Crafting Your Heritage: Knitting in Shetland

Knitting: A Work in Progress

While it is quite satisfying to locate a set of 6x great-grandparents and fill in two more boxes on a pedigree chart, it can be equally satisfying to do something that our ancestors did everyday. For some people this is gardening, attending the same church, or cooking family recipes. For me one of these activities is knitting.

Both of my grandmothers knit, but my maternal grandmother, Karin Nordstrom Hood, is the one who taught me. She was taught the continental method by her mother, Linka Larsen Nordstrom, and that is the method I learned. This small connection to my Norwegian heritage pleases me more than it probably should.

This story from NPR profiles the tradition of knitting in Shetland. Even if you had no idea there was an island named Shetland let alone that they knit there, you would probably recognize a Fair Isle pattern. 

I'm not sure I would be a good descendant from Shetlanders. I don't like color knitting and lace frustrates me. I much prefer the texture of cables.

Digging Up Your Roots - Appeal - via ScottishGENES (Cross-Post)

Digging Up Your Roots - appeal

From the BBC:

Digging Up Your Roots Series 7
Transmission Dates: January 8th – February 26th 2012

The popular genealogy series ‘Digging up Your Roots’ returns to BBC radio Scotland in the new year.

We are keen to hear from people who are researching their ancestry. I wondered if you might be able to pass this information on to any one who may have a question about the life of one a family member, or a great tale to tell.

We can be contacted via mail at: Digging Up Your Roots, BBC Radio Scotland, Beechgrove Terrace, Aberdeen, AB15 5ZT or email at diggingupyourroots@bbc.co.uk 

****While most of the participants are people in Scotland looking for their Scottish ancestors, they did have one episode on "Emigration" which examined family members who had moved abroad.****


With thanks to Chris Paton at Scottish GENES who got it from Laura Seawright

The Scottish Emigration Blog: A Narrow Sea - A History Program from BBC Radio Ul...

In today's earlier post, I mentioned that part of my dad's family was likely Scots-Irish, which reminded me of this post: 

The Scottish Emigration Blog: A Narrow Sea - A History Program from BBC Radio Ul...: "I've just discovered this radio program on the history of the relationship between Ireland and Scotland. The seven minute episodes sta..."

 There are several episodes about the Scots-Irish experience in the United States.

The Scottish Emigration Blog: The Scottish Emigration Database at the University...

If like me, you have recent Scottish ancestry, this post from the Scottish Emigration Blog may be of interest to you. I tried out the Scottish Emigration Database at the University of Aberdeen. It is a good site; but apparently they aren't any better than I am at coming up with clever names for their sites.

The Scottish Emigration Blog: The Scottish Emigration Database at the University...: "The Scottish Emigration Database was funded by the AHRB and was part of the University of Aberdeen AHRC Centre for Irish and Scottish Studie..."