I scored another book yesterday.

One of the Guild members turned up with a little pile of books that she no longer needed. They were review copies for the knitting magazine she ran for a while. It is still going but she decided that doing that and bringing up two children was not possible. She has donated some review copies to the library but she also passed one on to me because it is a specialist book that is not likely to interest other people.
The book is a history of 'hap' shawls. These are the everyday shawls made particularly in the Shetlands in the 19th and early 20th C. The book is worth reading even if for nothing more than the record at the back of some of the evidence given at a government inquiry. The exploitation of the knitters was extraordinary. Even now professional knitters do not get paid anything like the worth of their work but, at that time, it amounted to slave labour. I am glad Barbara thought I was worthy recipient of the book.
There were also six DVDs by Lucy Neatby, a Canadian knitter. I brought those home to look at the content before putting them on the library shelves. I put one on for a short time to see if I could find out what I had let myself in for. Canadian material can vary greatly. Some of it is heavily influenced by the United States. That is understandable. It does not always make for content that Australians feel comfortable about. This is not like that at all. I may watch more than I intended. Her diction is good. Her teaching style is good. She is teaching in short segments and the camera work shows the moves clearly. It is a pity we do not have a set up to show this sort of thing at the Guild.
Riding home I noticed the traffic banking up and then, inevitably, police and ambulance sirens. Some way further ahead I could see crowds gathered. When the traffic had slowed to a halt I slipped my tricycle through the waiting cars and went the long way around. I do not need to view accidents.