Incomplete, but better than nothing…
Oh, skeindalous, yes, I’ve seen Kate Davies’ latest teaser about her Haps Book.
So exciting! As she says there, she put out an appeal a couple of months ago,
for anyone who had knit that pattern: the Patons shawl from the 50’s,
attributed to a Mrs Hunter of Unst. I answered, among many others, and I think
I will be mentioned in the book!
It’s the shawl I knit for Rachel, at that point unborn, in
the early weeks of 1958. As KD says in the blog entry linked to above, it is
knit in six separate parts and sewn together. And I did it that way, not
knowing any better. And now KD has found the prototype in the collection of the
Knitting and Crochet Guild – the very shawl that James Norbury carried away
from Unst; presumably the one photographed for the pattern leaflet.
And we must contain our impatience until the book is
published, for she is going to tell us how it was actually knit (not in six pieces) – and who Mrs Hunter
of Unst was.
It will be interesting, once both are published, to compare
KD’s book to the Vintage Shetland Project, not for the patterns but for the
research into the history of Shetland knitting.
In response to your commenters who only knew of interchangeable sets that went down to US 2 I'd like to point out the DyakCraft Heavy Metals. They start at US 0 and go to US 3 (2.0, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3.0 and 3.25mm), are stainless steel, and have swivel joins. They don't unscrew for me as long as I use the rubber gripper to tighten them. They aren't cheap, are made in the USA, and I don't use any other needles in that size range....for that matter I only use DyakCraft needles in any size! Their anodized aluminum Northern Light sets go from US 3 to US 10 (3.25 to 6.0 mm), also have swivel joins, and are made in the USA.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dyakcraft.com
Just a side question: I am curious about how heavy the Heavy Metals are. I found Signature needles, for example, to be too heavy for me. Any info, Maureen or anyone?
DeleteThey're lighter than signatures, but at that size pretty much any needle is light. I looooove my heavy metals. -Talli in Colorado
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DeleteKD certainly knows how to create anticipation for her book, and now that I know you'll be mentioned, well...
ReplyDeleteLike you, I was fascinated by KD's teaser re that shawl. Did you catch the presentation by the speaker at the Authenticity conference in Lerwick, re "Genuine" Shetland shawls? There was a whole industry in Nottingham based on producing these, apparently.
ReplyDeleteKD's photo of a label naming Miss Hunter (age 83) is of a different shawl.
ReplyDelete