Free Expression

Scatness Tam in Jamieson & Smith 100% Shetland Wool

Adapted slightly from a pattern by Kate Davies

For the lady in the bank

Experienced knitter friend, Karen, gave me the book, Colours of Shetland by Kate Davies, for my birthday. In it I found this pattern calling for striped K2P2 ribbing to start  - and certainly not as I made it with K2 Moss Stitch 2 positioned up almost at the crown,  with the aim of (hopefully) making it look quite regal...  Perhaps it's because they've been in the news so much of late, but for some reason I was aiming for a variant of more rigid Russian-style structure to harmonise with the wonderfully intricate pattern…  All quite a distance from Scatness in the Shetlands I know (and in the unlikely event they ever got to hear, I hope that neither the designer nor the knitting heritage holders of Scatness mind the unwarranted liberty taken with this beautiful design...)(...!)

Just before I started knitting this I had some business in the bank. When the official called me in for our discussion she admired my sweater.

“That’s definitely the right thing to say”, I said, very pleased.

“Do you knit for money?”, she asked.

"Not really", I said.  "I tried, but it didn't really work out."

“But you should”, she said.  “You could charge a lot…”

So once again I went into how, while you might think that, you’d soon find out otherwise…. and that for me in any case knitting for money for strangers would be stressful and likely to kill any joy involved….

“And”, I said, really warming up… “no  matter how rocky or imperfect my knitting, the idea of giving people something I made.. something which can’t be bought..  that still really appeals to me, because what’s money really? Nothing.  Really nothing ”

And, fair play to her, she laughed... 

Perhaps I should make her a gift of the hat…!