If you are in the Glasgow vicinity and stuck for what to do this bank holiday weekend, why not go down to Kelvingrove Museum? They have Living History visitors – including Joyce who would just love to show you her drop spindles, fleeces, naalbinding projects, and a very big loom.
Yes, we had a great conversation which included endangered British sheep breeds, how to make naal-binded heel flaps and even how to use natural dyes on wool. Apparently I was her favourite kind of visitor ;)
The Kelvingrove Living History exhibition is free and runs until Monday the fourth Sunday. Apart from the very lovely Joyce, it includes falconry, archery, sword demonstrations, wolf hounds, amd fighting enactments.
(At the moment I’m actually pretty preoccupied by knitting and wool traditions. I’ve been looking into traditional North Atlantic patterns and wools and plan on picking up some Icelandic and Faroese wool when in Copenhagen. My conversation with Joyce reminded me that I need to pop into the National Museum of Copenhagen and pick up one of their naalbinding booklets. Knitting is more than just a pleasant hobby for me – it is also a way to (re-)connect with the past. Incidentally I’m also strongly considering getting myself a drop spindle now after speaking with Joyce. Don’t blame me if you pay her a visit and you fall into the same trap. )
I found the brief note about how knitting is also a way of connecting to the past quite interesting. I always find it interesting to hear why exactly people have chosen one craft/hobby over the other, because when you start to really talk about it, it almost always goes deeper than “I just find it relaxing” or some such. So thanks for that brief glimpse :)
You have story-telling as a way of connecting with tradition, our cultural heritage and the past. I have found knitting, I guess. For me, it’s fascinating to see what I’m doing reaches back centuries – even millennia. The techniques have been handed down through ages and the tools are the same. I’m also really, really interested in local knitting traditions which are sadly in the danger of being forgotten, I think. I’ll prob babble more about this when I see you which is SOON!!!!