Full Circle

I knitted this Fairisle jumper over 55 years ago in a fit of Shetland inspired enthusiasm for island knitting after one of my visits to Lerwick.

My tutors were members of my Shetland born bridesmaid’s family and it was done strictly on the guidelines that had been in use for generations -on the round with 3needles , no seams only 2 colours in one row and a more expensive dye colour used in a central row of the pattern.

I came back home with the required wool, a graph book for writing down the fair isle patterns, steel knitting needles and a knitting belt. It took many, many months of total concentration to finish it down to the last arm but by then daughter # 1 had arrived, so it lay unfinished in a basket for many more years before completion.

Since then it has hardly been worn, and although doing the rounds of the men in my life it has been found to be too small. With my anticipation of next year’s Shetland Wool Week, I put in a request for its return from daughter #4 so that I could wear it myself.
55 years and it’s done the full circle.