Thurso II (Donald Thomson): Week 14 – 6 May

A magic carpet has appeared in the living room.  No, really.  Where was an orangey laminate floor, is now a fringed carpet.  Its warm carnelian red instantly warms the space, providing a cozy feel, and ties together the disparate items of inexpensive furniture.  I’d been looking for a large carpet for a while, but they were so horrendously expensive that one was never purchased.  And the final reason it’s magic?  It is a generous gift from a friend who no longer needs it.  When it was offered, there was no hesitation; I temporarily forgot that the reason I’d wanted a carpet in the first place.  Gordon was regularly dropping the remotes, objecting to the clatter they made and the way the batteries flew out, and wishing we had a carpet.  But I’m still very happy it’s flown in.

Oriental carpets were once truly luxury items in Western Europe. The earliest example, the Pazyryk carpet, dates from the 5^th C BC and was found in a frozen tomb in Siberia.  The tombs were not far distant from the Silk Road trade routes, and it is thought that the carpet came from Central Asia, possibly Persia or Armenia.

The Ambassadors

Roll forward 2,000 years, and these rare and exclusive ‘Turkey’ carpets had become desirable items for the hyper-rich in Western Europe.  One well-known example is depicted in Hans Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’, where it is used to cover a table.  The rugs were also displayed as works of art, and were not put on the floor.  Initially only for those who could afford them, when Persia increased trade with the West, production increased, and they became more affordable.

Predominantly associated with Persia, similar rugs were produced all over Central Asia, Turkey, the Persian Empire, Egypt, and India. The ‘traditional skills of carpet weaving’ and the ‘traditional art of Azerbaijani carpet weaving’ are on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.  Most ‘Persian’ carpets are not hand-knotted these days but are made by machine.  I am sure my carpet fits into this category, but it matters not.

Unfurling Leaves

One thing that isn’t made by machine, however, is the current gansey on the needles.  It is slowly coming along.  After torturous calculations last week, the decision was made to man up to the task.  The existing stitches were taken out and the correct number picked up.  It looks too small to fit over a child’s head, but I tried it on and it comfortably fit over my noggin with room to spare.  The opening will get wider when it’s blocked.

Fence in the Fog

Then the pattern for the sleeve was calculated.  To fit the yoke pattern on the sleeve, the design needed to be slightly smaller.  This was accomplished by making the chevrons slightly narrower, while the cables and diamonds stay the same.  The pattern continues four diamonds’ worth, and then it’s plain sailing down the constantly turning whirlpool of the sleeve.