⁉️ What the Friday is that?
Every Fortnight, we will be introducing you to an important artifact that is in our collection, here at The Castle Heritage Centre.
We’d love your thoughts, can you guess what it is, how it was used? We’ll follow it up with the answer as we explore another, let’s see how many of you got it!
➡️ The last of 2024’s artefact is a Knitting Stick (also know as a Knitting Sheath).
Here’s a bit of history;
- Knitting Sheaths are small carved wooden sticks that first appeared in the early 17th century. Up until the 19th century, knitting at home was a necessity rather than the past-time it has become today. It also offered a way for both men and women to generate income in the home, as we as provide warm clothing for the family.
- Knitting Sticks (or sheaths) would be fitted into the hole at one end of the sheath, which would then be tucked into a pocket or a belt on the right side of the knitter’s waist. This had a two-fold benefit: most importantly, it gave the knitter greater control of the yarn and its tension, as the hand would be independent of the needle; secondly it freed up the right hand between stitches to aid in multi-tasking around the home without the need to sit or put your knitting down.
- Not only were knitting sheaths incredibly practical tools, they became decorative and much-loved items, which often carried special meaning for the owner. Many men would carve their own, or carve one as a love token, including initials, quotes and personalised decoration.
- This Knitting Stick is more than one hundred years old and comes from Morwenstow.
Did you guess correctly? Well done, we had some brilliant answers, some correct, some close and some, well, just a bit random, but it made us giggle!
Look out for the next one in January 2025 and see if you can guess what it is?
Did you know we hold an inspirational collection of documents and artifacts that play an important role in Bude, Stratton and the surrounding parishes rich heritage. You can also visit us seven days a week as we are open from 10am every day (including bank holidays).
