Also know as the Big Purple Wrap.
I did a summer abroad in England when I was in college, spending time in both Huddersfield and Cambridge. Huddersfield, for those who don't know (and I'm sure there are many who don't) is in the Peak District, in West Yorkshire. It's not a small town by any means, but it's not a major city either, mostly a commuter town now, for people working in nearby Manchester or Leeds. For trivia buffs, actor James Mason was born there, and Sir Patrick Stewart was born just outside it in the town of Mirfield. Now you know.
I was there for a couple weeks working in the lab of a professor researching in speleology (the study of caves). Kinda a short-term summer internship. Pretty interesting, really, aside from getting to play underground in another part of the world.
So what does all this have to do with knitting?
Well, the summer that I was over there was right after my junior year in college. At the end of my junior year, I'd been dumped by my long-term boyfriend (a good 3 years long relationship) and was pretty broken up, as one might expect. I'd been knitting like crazy between the end of the school year (when I was dumped) and when I left for the UK. The old "keep your hands busy and your mind won't dwell on it all" tactic. However, I thought that I'd be too busy and wouldn't need to take a project with me, so didn't pack one with me when I went abroad.
But, as busy as I was during the day, there was still plenty of time in the evenings to brood, especially being over there on my own for a few weeks (once I got to Cambridge, I was with a program and had more people to hang out with to distract me). Add to that, I'd been knitting kinda nonstop between the end of the school year and my departure, so I really felt the absence of any project.
Luckily for me, there was a yarn shop in Huddersfield! Just a little tiny market stall in the Marketplace there, but that was enough! I'd already picked up a few knitting books in a used book shop in town, so had a few patterns to choose from, and stopped by the knitting stall for the yarn and needles. Began the project in June that summer and got most of it done by the time I returned home in August. Finally finished it up in September when I was back at school.
For those who are interested, it's Lace Stole pattern in Vogue Knitting's Vogue Knitting on the Go: Vintage Knits. It's Raveled Here.
Oh, and just recently at Stitches, as I was looking for shawl pins for the shrugs and shawls I'm becoming addicted too, I found one that matched the purple wrap perfectly! It's hard to tell in the light of the camera flash, but in regular lighting, the purple beads match the purple yarn wonderfully!
Incidentally, those needles I bought in Huddersfield ended up being some of my favorite needles to work with, and of course, it's not a brand commonly found in the US. Just like the tea I became addicted to. (sigh...)
I was there for a couple weeks working in the lab of a professor researching in speleology (the study of caves). Kinda a short-term summer internship. Pretty interesting, really, aside from getting to play underground in another part of the world.
So what does all this have to do with knitting?
Well, the summer that I was over there was right after my junior year in college. At the end of my junior year, I'd been dumped by my long-term boyfriend (a good 3 years long relationship) and was pretty broken up, as one might expect. I'd been knitting like crazy between the end of the school year (when I was dumped) and when I left for the UK. The old "keep your hands busy and your mind won't dwell on it all" tactic. However, I thought that I'd be too busy and wouldn't need to take a project with me, so didn't pack one with me when I went abroad.
But, as busy as I was during the day, there was still plenty of time in the evenings to brood, especially being over there on my own for a few weeks (once I got to Cambridge, I was with a program and had more people to hang out with to distract me). Add to that, I'd been knitting kinda nonstop between the end of the school year and my departure, so I really felt the absence of any project.
Luckily for me, there was a yarn shop in Huddersfield! Just a little tiny market stall in the Marketplace there, but that was enough! I'd already picked up a few knitting books in a used book shop in town, so had a few patterns to choose from, and stopped by the knitting stall for the yarn and needles. Began the project in June that summer and got most of it done by the time I returned home in August. Finally finished it up in September when I was back at school.
For those who are interested, it's Lace Stole pattern in Vogue Knitting's Vogue Knitting on the Go: Vintage Knits. It's Raveled Here.
Oh, and just recently at Stitches, as I was looking for shawl pins for the shrugs and shawls I'm becoming addicted too, I found one that matched the purple wrap perfectly! It's hard to tell in the light of the camera flash, but in regular lighting, the purple beads match the purple yarn wonderfully!
Incidentally, those needles I bought in Huddersfield ended up being some of my favorite needles to work with, and of course, it's not a brand commonly found in the US. Just like the tea I became addicted to. (sigh...)
1 comment:
Oh, I just love this H post!
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