Showing posts with label darning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label darning. Show all posts

Friday, March 4, 2016

Intangible Cultural Heritage Update - Darning Eggs, Youth, and Traditions at Risk



In the March edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update, we spin you a yarn about our darning workshop, introduce you to the 2016 Youth Heritage Forum, and talk about traditions at risk.

You can view and download the newsletter here.

Monday, February 22, 2016

As Good as New!



Last week, the darning workshop took place at the A.C. Hunter Children's Library at the Arts and Culture Centre! We had twenty-two eager and excited participants who learned to mend holes in knitted garments with Christine LeGrow. Shirley Scott was there and she gave some great tips to participants on how to knit and care for knitted socks so they are everlasting!

I was lucky enough to see some darning egg/mushrooms - and even a radiator knob - that have been used to darn socks:

          
             Left - Elizabeth's darning egg -
       a nice modern example
               Right - Rebecca Jeffery's darning egg which
          belongs to her father, Gary. c.1930 from
       Southern Ontario!
Glenna Jamieson-English's darning mushroom!
See the orange? We used them to darn!

After some show and tell, Christine got down to business and taught everyone how to darn. My favourite example was how she compared darning to weaving like some of us were taught in school. By the end of the workshop, everyone got the hang of it and holes began to be mended!


It was a fun filled, exciting, and educational evening. Everyone who attended will certainly be using their new skill to mend socks, hats, trigger mitts, and sweaters for years to come, keeping everything looking as good as new! **Stay tuned - I will be posting darning instructions from Christine for those who missed the workshop soon**

Thank you to everyone who attended, Christine LeGrow, Shirley Scott, the City of St. John's, Susan Prior, the NL Public Libraries, and all those who promoted this event making this workshop a great success!

Missed this workshop? We have a knit-along happening in March!
Eventbrite - Knit Some Socks Knit-a-Long

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

A Call Out: Your memories and photos of Darning Eggs

Source: Artefacts Canada
Nice knit socks were and still are required for a warm, dry foot! There is nothing worse than a big hole that your toe sticks out of or one on your heel. In the past, people would not throw away their socks and waste materials, instead they would fix them.

A darning egg is a hard, round object that is inserted into a sock while repairing a hole. The darning egg makes it easier to stitch so it's not too tight or too loose. It prevents the sock from losing its shape while you repair and prevents you from accidentally stitching two sides of the sock together.

We are very interested in collecting photos or reminiscence of darning eggs. If you have any memories or even a photo or two of your darning egg please e-mail me at stephanie@heritagefoundation.ca or call 709-739-1892 ext. 3  or toll free at 1-888-739-1892 ext. 3. I would love to hear from you!