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The theme for this page is “jac’-in-the-green” !
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Part 1 - The Idea
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Jack-in-the-Green can seldom be seen
Unless you can truly search
For he’s hidden from view in the holly and yew
And the oak and the beech and the birch.
But his voice can be heard in the song of a bird,
His breath is the wind in your hair,
And the sweet vegetation is all his creation
And perhaps now you know that he’s there.
Since time first began the spirit of man
Has embarked on an endless quest
For the meaning of life and an end to all strife
And the peace of a soul at rest.
And through all the changes that progress arranges
Perhaps it can easily be seen
How the peace in a wood can still do you good
As you search for your Jack-in-the-Green.
For a thousand years his carved face appears
On arches and pillars in churches
Where he stares back at you through the holly and yew
And the oaks and the beech and the birches.
The craftsman of old didn’t need to be told
That he stands for renewal and life,
That his ideals take part in all crafts and art,
With each paintbrush, each chisel, each knife.
Seek Jack-in-the-Green for though seldom seen
His inspiration will strike as you search
In the light filtering through the holly and yew
And the oak and the beech and the birch.
© jac 2006
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I have always been fascinated by the Green Man. He colours my imagination just like Arthur, the Green Knight and Robin Hood. I love the dichotomy, real or fantasy? Does it matter?
The Green Man for me is the symbol of creation, renewal and hope eternal, and for a long time I have wanted to incorporate his image into something. A beaded hat. But the achievement of this has always been tricky, outside pressures and the feeling that there are other more important projects to be achieved.
And then coincidence took a hand and often where there is coincidence, there is opportunity also. I have been offered an exhibition case in Eastgate House, Rochester in June, and then the yarn harlot invited us all to join her in the Knitting Olympics. Here was the ideal moment - a challenge and the reward would be an exhilarating piece of work worthy of any exhibition (I hope).
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I had already decided upon my ideal Man - the one pictured above who can be seen in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral. I see him as a vision in golds and greens and navy. I have started to map out a chart and then my next task will be to sort out the yarn and the beads. Should I change yarn colour within the piece? Should the edge be darker than the centre or will the bead colours be strong enough to do that for me? Some limbering up and training is clearly necessary. When that torch is lit in Turin on the 10th of February I must be ready!
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Part 2 - Charts (4pm 10th February)
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I have been working on the charts, doing quite well, decided to knit some swatches to see how I was doing and here they are:
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Natural colours, pale gold yarn, not bad...
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Bold colours, deep gold yarn, hmm...
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Larger beads, better but it’s going to make the hat too big. Wait a minute, why is one side of the wedge longer than the other?
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Shock, horror, as reality steps in. It’s a couple of years since I last knit a hat top - here it is, not made up yet:
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What I had forgotten was that the triangles swirl.
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It’s more visible from the back:
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So I am having to readjust to accommodate this anomaly, otherwise the Green Man is going to be rather skew whiff. I had intended to have all the beads threaded by the time the flame was lit but I think I may have slightly misjudged this...
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Still, I think I have settled on my palette - the dark gold yarn and a fairly natural selection of colours for the beads.
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Part 3 - I’ve started knitting! - 2pm Wednesday 15th February
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Finally, finally I finished the chart for the top of the hat, made one that was easier to follow and then listed the beads in the right order of colours and numbers. On Monday I started to thread them, all 2842 of them and it took ages. At last, yesterday evening, I started to knit. It was baffling. The beads weren’t falling where I thought they should. I checked and checked again. The beads are in the right order and there are 2842.
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I think maybe there is some olde English magic going on. You know, like when you stand inside an ancient circle of standing stones and as you start to count them, the ones behind you start to shuffle about and play tricks on you and you never get the same answer twice. I think that’s what the Green Man is doing with my hat, but I hope I’ve finally figured him out. (Of course, I am willing to concede that it was just me in a muddle...)
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Hopefully the knitting part will now be perfectly straight forward, and then all I have to do is draw the chart for the side of the hat, draw it again in a manner more easy to follow, list the beads.....
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Part 4 - Halfway 2.30pm Sunday 19th February
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Meet the Green Man. Not as distinct as I was hoping - I’m wondering if I ought to embellish this later with some metallic embroidery thread. What do you think?
The Winter Olympics are halfway through, and the sport is nearly exciting as this enterprise! However, I don’t think this project is halfway through. The side of the hat is double the size of the top but hopefully is more straightforward, so I’m hoping I’m still in with a chance! I am now completing the chart in readiness for bead threading.
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Part 5 - Finished knitting! 4.45pm Sunday 26th February
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I made it by the skin of my teeth. I have finally finished the knitting. It took ages and was not helped by the fact that I was using a different yarn, made by the same manufacturer as the stuff I used before, but under a different label. I committed the cardinal sin of not doing a tension square because I assumed it was the same, and paid the price of having to knit the thing twice!
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Here’s a slightly closer look at one half...
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...and the other.
I have included holly, ivy, mistletoe, beech, ash and oak leaves, including the relevant berries and acorns.
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I now have the pleasure of embellishing it to make the design stand out and then I will make it up and add a nice lining, probably in gold.
So this evening I will be watching the olympic closing ceremony with my hat and embroidery threads in one hand and a celebratory glass of wine in the other and I shall drink a toast to the 4000 knitting olympians around the world who hopefully have achieved personal success also!
I wonder if this could become a biennial event, lining up with both sets of Olympic Games? Have we got the stamina? Of course we have! We just have to ignore the ominous tightness in our wrist and the callous on our finger...
More later!
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