Lögberg-Heimskringla - 22.06.2001, Blaðsíða 3

Lögberg-Heimskringla - 22.06.2001, Blaðsíða 3
Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 22. júní 2001 • 3 . 1P ^ ^1% Æ* David Jón Fuller WlNNIPEG, MB WHEN I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL, my mother made me an Icelandic sweater. It was black, with white highlights in the pat- tem. I liked it mainly because it was black, and though initially dismayed at its looseness, it was so comfortable that I continued wearing it well into the summer. To me, it was just another out- growth of being “Icelandic”—-having access to handmade clothing was as unremarkable as eating rúllapylsa. My friends were considerably more impressed; one of them actually stole the sweater from me one day, to my great irritation, and fled from one end of the school to the other in order to wear it longer. Later, others started petition- ing my mother, through me, for a sweater. I just took it in stride and wait- ed for her to knit me another. This lazi- ness on my part lasted years. Fast-forward to Iceland, where I was living some years later. I lived in a dorm with other foreigners who were trying to embrace the Icelandic culture and language. An ad-hoc knitting club sprung up, composed of a Norwegian, a German, an Italian, and two Canadians. One of them was me. We leamed to knit from Guri, the Norwegian, who seemed able to knit so fast that we joked she could knit sweaters right off the sheep. The rest of us were considerably slow- er, but we eventually (with help) tumed out sweaters. We all had our reasons. For me, it was something new to leam, and with Promethean zeal I determined this was knowledge I ought to have. Oddly enough, I was the only male in Members ofthe Nýi Garður knitting club, left to right: David Fuller, Inske de Buhr, Kristin Good, Laura Sandri, and Guri Langlo. Photo: Stefán Haraldsson the group. This brings me to my point: men should know how to knit. The women reading this article may not be as hard to convince, since there is no social stigma attached to the idea of women knitting. I think whatever hesitation a man (or boy) may have to take up the circular needles and go can be eliminat- ed by consideration of the following reasons for knitting Icelandic sweaters. 1. It’s cheap Prices of wool have gone up, but even at $8 a ball, an adult sweater will only cost you $80. “Only,” you say? Well, if you wanted to buy one yourself, it would cost you at least twice that, probably more. Sure, you could bug your amma to knit one for you, but what have you done for her lately? And con- sidering the time it may take to knit the sweater, it’s relatively cheap as a pas- time. If it takes you, say, twenty hours (pretty fast, in my opinion), it’s only costing you $4 an hour. Going for cof- fee costs more! Stay at home and knit. 2. They’re warm Wherever you are, whether it’s a damp spring, a cool summer night, a brisk fall day, or as one of your layers in the winter, you won’t be cold with a lopapeysa on. They are, I have found, ideal for cycling in the spring and fall— air flows through them for cooling, but they keep you comfortably warm even when you perspire. (Best to use an older one that can take a bit of dust, mud, rain, etc.) They’re also good at keeping you warm in damp climates, whether you’re in Seattle, Halifax, or Reykjavík. 3. It’s addictive Once you start knitting, it’s difficult to stop until the sweater is done. It’s a good way to break other bad habits, such as drinking, smoking, clicking the ends of retractable pens, etc. 4. It’s portable Knitting is something that can be done almost anywhere: on the bus, in frónt of the TV, at the beach, in church depending on your minister, you name it. I actually figured out how to do it while reading; I had to, as I had exams to study for and yet couldn’t give up on the knitting (see No. 3. above). 5. Durability Icelandic sweaters last a long time, if you take care of them. I still have the first sweater my mother made for me, eleven years later. 6. Instant figure For many, this is an important fac- tor. Icelandic sweaters make you look huge in all the right places, a combina- tion of the bulk of the wool and the typ- ical pattems. Men’s sweaters accentuate the shoulders and chest, and women’s sweaters the bust and hips, depending on the tightness of the bottom part. Think about this. Try one on and look in the mirror. And finally, for those guys who have stuck with me this far, but still need an extra nudge ... 7. Two words: chick magnet I’m not kidding. If you are seen knitting, or can say about your sweater, “Actually, I made it myself,” you have a conversation-starter worth far more than how much weight you can lift or the RAM in your new computer. You laugh? Borrow your amma’s knitting for a day and see what the ladies'say. That’s it in a nutshell. If you’ve never tried it, go for it; what have you got to lose? If you have, keep it up! Knitting’s not just for womenfolk any more. EIMSKIP THE ICELAND STEAMSHIP COMPANY LTD. Fastest regular direct sailings to lceland, Shelburne and Newfoundland Skógafoss Lagarfoss Skógafoss 106 112 108 Shelburne 06/23 07/07 07/21 Boston 06/25 07/09 07/23 New York 07/27 07/11 07/25 Norfolk 06/29 07/13 07/27 Argentia 03/28 04/11 04/25 TRANSATLANTIC (Via lceland) Direct Service To/From: • Rotterdam, Netherland • Fredrikstad, Norway ’ Hamburg, Germany ■ Immingham, UK > Helsingborg & Gothenburg, Sweden • Aarhus & Copenhagen, Denmark •Thorshavn, Faroe Islands EIMSKIP USA, INC. P.O. Box 3698, Norfolk, VA 23510 Freight rates and bookings call toli free: 800-446-8317 'Halifax-902-423-8136 m ik unn* rm* mv wmm hri h rirwkr NiiYnihm 4* nm \ nn 'nMhwnHh

x

Lögberg-Heimskringla

Beinir tenglar

Ef þú vilt tengja á þennan titil, vinsamlegast notaðu þessa tengla:

Tengja á þennan titil: Lögberg-Heimskringla
https://timarit.is/publication/160

Tengja á þetta tölublað:

Tengja á þessa síðu:

Tengja á þessa grein:

Vinsamlegast ekki tengja beint á myndir eða PDF skjöl á Tímarit.is þar sem slíkar slóðir geta breyst án fyrirvara. Notið slóðirnar hér fyrir ofan til að tengja á vefinn.