Every so often, I'll go to a website and do a search for the word 'knitting', just to see what comes up. Mostly on Youtube this brings up bucket loads of knitting tutorials, which I'm going to have to investigate come September. (Did I mention I'm trying to write a dissertation ?!)
Anyway, yesterday over breakfast, I came across a gem of a video about Shetland lace and it was a quite perfect way to start the day and encapsulates one of the reasons why I love the art of knitting quite so much.
Put simply, it's a folk tradition, a way of connecting the generations. For me, Debbie Stoller hits the nail on the head for me in Stitch and Bitch when she talks about reconnecting with earlier generations, each time she picks up her needles.
I love the fact that people leave their story in their knitting. Shetland lace patterns were passed down orally, cable patterns on aran jumpers identify the family of the knitter. I've recently seen a modern pattern where the colours are based on your family's birth stones. I love that the Shetland lace has bloomed from the qualities of the wool from Shetland sheep (the same I am assuming is true for other farming communities). It's not a 'granny craft' as people are so keen to tell me, it's a living heritage.
Enjoy.
If, for any reason the video won't play, the link is here
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