Tuesday, September 03, 2019


An interesting week in politics, it is indeed proving. My own passions are not deeply involved. I would have voted Remain, had I been a citizen. My husband voted Leave, and I wasn’t sorry that the result came out that way. But the current situation is beyond such matters: the gov’t against parliament.

My plumbing problem has worsened – the drip has been fixed, but the sodden floorboards beneath remain to be investigated. They were inspected this morning. Alexander’s sons are now back at school and he is coming over to see me tomorrow. It will be good to have a shoulder to weep on.

I have hunkered down with the Hoxbro book, “Traditional Danish Sweaters”. It is indeed good. Cam, I have found no entirely satisfactory answer to your question – why were they called “night sweaters”? Hoxbro comes to more or less your conclusion, Tamar. (When are you ever less than right?) People slept in most of their daytime clothes. She suggests that the term may have arisen to distinguish the homemade, knitted ones from fancy silk items of the same shape, which would have been worn only by day.

She says, interestingly, that these were garments knitted by women for themselves. Whereas all the other traditional sweaters I can think of were knitted mostly by women, largely for men. The night sweaters went out of fashion around the end of the 19th century.

The book includes charted motifs with knitted samples, and some good modern patterns.

I am pressing forward with the Spring Shawl. I am halfway across the row before the row with the break pattern. After that come four more plain rows – without even the lace edges, thank goodness – and then a final decrease row. I doubt if the present – the 2nd – ball of yarn will suffice. I’ll take a pic for you once No. Three has been attached.

I may knit on a bit this evening, watching a program about the rise of Nazi Germany and waiting for the vote. An Oberlin friend, a history major, was particularly interested in the period which had coincided with his own gestation. That’s more or less what we’re talking about here, 1930-33.

6 comments:

  1. No news yet on the vote, I see. I read a few books about the gestation of Nazi-ism. A fascinating book, using primary source materials, is, I think, called 1933. I'll have to have a look on the bookshelf.

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  2. Interesting discussion of the term "Night Sweater". When we were children we slept in unheated bedrooms. In winter certainly I wore a vest and liberty bodice under my pyjamas and a bed cardi on top. This was just an old cardigan, not a special item. A friend has just returned from a cruise around Scandinavia where they were shown traditional houses with very short beds, because the habit was to sleep propped up in a sitting position. so warm clothing for the upper body would have been needed.

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    1. Anonymous7:16 PM

      This was apparently the former custom in the Uk also - or so I was told by an educational expert lecturing at Dover Castle. He said it was because wood smoke tended to pool at low levels and sleepers risked choking if they lay almost flat.

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    2. We were told about this by the guide when we visited Shakespeare's birthplace. She said about the smoke, and also about so many chest conditions prevailing meant sleeping upright was more comfortable. She also described the convention of having 'two sleeps'; people would get up after the first sleep band have a snack, go for a walk, chat to friends. I've heard and read about this elsewhere. Transformed my view of the monastic regime, and also reassuring when I'm wakeful in the middle of the night.

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  3. Anonymous11:07 AM

    Interesting about the short beds. Would love to see some of the patterns in the book to see if it is worth my while for more than just the social history to buy it, but my last check on Ravelry a few days ago showed nothing. Chloe

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    1. Knitpicks will show you at least some of the sweaters. And a remarkable number of pages on Amazon (look inside!).

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