In December 1847, Emily Bronte was publishing ‘Wuthering Heights’ – and probably, she was not knitting. That very month, an anonymous gentleman made his own literary offering. I don’t think he was knitting much that month, either… “The Knitting Mania I really must – it is no use – I must speak out my mind […]
Category: Knitting
Today, I thought I’d take you on the Quest for the Popped ‘Un. Years ago, when I read ‘The Knitting Bishop”s ‘History of Hand Knitting’, I first heard of a little book by Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby, called ‘The Old Hand-Knitters of the Dales’. I searched high and low for a copy – but […]
For those of you looking forward to the forthcoming TV drama, based on Kate Summerscale’s brilliant book, ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher’, here’s a little something I stumbled upon. Knitting hasn’t always been a genteel, calming pursuit for nice ladies round the fireside. At one time, it was considered punishment. At York House of Correction: […]
It looks like I’ve been neglecting the knitters for the genealogists here, so I wanted to post today just for the patient knitsters. Here are the famous Hawes knitters from ‘The Costume of Yorkshire Illustrated By A Series of Forty Engravings Being Fac-Similies of Original Drawings’ By George Walker, 1814. I do so love a […]
The latest Yarn Forward, No 33, features the mysterious and elusive Bob Jenkinson. Some time ago, Filey Museum’s lovely staff gave me permission to use this photo. But there was no real provenance for it – just amongst a batch of things donated long before there was a protocol in place to record the whos […]
Categories
Wartime Fingerless Gloves
More wartime knitting. And it’s been a productive week. Here’s dad in Palestine in 1947. Not entirely the sort of place you’d need fingerless gloves, or balaclavas. Although I’m sure he was very glad of them when he got back to rainy old Leeds, later this same year. He does remind me of the men […]
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Bally Balaclavas
We’re going Balaclava crazy here. Maybe because we’re still enjoying the Yesterday channel’s Colditz fest. Maybe because it’s bally cold out there chaps, what? It all started with my attempts to knit an Edwardian balaclava, from M. Elliot Scrivenor’s 1903 ‘Knitting & Crocheting Book’. Even though what I was meant to be doing, was knitting […]
Here it comes again! ‘Sunk Island’ (my Humber/Ouse kids’ gansey) has just been re-published in ‘TheKnitting Collection 2’. Available from W.H. Smiths or via Yudu. You can see it on the back cover, in rather nice company, bottom row. It’s second from right. No 5 son thought it a bit surreal as when we picked […]
How to keep this place warm whilst I work on a paeon to the late, great James Norbury? Thought you might enjoy these lads. Not a Norbury pattern – so far as I’m aware! Although he did get everywhere in the 1950s! Something marvellously camp about them. My husband spotted this first, rummaging in a […]
Back up to Whitby this weekend. I wanted to take one last look at the stockings, hat and mittens on display at The Captain Cook Memorial Museum, before they return to Gdansk, at the end of this month. I wanted to take a close look (through the display case!) and take some notes, […]
PENELOPE HEMINGWAY 