Thurso II (Donald Thomson): Week 17 – 27 May

This past week started with a bang – not literally – with a visit from fellow blogger and knitter Sara Wolf (aknitwizard.com).  Sara has been researching for a book, travelling to Scotland regularly to find sheep, yarn, and traditional knitwear, and visiting many of the yarn festivals, small yarn producers, and rare breed flocks.  On the lookout for images, she came to the museum to select photographs of ganseys being worn and worked in, of the herring industry, and portraits, all housed in the Wick Heritage Society’s Johnston Collection.  We sat in front of one of the museum’s computers for an intense and enjoyable session, scrolling through photos of fishermen in ganseys.  I’ve been invited to write up one of Gordon’s patterns, which is both exciting and daunting.

Flowering Grasses

An article about an unheard-of syndrome appeared in a newspaper recently.  While unfortunate and even life-changing for those affected, the absurdity of its name made me laugh out loud.  It could have been invented by Monty Python.  It is called Foreign Accent Syndrome, and is exceptionally rare, with under 100 instances recorded worldwide since 1941.  Most cases are caused by head trauma, stroke, or migraines, which interfere with coordination of speech.  This results in an accent different from that spoken before, which is perceived as ‘foreign’.  It can be devastating to the sufferer when friends and family don’t recognise their voice when they phone.  Sometimes speech therapy is chosen as treatment, other times those affected choose to live with it.  It’s more than just a petty bugbear.

Droplets on Horsetail

And where does the word ‘bugbear’ come from?  The answer was unexpected.  While today it means an annoyance or pet hate, it first appeared in 1580 with the meaning of a source of fear or dread, or an imaginary terror.  It is a compound of ‘bug’ and ‘bear’.  ‘Bug’, in this instance, denotes a supernatural being and is of unknown origin.  Variants of it appear in Celtic languages – bwgan in Welsh, Irish bocán, Scots Gaelic bòcan – all meaning a goblin or bogey.  The OED is silent on the ‘bear’ part.  The meaning had shifted to its modern sense by the late 19^th century.

May Flowers

The gansey has been a bugbear this week, having been set upon by mischievous sprites. After picking up stitches for the second sleeve, I was convinced there were the exact number required.  A recount the next morning confirmed this.  Another tallying later in the day indicated there were too many.  Out it came.  The second attempt had the correct number of stitches according to the notes, but the pattern wouldn’t fit.  Another attempt was made, with the same result. Head-scratching, hair-tearing, and repeated counting of stitches on the first sleeve revealed that the Notes Were Wrong.  A few more stitches were needed to make it match the first sleeve.  Not being keen to pick up stitches a fourth time, the needed stitches were increased in the first pattern row.  This confirms that it is essential to pay more attention and take better notes.