Purls of wisdom
Christine Perry expresses a love of layers
There’s a saying that you might know – “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing”. There are various forms of the saying and it’s been attributed to various people from various countries (I first heard it uttered by the comedian Billy Connolly), but I suspect that the real person behind it was a knitter, and someone who knew the value of appropriate clothing for every occasion, at that.
THE RIGHT STUFF
Need an elegant wrap for a cool evening or a wedding? Here’s a shawl I made earlier. O for a walk through the snowy fields in minus degree weather? You’ll need this cosy jumper, and don’t forget your woolly socks and hat! Small children wanting to make snowmen? Have a selection of mittens (with or without a cord through your sleeves) so that you can dry them on the radiators whilst you’re out throwing snowballs in a spare set. Capsule wardrobe for your summer holiday? Lacy tops and cardigans in cool cotton always fit the bill, although perhaps we’ll leave the knitted bikinis in a bygone era where they belong…
SPRING WATCH
As you read this, we reached meteorological spring at the beginning of the month, and the astrological start of spring a few days ago, and Easter is coming up too. March is traditionally a month that “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” (although I don’t think the weather generally takes much notice of folklore) – but we’re ready for it, aren’t we? I really don’t think there is anything that you couldn’t find either in knitted form or a pattern to make it yourself, and even though our patterns these days
might be more modern in design, they are still based on tried and tested styles from the days when “technical” clothing wasn’t really available.
ALL ABOUT LAYERS
My sock drawer is always full, I’ve got shawls, cowls, a jumper on my needles, mittens and hats – just in case, given the peculiarities of the British weather! We know that wool and other fibres will create layers of warmth – even the lambs born at this time of year are wrapped up in their own woolly layers! Whenever I put on extra clothing, I can always hear my Mum in my ear saying, “You can take layers o if you’re warm…” – but I don’t really remember the rest of what she said as it was usually something to do with wearing a coat and being a teenager at the time, I didn’t feel the cold then! Nowadays, I’m all about the layers and I’m usually putting them on, not taking them o !
EVERYONE WRAP UP
What I like about Simply Knitting is that it’s a whole magazine of layers so that no matter what our internal temperatures are, there’s always something in the pages that we might choose to knit for ourselves (or possibly other cold souls that we know!). From the tiniest sizes to the biggest, and blankets to wrap up in too for those chilly moments, it’s all covered and with the warmest of natural fibres. There really is no such thing as bad weather, and with our knitting needles in hand there’s no wrong clothing either. Let the spring weather do its worst – or best – we’re ready!
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