Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Do men wear mohair?

and NO, I'm not talking about mohair suits. I have knit some stupid things in my day but I'm not demented.

So, I've caught some virus or other, and I just want to drink vats of water - cold or recently boiled with lemon juice and honey in it - and sleep. Not so conducive to writing, but definitely to thinking about the Christmas knitting (hence my question) and to reading. Luckily my copy of Arctic Lace arrived at the local library yesterday. Karen recommended this book as a possible source for Mary-friendly qiviut patterns, and she was right. I have exactly enough qiviut to make three very attractive things in it and to wonder whether a moebius shawl, so flattering on others, would make me look like a dork?

Arctic Lace has a wide appeal. Yes, there is knitting, and lace patterning. A little about qiviut specifically and musk oxen generally. It is somewhat about Arctic exploration, and a lot about specific individuals and native Alaskan lifestyles in remote communities accessible only by plane and increasingly affected by climate change, as are the musk oxen themselves. Highly recommended.

And now I would like to wish my US readers minimal lineup time at the polls and a delicious free Starbucks coffee! before I go drink something much less delicious, if equally hot.

3 comments:

Karen said...

Well, until I read your second sentence, my response was going to be, "But of course they do! Go listen to 'Boy from New York City' if you want audio proof!"
But...well, no, probably not the knitted kind. However, if you are in the market for a fantastic sweater for your guy, you cannot go wrong with Brooklyn Tweed's Cobblestone Pullover in a nice tweedy merino. Yummy yummy yum.

Mary Keenan said...

While that sweater does indeed look fantastic on a guy ;^)... I was thinking, you know, a scarf?

Kathleen Taylor said...

I think men would wear mohair as long as it wasn't too fuzzy. But that's just a guess.

I just recently acquired the Arctic Lace book, though not for the quiviut. I bought it because my Grandmother was Inupiat Eskimo, and I thought I'd get some more information about her (my) people from the book. the lace-info (not to mention quiviut trivia)(say that out loud and try not to giggle) is gravy (though I haven't had a chance to read it yet).