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Saturday, 9 November 2024

Knitted

I am constantly amazed by what some bloggers make in wool and fabrics. They have spent a lifetime on crafts I would not know how to begin. But it does not stop me from writing a post about knitting. 

The village of Upper Denby not far from where we live has a knitting and crafts group that has been busy creating a display on the village green for Remembrance Day, this weekend. Here are some of the things they have made. All are either knitted or crocheted. 

Remembrance Day display, Upper Denby, Yorkshire, 2024

Remembrance Day display, Upper Denby, Yorkshire, 2024

Remembrance Day display, Upper Denby, Yorkshire, 2024

Remembrance Day display, Upper Denby, Yorkshire, 2024

Meanwhile, Mrs D is busy knitting little Santas and Snowmen to sell and provide raffle prizes for the school Christmas Fair. 

I sometimes think there are satisfactions in life us blokes miss out on. Surely I could knit a rat. 

34 comments:

  1. My mum used to knit and sew and embroider a lot but I never inherited that particular talent. She also used to knit little Santas for Christmas markets, so your mentioning of that brings back memories for me!

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    1. She made 12 and they were all sitting snug together in a box, but they've gone to school now.

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  2. It's not just a craft Tasker, it's a meditation. Knitters are yogic.
    Of course you could knit a rat if you really wanted to.

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    1. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: the motorbike you are maintaining is yourself.

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  3. Men can and do knit and crochet and weave and stitch. Maybe you delegated it to Mrs T! The memorial installation is brilliant.

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    1. I think it brilliant too. There is quit a bit more but I didn't want to overdo the photographs.

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  4. When my mother was pregnant with me (first child) my gran was knitting baby clothes for me. Dad, who was aged 22 at the time, wanted to have a go but his sisters laughed and said "Men don't knit!"
    Just to prove a point he knitted me a set of bootees, mitts, hat and a jacket. Bless him.

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    1. Good for him. But what we all want to know is do you still have them, and do they still fit?

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  5. It's knitting season here in deepest West Cork Tasker. J keeps supplying the new mothers with free cardigans. Did you hear about the horse that ate a ball of wool. It turned out to be a fine jumper!

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  6. Kaffe Fassett and the Knitting Bishop spring to mind. Tom Daley, Olympic champion diver, is also a talented knitter.
    I like the Remembrance Day display. The empty shoes/boots are poignant.

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    1. I remember at school, about 1962, the whole class including the boys, spent free moments knitting squares to be sewn into blankets, I can't remember for what cause. I made about 6 but we had to ask the girls to cast on and off for us, and sort us out when in a in a mess.

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  7. There's nothing stopping men from knitting or crocheting and it's never too late to start!

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    Replies
    1. True. Time is short for me and one can't do everything, otherwise I would love to.

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  8. I once saw some wonderful sea-themed knitted items on the railings of Saltburn pier and I love the way that pillar boxes are sometimes decorated with imaginative knitted "toppers". I guess that 95% of this knitting is done by women. Thanks for showing us what has been happening in Upper Denby.

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    1. We had a pillar box topping here for a year or so but it kept being vandalised. Upper Denby is more away from things.

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  9. I am moved by the memorial installation. I hope it will be stored safely and used again and again.

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    1. We also wondered whether it could be dried out and cleaned, and perhaps added to.

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  10. My Mum is an avid and accomplished knitter, but I wouldn‘t even know how to hold the needles. As a school girl, I learned to crochet but prefered other outlets for creativity, and still do.
    Knitting a rat is probably not quite as easy as you think, but why not give it a go?

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    1. My wife's snowmen are basically just a stuffed sock with arms knitted to sides so a baby would not swallow wool. Some of the Santas are more complicated with woolly beards. I suppose a simple rat might be more feasible than one with whiskers etc.

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  11. Knitters wrap up trees here to protect them against the summer cold!!! My grandmother taught me how to knit, but I failed in the cast on stiches part and to cast off. I guess I would cut off the end of the wool and tie it in a knot.
    The 11/11 memorial is a nice effort by a local village for local people.

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    Replies
    1. As mentioned in reply above, I never mastered the casting on/off either.

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  12. Some amazing knits, aren't women clever!! I used to knit a lot and still do, altho hindered with a duff arm I still knit socks for one grandson who loves to wear them in an evening when home from work.

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    1. I think it is good hands you need for knitting. My mother-in-law's arthritis made it quite difficult, and she gave up eventually.

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  13. Knitting is Zen of course. Quiet meditation. Spinning yarn is also good. I also remember the Knitting Bishop, he bought out a beautiful book. It is called slow living to be practised as you get old.

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    1. Being immersed in almost any task serves the purpose. I can't understand why some want to have distractions of all kinds going on at the same time.

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  14. I love that first photo of the knitted, empty shoes marching away from the battlefield. Moving. Like Joanne, I hope that these things are put away for display later. They truly are works of art.

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    1. I didn't get a picture of the white crosses, of which there is one on the edge of the first picture. There are about 15 or 20 of them, all bearing a name of someone from the village who did not return.

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  15. Amazing. I can't imagine how long they took.
    the last poppy flower looks wonderful. :)

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    1. There are some very quick knitters around, and I believe it is a team effort from quite a large group. They are still amazing, though.

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  16. What a beautiful Remembrance Day memorial..Gigi

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    1. Thank you Gigi. Yes, we had heard about it, so went specially to look.

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  17. Dear Tasker, some health expert just found out, that knitting, crocheting and embroidery even keeps the brain of people young, thus protecting against Alzheimer! (I do not know how they found out or proved it - I only remember that when times got really rough I started cross-stitch - very soothing, like meditation - and I created beautiful things - then, when it was over after a year, I stopped. Never started again (looking at German's politics I might go and sear needle and thread again - humming: "Needles and pins..." hm, hm, hm...)

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    1. I think any activity that keeps us mentally active is helpful. They do say that social activity is good too, so being on Blogger should be beneficial too.

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