Islander launches acclaimed
When Margaret Anne Elder sits down with her knitting needles, she always thinks of her late grandmother.
With each stitch and purl, click and clack of the needles, not only is the 52- year- old weaving together a rich pattern of wool, she is also keeping her family’s legacy alive by paying homage to an age- old
tradition that, without her dedication, could fade from memory.
Creating everything from jumpers and hats to scarves and shawls, Margaret Anne uses unique patterns and techniques first developed at the turn of the last century by a band of women known as the “Herring Girls” – which included her paternal grandmother, Marion Macleod.
“I watched my grandmother knitting every moment of the day,” said Margaret Anne, who was born and raised on the Isle of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides. “Often, when she walked from her home village to the shop or post office she could knit one sock there and one on the way back. She was a big influence in my life, and I spent a lot of time with her until she died. She left me with so many memories, as well as her skills, which have been passed down from generation to generation.
“But there’s no formal pattern to these jumpers – I’ll say to someone, ‘OK what size are you from your wrist to underarm?’ and go from there. I’m really lucky the skill has been carried on in my family, passed down through my father’s side.”
From the 18th Century until the outbreak of the Second World War, women from across the east coast of Scotland followed herring trawler ships as the catch migrated to new breeding grounds, and were employed on land to gut, salt and pack each day’s catch. Working for up to 15 hours a day in gruelling conditions, the Herring Girls often spent months away from home and, in their spare time, kept up their spirits by singing, dancing and knitting items to send back to their loved ones.
Designed to reflect their home port, each knitted piece would feature anchors, ship wheels, marriage lines and true lover’s knots, which worked to form a pattern that was uniquely identifiable to each community.
Margaret Anne said: “The garment is knitted in one, and there’s no sewing, so the jumpers take a long time. There’s a lot of passion and a real story behind each pattern. A lot of the time, when