminist friends. They saw crafts, especially things like cooking, baking and needlecrafts, as conformation to some male imposed stereotype: knitting was a form of being suckered by the male hierarchy. This view was common to the point, I felt unable to knit when at some […]
Yet again, I find myself reverse engineering a pair of Dales gloves and once more, knitting the ‘filler’ pattern known as ‘Midge and Fly’. So thought I’d write a bit about it. ‘Midge and Fly’ pattern was a common motif in two-colour knitting, and can be found on the palms, thumbs and fingers of Dales […]
“Textile historians often find it difficult to tell whether early knitted objects are made using a single needle, as here, or using more than one needle, as the finished articles are so similar in appearance.” [From the holy writ, source of all sources ™, Wikipedia, text to the image shown left]. Just back from the […]
I was really excited last week to get my usual ‘Traditions Today’ email from Interweave, because it was trailing my article and “Mrs Jackson of York“‘s stocking pattern in the forthcoming ‘Knitting Traditions, Spring, 2013’. Available for pre-order now, and should be out at the start of April. I hope those of you who […]
I prefer to take my information from the horse’s mouth. Other folk go to the opposite end. And some of the misinformation coming out re. ‘swaving’ is, frankly, a load of old pony. Let’s see what Dalesfolk – who saw it – said ‘swaving’ was. Then see if you can find any reliable/accurate demo of […]
“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 […]
… “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, […]
What kind of idiot decides to knit a Dr Who scarf and a pair of mitts in under ten days? Yes, Gentle Reader… you are looking at her. Well, actually you are looking at a picture of Ori, the youngest and most naive dwarf in ‘The Hobbit’ – which is quite appropriate as it was […]
I’m wondering if I have found the UK’s first ever fabulous person who, self-described as “Designer” on a Census? It’s fun to go hunting well known 19thC knitting manual writers, on Censuses. Whether it is 1841 or 1881, you often find them as “Berlin Wool Dealer”, or next to an occupation described as “Berlin Wool […]
Today I thought I’d journey back in time to the 19thC wool shop/yarn store. Why don’t you come along for the ride? When I was a kid in the 1960s, there was an old fashioned draper’s in our village. I used to be enthralled by that shop; all the shiny wooden shelves, and unchanged Victorian […]
PENELOPE HEMINGWAY 