Last week started on a mournful note, waking up with the feeling that the past was drifting ever further away, that the past 40 years have been a dream. I’ve been thinking more and more lately that it is time to do some house clearing. The thought of re-homing Gordon’s possessions feels like I’m abandoning him as well. I’m assuming this is natural, another stage on the grieving journey. Perhaps I should have done more clearing in the early days, when I was still in shock.
Crocus
However, getting up, bustling about, making breakfast, and swigging coffee soon lifted my spirits enough that I was ready to face the day. It was another morning at the museum, charting gansey patterns. Among the three or four charted, there were some interesting features. One was completely in basketweave – alternating squares of knit and purl about 5 or 6 stitches wide and tall – with a ribbed welt and cuffs. Another had buttons at the centre front instead of at one or both sides of the neck. The shoulder strap of another had a cable flanked by double moss stitch. While I am ever grateful that these photos exist, I sometimes wish that there were some extant ganseys in the museum’s collection. It would be great to see what the gussets look like, as these can’t be seen on the photos.
Quitter
I’ve spent a lot of time on the computer this week, probably too much. Another website I look after that has been broken for five years, and it was time to finally fix it. This has been more complicated than anticipated, but it’s nearly done; the last thing to do is figure out how to get the files from the test site on my computer to the live site.
Snowdrops under the trees
Where would we be without the internet? We first connected via treacly-slow dial-up, which in turn wouldn’t have been possible without the telephone, which had its start on this day in 1876. For today is National Landline Telephone Day, to commemorate Bell’s first telephone call to his assistant Watson. Other ‘days’ today are National Skirt Day, International Bagpipe Day, Harriet Tubman Day, Commonwealth Day, and, um, International Day of Awesomeness.
Celandine
The gansey, to fit in with one of today’s ‘days’, is coming along awesomely. The interminable ribbing on the body is done and the border beneath the yoke is in progress, with the gussets started at the same time. The border is a simple net pattern and is nearly finished. I’ve used extra stitch markers just before the centre stitch to aid with pattern placement. The gansey is coming right along.
Budding Hydrangea
I’m off on my travels again for the next few weeks – to a handbell day near Edinburgh, a visit to the house in Northamptonshire, which I haven’t visited since last autumn, a workshop near Exeter, and finally a visit to a friend in Cornwall. Which is a long way of saying, I’ll be back in a few weeks.
Lovely to see your spring flowers, here in Ontario I am still waiting for the snow to melt away and show the new spring life.
Always a joy to hear about the progress in your projects.
Have a wonderful trip. I’m in Cornwall, so I appreciate you are making a huge journey in the next few weeks.
Arklow Heritage Museum in Ireland have a Gansey knitting pattern if you are interested. (My grans birthplace)
Hello,
Are all gussets the same? I wonder if that’s a silly question – there must be some variation. I presume you will have visited the Scottish Fisheries Museum to explore their collection of ganseys, since you have a link to their website? I haven’t yet managed to visit with time to look properly and am not sure how many are on display. I would expect someone like yourself would be able to get more access to research the way they are made. I hope I’m not telling you something you already know – it seemed too important not to say, just in case you didn’t know.
I really enjoy seeing the progress of your projects. Your knitting is so beautiful. Thank you for continuing to post comments and pictures.
Spring is well on it’s way here further south in Tayside. The plum tree outside the kitchen window is in blossom and the pigeons are having their usual feast of all the leaf buds. They make witches brooms out of the growing tips, damaging all that they can reach and just leaving the ends to sprout.
Best regards
Janet
Enjoy your travels, hope you have time for knitting but do have a proper break as well.
Janet, we have 40+ actual ganseys in Sheringham Museum. Come and look at the variety of gussets some time.
I would love to visit sometime. We have cycled around the Norfolk coast a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Unlikley to be this year, have so much else planned! But thank you for the tip.
Regards
Janet
Wishing you a smooth and safe journey! Enjoy your trip
Safe travels. No rush with Gordon’s possessions but better if they were with someone who would make use of them. He would have liked that I think- though that wouldn’t have stopped him rolling his eyes and peering over his glasses in mock disapproval.