Once Upon a Time…
Grandma Helen knit the her three grandchildren Chistmas stockings
here's mine
My sister decided to knit the same pattern for her family. She knit one for her two children and for her husband, and kept her Grandma Helen original. Santa's beard on hers had disintegrated. The beard I believe was knit from an angora blend. Here's my sister's, pre- repair
(This was very interesting to me as an acquaintance of mine just last month said that she herself had a classic hand knit holiday stocking in which the angora beard had disintegrated. Must've been a feature from the original pattern with suggested yarns…)
The pattern was apparently published by Bernat in 1950 and re-released in the 70's.
My sister tracked it down and bought a copy somewhere. Heaven knows why Bernat isn't still publishing it as it seems that these are lovely vintage knitting that folks might spend money for...
I tried using duplicate stitch to fix the stocking, but holes were too big. So, I watched a youtube video on darning and tried my best. The replacement yarn? That sturdy and rugged addictive Crack
Kid Silk Haze.
Here's the repair…not great but Santa's beard should stay untact for a couple more years!
I am not a big fan of the traditional gansey sweater...too many purls, too many plain old knit stitches, just a bit boring.
I did however grow into deep like with this Debbie Bliss design, called "Hooded Guernsey," for a little boy. The hood made it.
I searched out the source, and got a used copy from a seller at Amazon.
VERY ironically about 2 weeks later I saw copies for sale on the magazine stand at Publix...ahhh, the lengths they go to sell stuff that won't sell. Is there a name for that? "Downmarketing" or some such??
I suppose I could have found a traditional gansey sweater and added a hood but ya know, buying a new-to-me book is just too much fun...really...
Anyway, this is actually nephew D's Christmas gift, less than a month late (just)...yay! The yarn is completely untraditional....Berocco Touche from stash.
Here is a little gansey I made for son B when he was tiny, passed down to R and then to nephew D. This is from a Dale Baby Collection, Nr. 60, knit from Dale Baby Ull. Multiple rounds through washer and dryer...hope the Berocco stuff holds up this well. This little gem is now in the well mothballed trunk of knitwear for prospective grandchildren or great nieces/nephews.
A bit of Gansey history, courtesy of this nice link. Ganseys, as we know, took their name from the island of Guernsey, one of the channel islands. The traditional yarn used for ganseys was a high twist 5 ply, which was likely sourced in the neighboring island of Jersey, a center of worsted yarn spinning. Classic Elite used to produce or at least sell under their own name a 5 ply called "Guernsey." The sweaters were fisherman's sweaters, tightly knit, warm, waterproof, and knit with a straight neck so that they could be reversed.
According to this fellow's very nice blog there are knit/purl pattern combinations typical of one's town or region up and down the coasts of the British Isles. The isolated communities up and down the coastline were likely better connected by boat then by land, and the fisherman passed the useful knitwear style around (as has happened with countless other knitting traditions...I just love that...) . Wikipedia also has a nice article as well.
There is so much history here and I have English roots; I really should knit a real one. Perhaps when I retire...
If you want to look at lovely photos of the fishing villages and life in rural England in the late Victorian and early 20th century, check out the work of Francis Meadown Sutcliff, discovered during the research for today's post!
The Day of the Dead (Dia de lost Muertos) was Nov 1st. This is a day to honor one's deceased ancestors, which is a traditional holiday in Mexico and most Spanish speaking countries including Spain. The holiday is a synthesis of Catholic tradition and ancient Aztec tradition.
Being not Spanish speaking, Mexican, or Catholic, of course I had to I light my Catrina candle (purchased on a trip to Mexico). My Catrina wears the traditional marigolds.
(Ironically, I had unwittingly purchased some autumn blooming French marigolds for the pots in the front of my house on the 1st!!).
Evidently the first Catrina was La Calavera Catrina (calavera meaning skull) done in an etching by Jose Guadalupe Posada. This image has been incorporated into the Dia de los Muertos celebration in many ways.
And of course this image was used in Diego Rivera's famous Dreaming of a Sunday in Alameda Park, his huge mural in which he painted Catrina, himself, and of course wife Frida Rivera. Alameda was Mexico City's first park, built on a former Aztec ruin. I was lucky to see this mural during my trip, it is HUGE and located in its own building.
Here is a link to a detail from some nice photographer at flickr showing Diego's interpretation of himself, Friday, and Catrina
I did finish something on or around November 1st...this cute little sweater for my niece, a holiday gift.
The pattern is Fabled Cardigan by Terri Kruse.
